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Kella
Fire and Blood
4,089 posts
5 likes
Fire cannot kill a dragon.
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last online Oct 30, 2014 9:41:46 GMT -5
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Jul 28, 2012 16:52:46 GMT -5
Post by Kella on Jul 28, 2012 16:52:46 GMT -5
It was strange, how familiar the dance was. Jack had spent the last two years in a state of perpetual learning, adapting -- new places, new situations, new expectations, new status quo. Even flying, the ecstasy that it was, drew much of its allure from the unexpected. It was strange, then, to be doing something that she didn't have to think about, didn't have to judge. It was nice.
"I am happy," she said thoughtfully, and let Evan draw her closer. A part of her wondered if Evan was courting anyone, but a part that was only curious. There was once a time, when Jack would have loved nothing more in the world than for Evan to sweep her around on the dance floor like this, and then when the music reached its most passionate, to sweep her off her feet and kiss her.
A light smile crossed her lips, then, at the memory and at how very much had changed. Now, she would love nothing more in the world than to find some endless canyon, where she and her ship could dive and dive, until her heart slipped up into her head and filled her entirely with the pounding delight of adrenaline.
She still loved Evan, but in a different way. It was not a personal, possessive love, but a broad, warm love. Evan was part of Jaemia to her, now. He was part of why she fought. When Jack thought of duty, she didn't see the symbol of the Empire, or their leader, or the generals, or the uniforms. She saw a memory: her sisters bickering in the front yard, her mother and father sitting on rocking chairs on the front porch, the family horses drinking from a water barrel in the nearby pen, crops rolling away in a rainbow of colors across the landscape, the misty mountains in the distance, and Even sprinting towards her from down the dirt road, carrying a fresh pie from his grandmother.
If she died in the war, it would be for the sky and for Jaemia, not for the Sith. But for the moment, when she danced with Evan, she just let Jaemia soak into every open space.
When Richter interrupted, she gave him an odd, though not displeased look. He was just full of surprises.
She turned back to Evan, though not for approval. "Thank you," she said, then kissed him lightly on the cheek, before letting Richter sweep her away.
His nerves seemed to calm after a few moments, and Jack warned him that she didn't know how to 'dance fancy'. Richter reassured her, and led well, and Jack quickly caught on.
She liked this side of Richter, where he was confident and in the lead, not just at the mercy of her eccentric flying.
They stood out, in a way, with the different style of dance. Yet, somehow, that was comforting. Jack had a thought, one that both startled her and eased some quiet apprehensions. For as much as she loved Jaemia, after all she had seen... She wondered if she'd ever feel properly at home here again.
Somehow, Richter was just enough to alter the sense of Jaemia, just enough to recognize that little bit of doubt, just enough to make it feel like it didn't matter. Just enough to make her feel really at home.
But Jack wouldn't never have put it in so many words, she was simply loving hearing a new rhythm in the music. Eventually, the band took a break, and the dance floor cleared for a moment. Before Jack could say much of anything to Richter, Dawn and Jenny appeared and began physically pulling her away, complaining about her time spent dancing rather than fulfilling promises.
She hastily apologized to Richter, catching Evan's attention and asking him to take care of the gunner, them let her sisters drag her off to where the women were gathering.
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Meira
She don't mess around
2,830 posts
583 likes
Half awake in our fake empire
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last online May 11, 2023 23:01:34 GMT -5
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Jul 28, 2012 17:32:31 GMT -5
Post by Meira on Jul 28, 2012 17:32:31 GMT -5
"Then so am I." Evan smiled down at her as they spun around the floor. It wasn't even a lie. It might have been a while back, after she'd left and taken so much of his heart with her. But that wound had healed. The part she took was still gone, he could feel it, but he was content to know she had it. He truly couldn't think of a better person to carry it around than her.
The two fell into a comfortable silence as they danced. Moving together was as easy as it ever was. Soon enough, Evan found himself a bit lost in it all. But Richter managed to solve that problem when he approached and spoke. He gave the man a nod and took as step away from Jack.
"My pleasure." he said as she moved away. His eyes followed after her for a spell, but when Richter put his arm around her to dance, Evan turned, making his way over to the bar. He didn't need to watch them dance. It wouldn't do him any good.
At the bar, he found Jack's father. He gave the man a nod as he leaned himself against the bar, signalling for a drink. The bartender provided a dark brown bottle, freshly opened and Evan took a mighty swig.
"I never thanked you proper for those converters."
Evan glanced left. Jack's father was leaning on one elbow next to him. "It was no bother, sir, really."
"When are you gonna cut that 'sir' nonsense, son? You ain't been a boy a long while now. It's Edison."
Evan chuckled, nodding his head, but not correcting himself. Edison's eyes drifted away and Evan turned to follow his gaze. He should have known her father would be watching her. Rather than do the same, Evan turned his eyes back to the older man, trying to decipher the look on his face.
"He seems a good enough fellow." Edison said. It sounded more like a question. Evan just nodded. "Not much of a back on him though." Evan chuckled again as he took another drink. Edison's eyes drifted back to connect with Evan's. "Never thought I'd have to consider a man for her, though." The look Edison's eyes imparted said much more than the words did alone. Evan found himself without a response, or the ability to maintain eye contact. Edison hadn't meant it as an accusation of failure. But every now and then, the young man couldn't help but think of Jack's departure as just that.
Edison and Evan had a certain relationship. The kind that a father and an son-in-law would be lucky to form. But they were not these things, not really. It was a shame. Everyone in town thought so. That's what made it the hardest. It was like they'd lost this thing that had never really been theirs to begin with. In truth, though, they never lost a thing. That was evident in the way Edison patted Evan's shoulder as he moved to join some of the other older men.
The music had died away and Evan tipped his bottle back, draining the contents. As he set the empty bottle back down, Jack's form caught his eye. As her sisters dragged her away, she made a quick request as to Richter. The bartender approached and Evan asked him for two more. With a bottle in each hand, he moved over to the soldier and handed him one.
"Why don'tcha come with me, slick." he said, gesturing away from the crowds towards a grouping of high tables with bar stools around them "Mags'll be back in wink."
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Moonfire
Do I Wanna Know?
946 posts
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I showed you my lesbian undertones, please respond
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last online May 13, 2023 9:54:53 GMT -5
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Jan 4, 2013 14:39:05 GMT -5
Post by Moonfire on Jan 4, 2013 14:39:05 GMT -5
Richter stood on the outskirts of the makeshift dance floor, eyes following as Jack was whisked away once more by her sisters. The band had cleared and the people mingled and chatted, but Richter watched. Watched the way she smiled and her orange eyes flashed laughing as she humored her siblings and spoke, tenderly with her mother.
A twinge of guilt pang through him. I'm keeping her away from all this... The uneasy, sad thought wormed and wiggled through his mind. Of course it was untrue. He had no say in when she had leave or where they were stationed, and if she were here what would she do? There was little flying to do on such a rural planet. But still, he could see the happiness dance across her expression, usually so content and unaffected outside of the cockpit she positively glowed here, around her people. Her community.
He smiled still, staring longer than probably polite when Evan sauntered over, dark brown bottles in hand.
Taking the bottle, more out of politeness towards the gesture than any real urge to drink, Richter nodded, taking a moment to snap out of his daze before giving the gruff looking stranger his full attention.
"Oh, yeah. Sure." He said, expression puzzled as they walked over the rough wooden chairs. He sat down quietly, free hand tapping nervously on his knee as his other twirled the bottle, still full on the tabletop. "How can I help you, Evan?"
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Meira
She don't mess around
2,830 posts
583 likes
Half awake in our fake empire
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last online May 11, 2023 23:01:34 GMT -5
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Jan 18, 2013 9:10:03 GMT -5
Post by Meira on Jan 18, 2013 9:10:03 GMT -5
Evan led his new companion to the table and scraped the chair back on the floor to take a seat. One foot lifted up to rest on a rung that braced the front to legs of the chair while his other stayed planted on the floor. He leaned his weight into his forearms which rested on the table and took another swig of his drink as he eyed Richter.
The man seemed out of place, but that wasn't odd. Their home was a tight knit community, making outsiders stand out like a sore thumb. It wasn't that they weren't welcoming, quite the opposite in fact, but outsiders weren't often used to the level of familiarity a body was subjected to in a place like this. Didn't much matter who you were, if you were kin or friend to someone from the town, you were kin and friend to everyone else. This was a sentiment Evan, for reasons he was very much aware of, was having trouble extending to Richter.
"How can I help you, Evan?"
Evan chuckled into his bottle. Setting it down, he leaned back in the chair as he looked Richter over. If all this was really going to happen, someone would have to break Richter of his city boy habits. A strong arm extended and clapped the man across his back, staying where it connected to shake Richter's shoulders a few times before releasing him.
"Relax hoss. That's a good ale you're twirlin'. They make it just down a ways from my family's land. Where you from anyways? You got a look about you... like you ain't never seen grass before."
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Moonfire
Do I Wanna Know?
946 posts
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I showed you my lesbian undertones, please respond
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last online May 13, 2023 9:54:53 GMT -5
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Feb 1, 2013 20:06:52 GMT -5
Post by Moonfire on Feb 1, 2013 20:06:52 GMT -5
Richter chuckled and stopped twisting the bottle, his leg bouncing lightly as he focused the nervous energy elsewhere. Lifting the cool, brown bottle to his lips the young man took a small sip and grimaced. He never did like the taste of alcohol.
"I'm not much of a drinker." He admitted, feeling the bitterness linger in his mouth before answering the question posed at him.
"Yeah, I grew up on Taris... In one of the factory sectors, more urban than the... messier parts." He brushed his long hair back from his eyes, an anxious but polite smile on his lips as Evan regarded him.
"Not a lot of grass, but not the worst place to be from, I guess."
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Meira
She don't mess around
2,830 posts
583 likes
Half awake in our fake empire
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last online May 11, 2023 23:01:34 GMT -5
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Feb 1, 2013 21:27:28 GMT -5
Post by Meira on Feb 1, 2013 21:27:28 GMT -5
Evan shrugged his shoulders at Richter's comment on not being much of a drinker. Some weren't. Not many 'round these parts, but some. It certainly wasn't the thing that was bothering him so much about the man.
But then, what exactly was? Was it only that 'Nessa seemed to favor him? It wasn't like she'd left him for this city boy. She hadn't even known him then. What was it to him who she doted on now? Only everything, he thought to himself with a sigh, looking away from Richter. She was his girl, and he'd be damned if he ever stopped looking out for her when he could.
Richter spoke of his home and, for whatever reason, it made Evan snort with derision. Maybe it was the alcohol, maybe it was the animal side, who knows. It just hit him wrong and all kinds of sideways. Why? Why him? Why Taris and ships and the Sith empire? Why fly? Why all of that when it took her away from all of this? She loved this; home, family, him. Or, at least he'd thought she loved him.
"Tell me something, slick." Evan said suddenly, only a fraction of a second after Richter had finished speaking. "What exactly is it that you think you can do? For her? You're the one on them guns, right? So it's your job to keep her from getting blown up and sucked out into that big black nothin'.... right? You ever stop to think about what might happen if you fail? Say that trigger finger slips?"
He took another swig of his drink and let it clatter onto the table, empty. "I suppose you'd be dead and gone with her, wouldn't you? Let someone else come and tell her mama she's never comin' back. I s'pose that'd be convenient."
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Moonfire
Do I Wanna Know?
946 posts
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I showed you my lesbian undertones, please respond
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last online May 13, 2023 9:54:53 GMT -5
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Feb 1, 2013 21:44:52 GMT -5
Post by Moonfire on Feb 1, 2013 21:44:52 GMT -5
Richter's brows knit quizzically at the rougher man's words, his indignant tone. He didn't care for the assumptions this man made, not one bit. The dark blonde man shifted in his seat before sitting up straighter, looking his new found adversary in the eye.
"For the record, Evan, my name is Richter..." He began, his voice firmer than it had been before. "First off, Annessa doesn't need to be taken care of. She's a smart woman, a damn fine soldier and one of the best pilots I've ever had the chance to work with, and I don't think she'd appreciate you talkin' about her as any less." Long spindly fingers clutched his drink tightly, knuckles white.
"Secondly, you think I don't worry about that every time I get in the seat? You think I don't worry about bein' blown to bits because of a human mistake, a simple mistake? I'm not just risking my life fightin' this war with her, I'm risking everyone on our ship, our whole squad. My parents back in the slums who depend on my paychecks every month, them too. I get you're worried Evan..." Richter trailed off with a sigh, taking a deeper sip now of his bitter ale.
"I wish I could tell you that nothing will happen, promise that I'll keep her safe for you, but we're fighting a war here. I do everything I can for Jack, for all of them, and I always will. Blown to bits or not."
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Meira
She don't mess around
2,830 posts
583 likes
Half awake in our fake empire
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last online May 11, 2023 23:01:34 GMT -5
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Feb 2, 2013 2:01:11 GMT -5
Post by Meira on Feb 2, 2013 2:01:11 GMT -5
Richter's response was admirable, had Evan not been in the sour state he was. Of course, all of Evan's words had been uncalled for, unfair, and down right rude. He was sure his mother would slap him over the back of the head if she'd heard him speaking to this newcomer in such a tone. But his father would understand, and so would 'Nessa's. They might shake their heads at Evan and call him a young fool, but in their hearts, they'd know why. They were men too. So the question followed. How much of a man was this Richter.
He got heated well enough. Evan allowed his eyes to settle on the other man as he spoke. Richter made eye contact, had a firm voice. he stood his ground even though Evan was quite sure he could pluck him up and toss him the length of a field with out no never mind. He didn't back down, and there was something to be said for that.
What's more, the man was right, of course, but that wasn't enough for Evan. It mighta been, had he not gotten the sneaking suspicion that this Richter had a mind for more than just friendship. But he had gotten that suspicion. So this was a whole new ballgame.
"That's all fine and good, slick, but you've got eyes on her. That gives you a certain responsibility." he sat up then, leaning a little closer to Richter. "See, it ain't about what she needs, cuz you know well as I that she don't need you, me, nobody. It's about what she deserves. A man protects what he loves. Do you hear me? Ain't a damn thing in the verse that'll stop him."
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Moonfire
Do I Wanna Know?
946 posts
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I showed you my lesbian undertones, please respond
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last online May 13, 2023 9:54:53 GMT -5
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Feb 2, 2013 14:17:02 GMT -5
Post by Moonfire on Feb 2, 2013 14:17:02 GMT -5
"Eyes on her? What are you twelve? Jack's not a toy on the playground to argue over." Richter grumbled, keeping his respectful distance as Evan moved closer, leaning in for his point. His breath was hot and his words sharp, but Richter could forgive the man for his attitude. He was an old friend, perhaps an old more-than-a-friend, who worried about the girl he grew up with, but just because he understood didn't mean Richter had to like him.
Not breaking eye contact Richter sipped from his drink again, letting Evan loom across the table at him and act barbaric.
"Look, Evan, I'm gonna meet you halfway here. I get your point, but I'm about ninety percent sure anything I say to you will insufficient to soothe your qualms. But I'm going to say this, and know I'm not saying it for your benefit." He paused, thoughtful twisting the bottle in hand.
"Jack means the world to me, shes my closest friend... I care for her a great deal. I would do anything for her, she's saved my ass a thousand times and I like to think I've done the same. I will, as long as she'll have me, be there for her in anything. Be it in the air, or getting through visits with family, or just chatting in the mess hall, I'm going to be there for her... Whether you approve of me or not." Richter said relax back in his chair long fingers tapping a nervous tune on his knee.
He meant every word of it too. Jack was his closest friend and while he may not have the rousing courage to sweep her off her feet and into a world beyond that he'd be there for her no matter what, because above all else he was her friend.
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Kella
Fire and Blood
4,089 posts
5 likes
Fire cannot kill a dragon.
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last online Oct 30, 2014 9:41:46 GMT -5
Master
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Apr 15, 2013 1:30:42 GMT -5
Post by Kella on Apr 15, 2013 1:30:42 GMT -5
"Whether you approve of me or not."
"What are we approving of?" Jack asked, though she didn't really expect an answer, and sauntered up and inserted herself between the two boys. "Where's my beer?" The bartender replied with a bottle and an "On the house," and Jack grinned. "See you're just as fantastic as always, Jimmy, thanks."
She turned around and leaned back on the counter, surveying the men, and took a drink of her beer. As soon as her sisters had started to get all estrogen-y, she'd dusted off her old skill set and ducked them in favor of more familiar territory.
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Meira
She don't mess around
2,830 posts
583 likes
Half awake in our fake empire
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last online May 11, 2023 23:01:34 GMT -5
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Apr 25, 2013 16:24:41 GMT -5
Post by Meira on Apr 25, 2013 16:24:41 GMT -5
"I ain't arguin' over her. I'm lookin' out for her." Evan said, an edge to his voice, but Richter eased up his side of their aggressive talk, and so Evan consented to do the same. The man was ruffling his feathers for sure, but in the end, he was showing himself to be a decent enough guy... maybe... for someone else. Evan sighed.
But before he could respond, Jack sauntered over and placed herself smack dab in the middle of what had almost been their boxing ring. If they weren't already cooling their heads, they were now. Evan smiled down at her and took a finishing swig of his beer.
"Slick's dancing skills." he replied, "And we ain't approvin'. You need to do something about this city boy you've brought us, Mags. He don't move quite right. 'S too proper."
And for whatever reason, Evan felt the mood change and he knew it was time for him to step away, perhaps more than just physically. He still didn't much care for this Richter fellow, but he doubted he ever would. And in any case, it was likely that Jack really was just being kind to the man. Maybe someday she'd come back. The thought caused a smile, even if it was a defeated one.
"Well," he said, sliding the empty bottle across the bar to the bartender. "I promised Marie a few dances before I knew you'd be comin' in and sweepin everybody to the winds. Y'all have fun." He pushed away from the bar and stood in front of Jack. "And don't you dare think o' leaving without a goodbye, y'hear?" He gave her a grin and Richter a solid pat on the shoulder. "Good to meet ya, slick." And then he was off in search of Marie.
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