Rodians will be Rodians...

[Taoré Timarick]

~Brooke laughed out loud. Quite heartily. This was just hilarious. He actually thought that Brooke hadn't invited the danger? Oh, well she hadn't exactly invited the Dark Man in...but, the Rodians? Whoops. Entirely her. And she had been in tens of situations like the one they had just left before. Provoked, entirely. It was a bit of a sport, really, especially in regards to the Darker sides of the force. No one had killed her outright yet, and that was a testament to, well, something. Brooke wasn't exactly sure what. Her own ingenuity and intelligence, surely. With a helping of luck every once in a while.~

"Oh kid, you have absolutely no idea. Those Rodians? Provoked. By me. I didn't quite expect them to come back in such numbers...but, there are many, many, many humans and aliens alike in this city that would love to see me hanging out to dry, all with good reason." ~Well, to be honest, some with less reason than others. People just got so darn offended these days. It made being a thief and informer hard.~ "So please, don't give me the damsel-in-distress crap. I choose this life, just like you choose yours. And I'm perfectly happy in it. So shoo."

~It was quite convenient that Brooke had avoided all and any mention of the force. But, perhaps by now, not surprising to Taore.~

Now it was his turn to laugh. Damsel-in-distress? His mission was to do the most good for everyone. He hated seeing the vicious cycle of death and did what he could to stop it. He treated everyone equal.

"Princess, if you seriously think I put your fine behind on a pedestal, you got another thing coming. And you also might want to consider a safer line of work. Clearly you're as untrained as you are with etiqute of the mouth. Sadly, not a lot of people want to hear you speak, contrary to what you believe. And if you really think you're good at what you do, then what happened back there in the bar, provoked or not, would not have happened and require two guys with glowsticks to cover your ass." He retorted, asserting himself. His noticible bite to his words proved to her he was no Jedi, not really anyways. He lacked the emotional restriction. He lowered his hood, which had been up the entire time, revealing an extremely handsome young man slightly older than she was, with long black hair. It was clear in spite of his age, but more through his eyes, he had seen a lot more than one would his age, and there was an immediate sense of world weariness. He knew from her attire she was a thief.

"Not that thieves, who are in their own little world of thrill-seeking, notice." He said, his voice very sober and sincere, but also bitter.

 

[WhiteSheWolf]

"Oh, that's how you see it. Well, if the idiots with glowsticks hadn't been their in the first place, I probably would have snuck out that back door at the first sign of trouble."

~That was a lie. A complete, utter, total lie. He wouldn't see it; Brooke was brilliant lier. But she was drawn to trouble like magnets attract. Curiosity. Morbid, at that, but, there you have it. It was amusing how he thought he knew her. Right. Brooke barely knew herself. When he pulled off his hood, Brooke gave no visible reaction was he handsome? Maybe if Brooke had been a different girl, in a different life. But as it stood...~

"You can banter at me all you like. Won't change a thing. And I actually have to work for my living. So if you'll excuse me...I have some business to attend to."

~Brooke turned then, and walked down the alleyway. She would turn right at the corner; but regardless of if Taore followed, he wouldn't see her. To the rooftops she would go eventually, to wind her way through the slums of Coruscant to the small room above a equally dingy Cantina that she called home.~

 

[Taoré Timarick]

"Oh, that's how you see it. Well, if the idiots with glowsticks hadn't been their in the first place, I probably would have snuck out that back door at the first sign of trouble."

~That was a lie. A complete, utter, total lie. He wouldn't see it; Brooke was brilliant lier. But she was drawn to trouble like magnets attract. Curiosity. Morbid, at that, but, there you have it. It was amusing how he thought he knew her. Right. Brooke barely knew herself. When he pulled off his hood, Brooke gave no visible reaction was he handsome? Maybe if Brooke had been a different girl, in a different life. But as it stood...~

"You can banter at me all you like. Won't change a thing. And I actually have to work for my living. So if you'll excuse me...I have some business to attend to."

~Brooke turned then, and walked down the alleyway. She would turn right at the corner; but regardless of if Taore followed, he wouldn't see her. To the rooftops she would go eventually, to wind her way through the slums of Coruscant to the small room above a equally dingy Cantina that she called home.~

He made no move to follow her, but he stared her down until she had left. He checked his chrono: He was in for a rough night. As he turned towards the temple, he began to think: Maybe things don't happen by happenstance. Perhaps the Force gives us scenarios that have always been meant to be; but it's the choices we make that determine the outcome. Perhaps things happened in that bar for the same reason he still could not get her name: Choice. Perhaps it is up to us to choose what we believe is right or wrong, but it's also up to us to meet these scenarios when we do. And we can always choose what happens next. And that, he thought, made all the difference in the galaxy.

- End.