Walk The Moon [Echo]

[Lief]

They had been in space for just a day, and already Adiara felt better. The ship floated through space, at a steady pace, and while he could Adiara used the time to lounge about in the living space. There was a holographic Novacrown table set before him, and he was using the time well.

He still had an ongoing game with a certain Cantina Owner, and wanted to brush up on his techniques in the meantime. Unlike his dear sweet friend, Adi did not have the actual board to glance over. So he had to do his best to recall... But his memory wasn't the greatest.

Adiara leaned back in the chair and glanced over the board with a sigh. One hand was curled around a mug of caf'. His guest, Echo, had spent most of the time in her room, though he had tried to coax her out of it. Truth be told, she was probably exhausted. She had used the refresher and changed into new clothes, though, which had pleased him. It was good to see her making herself at home.

"Red gizka..." hm, he pondered which way to go about it. He really wanted to decimate the blue kath hound... But it might leave him open. "Oh, kriff it. I'll just have to go to Shaddaa and play in person." He did so hate holo-games. Actual pieces? They were much easier to visualize.

But he wouldn't be heading there just yet. It was too busy and loud for a girl like Echo. She needed to adjust first.

[member="Echo Kora"]

 

[Eli-Mae Forrest]

This was all a bit much for Echo but she decided it was finally time for her to come out of her room. She was just getting out of the shower and it had been so long since she had a real shower. She was getting dressed when she glanced down at her mask. The thing had been filled with holes from her 10 long years of use and she decided it was time that she retired it. She reached into the drawer and pulled out a brand new mask it was blue. She then goes right to putting it on. It felt foreign on her face but good. Then she emerged from her room

[member="Adiara Drelas"]

 

[Lief]

He finished off his mug of caf and rose to place it into a sterilization unit. In the same motion he turned and glanced over the supply of food he'd brought up from the cargo hold, he didn't like going down there unless he had to. It was horribly cold. Then again, most of space was. Something he'd adjusted to, but even for a Spacer like him the cargo hold was a little bit too much.

"Well, time to make something to eat I suppose."

Adiara often spoke to himself, only quietly, after all he was alone most of the time. It was very rare he had company.

Opening up a pack of rations, he placed the contents into a bowl and added in some boiling water. Magic happened before his very eyes as it expanded into something that actually looked rather edible. He almost turned away, before remembering that Echo had yet to eat either. Naturally he made a second portion.

As he turned around with both bowls in his hands, ready to call out to the Miraluka, he was met with the sight of Echo. The man frowned. Had he been her Father, he would never have permitted such attire. Not least because the ship was cold.

"You're going to freeze" he muttered, switching off the game of Novacrown with his foot and placing down both plates atop the table. With a soft sigh he shook his head. "Come on, have a seat and get some food in you." He reached to the back of one of the chairs, and pulled a blanket from its nook. Then he offered it across to her. "You may not feel cold now, but it will set in. This might help."

Finally he sat down himself, back in his old seat, and began to eat the food. Not bad, it was from a different source than usual but rather tasty.

[member="Echo Kora"]

 

[Eli-Mae Forrest]

Echo has a seat as she is told and before she can object to the blanket it is already around her "Thank you."


[member="Adiara Drelas"]

 

[Lief]

He gave a brief, Fatherly nod as she took a seat and allowed the blanket to envelop her. With a slight gesture he pushed the plate of food toward the girl. "It's not quite restaurant quality, but it's not bad either." He reached over to the side counter and grabbed a small stack of cups, a slight grunt escaping him as he then had to reach even further for a pitcher of blue milk.

"Huzzah" he murmured as his fingers curled around the handle, and he managed to bring it to the table without spilling so much as a drop.

"Here you go, Echo." He settled a cup down before each of them, and proceeded to fill them with blue milk. Not his beverage of choice, but it was decent enough and not many people took issue to it. He hoped Echo didn't mind it, at least.

Tilting his head to one side, he regarded her solemnly for a moment.

"This is your home now too, you know? Do not feel as though you must hide away in your cabin all day. Once we have eaten I will set our course; I was thinking of venturing to Nar Shaddaa, but I wanted your approval first. It is a very busy place, and you will have to remain at my side throughout. I do not want anything to happen to you. If you would rather we did not go to somewhere with so many people, I can alter my plans."

[member="Echo Kora"]

 

[Eli-Mae Forrest]

"I am fine with it" She says smiling at him before she begins to eat. From the time she was little she had always been shy. She didn't want to embarrass herself with her new found friend

[member="Adiara Drelas"]

 

[Lief]

It always came back to Nar Shaddaa.

Truly, he hated the place. It encompassed the worst parts of civilization; people said that Tatooine, or more Mos Eisley, was a hive of scum and villainy... But the Moon of Shaddaa was far, far worse. It was a psychedelic world of bright lights, drugs and alcohol. A place where you either sought base pleasures, or suffered under the whims of those who did.

But his oldest friend in the entirety of the Galaxy was there.

One of his few friends, truth be told. The Besalisk, Sinnat, was old and crooked looking, but he made a mean stack of panna-cake and always had the right kind of caf' and whiskey on hand. Besides, he was one of the few people Adi knew who could play Novacrown. Their present game had been ongoing for what must have been years. And his friend never touched the board, that much Adiara could trust in.

"Nar Shaddaa it is then" he smiled, as he finished his supper and downed the glass of blue milk in one go. What would Sinnat make of his companion? The Owner of the Romping Rugger rarely saw him with company, much less someone on his ship. He knew how much Adi cherished the Miaplacidus.

"I shall set our course shortly. In the meantime, is there anything you require?"

[member="Echo Kora"]

 

[Eli-Mae Forrest]

"No but thank you." Echo says as she finishes up and stands. She was hoping this would last forever just the two of them in space. She had taken a liking to this man

[member="Adiara Drelas"]

 

[Lief]

He pondered the situation as he scooped up both bowls and set them into the sterilizing unit. They were quickly joined by the mugs, while the pitcher of blue milk was returned to the sideboard.

The man rubbed his hands together and strode toward the cockpit. He would not stop her if she tried to follow, though if she tried to press anything control-wise he would. His hands worked the various buttons, as he keyed in the coordinates and route he wished to take. The girl might need a few days to wrap her head around the notion, so he chose a more scenic route as opposed to the most direct.

"Tell me something about yourself" he said, over his shoulder. The ship wasn't large, so regardless of where she had ended up Echo would be able to hear him.

With the ship en route for Nar Shadda, Adi settled down into the pilot seat and turned it away from the viewing port. His ship scanners would inform him if anything happened to be awry, for now he was focused on his guest.

[member="Echo Kora"]

 

[Eli-Mae Forrest]

"What do you wanna know?" Echo says striding into the cockpit and taking the co-pilot's seat beside Adi she sat back in the chair, it had been so long since she had been able to sit down on something that wasn't the street or a hard bench. She was in awe of the blinking controls and of the mans skill with them

[member="Adiara Drelas"]

 

[Lief]

He watched as she moved toward him and settled into the copilot seat at his side. Naturally he adjusted his own chair in order to see her properly. For a moment the man pondered her question. What did he want to know?

"What happened to your family?" he inquired.

Okay, so maybe that wasn't the best question to lead with... But it would provide him with a lot of insight into the girl's situation. Clearly life had not been all that kind on her, and he wanted to find the root of the problem. Perhaps he could in turn help with her confidence, and let her realize that the Galaxy wasn't all that bad if you gave it a chance.

[member="Echo Kora"]

 

[Eli-Mae Forrest]

"Well my mom died when I was young and then my dad turned into a cruel drunk and between him and the bullies at school I ran away and haven't looked back since."

[member="Adiara Drelas"]

 

[Lief]

Well, that was a lot to take in.

Adi propped his elbow up on the arm of his chair and leaned his chin against his fist. He sat in silence, mulling over her words, before a slow sigh escaped his lips.

"Look, sweetheart, at the end of the day Family are nothing more than people with similar genetics to you. Just because they brought you into the world, doesn't give them some sort of right over you or your future. Not when you reach a certain age, at least. My parents were good people, they did what they thought was best for me, but they still made bad mistakes. I haven't seen them since they shipped me off to some stuck up academy. Do I miss them? Sure I do. But do I need them? Not one single bit."

He sighed again, okay so that wasn't exactly how he'd wanted to say it.

"Life is what you make of it, not what others want you to do with it. At the end of the day, you're the one who lives with your choices. Not them. You chose to flee? I did the same, though I was older than you are now. But in doing so, you must take responsibility for your life. You cannot just cruise along without a care in the world, without any responsibility, or you'll suffer greatly. So take charge. Take control of your own destiny."

[member="Echo Kora"]

 

[Eli-Mae Forrest]

Echo took in his words slowly nodding

[member="Adiara Drelas"]

 

[Lief]

He tapped his other hand on the console infront of him before managing a slight smile. "How about we give you some responsibility around the ship? What are you good at, Echo?"

Slowly the man rose from his seat and gestured for her to follow. His gaze lingered around the cockpit for a moment, before he stepped out into the main walkway.

"Are you any good with mechanics? Food? Organizing?"

Adi had learned how to do pretty much everything himself over the years, he was a jack of all trades where his ship was concerned and his own needs. He fed himself, he did all the cleaning, organizing, fixing. Thems the breaks when you chose to be a solo-smuggler-pilot-thing.

The ship continued on its merry little way through space, itching ever closer to Nar Shaddaa. He was in no rush, let her feel more at home. Let her have some responsibility.

It would help them both in the end.

[member="Echo Kora"]

 

[Eli-Mae Forrest]

"Well I can cook." Echo says as the ship continues to head for nar shadaa. She didn't know how to do much besides dance cook and keep herself alive

[member="Adiara Drelas"]

 

[Lief]

Cooking, excellent. Adiara was a capable cook, but he wasn't exactly a chef. He knew enough to keep himself satisfied and alive, which ordinarily would be more than enough! But the thought of someone else being able to tend to it, freeing him up to see to other menial tasks, was pleasant indeed!

"Awesome!" he exclaimed, with a fatherly smile of near-pride, "Then when we're on Shaddaa I'll seek out one of the better markets and get in some fresh..ish stock for you experiment with. Obviously we can't have anything too fresh if we're going to be in space for long periods of time, it's simply not practical, but perhaps we can set aside a day every week or so to have something proper?"

He was waffling, more to make her feel useful than anything else. Though it was a pretty good idea. He stopped on the edge of the cargo hold, a blast door keeping out the cooler air. "For now, feel free to glance through the rations if you wish. You're free to do anything, really."

[member="Echo Kora"]

 

[Eli-Mae Forrest]

"OK well I can't really see anything so." She said to his glance through the rations. She gives him her signature single dimple full teeth smile

[member="Adiara Drelas"]

 

[Lief]

Oh my Kriffin' Hutt...

Did she really just play the blind card on him? He felt aghast for a moment, colour legitimately rising in his cheeks. "Well then" came his first stuttered response, he felt legitimately awkward and bad despite her smile, "What I meant to say was... You know what, forget it. You tell me what we need, I'll make sure we have it."

He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, before turning in an almost full circle and glancing through the ship. That burn was not going to go away any time soon.

"I'll uh... Make sure we're on course for Nar Shaddaa..."

With that he wandered back toward the cockpit, face pale white though his cheeks remained bright red.

[member="Echo Kora"]

 

[Eli-Mae Forrest]

Echo continued to smile and stood up adjusting her mask and followed Adiara putting her arm around his shoulders and standing behind him "Don't worry I am used to it." She says and then sits down beside him "are you blushing?"

[member="Adiara Drelas"]