Remnants of the Earth
SPACE STATIONS => The Cancer => Topic started by: Rhi-Rhi on April 16, 2015, 10:59:16 pm
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[If she wouldn't be on the Cancer, I can totally move this! 8D]
The night was young! Or the day. Whichever. Time of day didn't matter much in space, much less on a Station that never slept, and Ari kept strange hours besides. The only time that mattered was that it was just a few hours after he had gotten out of bed. This was the second day of his three-day vacation on the Cancer, dammit, so he could do things like that!
Things like head to a bar for breakfast! Which was probably somebody's dinner.
And by breakfast, he meant hopefully a cute somebody he could take back to his motel room. Man, woman, non-binary, human, alien, it never mattered to him, so long as they were interesting.
And so he showered and headed out, dressed in a tank (the better to show off his sleeves!), cargo pants, and boots. It looked like one of his favorite, sleeziest bars (The Pearl Diver) was rocking, so that was where he went. It wasn't that bad, anyway. They had karaoke and a live band, and thank the gods it was a band right now! Hopefully he could land a hookup before the karaoke started.
Hopefully he wouldn't have to sing karaoke to get a hookup.
He strode to the bar counter to start his time off right, ordering tequila shots and downing one before he actually took a look around at his selection.
One person in particular stood out.
She wasn't much to look at, but looks weren't always what drew him to a person. She had nice hair--red and black was a nice combination, and he wondered if it was dyed or natural. But it was her posture that caught his eye. It was the way she held herself. She held herself with a rare, effortless sort of confidence--genuine confidence, not the fake, posturing kind.
If anyone asked Ari what quality he found most attractive, he'd probably have to say that was it.
Sliding down the bar, bringing his last shot with him, he flagged down the barkeep. "Another one of whatever she was drinkin'. Put it on my tab," he said, then swung around to grin at her, and hoped to actually get a look at her face now.
"Ya mind some company, darlin', or is this seat taken?"
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Take a vacation, they said.
It would be fun, they said.
Then why was she over here brooding in this seedy bar with a cold drink and a half-eaten sandwich. She liked the sandwiches back at Sal's in Haviah better. This one tasted like rat. She would bet a hundred credits to ANYONE, that it was rat! If this was a vacation, vacations stunk.
It wasn't necessarily that she wanted a vacation. She'd been forced into it! The Captain apparently thought she had too much vacation time stocked up and was scared of being penalized if he didn't make her use it. It was either that or latrine duty for a year.
Fucking prick.
What was the difference? She ended up on the Cancer anyway!
She supposed she could have picked a better place to mope, but really, she couldn't have. It was a decent place to lay low and not have to worry about all the bullshit the Captain had piling on and would drop on her head at any moment. Oh she'd show him just what she thought of his little rules. She earned her place, dammit!
She took another mopey bite of her sandwich, the rat settling in, and swig from her glass. Suddenly a voice beside her made her jerk and gag on that bite and she nearly choked to death! Another prick! Great!
She shot a glare to the man that helped himself to the seat next to her. "You smell," she said plainly, and went back to her meal.
Well, he smelled better than this food, but she wasn't going to tell his slimy ass that.
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He...smelled?
That took Ari aback for a second, brow crinkling with concern, and he actually paused, lifted an arm, and sniffed at his armpit. Hrm. Nope. He thought he smelled pretty decent. Clean! Like soap and shampoo and the faint scent of sporty antiperspirant. Maybe that's what she meant!
With a wide grin, he leaned an elbow on the table and gave her a once over. "D'aww, thanks, darlin'. It's the shampoo, I bet. Supposed to make me smell like peaches or somethin'." He ruffled his hair and tilted his head toward her with a wink.
"Did it work?"
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Ugh! Couldn't he just take his peachy-ass and go away? Gavrian dropped her head a little into her drink and took a looooooong drink. He was gettin' on her nerves and fast. A few more bites, all that could be heard was the crunching between them, and she wiped her mouth with her arm, flinging crumbs his way.
She looked at him, from deep in the corner of her eye, not even bothering to turn her head. "I like nectarines better. Less fuzzy. And they melt in your mouth." She made a snarky smirk and continued devouring the rest of her sandwich. Maybe if he saw she ate like a pig, he'd go away.
[She probably shouldn't have mentioned mouth or melting in the same sentence, in hindsight]
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[FATAL MISTAKE. xD]
Ari's grin grew as he eyed her slyly, not even bothered by her messy eating. He liked a girl that wasn't afraid to stuff her face; it was sexy, because he liked food, and there was nothing sadder than a gal that picked at her things like a bird and was afraid to enjoy herself for appearance's sake.
Besides, he was from the Edanith frontier, from a tiny town in bumfuck nowhere.
He hid it well, but they had a reputation for being hicks.
Leaning his cheek on his hand, he said casually, "I've got some nectarines ya can suck anytime ya like, darlin'. Fuzz-free, too."
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Ha. Smooth.
Gavrian turned to this intruder into her moment of glorious misery. And that old adage that misery loved company was a bold-faced lie! "I doubt they're any good," she hacked a laugh. "Besides, why don't you go try selling your fruit somewhere else. I'm busy, as you can see." She gave him the glare of glared, and when she studied his face, her eyes widened just a little.
Trvth, she could've sworn she recognized him from somewhere.
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Ari took her widening eyes as a compliment, and ran a hand through his multi-colored hair. "I know, I know, I'm damned good lookin'. Ya woulda noticed that earlier if you'd looked!"
The barkeep came around then, setting down the drink he'd ordered for the lady. Ari nudged it closer to her. "Here, it's on me. Surely you're not so busy drinkin' that ya can't enjoy another!"
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"Oh forgive me. Your odor really caught me off guard," Gavrian amended and kept observing the finer points of his face until sure finger reached out and poked his eyeball. "Sorry. Just had to make sure you were real. What did you say your name was again ?"
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Did she...
Did she just...?
Did she just poke his eyeball? Ow, right in the bloody pupil!
Judging by the way it was stinging and watering and the fact that he couldn't keep that eye open now, yes, yes she had. And Ari was way too surprised by that to do more than wince and clap a hand over his eye, for it took a second or two to connect the pain with the action and accept it. Because of all the crazy things he'd done and had done to him, having someone casually poke his eye during a totally normal (for him) conversation was a first!
"Did ya just...did ya just poke my eye?" he said, finally speaking the question he'd been asking himself, juuust to confirm. He wiped away some tears, and tried cracking it open. "Ow...huh. That's new. Kinda kinky. Congratulations, ya just took my eyeball virginity. Wanna lick it now, too?"
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"No. I'm sure it's as putrescent as the rest of you. But thank you for the offer. You're very kind," Gavrian said with a forced smile. Hook. "Hey, what did you say your name was? You look like somebody I wanna knock around for a little bit. You never know what those kinds of opportunity present themselves."
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"Ari," he said with a grin, because he might be striking out badly here, but at least it was fun! And in all honesty, that was mostly what he was after. Amusement, a little fun and silly and-or degrading banter...something to keep his mind sharp and challenged! And this woman was officially a challenge, a nut he wanted to crack.
He couldn't help it if he had a thing for the cranky ones. It was probably the masochism talking.
"And I gotta say, I would love to get knocked around by ya. Ain't nothin' better than a domme. Pull my hair and call me your bitch. I'm yours."
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At that reference Gavrian smiled, it was actually genuine this time. She had no intention of course of turning this into an interesting encounter in the lavatory, or even a one night of hump-em-an'-dump-em. She didn't have time or interest in that nonsense. But his name did pique a great deal of interest for her, and she only leaned in.
Because he seemed to respond best to this kind of attention.
"Would that be Ari Maxwell?" she asked, taking another bite of her sandwich and delicately rubbing crumbs off her hands and dropping them onto his crotch.
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"The one and only," Ari said smoothly, oblivious to the crumbs piling in his lap. It wasn't like his name was a big secret; he got around, and he did like the attention, good and bad. At the same time, he wasn't a super big name yet--not quite interstellar levels of notoriety. The group he worked for sure was, but he was still expanding his brand and being a local nuisance. So when people did recognize him, it was hella flattering.
Of course, the people that recognized him were either criminals in the business (rivals or otherwise) or law enforcement.
So the question was, which was she?
He reached out to to brush crumbs from the corner of her lips with his thumb. "And I can take your pleasure to the max, babe."
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Really? Was that the best he could do? Certainly she knew he was saving the best for laugh, the real final punch he'd use to get her into bed - because he definitely still believed that was a possibility. And maybe it was.
This way she could get him by the balls. Literally.
Gavrian grinned and took the hand he used to brush the crumbs from her mouth. And she squeezed his hand, opening up the palm to inspect the lines within. "The Ari Maxwell calls that drivel, sweet talk? I thought your reputation preceded you. Are you sure you're not just full of vanadii dung?"
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Oof! Lady had a mean grip! Ari winced a little, but grinned nonetheless, because he liked roughness just dandy--and it was always extra fun when said roughness came from a lady.
Nothing hotter than a woman that wanted to smack you around and make you lick her toes.
Meeting her eyes, he smiled sweetly at her. "Soooo...what you're sayin' is...I do have a reputation, and you're familiar with it?" He leaned in even closer. "What've ya heard?"
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"Oh nothing much," she shrugged nonchalantly. "Just that you've got a fast ship and you have an odd taste for pudding. Or maybe that's all hearsay." She chuckled, leaning in and smirking.
"Oh, and that you're a subpar pirate. You haven't even made it on the DMF Intergalactic Wanted List." She clicked her tongue. "Frankly. A little disappointing."
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"Huh. That's surprisingly detailed. I do like puddin'," Ari said thoughtfully.
"The rest, though? Pshhhht. That's easy. Course I haven't made it on the list! I ain't been caught. I'm like a fuckin' ninja! Those listed pirates, oh sure, it looks so impressive on paper, but that's just 'cause they ain't subtle. They got no style, no grace. Me? I'm in and out before ya know what's hit ya." Okay, so that was a big fat lie--his missions were never quiet. His ship was detailed to be noticed!
He paused. "Piracy-wise, that is. Bedroom-wise, ya know what's hit ya." Wink.
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Gavrian smirked, this time genuine. It was a little sad how hard he was trying. If anything he was certainly amusing, and if she didn't know any better she'd say she was having a good time.
"Is that so! That's quite a boast you're making. Your ship is called the Sassy Juice yeah? Quite a conspicuous name if you ask me. But names are pretty and useless. It's the execution that matters. Have you ever considered getting a publicist? For your piracy, not in the bedroom. I plan on finding that out on my own."
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"A publicist? Huh, I'd never actually thought about--wait." Ari stopped and stared at her, squinting his eyes.
His smile turned sly. "Do you now?"
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"Keep track dumpling, we were discussing the fabric of your career. I think a publicist, the right one, could do wonders for yourrep. The more people are scared of you, the more llikely they are to give up the goods. Material goods, darling." She pat his arm gently.
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"Well, who's to say I want 'em pissin' themselves in surrender?" Ari said, and casually rested a hand on her knee. "Who's to say I don't enjoy a little struggle?"
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"More lives you spare, the bigger your rep."
Then she gripped the hand on her leg, squashing it hard in a hold only a Pilot could manage. Drugs were at least good for something.
"You got a pretty big rep, pretty boy?"
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"Mmf!" Ari shut his mouth to hold in the sound that wanted to escape when she really went to town on his hand. Fuck, he could swear he heard the bones creaking! Oh, she'd shown off her strength before, but damn, what a reminder.
Still, he managed to smile through the discomfort. He liked a gal that wasn't afraid to manhandle the shit out of him.
"Well, you knew about me, didn't ya?" he said, and used her grip on his hand to tug her forward so he could lean in against her ear.
"Wanna find out what else is big, darlin'?" he asked, and gave her earlobe a sharp nip.
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"I thought we were already talking about your penis, darling?" She smirked. Despite his thick skull, his sheer determination to sleep with her was commendable. Only the most foolhardy Pilots made it through. Or maybe it was only the really dumb ones.
She let go of his hand, long enough to grasp his face and pull him forward, kissing him hard, briefly but with no small ounce of force.
"Hmmm. Like peaches. Well, I assume you have a place where we can be alone."
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Ari's hand was still throbbing when she grabbed his face and kissed him, taking him by surprise after all her cold talk. He'd almost been thinking he wouldn't be getting in her pants---which wouldn't have changed things, anyway, because damned if he didn't find their conversation entertaining anyway.
This, though? Even better. Hopefully she was just as much of a cold, hard bitch in bed as she was out here.
He licked his lips when she pulled away, but not before he'd given her bottom lip a rough tug between his teeth.
"Toldja," he said with a smug grin, before he rose to his feet and grasped her wrist tightly, pulling her up with him. "There's a motel on the corner. Unless ya want a private tour of Sassy?" He leaned in, bringing their lips close together again, his just barely brushing hers. "Problem is, ya might not make it past the kitchen."
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She smirked.
Of course she could go to the Sassy Juice, but she considered the possibility that she might not make it back to station. And also that she might risk the interference of his crew. Boy would that make arresting him rather awkward.
"Let's go to the motel first," she replied. "See where it goes from there. You lead, I'll follow." Well, those were words you didn't hear every day. Coming from her anyway.
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"Ya got it, sugar cheeks," Ari said, and reached down to give her bottom a nice slap to get her going--and to feel her up. The lady was in good shape. Nice, firm ass, and gods if he wasn't a damned sucker for red-heads.
He looped an arm around her waist as they walked. "Too bad all my toys are on Sassy," he said, leaning in so his breath tickled her ear. "I've got a few things I'd love to use on ya."
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"Don't worry babe, I'm sure we can come up with something. I've been told, I think well on my feet. Improvisation, it's the spice of life. Or is that variety."
Gavrian wasn't sure how she liked being manhandled. He was awfully close to her, especially with the ass grip and all. She'd tolerate it for now. "I just hope you don't mind being a little tied up."
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"Now you're speakin' my language, babe," Ari said, and gave her ass another rough squeeze.
"If ya can get me tied, baby, then I'm all yours. You're just gonna have to wrestle me, first. Who knows..."
He paused to open the door, and hold it open for her like a proper gentleman. "With attitude like yours, I might just want you bound and gagged."
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Another ass squeeze. Gavrian was having a harder containing her poker face. At the very least, it'd give her plenty of reason to beat his ass later. It would just be too bad he'd think it was foreplay.
So she gave him a smile. "How nice of you," she said, but didn't go in. Instead she turned behind him and kicked him hard in the back, shoving him into the room and closing the door quietly behind him.
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"Fuck!" Ari yelped when she kicked him in the back and shoved him inside, neither of which he was prepared for. Oh, he was down for rough play, but damn! That was no love tap.
He nearly ate carpet, but managed to catch himself before he could take a spill, even though his spine was aching. "What the hell?" he said, turning on her. "What kinda play are ya into? See, I don't mind it, but I like knowin' if it's gonna be a ticklefight or an erotic beatdown."
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"I suppose seeing where this goes means seeing where it goes, don't you think?" She smiled at him and locked the door, plopping at the edge of the bed. "Well, don't be shy now. Or are you frightened?"
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"Should I be?" Ari asked as he strode over to the bed--and promptly shoved Gavrian backwards onto it. He was on her a second later, pinning her to the bed with his weight, his hands grasping her wrists and holding them over her head as he leaned in close to her mouth so their lips were almost touching.
"'Cause right now, you're 'bout as scary as a growly puppy, sugar tits," he said with a shit-eating grin, and pressed a kiss to her jaw, then her neck, slowly transferring her wrists to one hand as he did. "A bit bitey," he added with a sharp nip, "but all fluff. Nothin' a bit of heavy pettin' can't soothe..."
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Gavrian barked a laugh at his face. Oh he was so charming, and despite being pressed down on the bed like she was, she was grinning. The kisses, frankly, made her a little itchy. "Hey, could I ask you a favor, Mr. Blackwell sir?" she said, tilting her head and batting her eyelashes.
Because that always worked.
"Could you scratch that weird rash I have on my neck? Can't so it since my hands are all tied up, and all," she said. She calculated his weight on top of her. She wasn't any lightweight herself, but it was the principle of the matter. She knew men were naturally stronger than women, she wasn't that foolish. But luckily she had more than a few tricks up her sleeve to even the ground.
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Ari lifted up briefly to give her a look, a slight scowl crossing his features. Blackwell?! Aw, jeez. That kind of stung his piratey pride. Maybe he should work on that whole getting more notorious thing! At least so people knew what to scream in bed.
"Maxwell," he corrected, and quickly recovered, his free hand slipping under her shirt and yanking it up and over her breasts--so cute and tiny, and that was fine by him! Not enough people appreciated breasts (and chests!) in all their different shapes and sizes, and he was more of an ass person, anyway. Didn't mean he wasn't going to go to town on those cuties, though, for soon he was shoving her bra up and out of the way. "But ya can call me sir anytime, dollface."
Weird rash, though? Another slight wrinkle of his nose, his face hovering just in front of her breasts. He lifted up to look at her neck, glancing at both sides. "It catchin'?" Alright. Not much turned him off in a sexual encounter, but contagious crap? That did.
He'd learned his lesson! Sort of. Several awkward trips to the doctor later. Burning sensations when you peed and pissing blood? Not fun!
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[That Blackwell thing was my flub, but it worked out in the end 8D]
Sure her nipples were hard, but it was cold in here. Still, it was nice to see a man not turned off by her small chest. If anything those were definitely distraction enough. And if he could be preoccupied enough to allow her to formulate Plan B. Well, theoretically Plan A involved kicking his ass until he couldn't even remember her face. Then again, Plan B involved pretty much the same thing now that they were alone.
"Right, Maxwell, sorry," she chuckled. "Ugh, yeah, it's a catching. Doctor told me not to let anyone touch it. See those bumpy things? They'll turn into boils. Probably shoulda told you before the whole neck licking thing. Anyway."
She threw her legs up from where she laid underneath him and wrapped her ankles around his neck. The pressure of his body weight on her and twisting the way she did nearly made her pass out, but she was nothing if not hardened to intensity. She secured her ankles together and forced Ari backwards.
She quickly released and slipped her legs out from under him. Gavrian was on him hard, kissing him fiercely for a long second before balling up her fists and crushing them hard against his nuts.
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[I love when flubs work in one's favor! xD]
...Boils?
Well. Shit. And here he'd just stuck his tongue all over her.
Ari paused for a second, brow scrunched, before he figured...fuck it. If he was already infected, it was too late now, so may as well commit and get something out of his future suffering! That's what doctors were for, after all, and infectious rash or no infectious rash she was still hot as hell and half naked beneath him now. He shrugged, was about ready to suggest she tell him the name of her affliction so he could get tested later--but that all flew out the window when she executed a damned sexy maneuver.
He was all about anything that put his face between a gal's legs. Especially when her legs were firm and shapely as hers.
A sudden twist and a surprised grunt later, and Ari found himself flipped onto his back with her lips on his, and infectious rashes were the furthest thing from his mind then. As always, consequences were just a thing to be dealt with later, because right then he was more into sliding his pierced tongue along hers, one hand tangling in her hair and the other cupping her breast, thumb rolling over her nipple. Alright! The lady wanted to be in the pilot's seat. Cool by him! He'd let her throw him around anyti--OH FLAMING SHITSNACKS THOSE WERE HIS NUTS.
His satisfied growl quickly turned into a rather embarrassing squeal as he jerked beneath her, breaking the kiss and shoving her off him. Couldn't curl into a proper fetal position otherwise, which was exactly what he did the moment he could, rolling away from her and clutching his balls. "WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?"
Even masochists had limits.
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Okay, not that she was going to admit it to him - ever - but she was sorta digging that kiss. The piercing on his tongue had been unusual, and definitely attention grabbing, and she was struck that she'd found her heartbeat had been racing. But she pegged that was more due to adrenaline than because of a foolish kiss.
She had a job to do, and she wondered just what the hell she was going to do with the rest of her vacation now that this little detour was going to be so quickly resolved. Well, almost resolved.
There was still the matter of tying him up, and carting him to her the shuttle, and throwing him to a proper cell.
Gavrian panted, watching him clutch his balls like she'd just popped on. Which she very well may have, she hit pretty hard.
"Oh, just giving them a warm up, darling. Gotta massage away that soreness now, don't I?" she said, chuckling, and moving over toward him. "Now, just relax. There's no use in fighting it. It's gonna happen."
Gavrian would give no quarter now as she pushed him down onto his belly and put a knee into his back, taking his hands along with them and holding them firmly. She was always packing. Let it not be said that she let herself to unprepared. Pulling her free leg up, she pulled at the strap holding a circular pouch, and she slipped out a pair of cuffs, slapping them on with an ease that only came of someone that used them often.
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Relax? Relax? She'd just punched him in the fucking balls! Ari wheezed out something that was meant to be a curse, but could do little else as she rolled him onto his belly and grabbed his hands, because the rest of his body didn't want to work right then--and he didn't want to move, sick as he felt. He felt the familiar sensation of cuffs circling around his wrists, heard the tell tale click, and knew there were only two possibilities here.
Either she was one hell of a hardcore dominatrix who was into that sort of genital abuse, or he'd just been busted.
In more than one way.
Groaning, he pressed his face into the bed. He was hoping for the dominatrix bit. This was a bit of a rough start, but nothing they couldn't get through. And what could he say, he liked a partner that wasn't afraid to take a risk! Safe words were for chumps.
"Can we skip the massage and ya just get to the 'kissin' it better' part?" he asked, voice muffled by the blankets.
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Oh, wasn't he a sweet pants pie? Gavrian found herself smirking in amusement. She kneeled beside him on the bed, fixing her breasts, stuffing them back into her shirt and making herself decent. Well, enough of that nonsense. She gripped onto one of Ari's wrists and pulled him up to his knees. "Okay on your feet Mr. BLACKWELL. Ahem, Maxwell. Sorry," she chuckled and turned him over to slap his face a little.
"Hey, you alert there, darling? Oh, it's all right. No matter." She pulled him up along with her and dragged him to the door. "Youcan go to sleep on the way. It's a long way back to Aedolis."
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AEDOLIS?!
Ohhhh fuck no!
Sure, he'd been to Aedolis before. But he'd gone with a rich, hot guy. A rich, hot guy who'd gotten him into a private, fancy party. A private, fancy, sexy party in which he'd volunteered himself as "entertainment". Fun times all around. This right here? Not so fun times. And he realized in this moment that honey sugar here prooobably wasn't roleplaying. Shame, too, he thought as she slapped him. She was pretty good at this.
Mind out of the gutter, focus on the present! He was wanted in Aedolis, after all. He'd fucked with their shipments on more than one occasion. And their people.
Dragged to the door, he waited for her to open it. "But darlin', if I sleep, I won't get to sight-see!" he said, still wincing in pain. Still he managed a smarmy grin as he waited for her to haul him outside, bracing himself for his moment. "And that'd be a damned shame, missin' your pretty face like that."
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There we go. Now we were getting somewhere, Gavrian thought, leading him through the door. "Keep yammering, sweet nibs.. Might be all you'll have to keep yourself busy, prissy pants." She didn't feel the need to be overtly handsy with him. Might give him the wrong idea about what kind of party he'd be going to in Aedolis.
"Your charming days are over, sugar tits. Never thought you'd be so easy to catch either. Goodness gracious."
She dragged him along by the arm, holding him firmly, and heading right for her own room. "Just need to gather a few things when we can be on our way. Don't get squirmy on me now."
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"Darlin', a pretty sight like you? Who wouldn't wanna be caught by ya?" Ari said with a sweet smile. "Shame ya couldn't have waited. You've got damned fine tits. Nice and perky. I woulda let ya play with mine, too."
He stumbled along with her, glancing around the hallway as they headed for another room. Just had to be patient. Let her grab her things, wait 'til they got outside the motel...that would give him enough time to recover a bit more. His balls were still aching, throbbing and making his stomach roil with nausea, and he had a feeling he needed to prep himself for a chase.
Leaning in boldly, he kissed the side of her neck. "There's still time," he said. "Sure ya don't wanna confirm the other rumors, princess?"
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That neck lick was not sexy at a time like this.
Couldn't he see she was trying to work!
Not to mention...Cooties!
Gavrian made a face at Ari. Yeah, she didn't want to have to do this, but it seemed to be the most logical option right now. And she snatched his junk in a hard-fisted death grip. "You keep that tongue to yourself, darling. Or I'll turn you into a princess," she said, smiling sweetly.
She released him, once the door to her room was open and she shoved him through the door. No, doors and Ari would not be friends.
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"Fuckballs!" Ari yelped when, there she went, manhandling his poor, bruised 'nads again. He squirmed, whining, and nodded vigorously at her threat because he couldn't form words right then--at least nothing that wouldn't come out a high-pitched squeal. Right, right! No tongue! Keep it in his mouth or become a soprano!
He didn't breathe again until she released the goods, and he had no time to recover before he was being shoved through yet another door. He went toppling through the doorway and onto the floor, landing smack on his face. There he rolled over onto his side, curled in the fetal position yet again, and flashed her a pained grin.
Really, it was more of a baring of teeth that somewhat resembled a grin. "Oof. Ya went back for seconds. Liked what ya felt the first time?"
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She never did pack much. Gavrian liked to think she was prepared to go at a moment's notice. Opportunity did not wait for theweary and neither did she when the time to get moving was now. And it left her quarry a little worse for wear, she didn't mind so much either.
She said nothing as she grabbed her bags, threw her pilot jacket on and put her com-lense over her head, pushing her hair back from her face that had gotten unfortunately disheveled in that bothersome romp. Or half a romp really. Never the less!
She unzipped something from her pack too, an anti-bite mask they used for the crazies. "I know you're gonna like this sweetness. Don't get any ideas though. You're still under arrest." Gavrian wasn't going to pussyfoot around the matter. It was a muzzle. He could still breath and drink water through the vents in the mask. But it would muffle his big mouth and keep him from all that bothersome licking.
"Now hold still," she commanded, sitting on him to attach the muzzle. And of course, she just had to hear a buzzing on the com in her ear.
She touched the button. "Yeah... No, I'm coming home early. Oh, you'll stop complaining later. I nabbed a good one for you today. Wel, kinda good. He's got wrinkly skin and jowls. Looks like his face has been sat on too many times. Look him up. Name's Ari Blackwell. Erm, Maxwell. Not Blackwell. Sorry, darling. Keep getting it mixed up. No! Not, you darling. The one I'm currently holding down. FUCK! HOLD STILL!"
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Another time, and that would have been hot, being pinned and muzzled by a chick.
Now was not that time.
"Goddammit, it's Maxwell! MAXWELL! It's not that hard!" Ari barked, and started to buck under Gavrien, jerking his knees forward and under him and thrusting up to force his hips up, hoping to knock her off of him. Nope! Nope nope nope! He'd been good to wait and bide his time, but clearly the situation had changed significantly! Twisting beneath her, he rocked hard to the side, to try and flip them both over. "And I'm not wrinkly! Or jowely! I'm fuckin' gorgeous!"
-
Gavrian's hands had slipped around his head when flipped them over, and she was still on her call, talking to that fathead that had sent her out here on vacation in the first place. She kept her focus and when she tried to flip them over, her fingers deftly pulled the strap through the horizontal loop and zipped it shut. It was mostly secure on his face.
"Whatever you saggy old man pants," she said and kicked his ribs, as she commed out and pulled her pack on her shoulders. "You better stop that wriggling. I'll zap you." And she pulled the stun baton from her belt. She sighed.
"Just make it easy, and I'll make sure they're not too rough on ya, Ari. C'mon. This is supposed to be my fucking vacation," she said, as if she was the one having the bad day.
-
Dammit, dammit, dammit! The mask went on, secured in place, and Ari let out a muffled curse, along with a wheeze when she kicked his ribs. And another when he saw the stun baton. Sweetcakes wasn't fucking around!
"What? Really? Well, shit, it's my vacation, too! Whaddya know?" he said as he rolled off of her, his ribs aching, but at least that was a familiar pain, a bearable one. He could take punches and kicks, but the jewels were another story. No dick-owner he knew of could withstand blunt force trauma there!
"That can't be a coincidence! That's gotta be the stars tellin' us some shit! Like maybe we oughta just put this whole awkward mess behind us, dust each other off, and catch dinner and a show. C'mon, whatcha say...uh..."
He paused, scrunching up his face in sudden realization.
Well, shit.
He'd never asked her name, had he.
Smooooooth.
"...What'd ya say your name was again?"
-
She smirked. Boy, if anything, his sheer number attempts had some pathetic charm to them. For anyone else that is. Gods, maybe she was enjoying this too much. She always was most at home when she was working. And this was a job like any other. Even if Ari was proving himself to be a handful. She had to be careful of that stun baton thought, lest he get any clever ideas.
"Levansky. Pilot Royal Levansky," she said, a bit snappily. "Look, I don't have time for nonsense. I've got to get you down to the next fucking shuttle to the dock. We'll be back in Aedolis within the next 24 hours. Capiche? The only dinner you'll be having is whatever soup you can muster through that muzzle."
It was time to go. Her things had been collected, and she threw her gloves on, pulling Ari up again. "Let's go, let's go. Ain't time to waste!"
-
SHE WAS A MOTHERFUCKING PILOT?!?!
A PILOT ROYAL?!
Ari sucked in a sharp breath and wound up choking on his own saliva. He wheezed, even as she hauled him to his feet, coughed a few times, and stared at her with humorously wide eyes.
Up until now, he hadn't been all that concerned. Inconvenienced, yes, but confident he could work his way out of this. He'd been in tight fixes before. He just had to be clever about it, that's all.
This, however? This was a game changer.
When he could breathe again, he managed to say, "Pilot? Like, we talkin' ya pilot a ship or ya pilot a motherfuckin' dragon 'cause context kinda matters here!"
-
Really? He needed to know the difference.
She just laughed at him. "Well, I'll leave it to your imagination, Sugar Lips," she said and reached up as if she were about to poke his bulging eyeballs. Because that was always fun. She really didn't want to treat him anymore inhumanely than he deserved, but she liked that he was sweating bullets a bit more.
"I mean, does it really matter?" she asked, stalking down toward the office, and paying the credits owed into the digital receiver. She fixed the cuff on her jacket, popping the collar and leading them off toward the nearest shuttle transit station.
-
"Yeah it kinda fuckin' does matter!" Ari snapped back, jerking his head to the side when she made to poke his eyes. Weird lady. Weird, hot lady he would still totally fucking bang, Pilot and all, if she wasn't so determined to haul his ass in. No. Probably even still then. It was the danger that made it exciting.
"'Cause I'm sayin', I ain't never seen a fuckin' dragon before," he continued. "That'd be badass. Always wanted to see one. Always wanted to meet a real psychic, too, none of those phony crystal-ball-gazin' hacks that Cancer's hot in spades. Hey! Could ya tell me my fortune? Maybe if ya just turn a little and check out my palms, tell me what my life line means, 'cause I could be wrong but I think it's fairly long so--"
He slammed his shoulder into her suddenly, aiming to crush her between he and the wall, and kicked at the back of her knee hard.
-
Okay so maybe she didn't see that coming, but Gavrian wasn't the kind of woman to make the same mistake twice. She didn't want to be inhumane, but he seemed determined to force her hand.
She grunted, thanking the padding in her jacket enough absorb some of the damage. She was slammed indeed, the air knocked out of her, leaving her somewhat dazed. Her knee slipped out, boot skidding on the ground. "You slick fuck!" she hissed, and threw out a forcefield in front of him. Any running would be met with colliding into an invisible wall.
-
...Ow.
Indeed, Ari booked it as soon as she was down, but he didn't get far. Instead, he went slamming face first into...thin fucking air.
He bounced off it and with no hands to help balance himself or catch himself, fell backwards onto his ass, cursing as the jolt went right up through his tail bone. He flopped over onto his back, gasping through his mouth.
"What the fuck?" he managed, still stunned.
-
Gavrian was pissed and took that stun baton, dissolving the forcefield and jamming the baton hard against her ribs.
"You stupid creep! You just can't make this easy can ya?" She didn't wait for him to answer before she jabbed him again. Maybe it was better if he passed out.
-
The obvious answer to that was "no", but Ari never got a chance to reply. The first jolt left him reeling, and the second jolt had him seizing up all over again, his muscles going taut with painful contractions that stole his breath away.
And soon enough, he was growing light-headed from lack of air, pain and dizziness overwhelming him until he thought she might just give him a bloody heart attack--until he blacked out completely, muscles still twitching.
-
"Fucking prick," Gavrian hissed, putting her stun baton away and pulling out a ring of duct tape from her bag. Sure, it might look strange from a pedestrian stand point, watching someone tying someone else up in the middle of the fucking space station. But it was just another day of work for her, and she wasn't going to bother herself with them either.
The tape went around Ari's ankles then bent his knees and pulled them up behind his back, strapping tape around the cuffs in a hogtied formation. She sighed, muttering angry sentiments to herself, and attaching the cable on her belt to the cuffs. And started to pull him along, sliding on his face and belly. He wasn't going to walk, then she'd drag him to the damn shuttle.
-
[Oh. Whoops. He had a biter mask on. xD SCRATCH THE BIT ABOUT BLOODY NOSES HERP DERP.]
When Ari came to again...he was in a very interesting predicament.
Interesting as in it would be fun in another context, the hog-tying thing, but his muscles were all sore and weak, and his body was scraping over the floor. As well as his face, thankfully protected by that fucking muzzle.
It wasn't a smooth slide, either. His mask caught on every crack in the floor, rattling and vibrating his brains, and he was pretty sure she'd intentionally dragged him through every bit of gum she could find. Groggy and disoriented, he mumbled a protest, then started to squirm, his limbs aching and contorted. Not to mention his goods were feeling it in all the wrong ways!
"Seriously, la--ow! Lady!"
Wow. Now, he was totally into humiliation and all, but wow.
Getting dragged around the Cancer like this?
Wow. Uh. That was something.
-
"Watch your face, sweetness. We're heading down some stairs," Gavrian said matter-of-factly, and stepping down quickly, no doubt sliding him along down each painful step. The shuttle to the docks was just ahead, and Gavrian picked up the pace in a full jog.
-
"Ah--god--dammit--what's--wrong--with--ow--fuck--why!"
Ari's head bounced off each stair, as did the rest of his body. So. Many. Fucking. Stairs. Were there that many stairs before? He was pretty sure they added a few extra ones earlier, just to screw with him now.
By the time they reached bottom, he was seeing stars, which was perhaps a small blessing as she took off at a jog and dragged him along after her.
-
"Hold that shuttle!" Gavrian said, pulling through the closing doors and running in just in time. "Thanks! Get in here you!" She yanked hard on the cord and pulled Ari along.
"Ma'am. You...you can't bring that...him on here like that!" said the Operator.
"He's my luggage."
"He's....a person! You can't just go around dragging people and expect people not to question it!"
Gavrian snatched the collar of the Operator's shirt and gave him hard shake. "He's a wanted criminal and I'm taking him in! Now pilot this fucking shuttle or I'll arrest you too for obstruction!" She snarled at the man and shoved him away.
He hesitated at first before going back up front, closing the shuttle doors.
Gavrian took a seat, sliding Ari out of the way of the middle aisle. Just in case people needed to get through. "Gods, is everyone on this station that hard-headed?" she huffed, burying her face in her gloved hands. She ignored the dirty looks she got from a few of the other passengers on the shuttle. Cancer, after all, was a den for thieves, pirates, and smugglers.
-
If Ari wasn't aching all over, he could have laughed.
Now he was luggage? Was she going to stuff him in the overhead compartment?
With a groan, he let his face thud against the floor. There wasn't a part on him that wasn't bruised. Man. What a gal. Shame she was a PILOT.
It was a rare moment when Ari felt genuine worry, much less fear, but he was beginning to now. She was a Pilot, and everything he knew about Pilots was bad news. Fucking tanks on legs, all of them, badass to the extreme--and mind-readers! With dragons. He wriggled a little, wincing as it made his bruises throb. The last thing he wanted was anyone poking around in his brain, and he knew if he got on her ship or whatever the hell she'd come here on, he wasn't going back. It'd be prison for him, at best. For life, no doubt. Probably with a dose of torture. And more than likely, a firing squad or some shit.
He glanced up at the Pilot, with her head in her hands, and grit his teeth as he wriggled a little more. On the bright side, it was nice of her to truss him up like this. She hadn't checked him very thoroughly for weapons, and he always kept a blade in his boot. This brought his hands really close to his boots, and with a little more maneuvering, he managed to touch the handle. Just to make sure it was still there.
Alright. Carefully, then. He paused, relaxing, and watched her a little more. Maybe she'd think he'd passed out again if he was quiet--and maybe she'd relax more, herself, for the ride. Either way, he needed to time this right.
-
No she hadn't seen him reach for that knife, but even if she did, she would have been glad to have the forethought to have cuffed his hands behind his back. And there was always more duct tape. She sighed and leand back in her seat, looking down at Ari and giving him a disappointed shake of her head. God's what a day.
She looked up when a group from the rear of the shuttle moved toward the pair. "You arrest this slimeball?" one of the men asked casually, cleaning out the crud from underneath his fingernails.
"He's a slimeball. And yes, he's under arrest." She crossed her arms over her chest and glared up at them. "You got a problem with that?"
-
...Uh.
A little twitch went through Ari at the sound of that voice, a voice which sounded disturbingly familiar. With a low breath to brace himself, he turned his head just a little to catch a look.
And twitched again.
Oh man.
It was Matt, scummy captain of another pirate crew. A captain he'd fucked. They got real drunk together, wound up in bed, and Matt had been stupid (and drunk) enough to just leave the keys to his ship just laying out there in the open. So, Ari had done as pirates do and taken them. The rest of his crew was out having fun, so Ari and his crew swept in and robbed them blind.
He supposed Matt wasn't too happy with him.
Ari quickly closed his eyes and faked unconsciousness. Maaan. Of all the fucking people to run into...
"There's only gonna be a problem if you make one," Matt said, and stepped in close to get all up in Gavrien's space. "That guy's mine. Thanks for wrapping him up for me. I'll take him off your hands now."
He looked to his other men and gave a nod, and they broke off, heading different directions. Two of them headed for the conductor, the rest headed further into the shuttle.
"Be a good girl now. Don't fuss," Matt said, and made a grab for the tether.
-
Oh nooooow, Ari wanted to stay put and pretend he was out of his misery! Gavrian inwardly rolled her eyes, glancing back at the thug that had the nerve to come up here.
She said nothing of course. She wasn't interested in diplomacy.
Combat instincts immediately kicked in. And when Matt came forward to grab the cord, Gavrian closed the rest of the distance, fists and aimed the openings in his gut and throat. A double punch that knocked Matt back and had him clutching his throat at the same time. The motion would drag Ari along the dirty shuttle floor.
But it was just her luck when something came up and she'd be strapped to dead weight. Gavrian slammed her foot hard against Matt and took out her stun baton, zapping it hard into his neck. She really had no quarrel with these men, and maybe itwwould've been easier to just give Ari up.
She already said she was bringing him in, however. She'd be dancing on hellfire for working on her vacation.
-
Ari decided that once he got free, he was just going to soak himself in bleach. It was so satisfying watching Gavrian take out Matt, but as she slid him along the floor, she also slid him into a puddle of some sticky, dubious liquid of unknown origin and he gagged, only his mask saving him from a face full of the stuff. Soda? Piss? Alien blood? The world would never know!
Matt went down, and Ari grunted as the guy's dead weight landed atop him--and pinned his hands to his back so he couldn't make another go for his knife. He cursed under his breath and tried to rock himself, hoping to dislodge the guy. Fuuuck his timing, seriously! Right when the Pilot's distracted, he loses his window of opportunity!
And that was when the lights on the shuttle flickered, and then went dead.
The whole area went pitch black for a second, and then the emergency lights all along the floor lit up, casting the area in a faint red glow.
And then, voices.
"ALRIGHT EVERYONE, LISTEN UP! This is a hold up! Hands on your head and on the fucking floor!"
It was one of Matt's men, and from the clicking sound that followed--a sound echoed throughout the shuttle--this had been planned independently of this encounter.
And from the sounds of things, there were a lot more of Matt's people here than the few they'd seen enter.
-
Well, shit.
Just when she thought she was done dealing with one sorry meatbag, another had to come around and make everything worse. This was why she didn't take vacations.
She lifted Matt up by the shirt and slammed him against the shuttle door, just as the emergency lights came on, and that one moment of surprise had her cursing up a storm. Gavrian paused, and although Matt was too dazed to do much about it, still gagging on his bruised throat, the click of the gun behind her head, definitely made that pause much longer.
"Let him go, cunt!" came that growl.
She did, Matt slumped to the ground and the gun's butt, slammed in the back of her skull, knocking her unconscious. The same might be said for Ari.
-
When Ari woke up, it was with one hell of a headache.
The fuckers had knocked him out, too, even though it was hardly necessary! He was tied up!
Of course, he realized as he squinted blearily and started to look around, the reason for that was probably because they didn't want him to see where they were going.
He had a feeling, though. A good gut feeling of where they were, because the floor beneath him was subtly vibrating, and there was a faint, constant hum in the air.
A vehicle of some sort.
Or a spaceship.
Considering there was no rocking motion, and no bumps like one would expect driving on a road, it was easy to deduce which it was.
Ffffffffffu...
Head pounding, Ari found that he was curled up on his side, biter mask still on--but, thankfully, he was no longer hog tied. Still handcuffed, and his legs were still duct-taped together at the ankles, and he was...covered in all sorts of shit. He really did not want to know the origins of the crap splotched all over his front, though one bright pink splotch was most definitely gum.
...Why the hell was he worrying about dirt right now?
Probably because he was still dazed.
Blinking and shaking his head, he pushed out with his elbow and legs until he rose up into a sitting position, swaying a little as the room spun. It was a dark, bare room--bare save for a toilet, a dirty cot, and the bars closing it in.
The brig.
Oh, and bare save for its other occupant.
Ari's eyebrows rose in surprise. Whoooa! This was news to him! So Pilots weren't unstoppable? He'd never met one before, only heard the stories, only knew they were psychic super soldiers with dragons and kill-you-with-their-mind powers, so THIS was important information to file away for later! For now, though, he shuffled along his bottom to get closer to her, and nudged her leg with his feet.
"Rise and shine, sweetheart."
-
Maybe he was still cuffed, but she was not. Her belt was gone, as was her comlink, and her stun baton, and her other really cool stuff! Gavrian groaned as she opened her eyes and blinked. She didn't like this. She didn't know where she was, but she didn't like this one bit!
She rose quickly into a sitting position, huffing and pushing back her disheveled hair.
"What!? What the fuck!" she cried, growling in frustration. She glowered at Ari, but really there was no use in being angry. Not with him right now. Sure it was his fault still, somehow, but it seemed like they were in the same boat.
"What the fuck," she repeated, although more quietly. "Do you happen to know where we are?" she added, rubbing her head with her hands and noting that he was still largely tied up.
-
"Not a clue! If I had to make a guess, I'd say Matt's got us," Ari said with a nod and a smile, far more relaxed about this than she was. He wasn't getting hauled to Aedolis anymore, at least, so anything else just felt easier to deal with. Pirates? Aedolis was a scary, unknown variable, but he at least knew what to expect from other pirates. That, and he was still too dazed to be worried.
Besides, it was oddly satisfying seeing her freak out for once. Felt like fitting revenge, even though he was also getting punished by said revenge.
"Ya did piss him off real good. And I pissed him off real good months back. Oh, Matt's that guy ya zapped. Drug lord. Mean fucker, but not bad in bed. Ya wanna take this shit off me, darlin'?" he asked, wiggling his legs.
-
Gavrian couldn't believe this shit. But really there was no use griping about it. If he tried anything, she'd have his head split on the wall with no effort at all. She just grunted at him and felt around. She had the key in her foot. At least they had the courtesy to not take her shoes.
Her hand slipped out something from the zipper and she motioned around to undo the cuffs, zipping them back in and putting them back in their pocket. She moved to his legs, wary, and tore the duct tape with little effort.
"Mean fucker or not, He's gonna get his fucking head split open if he doesn't let me go," she grumbled, and looked up to the grated floor above them. "This is his ship I take it? Or just a hideout of his?"
-
She had the keys?!
They hadn't checked her shoes?!
A flash of hope flared up in Ari when she unlocked his cuffs, and his shoulders ached something fierce when he brought his arms back around to his front. He rolled them, working out the tension, and as soon as she got the duct tape off he reached for his boot and the blade he kept there--
Only to find it missing.
"Fucknuggets," he muttered. Maybe they hadn't taken her keys because they were small enough to overlook? A knife? Not so much.
Rising stiffly to his feet, Ari stretched, his joints popping like bubble wrap from being tied up--and bloody hogtied!--for so long. He twisted his torso and popped some more. Yeesh.
"His ship? Beats me," Ari said as he cracked his neck and rubbed the throbbing bump on his head. "A ship, though? Feels like it. And this's a brig if I ever seen one. So, probably! Imagine we're probably headed for his digs. Probably got a nice ditch dug for us already. Ya made a fool of 'im, darlin'. So did I. He don't suffer assholes to live, soooo..."
He followed her gaze up to the ceiling, then knelt and made a stirrup with his hands. "Alley-oop?"
-
A ship. En route to their graves. Wonderful. If anything, this was more exciting than waiting around at a bar trying to enjoy a sandwich. It wasn't even a half-decent rat burger for crying out loud. She'd be damned if that was going to be her last meal.
Gavrian tried to listen in, closing her mind for a moment to all else but the people that walked above them. They spoke of Matt's deal with a couple of Yracoshan scum-runners, smugglers of anything they could make a few creds off, from booze to bombs, it didn't matter. Gavrian felt her gut drop.
Should she tell Ari? She wondered if bringing him in at all would have been worth it. He had a lot of enemies, and getting sold to some alien bastards wasn't in her daily plans. She just wanted to get back to work.
She saw his hands and stepped up into it, vaulting up to the grated floor and waited until it was clear of people, before pressing her palm to the joints on the lock and disintegrating the metal. She pulled herself up, allowing the door to swing down. Once up, she held a hand down to pull Ari up. And closed the grate behind them.
-
...That was fancy.
And here Ari had been expecting that they'd have to work to open that thing. Take shifts picking the locks but nope, she just handled that baby with her brain. Which was...actually pretty hot. As was the view as she crawled up ahead of him.
Man. To be a Pilot, though. Sex must be really fun. They could dirty talk from miles away, slap each others' asses from different rooms!
...Focus, Ari. Focus.
He grasped her hand when she offered it to him, half surprised she'd even offered it at all. She could have just left him there to rot, which he...hadn't actually considered when he'd vaulted her up, not until she was up there. He'd just swung right into auto-pilot, gauged the situation, deemed her the lighter of the two and figured she could do it easier. Apparently, regardless of what had happened before, he'd decided she was his ally here.
And apparently, she was on the same page.
He hauled himself up, and they found themselves in a common area. Not the best place to be, but now that they were there, Ari recognized it and grinned. Yup. This was Matt's ship, alright. He looked at Gavrian, peeked around the room, then signaled her to follow him before he bolted across the room, keeping low, and slid behind a counter in the galley.
There were probably knives here.
-
[Lol, Ari, Ari, Ari]
"All right Mr. Blackwell. Maxwell. Sorry," she said, shrugging. "How big is this ship and how do we get off it? Seems to be a heavy-class freighter. There have got to be escape pods or something. Feeling pulses..three bodies are coming down that corridor as we speak."
-
Ari was busy carefully opening and closing drawers, looking for a knife or something, but only came back with a butter knife. He scowled down at it. Cheap assholes.
He took the knife anyway and snagged a fork while he was at it, then rounded on Gavrian even as she warned about their visitors. "Darlin', candy-britches, I love ya. Ya know that. But I had a thought, and I decided I ain't doin' shit 'til ya gimme your Piloty guarantee that if we get outta this, ya won't turn me in." He paused, grimacing. He could hear footsteps now, but they weren't hurried; they were casual, relaxed, and he could hear voices speaking, a man talking and a woman laughing.
"At least gimme a day's head start before ya go off chasin' me again. Deal or no deal? 'Cause no deal and, alas, love only goes so far," he said, and tapped her nose with the flat of the butter knife.
-
That tap was the only tap she'd allow him before she slapped him hard, closing the distance and squeezing his face with a singular hand. "I just want to get out of here, chump. And I'll do that either with or without you. You're not worth the trouble of hoisting all the way back to Aedolis. How's that for an answer?"
Gavrian took the fork from his hand and when the pair came around the corridor, she threw it and the prongs embedded themselves into the man's palm, digging into the wall beside him.
-
He guessed he struck a nerve.
"Good answer, ma'am!" Ari managed to say, words muffled since his cheeks were squished and his lips were all puckered out, his face still stinging. What a bang-up gal. "Works for--"
He cut off, because that was when the fork went flying like a throwing dagger.
The man it pierced screamed bloody murder, and the man and woman he was with both gave shouts of alarm--but they didn't pull guns.
Their prisoners, after all, were supposed to be locked away, and this was their downtime. Just coming to the kitchen to grab a snack, no doubt, expecting to be safe and sound on their own ship. Their eyes landed on Ari and Gavrian before they turned and bolted, and Ari shoved Gavrian's hand off him as he lurched to his feet.
"Grab 'em and I'll tell ya what I know!" he barked, and tackled the man, taking him down hard and slamming his face into the floor, cartilage crunching audibly.
-
He didn't need to tell her twice as Gavrian was already on the girl. Or sort of. Telekinesis formed a vice around her neck and yanked her back. Gavrian lunged forward and punched her hard in the gut to keep from screaming. She lurched and held her body as Gavrian yanked her by the hair and slammed a fist in her face.
"Let's throw them in the brig. I can bend that knife into shape as a makeshift lock," she suggested.
-
"Damn, girl," Ari whispered, staring at Gavrian as she took that chick out. Brutal.
...Because admittedly, though Ari knew women were just as dangerous as men (Gavrian--case in point!), he couldn't help it. He'd gone for the man because he didn't feel comfortable bashing ladies in the head. With a shake of his head, he hauled the now unconscious pirate up and slung his arm around his shoulder.
The other man, pinned to the wall by his hand, got an elbow to the face. Took care of that. He'd have to come back for him; too difficult carrying two dead-weight bodies at once.
"Good thinkin', doll," he said, dragging the first man back over to the grate. He let him drop, then pulled the grate open--and unceremoniously pushed him through. He heard the hard thud as he landed, and looked to Gavrian.
"Careful with that one. She's cute," he said with a grin, before he went over to retrieve the other guy--and tossed him down the hole just as carelessly.
-
"I don't care," Gavrian said blandly. Though she had to admit for a stinking pirate, Ari handled the situation well. And down the girl went into the brig, making sure to throw her head first.
Once they were contained for the moment, she made good on her promise and stuck the knife between the grates and mentally forces the metal to bend. At the meticulous effort, blood dribbled from Gavrian's nose.
Standing she wiped it, some blood smearing from across her face and she gestured to him. "Start talking, fancy pants."
-
"Er, you're not hemorrhaging there, are ya darlin'?" Ari asked, reaching out to wipe more blood from under Gavrian's nose. Was it because she'd been using her brain-powers?
He wiped it off onto his pants. "Anyhow, I ain't been all over this place or looked close enough to know, but the bridge's upstairs. Cargo hold's where the brig is. This area's livin' quarters, I reckon." He looked around, scratching at the stubble on his chin. "Didn't see much more of this place when me 'n' my buddies ransacked it, but they've gotta have escape pods somewhere. Any sane spacer's got 'em. If I had to make a guess, I'd...imagine it's maybe like my set-up. You want 'em easy to access in an emergency, which means..."
He smiled. "Probably this deck."
-
It happened sometimes. The blood dribbled out from her nose when she used her powers with too much force. Not that she couldn't be relentless. And nosebleeds just gave her bloody boogers. She said nothing on the subject as it was not the sole focus of their current situation.
"I imagine you and this Matt fellow have something of a like mind. We should find him, kill him, and either take command of the ship, or escape into the pod. If we kill him though, we might not make it to the pod. If we get away, he'll come after us again. More you than me...darlin'"
-
"I say go big or go home," Ari said. "Let's take his fuckin' ship. You've got your psychopowerwhatever s, I'm me. We can fuck this place up."
And it was absolutely true. Ari had been happy to avoid Matt and laugh about hilarious old times, let him live so he could remember being had by him, but the fucker was nasty. Mean. And he wasn't joking when he said they were probably headed toward a grisly death; he'd heard how Matt dealt with his targets.
This wasn't just a stupid prank anymore, and it was probably high time he bumped out some competition.
He looked down at his butter knife and scowled. "Let's check the rooms," he said. "We could use a gun."
-
"My kind of idea," she said, smirking at Ari. And when they turned back into the common room, she slapped his ass. "Let's get moving Princess."
The corridors were quiet on this deck, but it wouldn't remain that way for long. Gavrian stalked as quietly as they could until they reached the living quarters. The door was open beside them and she slipped inside, detecting no one within. She moved to a closet, rummaged through drawers and found a pistol, and tossed it to Ari.
"No stray shots. Aim true or we'll both be sucked out into space," she said. But there was little else, within the room. "This hasgot to be a big ass ship. We need to find an armory. One pistols iisn't going to do much... not to mention, just by the feel of it... its got maybe three shots in it."
-
"I never miss a shot," Ari said as he unloaded the pistol to verify the shots, then reloaded. "Huh...three exactly. Good guess, sugar! C'mon."
Motioning her to follow, he continued out the room and back into the hall. "Dunno their layout, but if it were me, weapons'd be easy for my people to grab. Unless they're paranoid and keep 'em locked up, but that just sounds stupid risky if ya get caught in a sudden fire--"
He cut off as a woman's voice suddenly called, "Yo, Rory! Ya gettin' my goddamned beer or what?"
"He 'n' Michi are probably goin' at it on the counter again," came another gruff voice, though there was laughter in the words, followed by the woman's groan.
"I just cleaned those! You better not, ya hear me?!"
Ari glanced at Gavrian and grinned wickedly, gun in hand. "I'm savin' at least one of these for Matty. Ready to rock and roll?"
-
He didn't miss! She admired that confidence. He was going to need it if they were going to get off this damn ship. Gavrian didn't add anything more to that matter. They couldn't afford to waste those bullets and as soon as she heard the voices down the corridor, she prepared herself.
Her hands tingled with energy and she nodded to him. Once the door was open, Gavrian rushed in ahead of Ari, rolling and throwing out two hard balls of energy. One hit the couch and knocked it up and over, and the second slammed into the arm of the woman. She screamed as the ball of energy disintegrated the woman's arm. Gavrian was on her, silencing those screams with a telekinetic hand around her throat, snapping her neck.
Gavrian was matter-of-factly about her attack, and when she found a rifle tucked away in the corner, she plucked it up, and immediately checked the ammo. "Plenty in here. Find more rounds, Maxwell. Can't have you walking around with only three shots."
-
...Uh. Wow.
She could disintegrate flesh and bone and snap spines with her mind.
DULY. FUCKING. NOTED.
Gavrian took the woman out with a quick, cold efficiency that put Ari to shame, a sight that was both terrifying and fascinating because he'd of course never really met a Pilot and had thus never actually seen one in action. He'd only heard the stories, and now he could vouch that they were accurate. The woman was dead, and the man? He'd been on the couch, which was now pinning him. Not that he'd notice it. From the looks of it, he was out cold.
Damn.
"I like this trend of lettin' ya go first," Ari said as he slipped inside, ignoring the woman's disintegrated arm (eugh) and heading straight for the dresser, opening and closing drawers and then checking the closet.
Bingo.
He tossed a couple rifle clips her way, and fully loaded his own gun, stuffing the remaining cartridges in his pocket. "Holds seven shots, and got plenty of extra here. Dunno 'bout you, babe, but I'm ready to mutiny." And with a teasing grin her way, he added, "Just try to leave some for me next time 'fore ya emasculate me, eh?"
-
"That guy is still alive. You could just shoot him in the head. One less bozo to deal with," she replied nonchalantly. She didn't have the patience for bitching in a situation like this. She was in mission-mode, and damned well going to finish what she started. Like going home and maybe dragging Ari back against his will. Maybe.
The thought had crossed her mind that he wasn't really worth the effort. But that aside, for now they were working together and needed to over take this piss stain in the middle of the galaxy before they were both mincemeat.
"Let's go bite off more than we can chew, bubble-eyes," she said with a gesture of her head. "Just try not to get yourself killed. I don't have time for that kind of bullshit." And she led the way back through the corridor.
-
"Bodies are worth more dead than alive," Ari said as he strode over to the pinned man. With a grunt, he shoved the couch off of him, checked his pulse, then headed over to the nearby computer console and unplugged some wires. Rolling the guy onto his belly, he used the cords to hog-tie him. They weren't the best choice to bind someone, but they would hold for the time it would take for him to regain consciousness--and he'd likely be so out of it, they'd be done and back by the time he even started to struggle.
"Ya can make hella cash off livin' people, y'know. Now let's get, pillow-tush."
And as she lead the way, he gave her ass a sharp slap to speed her along, because flesh disintegrating powers or not, two could play that game!
"Ya keen to lead, darlin'? I mean, not that I don't mind starin' at that fine ass, but I am the one's been here before."
-
The ass slap...was unexpected. And she flushed despite herself, knowing deep inside how was not the time to send him hurtling into space via a convenient bottlecap sized hole in the ship's hull. Gavrian gave a grunt and only turned to pat him on jis face cheek, letting him know that was his free pass, and he'd just used it.
"I'm not in the bounty hunting business, Blackbud, or whatever your name is," she sighed. She didn't care who led, she just wanted off this ship. "Lead the way, dumpling." And when she moved behind him, and gave him a polite, but hard, shove through the hallway.
Gavrian stayed low and slow, moving quickly where she needed to and holding her weapon up at the ready. Years of training that verged on flirting with death may have left her a bit nerveshot, but she knew how to keep her cool. And pulled the trigger just in time to feel the bullet connect with a body coming around a corridor, shot flying just passed Ari's ear.
-
OWWWW.
Ari jumped and yelped, his ear ringing something fierce from having a shot fired so close to his head. At least the bullet wasn't meant for him; he heard the strangled yell of a man and the thud of a body hitting the floor. Well. He heard it through the ear that wasn't currently ringing.
It was one of Matt's crooks, currently curled up and writhing on the floor as blood welled out from between his fingers, his other hand still clutching a gun he was struggling to raise. He must have heard all the commotion and come to investigate. Ari didn't give him a chance to lift the gun before he brought his boot down on his wrist with a crunch that had the guy squealing--but a quick kick to his head shut him up quick.
He grabbed the gun and looked over at Gavrien. "If they ain't heard the screams before, they've surely heard that." The sound of the gun firing was still echoing through the ship. Or maybe that was just his ears. "Let's go! Double time, princess."
And he took off at a jog down the hall, throwing caution to the wind in favor of speed, slid around a corner and bolted up a flight of stairs and onto the bridge--
Only to come face to face with Matt himself, standing at the top, armed to the teeth with several of his best men flanking them.
And all of them had weapons pointed right at he and Gavrien.
-
He was lucky the shot only grazed his oh-so-sensitive hearing. Gavrian didn't need to guide it when it struck its target, but she wondered if she would be better off if she just turned the gun slightly to the left. Welp, she wouldn't get that chance right away. She could just as well use him to help get off this rustbucket, then do away with him.
He was irrelevant. And this vacation was actually starting to just get fun. She just hoped she'd stay alive long enough to enjoy it.
Quickly pacing behind him, she made her way up to the bridge, using him as a flesh shield if necessary. Oh, she knew Matt was probably prepared. And thankfully so was she. You couldn't get through a firefight without a few sacrifices.
So she did what instinct told her to do and shoved Ari right into Matt's gun. She didn't think he'd get shot, but at the very least, it was a useful quick distraction while she fired the gun and burned off the head of one of the men beside Matt.
She honed a blade of heat, which she projected quickly toward two to her left, pushing them back and burning their flesh easily. One ducked down on the far right, and she had little time to react before she felt the burn of plasma scoring her right shoulder.