After Dusk (Open)

[Kitt]

The metallic man-made structures of Coruscant tower high above Faan'tina's head as she makes her way through the hustle and bustle of daily city living. Neon signs and billboards flicker into life above hotels and bars, as the shops and restaurants begin closing for the night. Faan'tina shivers in a cold breeze, watching the artificial colored lighting glare eerily across the boulevard. Faan'tina glances around worriedly, she knows for a fact that cities can be dangerous at night. Slowly, a pulsing beat creeps under her headdress and makes its way into her ears. "A bar?", Faan'tina jogs toward the source of the noise, subconsciously timing her footfalls to the relentless rhythm. As she gets closer, the volume grows, transforming into a deep, bass pulse that vibrates in her eardrums.

Faan'tina peers cautiously into the bar, her elegant green hand leaning supportingly on the door frame. Seeing nothing immediately deadly, she inhales a deep breath of oxygen, and advances head first into the near-deafening music and mass of hominids. Shoving her way through the uncomfortably busy room, Faan'tina squeezes past the throngs of species from all across the galaxy. Memories of her past experiences with bars flash through her mind, "No, they won't define me," Faan'tina tells herself firmly, "I'm a free being now, I'm not spooked by any of this." Temporarily distracted by her thoughts, Faan'tina accidentally bumps into someone, "Oh, sorry," she mutters hurriedly.

 

[Niner]

Temis Iretne, one of the galaxy's greatest assassins made his way through the bar, his black cloak hanging at his sides. A twi'lek girl bumped into him, appologizing, Temis turned a killer's glare at her then kept walking. His target was here, and Temis wouldn't lose him. He spotted his target's head across the bar, he made a gentle turn to follow him, he was headed for the Twi'lek that had previously bumped him.....

 

[Jiang Winters]

Coruscant, again. The Outlander Club, again.

After the last firefight he got himself into in the popular Club, Hakim had to wonder if he was mad for returning to it mere days after the incidents that had seen him chased out by volleys of blaster bolts. As he took a short sip from his glass, which contained a small amount of Corellian Brandy, the dark-furred Cathar smuggler looked around himself at the surrounding patrons of the Club, all of them far too lost in their own entertainment, be it the pounding music or the vid-screens displaying sports playoffs, to pay any degree of attention to him, or anything outside themselves for that matter.

He wouldn't have it any other way.

Hakim paused for a moment, then knocked back what was left in his glass, ears twitching slightly as he swallowed the remnants of the Brandy. Mere moments after he had swallowed, he took notice of a young Twi'Lek woman only a few paces from him, who had just bumped into a cloaked figure. His keen ears picked up her apology, and his dark blue eyes caught the rather menacing look the fellow gave her.

While he normally wouldn't have given too much thought to such a thing, she did look just a little uncomfortable in the club, and so he figured he might as well head over and talk to her. The fur-covered smuggler quickly slipped through the crowd, reappearing near Faan'tina's side. "Crowded place, isn't it, miss?" He piped up in a cordial tone of voice, to gain her attention, and hopefully to spark a conversation.

 

[Kitt]

Faan'tina turned, slightly startled, to the friendly Cathar, "Yes," she smiled, "It's pretty crowded in here. I'm kind of beginning to wonder if looking for employment here would be a bad idea." Faan'tina cast her dark brown eyes over her shoulder, checking to make sure the creepy cloaked man wasn't in sight anymore. "Actually, I'm a little surprised the people in here aren't deaf yet," Faan'tina laughed, wincing a little from the loudness of the whole bar, and rubbing her the spot where her ears are under her headdress.

 

[Jiang Winters]

"I think most of them are to drunk to care about their hearing." Hakim chuckled, a broad smile working its way onto his face as he extended his right hand to Faan'tina just before introducing himself. "My name is Hakim, by the way."

 

[Kitt]

((OOC: I'll be back tomorrow. Just so nobody wonders where I've gone.))

Faan'tina shook his hand warmly, also smiling "I'm Faan'tina," she said, already feeling more comfortable in the absurd club environment. Faan'tina schooched back her seat and got up, pulling out a chair nearby to offer it to Hakim.

 

[Jiang Winters]

The Cathar smuggler gladly accepted the offered seat, settling into it only a few moments after Faan'tina pulled it out. "Pleased to meet you, Faan'tina. And thanks for the seat." He said, setting his empty glass upon the table as he spoke.

"So, if you don't mind my asking, is it just employment that brings you to the Outlander Club? Or are you also looking to unwind a little?" Hakim asked, at the same time looking around the Club at the surrounding patrons for a few seconds to make sure that no familiar faces were in the crowd, then returning his gaze to Faan'tina.

 

[Kitt]

"Mostly employment," Faan'tina sighed resignedly, settling in her chair again, "I guess I'm in dire straits right now. I only just got freed from slavery, and I didn't get given many credits; barely enough to get here. If you know of anywhere that would provide me food and shelter in return for work, I'd be really grateful," Faan'tina smiled optimistically, "Somehow or rather, I'll find a way to make things work out in the end."

 

[Jiang Winters]

"Slavery?" Hakim repeated, his eyes widening somewhat as he sat up straighter in his seat. "Erm, well, for a place for shelter and food..." He thought aloud whilst rubbing the back of his neck with one hand. He had been momentarily thrown by the fact that Faan'tina had been a slave, but he quickly recovered from the surprise. It was just that he had never met a just-released slave as pleasant as her.

"Well, the Outlander club might hire you, and there's always the local casinos and a few of the other bars and clubs... I dunno if any of them would give you food and a place to stay, though, and honestly, I don't know much about Coruscant. My homeworld is Balmorra, and I don't even know any good places there." He admitted, chuckling softly at his own lack of knowledge as he placed both hands on the table, his eyes still locked upon Faan'tina.

"But, if you want, you could stay on my ship for a while. I can't give you any sort of paying work, as I'm a little low on credits myself and I don't have any contracts to complete to make more money, but, I can give you three hot meals a day and a safe place to live." The cathar smuggler suggested, offering up a small smile as he spoke.

 

[Ares]

A shape in a dark brown hooded cloak slowly glided up the stairs into the outlander club. The figure walked through the arched doorway, surveying the bar's patrons. One deep brown eye- a beautiful dark brown, almost black, but as cold as a Hoth night- was able to be seen under the hood. The young man in the dark cloak seemed to slide sinuously across the floor. Effortlessy, but giving the aura of a venemous serpent slithering across a tree branch.

He turned the one visible eye to a pair of humanoids- one, a tall, well-built Cathar who looked as if he could punch out a reek in one blow, and a slender Twi'lek girl who caught the eye and seemed to glow in the midst of the rest of the scum inside the building. Novus passed withing inches of them, his cloak rustling in an unnerving manner. He looked both in the eyes as he passed, then turned his head to view a portly, balding man in a white suit. The man had four inconspicuous bodyguards near him, and all had weapons in sight. This was the man he was looking for.

Novus walked past the table, fixing his glare on the politician seated there. The man's thick, white mustache seemed to curl in surprise. The young man continued on, sitting at the bar a mere ten feet away. The thugs and their employer all seemed rather nervous, especially when the young man drew back the hood of his cloak.

He looked very extraordinary- straight, golden-brown hair that was spiked at the front and other random areas, and deep brown eyes. His skin was a rich golden tan, the color one recieves after spending time in the sun, but still maintaining a healthy residence indoors. His lips were thin, his nose inobtrusive, and his ears out of the way. The only things marring his complexion was a horrible scar reaching from the middle of his right eyebrow to his hairline, and the cold expression fixed on his visage.

The young man turned to look at the portly man, and the latter scrambled for safety, shuffling out at a slow, but jerky pace. The four thugs nervously followed him. Novus smiled, and complacently fingered the curved metal object on his belt, tucked out of sight from most of the riffraff in the club. Meran Yekara was about to recieve some payback for an crime commited 11 years ago.

 

[Niner]

((Time to add some conflict.))

Temis moved in on his target, Meran Yekara had this coming to him. The four bodyguards seemed to be focused on a man at the counter. Amateures didn't know to watch all directions. A poisoned throwing dagger slipped from under his black cloack as the hand holding it raised it and prepared to send it hurtling toward's Meran's back.

 

[Ares]

Mister Yekara bustled toward the exit, when he noticed the man in the dark twitching his arm. A classic manuever, and the portly man wasn't stupid. The other man had a weapon! What's it with these cloaked men?! he thought wildly. He sped up to a trotting lope, attempting to escape...

Only to find the brown-haired young man standing right outside the door. He was trapped between two evils! His eye twitched, and he swiveled around, about to shout-

Then, his human bodygaurd flew against the doorframe, making a loud snap as his spine broke. The evil-looking young man in front of him had just picked up an armored man and dashed him against a doorframe! The Trandoshan thug swiveled around and leapt at the black-robed man, lifting a machete, and the Weequay lifted his slug-thrower to point at Novus, and the third guard, a female human with dark hair, grabbed her employers arm and pulled him from the Club, running at top speed! Novus rather contempuosly flicked his hand, sprawling the Weequay on the floor, but the slugthrower fired, nicking the young man on the thigh.

Novus gasped, and threw the Weequay into the street, hitting a passing hoverbus. The young man lifted his eyes to look at the black-robed man...

 

[Niner]

Temis easily sidestepped the Trandoshan's clumsy move drove his long dagger down into the Trandoshan's throat. He lowered the body to the ground and looked at the young man with cold and lifeless eyes.

"Don't interfere again."
Temis said as he stood and started to head for the door to pursue his target.

 

[Ares]

Novus used the full force of his icy glare on the other man.

"Actually, you're the one interfering. I doubt you've been after this man since you were twelve. Stay out of my way, old man."

And with that, he swiveled around, his brown cloak flaring behind him as he strode quickly toward the fleeing pair far ahead of the two men.


-----
((OOC/ Novus is insulting Temis because he's P.O.'d, just so you know. Just tell me if Novus get's too mean))

 

[Kitt]

Faan'tina was only just opening her mouth to accept Hakim's gracious offer, honored and flattered that a complete stranger would offer her food and shelter, when a large scuffle broke out. Eyes, transfixed in horror, Faan'tina watched cloaked figures weaving through the crowd, in pursuit of a mustached victim. As Faan'tina watched, a man was thrown violently into the door frame, causing a horrible crack to resonate around the room. Unwilling to see more, Faan'tina ripped her eyes away from the violent scene, and turned to Hakim "Wh-what's going on?" Faan'tina voiced shakily.

 

[Jiang Winters]

"I don't know." Hakim replied, keeping his voice down as so to only be heard by Faan'tina. The Cathar smuggler watched the conflict a few moments longer, visibly wincing as the Trandoshan bodyguard met a gruesome fate at the business end of a dagger, wielded by one of the two cloaked humans.

"But something tells me that I don't want to know what's going on. Come on, we should probably get out of here, before this place turns into a warzone... Again. We can use the back way, it should be safe." He added in, as he rose to his feet and turned his full attention back to Faan'tina.

 

[Gambler]

"What the heck is going on here?" Dal Lothian muttered bitterly under his breath as he walked into the cantina. A single black eyepatch covered his cybernetic eye, preventing the use of it. Though not the most inconspicuous way to hide his cybernetics, Dal approved of the method as it reflected his wearied and battle hardened state of being. He shook back his greying brown hair slowly as he randomly made his way to a table. Inconsequentially, that table just happened to be adjacent to the one where a cathar stood up straight from his seet.

"Excuse me," Dal breathed as he sat down. His black coat covered his chest and cybernetic arm though his hand was obviously cybernetic. He blinked his eye and dug his hand into the pocket of his coat, preventing the cathar or his companion from seeing his unnatural attachments. Most people did not take kindly to those who were bodily different from them. And having a torso and arm of steel definitely qualified as different.

"You'll pardon the abruptness of this, but who are those men? Mere thieves or assassins? Anything for me to worry about? I hate to interrupt the fighting of these young men, but I would rather enjoy having my drink in peace and quiet rather than this uncivilized fighting," the former soldier growled in a somewhat polite tone. He panned his stare first at the cathar and then to his companion before turning once more to watch the unfolding drama around him.

"Apparently a man can't try to get away from life for a few hours without something going wrong," he whispered angrily, his hand in a white knuckled fist on the top of the table. With a low, lethal growl he eased his hand down to his sword belt where his hand rested easily.

 

[Niner]

Temis stared at the retreating man's back and then turned his gaze to the rest of the bar, sweeping it for possible threats, before pulling up his hood and running out the back door. Once outside he took out his grappling gun, and firing it at a nearby building top, activated the reel which quickly brought him to the top. He looked down to the streets to see the fat man being dragged by his bodyguard, with the browncloaked human in pursuit. Temis bolted along the rooftops, leaping the gaps with grace and ease. His cloak billowed out behind him, making him look like a Grim Reaper, which he was, a bringer of death.

Timing his jump prescisly he leapt off of the building, spreadeagled, gripping his cloak which acted a bit like a parachute, slowing his fall. He hit the ground and while crouched, threw a dagger at the body guard who then fell to the ground, clutching her throat and gurgling as blood pumped from the dagger wound in her throat.

Temis pulled his long dagger back out, "Death comes to us all Mr. Yekara, it just came to you a bit quicker."
He then pulled the dagger backwards and prepared to drive it into the fat man's heart.

 

[Kitt]

Faan'tina followed Hakim's suit; rising hurriedly out of her chair to leave the building, when a man wearing an eye patch sat down at a nearby table, and started talking to them. Faan'tina listened to him asking about the two men that started the fight, noting that he too seemed very tense about the situation. "I don't know," Faan'tina replied to his question, still very shaken up, "I was just wondering the same thing." Eager to leave, Faan'tina edged closer to Hakim, ready to follow him out of the back exit he'd mentioned. She couldn't help but twitch her lekku nervously, she was beginning to wonder if staying outside would've been safer after all.

 

[Jiang Winters]

Hakim had opened his muzzle to respond to the eye-patch wearing man's words, but Faan'tina beat him to the punch, and so the Cathar fell silent as she spoke. He could tell that she was upset by what had happened, from the tone of her voice and the twitch of her lekku. The moment she finished speaking and had moved a little closer, he spoke up. "Back entrance is this way." He said quietly, giving her a small and reassuring smile before moving towards the indicated exit at a slow clip, occasionally glancing behind him at Faan'tina to make sure he wasn't going to leave her behind.

Once they got to the old-fashioned hinged back door, Hakim pushed it outwards and moved out onto the alley, and held the door open for Faan'tina, wordlessly waiting for her to come out into the alleyway. He wanted to ask if she was all right, but at the moment, he decided that getting both her and himself as far away from the Outlander Club as possible would be the best course of action he could take. Besides, he'd have plenty of time to make sure she wasn't too badly shaken up on the way back to his ship.