In a Time of Need

[Ash]

Alchamy and her father were sitting on her room balcony, the house had been quiet the last few day. Not too many visitors, now that she thought about it... There hadn't been any at all the last two days. This was not something that happened at the Ruaca home, even before her mother and brother had passed on. Her father had a cold look in his eyes and that was common lately, he gave a shy smile to Alchamy as an attempt to comfort her. It didn't work, "I need you to leave for awhile, Alchamy." her father finally said, putting a callused hand lightly over her shoulder. Alchamy nodded slightly, he'd barely spoken to her the last few days and now he was telling her to leave home.

"Where do I go?" she asked, pleading with her eyes that he'll give some indication as to why she needed to leave. Alchamy was social, but if her father wanted her to leave New Alderaan she had no where to go. New Alderaan was her life, all those she knew were here.

"Anywhere. Just be safe." he kissed her cheek and she huffed at him. He wasn't telling her anything, so be it.

---

Alchamy sat on a low cliff over a river with her feet kicking back and forth, the tips of her toes just barely grazing the water surface. She didn't know many people, but of the few she knew, Titus was the only person she really trusted to spend an unknown amount of time with while being cast out from her home until her father deemed it safe. There was nobody else for her. Jeremy and mother had passed on, and she didn't trust to stay with many of her friends for too long. They were fun... but only in short bursts. Not for long periods of time.
Titus was the only option. Alchamy pulled out a comm, "Please answer..." she muttered to herself as the comm attempted connection with the mandalorian.

 

[Django]

Titus had been on his way to see Alchamy. It felt like ages since he had been with the woman, and he had an itch to hug her. A long, nice hug. A welcoming hug. A hug, something Titus didn't always have the pleasure of receiving.

He was in a taxi, not unlike the one that Titus and Alchamy had previously shared. That seemed like forever ago. Titus was glad that he was close to being with Alchamy, he enjoyed her company. She was beautiful too, which was pretty nice as well.

Getting close to her home, he got a call on his comm. Deciding to ignore it, he went on with the taxi unconcerned on who had been calling him.

Finally to her house, Titus hopped out of the taxi and worked his way up to her front door. The last time he had been here his injuries were far worse and unhealed, now he was much better off. He didn't need his cane anymore, and didn't get as winded as quickly.

He was healthy, for once.

Titus knocked on her front door three times quickly with a rather large smile on his face.

 

[Ash]

No answer. Alchamy sighed and let herself fall backwards, running her fingers through the grass around her. "Fantastic." she grumbled, she'd try again in a few minutes.

---

Mason Ruaca sat on the lounge chair in his daughter's room, Alchamy had left an hour ago and her room was emptied of her favourite clothes, important personal belongings, and her travel bag. He'd never realised it until now, that was really all his daughter did have. She'd never asked for much from him or her mother. He buried his face in his hands, being roughly brought back to reality when he heard a knocking on the door. Mason groaned as he pulled himself up and headed for the hearth room, one of the droids opening the door and he spotted the mandalorian on the other side with a smile on his face. The young man looked better than the last time he'd visited Mason's home. He noticed the cane was missing and he was holding himself a lot higher.
"Master Skirata. Alchamy isn't home and won't be returning for some time, I am sorry." the droid informed, her motions stiff and minimal. "I do not know where she went." the droid watched Titus closely, he wasn't threatening, but the droid had orders. Mason stayed back, he knew Titus wouldn't force himself in so he left for his office.

 

[Django]

Titus' smile sank and he sighed.

"Okay," was all he said. He looked behind the droid and searched for Alchamy's father. Alas, he was no where to be seen. At least from where Titus was standing. Twirling around, he made his way away from Alchamy's home.

He began to walk, not wanting to sink back into a taxi again. He needed air. Fresh air. He walked and walked and walked. He walked for what seemed like forever, although it was probably only a few good minutes. He walked until he got to an area of beauty.

The greenest grass, a cliff off in the distance that probably overlooked something even more beautiful, and openness. Titus liked this openness, it was something that he rarely encountered since leaving Dantooine. Something he had been craving. Openness.

Titus picked up his pace into a steady jog. Despite still being forced to limp and not being in the best physical condition, Titus could still jog for a time among other things.

He jogged and hopped. This was a good place to do such things, and for a moment he forgot about Alchamy and Mandalore and everything.

He just jogged and hopped, and when he was tired he fell to the soft green ground.

The ground welcomed him as a long lost brother. A brother the ground was glad to have back.

He rolled in the grass, and had a fun time. Finally reaching exhaustion, Titus lifted his head in the direction of the cliff. He saw a figure at the edge, a person in all likelihood. Wanting to talk, Titus got up and made his way to the figure. As he got closer it became more obvious that it was a person. A female person too.

Then an itch came went up his spine. Alchamy. Something was telling Titus that the person was Alchamy. A whisper from the wind, kind of. A message from the Gods. "Hey," he called out as if he knew the person, fully expecting someone to look back at him in bewilderment.

 

[Ash]

Alchamy sat up and looked back to see a figure coming toward her, she smiled and waved kindly to the figure, as it came closer she recognised it as Titus. "Hey!" she smiled a little brighter and pulled her legs up over the cliff, kicking her travel bag as she did so. He looked really good, healthy and happy.
"I tried to contact you!" she called to him as she directed her body toward him, unsure of why he hadn't answered and why he was even here. She'd figured he had left to go do mandalorian things or something along those lines for the time. It was a welcomed surprise.

 

[Django]

Titus hurried over to Alchamy with a wide grin on his face. The months he had been gone hadn't changed her, he hoped. She certainly looked the same. She was beautiful as always. Listening to her words, he was surprised. Why would she need to contact him?

"Oh, so you tried to contact me," he began. "Why?"

Titus chuckled a bit to let Alchamy know he words were meant to be fun and gentle and light and nothing else. He hoped she was okay, although her face told him that something was off. And an itch. A new itch was telling him something was off.

"Well I am here now, my darling Alchamy. What is wrong?"

 

[Ash]

Titus always seemed to be happy when he was around her, which Alchamy found oddly relieving. "Father wants me to leave New Alderaan for awhile. He wouldn't tell me why..." she grumbled, "I was wondering if maybe I could stay with you, Titus?"
Alchamy hadn't realised until she finished just how sheepish she had sounded just then. With a small smile, she started to rise and moved over to him, when she was close enough she reached out to embrace him. "By the way, it's good to see you." she poked in before he could answer her question. She just hoped he'd be ok with her hanging around until her father let her back home.

 

[Django]

Titus finished up his walk over to Alchamy and they met and embraced each other. For a moment, he simply hugged her. He held her tight, in a way that someone would if they were trying to make them feel safe. In a way to comfort them.

Still holding her close to him, Titus replied to what she asked, "Of course you can come with me. That would be lovely.

Letting her go and taking a step back, Titus held out his hand.

"Please, dance with me," he said with a smile. He regretted it immediately after, but knew he had to follow through with it. Whilst he wasn't the best dancer, he was good enough. He wouldn't impress Alchamy, but he'd give her a nice dance partner.

 

[Ash]

Alchamy blushed at being asked to dance with Titus so suddenly. It was almost out of nothing that he asked her, though she found it a pleasant idea, she was surprisingly shy about it. "But... there isn't music?" she fumbled through her words and gave a crooked smile at Titus. He continued to hold his hand out to her and she reluctantly began to reach toward him.
"Does it matter?" he asked her with a sincere smile that the red-head trusted with all her being.
"Not really..." Alchamy muttered and he pulled her close to him once she had finally grabbed his hand.

The two of them remained still for a moment, neither sure of what to do or who to let make the first move.
Alchamy was too shy to start and nudged at him to lead, Titus picked up on her signal and started their small waltz on the cliff.
Titus wasn't sure of the boundaries, and so he kept a careful touch on Alchamy's hip. He didn't want her to think of him as a leach, or as just simply a friend dancing with her. Titus was almost a foot taller than Alchamy which made it easy for her to rest her head on his chest and listen to the calm beat of his heart. She kept her eyes closed and followed Titus' movements, her left hand locked with his right with her right hand lightly pressed against his back.

"Too close too soon." was all that screamed through Alchamy's head as they became more comfortable with their dance, and she wasn't sure what to do about it.
She enjoyed his company. She enjoyed his smile. She enjoyed this moment of dancing in the cool air of New Alderaan with the sounds of the steady stream below playing a melody for them, for her and Titus.

Too close.

Alchamy waited for the moment when Titus had most his weight onto his limping side for her to pull them to the grass. It didn't take long and she acted quickly, snaking one leg behind his and pulling him toward her with her leg while pushing him back with her upper body.
Though she hadn't intended on landing on top of him, she did. Her cheeks hinted red and she rolled off of him while attempting to laugh it off, her hand still holding his.
"You should have seen your face!" she giggled as he laid there a moment looking at her in bewilderment of what just happened.

 

[Django]

Despite the fact that Alchamy had completely surprised him when she push him down, he liked it. He liked the fact that he was back on the soft ground. With Alchamy; of all people she was the one person he'd like to be with.

His face soon changed from bewilderment to a smile.

He looked down at Alchamy's and his own hand still locked together. Then looked at her, at all of her beauty and sereneness and just... everything. It was as if she had a grip on him that he couldn't get away from.

He looked into Alchamy's eyes and said, "I'd like to kiss you."

 

[Ash]

Just a moment ago Alchamy had tripped Titus in order to distance herself from him and now he was telling her he wanted to kiss her.
Though it had been awhile, Alchamy was still attempting to get over her brother's death. Her mother's death had been easier to accept, not that it as a whole was easy, just easier than Jeremy.
Alchamy wasn't sure if she could stand getting so close to someone just yet. When she'd first met Titus he was broken from battle, if something like that was to happen again- Titus could very likely be meeting her brother face to face.
This thought scared the girl and she did her best to shake it off. But, it was now there and it wasn't going away.
She turned her head and looked up at the sky, taking note of each cloud that came into view. The grass beneath them was cool against her back, she wasn't sure how long it took her to finally make some motion that she had even acknowledged Titus.
She turned her head to face Titus again, he hadn't moved or shifted his gaze from her. Words still seemed a mystery to her,
"Are you sure?" she finally said, sounding more like a child scared to take a gift someone had just offered her than sounding like herself.
She realised soon after speaking what she said and mentally kicked herself for sounding like an idiot. She never got fidgety or nervous around anyone, especially men, and yet she was stumbling on a simple sentence that likely didn't even make sense. Alchamy mentally noted to work on that and hoped that Titus at least could form some understanding of what she said better than she herself did.

 

[Django]

Titus began to let out a large, bellowing laugh not unlike how his father did so when Titus was a young child. Seeing the odd similarity Titus cut his loud laugh short, and instead giggled for a couple more seconds. She sounded so innocent, so sweet, so nice.

And Titus liked that, because in all honesty, he was pretty new himself. Sure he had had girlfriends in the past, a fling here and a fling here. Nothing serious, not really. And nothing that got very far sexually or otherwise. Most of the time the title of 'girlfriend' was just that, a title and nothing else.

If Alchamy was to become Titus' girlfriend, which he did want very much, he hoped that it would not be like his past relationships. He hoped that he would experience news, and he hoped that she would experience them too. With him, and no one else.

Titus rolled over and sat over Alchamy, his knees on either side of her. He bent down and wrapped his fingers in her hair and drew her close. He said, "Yes, I am sure." He continued to draw her closer, and guided his lips towards hers.

 

[Ash]

OOC: DAMMMMN! Way to take control, Titus! :bitchez
_______

There was no warning for Alchamy as she laid on the grass in slight shock when Titus rolled onto her.
No matter what she did, he had her trapped beneath him with her hair tangled in his fingers. Her eyes wide in surprise as he guided her to him.

Unknown the the world and her family, Alchamy had actually never kissed anyone. She's given kisses to people on the cheeks, and vice versa, sure. But not an actual kiss. The entire situation was new to Alchamy and she had too little time to think it over as the two were becoming closer to each other faster than she had time to process each and every thing going on around her. She'd always been the one in control, and for the first time in years someone else was making the first move and taking charge. She wasn't going to lie, she liked it.

His blue eyes captivated Alchamy, finally taking notice of just how vibrant they really were as they watched her so closely. His scent was inviting and had a strange warmth to it. She let her lips collide with Titus' and allowing, just of a moment, to let the world pause as his lips softly caressed hers. His kiss was warm and comforting like his scent was. She had little care for what else was going on, she found herself enjoying the kiss.

 

[Django]

Titus was glad to see Alchamy accept his kiss, and afterwards he fell down back beside her.

Their kiss had been the first Titus had shared with someone in a long time. In fact, it had probably been more than half a decade since he kissed someone. He was glad that the person who he shared his first kiss with after five years was Alchamy.

"Thank you," he whispered in just the right way. He laid in the grass close to Alchamy and looked into her eyes as if he were searching for something. He wasn't. He was simply looking into her eyes because they were beautiful.

He said, "Where do you want to go? What do you want to do? I am along for the ride."

 

[Ash]

Alchamy let out a quiet giggle when Titus thanked her, she wasn't sure where she wanted to go once she got to thinking about Titus' question. "You're along for the ride? Isn't it me staying with you? Lead the way." she smiled brightly at the mandalorian and started to stand up, tugging at him to stand up with her.
She wasn't sure where she was going, what she'd do, but she knew she was safe with Titus and that was all that mattered to her presently.

 

[Django]

Titus smiled at Alchamy and obligated when she requested him to stand with her. He offered his arms to embrace her. To keep her warm, to keep her safe from the harms that planets present, to keep her with him. Stroking her check Titus looked into eyes once more, they were endless and Titus could stare into them forever.

He replied to her finally, "I don't know. Someplace peaceful and private. I haven't been around much to join exactly where to go, to be entirely honest. What about Geonosis? That is, if you don't care for the hot. Someplace cold? Hoth maybe."

It was her choice, really. Titus couldn't care less where they go, as long as he got to spend more time with her before they parted.

 

[Ash]

Alchamy let Titus wrap his arms around her and she rested her arms against his chest, she looked up at him and took note of each bit to the scars on his neck and chin. She pulled one arm up and traced the line of one on his neck, "How about both?" she chimed, giggling lightly.

Titus was someone who gave her everything she needed, someone to trust and help her get though the pain she still had trouble conquering.
She had been to Hoth once before, the cold and snow always were able to make her smile. The cold almost seemed, to her, freeze time and let her live a little before she had to be thrust back into daily life. She'd gone with Jeremy, just the two of them, to Hoth and had spent a short but fun time there. It'd be nice to go back, she figured, and roll in the snow.
Geonosis wasn't a planet she was familiar with other than it being a 'bug nest'. Could be interesting.

 

[Django]

"Yes," he replied. "I would like that very much."

With a smile, Titus turned away from Alchamy's gaze and looked at the stars. It had been a long time since Titus had been to Geonosis. A very, very long time. At least it felt like it had been a very, very long time. So much had happened since the days he spent there.

The Loyalist lost. That is what raced through Titus' head now. The Loyalist lost. He and Alchamy hadn't spoken of such things yet, and he was glad. He knew that she probably wouldn't agree to the alliance between the Empire and the Mandalorians. An alliance Titus had to uphold, because otherwise he would probably just spark more terrible events for the Mandalorians. For his brothers and sisters. That was something Titus didn't want to do.

He would tell Alchamy everything soon enough. At Geonosis too, there he could see his old bug-like friend and the base he had help built. Thinking about Titus realized that everything he had done on the planet didn't matter now, and suddenly Titus felt a surge of anger and sadness.

Blocking those feelings out, Titus continued to speak, "I have been to Geonosis before, I have a friend there that should treat us nicely and know a few sites to visit. I can't say I've been to Hoth, but I'd enjoy going."

 

[Ash]

Alchamy nodded, "Sounds lovely!" she exclaimed as she grabbed for her bag on the ground near them and holding it with both her hands in front of her. "Let us be off?" her voice had a child-like hint to it, she let one hand release from her bag and reached for Titus' wrist and dragging him off with her away from the small creek.

It might be fun, opening up to someone. Alchamy thought as she looked back at Titus with a smile on her face.

 

[Django]

Titus stumbled after Alchamy as she guided him by his wrist. When Alchamy smiled at Titus he countered with a smile of his own. She was eager to go, that much was obvious. Titus wished he knew why she was so eager to leave. New Alderaan was her home, a place she hardly left, and now she was dragging Titus along.

Maybe it was Titus? Maybe she was excited to spend time with Titus... maybe. But probably not. Titus couldn't for the life of him figure out why anyone who be so eager to spend time with him. Maybe it was simply the prospect of seeing new places.

Who knows as of now, and until Titus would know the reason he would assume it was because Alchamy liked him. That is what he wanted to be true, more than anything else.