The Scavengers' Tale [Jakku]

[Ndonsa]

He stared rudely at her, and Ndonsa's ears flicked back. She grabbed his arm with her paw as he turned away from her. "You will be dead if you do not watch where you are going," she said firmly. He was clearly drunk, and she caught sight of a speeder key in his hand. "You are in no condition to drive, even in the desert."

Her grip tightened on his arm and she looked squarely toward the Militia building and it's drunk tank, her intentions clear.

[James Karr]

At that he gave a snort, pulling a disgusted face as he let his own eyes track in the direction that hers had. With surprising strength, James jerked himself free from her hold. Her voice was familiar; the cadence and the brutal succinctness with which she spoke triggering a memory. Inwardly he shook off the feeling, hoping that it was simply the drink muddling his senses and awareness.

"Ain't drunk enough, Padfoot."

He made a shooing motion with his free hand then.

"Just keepa walkin' and mind yor business, eh?"

The feeling refused to be discarded so easily, and blinking, James gave a closer look to the red furred Nehantite. He stared at her, a sharp clarity in his gaze that had not been there before. It lasted only a moment though, as he frowned before testing a half-brained guess. His voice dropped a few levels, becoming a gravelly murmur.

"Less'n yor business is eatin' folks."

[Ndonsa]

Ndonsa's paw shot out, grabbing the drunk by the front of his shirt and propelling him to the side of a nearby building. Off the main path and out of sight of causal passersby, she shoved him against the wall.

"Jamus?" Her pink eyes narrowed. It had been a long time since she had seen the other Jedi - if that was what he was. The smell of alcohol was overpowering... more than just one day's binge, perhaps.

[James Karr]

Ha! He'd been right! By all of the scrapyard deities and rusted out saints that plenty of folks around here seemed to pray to, he'd been right! Of course, that just presented a whole other set of problems. Namely, what in the hell was he supposed to do now?

"It's me alright, Padfoot," he growled. One hand lifted then, to dislodge her grip.

He'd only just bought this shirt last week, and the last thing he needed were claw holes dotting the neckline.

"It's just James now, though. Ain't gone by Jamis in so long it just don't feel right, anymore."

Still, it was nice to see that she was still kicking about.

"You still shaking your teeth at people?"

[Ndonsa]

The interior of her ears flushed, and she bared her teeth at him.

"I thought you were dead." Her white flecked muzzle relaxed from its snarl, into something mournful. "I -"

Shouts from the direction of the Concession Stand distracted her from her thoughts. Ndonsa looked around the edge of the building, her ears flattening against her skull as she recognized a band of furious looking Kyuzo.

"I have to leave Cratertown." She pulled his speeder keys from his hand before he could protest.

[James Karr]

Her sudden grasp at his keys only made him scowl further, and James pushed himself away from the wall she'd shoved him against.

"We all have to leave Cratertown," he hissed in annoyance, reaching out to try and reclaim what was his.

"You think anyone actually wants to be here?"

The commotion she seemed taken with was partially ignored as he stood fuming.

"And for the record, I thought you were dead."

[Ndonsa]

She stalked off toward a haphazard row of parked speeders, leaving James to splutter behind her. Her tail swished with purpose as she approached them with keys in paw, only to be instantly stymied.

Ndonsa turned to James, leveling her metal staff toward the sandblasted speeders. "Which is yours?"

[James Karr]

He'd followed after her, in a way dumbfounded. Her insistence at wanting to leave was about how he'd always remembered her. Singular drive, no time for nonsense or small-talk.

With a hmph, he stuffed one hand into the wide pocket of his longcoat while the other lifted up to gesture at an older model parked towards the back of the lot. It had certainly seen better days, but then again Jakku had a way of turning anything into junk.

"That one."

[Ndonsa]

She wrapped her face again, pulling her goggles down to protect her eyes as she threaded her way to the speeder that James had pointed out. He trailed behind her, bumping into a few of the other speeders in his inebriated state, his protesting voice growing louder. People were starting to look.

Ndonsa stopped and he ran into her pack. Turning around slowly, she put a finger to her muzzle.

"Your noise only draws attention. Cratertown is not safe for us specifically, because of who we are. I defended myself today and those I defeated are here with a tale of an adept in the Wastes."

She slung her pack onto his speeder, quickly fastening it down.

[James Karr]

"Cratertown isn't safe for anyone, Padfoot."

His snorted answer was only slightly slurred, as he made a show of regaining his keys. The little leather flap, stamped with a gear that looked suspiciously like the old emblem of the Jedi, continued to dangle from the keyring she doggedly held on to.

"I've been here long enough, cultivating... something. A normal life. Not having to worry about the past and not having to worry about the Force," he hissed.

A hiccup, and he leaned against the doorpanel of his weathered speeder.

"I like it, and it works." A finger jabbed into the space just above her chest - he might've been a bit tipsy, but he at least knew batter than to poke the soft beasts that rested pertly below her collarbone.

"Not to mention, the more fire juice you drink, the more people 'round here think you're nothing but a sand-crazed hermit."

[Ndonsa]

Ndonsa sighed, kicked his feet out from underneath him and spilled him into the dust.

”If you will not come, then stay. I am taking your speeder.”

She turned back to the vehicle. “I will send it back to you.”

[James Karr]

James hit the ground with a solid thud, his breath knocked from his chest with a swiftness.

Still though, he was made of tough stuff - one had to be, after surviving what he'd had to endure over the years.

Ndonsa's words echoed through the deep breaths that he pulled in as he rolled back up to sit, knees coming up so that he could begin the process of levering himself once more to his feet.

"Cool your tits, Love."

A groan, and James continued his lurching motion upward.

"We can go to my place."

He reached out to give his old 'friend' a reassuring pat to her upper arm.

"You can drive, of course."