Kryptonite (Jackal)

[Squee]

“Little blondie is just a rockin’ an’ a rollin’, ain’t she?”

“Aye. Definitely knows how to move her hips and shoulders.”

A third man sblack personed. “Who wants to bet she’s a kinkie little thang?”

“Oh, shut it down, Joran…

“No one needs to know your fantasies.”

As they all three snickered at each other and continued handing out jibes, eyes stayed rooted to the young female who had taken the center of the dance floor. All the other dancers had moved out of the way to let the head full of blond waves take a dynamic solo. The music pulsed loudly so the accentuated movements the blond made were easy to understand. There were whoops when the hips were the center of focus and catcalls whenever there was the fluidity of a feline. Hands in the hair, smooth rolls of the body and then punctuated turns. When she finally flipped her head, sending her hair cascading across her shoulders and her final pose was struck, the bodies started filling the dance floor again.

Melody found herself smothered with several male figures wanting to be her dance partner even for just a couple of moments. She transitioned from pressing her back against a zeltron’s chest into a twist and dip by a twi’lek. Working her way out of the crowd, Melody would pause for a second’s breath to bump hips or show someone how it’s done. The hard tile turned to carpet beneath her feet as she crossed to the bar and ordered up a shot.

It was getting late, her biological clock was telling her. She had definitely ingested a good half of the alcohol she could handle without keeling over in vomit. There was still the journey to get back to the ship, and there had to be enough brain power to make sure she didn’t make stupid mistakes. Well… not make too many stupid mistakes.

Her shot glass was given to her filled with a rusty red colored drink. She tipped the glass on the counter, staring at the slanted liquid, and pondered on the color. She knew someone who would have enjoyed this shot. In fact, if the liquid were a brighter, it would match the color of his eyes. Red. Nice, hot red that he hid behind the most obnoxious pair of sunglasses in the entire galaxy. He was enormously tall, too. At least by her perspective since she was average sized for a woman. Amazingly, she missed the rather silence, shadowy presence that had followed her. Who missed someone with red eyes? Melody smirked to herself as she recalled asking him, the first time she noticed his odd eye color, if he had accidentally used food coloring for eye drops.

Since tall, dark, and scary had departed from her, Melody had suddenly become aware at how vulnerable she often felt with him gone. It amazed her how quickly she could become used to the presence of somebody. Due to his looming aura and the way he adopted a business-y, straight-faced appearance, it would seem unlikely for her to grow comfortable around him. Melody suddenly rolled her eyes, thinking about how comical it must have been to see such a cool, collective man like Arc Laud around a person like her. Melody knew she was disorganized and was aware of her random, energetic ways. Her ship was victim of that, sure enough. Why would the bubble want to creep so close to a thorn? Though very rarely, the bubble can nestle against the thorn, and then the thorn prevents the bubble from being popped by other objects.

That wasn’t the sole reason Melody had liked being around Arc. He had, for the most part, protected her when trouble roused. She had rather liked it, knowing there was someone who watched out for her, even if Melody’s first instinct was to run. He always found her afterward. Grumbled she could be so much work.

The corner of her mouth lifted and fell. Then Melody tilted the glass and threw back her head, swallowing a liquid fire. Apparently she had been too much work.

“Are you dancin’ some more, Miss Sensation?”

She felt the smirk bloom on her face as she looked up at the bartender. “Nah, Noah; I think I’m leavin’.”

“Very good, then. You comin’ back tomorra?”

“Not certain. Night.” As the tender replied, Melody took her trench coat from Noah (he held it behind the counter for her) and turned to find the exit. She took a deep breath once outside the vibrantly lit cantina, displaying all kinds of a signs to attract dancers, drinkers, and gamblers. Her coat was hooked over two fingers and draped across her shoulders. Melody ran her fingers through her hair, grimacing at the dampness of it from her sweat. She was regretting wearing the heels: her pinky toes felt pinched. She turned left and started walking. There were some drunks and highs running around, paid women, women here on better business, like Melody, and loose-lipped men.

“Night’s not over yet.” Melody paused to peer at the man who had spoken. Dirty blond hair, that was about all she could tell by the way the lights on the street made him glow.

“Is for me.”

“Not nocturnal, then, Miss Sensation?”

There was that familiar smirk at the nickname she had gained at the cantina. “No, not tonight. Rather be… sorta kinda sober when I look for a job.”

“That’s too bad… Was hopin’ you an’ me could go somewhere to do a little more partying and you could show me some of your dance moves,” he said with a small smile, stepping a little closer to her and tapping a finger lightly against her chin.

Didn’t take Melody much to understand what the man was saying. “Not in the mood to be sharing any of my dancing tonight. Have yourself a good job hunting.”

The blond woman pivoted to walk away, but was surprised when her upper arm was seized in a strong hold. As her head snapped back around with a barbed response to stab the man with but she swallowed it when she recognized how close he was and the intense gleam in his eyes. “I don’t recall you havin’ a choice, dear.”

“Well then…” Yep, shouldn’t have worn the heels. “That’s… well… that’s just too bad because I don’t recall handing over the permission to make my decisions for me.” With that, Melody spat in his face, making him recoil, and then flipped her jacket over his head. In a quick motion that only a smuggler could gain, from those days where speed across the controls proved life or death, Melody made a successful tie with the arms and yanked it tight. The man grasped for his head, and Melody delivered a punishing knee to the groin. She was suddenly faced with a few seconds of getaway or pulling off her shoes. A hand on the wall, Melody clawed at the straps, pulling them loose on both shoes, and then ditched both of the shoes and tore off down the streets. She wasn’t sure the persistence of the man but she wasn’t hanging around to find out.

An arm shot out in front of her, bulged with muscle and attached to an enormous torso. Melody, surprised, didn’t react well enough to avoid the arm and found yanked off her feet, heart leaping in her throat. She was half carried, half pulled into the shadows of an extremely tiny space between two buildings and became confronted by not just one man but three, and all smelled of liquor. This just wasn’t her night.

“Money miss?”

“Say we just bypass the money,” another said, and Melody felt her hair being picked at.

“Maybe. Boss’ll have us if we’re too late, though.” A soar of hope at the sound of her possible release was squashed when one stated they had plenty of time. One man she could outsmart, but three of them with the burly one blocking her main exit… not a chance. Melody felt squeamish. Unless her luck changed within the next couple of minutes, she was on the verge of something she really didn’t want to be or even deal with.

Well, maybe you shouldn’t have been walking on Farrfin at night all by yourself, huh, Mel?

Why did she have to be so stupid?

[Grawn]

"Mr. Razirin, how are you this fine evening?"

"What- Who are you?!"

"Quite the bounty. I wouldn't mind collecting if that ain't a issue."

"What the- hell yes its a issue! You aren't takin' me alive!"

"Thats the plan."

Now in most cases, he would've taken the man alive. Most the time, the bounty was worth more alive then dead. And this man was. However after looking over the mans record to see what exactly he had done to earn the ire of a very wealthy family on Naboo, Arc didn't feel like giving him the option to live.

Rape and murder. If there was things in this galaxy that made a ruthless bounty hunter with blood red eyes make his own essence boil with rage was those two words. Apparently this scumbag had violated and killed a daughter of a Zabrak family. A bounty was put out and Arc now happened to have the man's life in his grasp.

He would enjoy squeezing it.

Arc pulled a bulky black gun from his trench coat, the barrel being thicker and longer then most pistols came with just as the man fumbled for his blaster in its holster. Reflexes and speed honed over decades of hunting gave him the ability to draw it faster then this scum could and soon found himself lacking a knee.

The man fell to the ground in the aftermath blast, his knee shattered and blood gushing from the wound. Arc didn't care for blaster weapons, finding them lacking a quality he preferred to see in a bounty that deserved it. A hole in their bodies.

"Did you enjoy it, Razirin? She was a beauty blond, from what her file read"

"You bastard!" the man groaned in utter agony and Arc was near drunk on his pain. There were few missions that really became personal for Arc, who didn't even care for people in general. However, the Zabrak female that he had read on reminded him of a certain blond he himself had come into contact with.

Arc chuckled and lined his shot with the mans chest. Before he could protest, the air lit up with the sound of a single shot and Razirin was no more, a pool of blood forming beneath him. A wild fire that had came to Arc died at the same time Razirin's life spark did and his face twisted in disgust.

"I hate when I get like that" he grumbled and grabbed his glasses. The large orange shades fit him perfectly as they went on and he lowered his head. Bringing his finger to the side of the frame, he pressed a little button and a click was made. The image of the scene came up to his right lense and within minutes it was off to the Zabrak family. This was a request made by the father and Arc was one to honor his contracts.

The bounty hunter put his pistol, Onyx, back in its holster and turned away, leaving the corpse to whatever fate dealt it in the dark alley as he left into the open streets of Farrfin. Night had fallen and Arc stuffed his white gloved hands in his pockets as he walked. As he walked, bars and stores lights began to wink out of existence as the owners declared non verbally that they were closed. For most, this would mean to get in doors and avoid the threats that the night brought, but Arc wasn't one to shy from danger as it more often then not, found him.

Maybe that was why he left her. The little blond smuggler that he had acted as a protective shadow for. Was it the danger that he brought that made him steel his heart and escape into the night, without so much as a goodbye? Her very name made his cold heart warm up and hearing her voice was like music, even when it was asking why the hell he had red eyes.

A genuine smile came to his face as he walked the night, his eyes ever alert, but his mind elsewhere as he traveled. Melody Prance, she was possibility the exact opposite of Arc half the time and yet he didn't mind her in the least. He missed her smile, her beautiful sapphire eyes and that laugh, oh the laugh was a treasure all its own. But he could never forgive himself if something he done had brought trouble on her nearly innocent blond head.

Shaking his head, he stuffed her memory away for a moment and walked onward, the starport not far from here. Arc wanted to get out of Farrfin with as little trouble as possible and staying only provoked the chances of slimming that. All was well and dandy until he passed by a particular club. Patrons were leaving and even with the darkness, he didn't need to see how drunk most of them were. Nor did he require the light to see two figures, one smaller then their pursuer

His eyes narrowed and watched as the smaller figure ran at a impressive speed down the street. The dark alley that the figure almost passed seemed to latch out and grab them, dragging them into its maw. Arcs eyes narrowed dangerously and he walked toward the alley, his ears picking up on some words.

“Money miss?”

So the captured person had been a female. Typical thug neanderthals. Why pick on someone their own size when women were easier targets for more then just money. The bounty hunter continued to approach the alley, picking up on more conversation.

"Maybe. Boss’ll have us if we’re too late, though?"

"We got time"

His blood began to boil as he realized what these lowlifes had in mind for their captured target. As much as Arc would have liked to walk on and continue his own way, not giving a care in the world about the fate of a single female, something tugged at him.

"Hero time," he muttered almost reluctantly as his hand went up to his shades to activate the night vision function and then dropped into his trench coat. There he found the grips of his two pistols and he drew them swiftly as he turned the corner.

"Gentlemen. The smell of stupidity you give off is almost as strong as the alcohol. Now if you would be kind as to-"

His eyes fell on the female after he scanned the three brutes and if it had been feasible or possible at the time, his jaw would have hit the floor. Her name slipped through his lips as two of the three turned to face him.

"Mind yer own business, pal. If yeh know whats good fer ya", one threatened.

Arc's eyes went from astonishment to grim anger as they narrowed. If the men could have seen them, the red orbs would be as drills to them and shatter any impulse to hurt the girl.

"Just so happens, I don't know whats good for me. ", the bounty hunter growled and drew his guns. The men reacted faster then Arc had thought drunks could and found he could only blast the gut of one into oblivion before the other tackled him. His pistols flew into the air and Arc found himself wrestling with the man. He was by far stronger then Arc but the bounty hunter managed to throw him off and roll away.

The drunk got up and drew a dagger from his belt, running at Arc as he got up. His eyes saw the blade and rose immediately, dodging the first knife thrust and ducking the second. As he ducked down, Arc drew his fist and slammed it into the mans stomach. The man lost his balance as he stumbled back, grabbing at his stomach with one hand. Arc straightened himself up and kicked the drunk in the side of his head, the brutes face contacting the brick wall and slumping as he lost consciousness.

"Now I-" was all Arc got out as he went to turn to confront the man holding Melody only to find a piercing explosion of pain erupt in his left shoulder. The feeling of metal could be felt and the feeling of what he was pretty was blood soaked his undershirt and flesh as he fell to a knee.

"Not so tough now are ya!?" the remaining drunk boasted and kicked Arc backwards onto his stomach. The bounty hunter grit his teeth and turned over to see the man towering over him. "I guess I'll be the one entertainin' yer friend. 'ave fun watchin'!" the drunk laughed and turned back towards Melody.

Ignoring the pain in his left shoulder, Arc's right hand found its way to his boot and from the holster in it, he drew a knife of his own.

"Hey jackass" the bounty hunter growled and flipped the knife, holding it by the blades tip.

"Wha-" the man replied, turning around in time to watch Arc throw the knife. The blade soared and found a resting place in the drunks face.

"Good night", Arc muttered as the man fell to the ground.

It took a moment, but the bounty hunter rose, breathing heavy as he brought his right hand to grip the handle of the knife embedded in him. Growling in pain through grit teeth, the blade came out and he threw it to the side, slumping against the wall. Ignoring the feeling of blood going down his arm, he looked to Melody and gave a weak smile.

"Never a dull moment with you"

(((A bit lengthy, my apologizes)))

[Squee]

((No need to worry about length with me. ;3))

When the middle man stepped forward, head tilting the closer he became as if to kiss her, Melody felt herself slumping against the wall. One man or three men, she wasn’t going to cooperate with something she didn’t want to perform. Whether that was the more suggested “dancing” or the straightforward “I’m taking what I want and kriff it if you don’t want it”. The only way she was succumbing was if they knocked her unconscious. Not the idealistic way to go, but Melody was determined.

“We got time,” the man said as his hands braced against the wall on either side of her. His head came in close and Melody turned her head with a stiff lip, angling away so that his lips touched her cheek. A wave of alcoholic stench flooded her nose and she was disgusted. Men. They did the most irrational things when in drunken stupor. She felt his hands on her arms and for a moment, she closed her eyes as if in preparation. The man didn’t deserve to be looked at. It would be better just to not fight back.

No… She’d regret if she let them get away with it so easily. Nobody said she had to keep quiet. Not everybody would agree she was rightfully in this predicament. If enough strife was made, noise would be made, and that noise would attract attention. Attention was the last thing these men would want. Everything came together subconsciously as Melody reopened her eyes, a repulsion rising within her like a wave of bile as she felt the man kiss her jaw. Fingers fiddled at the edge of her shirt. Melody raised her hands and shoved the man back, surprised at how at easy it was because he had been so relaxed by her lack of trouble.

"Gentlemen. The smell of stupidity you give off is almost as strong as the alcohol. Now if you would be kind as to-"

The newcomer’s voice had brought her a sense of relief. Then the familiarity of that voice struck a memory cord, making it thrum in her mind as she sought the name to the voice’s owner. It didn’t matter to search for the name when she looked over with the rest of her thug captives and recognized the newcomer immediately. A thin smile pierced her lips, more pronounced on one side. His mouth formed her name, “Melody?”

“Hi.”

His stillness, from surprise if she had to guess, melted as one man threatened him. ”You’re all in some deep sh!t.” An explosion of movement ensued. One man remained beside her, his body uncomfortably close to hers, and watched the fight. “Your friend is mighty stupid.”

“At least he brought guns to a fist fight.”

“Ya got a right smart mouth, pretty. Me and my boys have a good place for it.”

“Mocking you as you wheeze your last breath?” She squeaked as his fingers dug into her chin and jaw line.

“You keep that mouth of yers quiet!” A grunt and a thud sounded and both Melody and the man glanced over as Arc’s second adversary went down. The man next to Melody suddenly stormed past her, making her blink in confusion. Why would he go toward the man who just made mincemeat out of his buddies? Then she noticed what was in the man’s hand and gasped.

“Arc!” Too late, the man stabbed down into Arc’s left shoulder as the bounty hunter turned around. Melody winced as Arc fell to one knee and the drunkard started to flaunt his victory.

"Not so tough now are ya!? I guess I'll be the one entertainin' yer friend. 'ave fun watchin'!"

You dirty, stinkin’, teeth rottin’, born from a fat kath hound mother, foul lipped, creepy haired, sabertooth monster! Melody glared as the man stepped up toward her again, her mouth open to say something and her body tense to fight.

Hey, jackass. The man began to turn with an impatient question already departing from his lips. Melody just saw only the shadow as Arc’s blade before it struck the man, and the body hit the ground a moment later. Melody stared at the man on the ground for a moment, and then said, “Told you so.”

She shifted off and away from the wall and started toward Arc, washed in concern for his wound. His hand came up and grasped at the blade’s handle. “Don’t you take that blade out!” He yanked the knife out with a grunt. “You deformed little toad! You don’t take out things in you unless you’re somewhere you can stop the bleeding! Senseless, stupid, ignorant! I don’t even have my coat! I left it entangled around some other guy!” If she was male, she would just strip her shirt and use it. Unfortunately, she wasn’t and Melody wasn’t too keen on flashing her stuff to the planet. She made a careful fuss at his wound and then sighed. “You’re always around to save my ass.”

She stepped away, stooped to pick up his pistols, and handed them to him. “Come on, you red-eyed, tree humping hermaphrodite. Let’s get your wound cleaned. Starport’s not far and I was lucky enough to get one of the better spots to land.” She waved her hand and began to lead the way.

[Grawn]

"Deformed toad," the bounty hunter commented, the feeling of blood creeping down his arm, "Mom always said I was special. I had just assumed she was calling me stupid".

He let her spew her interesting menagerie of insults at him, not really sure if it was the increasing blood loss or her voice that made him so light headed and tame.

"You wouldn't be the one with the knife sticking out of your shoulder as you walked down the street. Save it" he half heartedly shot back at her, accepting his pistols and placing them in his holsters despite the extreme amount of pain shooting up and down his wounded arm as he did so.

Looking to his wounded his shoulder, he frowned. "They ruined my favorite coat. Bastards"

“Come on, you red-eyed, tree humping hermaphrodite. Let’s get your wound cleaned. Starport’s not far and I was lucky enough to get one of the better spots to land.”

Blinking for a moment, Arc began to chuckle and for the most part in a tiny corner of his mind, he really hoped it was the blood loss. Who the hell laughed during a situation like this. Arc the big bad bounty hunter got stabbed by a damn drunk while trying to save a smuggler from being used in a manner he didn't care to think of. It was turning into one hell of a night.

"Fine, fine, I'm coming", the bounty hunter said as he took a deep breath and pushed himself off the wall to walk quickly to Melody's side, his right hand trying to keep pressure on his wound. Arc hadn't really ever been stuck with a object before so the thought of he could be doing more damage by removing said object then not seemed odd to him. However, the ever grateful Miss Prance seemed to know something.

"So how smart was it to be running the streets of one of the biggest crime hives this side of the Mid Rim?" he commented to her as he tried to keep up with the girl. The girl who always seemed to appear when he last expected it and make Arcs simple life go all to hell. And he had been worried HIS trouble would get her killed; clearly he had underestimated her to bring her own.

If I could, I'd bet on who got me killed first, me or you, Prance, the bounty hunter thought to himself, a tiny smirk coming to his face. That smirk was taken as the world seemed to swirl a little bit, causing him to stumble but he caught himself against a dumpster. Quickly he regained himself and returned to the girls side. At this point, he wasn't looking very good as a body guard. He wasn't exactly sure if he could defend her against anymore drunks or crooks as they made their way to the starport.

But he'd be damned if he let anyone touch her. Blood loss and stars appearing in his vision be damned.

[Squee]

“No, but I wouldn’t be the one losing all my blood either. At least with the dagger still in, less blood would be freely sprouting from your shoulder. It makes it less nasty and you won’t pass out as quickly.” Melody kept a careful eye on Arc as they walked along. If he passed out, there wouldn’t be much Melody could do except run into the nearest cantina and see who was sober enough to aid her. She’d pull the sob story, too, if she had to. If she exaggerated it and produced some tears, there’d be someone willing to help a pretty blond with her poor, injured friend.

"So how smart was it to be running the streets of one of the biggest crime hives this side of the Mid Rim?"

Melody’s head went back and rolled to the side, the kind of move a teenager would give to her father before saying “Oh PLEASE, Dad; are you such an idiot?”. Arc staggered at that moment and Melody lurched forward to help him. He bumped into a dumpster as she slid a hand onto either of his sides. Her blue eyes were full of worry as she looked up at him. “See what happens? You lose all your blood and you start falling into things. Stupid.” She waited as he recomposed himself and stood straight once more. Her hands slowly came off his sides, still before her as if waiting for him to stumble again. When he didn’t, Melody continued to walk. She wanted to pick up the pace, to get him into Second Eagle’s infirmary as quickly as possible. Arc couldn’t go that fast, not with his blood loss, but she couldn’t go too slowly, or for sure he’d pass out.

“And I figured I’d just go for a late night jog, ya know? Barefoot,” she gestured down at her shoeless feet, “… and all. Great fun, I thought. Throw my jacket at a freak, thought I could get passed him. Ran into three more. Guess what? No jacket to throw at the other three. Then you show up at the right place at the right time when I’m stuck in the wrong place at the wrong time. When are you going to stop saving my tail? Here, this way. It’s the first on the left.” They definitely hadn’t been far from the port. Melody grabbed his arm as they went up the ramp.

“Now… um… the inside isn’t… exactly… tip-top shape…” she said, hesitantly as she guided him into the first room. Disposable cups, some with the dregs of whatever she had been drinking, and wrappers of prepackaged goods were strewn about among wires. “Um… trying to fix something… here…” The odd glass and a couple of glass bottles rested in the front room as well. And there was a definite lump of coat and shirt on the floor. “The medical place is clean, I swear.” She nonchalantly swept away some old cups and wrappers with her foot as she guided him past the first room and into a small hallway. The first door on the right was closed and Melody swiftly moved to close the first left door. She shot Arc a sheepish smile.

The hallway curved a little and just after the curve was the infirmary. Melody directed Arc to the bed-like chair in the small space and then went about frantically opening drawers. She began to mutter strings of words that made no sense as she didn’t find what she was looking for at first. Whenever she did find something, she tossed it onto the chair and continued searching for what she did need.

Across the infirmary was the cockpit, the door open, displaying out edges of a pillow slumped in the pilot’s chair and the blanket crumpled in a pile beside it. There also was a variety of throw away cups. A half full bottle of liquor also sat on the floor with a small shot glass. They were set side by side and perhaps the only organized thing within the cockpit. There were even clothes hanging off the copilot’s seat. Papers of different sorts were on the control board and on the floor, hanging off the chairs. The cute little Melody Prance wasn’t just disorganized; she was a mess maker.

“Arc, I’mma probably have to cut your undershirt to get to the owie.” She had a thick pad pressed against the wound by now. “Can you get out of the coat? Death dammit, where are my gorram scissors…” she looked away, eyes darting around the room. “Oh…” she set down the pad for the few seconds it took to yank open a drawer, withdraw the scissors, and lay them beside Arc. Picking up the pad, she applied the pressure once again. “Ugh, blood. You lost so much. Next time, leave the blade in, okay? I mean… it’s not like I have extra blood just laying around. Wait… what’s your blood type? Once out of that coat, hold this pad.” Melody paused for just a few seconds to take a breath. Color had left her face. “Bounty?” It occurred to her that she probably didn’t make sense. “I mean… You were here for a bounty, not for the sole purpose of saving me again. Am I right?”

[Grawn]

((Gonna thank Hero by Skillet for the moment enhancer))

Things were blurry. But not the good kind, like when you're smashed off your rocker. No, this blurry was going to lead to black and Arc was pretty sure he'd be in deep bantha poodoo if he got that far. As soon as Melody took his arm, he lost his sense of awareness and everything seemed to flash forward and go extremely slow at the same time. Buildings raced by as he felt his feet carrying him somewhere, lead by Melody.

Her words were beginning to fade and his head liked to tilt everywhere, trying to make him lose his balance but he refused to give in. It took every fiber of his being to keep standing and not collapse. From what he could understand, the girl was talking about some jacket and shoes. Silly females and their addiction to such trivial things, the bounty hunter would almost smirk in amusement if he wasn't concentrating on keeping the curtain of black descending over him.

Suddenly a second voice came to him and he almost didn't recognize it.

"Oh my! ARC! What happened!? Who are you!? What did you do!!!"

"Settle down Reya", he said to the familiar, the robot dragon creature with holographic butterfly wings, "business as usual. Make sure no one is tailing us and follow Melody"

They continued to move at a decent pace, Arc subconsciously cursing his lack of speed. When he felt them walk up a ramp and into a enclosed space, a tiny sense of relief came to him. Melody began to talk again, but Arcs vision was blurry beyond recognizing shapes anymore so he only mumbled incoherently and nod.

"Lovely day", he commented randomly as he was sat down and he slumped against the padded chair or whatever he was on. He blinked and succeeded in clearing his vision a little as he felt Melody press something against his wound, sending waves of pain that was easily ignorable to someone in his state.

With her in so close of range, he could actually make out what voices were saying.

“Arc, I’mma probably have to cut your undershirt to get to the owie.”

"Oh my, oh my, oh my"

Reya was such the worry wart.

"Not the shirt.. his life is more important then mine" a sarcastic mutter came from him as he looked around. The lights were dimming and glowing back up according to how he concentrated, still unable to see any for certain shapes. Though Melody was probably the most recognizable shape. Such a pretty...whatever she was wearing.

“Can you get out of the coat? Death dammit, where are my gorram scissors…”

Complying with her request, Arc slowly but surely got his red trench coat off, listening to the distinct sound of his kevlar pads in the jacket hitting the ground. If he remembered or survived, he needed to get something for his shoulders. His undershirt was merely black muscle shirt, the stale air reminding him as they hit his toned arms. He rose his hand up to his face, noticing how time at that moment decided to be slow as he explained it in a sense of disbelief. "Nothing better then tanning on Tatooine..twin suns blazing on you as you chase down some fool on a speed-" he stopped his mini story when Melody began to talk.

"A", he said when Melody asked about blood type. Was she even a doctor? Arc wondered if he would be missing a kidney by the time he woke up from the darkness that was threatening to swallow him.

As much as Arc loved to share his jobs details to someone who probably had a bounty on her head more then once, the bounty hunter only let out a weak chuckle when she asked.

"Rapist. He ended up like the idiots in the alley. Pathetic bastard, he got what he deser-"

Finally, he couldn't hold on anymore and like a crashing wave from a ocean, the black took him. His last image was Melody's face and he hoped he would see it again as he slumped against the chair, his eyes closing.

[Squee]

“Oh God.” She had been cutting Arc’s shirt when his voice trailed off and he suddenly slumped. “Oh God, oh God, oooooooooooh God.” Panic rose in her throat. “Arc?” She dropped the scissors and leaned in close to the bounty hunter. “Arc?” She pulled off his sunglasses (Why was he wearing them anyway?). “Arc?” She placed her hands on his face. “I don’t know what to do when they pass out, so please wake up!” But he didn’t and Melody rested his head back. “Well… um…”

He shouldn’t be slumped like he was. Melody pursed her lips together and picked up his legs, one at a time, and placed them on the medical chair. She tried fixing his position so he would wake up comfortable. Nervous in this new silence, she picked her scissors back up and finished cutting the shirt around his wound. She found a cloth and doused it with a solution, using it to clean the injury. Once it was cleaned, Melody set to bandaging it to the best of her knowledge and experience. Arc would be the first with a stab wound. The bandage was quite noticeably amateur.

When she had completed the task, Melody didn’t know what else to do. She had said a lot while he was still awake, a lot based on stuff she had heard other people do or say. Most of it was just to see if he would respond and keep talking. If he had kept talking and not passed out, Melody would still know what to do. Now he was unconscious and that terrified her because now he wasn’t documenting anything to her. The pain, mostly.

She washed the blood off her hands and arms and set the cleaning solution and extra bandages to the side for later. For a moment, she tugged at his coat, wondering if she should try to remove it from under him. In the end she didn’t, figuring she would cause too much disturbance. Oh! The blood on his hands! Melody wetted another cloth and carefully cleansed his hands of the drying stains. Now what was she to do?After several seconds of studying Arc’s unconscious form, she looked at the robotic thing. Whatever it was, it must be Arc’s. Melody sighed, startled by how loud it sounded in the quiet medbay and walked out while rubbing her hand back against her cheek. “You,” she said, directing it to the robot, “Stay here with Arc.”

She wasn’t sure how long Arc would be unconscious. She also hoped that he’d awake. In the mean time, it was late and these kinds of pants weren’t the most relaxing thing to sleep in. Minutes later, Melody returned to the medbay wearing a pair of flamboyantly yellow pajama pants and carrying a pillow and a couple of blankets.

“So, what are you really?” Melody asked the droid as she draped Arc’s arm over his abdomen. Then she spread a blanket over him. “A pet? A helper? You’re here just cuz?” Melody backed up against a counter and then lifted herself onto it. Her legs were drawn up as she laid her head down on the pillow. She fussed with a blanket and then wrapped herself in it and hooked an arm under her pillow.

Whatever the explanation, Melody was sure to fall asleep before it was finished.

[Grawn]

With Arc passed out, Reya was in a fuss.

"By the Maker!"

She watched intently, rubbing her small robotic hands together, her butterfly wings shifting in color as she was unable to figure out what to feel at the moment as Melody attempted to fix his wound.

"He told me to stay by the starport, that he'd be quick! I knew I should've went!" the Familiar said worriedly, shaking her head as she looked at his prone body.

"Will he be ok!? I wasn't directed to any Master but him! What if he dies, where will I go!?" she spoke aloud but then realizing what an annoying thing she must be, Reya composed herself and looked at Melody.

"My apologizes. I am REA-12 or Reya, as Master Arc likes to refer to me as. I am well versed in many forms of politics and can diffuse a situation rather quickly"

The dragon-like Familiar stood on its two legs and flew over to Arc's leg, sitting on it. "I must thank you for helping my Master here. What is your name?"

Reya turned her head to look at Arc, her sensors telling her he would be fine and would just need rest. His heartbeat was slowly rising. However the worry still remained in the droid.

[Squee]

“Well, Reya,” Melody said, interrupted by a yawn. “Arc’s gonna be fine, I think. He needs stitches and I don’t know how to do them and feel queasy when I think about threading a needle through flesh. Don’t be thinking about having to prattle off finding another ‘master’ so soon. He’ll wake up.” I hope. Arc, please don’t make me look like a fool and wake up some time.

Melody drew her blanket up to her chin and closed her eyes, feeling sleep lingering over her like a thick haze. For a brief moment, she dipped into Sleep Land but her eyes flashed back open and she sat up on her elbow, looking at Reya, fighting consciousness. “I’m sorry. I’m Melody. I… sorta kinda knew Arc from an old gang we were sorta kinda apart of for a little while. Then we kinda hung around with each other for a little bit and then he just sorta left. Funny how we found ourselves back together though, I think.

“Look…” Melody started to blink several times. She had a cloud in her eye. With a knuckle, she rubbed at her eye, her mouth open. “I don’t wanna be rude, but, I’m kinda tired. I don’t have to feed you or nothin’, do I? I mean, if you needed like extra bolts or scrap metal to eat, I’m sure I could find ya something. If not, can you figure out how ta lower the lights, or can you not do that? If ya can’t, then, Death be damned. If ya can, well, then ya can.” She gave an awkward, one shouldered shrug.

“And if trouble lurks…” Melody stared at Reya for a long moment. “… then I guess ya can talk the bad guy into a scare.” She snickered and lay her head back down on the pillow. “When he wakes, “ she tipped her chin at Arc, “Wake me. I’ll deal with him. Night, Reya.” Again, Melody brought her blanket up, only this time covering her nose with it. Just seconds later, even breathing took over.

[Grawn]

Several hours passed before Arc stirred from his nightmares. Sleep was a rare commodity for him, his dreams normally filled with guilty regret of men and women past killed because of his profession. But mostly it was for his love long ago taken from him. As if on repeat, her death played to him every time he found sleep and thus he preferred not to do so. He didn't wish to see his greatest failure come to him when he closed his eyes.

His red eyes opened to the light of a overhanging light. Arc laid still for a few minutes, waiting for his vision to sharpen and focus. Moving his arms to rid himself of his stiffness, switching to his legs, he sat up in the chair. Slowly scanning the room, his eyes laid on the sleeping girl covered in a blanket and a warm smile came to him. Arc then looked to his shoulder, the bandaged section of his wound a little numb but not oozing blood, meaning it was healed for the moment.

Arc sat for several more minutes, stiffling a cough in the darkness but apparently it was not quiet enough as a huddled robot sprang quietly to life.

"Ar-" the familiar began but Arc silenced the dragon with a fierce glare.

"Reya, we're leaving", Arc ordered quietly, hoping off the chair. His eyes went down to his fallen coat but decided he would leave it behind. Reya hovered over to his not wounded shoulder and perched herself on it, her weight not really affecting him.

His balance came back to him and he was about halfway across the messy room, his boots avoiding anything that would make noise to wake the sleeping smuggler. Why was he leaving her, the girl he had found himself so enthralled with. Arc had protected her for some time but ultimately he had to go and the reason at that time was the reason now.

Arc was close to leaving the door from the med bay but apparently fate decided that he wouldnt leave quietly. His boot caught on to a wire laying across the ground, his eyes going wide as he realized his blunder but knew it was to late to prevent the fall that was to come. He fell to the ground unceremoniously and right onto his wounded shoulder.

Along with the noise he made, his eyes widened to twice their surprised size as pain erupted into his body and mind, releasing a growl of pain that bounced off the walls of the room.

"Damn it", Arc said, looking up to see Reya hovering above him and then looking over to Melody.

[Squee]

Sleep was loveless, but it wasn’t haunted with sinister images and monsters of rage, pain, and hate. In fact, Melody’s sleep was full of black. Sometimes specks sparkled it. Space. She saw space even behind closed eyes. For the most part, it was black. Inky darkness that passed the time in a flash, the only sight of sleep. Melody could never remember if she dreamed when she awoke, and therefore concluded that she never did dream. It was true. She did not dream, not since she was a little, little girl.

There wasn’t much explanation behind it. Her father had mentioned he had quit dreaming as well, a few years into the smuggling business. He had made that comment when she was twelve. Seven years to stop dreaming. Melody was further into the smuggling business and had stopped dreaming long ago. Probably because her mind was connected to her ship. If her ship, her home, was in danger, Melody herself was in danger. To not dream could therefore be counted as an adaptation in order to survive better.

Melody knew her ship when she was the sole organic being onboard. She knew what it sounded like. How the ship sounded when someone walked through it. If someone boarded, she would know. If it was multiple people, all the more chance for Melody to know. This seemed to drift into unconscious memory too, driven in like muscle memory. Her ship was under her protection. It was her baby. Melody was accustomed to being the only person and comfortable that way. If there was another being, she would just know it.

And something was tugging at the outer edges of her consciousness. The ship whispered to her. If she were in space, the engine would hum, the hyperdrive would whine and send vibrations through the ship. It creaked here and croaked in other places. There was that small dent that popped depending on the pressure. The alarms that howled their warnings when trouble cropped up. The frequent beeps to alert her that everything was on track.

But Melody was grounded. None of that existed. The ship was in near dead silence, save the air she had turned on before sleeping. Her baby shouldn’t be making noises. No creaking. No slight groaning. Something, something, something… Did she have live cargo? Melody was suddenly floating between unconscious and awake, slightly confused, her brain working in small spurts. Something was up. Something was moving. Who… who was on her ship? What was on it?

It was the loud thunk that abruptly made her start awake with a light gasp. Who was here? What was here? She got her bearings, noticed Arc’s jacket, remembered Arc getting stabbed and him being here. Where was he now? There was that droid thing, flying in the air, and below her lay Arc, who was looking at her. He was mostly in the hallway that led out of the medbay. On his bad shoulder. He hadn’t yelped. Was he that tough? Melody couldn’t see how anyone couldn’t shout “ow” if they landed on a wound.

“Refresher?” It was the only thing Melody could think of. “It’s down this hall and at the end of the other on your left.” She was already throwing the blanket to the side and hopping off the counter. “Here, I’ll help you up.” Melody grabbed hold of his other arm, ready to help him.

[Grawn]

Well at least she was a loveable, clueless woman of a smuggler. Arc got up with her help, brushing himself up and looked around the floor.

"I love what you've done with the place", he smirked as he kicked a piece of trash and let her guide him to the refresher. Nodding to her as he entered, he closed the door and his eyes shifted from amused goof to calculating escape artist.

His eyes went upwards to a vent on the ceiling of the room, a duct that could probably lead him to freedom. Not that he was captured, but he couldn't tell those sapphire eyes that he didn't want to put her in danger. Thats all he brought with him, his life had been filled with it and it almost had consumed him.

His head turned to a large mirror above the refresher unit and red eyes stared back him. His hair was in need of cut, going a little past his shoulders now and a shave wouldnt hurt either. He examined his wrapped shoulder to find it was almost expertly applied and while the bleeding had started a little from his fall, it was manageable.

His muscled arms were uncovered thanks to his black A-shirt and he knew they would be needed to get up to that vent. Arc flexed and stretched quickly as he got on his toes to reach, unsnapping the edges of the cover and laying it quietly on the ground. His red orbs went to the door once more, the image of Melody bursting into the room flashing in his mind but he knew she wouldn't as long as he was quiet.

Arc didn't want to have to explain to her why he had to go, so he knew a silent escape was his best avenue. His hands grabbing the edges of the vent, he lifted himself up. The strain was great, but he was in good shape so he got up without to much trouble. But thats when a voice spoke in his head.

You've never ran before, why now?

Because I care to much for her to get hurt

Think this through, moron. The woman can barely defend herself, she attracts men like magnets. You can see where I'm going

Arc thought for a moment and the realization hit him like a brick. Melody was a beautiful goof who liked to party. Thats a bad combination where she liked to hang out and Arc sighed in irritation. So now he had two choices. Leave her to her fate or ensure that loveable goof would stay safe. The choice was to clear. Arc dropped back down to the floor with a silent thud and picked up the vent, placing it back where it was and sighing.

Actually using the refresher now to wash up, Arc let out a deep breath. Stepping out of the refresher, he went to find Melody.

"Miss me?" he asked as he sat on the nearest sitable object.

[Squee]

“I love what you’ve done with the place.”

“Yeah, yeah, smarty,” Melody replied. “The place is trashed because I’m a lazy slob. But it’s not like I expect anyone, though. Otherwise, it’d… probably be lookin’ better. And I gotta repair her on my own because I don’t trust anyone else to do it. Watch the wire.”

It was pretty much true. Melody didn’t like anyone repairing her ship. She didn’t trust anyone but herself to fix her baby correctly. At the moment, she needed to buy some ship parts, and there were wires crossed and places with some fillers. Not to mention the objects she made work by tweaking with them. She’d taken parts out that didn’t do much. Connected pieces that people say cannot be connected or even work properly if such a part wasn’t in it.

She did need new parts, though. Melody planned on making her ship one hundred percent again at her next stop. She wouldn’t buy ship parts from a thug planet. So why was she on Farrfin? Well, she’d made her latest delivery and then just figured she’d stick around for a few drinks. Her baby also needed a long drink. Did those barbarians even fuel her ship? They’d wanted paid beforehand, so they had better of filled her up.

After escorting Arc to the refresher and wiggling her fingers at him as he closed the door, Melody dashed to the cockpit to check the fuel. Filled. Thank the stars. Sniffing, Melody pressed the button to raise the lowered ramp. Why hadn’t she done that before? Oh well, no harm no foul. She picked the blanket from the floor and folded it. She placed it and the pillow on the seat of the copilot’s chair. Quickly, Melody began to stack disposable cups and stuffed wrappers into the top cup. These she scooted far up under the ship’s dash and then meandered to the living area of the ship.

She’d had the thought that it wasn’t that bad. She could clean it up as quickly as she did the cockpit. The center part of the ship was worse except for one bare area with a smooth, laminated sticky mat. This was Melody deemed dance floor, with the radio mounted on the wall. This area was so much worse. She had dirty, greasy parts and tools and the ever presence of cups and wrappers.

Rubbing her hands nervously on her bright yellow pants, Melody darted a glance down toward the refresher. No Arc. And then she bent to scoop up as many wrappers and stack as many cups as possible. Behind her, she heard the door swish and she mumbled a brief curse and smacked her head on a low shelf holding up a tool box. With a squeak, she dropped the collected cups. Melody ducked down and away from the shelf, rubbing her head and hissing with pain.

She turned just in time to see Arc sit down and her cheeks flushed red with embarrassment. She offered a smile yet, trying to cover.

“Miss you? What kind of question is that when you don’t write or call?” She winced suddenly as she felt the bump on her head and then dropped her hand. “Or did you mean did I miss you jumping to my rescue all the time? Well…” Melody crossed one foot over the other and abruptly sat down on the ship’s floor. “Yeah. Sorta. But must you always do that? And what’s with the robot, flying droid thingy?”

[Grawn]

"One more thing you don't need, head trauma"

Rhe bounty hunter chuckled as he sat, watching the poor girl hit her head. Her cheeks blushed and it only made the small smile on Arcs face. Melody had the uncanny ability to do that, something the red eyed bounty hunter was still getting used to. A reason to actually smile.

"Master Arc, its nice to see you refreshed" a voice pitched in and Arc's ears picked up on the almost silent propulsion of Reya's flight as she landed on his shoulder.

"Thank you, Reya. You didn't irritate Melody to much while I slept, did you?"

"Of course not!"


"I doubt that, my little droiddragonbirdthing"

"Master! I am not a 'droiddragonbirdthing! I am-" but as Reya started to explain he zoned her out and his attention went to Melody again as she began to speak.

“Miss you? What kind of question is that when you don’t write or call?” Or did you mean did I miss you jumping to my rescue all the time? Well…Yeah. Sorta. But must you always do that? And what’s with the robot, flying droid thingy?”

"Seems even Melody has you pegged, Reya" the bounty hunter laughed. This frustrated the droid, who began to ramble, only to have Arc place a hand on her visor and told her to be quiet, only to have her give a disgruntled sigh of defeat.

Reya meant well and she was a odd compliment to Arcs often unorthodox and/or brutal tactics with bounty hunting with her use of deterrence and guile. But at the moment, Arc didn't want to listen to her, only to the blue eyed female across from him.

"The droid is Reya, as I'm sure you've learned by now. Apparently she was a gift from someone I don't know, as strange as that sounds. Shes been good company, albeit a lovable big mouth" his eyes went to Reya for a second with an amused smirk to see if she would take kindly to his words and with no reaction from her, went back to Melody.

"Why question good luck, hm? I don't care to think what would happen to a beautiful woman like yourself in the company of those unsavory thugs. I'll admit I expected the dagger in the shoulder out of today's events more then seeing you again"

This was the truth in all honesty as Arc's hand fell down to one of pants pockets, pulling out a flask and popping the top. His throat was dry and the red fluid that came out of the container promised to make his throat not only wet, but given enough, make his world a easier place to cope with. It was his typical Heavy Corellian, a brand he indulged in quite often when his job didn't have his attention.

Arc took one more gulp, the light airy burn replacing the dryness in his throat as he put the cap on and motioned it toward Melody, silently offering her a drink.

[Squee]

“A little brain damage never hurt anyone!” she declared rather indignantly, with a stern expression. It took a few ticks for her to realize exactly what she’d said. Melody slumped, grumbling silently and looking to the floor as she felt her cheeks sting. “At least it never hurt me. I do… okay…” Her eyes darted about the ship, with its exposed wires and broken panels and horrible, trashy condition. Melody stretched her legs out then curled them to her chest, feeling foolish and insecure as Arc looked at her.

“And the flying thing was okay. Though she didn’t wake me as I asked. When you woke up from… you know… being all unconscious and stuff. Just so I know you didn’t bleed out during the night due to my bandaging job.” Her chin nestled in the dip between her knees, gazing onto the bounty hunter’s face. I like his hair. Always did. Melody smirked suddenly and instead said, “You would take gifts from someone you don’t know? You’re sure she’s not waiting to be detonated or if she’s not a flying, monitoring, death machine? Because if you’re not, she needs to get off my ship. I can’t have things tracking my ship. Makes for bad business.”

The blonde smuggler’s cheeks were bright red. Much of it came from her embarrassing moments, but another part was at Arc’s comment. Beautiful? Melody knew for a fact that she was attractive. She had many appealing graces, such as the thin body and being a little on the smaller side. In the dancing clubs, she found herself often favored by the male audience and even a few of the female species. This attraction brought a great deal of fun to Melody herself, who adored to be in the midst of rolling bodies that didn’t give a damn about what they did and how they looked like. She liked people, for the most part, until they attempted to shoot her down; either from the sky or emotional pegs.

“Oh, no,” Melody shoved a palm forward, shaking it in Arc’s direction. Her chin sunk behind her knees, hiding her eyes. “No drinking for me. I expect to be heavily hung over in a couple hours’ time. It’s still a little ways until morning, but the headaches may come early, too. I’d rather not make it any harsher.” The chin returned to the divot of her knees. “I drank a little much. But you enjoy.”

[Grawn]

A smile crept on his face as she seemed to squirm a little under his gaze, not something he was entirely fond of. Melody was perhaps one of the few people in the galaxy whom he did not want silent and quiet around him, because it was the her nature that rebelled so strongly against such attitude that drew his eyes to her. Not that he felt the need to break her, but it wasn't something the bounty hunter understood entirely himself.

"Yeah, Reya, I'm disappointed'' the bounty hunter said in reponse to Melody's statement, his eyes looked over to the mech, not needed to be a specialist in robots to understand if it possessed human eyes, it would be glaring death at him right now. By now, she could tell when he was joking and she played along, shaking her head. She had been told to not alert for a reason, but things changed. He'd probably need to fill her in later on his change of plans.

"I assure you, Miss Melody, I am no 'monitoring death machine'," the robot replied, Arc to busy laughing at the smuggler's comment to comment himself. Perhaps it was Arc's lack of exposure to one of her beauty and goofiness that caught him so offguard. Perhaps he was crazy. Maybe both.

Popping the flask into jacket, the bounty hunter yawned and leaned back in his chair, the front legs off the ground as his back found the wall. "So I'm thinking I am going to crash here since apparently I can't let you out my sights, like, ever. I fit into small spaces, remove a few floor panels and I can sleep there. Not really, I would complain far to much if you did that" Arc said lazily, closing his eyes and placing his boots crisscrossed on whatever was solid.

Hands behind his head, his toned arms flexed, he was feeling rather comfy. Opening one eye, he looked over at the cute smuggler on the floor and wondered how she felt about what he had just said. " I don't eat much, I swear".

[Squee]

Melody giggled into her knees when Arc laughed. The droid sat in relative silence, her holographic wings glowing. If Melody didn’t know any better, the way the droid stared at Arc and then swiveled toward her, it almost seemed defensive. It annoyed Melody just a bit, since she’d always perceived droids as too literal and snob-nosed. And Melody liked her world to be… flexible.

The bounty hunter settled into a chair that had been pushed to one side of the messy area. Or maybe it had rolled there when she’d last flown the ship. Melody kept her spot on the ground with her arms secured loosely around her folded legs, her wrists falling on top of her feet. Her fingers picked at each other. Her blue eyes stared over the top of her knees. When he leaned the chair onto a couple of legs, Melody expected the wheel to roll beneath them. It didn’t and Melody then assumed she’d locked the chair’s wheels into place at some time.

Then he spoke of just remaining here. Which lifted an eyebrow on Melody’s face. His could be sleeping place joke, which was responded by a tight smile against her knee that quickly fled as swiftly as it had appeared. Melody continued to pick at her fingers by her feet, which she scratched absentmindedly as she considered Arc. There was a frown on her face, blocked from sight by her knee. She was suddenly aware at how tired she was. Her eyes felt dry. She also didn’t want to have to make many decisions right now either.

But there was one thing she couldn’t restrain: “Are you saying that just to disappear again? When I’m sleeping? So you don’t hurt my feelings?”

Melody sighed, shifted her weight forward and stood. “Galley’s right around the corner there, “ she gestured. “Except… how much you’ll find appetizing I don’t know. Just… try not to eat everything since a lot of the stuff is… instant… energy. Like… sugars… and… stuff.” If Arc studied the wrappers littered upon the ground, he’d realize that a majority of Melody’s so –called nutrition was actually junk-food. The woman functioned off of junk-food and coffee.

“That way…” Melody pointed down a ship corridor opposite from the galley. “Are the bunks. There’s three of them. I wouldn’t recommend sleeping in the one with rumpled sheets or the one missing the blanket. Just move the miscellaneous stuff offa the third bunk and it should be all right to sleep in.” Melody hooked her thumbs on the edge of her bright yellow pajamas pants. “I’ll be sleeping in the cockpit and just come wake me up if you need any help at all. Kay? … And we need to find someone to sew together the new hole in your flesh when morning it a rightful state.”

The right side of Melody’s lips moved tiredly, quirky, and then she turned to retrieve her blanket from the med-bay while she decided which chair to sleep in.

[Grawn]

Arc watched her go, his unreadable crimson eyes unable to remove themselves from her. It wasn't any particular spot on her, just the entire enigma that was Melody Prance. His eyes were unreadable, because that was his natural first line of defense when something unpredictable occurred. Something he had not foreseen and had nothing immediate to respond with. Her words stung more then he had expected, not that he had expected them in the first place.

She couldn't understand his reasoning and he didn't feel the need to explain himself because of this. If he cared to indulge her in the mess that was his life, maybe in time she could, but now wasn't such a time. Arc looked to the mere flesh wound on his shoulder and grimaced, unable to wait until he could get patched up. He didn't like feeling like he had a weakness that could be seen by the human eye.

"Master Arc"
"Hm?"
"You act different around this woman"
"No idea what you're talking about, Reya"
"But-"
"Do I need to perform another diagnostic?"
"Since last time you almost crashed my central core, I'll drop the subject"
"Good girl"

Raising from his chair, wincing slightly from the pain in his shoulder, motioning for his robotic dragonthing to follow him. She hovered onto his shoulder that didn't have a hole in it and the bounty hunter went to the bunks indicated by Melody, not at all looking like a pirate.

From the lack of blood induced sleep he had endured, resting in a bunk would be heaven to his back. His mind went over the various things he needed, but in a flash of remembrance, recalled he had a bag stashed around here that he made Reya bring on their way to the ship. In all honesty, the bounty hunter didn't recall, but he hoped so at least. Other then his spare suit and ammo, he didn't need much. Such was the life of the bounty hunter, being light and possessing little. Arc wasn't the man to wear fancy armor or own some fancy dancy ship. Far to easy.

Actually, more like lazy, but no one needed to know that. When he wasn't Arc was pretty damn lazy, but he made sure Reya kept quiet about that. Only when he realized how little sense he was making in his head that Arc decided he'd trying sleeping. Entering the bunk room, he surveyed the three bunks. He recalled Melody talking about basically he should only sleep in one. So kind of like a bunk roulette.

Choices, choices.