[RP] The 'Verse (Accepting profiles)

[DeirdreTonbo]

Midorikawa Aria

With a little smile, Aria waited for the last of the workmen to leave before she came down the stairs to join Jas. Her arms were full of their bathing needs, handing everything but their clothing to Jas once she got down to her.

"Are your melons secure?" She managed to keep a straight face as she asked the question, smiling only once she finished. "I brought you clothing and your soap since you said mine was too scented last time. I'd hate to make you smell like a girl."  

[Akai_ryu]

Captain Jas Sturm

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"They're our client's melons, but yes, they're secure." Jas said after juggling their bathing items so she could carry them easier. "And I don't need to smell like a girl. These--" the captain gestured vaguely at her chest, "--give it away."

There was a pause and Jas looked toward the now closed cargo bay door then back up the stairs. She was clearly contemplating something, almost literally chewing it over before she sighed and offered her arm to escort Aria.

"And thank you. For remembering, that is. I could have gotten them myself." The blonde mumbled, just barely loud enough for Aria to hear.

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[DeirdreTonbo]

Fayra Gardiner

When she finished her list, Fayra stood in thought for a short time, eyes not focused on anything. Her mind was moving between the wisdom of telling her family where she was going or not. She'd sent them a post that she was leaving but... Finally she shook her head and stuck her pen behind her ear.

"This will do until there is a major emergency occurs. You are already so low on bandages... do you go through them a lot?" Fayra's expression was genuinely concerned, eyes lifting up to look directly at Jaden. Maybe that would explain why ze seemed so... well. Surly wasn't quite the word. Ze was so Jaden, as Jas had eloquently put it. "So... do you have any questions about the list?"

As neat and orderly as Fayra herself appeared, her handwriting was a doctor's scrawl. It was legible because she'd been extra careful to make it so. Even with that precaution, some of it might look completely foreign to Jaden.  

[Akai_ryu]

◣ Jaden Chu ◢

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Jaden's hand abruptly stilled at Fayra's first question as ze scowled slightly. "Not on purpose. Cap always plans so we shouldn't have to, but you know what they say about plans."

Reaching out, beads still in hand, Jaden took the list from Fayra and began reading over it slowly. As ze slowly moved a finger across the list, Jaden's lips moved silently as hir frown deepened in concentration. After the first few items it would be clear that Jaden wasn't silently talking to hirself so much as silently sounding out the words. Minutes ticked by as Jaden slowly worked hir way through the list, occasionally going back to make sure. Finally, Jaden looked up from the list.

"You sure this is all you want? I'm not sure what half this stuff is, but that can't be all you want in the infirmary unless Cap's better at stocking it than I thought. I figured she'd gone and put only a basic kit in and all. And she did say to get this thing stocked enough to make you happy."

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[DeirdreTonbo]

Midorikawa Aria

Aria smiled and then she grinned, her teeth a bright contrasted with her bright lips. "You mean to tell me that this whole time you've been handling someone else's melons? I didn't think even you were that desperate, Jaswinder."

With only a moment's thought Aria slid her arm into Jas' walking at her side toward the bathhouse. When not walking on the metal of the ship's interior, her sandals only made a minimal amount of noise.

"It's not difficult, picking out clothing for you. There's not a lot to choose from. At least these are clean." There was a stark different between their clothing layered over her arm, the cool shades of Jas' clothing against a rich blue-green silk article. The fabrics themselves were like night and day- Jas dressed for utility and Aria could not help but deliver some show even in her daily wardrobe.  

[Akai_ryu]

Captain Jas Sturm

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"Desperate times, desperate measures." Jas shrugged with a light chuckle at Aria's quip as she walked with Aria out the door set into the larger cargo bay ramp.

Once they emerged from the ship, Jas could feel eyes on them. Some were hostile, but most were curious and more than a bit lecherous. There was no way that any of the owners of those eyes would know if Jas and Aria were a couple or not. Only those that knew Jas knew that she wouldn't within her chain of command, but to those that didn't there was certainly something there to see. Aria on her own was pretty, oozing the grace and unconscious sexuality of a companion. And Jas? Jas was tall, leggy, built like a brick house and had Aria on her arm.

The captain sighed and rolled her eyes at her First Mate. "That's the point. I keep my wardrobe simple to keep my life simple. Simpler. There's no point in having your variety. Who'd see it? You? Jaden? Doctor Gardiner? All for a waste of time in the morning as I figured out what to wear when I could be making sure we're not being chased or about to run into something. Besides, it ain't like we're exactly alike, now are we?"

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[DeirdreTonbo]

Fayra Gardiner

A little bit of blush crept up Fayra's cheeks, trying to determine if she'd said too much or not. Jaden didn't seem terribly concerned about her health (at least if the way she'd chased after the three thugs before was any indicator) but if Fayra was going to keep hir in one piece it was going to have to be her concern.

She reached out, plucking the list from Jaden's hands and looking down it again. Distracted again, Fayra made a change here and there. Not really knowing what all Jas' crew did to earn their way she just didn't know what sort of things to be prepared for. Lost in thought the doctor chewed on the end of her pen. For a moment Fayra looked quite normal; as though she didn't freeze up when she had to get to close to another human being and she wasn't normally full of a nervous energy.

"That will do." She scanned the list one more time, green eyes moving quickly behind her glasses. With a little smile, almost shy perhaps, Fayra handed the paper back to Jaden again.  

[Akai_ryu]

◣ Jaden Chu ◢

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One of the last things Jaden had expected Fayra to do was to pull the list from hir hands and the ship's muscle gave the petite doctor a slightly startled look. It was quickly replaced by Jaden's semi-neutral frown as Jaden absently rewound the string of beads around hir wrist and watched the doctor.

Infirmary must be good for the doc. She looks...cute chewing on that pen. Normal, you idiot. Normal, not cute. Normal instead of nervous. Yeah. Best to go with normal.

Still frowning slightly, Jaden accepted the list as it was handed to hir and went over it again. Deepening frown of concentration, silently moving lips and all. Ze still wasn't entirely sure what half the items on the list were, but Jaden did know where to find it.

"Right. I'll go fetch this then and you can go back up to the bridge and watch folk. You gunna get there okay on your own?" The ship's muscle nodded after several minutes had passed.

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[DeirdreTonbo]

Midorikawa Aria

"Well... at least you look good in blue," Aria said, tilting her head slightly to look at Jas from the corner of her eye. The companion's fingers were warm on her captain's arm even through the fabric of her shirt.

Aria enjoyed walking with Jas, it was a nice change from when she walked alone. By herself she looked like a beautiful, small, and possibly weak woman to those who didn't actually know her. While she was always protected by her status as a Companion, there were those who didn't even know to fear the power of a guild. She had to be alert; it was hard to enjoy a planet as beautiful as Persephone when she had to watch for trouble. Jaswinder had always been better at spotting trouble than she was. Not that Aria had been unarmed or weak in a long time.

"Fayra said she would be staying. She's a little..." Aria searched for the right word, eyes traveling over the busy port.  

[Akai_ryu]

Captain Jas Sturm

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"Better than looking good in purple." Jas muttered absently as she watched a group of men standing around and watching them.

As they walked Jas' eyes flicked from person to person, automatically threat assessing and giving warning glares where necessary. It was habit for her and all the more necessary when out walking with Aria. On her own, Jas was only a bit of a target to those with less morals and sense. Most of the time local thugs decided that one woman wasn't worth possibly getting shot by said woman, but two made the decision much harder. With Jaden around, most people didn't even think about it twice. Jas was pretty sure it was the piercings. Or maybe the six inch mohawk. Probably the piercings and Jaden's grin.

"Nervous? Rich? Well-bred?" Jas supplied for the end of Aria's trailed off sentence. "She'll probably fit in fine once she gets past Jaden being Jaden."

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[DeirdreTonbo]

Fayra Gardiner

"I think so." Fayra nodded as well. She tucked the pen behind her ear again as her eyes followed Jaden's movements.

Jaden made it a little bit down the hall out of the infirmary before Fayra stepped out of the doorway. After a quick breath she called out just before ze got out of sight.

"Jaden? Thank you." It was partly for the tour, partly for the shopping, but there was something else there too. Maybe it was the natural understanding of the things Fayra didn't say about personal space. She herself wasn't quite sure, but for the first time since... a long time she felt she was somewhere she could belong.  

[Akai_ryu]

◣ Jaden Chu ◢

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There was a slight pause in Jaden's step before the androgynous figure turned around with a slightly confused look. "I haven't done nothing yet. Nothing to thank me for."

And with that, Jaden turned back toward the cargo bay. Before long the stomp of Jaden's heavy boots on the deck disappeared and silence descended on the ship. The empty silence only managed a few seconds before the loud squeal and heavy thump of the human-sized door in the cargo bay out to the docks opened and closed before Jaden locked it behind hirself.

Once outside, Jaden slipped into the crowd, headed for a back alley not too far from the docks. Ze had a contact there that would know where to find the things on Fayra's list for a reasonable price and Jaden knew the contact wouldn't cheat hir.

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[DeirdreTonbo]

Midorikawa Aria

"Hmm," Aria thought about it some more, not sure. It was something she couldn't quite put her finger on but maybe Jas was right. She did talk like one of Jas' sisters, and she had better posture than Aria did. The companion couldn't recall her face from any of many social gatherings she'd been to. "Well I don't think Jaden's the problem. Ze was on hir good behavior."

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The return trip to the ship was far less interesting than the walk to the bathhouse. Not that Aria was any less attractive when she did not have her geisha makeup or clothing, but she did stand out less. She wore a pair of boots and rich brown pants with a bright blue-green top that wrapped around her torso and left her arms bare. Unlike in her kimono, Aria now wore her pistol quite clearly strapped to her thigh- right at the level of her hand. Her hair was down, simply a shiny sheet down her back as it dried in the late sun on their way home.

As before, Aria carried their clothing, most of it in a convenient bag and the kimono folded and wrapped carefully.  

[Akai_ryu]

Captain Jas Sturm

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The pair walked back in companionable silence, looking slightly less like a tempting target and more like a dangerous one. Like Aria, Jas had opted to leave her hair loose to dry, but unlike the Companion, the captain was still covered from head to toe to protect her fair skin from even the afternoon sun. And as before, Jas was clearly escorting Aria through the streets, although this time it was more as a polite friend and less as a protector.

They reached the ship to find the door locked, which meant that Jaden was still out fetching. It only took a moment for Jas to punch in the code to unlock the door then swing it open for Aria. Then, on the chance that Jaden was back and feeling paranoid, Jas cleared her throat and used her best parade ground voice.

"We're back. I hope you two haven't gotten into too much trouble!"

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[DeirdreTonbo]

Fayra Gardiner

The first thing Fayra had done was to drag the rest of her belongings up to her quarters. She didn't unpack them, just leaving them shoved against the corner to worry about after they left. For the rest of the time she was in the ship by herself, Fayra did happily watch the crowd passing outside on the walkways below. As much as she hated being in the thick of them, Fayra still loved to watch people. With the thick material between her and them, it seemed an adequate arrangement.

It was Jas' voice that brought her back to the ship and the present. The doctor moved toward the cargo bay, looking down at the pair from the walkway above.

"It's just me, no trouble." They could easily tell from below that Fayra had taken off the dark coat she had been wearing before. Her eyes moved between Aria and Jas before she spoke again. "Did you have a good walk?"