Ask If The Shoe Fits

[Maura Starwalk]

Maura was all dressed up to go out, her red J's included.

She'd spent the last several months saving up her allowance to afford a new pair of sneakers, and she was more than just excited to go browse and pick out a pair. She was elated! The girl hadn't bought a new pair of shoes since she was maybe ten, and even though she'd taken really good care of her J's, it was clear how old they were. They were too big when she'd first gotten them, and now they were definitely too small. It made her conscience of the passage of time, which meant it was definitely time for a change.

The padawan waited at one of Ithor's hangers for the transport ship that was taking her and several other Jedi out to Ithor's capital. She had her skimboard tucked under one of her arms, and her datapad held in her other hand. Tap tap tap. She was trying to capture a Swokémon that had appeared nearby, but her heart wasn't totally in it. She already had one, she just wanted extra candies for it.

tag: @Zay

 

[Leon Baudelaire]

Leon banked lazily on his skimboard dropping into the hangar and popping the back up as he stepped off catching it in hand and tucking it under his arm as he approached the gathering crowd looking to take a trip to the capital. He was dressed casually with his mission pack slung over his shoulder.

Since Ezra had moved in, Leon rarely had time to himself. Not something he’d ever thought he’d miss, but a trip alone into the city could be cool. He missed the hustle and bustle of Adumar’s undercity. He missed the hum of life around him. He’d also heard there was a dope skimboard park downtown. He spotted someone else with a board and perked up.

The girl looked familiar and when he saw her shoes he realized he knew her, “Maura? Yo, I didn’t know you skimmed!” He realized she might not remember him. Next to Ezra Thorne, he was pretty forgettable. “Uh, I’m Leon,” he said with a smile.

@lizziie

 

[Maura Starwalk]

Maura noticed movement out of the corner of her eye, so as Leon approached, her ear twitched and she turned to look his way a moment before he began to speak.

"Oh, hey! Yeah!" she chirped in response, a grin widening her smile as she held turned to face him completely. "I've been skimming since I was ten!" It wasn't a big surprise he didn't know that about her. They'd seldom interacted and had only really crossed ways a few days ago.

He introduced himself, and she replied with her own name, forgetting he'd addressed her by name on his way over. "Maura!" She jerked her chin toward the ship that was finally entering the hangar and asked, "Where you going?"

If they were going to the same place, she was totally going to stick with him since he was a fellow skimboarder.

"I'm headed out to find a new pair of kicks."

tag: @Zay

 

[Leon Baudelaire]

Leon gasped when she mentioned she'd been skimming since she was ten, "Word? That's dope! I just got into a few months ago." Maybe if he was lucky she'd come to the skim park and show him a few tricks.

Leon chuckled when she introduced herself again, "Nice to officially meet you, Maura."

She pointed to the transport as it taxied into the hangar. "I heard about a skim park in the capital I was hoping to check it out, what about you?"

Leon looked down as she mentioned her shoes and his eyes lit up, "Yo, those are dope! Alright, I wanted to ask this the day Ezra moved in, but you've gotta tell me what those are. I think I need a pair in my life."

He hesitated a moment before asking, "Mind if I tag along?" He instinctively followed the crowd as it began to press in on the transport's loading ramp. A few minutes later they were seated and the ship was taking off.

"So, how long have you been with the order?"

@lizziie

 

[Maura Starwalk]

Oh cool, he was going out to skim! She hadn't planned on visiting any of the parks herself, but if he was going to head there, she figured she might as well swing around that way as well.

"Thanks!" Maura laughed, lifting her foot and turning it to the side so Leon could see the shoe a bit better. "They're Space Jordan's! I've had these since I was like ten though so they're kinda scuffed."

The ship finally landed out in front of them, and the two of them began to shuffle toward the open doors with the rest of the crowd. Leon posed his question, and Maura's eyes and ears perked up. "Yeah, you should totally come! I can try to find you something fun!" She wouldn't mind someone to hang out with, especially since she'd already made up her mind that she was going to stick with him.

They settled down onto the ship, Maura taking the seat next to his, when he posed a second question. "Since I was five or six," she answered. "I don't remember too much before I became a Jedi, but I remember some things."

"Yeah, I remember before you became a Jedi." Another padawan - or maybe a young knight - nearby snickered after overhearing her loud chatter. Maura just grinned, and turned the question back on Leon, seeming unbothered by the mean-spirited comment. "What about you?"

"Oh, and is Ithor always been your home temple? Or did you move here after Yavin?"

tag: @Zay

 

[Leon Baudelaire]

Awe adorned his, “Whoaaaaa,” as he examined Maura’s scuffed-up J's. “Space Jordan’s got it.”

Leon didn’t waste time he pulled out his datapad, then the note app, and wrote down the name of the sneakers.

“Are you sure?” he was a little surprised as she welcomed him along, he’d half expected him to buzz off, but instead, she’d seemed stoked. Cool. “That would be awesome! I trust your taste,” he said flashing her a smile.

He figured he’d been a member for a while. Maura truly looked at home among the other Jedi, even as she spoke some padawan or knight teased her. She was obviously a little celebrity within the order. Ezra might actually have some competition for most popular.

“Wow, you’ve gotta be pretty solid with the force by now, huh?” he guessed.

“I’ve only been around for like six months. Originally, I was on Brighthome, but I got relocated after everything went down on Yavin,” he said realizing he’d accomplished a lot in six months. He still had nightmares about half of it, but that was normal right?

“I never got to see Yavin,” he hesitated unsure if he should ask, “What about you, were you on Yavin?”

Knowing other padawans were listening he lowered his voice when he asked. He was sure it was still a sensitive subject for some.

@lizziie

 

[Maura Starwalk]

He trusted her taste? "Best decision you've ever made," she joked with a playful wink, grinning ear to ear. Truth was, the girl was far from fashion-forward, but she knew shoes. She knew what was popular, what had been popular but was falling out of style, and what the upcoming styles were probably going to be. She was a total and complete sneakerhead, hindered only by the lack of funds in her account.

At his comment about her being pretty solid with the force, she just let out an awkward laugh and stayed quiet while he talked about himself. She'd been training with the Grandmaster since she was ten years old, so about six years now. So for the most part, she had a pretty solid understanding of things. But the girl still struggled with certain aspects of the Force, especially anything that required prolonged, spontaneous concentration. In a stressful situation, she could pull through, but she could be - she should be - a lot better than she was.

And she didn't even want to talk about psychometry. Though she got guidance, she was largely on her own to figure things out, since there wasn't anyone who could teach her.

She snapped out of her thoughts when he asked her about Yavin. "Uh, yeah. Mostly." There was a twinge of sadness in her voice as she recalled the now-taken planet. "I was brought there as a child. It's- it was my home." But now that the Sith had taken it, she couldn't really call it that, could she? Though the event had affected her deeply, it had been overshadowed by her experiences on that cursed space station for so long. She still had nightmares about that, but when she thought too much about Yavin, it hurt her heart.

"But I spend a lot of time traveling, so I don't really have a home temple anymore," she continued, hoping to turn the conversation away from Yavin. "I probably have the most dorm rooms of any padawan though," she joked, her lips turning away from their frown. "Brighthome is where most of my stuff is though."

Leon had been mindful of the other padawans, but he would sense a certain dampening of the mood as Maura talked about Yavin. She wasn't the only one who'd been kicked out of her home; a lot of them came here to Ithor.

"So, do you have a master?" Time to change the subject. She was always curious about it, since a lot of padawans didn't have masters. "Also, you got a favorite color?"

tag: @Zay

 

[Leon Baudelaire]

As soon as the question came out of his mouth he knew he fucked up. The fun thing about force connectivity was the ability to feel and discern emotions at least until it you’re the cause of a group of negative ones. His smile inverted into an awkward frown. By the stars was he always this stupid?

“Sorry, I’m an idiot. I shouldn’t have—” he groped for the words, “—Thanks for sharing that. It must have been really hard,” He really hoped he sounded genuine and not like some douchebag… The Padawan’s around them seemed about 50/50 on it, but to her credit, Maura didn’t seem phased. There’d been a moment of surprise no doubt, but not enough for anyone other than Leon to notice. He was relieved when she changed the subject.

Leon sighed, “Nah, not yet, but I’m hoping too soon. Can’t let Ezra get too far ahead of me, I’ll never hear the end of it.” His apprenticeship was a sore spot. He’d been brought to the Jedi by Kasia Vanloa, who he’d thought would train him, but she was elevated to the council upon their arrival and he’d been assigned a dorm. “You’re training under the Grandmaster, yeah? That’s really cool, is it like a lot of pressure?”

He laughed when Maura asked him about his favorite color, he hadn’t thought about that in forever. He crossed his arms and cupped his chin in his palm thinking. During his time as a duelist on Adumar he’d preferred starting in the red corner, but the color wasn’t the reason… Then he remembered the color of the giant storm on Ellora, the swirling miasmic shades of grey that never faded, but always changed, but there was no way he’d be able to explain that his favorite color was like fifty shades of grey. So, he just said, “Uh, green?”

The shuttle was in full flight, the seat belt sign was off and various passengers were roaming the cabin. “You said you do a lot of traveling, where is your favorite place to go?”

@lizziie

 

[Maura Starwalk]

"No, no, it's fine!" Maura assured him, her eyes wandering elsewhere. He was just curious. He meant no harm. Plus, she dealt with painful memories all the time. It wasn't like it bothered her or anything. "I hope you get a master soon, too!" she quickly added, jumping to the change of subject. "You should try just asking someone. That's how I got my master."

As for pressure... "Yeah, a little," she admitted. "People expect a lot from me, so sometimes I feel like I'm not living up to their expectations. But I try to ignore it 'cause like, I don't care what randos think about me."

The seat belt lights flickered off, and people began to get up and roam around. Maura had never even buckled herself in, but she did twist so she was facing Leon rather than just sitting facing straight ahead.

"Uhh, I'm not sure. I do just like traveling in general though," Maura answered after a drawn-out hum of indecision. "Cities and big metropolian areas are always pretty cool since there's a ton of stuff to do." Like Zeltros, or that crystal planet she forgot the name of.

"Where are you from? Originally?" she asked, leaning forward to place her elbows on her knees as she turned her attention fully back to him. Her head tilted to the side ever so slightly.

"We will be landing in five minutes," said the ship's intercomms.

tag: @Zay

 

[Leon Baudelaire]

“Wait you can just ask someone to be your master?” he felt dumb, he’d never even considered that a possibility, he’d always just assumed the council decided those kinds of things. He started to wonder who he’d ask. Zathria had Ezra, Andors had been on a mission for months, Hera was training Dash. Ugh, he pushed it from his mind and focused back on Maura.

“I can’t imagine what that’s like, but I think you’ve got the right attitude,” he glanced around. The other padawans around them were laughing and joking but every now and then he’d see on glance in her direction. Whether she realized it or not, Maura was a leader.

“I’m the complete opposite,” he laughed, “I don’t mind hitting up cities and stuff from time to time, but I wanna be out in the wilds,” he remembers his and Ezra’s adventure on Ellora. That had been amazing.

“Hey wait, what’s your favorite color?” he asked. She’d asked his, but he wasn’t sure why.

“I’m from Adumar,” his smile wouldn’t reach his eyes, but aside from that, there’d be no evidence of the pain he felt when he thought about home. “I hope to get back one day, but while it's under Sith control, it’s uh, kinda tough, ya know?" he said awkwardly. "What about you?”

He could feel the ship beginning its descent. The seat belt sign came back on and the roaming masses filed back into their seats for the landing. The ship came in nice and easy. Everyone rose and began the arduous process of filling out the craft.

Leon’s stomach growled, “Oof, you know of any good food spots on our way? My treat for using your style expertise!”

@lizziie

 

[Maura Starwalk]

"All of them!" Maura responded with a grin. "Buuut if someone put a blaster to my head and asked me to pick a specific one, probably red. Like, crimson-red." She gestured down to her J's, which were a similar shade.

She listened when he answered, but she had no way to relate to what he said, other than Yavin, perhaps. "Uhh, I don't remember," was her answer. "I think it's probably in my files somewhere. I was brought here by Master Lorrek when I was six or so, so it's difficult to remember." As far as she was concerned, Yavin was her home.

When the ship finally landed, Maura stood up, her ear twitching when she heard the quiet rumble of Leon's stomach.

"Oh, yeah! There's a really good pizza place nearby! You like pizza, right?" One hand grabbed her skimboard and tucked it under her arm, and the other grabbed hold of Leon's wrist and began dragging him along with her threw the crowd. Though there were people everywhere on and off the spacecraft, they would somehow slip through with ease thanks to Maura's mastery of bobbing and weaving through the bodies.

She was very excited at the idea of free food. She would never decline free food.

"Voilà! Gio's Slice." Maura stopped before what could only be described as a hole-in-the-wall. The door was unassuming, with the only signage being a small piece of cardboard stuck onto the frame. Still, there was the unmistakable smell of fresh baked dough and tomato in the air.

"Fair warning, he's always kinda grumpy but the pizza is really good," she explained before pushing the door open and walking inside.

"Damnit! Can't even catch five minutes to smoke!" The bell that dinged when the door swung open elected an explicit reaction from someone out back. Gio, supposedly.

tag: @Zay

 

[Leon Baudelaire]

Leon chuckled as Maura claimed to love every color there was, but she eventually fess up to like Crimson the most. He’d file that away, maybe next year he wouldn’t miss her birthday and that info would come in handy.

It made sense that she didn’t understand. He’d spent nearly his whole life on Adumar, whereas she’d spent most of her life in the Jedi. He envied her for that, but he wasn’t immature enough to think she’d had it easy. Yavin was a glaring example there.

“Oh tight, I love pizza!” he managed to get out before Maura grabbed his hand and started dragging him down the street. Leon felt his face blush and thanked the force she was so focused on her mission to obtain Pizza that she didn’t notice.

Leon listened adamantly as Maura laid out the situation. “Copy, I’ll try not to be dumb,” he said with more conviction than he’d have liked.

Gio cursed them for entering which was a great sign, Leon’s favorite bodega back home had a similar reputation and he found the crass annoyance to be refreshing. The dining space was sparsely occupied. It was off hours, so that wasn’t much of a surprise. The Pizza lived up to Maura’s hype. The smell wafted over and nearly carried him through the air like a cartoon. His mouth started to water immediately, and a small tear gleaned in his eye.

I’ve been delivered to heaven by an angel in crimson J’s, he thought.

His revelry was broken by the harsh crack of Gio’s voice. “C’mon kid, geeze, I ain’t got all day, you wanna eat or nawt?”

“I wanna eat!” he exclaimed, “Please, sir, whatever you recommend!”

Gio cocked an eyebrow at Leon then looked over to Maura, “You blink twice if this weirdo is freaking you out,” then back to Leon, “Alright ya little weirdo I got something, I think you’ll like.”

Gio jotted something down onto a piece of paper and then looked to Maura, “What about you toots?”

@lizziie

 

[Maura Starwalk]

Maura grinned. She'd only been on Ithor for a few weeks at this point, but she'd come in often enough that Gio recognized her. Her still-partially rainbow hair didn't make it any harder for the grumpy guy.

"Medium supreme, please, with extra red pepper flakes!" He'd started writing before she'd even opened her mouth. She got the same thing every time.

"Aight, it'll be out. Don't come callin." With a grunt Gio turned and stomped back off to the kitchen, muttering something about "kids and their damn appetites" under his breath.

Maura turned to face Leon, her elbows promptly placing themselves on the rickety old table. "I think he likes ya," she stated, seeming pretty sure of herself. "But I have no idea what he's gonna make you, so I hope you're not picky."

After ten minutes or so, their pizzas came out. Maura got her supreme, topped with almost every topping the shop had, and Leon got...

"Bacon pickle. Supreme. Enjoy."

tag: @Zay

 

[Leon Baudelaire]

Leon was stoked as Gio took Maura’s order and then stormed off toward the kitchen. “I hope so, he seems really cool,” he laughed, “I have full faith in that man. Whatever he brings will be delicious.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Leon thought he saw Gio look back over, maybe slightly touched by the words of a kind stranger, but he seriously doubted it.

A few minutes later, Gio was back and dropping off two of the dankest pies Leon had ever laid his eyes on. Gio slid the bacon pickle pie toward Leon, and the padawan smiled, “This looks amazing, thanks!” He snatched up a piece and folded it in half before taking a bite.

He closed his eyes and went on a flavor journey as the salty savory bacon intermingled with the sour sweet pickles. The balance was perfect. But the pizza was hot as shit and he burned the crap out of his mouth. “Hah-it’s-hoo-so good-heh!”

Gio nodded the way a proud father would and gave Maura a pat on the shoulder. As he walked away he grumbled something about weirdo kids.

“Oh, you gotta try this, wanna trade a slice for a slice?”

In between bites Leon asked, “So, what's the weirdest thing you’ve seen the force do?”

@lizziie

 

[Maura Starwalk]

Maura couldn't help but burst into a fit of giggles when Leon burnt his mouth. Her amusement came not from his pain, but from the fact that the pizza's cheese was practically still popping and rolling with heat when Gio had brought it out. She couldn't blame him, though. She'd literally done the same thing the first time she'd come here, and it was a fight every time not to stuff her face and burn the roof of her mouth.

"Sure!" she managed as her laughter died down, and she tore a slice from her pie and traded supreme for pickle bacon. She took a bite, her eyes widened, and she proceeded to wolf down the remainder of the slice. Bacon pickle! Who would've thought? Leon, on the other hand, might regret the number of red pepper flakes Maura had dumped onto her pie.

But the weirdest thing she'd seen the Force do... "Well, I've seen Master Voran do a whole lotta really cool stuff," she began. Of course, there was whatever the fuck that thing was at the space station... "No, not right now." Maura shoved that memory out of her mind and focused back on herself. "Um, I can sometimes see the memories of objects in the Force," she finally answered. Maura pointed to the salt shaker. "If something really crazy happened to that salt shaker that caused a lot of emotion or something, I would be able to touch it and kind of... kind of see, kind of feel that memory."

"What about you?" She turned the question back on him, curious. "And what's it like having Ezra as your roomie? Do you get a lot of visitors?" Maura wasn't so oblivious as to not notice how starstruck some of her peers were around the part-Sephi. She couldn't quite say she got it - it wasn't like he was a famous skimboarder or athlete - but she almost did. His dad was pretty famous, and she was pretty sure she'd heard he was a Bonheur model or something. Bonheur was definitely not her style, but there was no denying the woman had a grip on the galaxy's fashion-forward minds.

While the two were talking, an older Ithorian gentleman entered the shop and took a seat nearby. He pulled out a newspaper and began reading as Gio's cursing came just after the ding of the door bell.

tag: @Zay

 

[Leon Baudelaire]

”Nice,” he said passing her a slice, “I’ll be real yours looks amazing and I was getting FOMO.”

Leon watched as Maura took a bite and went on the flavor experience he’d just survived, “It’s so good right?” He took a big bite of the supreme with extra red pepper flakes and his eyes immediately started watering. “Sho- mmm-much ppp-pep-peper!” he managed to swallow the five-alarm bite as quickly as he could. He downed a glass of water and poured another.

While Leon was recovering, Marua told him about her ability to see memories in the force. “Whoa, that’s so cool!” Man, he really got the short end of the force stick, he thought as he considered her return. He’d felt the dark side manifest as lightning course through his veins with the malicious intent of killing him, but that hardly felt like pizza talk.

“Uh, OH! On Christophsis, I found a cave with a research facility hidden inside. Get this, the entrance to the facility was hidden with the force. From the outside, it just looked like a stalagmite, but if you attuned yourself to the light and stepped toward it, the, like veil, of the force would fade away. Sorry, I’m nerding out.”

He tested a piece of his bacon pickle pizza to make sure it wasn’t Mustafar lava hot, and was stoked when it was the perfect temp. He laughed when Maura brought up Ezra, “He snores and farts in his sleep,” he waited for a second to see her reaction then started laughing, “I’m kidding, well kind of, it’s like living with a brother. We help each other out with research papers and force training, just kinda typical bro stuff.”

He left out the concerning amount of time they trained in their super secret art of the Ultimate Jedi Technique. Leon knew Ithor wasn’t ready for it yet.

“[color=#33cc33}Uh, honestly, we’re pretty busy. So, not a ton of visitors, but when he first moved in I don’t think either of us slept for a week. The reporters were insane,[/color]” he took another bite of pizza, “Things are pretty boring now.”

“What’s the best prank you’ve ever played on someone?” this was it, the question that would tell Leon wether or not he and Maura were gonna be homies.

@lizziie

 

[Maura Starwalk]

"A hidden research facility?" Was he kidding her? That sounded so cool! Maura almost fell into a pout, disappointed that she'd never come across something wacky and cool like that in the Force that wasn't equal or more parts terrifying as well. When he apologized for "nerding out" she just shook her head and waved her had to dismiss the idea. Her mouth was full of pizza then so she couldn't say anything, but he had nothing to apologize for.

"Eugh, that sounds terrible. I would be so grumpy if my sleep kept getting disturbed by people poking their noses in my business." She was glad she'd never had a roomie. As much as she would literally die to have the sort of friend she could do anything with or confide anything in, and as sociable and outgoing as she was, she valued the quiet privacy of her room. It was the one place she could just be herself and vibe.

At the mention of pranks, Maura's eyes quite literally sparkled. Leon would have no way of knowing, but she'd gotten in trouble endless amounts of times as a kid for pulling pranks and skipping class to pull and set up those pranks. "Oh fuck, lemme think..." She'd pulled so many. How in the world was she supposed to pick a favorite?

"One time I hooked up a wireless holoremote to one of my teacher's displays and we spent an entire week passing it around before she noticed! Oh, and this other time I trapped all the storage room doors on Yavin with this pull-and-activate trigger that doused them all in old lady perfume as soon as they walked in." Maura stopped to giggle, tickled at the memories herself.

"I'm not sure if it counts as a prank, but one time I convinced this pirate crew that hijacked Master Voran and I that I was a ghost living in the vents of the ship! I used shadow puppets to make it look like I had four arms and I played creepy music through the vents."

While the two were talking, Gio finally came out and sat across from the old Ithorian gentleman. He seemed slightly off, but the gentleman was nothing but quiet confidence. They began talking just quietly enough to stay out of earshot, Gio's face lined with worry.

"I used to play a lot of pranks but, not so much anymore. Hard to find the time," she mumbled, sipping on the water they'd gotten with their meal with a little bit of a sad look on her face. She looked back up at Leon after a moment, her eyes locking in with his, and asked, "Why do you ask? Call yourself a prankster too?"

tag: @Zay

 

[Leon Baudelaire]

Leon’s mouth still burned with the rage of a thousands suns, but he somehow managed getting out, “Yeah, it was trippy, af.”

There was a hollow look in his eyes as Maura lamented his lack of sleep during the initial week of Ezra moving in with him. That week still gave him chills. As he came out of his PTSD, as Maura began to ponder her greatest prank. He had to admit he was more than a little intimidated by the twinkle in her eye as she started.

“Wait, pirates HIJACKED the grandmaster?” he asked between bites of pizza. “Oh c’mon, that definitely counts!”

Leon listened, totally wrapped in the conversation, laser focused on the pranks she’d managed, and made mental notes of things he hoped to try in the future. Ezra was fucked. Suddenly, he felt a chill down his spine and he turned to see Gio and an Ithrorian discussing something. Privacy was something that Leon had come to appreciate in a new light, and decided to return his attention fully to Maura, but the stress on the Pizzaiolo's face was concerning.

Then she turned the question back on him. “First and foremost, you win. For sure, you are the superior prankster. A whole pirate crew? That’s some Jedi master shit,” he chuckled, “My best prank was back home. I’d just been moved to a new orphanage, typical shit,” everyone in the galaxy had a sob story, Leon didn’t dwell on his, “Sith come in, now your home is different and your parents are dead,” he said matter of factly, “Anyway the new place didn’t like new kids, because that meant less food. So, I show up and just get the shit kicked out of me for like a month. Finally, I decide one night that my revenge will be their dignity. I gathered every bowl, cup, and deep plate, I could find and filled them with warm water,” his smile spread, “--and then went to bed. In the morning everyone except me woke up in wet sheets,” he said laughing.

Revelation hit him as the humor passed. “Wow, I don’t think I’ve ever really, like, talked about home before,” then with a sudden awkward shrug he said, “Sorry.”

Man he was so lame. It would have been so much easier to just tell her about the time he and Ezra dumped a gallon of porridge on Motep. The sound of the doorbell caught his attention as two more beings entered. One was a scruffy looking Bothan, and the other was a mean looking Duro.

Leon frowned then in a hushed voice, “Yo, what’s going on?”
@lizziie

 

[Maura Starwalk]

Maura giggled when he called it "Jedi Master level shit", completely flattered by the complement. "Yeah, orphanages suck. I lived in one when I was really little and I got kicked around too." At the story of his revenge, Maura grinned. "Ha! Serves them right!" She wished she would've thought of something like that, but she mostly just disappeared for the day and returned at night to sleep. Granted, she was a bit too young to do much of anything like that.

"No, its okay," Maura reassured him. "I don't mind listening!" It was very true and obvious that Maura loved to talk, but she at least sounded genuine when she said she didn't mind him talking about his home. Though she'd probably spent way less time in an orphanage than Leon had, she felt a spark of connection knowing they had similar roots. There was just nothing like it, growing up in a place you couldn't quite call home with people you couldn't quite call parents.

"Erm, I dunno..." Her ears swiveled in their direction where she could pick up bits and pieces of the conversation. Something about rent, something about repayment, and some things that didn't quite make sense to her. But it all sounded a bit...sketchy, so Maura decided she would do something stupid.

"Hey, Leon!" Maura chirped a little louder than she'd been speaking before. Loud enough that the trio could hear them. "Are those police lights outside?" She leaned toward the window and pointed to something down the street that was just out of view. Of course, there weren't any lights there at all, but she was hoping that maybe it would make the men uncomfortable and leave.

tag: @Zay

 

[Leon Baudelaire]

Being seen and accepted was the last thing he expected when he’d run into Maura earlier today. At most he’d hoped to pay too much money for some ridiculously cool shoes and learn a couple skimboard tricks, he never thought he’d meet someone he could trust. “Thanks, I believe you,” he said with a little smirk.

Her response to his question kinda startled him, but he picked up her drift and played along, “UH, Yeah,” he said in a voice obviously loud for table conversation, “Those are lights for sure, and they are coming this way! Weird!”

The dude hassling the pizza homie looked over his shoulder scowling at them then toward the door. He turned back to Gio, “Did you call the FUCKING cops, man?”

Gio's gruff exterior melted as fear slammed into him like a tidal wave, "N-n-nah, I didn't, I wouldn't, c'mon you know me better than that!"

The dude's whole demeanor screamed danger and Leon breathed in opening himself to the force. The situation was ecalading quickly, and he couldn't help but hold part of the blame, whatever happened here was on them. So, he waited, but as soon as there was an opportunity he’d jump the guy.

“What’s the move Maura,” he said in a much lower voice. Silently he cursed himself for leaving his gear, but this would be an opportunity to test what he’d learned on Ellora.

@lizziie