What a strange flavor....{River}

[Murdock Reyes]

The rain was pleasant to Murdock. It washed over his head tresses and skin providing him with a sense of home. His black tunic blended in rather with with his grey pants in the night. He preferred to embrace the darkness, even if on Coruscant that meant you were only in an ally. Murdock had his saber tucked away neatly up one of his baggy sleeves. The planet seemed as if it hadn't changed from those years he spent here before. The people were still mostly rude, and so long as you weren't touching them, they would only give you a second glance to prove that you indeed were ignored. Murdock was used to this, and didn't mind it as he strolled from the safety of his ally and onward to the small market. They had all sorts of things for sale,they were selling blasters out in the open! While his initial thought was to replace his old one he had a better idea. Walking to the merchant Murdock was greeted in Basic, he didn't pay the words much attention, but he did notice the prices were rather high.

Murdock finally gave the merchant the attention that she wanted by looking to her and seeing it was a Rodian. She was giving him a sales pitch as he took a small blaster into his hands looking it over. The build was simple, it looked about the same size as his old one, the weight was off though. It had to have been about three pounds lighter. If he had eyebrows, one would have been arched by now. Returning to the attention of the merchant he cut her off mid-sentence.

"First off, this weapon, even if empty is light, meaning you either made it yourself, or its scrap. Not to mention, last time I checked you weren't allowed to be selling outside like this." Murdock's deep voice finished awaiting his answer.

The Rodian gave him what he assumed was an angry look. The gun was a display, and that while he was right about the selling, it's why they were priced higher. Murdock scoffed and tossed the display back. Asking to see the real thing he almost burst out laughing as the woman checked for any sign of authority before producing it from underneath the table it seemed. Being handed the weapon, Murdock smiled. The weight, all of it almost was perfect, only it wasn't loaded. That messed up his plans a bit. Looking it over Murdock began fiddling with his pants saying something about payment as he released some of the energy around him to push the woman back. Having not expected it, she tripped under her own twisted limbs as Murdock ran off with the blaster keeping it close to himself.

It wasn't very far to a small area away from a local cantina. It was basically where they kept their trash until they could incinerate it. Murdock took a few deep breaths, he hadn't done that in years. He knew he wouldn't get caught, well, he hoped not. It's unlikely the woman would report it, seeing as she wasn't doing something exactly legal anyways. Murdock stuffed the blaster in the back of his pants covering it with his tunic as he moved on. He wasn't careful and bumped into someone, shaking his head after having stumbled back he looked upon the female before him.

[river]

Ano just wanted a breath of fresh air away from her master and other padawans at the temple. She couldn't help it. Part of her wanted to be free of restraints such as rules and such but she knew it was a necessity for life in general. Something to keep her alive, though one other thing she didn't want was rejection especially if things went wrong and she dishonored her master. Taking a ship she headed to the planet where her first master had found her before. Since she was free she had wanted to investigate how the slavers were treating those she had met before. This is why she was there that rainy day. A few hours wandering the streets she noticed a person take something. What drew her was the possible force energy. She rushed after him but in the process was bumped into him and fell onto the ground. Her head covering fell in the wet sand as well. "Watch it.." she got up and wiped herself. "Taking stuff from people... should be ashamed of yourself.. could of at least given her some form of payment.. she tends to accept a haggle if you don't care for the price..."

[Murdock Reyes]

Murdock's eyes swept over the woman, no wait, her voice was too far off...a...a teenager maybe? He laughed softly to himself. The day he did a service to himself he was judged. He could scarcely believe it, yet here it was, happening to him. A smile appeared across his face, but it didn't live there long. He shook his head at her remark, while not only was she wrong, he doubted she had ever bought from that particular merchant in her entire life. When she finished speak Murdock remained silent for a moment, she knew what happened which meant she had followed him. Damn his lack of perception.

"I won't lie, I could have simply just walked on, my day unmarked. I could have paid for it too, but I'm going to be realistic here and say that she not only was selling off the displays, but also didn't mind selling almost double rates just because she wouldn't sell them properly. So let's take a tally then, one bad deed, which my theft is that, helps in the long run. She'll be more careful, and hopefully sell them in the proper way, then being able to knock her prices down."

Murdock finished his speech, dispite it being unlike him. He couldn't bare the idea of being judged by ignorance, at least not children. Other fully grown adults were different, most times it was instilled in them. If he could, Murdock would help break that chain. Looking around then back to the girl, he found a sense of beauty to her. It had to be because of her unique look, he hadn't seen any kind of species like her, so he was a bit taken in. The color of her skin was very exotic to him.

"Besides, you don't even know me, how can you judge me?" Murdock asked as his arms crossed.

[river]

"Or... you can bring this back to the lady and tell her that she needs to get her act together or she won't get anyone else buying from her... stealing isn't the answer to things... you know... I know a friend of mine who stole a ship to get off the planet to tattoine just because her master didn't want her to.. she's Learning her lesson the hard way... especially when she returns the space shift.. almost wonder how she was able to fly it..." she turned a shade pale. "Hey hey... I didn't judge you... just gave a strong suggestion which my master could enforce.. he's around here somewhere. I doubt he'd take his eyes off me.." she laughed faintly before resting her hands on her hips. She waited for him to say something or return the blaster. She knew she'd get in so much trouble with her master if he knew she was flying his ship... she hoped he hadn't been sleeping on it the whole time... now that would be embarrassing.

[Murdock Reyes]

Murdock shook his head and released a sigh at her words. Damn she was young and naive. That was fine with Murdock though, he was that way once. He thought back a second the image of his make shift master Sasha came to him before he pushed it away. It was far to painfull still, she was his only family. When the girl mentioned a master he let his saver slide to his hand without activating it. He had a fifty/fifty chance of them being non-Jedi, but he couldn't tell of any darkness present in her, but she was nervous about something. Then it came to him, she was talking about herself.

"So you stole your master's ship and are telling me to bring a weapon back, to which if I do, I'll be reported and arrested. She would claim I'm robbing her at blaster point. So tell me, what's worse? Something that I can pay for with my credits, or something that's only able to be purchased by a senator?"

Murdock said crossing his arms, his saber hilt still able to be seen. Her judgement made more sense, she saw her error in him, which made it more real for her. A laugh would have escaped him if he wasn't worried she'd think he was making fun of her. A thought ran across his mind, was she alone? Could she handle that in the seedy part of the planet? How far was the temple again? A quick look past the wall he'd turn down showed him it was about thirty-five minutes running on foot for him to get there. Why the hell was she here?

"Do you know how to survive around these thugs here?"

[river]

"Ship and blaster are two different things.. I'm returning the ship... I'm sure you can get away with returning the blaster . You can purchase the same one elsewhere for a cheaper price... there's places in Tattoine that's cheaper.. and yes.. I can take care of myself around here. I wasn't kidnapped at a young age and put into slavery for nothing. I've survived tougher places... places that is known for man eating areas.. least some other togruta... don't underestimate me or my age. I can be pretty well off on dangerous areas." She wondered what he'd say next. He didn't seem to believe her much and there was this feeling about him she couldn't figure out.

[Murdock Reyes]

Murdock's heart almost shattered at the girls words. It hit to close to home for him, she was very similar to him in that sense then. His eyes found themselves to the ground, he felt empathy for her. Having suffered himself he looked to her, placing his left hand upon her shoulder. A silence filled him, he was at a loss of words, and there wasn't a way to express himself any longer. Removing his hand he placed the saber back into its hiding spot, the energy clinging it to him. A sigh escaped him as he moved past her walking on. He knew of a few places to go now, but first, he needed to take her advice. As he walked back, he had no doubt she followed him, as he walked in silence he felt a surge of resentment.

It was because he wanted to be sick at the very thought of what he was doing as the Rodian came into view. As he approached her, the merchant looked nervous, yet the anger was evident. Murdock was right, she hadn't reported him. As he pulled the blaster free, he placed it on the kiosk looking intently into the merchants eyes as his saber slide to his hand. A twitch of his mouth was followed by the saber hissing to life the yellow blade bright and beautiful in its glory.

"If I see you selling out like this again, I'll not steal from you next time. I'll take your heart."

Murdock said as the blade withered into its home once more. Murdock turned walking again, silence still evident. When he was sure they were out of earshot he turned to the Orange woman and smiled lightly.

"I didn't mean what I said, but it needed done. I...I feel while your right, the only reason I returned it is because I was a slave myself. I figured, might set an example."

Murdock's eyes seemed to shine with the light as he spoke, finally moving on back to the cantina. He wondered, was she food deprived? Surely not... Then again...He had to ask. Before he spoke he stopped, something caught his attention, he couldn't pinpoint what though. It had to do with her though, and he stopped dead in his tracks and spun to face her, wondering just what in the hell he had felt.

[river]

Ano smiled when she noticed him go off to bring the blaster back. Perhaps he was a good guy after all. When he came back and said what he said her eyes went big. "You were a slave? Where? The slavers took me from my home planet to tattoine... My former master found me when I was four or six years old. I'm fourteen now... making my own light sabers and such. Kinda fun.... especially dealing with the crystals." She noticed him head away then stop and look at her. She rushed over to him to see where he was going. "Are you going for food or something? Can I tag along?"

[Murdock Reyes]

Murdock instantly knew what had hit him, when at first she asked about him being a slave he thought it was because she felt she had to. Then the bus hit him, she was genuinely interested, he wasn't sure why, but she was. He felt slightly guilty for thinking as he did, when she asked about food he knew he had been right. At least partly. He shook his head to bring himself back, he couldn't dwell on what happened.

"I wasn't but if your hungry, I guess I could feed you."

Murdock said as gently as he could, hoping he wasn't pushing her to accept his offer. Murdock had hated that growing up. People offered him help when he was young often, he had just been to proud at the time to have accepted it. He knew now he should have of course, otherwise he wouldn't have turned to commiting crimes to get by. His head began to pound with the very idea of how she had become a slave. Murdock viewed his abduction as his fault, if he hadn't believed them, he would still be with his family. The upside was that now he had a lightsaber and could use the energy around him almost entirely properly.

As they began walking again, Murdock kept his eyes cast down, he didn't want to look at anything in particular at the moment. He was lost in thought as he saw flashes of his past. The scars on his body burned, he knew it was mental of course, but it made the memory all that more real to him again. Having passed a few food places by now, Murdock finally stopped at a street seller. The prices were much better than he had expected, Murdock ordered some type of roasted vegetable and what looked like burnt meat, yet smelt wonderful. He presented both to the woman waiting for her choice.

"Only catch is you have to tell me your name."

[river]

Ano followed and watched him order the vegetable and meat. She liked these places. She had been down here when her master thought she was asleep. She wondered what he would think if he knew that she had been escaping bedtime. She got enough sleep... but just didn't want to sleep over ten hours while her master spoke to the elders about things. She even wondered if they spoke about her sometimes. She sighed quietly before she refocused on the man. "Oh... I'm Ano Svi... meat please." She pointed at the meat in his hand.

[Murdock Reyes]

Murdock watched the young woman, it was interesting to say the least. She was a deep thinker, which was a major plus she wasn't stupid, which would account for Her survival he knew. She was still inexperienced in things, which led to her naive nature. There was no doubt to him though that she was strong. The woman finally spoke her name, pairing it with the food of her choice. This gave Murdock roughly enough info to understand her. She preferred the meat, that meant she know what she wanted, and wasn't shy about it. She had to have been an aggressive person too, Murdock thought as he handed the meat to her.

It wasn't everyday you run into people like this, so there had to be a point to it. As he pondered it, his teeth sank into one of the roasted greens. The crunch was satisfying, but it reminded him far to much of bones cracking. Murdock pulled his saber hilt free and showed it to her.

"Mine shows a strangeness that I find is very similar to my own. I take pride in it, since your building your own, may I see it?"

Murdock asked, a curiousity was piqued now.

[river]

Ano reached for the meat as it was offered to her an took it. Once it was in her hands she took a bite out of it and took a step back as she enjoyed the flavoring of the meat. Her mind was stuck on the meat when he showed his saber and asked to see hers. She froze for a moment and checked where it was supposed to be. She frowned and worked on the meat more. "I either left it in the spaceship or in my room... I seem to have forgotten it... but.. it's a purple coloring and has a basic hilt. I'm hoping to custom make it with some togruta flair."

[Murdock Reyes]

With another crunch more of the roasted greens were eaten. So she didn't have her lifeline on her, Murdock's lightsaber had saved him several times. If he hadn't been able to have it as an option, no doubt he would have died by now. The color choice was interesting though, purple signified something, a particular memory for her? He was unsure and had no answer as the hilt disappeared from view once more.

Murdock finished off his food, then began walking in the direction of the temple. She needed to get back he was sure. Jedi always had so many rules, and they were such a pain. Murdock took in a deep breath as his feet countinued to meet the ground, small clicks of his boots hitting the ground caused a noise he enjoyed. It was a strange quirk he had, but the sound of his footsteps was appealing to him.

"So, Ano, tell me about your Master, Im fairly curious."

Murdock spoke as he turned a corner. It wouldn't be long now, he knew there were getting closer. It wouldn't be more than twenty minutes at the most. A small frown crossed his face as a thought occured to him, once they reached the temple, there was a very good chance they wpuld never meet again. He cringed mentally at the idea. Then an idea hit him, there was a particular frequincy that reached to Vjunn from here, if he shared that with her, they could countinue to communicate. Now that, was quite a good idea.

((Sorry about the wait River ^~^'))

[river]

Ano stiffened at the fact the man wanted to know more about her master. Did he really need to know or was it just conversation starter? She walked along him and wondered why they were really heading to the jedi temple. Ano wanted to go exploring with this guy though perhaps bringing her lightsaber would be a good idea if she did so. "Uh... well... he's cool... funny sometimes.. especially when his face turns red if I do something that would embarrass him.. he's a typical jedi... I don't want to be typical though.. I wanna be the best there is!" She grinned, she then remembered the humility that her had been told before to have. Ano couldn't help but giggle.

[Murdock Reyes]

Murdock nodded his head as the girl spoke. His mentor didn't seem the kind to have been embarrassed at least not by him. The world's buzzing seemed to die down the closer they got to the temple. He wondered if she had a taste for nightlife, but quickly shook his head. He needed to bring her to the temple, that was the only thing on his mind. Then again...

"The best huh? Well, I think my master was pretty good, and she used to stow away on ships and such. I think you'll make a great Jedi."

A laugh escaped him, but it wasn't mocking. Murdock felt that Jedi needed to be stealthy, and to be more relatable to others. Murdock had met a few that were rather dull and meloncoley and as a result put some people off. Murdock wasn't like that, and always thought more needed to follow his example. As this went through his head his feet stopped and a small smile crossed his face, he could help Ano see the path he walked. Oh it was perfect!

"Ano, one final question. Do you think Jedi should be detached from people? That they should be a blank face in the crowd that watches as a man or woman is executed? I would like an honest amswer ."