Ask No Rest For The Wicked

[Z'Kair]

Her honest answer got a quirked brow from him. Running from herself? So she despised what she was. It was common in his circles - to keep just going and going and never look back. Never pausing long enough to face the truth. It was always easier to run away instead. Kai had expected some bullshit answer to his playful quip, but she turned it into a whole production. It was a wonder she managed to go change the music without tripping over herself.

Kai was also drunk, but he was not normally a happy and loud drunk. He was the quiet and broody drunk. The Fiani sat there slightly dazed from the alcohol as he took another sip, liking this new song quite a bit more. Ruby started dancing and he had to chuckle to himself, calmly observing for now. The beats started and she abruptly grabbed his shirt, staring at her as she started to sing. She began an entire performance and he was vaguely reminded of the bars on Nar Shaddaa or the Core. Kai kept sipping from his glass, leaning back to sit in his seat to enjoy the show.

The Fiani hummed along to the song, watching her gyrate and sway to the music. His gaze roamed over her body, the arch of her back, the curve of her ass. All of it was swinging over his lap and almost touching. Kai stayed put where he was, drinking from his glass as he enjoyed the show.

By the time she turned around, Kai was smirking at her. Her quip earned a soft chuckle, and he felt her hand slide along his neck. The Fiani stared at her for a moment, his own hand sliding up the side of her torso and brushing over bare skin. His fingers traced up her back, casually undoing the pearl necklace from her neck and slipping it into her bikini bottom from the back. His other hand boldly dipped into the bikini bottom from the front, fingers taking a hold of the necklace and sliding it right back out from between her thighs.

“Never have I ever fucked anyone I couldn’t afford,” Kai said with a fanged grin as he twirled the necklace between his fingers. He slid out from his seat, leaving her wanting.

The Fiani hopped up on the stage with the mic as a new song began to play. He was in a great mood, the vibe was chill. He had a bottle in his hand, taking swigs from it as he danced to the music. Dance moves came easier to him when he was drunk, and it was evidenced by the fact that he burst out into street hip hop on the stage. He was fluid on his feet, moving to the beat and rhythm. He gave Ruby a look that invited her to join him if she pleased.

@LadyRen

 

[Maeve]

justify] Maeve was totally vibing. Their past hostilities had been forgotten, she was happy with her truce and she was having fun as the dancing obviously kept her from spiraling. Perhaps if he hadn't asked those intimate questions that had unintentionally hit many weak, incredibly vulnerable spots like that, she wouldn't have already been so desperately unhinged, but alas, now he could at least enjoy a show he normally would have paid for for free.

Even while already decently drunk, her performance skills were admirable. She teased him long enough that she finally drew a responds for him as he reached for her neck, but it took her a few seconds and bead by beas she slowly realized what he had done. A gasp escaped her while her hungry eyes once again settled on him, her mischievous smirk growing wider. Perhaps she was liking the direction in which they were going much more than their past feud.

Despite the foggy mind, she then remembered that particularly sentence and while she didn't stop dancing, the unfulfilled desire left her wanting more. He teased her hard and it left her even more intoxicated and wanting, the silent promise behind his move leaving her toxic mind to crave more right away.

She reached for the bottle again and took another swig. She obviously didn't need more confidence, but she needed more justification for being irresponsible. She soon followed Kai on stage, obviously loving the new song just as much and without fully grinding against him, she joined the newly opened dancefloor, just letting the rhythm carry her. "Never have I ever", she circled him, her gaze lingering on him, "went on a highly buzzed full hotel raid".

She was terribly chirpy, and obviously didn't miss his constant search for new loot, so she thought swapping locations and taking a look around in some rooms would change his mind. She extended a hand, the implication clear - she wasn't done with dancing yet, however thought a quick side adventure could be fun.

@Sreeya

 

[Z'Kair]

Kai kept swaying and moving to the music, his tail also swishing back and forth to the beat. He grinned at her when she joined him on stage, “What, now you’re being shy?” He teased as he grasped her hand and effortlessly tugged her to himself. He spun her around smoothly, pressing her back against his chest. He had no qualms with the full on grind dancing, the beat was too damn catchy not to.

The Fiani chuckled at her suggestion, taking a swig of his drink. He had done many hotel raids before, but doing so after a tsunami would be a first. His hips pressed firmly against her, his tail coming around to slide up along the side of her leg. One of his hands dropped down the side of her body as they danced, fingers brushing over the jewels on her bikini bottom near the hip to discreetly pluck a few of them.

“Never have I ever been caught doing the deed,” He said as he grazed his fangs along her shoulder. Just the perfect bit of pressure, but not a bite, not a kiss, nothing beyond that. His hot breath fluttered against her skin, joined with a quiet, amused chuckle as he stepped back. He grasped her hand and twirled her around himself, her bikini bottom now missing an entire row of its expensive beads.

Kai didn’t stop the dance, pausing only to take a swig from the bottle. He was coasting right into happy drunk, shifting out of brood.

@LadyRen

 

[Maeve]

Maeve was everything but shy, but the raid idea had briefly piqued her curiosity. However, as Kai grabbed her hand and started grinding against her, she quickly discarded the idea. That was better. She loved the song and she was heavily vibing, hence she didn't hold back at all and shamelessly moved her body to the music.

His touches left her electrified, even more exhilarated than before and her breathing grew more shallow. She reached up and backwards with her right hand, her nails softly digging into his neck as she almost possessively held onto him. The other left hand was trailing along the outside of his thigh before she dipped, bent over forwards, her ass even more intensely grinding against his hips, before she went back up.

His sharp teeth grazed the side of shoulder, triggering a soft gasp that escaped her lips before he spun her again. His hot breath lingered for a bit and her whole body was flooded with this craving hot desire while her eyes hungrily, yet fiercely locked onto his. By removing the expensive beads, he'd bead by bead reveal that semi-transparent fabric underneath, leaving her even more scantily dressed than before.

Despite having sensed the plucking, it didn't bother her at all. They'd find a lot more in this hotel to compensate for his insatiable urge to steal. As he asked his questions, her lips were once again crossed by a smirk as she kept gyrating her hips. She closed the distance between them again, her ass deliberately striving his front as she snatched the bottle out of his hand, taking another swig.

"Never have I ever done it in a public place". Of course, that helped her to another sip before she handed the bottle back, simply planting it back in his one hand while she grabbed the other. She spun and pressed her back against his again, however guiding his free hand across her body, literally enjoying herself a lot as she let him further downwards.

@Sreeya

 

[Z'Kair]

Kai couldn’t deny it - this was certainly getting him going. The drinks were flowing, the music was popping and someone was aggressively grinding on him. He almost began to forget who this was and how infuriating she could be. His hands slid along her bare skin, briefly forgetting about the jewels that were safely stashed away in his pockets. He felt her curl her fingers against his neck and that almost possessive pull.

He was surprised and pleased when she took his hand and led it along her body, and he smirked to himself. Kai let her take the lead, the hand traveling over her chest to grasp and tease as much as he felt like. The music sounded especially loud, and his sensitive nose could smell the heat and desire from her. Kai didn’t back away, his hips pressed close as his hand traveled even lower.

When she said her game sentence, followed by taking a sip herself, Kai had to chuckle, “That’s not how the game works,” He said right before his hand slipped down and briefly disappeared where it would drive her wild. Kai may have had half baked plans. He may have had things go sideways on his missions. He may have gotten lost during his pirating raids. But he knew exactly what he was doing here. He gracefully plucked the strings of an instrument he knew how to play professionally, and he could put on the galaxy’s greatest concert with the symphonies that would echo from it. It took him only moments to find out what made her tick, what made her insane, what made her forget all about who she was with right now.

He took her almost right to the edge, and that’s when he drew back. Kai’s hand slid back up along her torso, and he grinned at her. He leaned in close, almost enough to kiss her, “I can’t afford you, remember?” He whispered quietly before withdrawing away.

Kai walked over to grab a pack of smokes he found at the bar, popping a cigarra into his mouth and lighting it. His gaze flicked over to Ruby, eyeing her state of attire. There was no denying the urges he felt. He could throw her over the bar and just have his way right there. He could delve right into what he just briefly sampled.

“Maybe we’ll pick this up again when you’re not so fucked up,” Kai said with a grin as he blew out a cloud of smoke. Being a completely relaxed drunk had its benefits. He had the urges, but he wasn’t blindingly governed by them. And teasing her was oddly satisfying.

@LadyRen

 

[Maeve]

There was absolutely no denying it how hot this all was. Her blood was literally boiling, her breaths grew heavier and faster and he followed her lead without hesitation. He soon dove beneath what was left of the fabric and immediately drove her wild, to the point where Maeve could barely contain herself anymore.

She was definitely a woman who enjoyed enjoying herself, and so she was in no rush to stop his teasing, but he literally brought her sp close to exploding that her natural impatience almost got the best of her. She was ready to continue right here, right now, on stage, perhaps on the counter, by the booths, on the DJ table...her body kept working against his, her own movements demanding and hungry and then he suddenly left, repeating the very words she had said to him not long ago.

The last moan had barely escaped her as the ocean eyes followed him to the bar. What was he doing? "Maybe you don't have to with credits tonight..", the smirk was still on her lips, her body still throbbing with ecstasy as he suddenly lit a cigarra and started smoking. WHAT. Her heavy breaths stopped, she even held her breath as she just watched him. Was this...really happening? Her thoughts immediately began racing while she just froze up, completely puzzled and confused, her lips slightly parted.

And suddenly she was the broody one. She closed her mouth, not looking as dumbfounded as before, but still somewhat perplex as she caught her breath, cleared her throat and went for the sink. She wanted some swigs of actual water that would hopefully clear the messy haze in her mind, but as she did put her head under it, her thoughts were still racing.

She was always the one in control in those situations. She was the predator that seduced the urge-driven prey, the seductress that usually played the men like instruments, commanding every single tone, but Kodi...it was a whole new experience for her. Beaten in her own game. It felt bad. It made her angry. But while it did so, it also kept her intrigued, perhaps more than ever.

She gulped down more fresh, cool water, the droplets in her face and the cool liquid sliding down her throat suddenly making her feel incredibly sober. Her heart was racing in her chest and the rest that had just happened not fully processed as she turned the sink of again. Wordlessly, she made her way back to him, taking a cigarra as well and snatching the lighter before she took a deep drag. She literally had no way to describe what was going on inside her and no name for the emotions she felt, but she did feel her stomach churn. She finally looked up back at him, silently meeting his gaze, before after another long moment she'd bitterly say, "Touché".

@Sreeya

 

[Z'Kair]

Kai observed her in silence for a long moment as he smoked while leaning on his elbows at the bar. He knew this caught her off guard, and in some ways it caught him off guard as well. She chugged water and even put her head under it. Kai followed her lead, but he poured the water into a glass and threw it back instead. He saw the look on her face, and he said nothing about it for a moment, quietly having his smoke before lighting one up for her.

The music continued to play in the background, though he didn’t care about that for now. Kai thought about how this was the longest he had gone without an eye patch. He tried to keep his hair over it, but he knew she had seen the gaping hole several times by now. And she had said nothing about it the entire time. Kai observed her in silence, only flashing a fanged grin when she admitted bitter defeat.

He was silent for a long moment after that, exhaustion settling into his body. By nature he was nocturnal, so he wouldn’t sleep right then, but he was beyond tired and worn from the day’s activities. After enough time, he simply grabbed Ruby by the hand and toppled down on the carpeted floor behind the bar. There was no teasing or sexual gesture as he laid on his side facing her, collapsed from exhaustion.

“So,” He began as one of his fingers idly traced along her arm, noting the goosebumps it left behind, “Who jumped into the water after me and why do you run from her?” Kai asked quietly, his gaze following where he traced his touch instead of looking at her.

@LadyRen

 

[Maeve]

The fucking fox. Maeve was angry, perplex, irritated and freaking frustrated at once. The way her thoughts spun almost made her nauseous, but the sudden shift within the atmosphere kept her from spiraling. Was he being serious? Wanting to use the formerly lighthearted, drunk, teasy stage just to shift right into a deep, broody discussion?!

She hated it. And yet he shamelessly exploited her weak spot within seconds. The scarred woman behind the many faced facade was suddenly visible for what a tiny part of her core was. Maeve was never her true self, she was used to playing countless roles, but yeah, what had driven her into the water? He raised a valid point.

Normally, she had her motives and reasons for every calculated step she did, but this...had just been an odd instict. She wasn't the classical savior, but perhaps she was at least capable of doing something good every now and then...her skin was laced with goosebumps that weren't just triggered by his touches, but mainly by his words, and the worst thing about the whole situation was that he was in control of it.

Perhaps a mistake, she thought, mentally given a bitter answer to his question. She hated being put in such a position, especially from him...and yet, his mood was somewhat infectious. She wasn't appalled by deep talk, but she wasn't one to give honest answers either, but the alcohol in her system messed with her wit.

"A part of me that actually saw that you're capable of being a decent person that's worth saving", she finally admitted after another moment of silence, a surprisingly genuine answer. She let her words linger, attempting to meet his gaze, but he was averting his eyes. Was he afraid of the truth, too?

"Counter question. Who is this genuinely curious guy who suddenly cares about the crazy chick that tried to drug him?". She spoke silently after another realization had hit her. Somehow he respected her enough not to abuse her unstable, drunk state. Another fact, another piece of the enigmatic Kodi puzzle that didn't fully add up.

@Sreeya

 

[Z'Kair]

Kai grinned at her answer, noting how she dodged the question directly and answered in vague truths. Perhaps she wanted to him to hear some sort of admission regarding him, but she quite deftly skirted around the query to flip the question around on him. The issue was that running cons was Kai’s game, and he had made a career of nothing but that. He smiled at her, flashing a fanged grin, “My favorite color is teal,” He said randomly. When she would look at him in confusion, “What? I thought we were giving vaguely adjacent answers to questions,” He said with a smirk.

Kai would let her stew on it before he propped his head up on his elbow, still gazing at her. He decided to answer her question because there wasn’t anything to hide about it, “Look at my adorable ears and tail,” He said, “You think I don’t have tits and ass in my face day in and day out in the Outer Rim?” Kai asked, uncaring whatever quip she had to make at that. They both knew he was a smooth operator, “I think talking to you is more intriguing than fucking you,” He shrugged vaguely, “Caring has nothing to do with it,” He smiled at her. His face, as usual, was impossible to read.

“I’m still not entirely convinced you drugged me to actually kill me,” Kai said after a moment of silence, his finger still tracing along her arm and down towards her hand.

@LadyRen

 

[Maeve]

The music still boomed in the background, making her head pound. Her full attention was on him, hence she barely registered the music, but their quiet, laid-back and yet incredibly difficult conversations was quite huge contrast to the heated atmosphere that had permeated just minutes earlier.

Her heart sped up, perhaps even like before on the dancefloor when he had heavily led her on. She chewed the inside of her lip, the normally so well controlled performance she gave somewhat faulty with her features betraying her nervousity. He offered an answer, and it was quite literally infuriating. Her nails dug into her palms, the white of her knuckles showing.

She was once again freezing, now that they didn't move anymore, but the coldness had a different source. She knew all about twisted mind games, yet as he had started this one, it was hard to resist. It made her furious that he was such a formidable player and that the tides had been flipped.

What he added as an actual explanation left her speechless and once again he'd find an answer in her silence. So he wanted answers, too. Genuine ones. Two could play the game though, she thought, despite the haze. Her head still throbbed and she wanted it to stop, just like his questions which seemed to eat their way into her like pure, concentrated acid on duracreet, but she needed to know what his grande scheme was.

"If you seem to know me so well, don't you think you have your answer already?", she left it vague, however this time out of spite. He had pushed too hard and her quivering lip was an early sign of the dawning disaster. Her eyes fiercely locked onto his: "Maybe those other floosies will fall for this all, Kodi", she almost spat his name. The anger inside her finally won, and she suddenly rolled away, pushed herself off to her feet and stumbled onwards.

Existential crisis triggered, check. A new item on Kodi's list. Heat rushed to her cheeks and she knew she needed a moment to cool off, to clear her head and just gain some distance, but it seemed like her past was catching up with her. She sped up, her walk, however, unsure, and once she was out of the bar, she immediately headed for the first unlocked room she found.

She felt as though her throat was constricted and the only relief was another extreme. She immediately reached for the table lamp she first found and without hesitation, violently smashed it into the mirror, leaving the glass shattered. No. He wouldn't get to see what laid behind those shatters, not even if she was such a mess.

She hated him for what he had already managed to bring up in her, and yet there was another part of her that felt an odd sense of relief that a few things had been exchanged on a more genuine level. If he hadn't followed, he had still unmistakably heard the mirror shatter, but she was more startled by the sound of something dripping. Glancing down, she spotted the blood and as her gaze fell on it, she felt weird. It wasn't even a deep cut, but it was a mixture of everything that just momentarily knocked her out and dipped her world into an impenetrable darkness.

@Sreeya

 

[Z'Kair]

Kai was genuinely surprised to see the sudden flicker of anger in her. He already knew it was not directed at him despite what she said. He said nothing as she stormed off, his sensitive ears hearing the shatter of glass. Kai finally rose and followed behind her to see what was happening, but he had a good idea of what. Something had been yanked out from deep within her. It was a place that she kept hidden away, not unlike what he often did. She always breezed past it by sleeping with others and distracting away from it, but clearly Kai didn’t budge. It allowed him to become a mirror for her to gaze upon herself for the first time. He knew, because he had been there.

The Fiani walked into the room behind her, looking at the state of the mirror. Kai glanced down at the cut, but he didn’t rush to help her once he realized it wasn't too deep. Because they weren’t done yet. Because he wasn’t done. Kai looked around the room, a glint in his eye, “Let’s fuck this place up,” He said simply as he walked over and started clawing away at the curtains. He shredded the bed sheets, throwing it around like confetti. He picked up and broke personal belongings of the guests that had stayed there, giving Ruby things to shatter and break.

Kai grabbed her by the hand and kicked open the next door and walked in, giving her another lamp to throw, “Do it,” He said, letting her destroy whatever she pleased. He did the same, tearing apart the room. It was oddly therapeutic and a sweet release that he didn’t realize was needed. He thought about the way his mother was enslaved, he thought about how powerless he had felt, and he tore apart anything in sight. He thought about the Sith that took out his eye and he smashed a window.

He didn’t stop there, taking her to the next room again so they could smash things in there, unleashing all their pent up trauma that no one could talk about.

@LadyRen

 

[Maeve]

A sudden numbness replaced all the anger, all the freed raged and the trauma Kodi had casually stirred up. She felt nothing. Didn't even hear anything apart from a high-pitched ringing. She stared at herself in the broken mirror, the pieces of her shattered, laying bare, not just for her to see as she wasn't even alone.

Her body was shaking, the few parts that still remained of the damp bikini not helping with that at all. Her shadowy, shattered silhouette was suddenly joined by someone else in the darkness and her empty, distant gaze followed the shape in the mirror. His voice didn't immediately reach her, it was more like a faint echo that slowly grew louder and louder, until she understood what it said.

The blood was still dripping and she wordlessly reached for a piece of torn fabric before she wrapped it around the fresh cut. She didn't feel the pain, she didn't want to feel it anyway, but as he continued tearing this room apart, she was suddenly freed from her temporary stasis. She lifted her gaze, following his trail of destruction as a fierce determination once again took hold of her. Yes. Fucking this place up would be a realize, a way to cope with everything he had stirred up moments ago and a way to process all the pain that laid burried under so many layers. Just watching him alone was oddly therapeutic, but she couldn't hold herself back much longer either.

She approached the shattered mirror and grabbed what remained of the frame, instantly smashing it into the flatscreen. She was at the cupboard underneath next, violently yanking it forwards and flipping it, the wooden exterior imploding through the sudden force. Within a few moments, the room was devastated, no furniture in its prior state and not a single piece of interior decor where it had been before. She blindly accepted every single piece Kai handed her and either smashed it onto the ground, broke it or crashed it into the nearest wall while a whole series of past events enfolded in front of her inner eyes...

And suddenly she wasn't feelign so helpness anymore. It was satisfying, addictive even, and it didn't take long until they reached the next room. The fire axt in the corridor served as her new tool of sheer destruction and she didn't bother slashing at whatever came into her way. She tossed the axt away next and ripped pillow apart with her bare, bloody hands, the rush literally making her forget what had happened in the bar. She was no longer angry, perhaps she was even genuinely grateful for how he had seized this opportunity and a tiny piece of her utterly shattered self suddenly didn't feel as broken anymore.

The almost focused, destructive mood soon shifted and Maeve was suddenly chuckling. Perhaps it was a little absurd, but it was odd that he had known exactly what she had needed. "Fuck this storm, we are far worse". While the weather outside had actually calmed down, the tempest inside her was freed and they continued fucking up the place until she was seriously out of breath.

She glanced around in the third room, literally finding it hard to make out more to bluntly destroy, before her gaze met his. Her ocean eyes were alive once again, a genuine sparkle glistening in it as she said, "You want to talk? Let's talk. The woman who saved you was someone even I haven't seen in ages".

Maeve's life was a game and getting a glimpse of who she actually was was something no one ever truly received. Now, she felt exhilarated on a whole different level though and while she was shivering, it was from the satisfying excitement now. She approached him, intensely meeting his gaze, her voice barely more than a whisper as she added, "But why did you manage to get her out?". She knew they shared a similiar past. It wasn't hard to tell. She slowly reached up, gently attempting to brush the strand of loose her out of his face. How did he, above all people, find the right words? Or was it the simple fact that he was amongst the very few people who would ever understand?

@Sreeya

 

[Z'Kair]

Kai felt fully satisfied after their destruction spree. He couldn’t remember the last time he let loose like that. The Fiani was breathing heavily from all the chaos, his chest rising and falling rapidly. His tail swished back and forth from the adrenaline rush. He chuckled at her words, his gaze flicking beyond the window. The storm had passed by now, though the water levels were still high. He was distracted when Ruby spoke again, staring in silence.

He said nothing as she asked her question, and he didn’t move as she stepped forth. When she brushed his strands of hair away, his ears flattened and his hand reached to almost bat hers away. However, he paused, frozen in place as that vacant crater that was his left eye faced her. It made him feel sick, but it was out there in the open now.

“Maybe she always wanted to be out,” Kai said, a faint grin gracing his lips. He stared at her in silence for a moment before he stepped away and grabbed one of those expensive spa robes from the closet. He extended it to Ruby to throw over her bikini, realizing that she was still freezing.

“The galaxy is already your enemy, so why are you adding yourself to that list too?” Kai shrugged vaguely, walking over to sit on the edge of the ruined bed. He may have hidden his identity, but he was in his own corner, he was his own teammate, he was his own hype man. He would always be there for himself even when the rest of the galaxy hunted him down.

@LadyRen

 

[Maeve]

Time seemed to slow as she stared into his eyes - his one eye. She literally expecting him to stop her or pull away, but he didn't. It made her feel better as it made her feel like she wasn't the only one exposed. She obviously wasn't talking about her clothes, as her body never mattered to her anyway, but the way he had peeled off her well guarded outer layers and made her feel as naked as she hadn't in years.

Once again, she found herself holding her breath, a gasp only escaping when he stepped away to toss her a robe. She immediately wrapped herself into the warm, soft fabric and swallowed the lump in her throat that had once again threatened to suffocate her. No. She never wanted out. Maeve carefully kept her hidden deep inside, starved and weakened so that she would never found her way up by herself...and yet he had reached her the hand she had needed.

She didn't answer, but instead stayed where she was, her gaze slowly following him to the bed until she did finally follow. The bed frame was ripped into pieces, mutilated and vandalized beyond recognition, but while they had tore open the mattress, enough stuffing to lie on it remained.

She sat down next to him, however plopped down backwards, pulling her knees upwards and putting her feet on the silken sheets. "I try not to...not deliberately...I just happens". Her gaze was directed at the ceiling when she surprised the sigh. Self-sabotaging was her thing, but was he about to teach her a lesson on self-love?

"Any chance you planned on becoming a shrink before you decided becoming a crook suits you better?", she couldn't help but to ask, the lighthearted playfulness slowly returning. "But...I don't know. I don't have to face myself. Everywhere I go I can be someone else. It's easier". Only now did she realize that it was also cowardly, but she was smart enough not to dwell on it.

@Sreeya

 

[Z'Kair]

Kai snickered at her question, “In that case I should start charging you for this therapy session,” He said as he reached for a box of cigarra. He lit it up and quietly puffed on it, smoke rising up towards the sign that clearly said no smoking in the room. Kai also plopped backwards, gazing up at the ceiling as his head rested on one of his arms. He quietly took a drag from the cigarra, unconcerned that his gaping eye was uncovered.

“Being someone else should always be to gain something,” He said as he exhaled a cloud of smoke, “How many people that you’ve slept with have you actually conned?” Kai doubted she robbed those men or actually exploited them for a gain that had a huge payoff, “You do it to make yourself feel better but it really gets you jack shit at the end. If you wanna be a con artist, you can’t take your eye off the goal. And you can’t keep your eye on the goal when you’re getting in your own way.”

Kai ashed the cigarra, calmly staring up at the ceiling, “So you don’t know any nursery rhymes at all?” He asked out of the blue.

@LadyRen

 

[Maeve]

As Kai started smoking, the air was soon filled with the smell of burnt toxins. Perhaps they should set something on fire, too...but maybe they'd find some valuables in the morning. They could still burn the rest when they left. The storm was probably gone, and it was unlikely something that major returned, so perhaps Maeve could be off this planet by tomorrow afternoon...

As he started talking, she turned to face him, her elbow resting on the half destroyed mattress and her head in her hand. "Most", she blurted out, the truthful answer after all. Not all, yes. Sometimes she didnit because it felt good to have this kind of power...the truth also was though that sometimes, she used sex for something she needed on the long run. Some kind of insurance that would come in handy later- she was never one to play a short game, but to plan for the long-run.

Still, as it was probably easier, she decided not to share her grande scheme. Obviously not. Future Maeve would one day have a better life. Still, he wasn't all wrong about her lying to herself basically. It was all a toxic coping mechanism, when she wanted to feel as though everything was under control, she could simply sway a weak mind...

"So therapy session and business advice?", she pointed out, a smirk on her lips. It was once again easier to turn the conversation back to him than to admit his words were sinking in. She was constantly getting into her one way, one role she played lying to the other, but in the end it all still financed her life well. As for genuine self respect though? Well...that was a different issue. "You're infuriatingly clever". And surprisingly good to talk to, even if she hadn't even wanted this talk in the first place.

"I don't", she answered, once again giving him the truth. "How comes you're so versed with them?". She was generally curious and it distracted her from her own bs once again. She didn't want to spiral again, she wanted to chill for once. The bath robe was making it somewhat warmer for her, but she was still slightly shivering.

"Why did you enjoy teasing me that much on the dancefloor?", she suddenly asked, the question just shooting right out and her eyes slightly narrowing. There were countless questions to what games he was playing, but a few things really confused her. The mood was now something completely different, yet she still didn't like that he was the one in control here.

@Sreeya

 

[Z'Kair]

Kai was surprised at her blunt compliment. That was probably hard for her, but he took it in silence. There was a knowing smile on his face as he calmly smoked his cigarra. His tail lazily swished back and forth as he laid there. Kai considered her question for a long moment, “Because I had a mom,” He admitted as he took a long drag. It was a luxury for anyone in their line of work to have a parent present. Kai purposely spoke of her in the past tense so no follow up questions about his mother would come.

He chuckled to himself when she asked about the teasing. Kai tilted his head to look at her, giving her a fanged grin, “I figure you ought to meet at least one interesting man that doesn’t fall for the same routine,” Kai’s gaze lingered on hers briefly before he looked away again to continue his smoke. He blew out a series of thick smoke rings, watching them languidly trail up towards the ceiling.

“Besides, the girl that smashes things up because she’s afraid is far more interesting than the one that runs the show and has everyone on a hook,” Kai said before he took another drag.

@LadyRen

 

[Maeve]

Her first impulse was to scoff a simple, mocking 'cute', but she utterly refrained from throwing out a comment right away. It was cute, actually...maybe she even was the reason behind his decency. Maybe she was the reason behind him actually coping with his true self, something she had never learned to do.

She let out a sigh, closing her eyes for a few moments. She didn't want her own childhood to surface, hence she tried to swallow the vortex of terrible memories that threatened to surface. "Had...that must have been nice. I'm sorry though". As she opened her eyes, her expressions were both, sober and serious. Perhaps she had been the last person he had loved, but from the sounds of it she wasn't anymore.

As he walked about her again, what he said left her speechless once again. She had often heard that she was an interesting woman, but for once he wasn't one to talk about one of the personas he had met and that...hit differently. Her throat went try as she met his gaze again, before she crawled a little closer and reached for his cigarra with shaking hands, wanting one deep, soothing drag.

"You make it incredibly hard for me to still stay mad at you", she admitted, before her lips were crossed with another smirk. If he had let her take his smoke, she slowly blow out the smoke before she'd hand it back. "I know, you're not fond of water, but is there any chance I'd be getting you into a jacuzzi?", she wanted to know, her sparkling eyes indicating that she admittedly like the idea of a hot tub to warm herself from the inside.

@Sreeya

 

[Z'Kair]

Kai let her take the cigarra, but he let her keep it. He grinned at her words, “What reason do you have to be mad at me right now?” He asked with a raised brow, “That I won’t do exactly what you want like all the other men?” He gave her a fanged smile. That fight for control was still there from her, and it was an impulse she couldn’t help. It was fascinating to witness, and if he didn’t have women flirting with him all the time, he would have fallen for it too by now.

“You’re not getting me in a jacuzzi,” He said with an actual laugh, “I almost drowned and I don’t feel like becoming soup,” After all, sitting in a bubbling tub of hot water sounded exactly like becoming soup. Throw a bit of seasoning in and it was Fiani soup du jour. Kai rolled off the bed, “This resort has some fancy lounges and cabanas in the top level.”

If she followed him, he led them up the stairs towards the roof lounge area. As he walked through the corridors, he realized that the resort was far emptier than he realized. There were no people holed up and their belongings were likely left behind in a hurry. That meant he had all the time in the world to do his looting.

Unlike the inside of the resort, the air outside was warm and there was a tropical breeze. There was a pool and jacuzzi, and Kai decided to plop down in one of the cabana beds that oversaw it. He rolled up his sleeves, revealing the full sleeve tattoo on his left arm before getting comfortable. The moon was bright and the skies were dotted with stars. He could faintly hear the rescue operations taking place below, but no one was going to bother coming up here anytime soon.

“In Nar Shaddaa, only the Syndicate families can afford things like this,” He said as he looked around, “You inevitably have to swear yourself for life to one or get the hell out. Sometimes I envy people from the Core,” He said with a grin. He wasn’t stupid - he had recognized her accent even when she attempted to hide it sometimes.

@LadyRen

 

[Maeve]

Why was she mad at him or trying to be? Because he had exposed her, struck as she had been vulnerable, had made her vulnerable in the first place and beat her at her own game....she had several reasons. But with the haze in her head and his fluffy ears slightly jiggling, she couldn't help but chuckle.

"Right now, perhaps not so many anymore", she teased, a smirk tugging at her lips as she took another drag, blowing the whole smoke cloud upwards. As he told her he absolutely wouldn't enter a Jacuzzi, she let out a sigh. "Dude, soup? Are you for real? Hot rather and relaxing bubbles is the best...", but then again, he'd smell like wet dog again. Also, she had already learned he hated water more than anything, so she didn't try to sway him just then. His soup comparison still kept her chuckling, even as she began to follow.

Once upstairs on the roof, Maeve realized that it had gotten quite late but that she was far from becoming any tired. She was way to exhilarated and her emotions still somewhat stirred up. She stayed on her feet as he plopped down, gazing into the dark distance, however spotting lights of speeders all around.

It seemed like those lucky enough to survive were being rescued, and the rest probably cleared off the roads. As she turned, her gaze fell onto his tat for a moment, telling her exactly what she needed to know about it, but the fact that his fluffy, yet still somewhat damp tail laid beside him made her smirk.

The implications of his comment were obvious, so there was no reason to hide it. "The Core isn't better. Trust me, I've been around a lot. There's a reason to why I'm usually far away from it", she replied as she took a seat next to him. "So this job you've mentioned earlier...do you want to get it done right away?". As her original plan had entailed staying here for a while, she was basically off. "Why don't you normally stay on Nar Shaddaa? Did you piss off said families?", she also asked, curiously now that they've reached a level to actually communicate.

@Sreeya