Ask Nar Shaddaa Misery Loves Company

[Silvus Dawn]

The crowd roared. So many voices united into one animalistic craving to see another person broken and damaged. By now Silvus was just thankful that it wasn’t him. But that would not be entirely accurate to say so. His chest was bloodied after he as the lucky winner slipped the dagger through muscles, tendons and aorta of the the Falleen on the ground. And Silvus rose his fist to the air.

He had managed to get up each time he was kicked to the ground or a shock mitt didn’t miss him. He walked with his back straight when they could see him. But now he sought away from the many eyes that had been watching his every move for the last hour and judged him. He forced his legs to drag him into the exit, even if every fibre of his body at once felt dense as stone and screamed for what a fool he was.

There he leaned against the wall with heavy breath and slipped down to the floor. The mask that secured his identity a minimum of privacy was torn aggressively away, as if it prevented him from living. He held a hand in front of his mouth and coughed. Red painted purple.

The water bottle he had grabbed on the way was not used to drink, but rather to pour over himself to cool and suit the pulsating ache in his forehead.

“A Falleen! This was not a part of the agreement. I was promised not to fight another blasting pheromone user!”.

They had magnified each other. The anger, like an inner fire that just spread and ate everything within close range. And it was as if the empath blockers didn’t even work. Like there still was a connection he couldn’t sever with this one.

Silvus dragged his knees up to his chest and buried his face into his hands. If it wasn’t for the end goal, and with his siblings in mind, it felt like the fangs of moral hangover would bury into his flesh and devour him. A sensation he hadn’t felt for long.

@Olwin

 

[Gom Jabar]

The insectoid was never without his armor unless his boss would order him. Either each step the spurs on his armored boots rang out a soft chime, the soft armors softly groaning while the hard armor softly cracked. His breathing was audible outside of his helmet, though it was subtle. His helmet's eyes glowed softly as they looked down the hallway, any lights reflecting off the polished metal of his armor.

He came with a group of guards he recently befriended to get to know them better, to try and improve a relationship that could form between them. He never truly enjoyed this sport, it was a waste of manpower and useful energy. It tended to break its participants sooner rather than later, yet something caught his eye. This handsome boy with skin of purple, yet eyes of red. He had to have been a mix of species, Chiss and something else. This being... it sparked something inside him. Something he had yet to find for a while.

"You could have dodged that punch towards your upper rib region and gone for his knee. Another thing you missed was when you were down, simply grabbing his leg and pulling to hit towards the groin. But beyond that, you are tougher than you look." His voice was cold and metallic through the mask, his speaker not translating the insectoid clicking of his mandibles. He slowly knealed down beside the boy and looked at him. Under his helmet, the insectoid was simply studying him.

"My name is Gom Jabar. If I may ask... what even are you? Your eyes are clearly Chiss, but your fleshtone does not belong to them." He slowly reached out a gloved hand, three long, slender fingers tipped with retracted vibroclaws. His helmet tilted to the side as he asked the question as he genuinely was curious. Tonight he knew he would make a bond, but initially it was meant to be with the group he entered with. Now... this fighter somehow caught his compound eye and interested him.

Spoiler: Explanation

Italicized = Translated

 

[Silvus Dawn]

Silvus didn’t react to the noises of the armor that came closer and closer. First when a voice spoke to him, he slowly rose his head.
“Iiii…”

The red eyes followed this individual as he knelt beside him, but he didn’t move away. At most, because he was tired and still trying to calm his galloping heart. But also, out of curiosity for trying to make sense of this encounter. And to defend himself from the deadly accuracy of this stranger’s observation.

“I’m afraid you must be mistaken. I am not… Chissshh”.
There were many layers to his words.
The species of the Unknown Regions came from Silvus’ parted lips in a spiteful exhale, not very unlike the hiss of a snake, and he narrowed his eyes by it, for when the word entered his mouth, it tasted bitter in an unholy concoction of betrayal and hybris. Even though, it was true that Silvus blood was Chiss, there was very little to him that had anything to do with the cold calculating beasts by culture. His eyes would forever be a grim reminder of his lineage. A curse and a blessing.

He took a deep breath and smoothed the wavy black locks back in an attempt of polishing his own pride and glued on a grin of pearly whites. Then his attention returned to the outreached hand. He especially took notice of how this person only had three fingers.
“I was born to a Zeltronian woman on Zeltros. And as a Zeltron, this is one of my greatest advantages. But was also what held me back during this fight as my ultimate distraction”.

The outreached hand was met with his own after a bit of consideration.
“Silvus Dawn”.

@Olwin

 

[Gom Jabar]

The glove was smooth, yet thick against the Zeltros' hand. This suit clearly was made not only for battle, but for surviving harsh enviorments. They felt of a synthetic leather, though obviously they were some soft armor. The head remained tilted for a moment, with the breathing now more audibly coming from it is to the short distance. Each breath was long and deep showing the other was calm. After a few heartbeats of the handshake, the three digited limb retracted and the head turned back to a neutral position. He took a pause for a few moments as the awkwardness was known to the insectoid. This child was of two species distant to eachother. He would respect the others words yet wait before resuming.

"I do not particularly enjoy this sport myself, many fighters seem to wish to waste precious time and energy when they could try to get a swift victory. It's not that I like a short fight, it's not that, it's just to many of these fighters are more savage than need be. But not you, you have something about you... I do not know what but your different. Has anyone gotten in contact with you about say... a personal trainer or a manager?" The words at the end seemed to slip out of his mouth. Gom Jabar knew he was out of his element with this but something in his stomach told him to jump. This kid had something in him that he hadn't seen before in very many people: unsquandered potential. It was there, in those red eyes.

"You have the making of a truly great shock boxer in you. Not just some no-namer who stomps all the little arenas. I mean one of the big boys kids would say 'I bet my dad could beat up so and so', or other shock boxers look up to and take after your look. You got the talent, it's all there, but you need someone to promote you. I know I may not be a pro myself yet, but I got some connections. If anything, I can atleast get you payed more for your time and effort. And if shockboxing doesn't work well for us, you probably would atleast look great as a holovid actor. But here you, you want we can discuss the finer details of this over a meal. On me of course, Zeltron." Gom Jabar began to stand as he finished his sentence, his rubbery suit creaking as it flexed. His compound eyes focused down on the younger man and offered him a hand to stand again, not to shake but to help stand. He saw this child was tired and probably hungry after exerting all of those calories. That would make him tired, not a good thing for either of them. A hot meal and a drink or two would be good, then if need be Gom Jabar knew of a place with a nice warm bed.

 

[Silvus Dawn]

“A manager?...”

Silvus squinted, but was not yet rejecting to the idea and listened closely. He was definitely not someone to say no to a compliment. And the way Gom jabar’s words flowed freely made him believe that this held sincerity to them.

Then he mentioned a bigger payment and Silvus’ interest grew. He allowed him to finish his inquiry before he proceeded. One of the dark brows rose up, and a spark flashed in his eyes, while the corners of his mouth curled up in the smile of Cheshire cat.

“Okay! I’m listeniiing. My last manager was… I can’t say it was a very fruitful relationship, even if he introduced me to shock boxing. It wasn’t exactly lucky or pleasant to me”.

Silvus grabbed the hand and rose to his feet at full height, stretching his arms out and cracking his fingers.

“But you have caught my attention. I am willing to consider your offer”.

@Olwin

 

[Gom Jabar]

The insectoid clicked his mandible under his helmet, Gom Jabar knew this would be a fruitful relationship already. He just needed to craft some kind of further bond, not just something related to work. A friendship or mentorship could work. Maybe that is why he wanted to further this relationship, instead of finding an activity to put meaning to his life it would be a relationship. This would atleast be something to try. If it failed he would be able to simply walk away from it, but if he liked this maybe this would be it.

"If you wish I can also help you train and that sort of thing, but for now I believe we should get you fed as I work on the contract. If need be I have a ship of my own you can rest in for the night, and you can think on this as long and hard as you want. Even if it doesn't work out I will not be angered, your still a good guy after all. Either way, let us go get that meal." He spoke in a way to ensure that this young lad would not feel forced to join with this insect he just met, but still could form a relationship between them. Gom Jabar motioned for the other to follow as he turned his back towards the young shock boxer, his armored form began moving down the hall.

 

[Silvus Dawn]

”Tempting, very tempting. Thank you for kind hospitality”.
Anything to distract him from any further emotional hangover that tended to haunt him after a battle like this, when the silence became too loud in his small apartment.

“I do feel ratheeer… ravenous”.
Having fought for life and image for so long certainly did give quite the appetite. For energy. And for a different kind of comforting recreation, Silvus didn’t quite plan to involve a possible new manager in. At least, before he had seen what was at stake in the contract and had gained a more general feeling of this Gom's personality.

By then, he followed the creaking opportunity down the hallway and exited the arena.

@Olwin