Open The Party Bus is Coming!

[Anai Skhess]

Other than seeing Syn poking at the badly injured Zabrak, Anai couldn't see anyone from the crowd doing anything about it, just the friends of the Zabrak approaching, looking confused, concerned and angry about what had happened as they asked around. Anai was about to get up and search for Cairo since, as far as she knew, he was the only one that had driven the bus that she knew of. However, before she could get up and look for him, one of the Zabrak's friends kicked her straight in the head.

For most people, it was pretty clear that Ashla had been the cause of it, but the Zabrak's friends had arrived a bit too late and, when they asked around, the answer to the question they got about who did it was "the alien girl". Of course, they also pointed in the direction of Ashla, but the friends were too high and drunk to notice, instead arriving to the conclusion that they meant the person that was standing right next to their friend and that actually had his blood on her hands.

Another kick to the side of her body followed before another acolyte jumped into the conversation "Not her, you idiots! the Togruta was the one that did it!" The Zabrak's friends turned their attention towards Ashla and then nodded at each other, now making her way towards her, not even bothering to look back at Anai one more time.

The Kaleesh girl put a hand on her head as she weakly got up, bleeding since the mask had been pushed into her face quite roughly by the kick, doing a few cuts. Thankfully, the alcohol and the herbs had number her to pain quite a bit...But it didn't numb the feeling of rage that was taking over her, before they got to do anything to the togruta that had attacked their friend, Anai would charge at the one that kicked her and ram him with her tusks as fast as she could possibly go and stab him right in the back. Chances are she would end up getting ganged up on, but she wasn't thinking properly in her current state.

@Sreeya @Wit @Altaris @lizziie @Braden @Fine Dining Set @Mr. Teatime

 

[Altair Din]

Altair was completely frozen in place when Vahliri spoke. He had expected so many things: he expected her to slap him, to throw him, to lash out, to express rage for whatever reason. The last thing he expected were those words. The Devaronian was clearly shaken, his violet eyes wide and his jaw slack. The party bus and the commotion all blurred around him, and he simply stood in stunned silence staring at the half Sephi.

Memories began to flood through his mind - memories of their dance, memories of all the ways she smiled at him, of all the ways he felt compelled to protect her, the way he felt his face heat up and his brain turn to mush whenever she was near. He had always put it aside because he considered her many leagues beyond him. She came from a wealthy family used to luxuries and extravagant things, and he was just a poor kid everyone thought looked like a freak. How could she ever see him as anything more than a friend at best? On top of that, she was so quick to anger. It was to the point where she made him genuinely nervous sometimes. What would she do if he ever did anything to upset her?

“Vahliri..” He barely got out, still shocked. However, that’s when he thought back to the bottle in her hand. He thought back to how many drinks she downed, how she had been playing beer pong, how she took several hits from the herbs. Altair’s gaze lowered and he shook his head, awkwardly grazing a hand along his horn, “You’ve been drinking. You don’t know what you’re saying,” He stated flatly, angry at himself now. He was perhaps the only sober person on the bus right now thanks to his Devaronian genes.

Before he could say anything else, Cairo’s voice boomed inside his mind like a pop up ad in the middle of a dramatic movie. The sense of urgency was enough to jolt Altair from the moment, and he looked immediately at Vahliri.

“Cops are coming,” He said urgently as he moved towards her, “We have to go now!” Altair looked back towards where Cairo and Malou jumped off the edge. However, he patted his side and realized his hallikset was still back by the beer pong table. Not only that, but he couldn’t help but wonder if foreign and the less socially adjusted acolytes even got the memo. Altair sighed and looked at Vahliri.

“You need to get off the bus,” He moved closer and gently cupped the side of her face with his hand, “You have to get to safety or you’ll get caught. Do you understand? Go where Cairo went and swing down. Don’t be stubborn right now, Vahliri, please,” He said sternly, almost pleading with his last sentence. He was also making sure she wasn’t just drunkenly nodding, “I have to get my hallikset and get the others out.”

Altair said nothing more before he spun on his heel and bolted in the opposite direction. It was nothing but chaos inside with people scrambling in different directions. He popped in right in time to see Anai slam into someone, his eyes widening at the sight. From the looks of it, she was also bleeding. Altair ran towards the group, seeing everyone else beginning to circle around the Kaleesh.

He channeled the Force and sent a powerful blast outwards, sending the group toppling backwards over themselves. Altair ran over and grabbed his hallikset, glancing over at Anai and Ashla, “Off the bus!! Now!” The entire bus trembled and shuddered as the ambulance speeder docked against it. The police speeders began to dock on the other side. Panic set in as Altair realized he was very close to getting arrested. He looked at the girls, fear clear in his eyes before he grabbed them both by the wrists and bolted towards the roof of the bus. Altair arrived near the edge, looking down at the very far jump as they began to cross by the roof of a building. He swallowed the lump in his throat and looked left, then looked right. All three would have to use the Force to cushion their landings.

“Ready?”

With that, he sprang off the edge. This was right as cops burst into the roof with their blasters drawn behind them.

@Wit @Altaris @Versok

 

[Ashla Ti]

Altair's words hit Ashla like a canon, so much so that she didn't even notice as he shoved her. It snapped her out of whatever haze her mind was in. Only enough it was his mention of the Cadre that hit her more than the other accusations. So had known she couldn't keep that hidden forever, sooner or later word would get out, rumors would spread. But to have it thrown at her like that, she wasn't really for it. Specially as out of her mind as she was.

Emotions raced within her, and as she let her gaze follow Altair for a moment as he walked away her mind started to clear. Without even knowing it she was drawing on the Force, letting pain drive her once more, only this time it wasn't physical pain, it was pain of a different sort. There was the pain of realization that everyone knew of her connection to the Cadre, no more hiding behind lies, that little bubble of protection that anonymity had offered her was gone. There was the pain of loss, because she had surely lost something today. Just when she thought she was beginning to make friends she had shown them her true face, what she really was deep down. Just another product of the Cadre, just another psychopath, and who would want to be friends with someone like that. And there was the pain of loneliness, of resignation to her lot in life, to the role she had to play, and how despite her best efforts she might always be alone.

For what seemed like hours, but might as well have been moments, she just stood there, begining to understand the cost of her actions, the price of becoming what she always wanted to become. A Sith. The sort of Sith she wanted to be. It was only when the Kaleesh girl got attacked that she slowly raised her head and realized she was till in the bus. Her first instinct was to move to help, but then she stopped. Move and do what? Beat them up as well, deal with them like she had the Zabrak?

Thankfully she didn't have to ponder long on that thought as Altair showed up, dealing with the idiots where she couldn't. The sight of him made her throat dry, not sure what to say, what do do. But then he surprised her by grabbing her hand and dragging her along after him. By the time they reached the roof she had some idea of what was happening. An ambulance was here, as were the cops. And with that a surprised thought came to her, a realization that made no sense to her.

He was trying to get her out, to help her.

She stared at him for a moment, wondering why he was doing that, despite what she had done, what he knew her to be. She wasn't sure, not entirely, but maybe it wasn't that easy to push people away. That brought a smile to her face, and just as he was about to jump, she puller her hand free. Her head was clear, mind blessed with a clarity that no amount of alcohol in the world could overcome, and she knew what she had to do. As far as she knew he was as drunk and high as she had been moments ago, and the Kalessh girl was no better. In her eyes jumping was a hail marry. High risk, high reward. Well, she couldn't let that happen, could she?

So as the Altair and Anai jumped she reached out with the Force and caught them, and instead of plummeting under their own weight, they floated gently down and across, landing moments later on the roof without as much as a scratch. That was when the cops arrived, and as she turned around, hands going up in compliance, a pleased smile was on her lips. Things hadn't gone as she might have planned, and this was a mess she had not expected. But it was her mess, and she would deal with the consequences. At least by keeping the others safe she might be able to do something right, for once in her life.

@Sreeya @Versok

 

[Malou D'Amaris]

"Hey Cai-" Before Malou could finish her greeting, a hush fell over the floor. She had purposefully avoided looking to whenever the Zabrak had wandered off to after their exchange, but her Sight snapped right to his limp, horizontal body. Between Ashla's lingering expressions of anger and the crowd's body language, it didn't take her long to put two and two together.

An emotion she didn't quite know how to describe followed. It was like a mixture of satisfaction and frustration. On one hand, she was flattered that her friend would retaliate against him on her behalf. On the other, the Zabrak here reminded her of another Zabrak she knew. One had been smashed into the floor and the other thrown through a window. She liked neither of them, but never would she think they deserved this sort of violence. Malou didn't know how to feel, what to do, or what to say, so the Miralukan just stared. Her version of staring meant stopping mid-sentence and continuing to stand with her body facing Cairo while her Sight lingered on the scene behind her, though.

It was that feeling of helplessness--of not knowing what to do--that caused a greater sense of frustration to well up in her chest. That frustration turned into action, so when Cairo reappeared and took ahold of her wrist, she went with him without a word. Wherever they were going, it was away from the situation.

Adrenaline rushed through her veins as she swung down the rope alongside Cairo, and the wind cooled the exposed skin on her face. One hand kept a firm grip on the rope while the other held onto Cairo. She could feel the rough texture of the rope irritate her skin as they slid further down as they swung, though for the sake of not falling she kept her hand enclosed around it.

The ground was growing exponentially closer, but they were going to smack right into the side of a building if they didn't drop now. The ground was packed with hundreds of pedestrians so there was no way they could drop without taking out a couple of dancers with them. 'That leaves the roof.' She had to act quick. She had to act now.

"Hold on!" Malou shouted as her hand on the rope released and fell so her palm was facing the ground. As this happened, the Force welled up inside of her and released from her palm. That, combined with the momentum of their swing, pushed them upwards enough that they were able to just barely clear the wall and land on the roof. Cairo, being slightly further up on the rope, would make it no problem. Malou made it as well, but her shin made contact with the edge of the roof. The edge cut across her leg and scrapped off the uppermost layers of her skin. Because of the adrenaline and alcohol in her system, Malou barely felt it and failed to notice it even after she rolled to a stop.

"Are you alright?" Malou called out to Cairo as she struggled to her feet. The pain from her leg hadn't quite reached her yet, so the Miralukan stood there in her sparkly pink dress with a bloody leg on one side and a neutral expression on the exposed half of her face. If he was on the ground, she would offer her hand to help him up. Her Sight flipped back just as Altair and Anai hit the roof. Her body turned to face them when she noticed Ashla wasn't among them. "Where's Ashla?" There was an obvious tone of concern in her voice. The champion had long since noticed the police vehicles docked onto the party bus. "Where's Ashla?" she repeated, her voice growing louder.

tag: @Fine Dining Set @Versok @Sreeya

 

[Anai Skhess]

The acolyte that had previously attacked Anai fell to the ground, groaning in pain as the Kaleesh looked at his friends, her eyes darting around as adrenaline started to kick in and wake her up, if only a little bit. With her own blood on her face and someone else's blood on her tusks, she stepped back realizing a crowd was gathering around her and that she would soon be outnumbered, the Kaleesh acolyte just raised her hands up and prepared herself as she expected things to get very violent.

However, to her own surprise, Altair came to the rescue, Anai's eyes widening in surprise as he used the force to clear the way. the Kaleesh took that opportunity to make her way towards him and Ashla, nodding weakly about leaving the bus before the bus shuddering made her fall to the ground once more, the concussion really not helping her case.

Her yellow eyes focused on Altair's for a second, noticing the fear in them and starting to process just how badly things had gotten. Getting up as fast as she could, Anai ran alongside Altair and Ashla, grabbing his hand as to secure her footing a little better seeing how she was barely able to keep up without stumbling and falling to the ground. When Altair told her they were about to jump, Anai couldn't help but have trembling hands, squeezing Altair's our of fear, not feeling sure about her ability to make such a thing at the moment, but they had no other choice.

And, unfortunately, her fear was not unfounded as she was struck by a stun bolt from the police just as they jumped off the bus, her body going limp after that. Ashla would use the force to help with the fall, but with the police so close behind her, she wouldn't have enough time to make it completely safe. In the end, Anai would hit the cold hard ground, falling on her side and losing consciousness for real after her head bounced on the floor if the stun bult didn't bring her down already. At first glance it was clear that the arm Anai had landed on had completely broken and her head was now bleeding a lot more from another different place. Knocked out cold and badly hurt, this was an experience that would stick to the Kaleesh for the rest of her life...If she managed to have a tomorrow now, that's it.

@Sreeya @Wit

 

[Darth Tempest]

[/justify]

Vahliri kept her honeyed eyes on the ground for several long seconds after she spoke, and could feel the intense heat that coursed through her body and burned against her cheeks. With her feelings laid bace and out in the open, she braced herself for Altair to reject how she felt, or for him to say nothing at all. The half-Sephi glanced up after a few moments, clearly noting the completely stunned and shocked expression on the Devaronian’s face.

She couldn’t help but wince a bit when Altair spoke, blaming the alcohol in her system for what she was saying. While the half-Sephi couldn’t deny the strong buzz she was feeling, the girl was certain that how she felt had nothing to do with it. “I know how I feel, Altair..” She said quietly, looking up to finally meet the Devaronian’s gaze completely. She opened her mouth to speak - to push the issue further, but was summarily cut off by the way that Altair jolted and immediately looked at her.

There was a brief look of confusion that manifested on Vahliri’s face for the briefest moment, having not heard any telepathic warning from Cairo. It didn’t linger, however, as Altair rapidly vocalized that cops were on their way.

“What? Hell no, I’m not leaving without–..” The half-Sephi paused when Altair cupped the side of her face, unable to help blinking a few times at the gesture. There was a pleading to the Devaronian’s voice that caught her entirely off guard, and it doused her desire to rebelliously defy what he was saying. She wasn’t going to argue with him. Not this time.

Vahliri exhaled softly through her nostrils before giving a solid nod of her head in response to the Devaronian’s pleading. She reached up with a hand, gripping the wrist of the hand that cupped her cheek - squeezing his arm tightly for a few moments. She lingered there for far longer than was necessary, thumbing her finger across his arm. “Don’t get caught..” She muttered softly.

With that, Vahliri spun on a heel and pushed off from where she had been sitting, making a break for the roof of the bus. She briefly looked back over her shoulder, catching side of Altair using the Force to knock back a group of fellow Acolytes, but she didn’t stop - weaving through the crowds of party-goers until she reached the top of the bus.

Vahliri glanced over the edge, spotting the ropes that Cairo and others had used swinging just out of reach. She felt the bus shudder, forcing the half-Sephi to swallow the lump in her throat and push her hesitation to the back of her mind for the time being. She was either going to go now, or she would be caught.

The half-Sephi took a few steps backwards, giving herself a bit of a running start before springing forward and off the edge of the bus. She reached out with the Force at that precise moment, coiling around the rope and pulling it into her grasp - enabling the half-Sephi to latch on for dear life, and begin to slowly slide down towards the festivities below.

The half-Sephi winced as the rough material of the rope slid across her palms and burned her skin, but maintained a tight grasp the entire way down. Her eyes rapidly flicked across the horizon, scoping out a proper place to land before settling upon the rooftop where Malou and Cairo had already touched down.

The half-Sephi coiled the Force around herself and used it to propel herself towards that rooftop, cutting through the air and coming in for a landing a bit harder and faster than was ideal. As soon as she cleared the rooftop and released that rope, Vahliri stumbled forward at high speed - rolling forward across the ground before finally coming to a stop a few feet away from Cairo and Malou. Even with the alcohol and herbs in her system, Vahliri could feel the warmth of blood on her arms knees - glancing down to take note of the scraps that had been left against her skin from crashing against the rooftop.

Pushing herself to her feet, Vahliri briefly glanced back at the other two Acolytes, giving them a quick look of concern. “You both alright?” She asked before looking back up towards the bus, suddenly feeling a bit of anxiety knowing that Altair, Ashla and the others were still up there. She wasn’t left wondering for very long, as she soon caught side of the Devaronian and Kaleesh jumping towards the rooftop. She watched as they both make a landing, and couldn’t help but wince when the Kaleesh hit a bit harder than expected.

“Altair! Anai!”

The half-Sephi rapidly began to make her way over to Altair and Anai, hobbling into a short jog in order to reach the other two Acolytes. It wasn’t until Malou spoke that Vahliri noticed that Ashla wasn’t with them, her honeyed eyes going wide as she looked back to the bus - realization etching itself into her expression. “Ashla?”

 

[Cairo Kisufi]

Cairo, fortunately, landed without incident. Thanks to Malou's intervention, the pair tumbled onto the roof. Cairo laughed the entire time, a combination of high giggling and the joy he felt while he fell. This had been a pretty sick party, and getting to make a pretty sick exit was icing on the cake. After a couple of tumbles of the roof, Cairo popped back up to his feet, spinning around to face Malou as he answered her question. "Yeah I'm alright." He had been scraped ever so lightly on his forearm, but is was more like a rug burn than an actual problem.

"Are you good?" He looked at her bloodied leg with concern, seeing the splatters of blood appearing from her leg. "Oh shit. You're hurt!" He pulled out some antiseptic solution from his utility belt (a purchase he made since he was woefully unprepared in the field historically) and offered it to her. He nervously ran his hand behind his neck, realizing that it didn't seem like the night would end as fun as it started. "Are you alright to walk? I can call a cab for you back to your hotel or wherever you're staying." He checked around for the rest of the group. He had seen the quiet kid skateboard down the side of a building (fucking epic) and he saw Anai, Altair, and Vahliri off in the distance. He pointed in the group's direction. "What are you talking about, Ashla's right there, right?"

He looked again. She wasn't. And by the panicked way Vahliri and Altair were pointing up at the party bus, now boarded by G'weneean police, a sinking feeling entered his gut. He had called the ambulance just to get the kid some help. Was Ashla now getting arrested by these same police? Had he doomed her to a G'Weneean prison during the height of Carnaval?

"Ahhhhhh, I fucked up, Malou. I gotta go fix this. You'll be alright getting home?" He stretched his arms out, hoping to give her a quick hug before sprinting away towards Altair and Vahliri. They had to figure out what was going on.

A journey that would take them to...

TURTLE BAY​

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/exit thread

 

[Malou D'Amaris]

Oh, shit. She was bleeding, wasn't she? "That doesn't matter right now," she said with a shake of her head. It wasn't until she was in the hug that she realized it, but by the time she did, the hug was over. The girl felt a bit dazed but shook her head again to clear her thoughts. "Go after Ashla! I'll go help the girl that fell, then I'll try to see if I can get help from higher up!" There was no saying how long it would take to get in touch with her master. If he wasn't busy, he was drunk after all. It was likely they could nab her within the hour, or even within a few days. That was the best-case scenario, but just in case, she would see if he would help.

The Miralukan walked over to the edge of the building, praising herself for choosing to wear sneakers over heels. She could now feel the hot pain in her leg from the scrape, but she was dutifully ignoring it. Malou continued until she reached the edge, pulled the Force around her, then took another step and dropped to the street below. The champion focused the Force directly beneath her and used it to cushion her fall.

'Fuck, what's her name? Anie? Anay? Anai!' "Anai, can you hear me?" No response. 'She's unconscious.' A quick glance over and Malou was able to spot the obviously broken arm and the bludgeoned wound to the Kaleesh's head where he'd hit the ground. Carefully, the Serennian picked her up. She was taller and heavier than the Miralukan, but Malou was both in top shape and perfectly capable of using the Force to strengthen her core. Recalling the health centers on G'wenee she had visited with Senin, Malou reached out with her Sight to try and locate the nearest one. Once she found it, she adjusted her grip on the acolyte and quickly headed in that direction.

'I hope nothing happens to her.' If something happened to Ashla, Malou wasn't sure how she would handle that.

// exit thread w/ Anai

tags: @Fine Dining Set @Versok