Fun Facts

[Herrith Hendarsin]

Nar Shaddaa, Hangar 18
@The Captain

Herrith hit a coolant tank on her ship, caked in hard grime, in an attempt to clear the filters of the disgusting tar and get the Zia working in decent shape again. Some recent help from Daesha had proven really beneficial, especially since it was the Twi'lek who had fixed most of the problems on the ship, to be honest. Speaking of which, she thought Daesha was just in the other hangar. Which meant one thing: best teach her the ropes if she was going to be swinging in the chandeliers with her good friend Allard. After all, that kind of talk was perfectly normal from where she came from, and no influences told her it wasn't okay otherwise. Maybe it was the brain damage, but, no sense not getting a kick out of this, anyways.

So, a few hangars down, the Zeltron entered Daesha's realm, approaching as she cleared her throat.
"Hey, Daesha, you've been quite the snake charmer lately. If you're interested, I can, you know, explain some things, being a Zeltron that was a cafarel for a time, and all."

Whether or not the Twi'lek agreed, she already had her first comment in mind, a smile struggling to stay hidden while she waited for a response.

 

[Daesha Keever]

Daesha was still quite deeply buried in her own thoughts after what just happened between her and Allard. With Jaina already taken care of and Herrith nowhere to be seen, the Rutian was left to her own thoughts on the matter of that moment of passion with the Alderaanian. On the one hand, she had wanted that for so long it was almost painful, and finding out that Allard felt the same way was a great relief. But, once the emotional high she was riding on wore off, Daesha was left to consider all the little nuances and complications their relationship could entail. Not to mention the last thing Allard said to her on the issue almost sounded like a marriage proposal, something she was entirely not ready for, as much as she like the man. She had been standing by a fuel pump, topping off her ship when Herrith strode over in all her fark-ery, a kark-eating grin spread from ear to ear. She instantly began a very one-sided discussion of being a Zeltron cafarel, apparently intent on giving Daesha bedroom advice for Allard and her to use.

Now, under any normal circumstances Daesha would have popped Herrith one in the mouth for that comment and left it at that. But they both knew that whatever barriers or professional boundaries there were between Daesha and Allard were gone now, so there was little reason to be offended. That, and Daesha was eager to get Allard back for his little lekku trick that got her going like an over-eager high school student, the clever echutta. So, making sure no one was looking, Daesha dragged Herrith into the cargo bay of her ship and delivered a simple reply.

"Don't tell anyone you told me this, or you're suddenly gonna develop a size 11, steel-toed birthmark on your ass."

 

[Herrith Hendarsin]

Daesha had surprisingly agreed to listen in on her antics, especially since only a few hours earlier she'd threatened to kill the Zeltron, and before that had cursed her out, almost hit her with a baton, and more. So, once they were situated in the cargo bay and away from anyone, Herrith listened while the Twi'lek gave her terms of service. Not to tell anybody. Of course, she wouldn't tell anybody. Not yet, until this all blew over. Especially since Daesha had threatened a boot up her ass, a feeling that she would rather pass on lest old memories resurface of certain dealing within slavery and beyond. There was a time when she couldn't smuggle for brix, after all.

"Well, how about let's start this nice and simple, partially so I don't risk you throttling me like a Weequay on a Falleen. Here's the first one. If you're gonna kriff someone, lock the door. And, honestly, avoid the bathroom. It's unsanitary, cliché, and just plain uncomfortable. I don't know how you two even fit in there in the first place, much less...yeah, that. Don't baton me, please."

She readjusted her jacket, eyeing the cargo bay door in case there was a reason to make a run for it, in light of fairly recent events involving death threats and the like.

 

[Daesha Keever]

"Wow, really? I NEVER would have guess that!" Daesha wasn't here to be toyed with and teased, she was here to get Allard screaming her name. "C'mon Herrith, get to the good stuff."

The Zeltron seemed jumpier than usual, not that it stopped her from being a snarky smart-mouth, but still. She seemed nervous, like she was expecting to be shot at any second now. Daesha knew that the Zeltron wasn't a traitor waiting for the rest of the gang to show up, and even if she was high she didn't seem like the paranoid-ride type. She was probably still jumpy from Daesha's admittedly overzealous responses to her statements earlier, something she couldn't blame her for all things considered.

"I promise I'm not gonna swat you or kick you or anything, alright?"

 

[Herrith Hendarsin]

Herrith nodded at Daesha's promise to not attack her for saying anything stupid. Alright, well, if she broke that promise...
"Just saying, if you break that promise, there'll be certain consequences, that I might like and you may hate. Just saying."

She thought for a moment, trying to think of a way for the Twi'lek to get punished while also criticizing her moves in a very ironic and snarky way. There was quite a bit of humor in her tone as she smiled, almost started talking, then completed what she was going to say with a slight chuckle.
"Well, uh, let's start with your, uh, fairly aggressive approach. It was almost an insult to injury, you both are handicapped, you from your concussion deal, and him from the blaster to the back, but it seems you just slammed him down. I guess I can say you're a dominant person, as proven by your tendency to lead everyone else when we are getting shot at, so yeah. But the moment he touches your lekku you become the most helpless kitten. That's fine, I guess, I wouldn't know what that's like cause I lack head noodles. No offense. I guess, we can start off with your, I don't know, first base. That's pretty important in the long run. I would show you, but that's, uh, kinda weird."

 

[Daesha Keever]

"Oh please just get on with it." Herrith was less fun when she took things seriously, something Daesha made a mental note of for later. She then began with a critique of her and Allard's activities in the bathroom, her limited perspective making it seem like Daesha had just thrown him to the ground one second, then balled up in his lap to be pet in the other. Granted that wasn't entirely inaccurate, lekku had a very strong effect on her, but the story didn't go quite the way Herrith described it.

"H-Hey, we only ended up like that because the ship rolled, I swear! I'm not some kind of lunatic who can't keep it in her pants." Herrith was making this very, painfully awkward, although Daessha took some comfort in the fact that both of them were feeling it this time around. "Yeah, no showing or touching please, let's just keep this hypothetical."

 

[Herrith Hendarsin]

Herrith chuckled to herself as Daesha told her to get on with it. In what galaxy would a Twi'lek like Daesha be asking her, a mentally scarred and insane Zeltron, for tips about how to kriff an Alderaanian. This galaxy, then, was that insane dimension. The other woman then reasoned that the only reason the couple were on the ground with half their clothes about to be magically disappeared. Even if it was true, Herrith didn't buy it. She then agreed that touching and otherwise was off limits. Perfectly reasonable, especially since the Zeltron was, well, missing a half screw here and there.

"You ended up perfectly on top of each other with your shirt half in the air and just from a kiss worthy of a teen romance novel. I'll buy it. And if I'm being honest, we're all lunatics in our own little or not so little ways. It's probably best to keep hands to ourselves, too, as stated, cause you know better with me by now, I'd hope."

Herrith put on a smile before continuing, her accent shining through.
"So, let's start with one of the first in the cafarel book of rules, the unwritten book that is. Please don't squeal like a Bantha with a slugthrower up its arse. It's a bloody turn off, from my experience. Like, back in primary school, take outside voices, but not outright screaming like a kid on glitterstim. I guess a bit deeper, try to avoid, you know, daring fears, if you get me. You're a small-framed Twi'lek, and the more the big guy is going down the worse it'll be for you. Have you, by chance, kriffed something before?"

A perfectly honest question, with a tinge of humor to keep things hilarious. No sense making this serious, after all. In her experience, a lighthearted approach is the best. Plus it was Daesha, so that was enough incentive to avoid harm.

 

[Daesha Keever]

Herrith was making it very hard not to hit her, but Daesha desire to get back at Allard and a recognition that she had been overreacting earlier with the Zeltron overrode her sense of embarrassment. Still, this situation was worthy of parody, of some insane alternate dimension where Daesha would take intimate advice from a lunatic. What a charming life she led indeed.

"O-Okay, maybe the ship didn't do all of that, b-but I swear neither of us intended to end up like that!" The rest of Herrith's advice was no less invasive and annoying, she first made the point of not squealing like a puffer pig in an intimate situation. She knew that! This wasn't her first time, and most assuredly wasn't going to be her last, but Herrith still seemed to be under the impression that she was some rank novice. Her next question just confirmed that suspicion.

"Oh course I have! So I know not to sound like a tooka stuck in a wood chipper, Herrith!"

 

[Herrith Hendarsin]

Herrith could feel the embarrassment radiating off of Daesha, a tone that was both soothing to her empathic abilities and at the same time slightly distressing to her personality. However, her mischevious soul shone through, which allowed her to continue. Despite the fact she was attempting a perfectly serious conversation, it was difficult because of the next few lines the Twi'lek spouted out about how she had done the deed before. Okay, so she knew some of the ropes. That's good. Shifting in her sitting position before nodding as though like a professional scientist or something, Herrith replied.

"A tooka stuck in a wood chipper. I've never heard that one before, in all seriousness. Thanks for that. Alright, Allard's human, so I'll just say this bluntly: when you're doing the stuff, lick his ear. Old friend of mine did the same thing, had him under her finger in a half of a second. Yeah. Sounds about right. I don't got a whole lot of stuff to critique, especially since you only got halfway to getting your shirt up. You got questions?"

 

[Daesha Keever]

Herrith was being nicer, more professional, which did help this situation a little but, but her next piece of advice totally threw Daesha off guard. Licking his ear. Licking, his ear. Taking her tongue up and down Allard Keever's ear. Really? What the hell was Herrith on about? That sounded utterly ridiculous! It was at this point that Daesha began to suspect that Herrith was just fooling around with her, trying to prank Daesha into doing something stupid with Allard in bed for her own amusement.

"You tell me right now if you're pulling a joke on me Herrith. I don't want to look like a dumbass in front of Allard, alright? Please." She was begging Herrith for help and self-control. What was this galaxy coming too?

 

[Herrith Hendarsin]

Herrith knew that the woman didn't think that her little trick worked, and more importantly, saw it as totally insane. Well, if you tend to be in the moment, a little surprise like so tended to be quite mood lightening, if anything. Of course, people seemed to not understand all the little nuances it took to know how to do this stuff, so understandably the Zeltron was more than a little exasperated with the dumbfounded Daesha. Shifting in her seat as she put on a smile in an attempt to reduce the amount of flak coming her way, the pink-skinned bootstrap replied.

"Listen, you're not making it very kriffin' easy on me, especially when I hardly know anything more than you're a Twi'lek with blue skin that smuggles and is a leader, while he's an Alderaanian with a knack for wit. I ain't trying to screw around, cause if I was you'd probably have noticed by now. So it'd be better off with you asking and me answering, than me trying to read your bloody mind."

Taking a breath, she blinked.
"Sorry. I guess my memory is getting to me. It's not easy sharing the tools of the trade when you were a tool yourself, much less without some kind of guidance. I'm a piss-poor leader, I guess."

 

[Daesha Keever]

Damnit all, Herrith was playing the guilt card on her wasn't she? She went on about how this wasn't easy for her either, or how the arrangement of their little session wasn't helping her. Daesha had to grant her that, as it seemed now that they both starting to dislike this current predicament. She wanted to chime in, but then Herrith began to beat herself up over, for some inexplicable reason, her leadership skills and her former status as a slave. She was really going for the trump-card wasn't she? And it worked, forcing Daesha to get up, sitting down next to Herrith and putting an arm over her shoulder.

"Alright, alright I think we've both had enough of this kark. And don't worry, this has nothing to do with your leadership skills, and if anything you've proven you're nobodies tool now."

 

[Herrith Hendarsin]

Herrith winced as the Twi'lek put an arm around her shoulder, an act of compassion she hadn't really experienced since...well, a very long time. The whole time she had been in the Rim, she had realized that nobody had ever really become close to her, even the friends she considered to be...friends. Either it was her tendency to keep a thick hide, or her biting quips, which many took as good fun, she realized that maybe a lot of what she said in the past wasn't the most warranted. She lifted a hand to take Daesha's arm off of her shoulder, then nodded. She'd been alone for so long, learned to keep her innards bottled up like a pressurized can of nitroglycerin, waiting to set off. This little discussion had turned into less of a good-natured joke and more of a depressing brood. It made her sick. Maybe, for once, she needed to share her weight with someone. It was only so long that one could hold their breath before they had to surface. Maybe it was time for that.

"Kriffin' turned into a brooding descent into dark stuff. I can't even get a bloody joke right-uh, honest discussion right. Here, I'll be straight with you, I got secrets, but it's kind of like a...this is bloody hard to explain. I don't know, a checkpoint? Only a few things get out, and those need permission to get out. I don't know..I guess I need inspiration for my ammunition. You're fairly serious, unless you're with-cough-Allard, then you descend into a...a Lothcat on glitterstim. Then there's me, my job is to be extremely lighthearted, even when I'm blown up, twice, and then avoid getting slapped. Like now. Just so you know, all the brix I say is in good spirit, so just don't worry about a thing if we ever meet an old friend of mine and I begin spouting off about their small joystick. Not that I would know what that looked like."

She put a smile on her face, fully expecting some kind of assault from the Twi'lek. Now that her depression phase was over, hopefully this awkward talk could end with at least a few jokes, and the sentimental stuff, which she hated, could blow past. All the mushy-mushy cheeseball romantic comedy bantha fodder could be missed, thank you very much.

"Also, I didn't intend to bring out the guilt card. Kinda makes it unfair, cause, you know, pheromones in an enclosed space."

 

[Daesha Keever]

Sometimes Daesha forgot how really wounded Herrith was inside, how many cracks were spreading and linking below the surface. Herrith was a functional...whatever she was, most of the time so Daesha didn't notice. But if you got her alone and took a closer look you could see all the left over damage from a life spent getting fed back and forth through the wringer, both mentally and physically. She needed to learn not to freak out whenever Herrith opened her mouth, or at least to try and not lose her temper on the Zeltron so much. Even through her smile at the end of her speech, Herrith could see the flecks of pain and worry hidden behind her expression, and that was more than a little gut wrenching. So, with a smile on her own face, Herrith decided to re-inject some humor back into this moment.

"So, was that you turning down their joysticks, or was that the joysticks turning down you?" She had an oh-so Herrith-like smirk on her face, hoping that her replication of the Zeltron's humor would snap her out of her funk and tell her that she was no longer at risk of being slugged. It was at that point that Herrith mentioned her pheromones, and Daesha finally began to catch a whiff, slamming her hand around her nose in response to the pungent odor.

"Yeah, okay, understood, can we crack a cargo door or something?"

 

[Herrith Hendarsin]

Herrith could see the slight disappointment in Daesha's eyes, and realized for once that it wasn't at the Zeltron, but rather at herself. Was it disappointment? Contempt? Or maybe something else? Some people in the galaxy were hard to read. Daesha was, well, above moderate on a scale from average to herself and fellow complicated humanoids. Some stuff was easy to see, others, well, not so much. The Twi'lek put on a devious smile, and cracked a joke worthy of praise even from Herrith. She let out a short laugh at the quick comment, a surprising sentence coming from the normally professional Daesh'afenn.

"Ah, a bit of both. You've completely forgotten the offered credits part of the deal."

Then the Rutian proceeded to stand up, realizing her mistake of sealing them within a tin can, especially so in an airtight tin can. That ran the risk of many...well, un-okay things that could play out.
"Already a bit late, you've been breathing Zeltron air since this thing sealed. I guess we'd better be glad you don't have a pronounced sense of smell. That's happened to species before, it overloads their senses and they...yeah, let's not talk about that."

Standing up, she clicked the door controls and the ramp slowly lowered, cycling in much-needed fresh air. Sometimes pheromones were just so kriffing annoying. If she could ever get the glands removed, maybe she would. But at the same note, it wasn't as easy anymore to woo a guy or girl here and there when she needed to. Desperate times in a desperate galaxy called for desperate measures, after all. Plus, she had to admit, it was fun.

 

[Daesha Keever]

"Trust me, I'm glad for that too. I like you Herrith, but I do not like you that much." With the life support fully cycling and the doors open, the choked, pheromone-rich air of the cargo hold soon cleared out, allowing Daesha to breath fully again. Daesha had a good idea of what Zeltron pheromones could do to someone, she knew a few pinkies from back in the day that could have someone quivering and begging for them in seconds. And Daesha did not want to give Herrith that kind of comedy material.

 

[Herrith Hendarsin]

Herrith smirked as Daesha made a comment about their relationship. Yeah, yeah, friends were friends. But, like, close friends and stuff. Despite wanting to continue her talk about pheromones, the Zeltron felt it best to not expose the beliefs of her species and of herself to her friend, especially since the woman was supposedly in a relationship. With a human, the easiest to woo and the moderately interesting in private. However average they were, there were plenty other species out there who were fairly plain.

"Yeah, you say that now. Be glad I prefer not to actively use my pheromones for my advantage, and keep the Zeltron ways out of most of our conversations. Cause any way that ends is definitely not a good one. Plus, I'm sure I'd be cracking jokes about it once you snapped out of your stupor. Back in days of old, many may have considered me quite the challenge to obtain. I got to pick and choose from all the lots, and I was smart enough not to. I'd like to think I still am, but my moral high ground is a bit lower set, especially because of the stuff I've had to do to get credits and buy food. I'd share my stories, but it's probably better to keep this a bit more school-recess style appropriate."

She crossed her legs, pulling out her necklace from beneath the turtlenecked jumpsuit that she almost never was seen without, unless attending a formal occasion, legally or for less law-abiding reasons. A short smile appeared on her face.
"You ever seen this? I pull it out here and there, but a lot of people wouldn't guess I had it, or even kept mementos. seeing as how much of a broke-ass bum I've been lately. Honestly, if I said this was real silver, I could make some credits off of it."

 

[Daesha Keever]

"Yeah, you seem like quite the catch." Her first joke had landed, so why not keep going? Herrith seemed to be lightening up at least, to some degree, which was always good. Daesha didn't know if it was pheromones, Zeltron empathy, or just her own sympathy for the little devil she'd kicked in with, but whenever Herrith was upset it tended to spread through the room. "And I wouldn't worry about high grounds and low grounds, everything is relative in this farked-up galaxy."

As Herrith sat back down Daesha took a seat across from her, sitting backwards on her chair and leaning over the back of the chair. The necklace she pulled from her jumpsuit was something that Daesha had never seen before, but even before Herrith said anything the Twi'lek knew it was probably a sentimental piece.

"What's it from?"

 

[Herrith Hendarsin]

Herrith chuckled to herself on Daesha's further venture on fairly unprofessional humor. She then went on to morals, and how everyone pretty much screwed them over. Yeah, that much was true. Seemed about accurate, considering their most recent friends. 'Friends'. That term was, well, relative, like morals. She considered anyone who would work with her a friend. You had to be lenient on friendships sometimes. But some were okay. Much like Daesha, who sat down, curious about the necklace.

"Yeah, well, I ain't the girl I was a few years ago. Anyways, this..this is what Zeltros got me before I was kicked out. A necklace. Not even silver, just cheap metal. It's got the planet inscribed on it. Interesting, I guess. But it's more to remind me of what I lost than anything."

 

[Daesha Keever]

"Heh, at least you got something when you left home. When I ran away the only thing I got was a bad case of tetanus, almost did me in." As much as Daesha had hated her old life in Little Ryloth, its lowest moments had nothing on the worst events of her childhood in the gutter. And the worst part was the only thing she'd gotten out of either was scars and burns. No mementos, no cherished memories, nothing to really look back on with fondness until she finally got the controls of a ship in her grasp. Hell, she didn't even have the Fenn-clan Kalikori to look forward to, as that was probably still on Nar Shadda, either in her parent's home or in a pawn shop display window.