Another artificially timed day, another shift hauling salvage through the asteroid belt. Not the best day, either. Eilen had been voluntold to fly the latest haul to the Correllian Sector next week. Her Selen trip would have to get pushed back, again. It was actually painful to think of flying a spaceship as not ideal, but after a few months without feeling actual sunlight on her fur, she’d been looking forward to this one.
On the plus side, if she was very, very lucky, maybe she could score a date while she was hitting the big city. Nothing said opportunity like a Core World metropolis.
After wrestling out of her sticker-bombed hardsuit, Eilen threw on her loosest shirt without even considering pants and flopped haphazardly onto her bed, face-first. She groaned. Would have sucked to waste time doing nothing, but after the haul today, her muscles were already sore. She could have picked her book back up - it was getting into an exciting second act - but the thought of possibly landing a date to fix up her work trip sounded like an annoyingly better way to spend a dead evening, right then. Again, maybe she’d get lucky. After some deliberation, she levitated her datapad right into her hand without so much as pulling her face off her pillow.
A minute later, her dating app was opened for the fourth night in a row. Before Eilen could switch her location to Correllia, the app teased her with a preview of new faces in the area, obviously favoring the ones with the most Likes as a marketing trick. Despite rolling her eyes at the algorithm trying to hold her attention, Eilen decided to look at a few local profiles first, just out of curiosity.
She almost pressed the little heart button on the first one, just because it opened with a photo of a scantily clad supermodel at the beach, but the complete lack of profile information or other images told her it was either a bot, a screen for attention, or someone with genuinely nothing more to share than a glamor shot. She resisted the urge and hit the X instead. The next profile featured a tattooed girl smiling back at her, a Mirialan with scarring on her face that didn’t detract from how gleeful she looked. It was enough to warrant a look at the other photos she had posted.
One picture showed the pretty lady in a mismatched crop top and short shorts with knee-high orange socks and pink, pin-laden crocs. Anyone else might have called the bright display a tacky eyesore, but Eilen couldn’t help but grow a dumb smile. The other pictures had admittedly gotten her to bite her finger and shift her legs, but that one was just plain cute. She pressed the little heart button, then switched over to settings to get back to her original plan.
The Voidbreaker II was at Port Ol'val for a little bit and Sagitta was bored out of her mind. One of her dates a few nights ago had suggested this dating app to her. With her help, they set up Sagitta’s profile. She even insisted on putting up the ‘tacky’ fashion sense. Sagitta wanted people to know who she was! No need to hide!
She had spent ungodly hours on this dating app and considered deleting it. It was too boring. Bunch of messages. She rather meets people in person. Some of them were too far, had last-minute jobs, or just… didn’t vibe. She got a notification! Well. One of the few. Clicked on it, and her smile practically beamed.
“Oh! Kriff! I DID NOT THINK OF THAT!” She hopped onto her bed and was jumping on it. Stickers on the suit! She was SO going to nab that idea! Then she stopped for a moment and swiped. THIGH HIGH RAINBOW. SOCKS.
Never had she slammed the heart button so fast.
“`Hi! I love love your socks! I also want to take the idea of stickers on the suit! I cannot BELIEVE I neverrrr ever thought about that! I’m Sagitta, you can call me Gitta! What’s your name? I see your profile but figured it’s nicer to ask!
We should meet up! I love to run, swim, climb, anything that involves moving. How about you? ”`
As soon as Eilen closed settings, her ears shot up in shock.
She had a match. She had a match? Wait, she couldn’t have a match! She was just setting up for Correllia! How did–
It was the Mirialan girl. She’d already sent a message. Eilen’s chest felt tighter. Every word she read felt right. Great, even. Really, really great.
She squinted at it and re-read it. Skepticism built at the back of her mind. It seemed too good. She didn’t know how effective the alleged bots on the app actually were. The thought overtook her for a moment, and she asked a question back.
Are you real?
As soon as it sent she blinked hard and hit her forehead into her pillow. What if she was real? What if she’d just made a fool of herself? She totally had. Droids didn’t know how to stylize their writing like that. Obviously real. Match blown. Eilen groaned into the fabric and quickly wrote back.
Sorry-- Read something wrong! Hi! I'm Eilen! :D
Should she write more yet? Maybe. Sagitta– Gitta? –had asked a question. But she’d already hit send. Twice. Would be rude to blow up her pings like that if she wasn’t right there. Crap. Eilen held her breath and stared in wait.
A ping!
Sagitta stopped bouncing on the bed and was utterly baffled.
‘Are you real?’
What? But then another ping-
Oh! She read something wrong! Everything was good. Sagitta was really concerned about poor Eilen’s mindset for a second there. No matter.
Then she waited. No responses to the questions yet. Maybe she got distracted? Did she no longer want to talk to her? That has happened a few times.
Ah! So nice to meet you Eilen! We should meet up! :sunny:
After all, if she got distracted easily maybe it was meet up! Sagitta stopped jumping on L'ara’s bed and plopped into her hammock. One leg stuck out as she bounced it. Hmmm.
She had been to Port Ol'val numerous times.
“`We could go for a run in The Ducts? There are usually not many people there. Should be easy for a run! Maybe a swim somewhere?
There’s also Ruby Tavern if you’re hungry and I heard great things about Green Light drinks!
You pick! ^^”`
Eilen winced when the notification chimed. She propped herself up on her elbows and folded her legs to kick her tail as a dumb grin spread over her face.
I love literally everything you're saying
Was that too forward? Nah. Probably not. The energy she’d lacked minutes before was suddenly back. Eilen twisted around to sit upright, one leg folded in as the other bounced incessantly on the floor. Her ears were stuck straight up and she didn’t give a damn.
“`Best time to run in the ducts is about twelve hours from now. Maintenance wraps up their standard checks an hour before, and all the flow traffic they held up meanwhile is decongested by then. If you want to go for a swim though, I have access to a good pool!
Whichever we do, we could maybe clean up a bit and then go to the Green Lights Inn after to get a bite and some drinks. Would that work?”`
Eilen re-wrote the message and re-read the writing a few times before hitting send. Couldn’t afford to mess it up. Hopefully Sagitta was patient.
Although, it occurred to her as soon as she hit send that she was supposed to be back on shift at those hours. And she hadn’t used her HQD access cylinder in months. The former, she could probably call in a favor that Keralie owed her, but the latter… she’d see. She let out a sigh at her foresight-skipping excitement, and was surprised to feel her neck bent at it. Somehow, she’d wound up with her shoulders on the floor and her back against her bedside, legs crossed in the air. How long had she been trying to write?
Oh, I hope she’s patient…
Sagitta smiled at her phone. Someone loved everything she was saying!? This was new! Usually, with this app, would just meet up, bang, have a great time, and bid farewell. But it doesn’t stop the Mirialan from attempting to try to at least have some fun before the more bedroom fun was to be had. Some complied, others wanted to get straight to business.
So much for a dating app.
Her hand reached over the wall as she pushed it and the hammock started rocking. Right. She kept forgetting to ask around Voidbreaker II’s crew if anyone would have extra time on their hands to set up a mechanism for the hammock to rock. Her leg bounced while the hammock rocked. She was lost in daydreaming until another chime.
Ah! Sagitta beamed at the phone. This was good! So can have fun before they are done for the night. Hmm. The decisions and options sounded awesome. Sagitta started typing-
Let's do all of
Then she paused. Would doing all of them would be too much? Screw it.
Let's do all of them if you are up for it!!
Eilen’s datapad chimed again. A simple message. “Oh my kriff,” she muttered aloud.
Yeah, okay! What's best for first?
Sagitta brought her leg back in and had the other dangle out as she pushed the wall for her to rock. Hmmm! What was first? Then she had an idea:
Let's go for the run, cool off at the pool, and re-fuel with food and drinks. Afterward, have a sleepover at the Inn too?
Eilen gasped at the mention of a sleepover. Several embarrassing thoughts flew through her mind at a rate she struggled to temper. Be cool, just be cool, she told herself.
Yes!!!!! That sounds awesome!!!
…That was way too many exclamation marks. She bonked her palm against her forehead.
Feeling the need to stand, she rolled backward from her bedside and sprung up onto her feet. At a glance at her mirror, she gulped. She’d become very unkempt in the months working salvage. Fixing that would take some work.
Oh right, time!
So, in twelve then? Or do you wanna try to beat the big maintenance shift?
Sagitta laughed heartily at all of the exclamation points! Maybe they have high energy too! This would be perfect! Sagitta pondered for a moment. What was the best time? She just got off work and a nap wouldn’t hurt as well some time getting ready. Not like she wears much anyways.
In twelve! Can't wait to meet you in person!!!
Eilen eked out the littlest, “Yay!” Even standing, her foot was bouncing again.
Crap though. She had twelve hours to not look like a disaster. No time to risk cutting her hair, but she could at least wash her fur and straighten out some of the tangles. She wrote back a quick message and tossed the datapad aside in a hurry.
See you then!
Sagitta heard a ping. Well. That was a bit faster than the other ones.
‘See you then!’
Perfect. Sagitta set the alarms on her phone. She had fallen asleep in her hammock with a smile on her face.
Sagitta hummed off-key to herself as she waited. She wore simple black comfortable cargo pants with a navy blue sports bra. Figured since they were here for a run, she wasn’t going to dress up. Her hair was up in a ponytail.
Not like she has clothes to dress up in anyways
The Mirialan against the railing, she got out her holophone and went back to the profile so she could remember what Eilen looked like.
Time management had never been Eilen’s best skill, but for a date, she would always make it right on time. Usually. Mostly. Okay, sometimes. Bor this one, she arrived just about on the dot, although she had to run on all fours from where she parked her swoop bike to make it. But hey, quick pre-run never hurt anyone. Or at least, not her. Stars, she hoped she wouldn’t sweat before she got there, though.
A nagging thought at the back of her mind worried she might not be recognizable. All but one of the photos on Eilen’s dating profile were months, maybe even a year old, and the only recent photo barely showed her face through the visor of her hardsuit. By comparison, her hair was more grown out, the fur a little as well, and her dyed streaks were mostly faded. She would have needed more time than she had to clean up the mess. And yet, it seemed silly to worry. It was just her hair and fur, and who else had telltale features of both a bothan and a selonian? Well, save for her twin brother, and that would have been awkward if Sagitta ran into him first. They’d been mistaken for each other, before. Odds of that were pretty safely slim. Either way, she couldn’t shake the concern.
Quickly though, the familiar pink hair and tattoos on a green face became apparent as Eilen finally rounded her way into the Ducts. She sprung up onto her legs just in front of Sagitta and slid to a stop on her feet with a smile on her face and her hands on her hips. Her hair was mostly tied back in a disastrously failed attempt at a bun, save for the front that threatened to fall and cover the right half of her face, and she’d come wearing a dark, half-length tank-top and maroon running shorts over her striped swimwear. Eilen was ready for an active time out with the cute crocs lady.
And then, she blanked on what to say. Eilen’s mouth opened at a crooked angle, but nothing came out. Several witty introductory one-liners thought up in the last twelve hours, down the drain. Her hair did end up falling over half her blanking face. After a few awkward seconds, her posture loosened, and she offered a shy wave instead.
Blew it.
Sagitta grinned ear to ear but then was a bit surprised when her posture loosened and a small wave. “Hi!” She opened her arms and pulled Eilen into a hug, “It’s so nice to meet you in person! You are just as cute as your profile says. Do you know how many I’ve met that actually don’t stick to their profile picture? It really sucks.” Then she released Eilen from the hug and tilted her head.
“Let’s go!” With that, she took off running but made sure her pace was the same as Eilen’s or somewhat beside her. “I’m glad you like running! I’m the type that hates sitting around and doing nothing. Or silence. Really. I don’t know how people can just sit around, I mean, I know everyone is different and not the same but it’s not just for me. I’m chatty! Whiiiiich I might be talking tooooo much now, whoops.”
Sagitta chuckled, hoping that Eilen doesn’t mind or run off.
The hug surprised her almost as much as the “cute” comment, but its inviting warmth prompted Eilen to put her long, bony arms around Sagitta in turn. Her ears lifted and tail flicked with a little excitement at the immediate comradery, prior anxieties quickly fading. Before she could even properly introduce herself or say anything though, Sagitta was already getting their run started.
“Uhm–” There hadn’t even been a chance to comment on her question - not that Eilen would have had much to say. It was probably rhetorical, anyway. But there she went, inviting her along. Eilen had always thought of herself as the one itching to get right into things. A part of her was flabbergasted by how fast this was starting. In a way, though, it took the pressure off of her to find the right combination of words that would normally be key to moving things forward. Somewhat fascinatingly, all she had to do was start moving her feet, and they were inclined to do that by default. “O-okay!” Eilen quickly shook off her surprise, caught up, and kept an equal pace.
Sagitta sure could talk. Was that a bad thing? Maybe not, if she had a lot worth saying. She seemed relatable, otherwise. After a few seconds to confirm she’d actually stopped, Eilen spoke up, “I don’t like staying still either.” She paused, wondering about being alone with her in a quiet room. “Is music good for silence?”
“Ah! I knew there was a reason why I like you!” She turned her head to look over at her for a moment before straight ahead. Sagitta was used to clumsiness but it was not needed right now. She didn’t want to accidentally harm Eilen. Somehow, her distractions sometimes pull people towards her to the disaster, like a blackhole.
“Music! AH, I completely forgot about music! Man, I don’t think I’ve ever been to a concert actually now that I think about it. Too busy anyways, I lived on a ship for a while and then moved to barracks and now back to a ship but psh, that’s boring. Have you ever been to a concert?”
That’s right. Remember to ask them questions, and have them be involved. Don’t let them just… listen to everything every time you blabber, Sagitta.
“Yeah! A few,” Eilen answered, her breath starting to heft with the run. “Jodie Jetsetter… Downstream Binary… Tilestra… They’re hard to catch. You gotta know what worlds they’re on and fly a good ways… But it’s so worth it.”
Sagitta had mentioned living on a ship. “I love ships… What are you on?”
Sagitta smiled as she answered back. This was going well! Until she realized she doesn’t know any of them. “Ah, I’ve never actually been to concerts. Or heard of them. Maybe you can introduce me to their music later?!” Then she stopped running and smiled at Eilen. “Ah, break?” She mentioned as she was panting and working on catching her breath.
‘What are you on?’ Sagitta paused for a moment. She wasn’t sure if she should mention it. ‘Kriff. I should’ve paid more attention to meetings…’ Sagitta knows that some things are hush-hush. Was Voidbreaker II one of them?
“Uh, I recently became part of the Voidbreaker II crew.” Then another deep breath, “I’m a Mandalorian from Clan Armis. I lived in ships for a while with my aliit - ah, alitt is family. Then I’ve decided to separate to learn and grow from others and work for House - eeeeee-” She stopped and then gave Eilen a sheepish grin while the Mirialan cleared her throat. “Voidbraker II.”
Eilen’s ears lifted attentively at the mention of the ship. The family thing, she noted, but the ship…
“You serve on the Voidbreaker?” she asked, a little bewildered. She blinked, then a small but giddy smile formed. “I served on the Voidbreaker!”
Sagitta’s jaw dropped. “No way! You’re kriffin joking! I had never seen you on the Voidbreaker II. Oh wow! What are the odds?” She quickly grabbed Eilen into another hug. “Ah! This is awesome! It means we can go running together! Or swimming! Do you like climbing? Maybe one day we could go climbing or something! I also-” She realized she was still holding Eilen, “Op! Sorry!”
“N-no, it’s fine!” Oh my frick she’s holding me. “I– I, I like hugs, eheh, heh…”
Eilen cleared her throat, neither resisting nor bolstering the prolonged hug.
“That all sounds… really, really fun,” she said with a giddy grin, though it fell. “It’s just… I, um… Yeah! I guess I’m still crew there, but… I haven’t, uh, been there. I… left. A while back. Nothing personal, of course, eheh…”
“You do? That’s great because I’ve been told to work on my boundaries… a lot.” She chuckled softly as she finally released Eilen and frowned, concerned when her grin fell. “Ohhhh! That explains why I haven’t seen you on board yet! Nothing personal?” She stared at her with a slight squint to make sure it really was nothing personal.
Satisfied, Sagitta nodded, “Okay. Good! I was going to ask who you want me to punch.” She grinned with a wink. “Ready to get back to running?” Sagitta asked. The Mirialan figured they had enough time to catch their breaths! She took off running again, “At least we are halfway done on this path now! So, if you are interested in other things too, we should really trade comms. For us to go to different places to try different things! When you have time of course!”
Back to running, then! And she was getting a comm code too?! “Y-yeah! That sounds great!” And they still had plenty planned for this date alone. So exciting!
Eilen sighed, more of a huff from running. “Man, I was just planning a trip to Selen next week… but now I gotta fly all the way to the Core Systems instead.” Her tongue briefly poked out in a discontent display. “…The oceans, the islands, the canyons… Ugh, I'mma have to wait even longer to go back. But you’d love it, I bet.”
Sagitta groaned as she remembered the beauty that Selen provided. “Oh, man! Yes! Selen is very beautiful! I love it. Everything about it. Had to learn to be careful cause-” She grimaced. Sagitta had to be sure she wasn’t going to end up in trouble or in a bad spot. “Anyways! We could try to plan something on Selen! Not next week, of course, since you have to go to the Core systems to do but I’m certain this won’t be the only time we have together,” reassured the Mirialan.
“If you had to pick one, really pick one, which one would you rather do, swim, run, or climb? Maybe even diving from the air?”
The hesitation drew Eilen’s attention, and her ears briefly stood on alert as she looked over and down at her companion. When Sagitta moved on though, Eilen decided not to pry. Her life had been fraught with enough occasions and matters of secrecy to bore through a moon; she could swallow her curiosity for what someone else didn’t want to say. Besides, the promise of hanging out again put a smile back on her face.
Eilen scoffed at the question, grinning lightly. “I have to pick?! Come on… What about you?”
Sagitta laughed while running. “Ah, you’re right, but if I had to really pick one… hmm.” She mused while thinking. “Maybe air diving. I love them all! Don’t get me wrong! But there’s nothing like jumping off from a really high place to get the good heart pumping! The way the blood rushed through the veins and you have this feeling of fear and excitement! Nothing like it! I started parachuting a while ago and finally moved up to gliding. Whew.”
She giggled softly, “Now that was something that took all focus. None one believe I could do it but thank the stars for hyperfocus huh? Besides, nothing like falling from a high place to make sure you pay attention.”
Then she briefly turned her head to look at Eilen, “There ya go! I picked! Your turn!”
Eilen huffed. “Nothing like a good adrenaline rush, yeah!” She still couldn’t decide, though. “Swimming is in my blood. Going fast is in my nature. I climb to get everywhere. And man, do I love flying. I guess flying– er, falling into a flight, I guess, eheh.”
She glanced down at Sagitta. “You ever thought about upgrading to a jetpack? That’ll do a lot more than let you fall a ludicrously unsafe distance, eheh…”
Sagitta stopped as she breathed heavily. They had made to the end of it. She leaned forwards slightly with her hands on her thighs before leaning back and puffing her chest while arching her back. “Adrenaline rush is the best!” She softly laughed.
Sagitta grimaced at the mention of the jetpack as she coughed slightly. “Ah- Trust me. That.. wouldn’t -ah kriff. Go well.” Sagitta chuckled as she scratched her cheek sheepishly, “I can focus when I don’t have that kind of uh hmmm. I can’t think of the word but it sort of tells my brain I don’t need to focus and I would be safe and sound? No matter what? Yeaaaa that’s the dangerous part.” She chuckled.
“You know what?” Eilen started bewteen her own heavy breaths. “…I really respect that.” She huffed hard. “One of my best friends… We got into a, uh… kerfuffle, one time… because she really wanted to fly… but she refused to re-h-ead the… the instruction manual! A-h-and… I just knew she’d kill herself.” A somewhat labored laugh let out of her.
Sagitta laughed, “I may be someone who has jumped on a group of enemies and tried to take them down but even I don’t have that bad of a death wish!” She chuckled at the memory.
Sagitta grimaced, “Oh no! Did she listen to you? Was she okay? You have to - ah - tell me everything! That’s so scary!”
“Uhm– yeah! Yeah, she was okay.” Eilen poked her temple. “She has a real thick head. Just like… put it on, I told her not to, and then we wrestled over it a bit… She, in her infinite genius, just started turning it on to try jetting away. Learned real fast that flying isn’t as simple as point-and-go.” Her hand flattened and motioned around like a flying object, which she punched into her other palm. “Crashed right into a tree…” Eilen’s brow lowered in frustration for a brief huff of a sigh, but her expression quickly softened. “That might'a hurt most other folks, but she was barely even phased… Got stuck up in a branch, though. We got her down, and that was about where the excitement ended.”
Sagitta scratched her cheek sheepisly when Eilen brought up that her friend was thickheaded. Why did that sound familiar. She chuckled and understood that flying wasn’t so simple and grimaced when the slap of the first hit the palm of her hand. Then her shoulders dropped in relief, “I’m so glad you’re friend was okay! Geez. I mean, I can be stubborn…. really stubborn sometimes, heh, I got stories that are miles long.” She coughed once and laughed. “But! I always bounce back! So I can kind of get your friend here but I always took flying kind of serious. Here’s the secret.” She leaned over, her hand covered over her mouth.
“I’m actually scared of heights.” She chuckled and straightened up. “But I face it everytime. I mean I go climbing! And diving from tall cliffs! But there’s something about facing your fear over and over. It really builds character. So! It helps me with every day things! Can also explain why I had no problem jumping into a group of six enemies. Huh.” She never really thought about it. She was just acting on a whim, doing what she needed to do. She waved her hand, “Alright! I think it’s time for swimming! Would be a good way to cool off.” She started to walk and then paused. “Uh…. how about you lead hte way, I have NO memory how to get there,” Sagitta laughed.
The thought of facing her fears like that, just to live life, no less do her duty - Eilen almost swooned. So brave…
Her ears lifted. “Yeah! I, uh, actually haven’t been to the best pool I know in a while. It’s…” She hesitated, but remembered that Sagitta was with the Voidbreaker. “It’s HQD access, which Zig said I’d have for a while, still. And you obviously do too, eheh… I know some other pools though, if you wanna stay clear of work areas.” Eilen fidgeted with her fingers, contemplating either option.
“Oh, that one? Hmmm.” Then she seemed to brighten up at the idea of the other pools, “Other pools? Are they public? Private? Hidden? You know what, let’s go on an adventure! Surprise me!” Sagitta eagerly smiled. Her pink hues glanced at Eilen’s fingers and noticed she was fidgeting with them.
“Are you alright? Do you need to take a break?”
Eilen quickly followed Sagitta’s eyes to her hands and threw them both down. “No! No, I’m fine! It-it’s just a tick, eheh…” Aw man, and now I look crazy… She managed not to sigh or groan at herself. With the wish for adventure, she had to make this one good. “…Anyway, right! I… I think I have one in mind. Come on!”
It was a short ride away on Eilen’s swoop, made a little longer than it would have been anywhere else - not exactly safe to drive fast inside an asteroid city - but it was certainly a few times faster than walking. If they did get to meet again on Selen, she looked forward to showing Sagitta just how fast the bike could go. For now though, swimming awaited!
The entryway was fairly modest, but the purpose was clear: It housed a pool dedicated for exercise. Just inside was a bench and pathways to locker rooms at either side, and ahead was a long pool, steadily deepening to a depth of twelve at the far end. The room was decently lit, with a few chairs and a table on the concrete around the water. A rope laced with floating dividers was curled at the midway point of the pool, there to softly mark off the more deep and shallow halves if desired. While it lacked the false windows of a finer recreational space that would show the stars outside and simulate the grand cosmic view for all to enjoy, this pool at least offered all the essentials to relax and stay in shape. And as a more plain locale, Eilen knew it was usually the one with the least traffic.
Eilen poked her head inside to look around, then turned back to Sagitta with a smile. “Peak work hours - nobody’s home! We’ve got the place to ourselves!” She gestured left. “Ladies’ lockers are there, if you gotta change. I just wore a swim suit under this, eheh…”
“Oh! I just wanted to make sure you were okay! Everyone has one!” Sagitta gave Eilen a reassuring smile. The Mirialan followed the Selonian hybrid and she smiled at seeing the swoop. “Alright! Let’s go!” She hopped on as she laughed and her hand would ‘ride’ the waves in the air on the swoop.
It wasn’t fast, but the wind felt good after all that run. They had arrived and she couldn’t wait to get in but Eilen poked her head inside. This caused Sagitta to raise her eyebrow. “Eilen - ah. If I didn’t know any better, it almost seems like you don’t want any visitors. Why’s that? Did you have something in mind?” She teased as she entered and took off her tank top. She was wearing her swimsuit underneath as well. “Aha! No need for lockers!” She also took off her yoga shorts. With a laugh and a run to the deep end, “Cannonball!” Sagitta shouted as she jumped up as high as she could and curled up into a ball and splashed into the water.
The splash lightly sprayed Eilen midway through throwing off her shirt and shorts. She waited for Sagitta to come back up for air before jumping in herself, doing the best that her twig body could to splash her back. Under the water, Eilen twisted and propelled herself back up, laughing as she emerged.
“Nothing in mind,” she said, pulling back her mop of hair. “I just don’t like being around strangers… Better for splashing and stuff, aha!”
Wait, was that a flirt or an accusation? Frick, I should'a said something better.
“Also good for– um…” Don’t say something stupid. Don’t say something stupid. “…More space! Eheh, yeah.” Smooth.
Sagitta chuckled, “That is true. Some strangers are a bit uptight. Not all of them though! I mean we were practically strangers until now! Right? I mean I know we aren’t besties but we can work towards it!” Then she grinned.
“More space?” She looked to the left and right, “you’re right! We could do anything! In that case-” She excitedly look over to Eilen, “Is there anything you always wanted to do but couldn’t or didn’t want to because of strangers? Like-” She glanced around for some ideas.
“I dunno. Screaming, cannonballs, throwing furniture into the pool and laying in them underwater and pretend we’re water creatures- eeeerrrrr” She realized how childish that might’ve sound.
She scratched her cheeks sheepishly, “I might’ve ah- have a bit of a childish imagination.”
Eilen blinked. “No, that sounds like a ton of fun! I’ll sit on the bottom, but I’ve never used a pool chair in the water!”
Sagitta grinned from ear to ear as she swam over to the edge, “Well in that case!” She lifted herself up and over the pool edge.
“Okay! So I’ll just push this in and you can just put it wherever!” With that, she grabbed one of the side pool lounge chairs and pushed it in for Eilen. Once she was safely out of the way, she grabbed one for herself and pushed it in.
Hopped into the pool, she laughed softly as she started to adjust the lounge to the floor.
“So, I guess good thing about muscles, you don’t have that much natural bouncy and can use the lounge chairs to stay sunk. It’s… funny and weird. Usually, I like pools with better view,” she pointed upwards.
“Because imagine seeing the skies, night or day, underwater and just ‘laying’ in the pool. Legit, IN the pool!”
At the mention of muscles, Eilen looked over at her arm and snuck a flex at herself when Sagitta wasn’t looking. She didn’t have a build for might. Her athleticism was almost strictly for motion. Not the kind of shapeliness or density that tended to impress people - and selonians were already thinner than most species. Eilen caught herself comparing her arm to Sagitta’s as the mirialan spoke. She had that kind of impressive muscularity. Oh man…
Eilen stifled her wandering thoughts and slid onto the mostly-submerged chair next to her. Kicking back as well, she imagined the stars through the ceiling. “Yeah,” she sighed. “I really can’t wait to visit Selen again… I know an island with nobody on it. No cities for a long way. Really good sky at night…” An amused huff escaped her. “Maybe I’ll get a chair like this to put in the middle of the waves.”
Sagitta listened. “Aw. Man, that does sound REALLY good. You know. That’s a great idea. Might be a bit of a pain to somehow get it out there but I imagine it would be worth it.” She groaned softly and sighed, “Do you ever wonder that you might took up the wrong job?”
Pink hues watched Eilen as she quickly held up her hands, “Don’t get me wrong! I love my job! Not planning to leave it annnnny time soon, it’s just. It feels like we’re being deprived from what we really love sometimes. Can’t be all work and no play, you know?”
Then she grinned brightly, “I am having fun right now though!”
Eilen frowned and her ears fell flat at the first question. Wondering about being in the wrong job felt like an understatement. “You have nooo idea…” She nodded at ‘all work and no play’.
But the mention of having fun made her smile again. Eilen’s ears lifted as she looked back over. “Really? …Me too,” she said shyly.
As their pink and lavender eyes met, matching smiles just over the rippling water, a mote of confidence and warmth welled up in Eilen’s chest. Her throat twitched, trying not to speak before she could formulate the right words. This was a good moment. She didn’t want to mess it up. But she also didn’t want to let it slip away.
“You’re–” She almost blurted out ‘hot’ and quickly corrected to, “–really pretty.”
Wow. Of all the things she could have said about how enjoyable this was so far and how much she was looking forward to the rest and how nice it was to feel connected and swim with someone and talk about stars and– and the part of her daydreaming about Sagitta’s figure was what came out. Eilen barely resisted the urge to cringe at herself and roll off the chair.
Sagitta grinned as she sighed when Eilen agreed with her. Oh good! It wasn’t just her that struggled with day to day life sometimes!
When she mentioned that she was having fun, she still looked at Eilen before she nodded. “Of course! Really! I’m glad you are!”
Then the blurt arrived. Sagitta felt a blush crept over her cheeks while her face softened. “Thank you! I think you’re beautiful. But be careful, maybe we’ll have to skip dinner.” Sagitta winked towards Eilen.
Eilen’s face-grabbing reaction to ‘beautiful’ almost made her moss the rest. Oh. The room was suddenly a lot warmer. Beneath her fur, Eilen could feel herself reddening, but her ears sticking straight up couldn’t be missed. A few years ago, she might have jumped on that thought, and a part of her still wanted to.
“Th-that– that’s very tempting,” she muttered after an awkward pause. Her fingers prodded together nervously as she briefly bit part of her lip. “But– ugh, I’m having a really good time. And you’re super cool. I don’t wanna skip any of it.” She blinked and mumbed, “As tempting as it is, eheh, heh…”
Sagitta grinned as she ‘turned’ over to her side. Well. The best she could on the lounge. That was underwater. “I’m having a great time! And you’re right, let’s cherish the moment! I like you Eilen! I didn’t think I would ever meet someone that would love the stuff that I like. You know, climbing, swimming, running, everything!”
Then she added on, “So you’re pretty kriffin’ awesome in my book.”
Another big compliment. Eilen’s hands spread over her entire face, as if that could hide the freakishly wide smile stretching itself between her ears. “Stooop,” she muttered, trying not to laugh. After a moment to compose herself though, she breathed in sharp and dropped her hands. “…Okay. You’re officially invited the next time I fly the Khuno Crevasse.”
Sagitta doesn’t know why but she didn’t want to stop. It was so adorable to watch her squirming and being flustered.
“Aw! No! Don’t hide that smile of yours!” The mirialan’s cheeks puffed in a pout.
“Yay! I’m happy to hear that!” While she grinned, she glanced at her hands. “Ah, I’m getting a bit wrinkles! And geeeeee my stomach is growling to all nine suns!” She looked back at Eilen, “ready for some food!?”
“Yes,” Eilen stated louder than expected. “Guh. I worked up a little more appetite than expected earlier… and I, uh, totally didn’t forget to eat breakfast, eheh… Not me. Nope.”
She fidgeted with her fingers a few seconds, then rolled off the chair fully into the water.
Sagitta blinked at Eilen and her lips curved into a frown, “Wait what? You didn’t eat breakfast!? WHY NOT!? I’m sorry for shouting all the sudden but breakfast is soooooo important. Since we can hang out again after this, I can try to remember to message you! Now and then if you had eaten and drank water!”
Then she glanced at the chair, “OH! So! Usually I eave them here, I know it can be an inconvenience for the staff but think about this instead! How many minds might become more creative? With this idea I mean? Like how you suddenly thought about doing this at the beach? So, let’s leave it!”
Oh no, not again. Enough years had gone by with people reminding her how often to eat.
Eilen looked between Sagitta and the chairs a couple times. “…I… guess? I feel like someone’s gonna get mad if they have to get in just to get them out, but… I dunno. Maybe you’re right?” She shrugged and grinned nervously as she slunk away from her chair.
After a quick dunk under, Eilen emerged next to Sagitta and brushed her hair back. “Really though, I’m okay. I mean, you can’t tell me you don’t just forget to eat sometimes… right? Eheh…”
Sagitta pondered for a moment as she looked at the chairs. Eilen would notice as her hair was started to dry, it was starting to curl.
“You know, you’re right! Okay, let’s put them up.” With a smile, she started to put them up.
“Actually, nope! Buir made sure! See, every single morning, without fail, he made breakfast! Even when we’re not on a ship, if we’re at some motel or hotel or camping or whatever, he always made sure we have breakfast! So because of that and yeeearrrssss of eating like that, if I somehow skipped breakfast, I feel like I cannot function until I get some food! Does that make sense? I guess it sort of does, like a habit or routine kind of thing!”
Eilen helped get her chair out. “Yeah, I guess that makes sense.”
When she had the chance, she dropped onto all fours and shook herself, flinging water out of her fur. She sprung back up onto her legs and ruggedly ran her hands through her hair, having it fall into its usual messy state to dry.
“Hooh. Much better… Man, sounds like you had a really good home life.”
“WAAH!” Sagitta yelped and laugh as she shielded herself with her hands from Eilen’s water. From the way she was reacting, she didn’t mind! Her body was relaxed and her laughter was real.
“Hmm.”
Was it a really good home life? Though compared to others, her home life was good.
“Yea, it has it’s moments of course but it was decent. Buir did his best.”
“I guess I can relate,” Eilen said, thinking on those words. “…Uh, people doing their best, I mean.” She shrugged. “I… tend to think I didn’t grow up, uh, normally… but the more people I meet, the more normal it is for them to say the same thing. Eheh… Weird how that goes, right?”
“I can see that! I mean, no one can grow up normal. Normal is overrated anyways. Gosh, everyone I met, all were different! I like that! I imagine that too much normal can be boring you know?” With a grin, Sagitta started to get dressed.
“Yeah… I guess that’s one way of looking at it.”
Eilen ran a towel over her fur again before tossing it into her bag. As she pulled it open wider to dig out her fresh clothes for the dinner date, she eyed Sagitta, then the locker room door. She intended to exchange her swimsuit for something a little more fashionable under her outfit. Would it be awkward to just strip and put it on? The locker room was probably better. What if she followed her in? Guh. Eilen shook that image out of her head.
“…Um… I’m gonna… go change in there. See you in a sec!” Not quite sure what to do with the energy that had sprung up in her, she donned her bag and cartwheeled to the locker room door.
Sagitta watched at Eilen in confusion before she chuckled to herself. She’s so cute. She had no problem changing where she was. Sagitta started to hum to herself, a bit off key while she dried up and put on some fresh clothes. She wring out the swimsuit over the pool as much as she could. Wrapped the suit up in the towel, she put it on the bottom of the bag so it wouldn’t get over her running clothes too much.
Now freshly wearing black slacks with a clean soft pastel lavender tank top and a black jacket over it. Her fingertips went to the root of her hair to wiggle the roots slightly so her curls can have a bit more bounce after swimming in the pool. She laughed at herself.
“Spent hours straighten my hair and kriffin’ forgot I was swimming anyways.” She shook her head while pulling her hair into a ponytail.
About the time Sagitta finished up, Eilen popped back out of the locker room, dry and dressed. The gravity-defying mess that was her hair was largely held down under a maroon knit hat. Her black, sleeveless shirt had the letters “IPC” printed on the chest, with a closed squiggled shape drawn beneath it, labeled “Ando Prime Centrum”. The shirt was simultaneously too large and too small, not long enough to cover her longer torso, but still loose enough that the neck could almost fall right off her thin shoulders - but at least it let her show her arms, which she’d proudly bulked up from straight twigs to slightly-rounded over the prior months. Past her exposed belly was a plain pair of dark red pants that cut off just below the knee, and between those and a set of digitigrade work boots, her bright rainbow stockings were on display across her calves. With her fur freshly dried, Eilen’s exposed neck, arms, and tail looked a little poofier than normal, though it would fade soon.
“Okay! I’m–” Eilen stopped herself. Her lavender eyes had initially locked onto the matching colored top Sagitta wore, but the woman’s hair stole her full attention. Eilen’s expression bore a mix of adoration and puzzlement. “Wait, was your hair that curly before? I love it! And– well, your whole get-up, here, eheh… Aw man, I should'a wore something nicer.” She inched a hand up to scratch the back of her head, debating whether to pull off her hat.
Sagitta smiled when Eilen stepped out. “Hey, I’m ju-” She stopped as well and brought up her hair. With a timid laugh, she scratched her cheek.
“Yea, it’s my natural hair but- I don’t know. I’ve been thinking about embracing it but I haven’t got quite there yet.” She looked down at herself. “These aren’t my clothes- I uh- Well. Kark.” She muttered a bit embarrassed. “Let’s just say really bad. Laundry day.” Then she glanced over at Eilen and groaned.
“You’re a friend. Fiiiiiinnne don’t laugh okay?” She poked her lower lips out a bit as to playfully pout.
Then a sigh of defeat, “I uh- sorta don’t know how to figure out how to use the washing machine. Or used it wrong. All my clothes shrunk.” She gestured to what it once was and it’s now new size.
Eilen stopped herself from snickering, but the ends of her lips were stuck curled up. “Oh nooo,” she said lightly. Her fingers locked coyly behind her. “Mmmmaybe I could show you how to use mine later, eheh, heh…”
Her face blanked. “…That– that was supposed to be a… a smooth line, or something, but… it kinda came out while I was still putting it together, didn’t really– I’m trying to be open like you– Anyway!! You actually look… nice, in whoever’s clothes they are. So, what do you usually wear?” She tried to loosen her posture, but failed to figure out what to do with her hands and just clasped them behind her back again.
Sagitta laughed and shook her head, “No! It’s oookay! It’s funny really. Machines and I do not get along. At all. I can never figure anything out! I just see button and go - Okay let’s push it and see what happens!”
Sagitta paused for a moment. “Oooohhhh. Sorry, I uh- flirting is actually kind of new to me? Is that what you meant by smooth line? I’m just used to you know, straight to the business. So I’m really enjoying this! New territory for me!” She noticed the posture as she finshed wringing her suit and shoved it into her bag. Slung the bag around her shoulder, she stood by Eilen’s side and wrapped her arm around hers. “Ah no no, we take on the world! Well. This rock really. But point is, we take it on! Stand up straight. Be proud. Be you!” She grinned and considered it for a moment to what she usually wear.
“Uh. Everyone says my outfit doesn’t match. Whatever they mean. I just throw whatevers really cute, cool, or comfortable. I mean that picture you saw? That’s one of them!” She grinned from ear to ear.
Everything felt a little warmer with their arms interlocked. It was a nice alternative feeling to the primal thought at the back of Eilen’s mind that partly wished she’d seen this straight to business side. Sagitta was right though - this was very nice. She shouldered her own bag with the other arm and started walking them out.
She also made a mental note not to let Sagitta anywhere near her workplace.
The memory of that dating profile picture made Eilen smile. “Then I bet you always look really cute, eheh. Well, I guess, more so when you have clothes that fit, but– oh crap, you’re not gonna have to buy all new things, are you?”
“Aw, thank you! You’re adorable!” Sagitta laughed and then sighed, “Yep.”
She grumbled for a moment. “Actually.. hmm.” Her lips curved into a mischievous grin, “I’m pretty sure if I tell this story to buir, he will give me money to get new clothes! Either that or I keep stealing from Buir’s closet. Er, not my bu- this is confusing. Okay, in Mando'a culture, doesn’t matter if female, male, queer, or whatever, they are our buir. Our ah. Kriff. Parents! That’s the one! We don’t have label of gender but I um, I steal from ah. Mom, I believe that would be called? And it was dad I was considering making up some sob story or something. Honestly-” She laughed uneasily, “If I told him the truth, it wouldn’t surprise him. At all. I might be just-”
She turned her body slightly but still walked forward while pinched her fingers together and left little gap, “a bit of a mess! But I’m the best mess. I like to think so.”
Eilen brushed her hair out of her face - not that it stayed. “Maybe that makes two of us, eheh…” Her shy smile shifted toward a more knowing grin. “Well, that, and I can also appreciate a bit of mischief.” She giggled to herself lightly.
“It sounds like you have a good relationship with them though,” Eilen continued. “Your, uh, buir. Buirs. Sss? Um– plural. Yeah… So, are they around here? I mean– N-no rush to meet them or anything, eheh, just… I’m guessing you haven’t had these clothes long.”
“Oh? Maybe we should make up some kind of fun mischief on the Voidbreaker II someday!”
Sagitta excitedly nodded, “Yea! And no. They aren’t around here at the moment. They are over at uh- Selen I think. Settling in. We haven’t been here that long. Buir had been busy with meetings and what not. Noooo idea what though. Does your family live around here?”
Her ears briefly flattened, then mostly lifted again. “Um… My brother does. For now, at least. But we don’t get to see each other much.” An amused huff escaped her. “We’ve been mistaken for each other a few times.”
Eilen swung her arm a bit, enjoying having another around it. “So, what kinda trouble has the Voidbreaker gotten up to the last few months? If you’re allowed to share, that is.”
Sagitta frowned for a moment when Eilen flattened her ears. “Eilen, if I said something wrong, you got to let me knooooooow okay?” She gave her a reassuring smile and it turned into an amused grin. “Really? Are you two twins or something?”
She groaned softly, “Eh, not much honestly. Boring stuff so I’ve been taking up few odd n’ ends missions with the Dajorra System or the Enovy and things like that! Nothing that exciting so far.”
Eilen nodded along, a little surprised that it had been quiet there lately. “I see… Anyway, uh– yeah. I’m okay. Just… you know. Like I said before, I’m kinda out of the Voidbreaker loop. Haven’t been crew for a few months.”
After a pause, she added, “Oh, and yes. We’re twins, eheh…”
“Why not come visit? I’m sure they missed you! I could message everyone for a little gathering at the pool or something like that!? It wouldn’t be hard at all!” Sagitta grinned.
Then her jaw dropped, “Oh I was kidding about the- oh you two are really twins?! Oh WOW. Same voice and everything? Height?” Sometimes twins are exactly the same and sometimes there’s a small difference.
Save for personaility differences.
“Um–” Frick. “Hmmmmaybe hold off on any plans with them just yet…”
Eilen took the chance to refocus gladly. “My brother though– I mean, we don’t sound the same, that’s for sure.” She added with her best impression of him, “He’s all quiet and boyish and–” Back to her normal voice. “–and I’d be mad if someone couldn’t tell that apart, eheh… But I mean, I guess I get how people think we look the same. Everyone says we do, but we can point out all the differences: Eyes are a different color, his features are sharper, his noes goes like this, his ears do this thing–” Eilen released Sagitta’s arm and traced around her face and grabbed her ears to shift them crookedly as she spoke. “It’s… funny, I guess, that other people don’t see it as much, eheh…”
Her hands dropped and quickly looped around Sagitta’s arm again. Their destination was getting close. “Do you have any siblings?”
“Okay!” Sagitta smiled. She didn’t understand why Eilen doesn’t want to go see her friends but maybe that’ s a topic to tackle another day.
Sagitta laughed softly as she watched Eilen gestures to how her brother looked. “Well! It shows that people don’t pay attention as well as they should! Though guilty, I am part of that group, heh.” Sagitta chuckled as she scratched her cheek. She was perfectly guilty.
“Yep! I got three sisters as we speak! Reason why I say that is because Buir has the tendency to adopt us if we have no home or anywhere to go.” Sagitta grinned. “My oldest sister is Asani, she’s very aggressive but also sweet and mean. We get into loads of trouble togethr! Then there’s Arden, Asani and I don’t really get to spend much time with her. She’s always away, reading. She’s book smarts.” Sagitta tapped on her head.
“She’s also not interested in the Mando ways. Then there’s Erin, she…” Sagitta trailed off. Erin had finally got used to being around them and no longer locked up herself in her room. It took a lot of coxing from Sagitta too. Did all that reading that Sagitta did outside of Erin’s room help her confidence.
“Oh um!” She didn’t realize she zoned out, “Erin had a rough start in life but we got her now! She’ll be okay!”
Conversation continued along as they made their way into the inn. Some laughs were shared, as were some more personal tales and a few bar antics, and a friendship was solidified. For that night though, Eilen was excited to let it slip into a little more than that - or, to her, a lot more. Holding back to build a good bond before the exciting part was certainly worth more in her heart, as it wasn’t just a one-off date; she got a friend out of it.