- OOC:
- This is something different I am trying out with Namyr, telling the story through flashbacks triggered by present actions. To understand the order of the things, “Part” tags are used, should not be too hard to get order of things. “A” comes before “B” and whatever... If this is confusing, it should be more understandable once you read through it.
Enjoy and please avoid posting here, as this is a story just between the two of us. Any comments can be directed through IRC, as either one of us seems to be on there at any given time of the day. *shrug*
Part ZThe distant suburban edge of Sianat, Tadath’s capitol city, was not visible on the roof of the apartment building that Riqimo and Namyr had purchased for their off-duty times so that they would have some more privacy than the normal barracks rooms provided to them.
Right now the couple affectionately watched the landscape, the hues of reds, yellows, and oranges providing a gentle close to the past week. In the whole city there was nothing that looked half as romantic as the human and leth Twi’lek cuddled together on that rooftop, watching the sunset.
Between them there was a deep, passionate bond. Besides holding their hearts together through long periods of separation, it had the effect of making them tolerant of each other’s yarns—and even convictions.
Riqimo, a rather height challenged human, gently pulled Namyr closer, her head then lowering onto his shoulder, mumbling, “Isn’t it beautiful?”
Spoken like a true Romeo, Riq gently ran his fingers along one of the lekku, whispering, “You put it to shame, Namyr’eswo.”
Afterwards there was a loving silence, the day was ending in a serenity of still and exquisite brilliance. The office buildings of the downtown sector reflected the sunlight off their transteel planes, sparking and shining pacifically; the sky, without a speck, was a benign immensity of unstained light.
And at last, in its curved and imperceptible fall, the sun sank low, and from glowing yellows and oranges changed entirely to a dull red without rays and without heat, as if about to go out suddenly, stricken to death by the touch of that gloom brooding over the couple. Forthwith a change came over the city, and the serenity became less brilliant but more profound.
The sun set; the dusk fell on the city, and lights began to appear along the horizon. Lights of ships moved in the distant star port—a great stir of lights going up and going down.
“This was quite a week wasn’t it, Riq’eswo?” Namyr cooed, one of her lek brushing his face teasingly.
“Not exactly how I planned to spend our little vacation, Nam’eswo,” Riqimo pulled her a little closer. His mind drifting to near seven days ago, when the sun was setting just like this...
Part ARiq was walking for the longest time. He did not know why he took a long path and it really hadn't crossed his mind. His mind refused to focus and the world seemed to be completely in grayscale. There was a kind of cloud over his mind that muffled out his thoughts as the ground absorbed the falls of his feet.
The battered papers of flyers rustled and swirled around his feet in the lower class section of Sianat. Riq thought to himself,
Will I know when the time comes that it is time to go, time to let go and surrender myself? He whispered his prayers to God to allow him that... that last prayer, that last dignity.
The puzzled look in Riqimo’s eyes gave away his apparent calm. He didn't know where he was, but yet he kept walking. Much like most things in his life he really did not know why he just followed where he felt he had to, so he walked on. As he ascended the gentle slope in the road he felt a cool breeze flow over his face and bend around like fate to grab him in its blessed embrace. It penetrated him, cleansing him, pushing his thoughts to the back of his mind until those thoughts relented to the winds.
The building at the end of the street beckoned him, like someone calling his name, barely noticeable through the wind to reach his ears. He swept his gaze from his footfalls up onto the tops of the buildings on his right to where the sun had begun to set. He kept his gaze upon the orange sun hinted with shades of red until his eyes could take it no longer, and he looked away.
Every occurrence seemed to affect his life from the passing glance at a pretty face to the falling of a rain drop. Even when Riq realized that this was something to take notice of, he thought of nothing other than the wind blowing against him . . . he laughed to himself. Such was his life.
Oh, irony. Each instance, was the keeper of my sanity, or my insanity.
Things like this happen to me a lot, no . . . More than a lot, these things were as common as each breath I intake. The winds rose up like an opponent, testing him for weaknesses, looking for the slightest opening. He would not give it that satisfaction. He hefted his chest and breathed in before pushing himself against the winds that seemed to blow strongly in the lower streets where the buildings were close together. The corners of Riq’s lips turned up in the exhilaration of the thoughts of the upcoming week he would have all alone with Namyr...
Part ZRiq slowly opened the door to the apartment, and being the gentleman he was always in front of Nams, held it open for her to enter first. The annoying cleaner droid that Nams had insisted they purchase despite Riq’s protestations squealed from its sweeping being disrupted by the door opening and pinning it against the wall. Smirking to himself, Riqimo pushed harder on the door as he followed behind Namyr and then closed the door, revealing an frustrated cleaning droid that dumped the dust it had been sweeping onto Riq’s left shoe. Shaking it off as he walked after Nams into the kitchen, Riq made sure to scatter the dust in the hardest spots to clean. Small victory in a stupid battle with a droid, but a victory nonetheless, and the droid was so damn annoying anyways...
“Ah, mistress Namyr and master Riqimo,” another one of Nams’ insistentments gave its vocabulator a cheerful tone, “How was the sunset?” Before either of the couple responded, the house service droid went into another of its long string of seemingly unrelated sentences and questions, “ Don’t worry about a thing dears, dinner will be ready in fifteen minutes. Riq you really shouldn’t track dirt in like that, and your hair seems all ruffled, find a comb. Nams, you look just lovely.” Namyr playfully ruffled the hair of her Ka’re a bit before nudging him towards the bathroom to fix his hair.
Stupid mechanical idiots, why did we even bother getting them? Oh wait... Nams made a trade off with me... meh Sighing, Riqqi combed his hair, making sure to leave one strand of hair loose just to smite the droid.
Namyr peeked in and smirked at Riq, “You gonna annoy her again?” Coming over, she stroked his hair into a neater arrangement, “You know, Riq...”
Part E “...’eswo, you could just have your hair the way I want you to have it for a change.” Namyr chuckled.
“You know Nams, I agreed to go to this formal dance thing with you, so... maybe I can have my hair the way I want it?” Riqimo looked up from observing Nam’s stirring black dress trimmed ornamented with silver embroidery to her eyes. He felt... vulnerable without a few strands of hair over his eyes, like anyone could read his every thought in his exposed eyes. Of course Nams could read almost every thought with or without seeing his eyes, but that was different,
she was not one that would ever take advantage of him for personal gain. Jokes certainly, but not personal gain.
“Then I might ignore you later. Riq,” she playfully threatened. Riqimo smirked and shook his head vigorously receiving a disapproving stare from Nams, “Riq, I give up, have your hair how ever you want.” She pulled him out of his sitting position at the side of the queen-sized bed and hugged him, “Just don’t embarrass me at the ball.”
“I know...” Riqimo said his voice trailing off. He realized how long it had been since he had real company, someone just to talk to, about things other than wars or the Empire or being a trooper…and he missed it. It was easy to forget sometimes how nice it was just to be normal and not have to worry about life altering missions and the New Republic and the rest of it.
He leaned her back against the wall and she dipped slightly, her shoulders slipping into the crook of his shoulder, and her lekku delicately twirling up around his arm and shoulder. They stood in silence hearing the rain falling in sheets on the roof above them.
“I was just a teenager when my family first sold me,” she almost whispered to herself. Thunder rumbled outside, a deep low sound that rolled across the city and filled the tiny room, drowning her out for just a second.
“…thought that when I got old enough, I would be able to get back. Thought…foolishly, that my brother would always be there... that Alask, my father, would always be there. Some days I would come home from my daily studies and he would be there, cooking up a large pot of Rycrit stew and making my mother laugh with stories about how Aeros and Rol would undress Orn and leave him tied to the courtyard water fountain. Or how Aeros would smuggle some Vapine Ran-bats into Lyn’s locker.” Tears were running freely now, causing her soft scarlet cheeks to glisten in the darkness.
Riqimo felt his heart dip into his stomach. He fought back tears himself and instead just stood stone still, not wanting to pull Namyr from her memories. Another rolling round of thunder came, and she fell silent, closing her eyes against more tears. Riqimo sat staring at her wishing she would keep talking...
“I know how it is to lose and be betrayed the ones you care about,” Riq said, quietly. He reached into his pocket and handed her a handkerchief he used to clean his datapad screen with...
Part Z Properly cutting his roba steak following the Coruscaunt style of dining etiquette, Riqimo glanced across the table at Namyr, who was nibbling on her own steak. They were silent for a while, unil Nams decided to start a small conversation, “Riq’eswo, do you remember our conversation in that prison cell we wound up in?”
Riqimo blinked, swallowing the steak in his mouth uneasily, “Yeah...”
Nams’ lekku moved slightly, and Riq was taught enough to understand the gist of what it suggested.
This is gonna make you or break you Riq...