Ask The Little Shop of Treasures

[Lulu Xuri]

Coruscant
​

Lulu had just returned to Coruscant after finishing another round of the Corellian Run. She managed to score herself a couple thousand extra credits along the way, she didn't necessarily need them, but they were always appreciated. She put them aside so that she could use them to buy more "antiques" for her ship. It was a small ship but it was her home. She barely had any room left after she managed to buy herself an old wooden cabinet that she uses to store her books and also use as a small table at the same time. Her display case of old brooches and earrings had filled up rapidly as well. She could easily find another display case similar to the one she has, and that would give her a reason to buy more brooches and earrings. She loved earrings the most. Most people remembered her for her eccentric taste in earrings. It was her go-to statement piece.

She decided to stop buy at one of her favourite emporiums. It was a mix of antiques and replicas. Normally the shop was empty but today it had several customers in it. To her surprise a Nautolan was one of them. That was a rare sight for Lulu. She's read about them and seen them in documentaries and films, but she's never seen one in real life before. He doesn't seem to be particularly impressed by the emporium's collection. She tries her best to ignore the fascination of the Nautolan and continue browsing for little trinkets (and maybe more earrings).

She notices a golden mirror in the aisle further down the hall, a sound of amazement leaves her lips and she walks quickly towards the mirror. She's about to turn into the aisle when she collides with the Nautolan she saw earlier.

@Nevermourn

​

 

[Krinn Nelthar]

In the depths of Coruscant

This was... dangerous. It was irresponsible. It was a risk. Perhaps it was his lack of self preservation, his acceptance of the consequences before he had even been caught. Perhaps he was just simply foolish, a shattered spirit with an addled mind shrouded in the fog of a deep depression. It doesn't really matter, though. He can't deny what he feels within his beating hearts, a sensation that he knew he should disregard, not simply for the greater good, but for his own. I hadn't intended to stay, he thinks sourly. He had never intended to come this far as a Sith. He had wanted to return home. To leave the Empire behind. But in his dabbles within the darkness, a hunger had hollowed out the pit of his stomach, and now he thirsted for things he was never meant to have. Power. And for what purpose? He could tell himself it was to better the galaxy all that he so desired, but deep down, Krinn knew that it was nothing more than greed. The sin of his family, for generations.

The street is washed in the glow of artificial lightning, the nearby landing pad busy with civilians that went about their eager days. The nautolan can only hope that they do not recognize the glow within his maroon eyes, the dark crags that form within his olive skin. Dark smears of charcoal form a jagged patterning upon his face, hiding the corruption that any trained Jedi would be able to see. If not for the shadow of his dark hood, perhaps.

Krinn hadn't intended to cause trouble, and he certainly wasn't interested in getting into a duel that he would very likely lose. In the heart of the Republic, there was never really just one. A single Jedi that caught sight of him was bound to alert more, so it was important for the sith that he remained out of view, and out of mind. A quiet observer, and nothing more.

He eventually finds his purpose on the planet, one of many, perhaps. A store of relics, antiques that would otherwise gather dust, now resting upon polished old shelves. His contact had informed him of an artifact hidden within a shop much like this one, but given the size of Coruscant, Krinn doubted that he'd get lucky in the first store he strolled into. He wasn't even entirely certain what he was looking for. The object described sounded a lot like an old holocron, but why one would ever be in a place such as this was beyond him. Perhaps it was more likely to be a different device meant for storing knowledge, but either way, he was determined to find it. There was always some truth in the rumors that circulated the galaxy, and an opportunity like this was far too great to risk passing up.

Krinn has his sights upon what appeared to be a kyber crystal. He knew from sense alone that it was a fake, however. A replica. There was a startling accuracy to it's appearance, regardless. Sure to attract untrained eyes towards an expensive purchase.

It's not hard to tell when someone is staring, even when his back is turned. The nautolan can sense the curiosity that burns through the warm, dusty air. He finds himself lulled into a sense of security by the lack of hostility in it. Not a single person here suspected who he was, and the looks he received were nothing more than interest in his aquatic appearance. Krinn breathes out a quiet sigh of relief, before he turns down the aisle in search of his prize once more. It only takes a moment before he realizes one of the patrons is moving absent-mindedly straight towards him. She had caught his eyes earlier, and he could swear that there was something familiar about her. Krinn wasn't one for making random friends, though, so he had kept to himself. Until now, it would seem.

The woman turns the corner of the aisle without even looking, and the nautolan doesn't bother to move as she stumbles right into his muscled frame. He stares at her with unblinking eyes that glimmer with distaste. Control yourself, Krinn. You should not cause trouble here. Though his features do not soften, they are at least passive. He's not about to start a fight because some clumsy girl bumped into him inside of a crowded store.

"You should be more careful." The nautolan's accented vocals are tinged with a bit of annoyance, but at least he's not being hostile about it. "You could trip and break something. Some of this stuff looks expensive." Krinn advises dryly. Not that any of it matters to him.

 

[Lulu Xuri]

A small noise of shock leaves her lips. Of course it's the Nautolan. Lulu sighs at her own incompetence. "I'm so sorry." She holds onto the rack next to the both of them, steadying herself before looking up at the Nautolan. "I would ask if you're alright, but I suppose that's a dumb question." Lulu laughs a little. She contemplates whether she should ask the Nautolan a couple questions since she's never seen one before, but she holds off. The height difference between her and the Nautolan is a little intimidating. "If you'll excuse me..." Lulu bows slightly and manoeuvres past the Nautolan. She can feel the Nautolan's gaze follow her as she makes her way towards the golden mirror.

Tsch. Lulu makes a sound of annoyance as she reads the price of the mirror. 68,000 credits for a fucking mirror, she hoped it would be 40,000 credits or less, she could use a mirror in her ship. It's not even real gold. She looks at herself in the mirror and as she reapplies some of her lipstick that had been smudged when she practically faceplanted the Nautolan, she takes a glance at the him. I wonder why a Nautolan would be here. She ponders the thought of following him. She isn't exactly the quietest but she could give it a shot. Something about him feels off. She loosens the buckle around her Kyuzo Petars. Just in case. As she wonders through the rest of the shop, Lulu periodically pretends to look around the whole shop, keeping an eye on the Nautolan. When he leaves the shop, she'll follow him.

@Nevermourn

 

[Krinn Nelthar]

The apology is hardly acknowledged, other than the slight, judgmental narrowing of the nautolan's dark eyes. Clumsy, he observed in silence. And foolish. Not someone worth his time, then. She should be so lucky to have stumbled into him, and not one of his less hospitable comrades. Then again, they were probably smart enough to avoid Coruscant.

As the woman laughs the encounter off, Krinn is still staring. He is patient, but it's clear enough that he's not interested in idle conversation with some girl in a dusty old antique shop. He watches her stride around his larger frame, headed toward some overpriced mirror that he had spotted a few minutes earlier. It seemed the owner of this establishment had a particular passion for displaying fake items for far above their worth. That was just one more thing that wasn't worth his time, then. It was clear enough that his artifact was not here.

Krinn's last sight of the woman is the moment she begins to apply a new coat of lipstick. He takes the chance to leave, because there was no point in lingering there any longer.

Long strides carry him toward the door, neon lighting splashing across the scales of his olive hued face before he finally steps out of the interior and onto the crowded platform beyond. The surrounding chatter of civilians is one he is quick to tune out, before he begins moving away from the store. It's easy enough to tell that he is being followed, though. The sound of the door opening once again behind him. The ripple in the force of another's presence. A familiar one, at that.

The nautolan is glaring as he turns on his heels to face her.

"Following strangers into the street is generally seen as unwise." Krinn advises softly, and there is a warning to his tone as he peers at her through narrowed vision. "Is there something you need from me?" He isn't entirely sure why she would follow him out of the shop. Perhaps she had never seen a nautolan up close before, but that was hardly a valid reason for stalking.

@Lulu Xuri @Resonance

 

[Lulu Xuri]

Lulu had just finished applying the new coat of lipstick as she saw the nautolan head towards the door, and she took out one of her kyuzo petar and hid it within the sleeve of her jacket. She folded the ends of her sleeves so that the kyuzo petar would stay in place until she needed it. With small, but quick, steps she makes her way towards the door. She can see through the door that the nautolan is still standing there. The nautolan turns and glares at her as the door closes behind her.


"Following strangers into the street is generally seen as unwise." Lulu raises her eyebrows at the nautolan. "Is it now?" Lulu smiles at the nautolan. "Is there something you need from me?" The nautolan's tone is a mixture of annoyance and of warning. "I can't help but wonder...why a nautolan would be here, in the magical city of Coruscant." Lulu says with a hint of sarcasm. She turns away from the nautolan adjusting her sleeves again. The kyuzo petar slides out of her sleeve and she nestles her fingers in the loops. She faces the nautolan again. "Now..." Lulu pauses before continuing and puts a hand on her hip. "We can do this the hard way or the easy way. It's your choice." She smirks at the nautolan. This is going to be fun.

@Nevermourn @Krinn Nelthar

 

[Krinn Nelthar]

He's not entirely sure what to make of this, but the smile she offers is far from friendly. Suspicion burns within the nautolan's reflective eyes as he watches her, his thoughts churning with the possibilities. This was no Jedi. What then? A criminal looking for an easy target, lurking the local shops for their prey, or something else entirely? It bites at him that he does not know, because this isn't his home, and everything is so very unfamiliar. The force is like a river's current as it flows around his frame, and Krinn knows that it is there, if he needs it. He would hope that he wouldn't, because causing a scene on Coruscant had never been his intention.

The woman's words drip like venom into his ears. Why a nautolan would be on... Coruscant? It was a rather diverse planet, wasn't it? He was certainly not the only one of his kind on the world, though whether or not they were a rarity, he could only guess. With the lack of water, Krinn couldn't imagine any of his kind wanting to live in this place. Perhaps he did stick out more than intended, then.

Keen vision catches upon the glint of a blade that slides from her sleeves, and the tension in the air becomes palpable. Krinn lets his eyes dart around them, but it would seem that most passersby were far more interested in their own business than the apparent confrontation outside of the old antique shop. Of course, that wouldn't last, if the two of them started all out brawling. A frown dances across his maw, bitter and displeased by this turn of events.

"I like doing things the easy way." Krinn utters softly, peering at the woman with dark eyes that glowed with annoyance. Of course he knew, he could fight her. He could rip out his lightsaber for all to see, could perhaps cut her down here and now. But that was a sure-fire way to attract the attention of Coruscant's less than pleasant security forces. Every port on the planet would go into lockdown, and the sith had no desire to stay here in hiding for any longer than he had originally planned. No, he hated it here. And so far from Imperial space? Nobody would come to help him.

"Just tell me what you want." The nautolan grunts, none too happy about how the situation had devolved from a clumsy encounter in the shop to an apparent stand-off. "I don't have much to give you, though." Indeed, if this was a robbery, she would be sorely disappointed. Krinn lifts a hand in clear view to pull a bit at his dark robes, revealing nothing but the bare skin of his chest beneath, before the fabric is allowed to fall back into place. It was a clear show that he had nothing to offer, not even clothes, really. Unless she wanted his robe. Of course, he did have a lightsaber concealed at his hip, but Krinn wasn't about to show that off.

@Lulu Xuri @Resonance

 

[Lulu Xuri]

"Just tell me what you want." The nautolan grunts at her. "I don't have much to give you, though." Lulu sighs. "You're no fun." Lulu slides the kyuzo petar back into it's sheath and buckles it back up. "Nobody ever wants to do it the hard way." Lulu pouts at the nautolan. "What are you doing here anyway? Doesn't most of your kind hate planets like this?" She crosses her arms and moves towards the wall by the shop. I bet he'd be good at cuddles. Judging simply from the fact that he didn't move at all when she collided with him in the shop and from what he showed her of his chest beneath those robes.

That would get her back into the headlines for sure. 'Former leader of popular metal band spotted dating a nautolan?!' Lulu stops a herself from giggling at the thought. It would be rather fun though, she admits. However she doubts that the nautolan is out here looking for a date. There's definitely something off about him though.

@Nevermourn @Krinn Nelthar

 

[Krinn Nelthar]

Fun? Had she thought this situation was fun? Krinn can't share her enthusiasm. In his eyes, the scene had become quite grim. At the very least, the glint of the blade disappears as it's returned to it's sheathe, a small victory, perhaps. The question drips into his thoughts, and he's quiet for a few moments more, contemplative as he stares at her with a brooding expression.

"Yes." Krinn responds simply, because Coruscant was a dreadful place, and it was not simply due to it's lack of water. "But I'm looking for something, so I'm here." He knows she'll demand that he elaborate, and the thought alone is enough to agitate him further, because it's not her business. He doesn't even know who she is, but he certainly didn't want her following him around. "An heirloom that was stolen from my family some time ago." A half truth, but his vocals are smooth, betraying nothing.

"Who are you?" Krinn's eyes are still piercing as he speaks, and one might assume his grumpily spoken question was more in line with a demand. After all, if she was going to follow him through the city, the least she could do was offer him her name.

@Resonance

 

[Lulu Xuri]

An heirloom? Now that peaked Lulu's interest. "Who are you?" "Lulu Xuri. Former member of a famous band called The Madness of Metal. I retired a few years ago from that, now I just hunt around for antiques to fill my ship. I do have some connections left though, I can always help you out with this missing heirloom of yours." Lulu realized at this point that she shouldn't piss off this nautolan anymore. She already made herself look like a fool.

"Of course, I would need to know what this heirloom looked like before I can actually help you find it. Money isn't a big issue right now, so you don't have to worry about that either." Maybe this will persuade the nautolan to be a little less intimidating. Right now Lulu is a tad scared by him. Hunting for family heirlooms is something that Lulu always enjoyed the thought of doing, but there wasn't any opportunity for it. Now, though, seems to be the perfect time to put her connections to use. She doubts the heirloom is still on Coruscant, it's probably been sold by now. If it hasn't then it's either below us in the black markets, or some bastard has put an extremely high price tag on it.

@Nevermourn

 

[Krinn Nelthar]

Ah, now he understood why she had looked so strangely familiar back in the antique store. A bit odd for a celerity to be wandering about alone, with how dangerous this planet seemed to be, despite it's security presence. Perhaps most people just simply didn't recognize her. Either way, the offer to help was hardly a welcome one. Krinn's frown only deepens.

"No thanks." The nautolan responds sharply, and it's not simply because what he was seeking was a Sith artifact, in nature. No, her connections could undoubtedly come in handy regardless, and Krinn was not one who would usually be so willing to turn down additional assets. But, Lulu, as she had called herself, had already ruined any chances that he would ever trust her. "You followed me out of a store and pulled a weapon." He's quick to remind through narrowed eyes.

@Resonance

 

[Lulu Xuri]

Lulu was about to say something snarky in response but she stopped herself before she made herself look even more like a fool. "I...yeah I kinda did, didn't I. Uhm..." Lulu scratches the side of her head and looks down the street. She notices her favourite ramen restaurant is open and the realization of hunger became more apparent when she thought about ramen. "I'm gonna go then..." Lulu purses her lips as the situation she made became even more awkward then she meant it too be.

She walked away from the nautolan as quickly as possible, down towards the ramen restaurant she saw earlier. She kept her head down and tried to forget about the shitshow that just happened. She hoped to God, that she never encountered the nautolan again. But knowing Lulu's luck it was most likely to happen. She entered the restaurant and sat down in the corner of the building, her back to the window and sighs.

@Nevermourn

 

[Krinn Nelthar]

Was this girl daft? And now the situation was far too awkward for Krinn's comfort. He just wanted to leave, and get away from what he perceived to be a threat. It seemed his prayers were to be answered quickly, though. Lulu is going to leave, and he's all too pleased by that single statement.

"Bye." The Sith offers only a single worded reply, a dismissal. He watches her leave, because he's not about to turn his back on her again until he knows for certain that he doesn't have to worry about getting jumped. Lulu was headed for some restaurant though, so Krinn figured all was clear for now. He turns on his heels, and promptly leaves in the opposite direction.

[thread exit] @Resonance