Red raw eyes

[Graham Holfast]

The cheeky grin Holfast bore bobbed back and forth as he hummed along to some unheard tune whilst making his way in through the crowds of the bar and grill. With his hands pushed into his breeches pockets, he slipped with flighty ease through all of the people, managing to pick up a wallet along the way before dropping down onto a stool by an empty table.

In one motion he swung his legs up onto the table top - worn boots clunking down against the wood - and leant so far that the chair became balanced on two legs. His eyes were damp from the smoke wisping out from the stick that rested upon his lower lip, which he would spin with his tongue on occasion causing another puff of very pale green to drift up into his eyes.

Evidently, he was 'baked'.

[Tianje Xhu]

heads turned as those standing in the crowded bar and grill were jostled by the young ruffian who just entered.

tianje had been sitting quietly, virtually unnoticed by the larger adults and when thier frowning attention was turned on the other kid, she saw her chance. like a wisp of smoke she moved through the crowd, her nimble fingers removing a wallet from one and a canvas pouch from another.

slipping the wallet into a hidden pocket that she had sewn to the inside of her pants, tianje stuffs the pouch deep within the worn jedi robe she had fished out of the trash bin a few days earlier then quickly moves back to the seat she had been sitting in.

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

Walking by, Cirr pauses, his sensitive nose catching a strong, pungent scent of smoke. Eyes watering, he looks around, inhaling gradually until in one severe motion, his eyes snapped shut, ears fluttered, and his mouth explodes in a horrendous sneeze

AAAK-PFFFTH!!!

[Korik Bannor]

The haruchai stood back near the bar watching the patrons curiously. Observing their the mannerisms and varying levels of intoxication with mild amusement and concern. He enjoyed people watching. An odd, familiar odor wafted through the air when a large cizerack passed by and sneezed. Korik seen spittle fly, illuminated in the neon-lit backdrop. The Padawan sniffed the air again curiously hoping to recover the troublesome odor again. Glancing around the room he quickly located a young rough seated at a table with a smoke in his mouth. And witnessed the passing possession of a wallet. Korik moved.

[Graham Holfast]

The reaction the large cat-like creature had made caused Holfast to choke out a laugh, almost coughing up his lungs in the process.

“What’s t’ problem, big fella?”

[Tianje Xhu]

tianje would check on the contents of the items she had stolen, later. right now the ciz male and the young rough had her full attention.

she knew a thief when she saw one, she was one herself, and she wasnt too sure that she wanted someone else around plucking her pigeons. but it had been a while since tianje had heard news off the street and she was eager to learn of any new fads or happenings. after she had a chance to talk to him, she would make it clear whose territory this was.

[Korik Bannor]

A strong hand grasped Tianje's upper arm as a soft voice spoke in her ear, "May I help you?"

Behind her stood Korik in brown Jedi robe, hood drawn back. His kind steel blue eyes fixed on Tianje. Waiting for her response.

[Tianje Xhu]

dark eyes widen as she looked up and instinctively, tianje jerked her arm from the jedi's grasp.

had he seen what she had done? why hadnt she simply slipped out through the door when she had her chance? because you were gettin greedy, came the silent reply from her own mind. in the old days, noone had ever caught her. must be slippin in my old age.

defiantly, tianje meets and holds his gaze.

"i dont need no help, mister. go bother someone who does."

[Korik Bannor]

Korik's Jedi apparel was blatant as he held out his hand towards Tianje, "C'mon, let's be cooperative or I may be forced to alert certain authorities within this establishment and they will be far less kind than I."

He grinned with a quick wink.

[Tianje Xhu]

what did this guy want? the items she stole or a date? did he expect her to take his hand and hold it?

rising slowly from her seat, she begins backing away and bumps into cirrsseeto then scampers around to his front, pointing at the jedi.

"hes following me!"

[Graham Holfast]

Shuffling up to his feet, he swaggered across to Tianje, and as he neared her picked up his pace. He jogged across to her and grabbed her by the arm.

"Oi you, what you doin' out 'ere?!"

Holfast gave her a glare then looked towards the Jedi and shook his head, "Sorry there, eh? The lass doesn't know what she's doin half the time."

He held out a hand to the girl, before forcefully removing the wallet from her possesion - making note to relieve it of a sum of credits as he palmed it. Handing it to Korik, he smiled a sincere smile.

"'al just be takin' her back to the old mental home now. T'anks for seein' to her!"

With this said, he waved and span quickly, tugging Tianje with him.

[Tianje Xhu]

making a half-hearted effort to tug her arm out of the young roughs grasp, tianje allowed him to haul her out of the bar and grill. better him than the jedi fellow calling the sr down on her head.

she must be slipping. it was the first time she had been caught in a very long while and as an after thought, she glances back over her shoulder to make sure that the male jedi wasnt following them.

once holfast had dragged her half a block, tianje had enough and easily pulled her hand free of his.

"i'll be taking those credits, now. ya know, the ones you lifted from the wallet i lifted?"

[Graham Holfast]

"Fine by me, but don't ya think ya owe m'something?"

Graham held his palm face up, credits resting on his hand.

"Ya know, thanks fer saving yer behind?"

[Tianje Xhu]

with a grudging acceptance, tianje nods.

"c'mon then and i'll show ya where i flop at night but ya gotta be quiet like cos its righ' outside where the jedi sleep an' i don' wanna be gettin roused in the middle o' the night. this way."

trudging along, tianje glances at her new and temporary companion.

"where ya come from?"

[Graham Holfast]

The offer didn’t sound too bad, and it certainly would beat having to spend his earnings on a board house.

“From? Oh, just round about, no where of importance, ya know? Plus, like me dad always said, it’s not where ya come from, its where yer going that counts.”

[Tianje Xhu]

"jus' thought we mighta known some o' the same people is all."

nearing a low row of hedges tianje suddenly drops low, pulling holfast down with her. with quick furtive looks around she creeps up to a wide vertical drainage grate and lowers the bottom half of the grate down, getting on her hands and knees to crawl inside and motioning to him to follow.

"when ya get in here ya can kinda stand but ya gotta hunch over so ya aint bumpin your head or scrapin your back. an' keep your feet spread so ya aint traipsin through all the water."

the light from the outside partially illuminates the long permacrete tunnel and they travel a good hundred meters before tianje turns off into a side culvert. going just a few more meters, tianje reaches up and grasps a ledge, pulling herself up onto it and crawling through another smaller opening which widens into roughly a ten by ten foot permacrete room, with a large metal inset door set into the "roof".

against one wall is a couple of rolled up blankets and an assortment of odd clothing that tianje had picked up here and there. lighting a small latern that she had obviously stolen from someone, she looks at holfast with a wry grin on her face.

"not the best but its warm in the fall and winter and stays cool in the summer and i dont get wet. im thinking this was probably meant for storage or maintenance but noone has been down here since i moved in. but the radest part is once in a while i can hear stuff...ya know, things i aint supposed to hear."

[Graham Holfast]

It wasn't the best looking place, but then not everyone could live in a palace. Stooping down low, Graham skulked about and eyed the blankets and other items stashed on the floor with a calculating eye.

"Ya know, 'ave got an apartment ya could bunk in if yer growing tired of the concrete beds."

She gave him and odd look and he shrugged, offering a broad smile.

[Tianje Xhu]

it was hard to ignore his smile and tianje ended up smiling back but she shook her head, declining his offer.

"i like my flop here. noone else knows about it an' iffen they did i still wouldnt be bothered, not right under the jedis' noses."

sitting down with her back to a wall tianje tugs the stolen pouch outta her robe, eagerly opening it up to see what she scored. frowning at the handful of papers inside she yanks them out, tossing them aside for the moment before delving deeper into the goody bag.

a handful of credits, an apple, a key ring with several keys attached and a datapad was the rest of her haul. not bad for a few minutes work. snatching up the fruit she bites into it then offers it holfast as she picks up the papers to have a look at them.

"its too frellin dark to read it! would ya mind lightin' that latern so i can see what this is?"

with the strike of a match, holfast torches the latern and swings it over by tianje, leaning in to read with her. tianje's eyes run back and forth quickly over the pages, her frown deepening as she reads. puzzling over the meaning of the documents she looks at gram.

"ive heard the name dawnstrider before an' i think i know which one is this verse fella is but whats a 'garou'? an' why do the jedi think they could be a danger?"