Ask All Work and No Play

[Arla]

Per my OP template, thread is death enabled​

Arla's recent life epiphanies had revealed to her that it was time for her to begin thinking about something other than just work. Apex was doing well, and her own career of both legal and illegal contracting had filled her pockets. She was, of course, nowhere in the neighborhood of being as rich as her father or the super wealthy of the galaxy, but she'd put away enough that she had the leeway to actually purchase some things.

The planet Andara had been closely investigated by bother she and Nakoa, and it seemed to have everything they were looking for. It was an unaligned world that most people didn't seem to pay attention to. It wasn't war-ravaged like other Core Worlds, it had enough money floating around that it wasn't backwater, and it had no strong political alignments. Just the kind of place that was perfect for a pair of neutral contracting-company CEOs to call home.

She had dreamed of owning her own fathier ranch since her earliest days joining the Sith, and it had always seemed so out of reach. Now, though, she was here to actually look at land and look at the other facilities in the area. Her dream was close to becoming reality.

As it turned out, Andara was nice. Arla's arrival here was met with a temperate day and a light cloud cover. A light drizzle came and went intermittently over her as she walked, and she sought out Nakoa as she drew nearer to their meeting point.

She hoped things were not going to be weird between them. Their last meeting had been a bit unexpected, but she also knew that the two of them were both... rational enough that it was unlikely to come up again any time soon. They had said what they had to, and she hoped that meant they could continue being friends. He was almost like family to her in his own way, and she had no interest in seeing a wedge being driven into that.

 

[Nakoa Singh]

The Shaman had returned once more to Wrea after New Absolom and the war Apex waged. He'd been mostly off-radar for no longer than a month, similar to the last time. Like the last time, he was a little different from before. Nakoa had still checked in, though, confirming he'd be on Andora and sending memes to Arla's comm once every few days after the first couple of weeks passed by.

Vineyards were his own reason for interest in Andora. They were understandably rare on Wrea, given it was, by large, one giant ocean. But Nakoa felt some call to rolling hills, rivers and treelines, and rows of grapes. On some level, he was sure the strategy and competition of wine-making also appealed to him. At least a little. It wasn't work if he enjoyed it, right?

Oddly, perhaps, Arla would hear Nakoa before seeing him. Humming wafted idly on the wind, lilting and slow. There he'd be, up ahead, having found some old and shady tree to sit beneath. Although he sat with both eyes closed, head leaning against dry tree bark, his head tilted like he was listening Arla's way as she approached the meeting spot. The humming cut off.

Amber-golds opened and he stood from his seat, brushed himself off, and strode off to meet her. He wore his usual style of casual dress and piercings, numerous shiny things, smoothly painted nails- the works. Normal stuff for a relaxed going-out sort of thing, although he didn't remember if Arla had seen him like that before. Half this stuff was just plain impractical for their line of work, after all. Years ago, maybe, or somewhere on Galactica.

Nakoa's eyes met Arla's as he approached, and his standard RBF relaxed into an easy grin. "Arla," he greeted, stopping in front of her. "Good to see you." And so it was. "I expected warmer weather. This is nice." He seemed in vaguely good spirits about it.

"You are well?"

@Phoenix

 

[Arla]

It was almost weird for her to see Nakoa just chilling out somewhere. Although today had an end goal attached to it, the odds of them killing or being killed today were exponentially lower than most other days.

Hello, Nakoa. You too, she said with an actual smile. She was determined not to let this be weird, and it was nice to see him.

I am well, she said with a nod. The weather here is very nice. Perfect for raising fathier, she said. She had spoken to him before about her desire to have, raise, and breed the animals, and perhaps someday she'd be one of the more successful breeders in the galaxy. At least, that was her hope. It was a dream a long time in the making.

This always seemed like something I'd never actually do. That life would always get in the way of, she said. But I think I will always prefer real worlds and gravity to even the splendor and luxury of something like Galactica, she admitted.

@Mr. Teatime

 

[Nakoa Singh]

It was nice, but vaguely weird, to see Arla smile freely. How had they not just done something relaxing before, again?

"Is it? How so?" Nakoa asked about fathier, immediately curious. He didn't know much about them aside from what Arla'd ever told him. Still, there was that subtle glittering in his eyes that always appeared when some new and interesting information presented itself. He cocked his head down the path to start their walk along the unpaved dirt toward the first stop.

"Life's for the living, no? Of course you'd find time." Nakoa made a sort of shrug, smirking. "Me, I just go for Red Light's famous chili garlic wings," he joked. It was true he went through a fairly alarming volume of hot wings there whenever he was on station, though. He vaguely waved a hand toward the sky. "Agreed. Close metal spaces remind too much of ypovrýchio."

He retrieved a silver case and hinged it open, retrieving a brown-paper cigarra. Nakoa wet it against his lips before placing it between them and lighting it up. "So," he started, exhaling a cloud of smoke up and away from them. "What land's in mind? Mine's closer to the riverside and hills."

So far so good, Nakoa thought. He didn't want things to be weird either. Arla was an important and trusted friend. Maybe the relaxed atmosphere was helping things?

@Phoenix

 

[Arla]

Arla started walking down the path ahead of them, taking a deep breath of the fresh air.

There's a lot of grass and temperate temperatures. Open space for them to roam, she said.

I will probably build something in the plains, she said. Of course, there were still the occasional trees in the area, but it was largely flat and open. It was ideal for fathier to roam free and run.

Why wine? she asked.

@Mr. Teatime

 

[Nakoa Singh]

Nakoa's gaze wandered around and really took in the sights around them. There was a lot of grass. He took the next few moments of quiet to remember where the flatter plains were compared to rolling hills and rivers. A gentle wind blew, breezing along scents of wildflowers and thriving trees with hints of wet soil from the recent drizzling rain. It was peaceful. Singh reminded himself to manage his expectations accordingly.

Their eyes returned to Arla when she piped up with a question. Nakoa smirked. "I've been told my voice sounds like it," he jokingly replied, looking ahead along the path with a short chuckle. "Not just wine." A hand raised, two fingers curled as if he was holding a grape between them. "Grapes, such little things. With care and patience, they become vinegar, wine, or brandy." The hand twisted, now holding the image of a wine glass.

"Difference of temperature, age, grape variety. Ten thousand worlds have their own varieties, drunk by poor from plastic and rich from gilded glass. Whole societies thrive off it. Wars were fought over it." Nakoa softly laughed, well aware of how much he was speaking and enjoying himself. He paused to drag at his cigarra, curled hand waving like the turning of a page before turning into a half-shrug. "Want to see what I can make with such little things."

Their path curled off north-east, toward the wider-open plains and sections of unclaimed land. Of course this would all be faster if they took a speeder, but then it would've just felt like more business. Nakoa enjoyed his walks.

"Why fathier?"

@Phoenix

 

[Arla]

Arla enjoyed the gentle breeze blowing over the land, rustling leaves and trees, and causing the grass to bend. It was peaceful in a way that her life seldom was, and although she loved the thrill of the hunt, there was something to be said for being still every once in a while. To simply know happiness that seemed to slip through her fingers all too often.

Of course. You had better invite me over for early tastings ever years, she said. She had always enjoyed wine and Dathomirians had their own home brews that they created and distilled.

She knew little of how to create or distill wine, but she did know about drinking it. It was a simple pleasure in a galaxy constantly in chaos.

On the other hand, Fathier were something she knew more about. He asked her why she chose them, and even as she walked along, she looked out to one that grazed nearby in another person's fields and behind their gates.

They are such amazing creatures. The power and speed in a single fathier may fall short of a speeder, but their nimbleness and agility mean they are far more capable in many ways. They are often loyal and have personalities of their own, she said. Her love of animals was something that she had inherited from her people, and she doubted it would ever go away.

I love them, she said simply after a moment. Although she didn't physically shrug, it was almost present in her tone. It simply was. It was fact.

 

[Nakoa Singh]

"Naturally," he agreed, flashing a grin. Nakoa was still deciding on what varieties of grapes and methods he could use, having engaged in significant research on the subject. That they didn't want to make just wine was already known to them. But some varieties of wine and grape were especially rare or might even require an adventure of sorts to get ahold of. It could be fun just getting started.

His head tilted Arla's way as she spoke of the creatures, eyes looking over the wild one they passed on by. They definitely looked agile, and he'd seen the races in passing on Cantonica. Its mind and emotions were simple, like most wild things, with the vague anxiety of a prey species. The face was... kind of cute?

Nakoa could see the appeal. He recognized the irony in someone like Arla being a 'fathier girl', but personally thought it was an admirable thing to enjoy them. What was the point of it all if not to indulge in the little things, after all? "Thinking of racing?" he asked. In the meantime, he waved a hand, a collection of wildflowers plucked from the grass and called to his hands.

Nimble fingers worked to weave the fresh stems together as they walked, cigarra idly smoking between his lips.

"We're about there," he commented. Up ahead was a wide and wild spread of grassland, few trees and many native flowers that spread as they pleased. A rather harried-looking man in a pressed and tailored suit waited by a newly dust-covered speeder, impatiently poring over a datapad. A real-estate agent.

@Phoenix

 

[Arla]

Possibly, Arla said. I want to breed them for racing, at least, she added. It probably wouldn't be here as she was too large, but at least as a hobby it sounded wonderful and challenging.

She also liked the idea of coming over for tastings at his vineyard, and was already falling for the idea that they could set up lovely little homes next to each other. It was almost a hilarious picture of "retirement" despite the fact that they were both only in their 20s. It turned out that risking your life was a good way to make money.

She spotted a stressed-looking Bothan looked down at a datapad near a speeder ahead, and as soon as his head snapped up to look at them, he was waving a hand.

Oh hello, you must be Nakoa and Arla. It's a pleasure to meet you both! I've heard you're both interested in the land out here and how it might fit your needs! Well I, Volomian Kroth, am just the man for you! he exclaimed rather flamboyantly.

@Mr. Teatime

 

[Nakoa Singh]

"Invite me to watch then, yes?" While he didn't visit Cantonica too often- the artificial sea felt mildly offensive, somehow- he did go to races sometimes for bettering reasons. Beyond that, having estates on the same world would easily give the two mercenary contractors excuses to relax and see each other outside of bounty hunting or altering planetary politics for the sake of a client.

Not that Nakoa didn't enjoy that kind of work, he wouldn't do it if he didn't. But even he needed a break and many, many other hobbies. The Wrean seemed to pick up another little hobby or skill every month. Wonders of the HoloNet. Plus, they'd probably end up more or less being neighbors. He expected them to buy a lot of land, but sharing a boundary wasn't unlikely.

Still, though, he had no intention of actually retiring any time soon. There was still much to learn.

Nakoa was pulled out of his thoughts once they stopped in front of the Bothan. Running on several years' worth of autopilot, Nakoa stepped forward for a handshake as a friendly smile magically materialized on his face. "Just so. We look forward to working with you. I'm Nakoa," he gestured to Arla, "And she's Arla. We'll be looking at her land first."

"Oh lovely, how splendid!" the Bothan exclaimed with the false, enthusiastic cheer of a salesperson. Arla would catch a certain twitch of the face on Nakoa's face that tended to happen when dealing with overly cheery people who didn't really mean it. The first parcel of land was- well, they were standing next to it. Kroth turned on a holographic map of the land itself and gushed on at length about all its qualities and potential uses, followed by asking what Arla hoped to build there.

@Phoenix

 

[Arla]

It's a deal, she said. Wine tasting and fathier races. They were turning right into high society... you know, if you ignored all the other pomp and expectations that Arla fell completely short of.

Arla was always appreciative of Nakoa stepping up to do the dialoguing, though in recent days, she had finally begun to break out of her "just scowling at you" thing to actually start speaking her mind a bit more.

Still, as Nakoa had stepped up, she simply hung back and watched the Bothan. He seemed... twitchy. She wasn't sure what to make of him, but she didn't sense anything dangerous from him, at least.

I intend to build a home and fathier ranch. Breeding, raising, race preparation. The whole gamut, she said, starting to point to different areas that she had already started to look at and motioning to where she envisioned each of the places would be built.

@Mr. Teatime

 

[Nakoa Singh]

The Bothan's enthusiasm carried on in waves through Arla's response, a pen-like apparatus drawing lines and circling areas with shorthand labels around all the spots Arla'd pointed out. "Might I also suggest..." they continued, clicking the 'pen' to a different color and adding further notes in other areas. Things like storage, outside dining areas, gardens, things like that.

A fathier ranch took up a lot of space, but of course, there was an abundance to be used. "What's the ground soil and drainage like?" Nakoa asked during a pause in the seemingly endless suggestions. It was just like him to think of water. "Ah! Well, for what purpose?" "Long-root grass." The Bothan bounced on his heels and took out a datapad of notes, clicked the pen, and copied some things onto the hologram.

Couldn't have fathier running around in wet mud or eating grass that wouldn't grow back reliably, he figured. Nakoa apparently wanted for a snack since he retrieved a bag of spicy shrimp-flavored protein crisps and munched on some. He offered the open back toward Arla.

"Shall we perhaps tour the grounds? Yes?" Kroth suggested toward Arla. Nakoa ate his snacks.

@Phoenix

 

[Arla]

Arla started to kind of zone out as the Bothan and Nakoa talked about drainage systems and the like. As it turned out, she wanted a nice ranch but could barely care less about the practicality of architecture. Perhaps she'd made a mistake.

Or perhaps their arrival here was a gift in disguise. Or rather, perhaps the Shadow had given her an out.

She waved off Nakoa's offer of snacks, and he would be able to follow her silvery gaze across the open field to a quartet of speeders bikes whose riders looked a bit rougher than Arla would have expected in these parts.

Ah, pay no attention to them. They are... not our concern, the Bothan said, suddenly shifty as if trying to hide some fact from the pair. Of course, this only sparked Arla's curiosity. She knew a racket when she spotted one, and she knew when someone wanted to sell something by hiding the bad sides of it.

Although the bikers weren't looking to them, she could see them closing in on one of the locals: a farmhand by the looks of it.

@Mr. Teatime

 

[Nakoa Singh]

Amber-gold eyes tracked Arla's line of sight across the field to watch four speeders rush over the waving fields of green. It wouldn't have been out of place somewhere like Dantooine, but Andara? At right now? So much for a nice, relaxing break and bit of land shopping.

"Are they not?" Nakoa dryly answered the Bothan before folding and putting away their snacks. "Looks like a discount to me." Kroth didn't seem to like the word 'discount' much and scrambled to salvage the four riders' inconvenient timing. "Erm, well, they are really no concern at all. And the land-" "Think I'll go have a chat." "You- what?" his voice squeaked out small as Nakoa stepped right over the low fence and into the field, striding off directly toward the farmhand and four bikers moving to surround them.

Kroth stared after him, then turned to fix Arla with a barely held look of professional enthusiasm. He didn't know either of these well-off offworlders people and one had just gone to 'chat' with a local gang! What was even happening right now? "I'm sure it will be fine, they're really quite reasonable! Just, erm, enthusiastic?" He wasn't very convincing.

@Phoenix

 

[Arla]

Arla watched in amusement as Nakoa decided that this was the opportune moment to look into the gang. He saw opportunity just like she did. An opportunity to get in good with the neighbors or get a discount or just generally have some excitement.

He will be fine, she said amusedly as she watched him make his way over. The Bothan seemed less convinced, but Arla had ever confidence in Nakoa's ability to take on a handful of thugs by himself.

Erm, but does he really have to do that? This is a delicate ecosystem, you see. It need not be disturbed, he said, doing the verbal equivalent of bitings one's nails.

Up ahead the bikers hadn't even noticed Nakoa yet, but he would be able to overhear part of their conversation.

...told...payment...already... the words were cutting in and out, and the farmhand was looking more nervous with each passing moment.

@Mr. Teatime

 

[Nakoa Singh]

Between the loud rumble-thump-roar of the modified speeder bikes, half-shouted words, and the farmhand's whimpering, the bikers did not notice Nakoa on his way up. Not that he was doing much to be seen as he strode right on up. By the time they spoke up, they were only a couple of meters away, having taken that time to catch whatever snippets of conversation floated his way.

"Afternoon," the Wrean greeted casually, causing the closest biker to start and turn to look at him. Others stopped talking and slowly rotated with expressions that said they couldn't quite believe someone had walked right up to them. They looked Nakoa up and down. Tall, naively relaxed, and nonthreatening person with some means by their- incorrect- estimation.

"Fuck you want?" Singh slipped right into his business face, all casual charm and all completely fake. "My friend and I are buying land here, see. Thought I'd introduce myself to the neighbors." The bikers exchanged disbelieving looks and puffed up. Nakoa remained breezy and unfazed.

The farmhand, on the other hand, was extremely concerned about whatever the hell was happening right now.

@Phoenix