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Aphelion and the Friends Not Forgotten.
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| Davon·Vanden | Date: Friday, 17 Jul 2015, 4:11 PM | Message # 16 |
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| It was a modest home, smaller than his own by a fair amount, but gang money paid far better than whatever Mara and her husband did, apparently. He followed in after Mara, careful to scrape any dirt or garbage (which you were all but guaranteed to track into your apartment on Nar Shaddaa) off his boots at the doorway. She had called out to her husband, but he wasn't home. The crystallizing realization as to exactly who her husband was hit him after a slow build up. It had started when she handed him the note, and Davon had thought to himself that it was odd that her husband was also named Leroy. Then, of course, his attention had turned to the photos scattered around the apartment, a large number of them curiously featuring Leroy and Mara standing awfully close together.
Well, perhaps they just became good friends after the crew fractured. Davon half-turned as the truth hit him once his eyes set upon the wedding photo. All at once all of his certainty of everything, of the very foundation of the Universe and how things worked, shattered. "Oh." He managed, setting the note down as his eyes were transfixed on the wedding photo. And then, one loud "Ohhh!"
He spun about, eyes wide, and she had just finished pouring the whiskey. He caught the sliding glass in a hand, mouth agape, and he fought back the sudden urge to ask why. "I, I uh..." Vanden managed before finally getting a handle on his frayed mind, and he shook his head. "Well there's a bounty on Davon Vanden's head. A few, in fact. You two, also. Figured why make it easier to be found if we were all together. We were safer apart..." He paused, eyeing the weddng photo again. "Well, I thought we were, at least."
Davon Vanden
Navigator of the Aphelion
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| Mara_Antares | Date: Friday, 17 Jul 2015, 7:06 PM | Message # 17 |
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| She watched his reaction carefully, expecting it to not be a good one. Mara would understand his confusion, as she and Leroy never really talked or spent any time together on the Aphelion. The only explanation she would have, if he asked, was that people fell in love in mysterious ways....it was not something she could totally understand herself. So as his realization came about, followed by his reaction, she sipped her whiskey.
"It wasn't planned, Dav. He just....we ran into each other and started spending time together. And one day I realized, after him asking several times and me saying no, that I didn't want to just be Mara anymore. You know me...I never wanted to get married and have kids or anything, but...Leory made me change my mind." And it wasn't in the typical Leroy way either. He was different with her. And she loved the person he was.
"Why don't you stay with us a while? See if we can't work this bounty mess out. Strength in numbers, right?" She gave him a small smile and slid onto a stool that sat at the counter, so that she could sit. It was only then that she noticed the grenades on the table. Why was it always grenades?! Mara looked to Davon again and then reached across and patted his hand lightly. "Are you okay?"
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| Davon·Vanden | Date: Friday, 17 Jul 2015, 11:42 PM | Message # 18 |
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| "These things are rarely planned," he answered with a bit of a stammer, resting back on the table replete with grenades. His brain was still catching up to the news, and as it often did, his mouth ran without cessation. "We're all of us just fireflies circling around life as some greater mystery we don't really understand; we claim that we can quantify it with pretense such as success or happiness but really, like all life, it's sort of just a chaotic happenstance, a ride we're all just barely strapped in to experience." He finished it by having himself that glass of whiskey, his thoughts finally coalescing after a moment. He downed the entire shot and groaned, having drank far too quickly, and his eyes trained back on Mara.
"But uh, m'happy for you, really," Davon said after a moment of silence, flashing her a smile. "Guess you have a thing for guys with Coruscanti accents, huh?" It was meant as a joke, but as the words left his lips, his own Coruscanti accent seemed to lilt, as though he was suddenly unsure. Leave it to Davon Vanden to not want someone until she was no longer available to him.
After a fashion, he slid the glass away with a few fingers and sighed. "I'm doing okay on my own," he answered. "Besides, something tells me your husband wouldn't take kindly to my presence."
Davon Vanden
Navigator of the Aphelion
Message edited by Davon·Vanden - Saturday, 18 Jul 2015, 0:28 AM |
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| Mara_Antares | Date: Saturday, 18 Jul 2015, 0:24 AM | Message # 19 |
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| Mara was sipping her drink, as she always did, while she listened to him. Davon Vanden could be insightful at times, so sometimes his ramblings were more than just that. "You know.....you taught me how to be able to trust men again. After Braum, I wasn't sure I was ever going to be able to do that. I was afraid of you at first, and Rawls, even Percey....but especially Leroy." She said as she poured him another glass, without asking.
"He would want you to stay though. It's not you he's angry at. And he's not just my husband, you know...he's your friend too." Mara said as she rested her glass on the countertop. "Of course, you can do whatever you like. It's just an offer. But if you wanted to stick around until he gets back from Nal Hutta....I know I would enjoy it, and I am sure he'd appreciate that you walked me home...more than that, I am sure." Davon was right in thinking that Mara could take care of herself, but she still very rarely walked alone since the night she was attacked and Leroy helped her.
He he had taught her how to shoot, and she had dead on aim. And he had taught her how to defend herself enough that she could put a serious cramp in someone's day if she needed to. But all of that aside, it was always nice to not be alone.
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| Davon·Vanden | Date: Saturday, 18 Jul 2015, 0:40 AM | Message # 20 |
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| He didn't reach for the next glass, not right away. Davon was sobered by the knowledge that Leroy Ransom had more romantic success in recent years than he had. And that was Davon's thing! "M'not so sure about that. Wasn't too long ago you and I were dancing around thoughts of my bedroom and he was left wanting."
The navigator answered uncertainly, folding his arms across his chest and musing on those memories with an exhale. He and Mara had never gotten together, they'd come close a few times but something always came up. He had noticed that Ransom also carried a torch for her, then, but he had thought little of it as the Aphelion's gunner hadn't really come off as Mara's type. So much for his shrewd observational skills. "But if you really want me to stay, I guess I can stay. Least, 'til he gets back and throws me out by my belt." After some hesitation, he reached for that fresh glass and drank it slower, actually allowing the whiskey to swish around his gums before swallowing. Wasn't bad, could be better aged.
"You coulda handled yourself, I'm sure," he said at length. "You have a mean right hook, if I remember right." Another drink, and he pushed away from the table and wandered over to a small couch. He plopped down with a grunt and swished the contents of the glass in a hand, ruminating. "There's a reason I'm here now," Davon finally said. "Why I'm coming out of hiding now, I mean, seeking you out."
Davon Vanden
Navigator of the Aphelion
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| Mara_Antares | Date: Saturday, 18 Jul 2015, 0:51 AM | Message # 21 |
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| "I could have handled myself?" She asked. "Probably could now, but do you not remember when Kij brought me on the ship? What was it you said? After you were done being horrified by two blackened eyes I had..." She smiled and slipped her shoes off before she moved over and dropped down on the other end of the couch from him with her glass. "Leroy taught me a lot, so that would never happen again..."
"And also, it wasn't so much 'dancing' around your bedroom as much as it was you falling oh so gracefully off of the bed and busting your head open on that ridiculous nightstand of yours." Mara grinned and took another sip of her whiskey. It wouldn't have worked out between them anyway, and she felt it would have just turned into an awkward fling. Probably a really good fling, but awkward.
"Alright, so what do you need?" Mara finally responded to his last sentence. She had a feeling that something was up, she just wasn't sure what, and was waiting for him to be ready to tell her.
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| Davon·Vanden | Date: Saturday, 18 Jul 2015, 1:04 AM | Message # 22 |
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| Was he ever going to live that incident down? Davon answered her with an awkward chuckle and a feel behind his head, two fingers grazing along the scar that nightstand had left. "Was hoping you'd forgotten that," he answered sheepishly, glancing down the couch at her. It took a tremendous effort not to admire her legs, wearing as short a skirt as he was. Married woman, and you blew it, his brain reminded him. He was a man, after all, and just because things hadn't worked out between them it didn't mean he was suddenly devoid of a sex drive.
He polished off the whiskey with a sigh and sank back into the couch. "S'not bad," he admitted, gesturing to the empty glass. "And, well..." Davon eyed her warily, then, instinctively shirking closer to his end of the couch. "The Cap'n's back. He's here, on Nar Shaddaa. He's... he's looking for you and Ransom. Sena ran off with the Aphelion and he's here to beg for us all to come back." Already, he braced himself for a slap, or a punch. Anything, really.
Davon Vanden
Navigator of the Aphelion
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| Mara_Antares | Date: Saturday, 18 Jul 2015, 8:55 PM | Message # 23 |
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| "So basically....you're saying that you didn't come just because you missed your friend, but because you're playing monkey to Rawls again?" She asked, though her wording of it may have been harsh. The whiskey was creeping into her system, so she was speaking her mind now. "Have you forgotten what he did to tall of us, Dav? Have you forgotten how he didn't hear a word any of us said, because she kept his balls in her handbag?"
Mara was frustrated, hurt, and confused all at once. And immediately she worried about Leroy more than anything else. If he saw Rawls, she was sure he would kill the man where he stood. Or at least maim him. With a frustrated sigh, she hauled herself off of the couch. "I need to change and find Leroy, unless you want your Captain in a bloody heap in a gutter somewhere." Without another word, she went into her bedroom to change, leaving Davon to breathe freely, knowing she wasn't about to pummel him, for at least a few moments.
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| Davon·Vanden | Date: Sunday, 19 Jul 2015, 3:42 PM | Message # 24 |
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| "Playing monkey?" Davon begged for elaboration, though none came as Mara continued her lecture and then made for her room. It amazed him how quickly the conversation had driven to its endpoint, when not a few minutes ago they were laughing and talking just like old times. But as soon as Rawls had come up, the laughter had faded. Davon's gut twisted at the notion that Rawls' betrayal would be a point of friction for some time. Not that he blamed Mara for anything she said, in truth he would have told the Captain to walk out an airlock had he any other choice but to go with him. Rawls had all but made sure of the fact that Davon had no asylum left save for the crew.
Unwilling to let her go alone, especially at this time of night, Davon hoisted himself off the couch and straightened out his blazer, sighing. "I ain't forgotten, Mara," he said blithely. "But I had no other choice. The Anjiliac Cartel's taken out my employer and they're looking t'clean house on his entire operation. I have to get off Nar Shaddaa, and Rawls's offering me a way out."
He neglected to tell her, of course, that Rawls was the one that had blown the lid on Ri'sel Edda's entire operation. But those were, as Davon often called them, 'no matter details'. "He can handle Ransom," he added after the fact, though he knew that wouldn't dissuade her. "Your husband's a lot of things but he ain't stupid, if the Cap'n came to him with a proper apology and a big enough contract, I imagine he'd jump right back on board." It was a jab at Ransom that lacked any sort of subtlety, but at this point Davon was willing to accept that this conversation had gone south.
Davon Vanden
Navigator of the Aphelion
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| Mara_Antares | Date: Sunday, 19 Jul 2015, 7:02 PM | Message # 25 |
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| She stepped back out of the bedroom, dressed markedly different than before; purple and black tank tops layered together, a pair of cargo
pants and boots that came up to her knees. Yes, they were leather, and yes they had a heel, but they were stacked heels and much shorter than her normal footware. Unknown to Davon just yet, she had her blaster holstered at the small of her back, and she pulled a jacket on to conceal it. She couldn't go out looking for anyone dressed as she had been.
"You know...I would have helped you get off of this moon if you needed it that badly. You're the one who said you knew I was here. Leroy and I both would have helped you without question andwithout hesitation." Mara frowned and pulled her hair into a ponytail. "And Leroy isn't the only person that Rawls has to apologize to...but there is absolutely no way I am getting onto any boat with him, especially to help him out."
Truthfully, she wasn't angry at Davon, but he was the only outlet for her to vent to at the moment. Surely he understood that. Mara grabbed her keys and opened the apartment door. "I'm sure you're coming, right?"
Message edited by Mara_Antares - Sunday, 19 Jul 2015, 7:09 PM |
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| Davon·Vanden | Date: Sunday, 19 Jul 2015, 7:40 PM | Message # 26 |
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| "Frag it, Mara? I had my reasons, alright?" Davon shot back, the exasperation palpable in his voice. He hadn't slept well the night before and it was plainly obvious now that they were in better lighting. His skin was sallow, dark rings under each eye and he'd developed a noticeable stubble. "I came here to find you because I thought you might want off this rock same as I, and we could use you and Ransom to get the ship back-"
He caught himself a moment too late, and Davon let out a curse under his breath, turning to her just as she stepped back into view. Eyes. Eyes! He reminded himself, and his attention immediately diverted from her breasts to her eyes. "Look, I ain't forgiven him either, and I ain't forgotten what he did to us. But he apologized to me, Mara. Least, as close to an apology's as humanly possible for him." He squared himself up, arms crossed against his chest as he leaned back against the arm of the couch. "And he wants us back, all of us, and I don't know about you but I'm in need of decent pay and I miss my nav console."
Davon Vanden
Navigator of the Aphelion
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| Mara_Antares | Date: Sunday, 19 Jul 2015, 8:05 PM | Message # 27 |
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| She had noticed that he looked tired, but felt it was rude to point it out. "Davon...I have a job. I have a good paying job. And we are buying our own bar." Mara wasn't sure what else to say. "Look, I know you think Rawls can handle Leroy, but if you want to get off of this moon with him, I want to make sure Leroy doesn't kill him, alright?" She cleared her throat and fussed with the buttons on her jacket, which she left open.
Finally, a moment later, she looked back to him. "I'm not going with you guys Davon." She said simply. Part of her wondered what Leroy would do, but she wouldn't stop him from leaving if he truly wanted to go and help them get the Aphelion back. It was likely that she would hate him if he did, but she would never keep him from doing something that he wanted to do.
While Mara was still really upset, she had toned it down quickly, and was watching him quietly. "Maybe you should stay here and get some rest, huh?"
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| Davon·Vanden | Date: Sunday, 19 Jul 2015, 9:17 PM | Message # 28 |
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| "Suit yourself," he stated after a moment, running a hand through his hair. If she didn't want to come with them, fine, he'd never entertain thoughts of keeping her from her dream of owning a strip club, or an escort service or whatever she wanted it to be, on Nar Shaddaa. After all, what was a life of exploration and danger compared to such a glamorous alternative? "You can stay, Ransom can stay. S'fine." He hid the hurt in his voice well, he was a far better actor than anyone gave him credit for. "But you're right about one thing; your husband might kill him and, much as he hurt all of us, he doesn't deserve to be beaten to death with his own arms."
Davon sighed, resigned to her decision, and pushed himself off the couch. His hand flew to his holster and double-checked that his pistol was secure, and he drew a fresh cigarette from his pocket and hung it from between his lips. "M'not lettin' you go alone," he answered her, muffled. "Besides, if Ransom's seeing red, the Cap'n's gonna want some backup that ain't shackin' up with him."
It was unnecessarily petty of him to dismiss her concerns like that, and he was well aware. Davon possessed a great many qualities, and at heart he was a good man, but... he had a penchant for being quite flippant when his pride had been wounded. And Mara had certainly done that, even though she was totally in the right, pride wouldn't let him admit it. "Let's go," the navigator said coldly, breaking the silence. "I'll contact the Cap'n on the way."
Davon Vanden
Navigator of the Aphelion
Message edited by Davon·Vanden - Sunday, 19 Jul 2015, 9:48 PM |
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| Mara_Antares | Date: Sunday, 19 Jul 2015, 9:44 PM | Message # 29 |
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| "Shacking up." She said slowly, locking the door behind them. "Nice Dav....real nice." Not only was he hurt, unknown to her, but now she was too. His words stung pretty hard, but she wouldn't tell him. Even if she was going along with them, could they even be friends now? Sure, if one then the other apologized over a whiskey and half burned popcorn that one of them made. That's how it always was. Or it had been, at least.
Mara would walk along silently behind him, just to the side, though she was trying to steer him in the direction that Ransom always left his ship. "Right, Davon...." She muttered, grimacing a little at how cold it suddenly felt between them. Finally she stopped, sighing. "Wait." Mara said, leaving her word hanging absently.
"I'll go if Leroy agrees to it, but good luck with that." She paused. "Happy?"
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| Lafayette_Ransom | Date: Tuesday, 21 Jul 2015, 2:04 AM | Message # 30 |
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They did not have to look very hard for him. Before Davon could respond, he was walking through the front door. The smell of the now absent remains of Neese came with him. While not hitting like a brick wall, it was likely still noticeable despite his best efforts to clean himself up out on the street. Rawls would be coming in with him, Ransom walking him into the apartment with an arm around him as if were he to let go the former Captain would run away, and met with the same scene that Davon had been meet with.
A small apartment that was charitably called such, surprisingly clean-ish, with only stuff that was clear Ransom's strewn about, and holos covering the walls with various pictures featuring himself, Mara, and the both of them together, including their wedding holo. He was curiously absent his gear, as Mara was likely to notice, but seeing Davon seemed to elate some level of joy from him.
"Nightstand boy!." he shouted out to Davon, taking his arm off of Rawls and giving Davon a firm pat on the shoulder.
Mara was sure to be confused, perhaps even enraged by his good mood. It was not joy at the sight of Davon or Rawls, although he strangely missed Davon since they all went their separate ways. His joy in fact came from the mind shattering truth he was about to make Rawls face, and watching with anticipation what the reaction would be.
"Aaron Rawls, I introduce you to Mrs. Mara Ransom."
Lafayette "Leroy" Ransom
Bounty Hunter, Mercenary
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