First Reply You Would Cry Too If It Happened To You!

[Dia Secura]

It was a real shit-feast of a night for Dia Secura.

It had started off promising; one of her marks had been carrying a fancy new communicator in his pocket, and she had pawned that off for a hundred creds. That had been enough for her to buy a bottle of spotchka, a vial of glitterstim, and some actual, real food for the night. It was raining on Nar Shaddaa, and the food and drink would keep her belly full, while the glitterstim would keep her mind blissfully empty.

Of course, she had slipped on the wet pavement. Of course, she had fumbled the bottle of spotchka, shattering it against the ground. That had been disappointing, but tolerable. After all, she still had the food to keep her full.

Until a Kowakian monkey-lizard had literally-- literally-- yanked it out of her hands. She had chased the damn thing for a couple blocks in the rain before it finally got away, laughing and cackling at her misfortune.

Devastating, but at least the glitterstim would keep her mind off of her painfully empty stomach.

The vial of glitterstim that slipped through her rain-soaked fingers and into a storm drain. She had spent the last hour crawling around down there to look for it. Now she was back on the sidewalk, knees pulled up to her chest and her watering eyes downcast. At least the raindrops mingled with her tears, keeping them invisible.

Yeah. A real shit-feast.

 

[Cordelia 'Cori' Eldoris]

Cori walked through the rainy streets of Nar Shaddaa. The pleasant, soft rain almost made this planet bareable, but no amount of water could wash away the blood and the filth that ran through these streets. The only reason the Jedi knight was here at all was to retrieve a stolen holocron, taken from the order by an Aqualish bounty hunter. Unfortunately, she had had to maim him to stop him from leaving his hideout on the smuggler's moon, but at least she knew he wouldn't interfere with Jedi business ever again.

Cori felt awful about it though, and she felt worse seeing the people of Nar Shaddaa. Simply knowing that the galactic alliance was doing all they could to make things better didn't change the fact that there were still people suffering. The streets Cori walked through were filled with drug addicts, prostitutes, and starving people.

Placing the holocron in a satchel she had brought specifically for this purpose, Cori decided she would do something about this. She was here already, and she was a Jedi, therefore she had a duty to help these people. Determined, the Ersansyr approached a twi lek woman who appeared distraught, hugging her knees to her chest. Cori lowered herself to her level.

"Hello," She began, smiling with her mouth closed so as to hide her fangs, which she recognised were off putting for some people. "I'm a Jedi knight of the Galactic alliance. I'm here to help."

 

[Dia Secura]

Tagging: Cordelia 'Cori' Eldoris

So absorbed in her own melancholy, Dia was completely unaware of the approaching stranger until she was literally right in front of her. A momentary expression of surprise lifted the Twi'lek's false eyebrows high onto her forehead as she looked up at her self-proclaimed helper.

She was beautiful. Of course she was beautiful, with her long, lustrous hair that faded from orange to pink, her unblemished skin and her bright blue eyes. And a Jedi, no less. A member of the Galactic Alliance. A paragon of goddamn virtue.

In that moment, Dia decided, she hated her.

"Yeah?" the Twi'lek asked, sniffling as she rubbed at her nose with the back of her hand to clear away the trails of snot that dripped from her nostrils. "That's nice. Real nice of you. So glad you could make an appearance down here, Jedi. I'm so thankful. Maybe I'll start kissing your feet and praying at your altar, yeah?"

Her wide, dark eyes narrowed with unconcealed distaste. The woman before her came from a different world than Dia did, and she thought she could help?

"Tell you what," Dia murmured. She held out her palm and pointed to it. "A hundred creds. In my hand. Right now. That's how you can help me."

 

[Cordelia 'Cori' Eldoris]

"Yeah?" the Twi'lek asked, sniffling as she rubbed at her nose with the back of her hand to clear away the trails of snot that dripped from her nostrils. "That's nice. Real nice of you. So glad you could make an appearance down here, Jedi. I'm so thankful. Maybe I'll start kissing your feet and praying at your altar, yeah?"

Cori stumbled backwards for a moment, forgetting about her fangs as her mouth opened in shock. That was not the response she was expecting. She was offering this ungrateful woman help! Cori went to to reply in anger only to catch herself, pausing as she realised her mistake. Why was she surprised that this woman had reacted like that? What she had said held some truth. How vain Cori must seem, acting like a hero when the very system she served had dealt this woman a bad hand. Cori longed to tell her about all the good things the Jedi order was doing for the galaxy. They had led countless missions to bring food to those who hungered and healing to those who suffered, and yet, so many others slipped through the cracks, alone and broken. To those people, promises of help must have always seemed so meaningless and empty.

"Tell you what," Dia murmured. She held out her palm and pointed to it. "A hundred creds. In my hand. Right now. That's how you can help me."

Cori shook her head. She didn't have 100 credits on her, and even if she did, this woman might use it on drugs, and she wouldn't create an addict if she could help it. Instead, she decided to show the twi lek that she considered them equals, and that no Jedi was too high and mighty to get their hands dirty if it meant helping people. That was what she did, literally getting dirty as she sat down next to the woman on the filthy sidewalk. Cori loved this outfit, treasured it, even, with its imported Ersansyr silks made into a silhouette fashionable on Coruscant, so she felt a pang of sadness as she watched mud and silt stain the fabric.

Don't be selfish, she chided herself inwardly. You have plenty of other clothes. She turned back to the twi lek and resuming smiling.

"I don't have 100 credits on me, I'm afraid," she began again, this time more cautious, careful of the woman's pride. "But I do have enough money to buy you a meal, if you'd like. I could even get you off world, if you wanted. This place..." Cori paused as she looked up, "Drains the life out of even the most energetic and hard working individuals."

Dia Secura

 

[Dia Secura]

Tagging: Cordelia 'Cori' Eldoris

Admittedly, Dia was a little surprised to see the Jedi soiling her perfect outfit with the muck and grime of a Nar Shaddaan sidewalk. What the hell was she thinking? A ploy to get her sympathy, maybe. However, it had the opposite intended effect; that woman's outfit probably cost more money than she would ever see at one time. The fact that she would so willingly wreck it just to make a point...

Fancy rich girl thinks that getting her dress dirty makes us even.

She had no desire to leave Nar Shaddaa right now-- and even if she did, she was more than capable of finding her own way. Dia opened her mouth, ready to give the Jedi a piece of her mind, when her stomach rumbled loudly in protest.

Embarrassed, Dia clamped her mouth shut. She looked away for a moment, trying to ignore the pang of hunger. She failed.

"... Fine. Buy me dinner or something, if that'll make you feel better about yourself," Dia grumbled. Even in accepting charity, she had to be petulant.

 

[Cordelia 'Cori' Eldoris]

"... Fine. Buy me dinner or something, if that'll make you feel better about yourself," Dia grumbled. Even in accepting charity, she had to be petulant.

The twi lek woman still didn't seem very happy. Well, these things would take time, Coruscant wasn't built in a day, after all. At least she had accepted Cori's offer of help. Standing up, the Ersansyr Jedi offered her her hand.

"I would be delighted to offer you dinner," Cori said, "But not to feel better about myself. I am happy with who I am, and no longer need validation from others to form my identity. I know you may not trust me, but I truthfully do only want to help. That's what the rest of the Jedi order wants, too."

Cori stopped herself from continuing, realising that her words might come off as a lecture, or out of touch. Instead, she asked: "So, do you happen to know of any good restaurants around here?"

Dia Secura