Smidget
Jan 11th, 2004, 01:22:43 PM
The Past
The life of a street rat is not an easy one to live. There are no new clothes, no gifts for birthdays, your next meal is usually taken from dumpsters at the rear of restaurants. There are no hot showers, no long luxurious baths and you're lucky if you are able to find shelter from the elements. In fact, you're lucky if you even survive to see the next sunrise or sunset.
Cassandra and Daerlayne had met years ago, when she was only fifteen years of age and he had just turned eighteen. They met on the streets, the lower bowels of Coruscant, to be exact. She had been busted for picking the pockets of an undercover Agent at the local (albeit scummy) tavern. Daerlayne ran interception; aiding the young, dirty and rather scraggily looking girl. There was something about her though that caught his eyes - whether it was the pretty face hidden beneath the grime and dirt or the fiestiness that radiated from the dark irises of her eyes - something about the young street rat just intrigued him.
However, Daerlayne's interception only lasted for so long and eventually, later that evening, 'Smidget' was apprehended and hauled in. But, she was not taken to the usual Corsec headquarters as most prisoners are. Instead, her captor took her to an interrogation house, where he proceeded to use ancient but effective (usually efffective) means of torture in an attempt to break her wild spirit and force her into working for him as one of his informants.
Unknown to Cassandra, Daerlayne had tailed them to the interrogation house and when her screams of agony became too much, Daerlayne came to her rescue once again. Accompanied by his gang of street toughs, the 'Dockhands' raided. Clearly outnumbered, the undercover agent fled, leaving Cassandra unconscious on the floor; battered and bloody.
With a tenderness rarely associated with street toughs, Daerlayne lifted 'Smidget' into his arms, carrying her all the way across the city and back to the 'Dockhands' hideaway - near the docks. Once in the sanctity of their abandoned warehouse, Cassandra was laid on an old tattered blanket and tended to around the clock for a week straight; during which she drifted in and out of consciousness.
Finally able to remain awake, Daerlayne didn't receive the thank you or appreciation he so richly deserved. Instead, he received a tongue lashing and attitude like he's never seen before. Needless to say, since that time, Smidget and BirdDog have been together ever since. More or less.
As the last three years have passed, Cassandra and Daerlayne's relationship has grown. Trust is a hard thing to come by for Smidget and Daerlayne's patience, roughness, and understanding has been her savior; hence earning her trust. Friendship spawned and blossomed into romance, romance into love and now the two are inseparable. The 'Dockhands' are still laying bets as to when the two street toughs will bite the bullet and tie the knot, but that future has yet to arrive.
Also over the years, Daerlayne's influence has done wonders for Cassandra. No longer a thief (though the temptation is still there), she had found herself working an honest job, etching out an honest living.
Until recent events (http://www.swforums.net/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=33490) changed the status of her employment.
As the city grew dark and the temperatures began to plummet, Cassandra, Daerlayne and the rest of the Dockhands packed up what little belongings they own and moved on; in search of another city to call home.
Their travels led them to a freighter parked on a lone landing pad at the spaceport. Daerlayne's talk with the freighter's owner proved fruitful as they were given free passage to Umgul City, located on Umgul - home of the famous Blob Races.
Present Day
"Come here, Cassie."
Every time she looks at him, her heart races and her palms sweat; even three years later he can still get that reaction out of her. With a small smile etching her lips, Cassandra strolls over and slips her arms around Daerlayne's waist, pressing her cheek against his chest as he wraps her within his embrace. She's safe here, in his arms and in his presence. Nothing can hurt her when she is with him. She knows this and he is her sanctuary. For Cassandra, home is where the heart is and her heart is with Daerlayne - therefore, where he is, she is home.
"Be careful today, ok? I haven't had too much time to explore the city yet, so just go to your interviews and come straight back here. Got it?"
Hugging him snuggly against her body, she nods her head, murmurring her 'mhm' in response. Worried about her safety, Daer lifts her chin and makes direct eye contact with her, quiet for a minute as he gazes deeply into her beautiful eyes. Her eyes - swirling pools of dark ash grey, like the color of spent charcoal; the eyes that sweep him off his feet each and every time he looks into them. She doesn't know it, but she is his everything. She is his reason for living and she'll be his reason for dying.
"I promise to be careful and I promise to go straight there and come right back here. I won't go anywhere else."
Satisfied with her word, he kisses her tenderly on the forehead then places a kiss upon each of her cheeks, finally her lips.
"I love you, Cassandra. I really do."
Her eyes, her smile, her whole face just lights up as she whispers that she loves him too while watching him grab his jacket and head out the door. Cassandra runs to the window of the small room they've rented and waves to Daerlayne and the Dockhands as they head off to find employment of their own. Once Daer and the others are out of sight, Cassandra finishes getting herself ready and heads out too, but not before making sure that a certain disc remains tucked safely within the inner breast pocket of her own jacket.
With a local paper in hand, several help wanted ads circled in red lipstick, Cassandra hits the streets. After walking for the past hour, she finally reaches the first location seeking employment.
"Well, this is it."
Umgul City General Hospital
The sound of sirens approaching draws her attention and stops her heart for but a beat or two. Some memories are just hard to leave in the skeleton closet, but she realizes that she is far from the agent who nearly took her life for picking his pockets three years ago, so she reminds herself that everything is all right. She's safe and she's safe because of 'BirdDog'.
After watching an ambulance swing into the emergency area, Cassandra crosses the open courtyard and enters the hospital. Following the directory signs, she ends up in Employment Resources and spends the next hour filling out an application. Though she has no degree's and no medical schooling, there are still a good number of positions that she can fill; which surprises her in a way. When finished, she turns in the application and finds herself wandering the halls, no destination in mind.
Another hour passes and Cassandra notices that she's found herself in one of the teaching labs, nosing around the computer systems and poking around at some of the test tubes and eyeing some things in formaldehyde; things that she is sure she doesn't want to truly know what they are.
All the while, her hand has been gently pressing against the disk contained within the breast pocket of her jacket.
She doesn't even realize this...
The sound of approaching footsteps and voices startles her. Sounds like whomever it is or they are, someone is coming here to this lab. Looking around quickly, she realizes there really isn't any place to hide, so she does her best to look rather inconspicuous while attempting to hide behind a fake skeleton tucked back in the far corner of the room.
Maybe they won't notice?
As if anyone could truly hear someone else breathing from across a room, Cassandra holds her breath anyways as she notices a man in a doctor's coat enter the lab. The lights were not on before, but they had come on the minute she entered. Automatic sensors are responsible for that. Still, maybe she won't be noticed, or so she hopes as she continues to hold her breath and prays that the doctor whom has entered, leaves before she either exposes herself with a huge gasp of air or passes out.
The life of a street rat is not an easy one to live. There are no new clothes, no gifts for birthdays, your next meal is usually taken from dumpsters at the rear of restaurants. There are no hot showers, no long luxurious baths and you're lucky if you are able to find shelter from the elements. In fact, you're lucky if you even survive to see the next sunrise or sunset.
Cassandra and Daerlayne had met years ago, when she was only fifteen years of age and he had just turned eighteen. They met on the streets, the lower bowels of Coruscant, to be exact. She had been busted for picking the pockets of an undercover Agent at the local (albeit scummy) tavern. Daerlayne ran interception; aiding the young, dirty and rather scraggily looking girl. There was something about her though that caught his eyes - whether it was the pretty face hidden beneath the grime and dirt or the fiestiness that radiated from the dark irises of her eyes - something about the young street rat just intrigued him.
However, Daerlayne's interception only lasted for so long and eventually, later that evening, 'Smidget' was apprehended and hauled in. But, she was not taken to the usual Corsec headquarters as most prisoners are. Instead, her captor took her to an interrogation house, where he proceeded to use ancient but effective (usually efffective) means of torture in an attempt to break her wild spirit and force her into working for him as one of his informants.
Unknown to Cassandra, Daerlayne had tailed them to the interrogation house and when her screams of agony became too much, Daerlayne came to her rescue once again. Accompanied by his gang of street toughs, the 'Dockhands' raided. Clearly outnumbered, the undercover agent fled, leaving Cassandra unconscious on the floor; battered and bloody.
With a tenderness rarely associated with street toughs, Daerlayne lifted 'Smidget' into his arms, carrying her all the way across the city and back to the 'Dockhands' hideaway - near the docks. Once in the sanctity of their abandoned warehouse, Cassandra was laid on an old tattered blanket and tended to around the clock for a week straight; during which she drifted in and out of consciousness.
Finally able to remain awake, Daerlayne didn't receive the thank you or appreciation he so richly deserved. Instead, he received a tongue lashing and attitude like he's never seen before. Needless to say, since that time, Smidget and BirdDog have been together ever since. More or less.
As the last three years have passed, Cassandra and Daerlayne's relationship has grown. Trust is a hard thing to come by for Smidget and Daerlayne's patience, roughness, and understanding has been her savior; hence earning her trust. Friendship spawned and blossomed into romance, romance into love and now the two are inseparable. The 'Dockhands' are still laying bets as to when the two street toughs will bite the bullet and tie the knot, but that future has yet to arrive.
Also over the years, Daerlayne's influence has done wonders for Cassandra. No longer a thief (though the temptation is still there), she had found herself working an honest job, etching out an honest living.
Until recent events (http://www.swforums.net/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=33490) changed the status of her employment.
As the city grew dark and the temperatures began to plummet, Cassandra, Daerlayne and the rest of the Dockhands packed up what little belongings they own and moved on; in search of another city to call home.
Their travels led them to a freighter parked on a lone landing pad at the spaceport. Daerlayne's talk with the freighter's owner proved fruitful as they were given free passage to Umgul City, located on Umgul - home of the famous Blob Races.
Present Day
"Come here, Cassie."
Every time she looks at him, her heart races and her palms sweat; even three years later he can still get that reaction out of her. With a small smile etching her lips, Cassandra strolls over and slips her arms around Daerlayne's waist, pressing her cheek against his chest as he wraps her within his embrace. She's safe here, in his arms and in his presence. Nothing can hurt her when she is with him. She knows this and he is her sanctuary. For Cassandra, home is where the heart is and her heart is with Daerlayne - therefore, where he is, she is home.
"Be careful today, ok? I haven't had too much time to explore the city yet, so just go to your interviews and come straight back here. Got it?"
Hugging him snuggly against her body, she nods her head, murmurring her 'mhm' in response. Worried about her safety, Daer lifts her chin and makes direct eye contact with her, quiet for a minute as he gazes deeply into her beautiful eyes. Her eyes - swirling pools of dark ash grey, like the color of spent charcoal; the eyes that sweep him off his feet each and every time he looks into them. She doesn't know it, but she is his everything. She is his reason for living and she'll be his reason for dying.
"I promise to be careful and I promise to go straight there and come right back here. I won't go anywhere else."
Satisfied with her word, he kisses her tenderly on the forehead then places a kiss upon each of her cheeks, finally her lips.
"I love you, Cassandra. I really do."
Her eyes, her smile, her whole face just lights up as she whispers that she loves him too while watching him grab his jacket and head out the door. Cassandra runs to the window of the small room they've rented and waves to Daerlayne and the Dockhands as they head off to find employment of their own. Once Daer and the others are out of sight, Cassandra finishes getting herself ready and heads out too, but not before making sure that a certain disc remains tucked safely within the inner breast pocket of her own jacket.
With a local paper in hand, several help wanted ads circled in red lipstick, Cassandra hits the streets. After walking for the past hour, she finally reaches the first location seeking employment.
"Well, this is it."
Umgul City General Hospital
The sound of sirens approaching draws her attention and stops her heart for but a beat or two. Some memories are just hard to leave in the skeleton closet, but she realizes that she is far from the agent who nearly took her life for picking his pockets three years ago, so she reminds herself that everything is all right. She's safe and she's safe because of 'BirdDog'.
After watching an ambulance swing into the emergency area, Cassandra crosses the open courtyard and enters the hospital. Following the directory signs, she ends up in Employment Resources and spends the next hour filling out an application. Though she has no degree's and no medical schooling, there are still a good number of positions that she can fill; which surprises her in a way. When finished, she turns in the application and finds herself wandering the halls, no destination in mind.
Another hour passes and Cassandra notices that she's found herself in one of the teaching labs, nosing around the computer systems and poking around at some of the test tubes and eyeing some things in formaldehyde; things that she is sure she doesn't want to truly know what they are.
All the while, her hand has been gently pressing against the disk contained within the breast pocket of her jacket.
She doesn't even realize this...
The sound of approaching footsteps and voices startles her. Sounds like whomever it is or they are, someone is coming here to this lab. Looking around quickly, she realizes there really isn't any place to hide, so she does her best to look rather inconspicuous while attempting to hide behind a fake skeleton tucked back in the far corner of the room.
Maybe they won't notice?
As if anyone could truly hear someone else breathing from across a room, Cassandra holds her breath anyways as she notices a man in a doctor's coat enter the lab. The lights were not on before, but they had come on the minute she entered. Automatic sensors are responsible for that. Still, maybe she won't be noticed, or so she hopes as she continues to hold her breath and prays that the doctor whom has entered, leaves before she either exposes herself with a huge gasp of air or passes out.