Aftermath

[James Prent]

[cont from <a href=http://www.swforums.net/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=30231>here</a>]

James ducked into the nearest cab just outside of the B&G, and slid into the seat, still holding onto her wrist tightly. Taataani, the Cizerack hemale with an out of control libido had done a number on the padawan.

Her robes were ...well they were still inside the bar, and she was wearing a beer soaked shift and sandals. And it was a cool night, on top of all that. Her hair was messed, and she felt like bursting into tears.

The cabbie looked back at her through the mirror. "Where to, miss? Woah, are you okay?"

"The Jedi complex, please..." James tried not to look pitiful, but failed. I swear I'll never drink again!

[Aaron Belargic]

A hand thumped on the semi-opaque window of the cab.

“James!”

[James Prent]

The cabbie sighed as James scooted over once more and peered through the smoked glass at one of the twins. "Want me to wait?"

She bit her lip and nodded, "This will just take a second..." The padawan cracked the door open, speaking to the man outside. "I just want to leave, okay?" She sounded near tears again.

[Aaron Belargic]

“Are you okay?”

Stupid question, Aaron. As if he didn’t already know the answer.

“I just wanted to apologize, before you go… that was all my fault.”

[James Prent]

She left the door open, and scooted back over to the other side of the cab. "I ... I ..." James took a deep breath, and then noticed she was bleeding on the cab seats. Damn it! It was nearly the last straw. The padawan managed to hold onto the last shred of sanity she had and only bit the inside of her cheek, keeping her lips from quivering like a baby.

"Lady, are you leaving or not?" The cabbie sounded irritated.

[Aaron Belargic]

Taking the movement as an invite, Aaron ducked himself down into the speeder and pulled the door closed. The driver looked at the pair expectantly, to which the Padawan responded by glaring slightly before correcting himself and nodding.

He frowned and settled back against the seat, his hand touching a small damp patch of blood. Almost jumping, he looked down at his outer robe and tugged, straining, at the fabric and tearing a patch away. It wasn’t exactly the best makeshift bandage-come-tourniquet, but he took James’ hand and folded tightened it around none the less.

[James Prent]

The cab lurched forward with impatience, and James fell against Aaron as the driver whipped up and around into traffice, whisking them towards the Jedi Temple. As he wrapped up her injured wrist, he could feel her shaking, although she refused to say anything, or even to look at him.

She was ashamed, and confused. How did she get into a fight...in front of the entire bar? Who had that felinoid been, anyway? And was she sitting in a cab with Aaron, who was holding her hand?

James felt like sinking into the crack where the back of the seat met the cushion under her butt, and disappearing ...forever. Or dying, at the very least. The adrenaline from the tussle was wearing off, but she couldn't stop shaking.

[Aaron Belargic]

The silence in the cab wasn’t awkward so much as it was upsetting. The cab driver wasn’t saying a thing, and neither were his two passengers. James was toeing upon being catatonic, motionless save for the trembling, while Aaron was just unable to come up with anything to say that he thought would help the situation. With James already leant in against him, Aaron decided on the shaky course of action of putting an arm around her and giving her shoulder a little reassuring squeeze.

“… We can get some bacta from the LQ store,” he thought aloud.

[James Prent]

She felt his arm slip around her, and took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down. The shaking slowly ceased, but her muscles felt like they were all cramping up in her back from the stress of the night.

"Bacta...yes..." James looked at her wrist, and blushed. "Thanks for wrapping that..." She felt dumb. Gee thanks, gosh! Think of something better to say next time or just say nothing at all! Her head started to hurt, and she shut her mouth, simply leaning in to his side, letting him keep his arm around her until the cab pulled up to the gates of the Jedi complex.

James reached forward with her uninjured hand and paid the driver, scooting out of the cab after Aaron, who helped her out. She shivered in the night air, trying to pretend she wasn't wearing an almost see-through shift. "Better get inside, I suppose." James crossed her arms in front of her chest.

[Aaron Belargic]

Jedi tended to wear uncountable layers of robes, cloaks, armor and more at the best of times. It was quite odd for Aaron to only have the covering cloak and what could be described as ‘traveling’ clothes on beneath, visible as he pulled away the thick – and now incomplete – cloak to drape around James.

The pair moved up the stairs to the building before them, which lit up almost the whole street with the floodlights that lined the high walls surrounding the grounds. The doors slid open with a hiss, and the night watchman smiled, tipping his hat to them both – the grounds staff seemed to always be in a good mood. On down the hallway, with Aaron weaving a little as he walked, not quite sure what an acceptable distance was.

There was a small supply room off of the hallway, which open as it was approached. Aaron began to search about inside for some patches. With his back turned, he mused aloud.

“So I guess that’s what happens when you talk to the Belargic brothers. Insane felines and trips through garbage units … you must think we’re great.”

[James Prent]

"Well, there's never a dull moment." The monotone in which she delivered the line tickled her, and James started laughing softly. He turned around to look at her, afraid she'd started crying, and she caught his concerned look.

James sighed away her laughter, and shook her head, "Did that just happen to me? I mean, seriously...that was so bizarre. And ... you think I'll be punished for that?"

[Aaron Belargic]

“Nah… Dasquian looked like he was going to launch into a why alcohol is bad for you speech though, I think. He had that look in his eyes.”

Waggling the handful of bacta pouches in the air, Aaron slipped back out into the corridor.

“He would just say something like … Remember who you are and what you stand for as a Jedi. Don’t get carried away by your emotions. There’s no problem that can’t be solved diplomatically. Eat a namana a day for good dental hygiene.”

Offering out the medical supplies, Aaron smiled a bit.

[James Prent]

James shrugged her slim shoulders lightly, and felt a little better. "But I hate namana, especially that namama juice they serve at Yogs. Truly awful stuff. Much too sweet."

She looked at the med supplies he had in his hand, and looked back at him. "Can you bring those to my room?" Transparent. Ah well, you only live once. "I don't think I can get those open with just one hand..."

[Aaron Belargic]

“Sure.”

That sounded promising. With James leading the way, Aaron followed at her side. He kept glancing up and around, making sure he could remember where he was going, for future reference. The Padawan opened the door for James when they arrived.

“So this is your room… roommate free,” he remembered aloud, as the lights flickered to life. Aaron was already shaking the first packet, as instructed, and tearing the pouch open. He wasn’t quite sure how to use the goo inside, which he poked at lightly with one finger only to find a few moments later it seemed to have absorbed into his skin.

“Probably should sit down to do this.”

[James Prent]

The tiny studio apartment had a built in table/desk near the kitchenette, with one chair. James looked around for a moment, as if seeing her room for the first time, and looked at the extra door. "That goes to Salemn Lysce's rooms..." It was an old style master/padawan apartment suite, but Salemn hardly ever bothered James after their training sessions.

She sat on the edge of her bed, which doubled as a sofa, shrugging out of Aaron's cloak so as to keep her wrist open. Thankfully her shift had dried out.

[Aaron Belargic]

Perched on the edge of the bed-come-couch, Aaron puzzled over what would be the best way to apply the patch. It seemed like it disappeared in a matter of moments so it couldn’t just be smoothed on. The more messy approach of just pushing the whole pouch against the wound would have to be taken.

“How do you manage to keep all your stuff in here, it seems so small,” Aaron muttered as he canted his head, half-biting his lip as he held the bacta strip against the open wound.

What a terrible topic of conversation.

“It’s… cozy, though. In a Spartan sort of way.”

[James Prent]

She shrugged...again... and looked at the bookcase that was jammed full of books, and then at the small closet that was thankfully closed. "Well... ow." James flinched and then relaxed as the bacta seeped into the wounds on her wrist. Aaron held her hand lightly with one of his, steadying her arm so the mess was minimal. "Anyway, most of my things are at my parents'. I was living on my own, but this place is so much smaller than my old apartment, I had to store most of my things back home."

She peered at the bacta, and then looked up at Aaron. "They live four sectors away...practically on the other side of the planet."

[Aaron Belargic]

Parents - Aaron silently wondered what his had been like.

“Do you have much of a family? Some people here seem to have relatives in every corner of the galaxy.”

[James Prent]

She leaned back against some cushions, relaxing a bit as the bacta made her wrist tingle. "No, just a small one. Mom, Dad, and a little brother. He's four, and he's our miracle baby. He's gonna be so spoiled, y'know?"

Aaron was looking at her bemusedly, and she thought she'd better explain. "Mom and dad weren't supposed to be able to have kids. That's why they adopted me. But lil' Gregori is completely one hundred percent theirs.

"I'ts awesome... although a little strange at first, I'll admit. 'Cause I'm adopted, but I'm grown now, and they have their own kid...but Mom and Dad are the greatest, and they just love us both to death. I haven't seen them since I came here, the Jedi disapprove of families visiting."

[Aaron Belargic]

“They disapprove of family visiting?”

Aaron repeated, a little confused as he placed down the now three-quarter empty bacta pact. He shifted, sitting back comfortably and thought about this for a moment. After a second or two he snapped out of it.

“Oh well... I guess as long as they’re happy… and you can send them communications when you want to.”

Rubbing his eyes with the heel of his palm, Aaron sighed slightly.

“We have being adopted in common, although I don’t think my adoptive parents would still be around. Their relatives are probably still alive somewhere though… we probably have great nieces and nephews we don’t know about.”

[James Prent]

James frowned, and added, "Well, for beginning padawans they don't like...they don't want us t' be distracted so early in our training."

Then something he'd said clicked in her mind, and she looked at him sharply. "Wait, grand-nieces? How old are you?"

[Aaron Belargic]

“Twenty six,” Aaron replied, voice trailing slightly, “… and a few more hundred years?”

[James Prent]

Her eyebrow quirked upwards and she looked at him incredulously. "I'd ask how that works, 'cause I didn't think that your species was quite that long lived. But I bet it's a long story." James smiled a bit, then added, "However, if you feel like explaining some time, I'll be happy to listen. I'm only twenty-one, myself."

She inspected her wrist, seeing that the wounds appeared smaller. "Wow, that stuff works fast."

[Aaron Belargic]

“We were just in cryosleep for a whil-…” Aaron cut himself off and inspected James wrist, gently prodding it.

“Miracle stuff,” he nodded appreciatively.

“But yeah, we were asleep so it’s not like I’ve had a long life to become wise and sage in.”

[James Prent]

"Cyrosleep..." She pursed her lips, and then smiled. "Sounds like something out of a novel." James got to her feet, wrapping a blanket around her shoulders, and walked to the window. "Want to see my view?"

Without waiting for an answer, the padawan pulled the window open, and revealed a tiny deck outside, barely big enough for two people to relax on. "It's like an oversized planter, minus the flowers." She grinned, and stepped outside, folding up the chair she'd had set up and leaning it against the wall.

[Aaron Belargic]

Aaron managed to get out onto the platform with James, though it was with difficulty. He looked around, down into the green-free grounds of the Order and sighed slightly. He had heard that the Jedi had once been on a lush forest planet and wondered why they would ever have wanted to swap that for this concrete jungle.

“It’s nice.”

He propped his elbows against the decks railings.

“Much nicer than our view of the bar and grill. You can virtually hear exactly what people are saying if you open the window.”

[James Prent]

The night air was refreshing, and she closed her eyes momentarily, letting the breeze caress her face. "I imagine that gets old....eavesdropping on the bar goers." Her lips twitched upwards in a smirk even as her eyes remained closed. "Although I bet you hear all sorts of things. I think I'd have trouble sleepin' though. You know, with all that noise."

James could feel his nearness although they weren't touching, and blinked her eyes open, looking out over the courtyard several stories below them. "No view of the gardens for me, although it would be nice." She came up to his shoulder, which made her feel small. But then, she was small. James leaned on the railing, the blanket looped through her elbows.

[Aaron Belargic]

“Any gardens at all would be nice,” he murmured to himself, head lowering a little as he watched the lights of Coruscant flicker off in the distance.

“I suppose listening to people can be interesting. You hear all sorts of rumors.”

The chill of the wind was causing his cheeks to go a little numb.

“I wonder if anyone was listening to us all tonight… I bet they had a laugh,” he sighed.

[James Prent]

She blushed a deep crimson that she hoped he didn't see in the moonlight. "Er...well, yeah I guess." James leaned over the railing, and looked way, way down at the courtyard.

When she straightened up again she was still a little flushed, but didn't feel like she was about to drop through the floor from embarassment. "Cold? Need a blanket? Or didja wanna go?" She fumbled with her words, feeling like a complete idiot yet again.

[Aaron Belargic]

“Oh, ah well if you want me to… I suppose you want to sleep or something,”

Aaron stood up, pinned up against James in the confined space.

[James Prent]

When he straightened up, James found herself face to chest with him. "Oh..." She blinked, and looked up. "Well, I'm not really tired..."

[Aaron Belargic]

Aaron squeezed back against the balconies edge somewhat, regretting having wore such thick cumbersome clothing. Quite clearly it was enough to keep him luke warm in a blizzard.

“Oh, then a blanket would be great, thanks. Bit chilly out here,” he said, watching his own breath form a little plume of vapor in the cold.

It didn’t strike him to just go inside where it would actually be warm… well, maybe it did, but his conscience was sensible enough to push that suggestion aside as soon as it was made. Think of something interesting to say, or you’re just going to end up standing out on a balcony under a blanket, and no matter how good that sounds she will get bored quickly.

“I... uh...”

[James Prent]

James laughed nervously as she edged past him, and climbed through the window to find him something warm. "Actually, if you want to come back inside..."

[Aaron Belargic]

Oh now it’s going to look like you’re stupid. Nice one.

Aaron ducked under the frame, eyes staying on the floor a moment for fear that he would frown at himself. Glancing up after a second at James, he smiled awkwardly.

“You know I probably should go, actually… I was meaning to get up early to train with Dasquian so…”

[James Prent]

She nodded solemnly and then her mouth twitched up in a grin. Unable to stop herself, James found herself giggling quietly, and then laughing outright as Aaron look puzzled, then slightly annoyed.

"What's so funny?" he asked.

"Us...don't you find this hilarious?" She tried to stifle her laughter with her hands, eyes squeezed shut as her body shook with laughter. "You'd think neither of us had ever been in a room with someone of the opposite sex before." She sank down to the floor beside her bed, still giggling from time to time. The stress of the previous events, coupled with the awkwardness of the latest situation, probably resulted with Aaron thinking she was completely insane.

[Aaron Belargic]

Aaron brushed a hand back over the top of his hair and made a sort of embarrassed smirk. If he had learnt one thing whilst at the Order it was that he had to be careful with women about. For all of his time in the Republic he had never once had a relationship, never been with anyone, and this was virtually the same with Dasquian, who had only ever been with Eiphos.

Virtually as soon as he had arrived here he had been bombarded with offers and ended up being deflowered by Cizerack. It was like a huge sensory over load to suddenly be surrounded by so many women and he certainly wasn’t dealing with it well, having already notched up a mark on the ‘broken hearts’ list.

“… Hezmana, we are idiots,” he dropped down onto the bed and flopped back onto the quilt, the tension rolling away.

[James Prent]

"Yeah..." James wondered what hezmana meant, but decided to ask later. "Would you like something to drink? Like...water?" She leaned her head back against the edge of the bed and looked up at him.

[Aaron Belargic]

"Do you have anything stronger?"

With a silent yawn and full body stretch, Aaron turned his head to the side, James just barely in his line of vision.

[James Prent]

"Ah...well...yes." James winced as she got to her feet, feeling sore muscles from her rampage in the bar, and probably a few bruises. Her bare feet padded over to the kitchenette, and she opened up the cooler. "Just a few citrus beers." She pulled two out of the cardboard holder and shut the cooler.

A few steps later and she gently pushed Aaron's legs off the bed and plopped next to him, leaning against the wall. "Here," handing him a beer, "To friendship?" James grabbed the bottle cap on her own and tried to twist it off to no avail. "Er.."

[Aaron Belargic]

Aaron popped his drink open,“To…” and noticed that James wasn’t having too much luck with her own.

“Here,” he leant back to balance his drink on the windowsill before getting a grip on James’, spinning the top of easily. With a wide smile he called his drink back to his hand and raised it to the toast once more, clinking it against its partner.

“Friendship.”

[James Prent]

After sipping her beer, James flicked her bottle cap across the room where it imbedded itself into the wall. Aaron looked at her, a surprised look on his face. "Ah, I've been practicing that since I was thirteen. Took a while to get good at it. Ever tried?"

She picked his cap up off the blanket and tossed it to him.

[Aaron Belargic]

Aaron quirked an eyebrow and mimicked James flicking the cap against the wall – it simply bounced off and landed down on her pillow. He smirked and looked back at her with a bit of a grin.

“I think you need to get out more, James.”

[James Prent]

"Maybe so, maybe so," she conceded, feeling her eyes getting a bit heavy. The padawan yawned, and covered her mouth a little after the fact. "What time is it?" The beer was making her more tired, or maybe her nervous energy had finally worn down. James leaned lightly against Aaron's shoulder, sipping her drink and getting comfortable.

[Aaron Belargic]

“Ten… something.”

Aaron peered down at his chrono. It didn’t have any numbers on it. What an awful buy that had been on Dasquian’s part.

“Ten forty… maybe?”

A little glance at the window and he could see it was fairly dark, “Night time.”

[James Prent]

She pulled herself upright, leaning back against the wall instead of on his shoulder. "Morning comes too early, I think."

James knew she should probably make him leave. He had an apartment of his own that he shared with a few other Jedi. And fraternization among padawans was considered taboo.

On the other hand...

The darkhaired padawan yawned, and slipped off the daybed, taking his empty bottle and hers and setting them on the counter. "I have to get some sleep. But..." ...but I don't want to be alone.

[Aaron Belargic]

“But…?”

Aaron looked almost expectant, sat up with his legs dangling and swinging a little off of James' bed.

“But you’d rather not?”

[James Prent]

She chuckled at that. "Well, no, I really do want to get some sleep." James hugged her arms to herself, and cocked her head to one side. "Oh frelling hells. D'ya want to stay? My master is out on a mission with Lillian or something, no one would bother us."

As she finished, James colored up pink to the top of her ears. "I mean..oh never mind." She retreated to the kitchenette and sat on a counter, as far from him as she could, attempting to keep her hands from covering her face.

[Aaron Belargic]

Aaron had to stop himself from laughing as James made her mousy retreat.

“… I was going to say yes,” he called out, leaning sideways off the bed so that he could see into the kitchen area.

[James Prent]

She blushed even redder, hoping he couldn't quite see her in the corner. "Really?"

[Aaron Belargic]

Aaron smiled, and nodded, despite the fact that James couldn’t see him, “Why not?”

[James Prent]

She got down from the counter and slowly walked back towards the daybed. "Well, it's not that I...I mean..." James sat down on the end of the bed, curling her bare feet up underneath her. Salemn always talked telepathically to her padawans, being mute from an accident, or perhaps from birth. James had never been able to project her thoughts in that way before, but...

The slim padawan reached out a hand and touched Aaron's forehead with a few fingers. They felt cold at first, but then warmed up against his skin. I just don't want to be alone, and you're the only friend I have here.

[Aaron Belargic]

“I’m sure Kelt won’t miss me if I stay,”

Aaron spoke quietly, looking up at the fingers brushing his skin. He smiled a bit and lifted a hand to gently push away James’, slipping his fingers through hers.

[James Prent]

She curled her fingers around his, not breaking eye contact with the much older man. It was funny to think of Aaron as being over five centuries in age. With her free hand James found the switch by the bed and the lights dimmed and turned off, leaving the room awash in moonlight from the window.

James pulled herself closer to Aaron, and yawned slightly. "I don't think this bed has ever been shared before..." Her words were barely above a whisper.

[Aaron Belargic]

“It doesn’t look big enough,”

Aaron slowly leant back against the bed, with James following suit, nudged on by Aaron so that the two were laid close together on the bed that would have probably been small even for a child. In a voice as quiet as his counterparts, Belargic continued:

“We’ll just have to stay close together.”

[James Prent]

She sleepily nodded against his chest, and snuggled in close to his side. Being as she was so small the size of the bed had never bothered her. And it seemed to work out okay in this instance as well.

James let her eyes close, and her breathing evened out, regulated by the rising and falling of his chest.

[Aaron Belargic]

James was about ready to drop off, from the looks of things, but Aaron was wide awake. Usually he would sleep and wake early but he got the impression tonight that it would end up being the reverse, simply because it had been so long since he’d slept with someone by him – he had to think back to his childhood, sleeping by his brother, to come up with an example.

Sweet dreams, he thought, closing his eyes, if only for affect.

Strangely enough, he managed to slip into a light sleep too and only blinked his eyes open when sun hit them.