The Good Life, attn; Lys

[Gryffin Dakai]

The crowded, filthy streets of Nar Shaddaa were not too different from the Undercity of Denon. Crime ran rampant here, that much was obvious to the young Echani. A virtue such as honor had no place among the theives, murderers and general scum that lived on the Smuggler's Moon. Gryffin quite enjoyed the moon's nickname. He'd learned it while visiting a cantina near where his ship was currently being stored. Funnily enough, it was the same cantina that he had just walked out of, his pockets now considerably heavier than they had been upon his entry. He hadn't grabbed much money, but there was a few meals worth of food stored in the pockets of his pants, shirt, and small coat.

The young man had become a fairly adept theif since leaving his home planet to travel the galaxy alone. Not that he'd travelled particularly far...just to Denon and Nar Shaddaa so far. And he wasn't even alone anymore, now that he'd picked up Dodge and his dog. Even if his plan hadn't gone exactly as he imagined it would, Gryff was still enjoying himself, enjoying being away from the terminally strict and honorable Echani culture that he'd been brought up in.

Glancing about himself, Gryffin smiled at the sight of the many different races and cultures that were represented around him. Although varied, they all had something in common: they were just like him. All of them were outcasts...vagabonds and nomads who were searching for some personal satisfaction in their lives. All of them had been drawn to the Smuggler's Moon by some unknown force and would all fulfill their dreams in different fashions. Gryffin thought it all to be incredibly deep.

A high pitched voice called to Gryffin (Danse Morlock, as he'd been calling himself since arriving on Nar Shadda) from one of the crowded alleyways that were all too abundant in this part of the planet.

"Hey, Dan! Want some death sticks?"

The small Rodian wove his way toward Gryffin, waving what were obviously death sticks in the Echani's direction. Once he was up close, he flashed the brightly colored drugs under Gryff's nose in what he obviously assumed was a tantalizing fashion. Gryff only shook his head and began to turn and walk the other way. He'd dealt with his Rodian before, which was how he'd known his false name, and had no intention of buying anything (especially drugs) that he was selling. As Gryff turned, the Rodian reached out and grabbed his arm very forcefully.

With a snarl, the Echani tore his arm loose and spun around, trying to run from the confrontation as to not cause a scene. He was stopped abruptly by the force of running into a man slightly taller than himself. He just barely had time to catch sight of a pale blue flight suit and the running footsteps of the Rodian before every bit of stolen food spilled from the confines of the folds of his overshirt.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

Gryffin spoke quickly as he bent down to pick up the food. He knew better than to run into someone around here without apologizing around here. Rude behavior was something that criminals tended to not tolerate, and Gryff hoped for the best as he kneeled at the feet of the man, struggling to hold onto his various fruits and other stolen foods.

[Lysander Odakota]

This was getting him nowhere. He’d been on Nar Shaddaa for almost a full week now, and Lysander had nothing to show for it. He’d been sent here in an effort to see if he could get any leads on the Cult remnant, but as it stood, he was high and dry. It stood to reason that the Cult would keep a low profile, but Nar Shaddaa was a typical sort of ‘low profile’ place when you needed to stay under the radar from good folks like Jedi. But it might have been too obvious and there was every chance that the remaining Cultists were smart enough to stay away from the obvious. As they would have to be, to have evaded the searching Jedi as long as they had.

He was a good pseudo-Investigator, really, and the fact that he had turned up nothing indicated there probably wasn’t anything to be turning up on this trip. He wasn’t planning on staying much longer—a couple more days at most—but he was still using his time as wisely as he could. Futile an effort it was beginning to seem, but he was stubborn enough to not give up until his timeline was met. He was to report back to the Council soon enough, no need to push back his deadline.

He was here under his Gunnar Trell alias, finding he enjoyed posing as the amiable (if not a little criminally questionable) pilot. With the Alliance and Jedi partnership not a secret among allies anymore, he hadn’t had a chance to use his Gunnar papers in a few months, and dusting the fellow off had been something of a form of amusement for him. He didn’t let the amusement get in the way of his job, but rather let it work for him, making ‘friends’ and getting information a more stoic being might not have received. What could he say, Gunnar was a charming fellow, even to the filth on Nar Shaddaa. And under any circumstance, he would certainly get more as a slightly riff-raff pilot than he ever would as a Jedi on this Smuggler’s Moon.

So it was, another afternoon out and about. Nothing special was going on as far as Nar Shaddaa was concerned, and Lysander was inclined to agree. This was getting to be dull at best and he had zero leads on anything useful. He scanned the crowds almost idly, making it seem as if he weren’t really interested in anything going on and was merely loitering while waiting for someone--not entirely an unlikely scenario here.

It was during this idling time that he caught wind of a pending confrontation. A snarl caught his attention and he took in the scene at a glance. A young Rodian appeared to be attempting to stop a young man--possibly Echani if his complextion was anything to go by--from escaping his selling advances. The young man tore himself away quite nicely and spun, taking off without entirely looking where he was going.

Lysander knew he was coming in on a collision course. He could have stepped out of the way in time. He simply chose not to.

He took the hit well, keeping his feet with all the grace being a Jedi typically allowed him. The other, however...


"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

The young man was instantly apologizing as he hit the ground, picking up the food contents that had spilled from his pockets with all the speed he could apparently muster. Lysander weighed his options here--he could either brush the boy off and take his leave of the situation, or he could stick around. And if he stuck around, he had to decide how to treat the kid. Obviously he wasn’t steeped in credits if he was stealing food. So either he didn’t have the money for the drugs the Rodian had tried to get him to buy or he wasn’t the sort to take mind numbing narcotics in the first place. He decided to assume the latter, as he seemed to have a penchant for theivery and hadn’t bothered to try and steal the death sticks in turn.

Deciding to stick around on the long shot that the young Echani might prove useful, he stooped and began to help the other pick up his presumably stolen goods. Helpful most criminals were not in the general sense, so hopefully that would give the young man a good idea what ‘Gunnar’ was like right off the bat.

“Hey, you alright kid? That was a pretty wicked spill.” The Rodian had taken off, apparently not wanting to be a part of this scene. “You acted like you’d been burned by that Rodian--have trouble with him?”

[Gryffin Dakai]

For the most part, it took a great deal to surprise the white-haired teenager. He had seen some grotesque, horrible, grisly things since his birth on the Echani planet of Kira II. Killings had been fairly common on both Kira and Denon. He'd even killed on the massive city-planet. So far, he hadn't spent long on Nar Shaddaa, but he imagined that it was a fairly awful place, considering it's reputation as a hive of scum and villainy. Considering those factors, the absolute last thing he excpected was for the man that he nearly bowled over to kneel down and begin helping to pick up the various food stuffs that had spilled from his jacket.

As the older human piled the numerous items back into Gryffin's hands, the Echani began stuffing them back into his many pockets. He glanced up warily at the man, wondering what could have possessed him to help out some scruffy, yet handsome, street urchin pick up his obviously pilfered food. Gryff only picked up his food in silence, too wary to say anything to the man, lest he offend him in some way. When the brown-haired man spoke though, he seemed kind enough and Gryff decided to carry on a conversation for as long as the man was willing.

“Hey, you alright kid? That was a pretty wicked spill.”

Another glance up to the man's face revealed that he seemed to be genuinely concerned for the boy's welfare. The only thought that passed through the young man's head was the curiosity of why a person on this planet would possibly give a damn about anyone else. It seemed that the Echani had found a rare breed of individual within his first few days on planet. His luck was on the upside, apparently, and he hoped to keep it that way.

"I'm fine. Thanks for the help."

There was a pregnant pause for only a few seconds before the man broke the silence again. He seemed amiable enough, and Gryffin felt like the two of them could get along, if they were in a less hostile situation.

"You acted like you’d been burned by that Rodian--have trouble with him?”

A derisive snort escaped from Gryffin's throat before he could even make an attempt to cut it off. The idea of that particular Rodian giving him any physical problems made Gryff grin. He did his best not to show the grin, but it was an ammusing thought to think that that piece of scum could possibly injure him.

"I wouldn't call it trouble, exactly. I just don't particularly enjoy having drugs shoved at me. I've told him to buzz off before, he can't seem to take a hint."

[Lysander Odakota]

For one as naturally empathetic through the Force as Lysander was, the bewilderment practically roiled off the Echani. He hadn’t expected Lysander’s behaviour, and frankly he would have been a fool to do so. Almost anyone else in the vicinity would have knocked the boy onto his back and kept him there with a few good kicks for running into them like that. Lysander would have said the kid got lucky, but naturally he didn’t believe in such silly things. He said that often--almost too often--but luck was something he felt necessary to discredit in his own life and the lives of others around him. Get relying on luck and you lost your edge and sense of realism.

"I wouldn't call it trouble, exactly. I just don't particularly enjoy having drugs shoved at me. I've told him to buzz off before, he can't seem to take a hint."

With the boy having carefully tucked his stolen goods away completely, Lysander stood and offered him a hand to his feet. Once the other found his legs under him again, Lysander offered him a wry grin. “Most Rodians can’t.”

So he had guaged the other correctly, it seemed. Interesting, to find such a young and seemingly well-natured Echani here on Nar Shaddaa. This wasn’t the sort of place their kind frequented. And no doubt that dersive snort meant perfectly well that the boy didn’t think the Rodian would have ultimatley been any problem. Given Echani reputation, the Jedi didn’t doubt it. Of course, the other didn’t know he was Jedi and had easily pegged the other’s culture, so...

Frankly, he had the boy at a disadvantage as far as knowledge went, but it was going to have to stay that way, at least for now.

“Whether the Rodian was an issue or not, however, you seem to be in an intersting spot of your life.” He raised a brow, hoping it was clear to the other that he knew full well that the food he now had hiden away yet again was ill-gotten. “Maybe I can help you out. The name’s Gunnar.”

Of course, not very many people on Nar Shaddaa were about to offer help so willingly, putting this pilot very much out of place in the norm. A little suspicious, perhaps, but Lysander felt confident he could work past such things.

[Gryffin Dakai]

Gryffin was completely expecting the kind man to head off when he stood up, presumably to leave. However, when his hand was offered to help the Echani to his feet, Gryff eyed it, slightly suspiciously. He had no real reason to trust the man, seeing as they'd just met not a minute previously. He'd shown uncommon kindness though, and as such, Gryffin had no reason to not trust him either. Even if he did try to pull something when Gryff got up, he had his blaster hidden beneath the folds of his shirt. His quarterstaff had been left at the ship, but his hand to hand skills were more than satisfactory. Confidant that he could stop the man if he tried anything, Gryffin took his hand and used it to climb to a vertical base.

Although he'd expected the worst from the blue-suited pilot, Gryff was pleasently surprised when the man stayed around to make conversation in lieu of, say, stabbing him in the throat.

“Most Rodians can’t.”

When the pilot smiled, Gryffin found the grin to be infectious, letting a small smirk creep onto his own features. Despite his cautious thoughts about the stranger, he seemed nice enough a guy. Nice enough, at least, to help a complete stranger pack up and hide the food that he'd recently stolen. The young man let loose a slight chuckle at the man's words and busied himself by carefully dusting off the back of his legs and the seat of his pants, so as to not jostle his stolen goods anymore.

"Well, I don't know many Rodians, so I'll just have to take your word for it."

The boy cast his gaze around the pair of them as he did more often now than ever. He was in a new, hostile environment and would be damned if he let some street thug get the best of him. It wasn't as if he needed the food desperately today though. He and Dodge had a pretty good stash saved up back on his ship. A theivery run kept him sharp though, and provided a bit of variety in the twice-daily meals. For a moment, it seemed as if his new aquaintance was reading his mind, as he seemed to address the exact issue that Gryff was contemplating.

“Whether the Rodian was an issue or not, however, you seem to be in an intersting spot of your life.”

They stranger brought up a good point. Gryffin was indeed in quite the interesting crossroads. He'd just left his home on Denon, where he'd lived for two years. Before that, he'd left Kira II, the planet on which he'd been born and raised. And now he was on Nar Shaddaa and he'd picked up a new travel partner, Dodge, and his scruffy little dog.

“Maybe I can help you out. The name’s Gunnar.”

Gryff barely had the mental acuity to hold his mouth shut at the proposal. Not only had the man offered to help Gryffin out, presumably on a larger scale than picking up dropped food, but he'd also given him a name. Whether that name was true or not was anyone's guess, especially considering the secretive nature of most of Nar Shaddaa. As it was though, Gryff at least had something to call him now.

"What exactly are you proposing, Gunnar?"

Thinking it best to offer his own name, and to be polite, Gryff extended his hand to shake with Grunnar. He elected to offer his real name, as Gunnar would have no reason to know anything about him, or have a secret vendetta...he hoped.

"I'm Gryffin, by the way."

[Lysander Odakota]

“Well, I don't know many Rodians, so I'll just have to take your word for it."

Being here on Nar Shaddaa and being able to say that also lent some light to the young Echani in Lysander’s perception of him. Slowly but surely, he was gathering what he could about the boy, reading between the data scripts, as it were. Now, he didn’t fully trust everything he might assume, but he could at least gather a general profile—all of this providing that the young man was being honest with him. And from what he could tell, he was…

So this is what he had so far. Echani. A bit of a troublemaker, but not so far off the beaten path that he didn’t know how to respond to someone offering him help. Generally good natured. Presumably at a crossroads in his life. Relatively new to this smuggler’s moon, if not completely new. So… probably recently left home, considering his age. He didn’t absolutely reek of Echani culture, though, so it was possible that that home wasn’t the Echani homeworld itself. It was hard to say for certain, however.

It wasn’t really any matter, anyways. Whoever this kid was, wherever he came from, and whatever he intended to do with his life from here on out, all that mattered was he was a potential source of information for that which Lysander sought, here and now. Sure, he could have picked anyone to use for this purpose, but he’d already worn through the basic criminal sources in the last week. This kid was a rare sort in this hive of scum and villainy.

"What exactly are you proposing, Gunnar?"

Well, if that wasn’t an apt question. What are you proposing, Lysander? he wondered at himself. Honestly, he hadn’t thought that far ahead. He didn’t typically need to, but now the kid was asking for specifics and he hadn’t exactly come up with any master plans. All he knew for sure was that he wanted to help this kid—an inclination he couldn’t exactly come up with a source for just yet—and still needed to do his own job while he was at it.

Really, it was mostly an act of desperation, but the kid didn’t need to know that, did he?

"I'm Gryffin, by the way."

He accepted the offered hand readily, shaking it firmly and with a nod. “Well, Gryffin, I was hoping you’d tell me what I can do for you. I’ve got time on my hands, as well as resources.” He tilted his head as he dropped the handshake. “To be honest, you seem like you have a good head on your shoulders. I was hoping that maybe you could help me out in return… providing, of course, that I’m able help you out at all in the first place. Otherwise, you can forget I even brought anything up.”

Before Gryffin could answer, a cry went up from the direction that Gryff had originated from when he’d run into ‘Gunnar.’ Deeply attuned senses of the Jedi caught the words of those who were apparently in an outrage. Putting what he was picking up from the voices and what he’d seen with Gryffin thus far, he turned his shrewd gaze to the young man, whilst pulling him back towards the buildings, so they might be able to find some cover from those who would be searching this area very quickly.

“Where did you say you got that food from again?” He knew very well that the young man had told him nothing of the sort, but he hoped he at least got his point across. It sounded like Gryffin’s theft wasn’t the first in the last few days from that cantina. While the Echani was only the last of several thieves, the owners had finally had enough and were out for… well, blood, probably. This was Nar Shaddaa after all.

[Gryffin Dakai]

The stranger, Gunnar, took Gryffin's extended hand quickly enough to assure the boy that he was a genuinely good-natured person. That was indeed a blessing, as the Echani hadn't had much good experience with Nar Shaddaa's inhabitants. Between the muggings, drug deals, thefts, and general skullduggery that he'd seen since he came to live here, he was quickly finding it to be a rather distasteful place. None of that sort of thing happened on his homeworld of Kira II. The Echani found it reprehensible. It was one of the few Echani tenets that Gryffin agreed with.

During the short period in which the Echani and the stranger were involved in their handshake, Gryffin took the time to appraise his new aquaintance. It was only fair, after all, as Gunnar was undoubtedly doing the exact same thing. He was only slightly taller than the Echani and built solidly. If anything could be taken from his handshake, he was stronger than he looked. Truth be told, Gunnar looked very...plain. It was clear to Gryffin that he could never accurately pick the man out of any crowd. He had the kind of face that was eaily forgettable, something that Gryff had never been blessed with. Damn his good looks for making him so noticeable. A feeling in the back of Gryffin's mind told him that this guy was someone whom he could trust. It was a strange feeling, but the Echani had learned long ago to trust his instincts, and they hadn't let him down yet.

Once the handshake was dropped, Gunnar began speaking, but Gryff quickly lost track of what was being said. A commotion had erupted behind the pair, clearly emanating from the cantina that the young man had just pilfered his way out of. The loud voices were coming this way, and although Dakai couldn't hear exactly what was being said, he got the idea that it would be smart to be as far away as possible.

Gryffin had to think rather quickly to get out of this situation, as he didn't think that Gunnar would be too apt to risk his own hide to help a stranger. So, hoping furvently that the guy in the navy flightsuit wouldn't pull a blaster on him for the action, Gryff grabbed him by the arm and spun the both of them back towards the elevated voices. He made sure to keep Gunnar between himself and the voices in an attempt to hide himself from the cantia's proprietors. He was moving quickly, but not in such a hurry that he would attract any unwanted attention...hopefully. He hoped to keep Gunnar around for a while, so he deduced that he would have to sweeten the deal for the stranger. While they walked, Gryff spoke just loudly enough to be heard.

"So...what was it you said you needed my help with?"

[Lysander Odakota]

It seemed Gryff noticed the trouble just about the same time that Lysander did. Convenient. However, the boy didn't seem to think that 'Gunnar' would stick around if he was in trouble, so he chose to take action into his own hands, grabbing the Jedi forcefully by the arm and making him move in the direction of the trouble.

A smart move. Most people would have moved far and fast away from the pending danger. By moving back towards it and at a casual pace, he was actually less likely to be noticed. Most 'prey' didn't tend to double back into the face of danger, so no one expected it, so no one actually went to look for it. By having Lysander there to act a visual shield helped. Frankly, the Echani stood out considerably on his own.

Now, the boy had banked on the fact that 'Gunnar' was a nice guy and hopefully wouldn't attack him for using him this way. What the boy didn't know, of course, was that if his current companion had wanted to resist, Gryff would have found himself on the ground and incapacitated likely faster than he could say, "I made a mistake!"

He was just lucky that Lysander knew what was happening and was quite fine with being along for the ride. He could handle whatever trouble Gryff was in, and was happy to help.

"So... what was it you said you needed my help with?"

"I'm just looking for someone. Don't know if you actually can help me, but that's irrelevant now. It seems like you're in need of some assistance, seriously, and if you think I'm going to turn on you, you're wrong."

He had to make the kid trust him. He felt the attention of one of the cantina's proprietors turn their way. In about five seconds, they would be had. "This isn't going to work. I suggest we run. Now."

A head start was all they could really ask for, right?

[Gryffin Dakai]

"I'm just looking for someone. Don't know if you actually can help me, but that's irrelevant now. It seems like you're in need of some assistance, seriously, and if you think I'm going to turn on you, you're wrong."

Gryff resisted the urge to run back to Gunnar and shoot a disbelieving look his way. There was something strange about this guy, and it had nothing to do with him being the selfless type in the slums of Nar Shaddaa. He seemed like he genuinely gave a flying kark about Gryff staying out of trouble. It was just...weird. But, even if it was strange, Gryff couldn't let the kindness go unanswered. If Gunnar needed help, the Echani would do his best to aid him.

"Well, I'm pretty good at finding people. Just tell me who you need found and I'll do my best to help."

As they moved through the crowded streets, Gryff did his best to not bump anyone and cause a fuss. It was all the more difficult since he also had to contend with the fact that losing Gunnar right now would be a very bad idea. It wasn't that he didn't believe that the human could handle himself-something told Gryffin that Gunnar was good in a fight-but he didn't want to waste valuble time searching for him if they got separated. He was nothing if not efficient. And damned good looking.

"This isn't going to work. I suggest we run. Now."

Gunnar was really starting to freak Gryffin out. Either he had incredibly acute eyesight, hearing, and a strong sense of smell, or he just enjoyed screwing with Gryffin's head. However, the Echani wasn't going to risk being caught just because Gunnar's hunches freaked him out. Without waiting for a signal from the strange human, Gryff took off at breakneck speed, heading for his ship. Once there, he could hide himself and Gunnar for as long as they needed.

By running zig-zagging patterns, Gryffin did his best to evade capture by the barkeep that he'd ripped off. He didn't bother to make sure Gunnar was keeping up, as he was sure that the man would find some way. If not, he'd get lost and probably never set eyes upon the Echani again. His loss.

The ship wasn't too far away, and it didn't take the pair long to reach it. Gryff opened the hatch halfway and leaped inside, helping Gunnar up after he was in. He closed the boarding ramp quickly and leaned against a wall, a small laugh escaping his lips. He was tired, but not exausted. He could run for hours like that if he had to. On the floor by his feet stood the small white ferret, Jumper. He must have been curious about the new arrival, as he was currently sniffing the man's boots. Gryff smiled at Gunnar and opened his arms wide, ushering the man into the interior of the ship.

"What's mine is yours. Make yourself at home, grab something to eat if you want. I'll make some tea, if you like, and you can tell me about who you need finding."

With that, Gryff moved into the next room-the galley section of the small freighter-and began preparing to make tea in the style of his homeworld. He hoped Gunnar wouldn't mind...it was the only kind of tea that he knew.

[Lysander Odakota]

"Well, I'm pretty good at finding people. Just tell me who you need found and I'll do my best to help."

Lysander nodded to the boy’s agreement to help him out however he could. Now wasn’t the time to be asking for specifics, though, they had to get out of here without being caught, or finding Mondi would be even more difficult. Instead he said, “Sounds good,” and left it at that, his next words being those alerting the young Echani to the pending discovery.

After that, it was pretty much a mad rush not to get cornered or cut off or tagged.
Gryff was fast, his lithe form making it easy for him to get through the crowd without running straight into anyone. The Guardian let the young man take the lead, falling back a few paces despite the fact that he could have easily taken the pace up several notches with ease through use of the Force. He chose to hang behind to act as a buffer between the his young companion and those who now sought to capture him.

Through subtle distractions in the Force--a fallen shelf of merchandise from a store window, an illusion of someone darting down an incorrect path--Lysander was able to throw their pursuers off of their trial entirely. By time they were to the ship and both scrambling through the half-opened hatchway, the bartender was well off of their trail.

‘Gunnar’ laughed briefly with the boy, already beginning to take note of the insides of the ship. Dynamic class freighter, standard make. It was in good enough shape, and the Jedi wondered briefly if it belonged to the Echani boy solely. It was quite the ship for such a young man. The Jedi didn’t even make a show of being exhausted, not really caring if the boy noticed his complete lack of being winded by the hard run. Gryffin was letting him on his ship--it was a show of trust, and Lysander wasn’t entirely in the business of keeping secrets to the point that he would hide from everyone.

Gryffin was trustworthy so far. If the truth came out, Lysander didn’t think he’d have to fret about it. ‘Gunnar’ would only be here for a little while longer anyways. Besides that, the other didn’t seem all that tired, either, so it could have just seemed perfectly normal to him.

Lysander noted the presence of the small white ferret immediately and dropped to a crouch to let the animal move from sniffing his boots to sniffing his hand. Lysander appreciate animals--with the noted exception of the canine variety--even if he didn’t get much chance to interact with them. The ferret’s presence was oddly refreshing on this awful moon

"What's mine is yours. Make yourself at home, grab something to eat if you want. I'll make some tea, if you like, and you can tell me about who you need finding."

“Sounds good to me, Force knows I could use a moment to relax.” Scooping up the ferret--fairly sure from the animal’s demeanor that it wasn’t going to try and chomp his fingers off--he followed the Echani into the galley.

“It’s an impressive freighter you have here. What’s she called?” ‘Gunnar’ was a little obsessed with ships, with each more a person to him than was possibly healthy. He liked to know their names, and the Jedi liked that particular quirk of Gunnar Trell’s personality well enough to keep it up even when away from the public eye.

[Gryffin Dakai]

Gryffin walked casually through the ship, making sure that he didn't lead Gunnar anywhere near his personal quarters. They were in the front, near the cockpit, so that wasn't much of a pressing issue. The only problem with letting his new acquaintance in the back would be letting him see the weapon stores that he kept in a side panel near his bed stand. It wasn't so much that Gryff was worried what Gunnar would think, but he didn't fully trust the man yet. He didn't want him having access to a small cache of weapons if he had plans to make off with the Echani's stuff. He had a pistol that he kept in a cupboard in the galley, though...just in case.

"I hope you don't mind tea of the instant variety. I'm not great at brewing it myself."

As he went to the modestly fortified drink dispenser, Gryffin turned a wary eye over his shoulder and watched Gunnar take inventory of the Dynamic-Class freighter. His face was almost completely impassive and Gryffin could glean almost nothing from his body language. That was very strange. Echani were born and raised to read people through how they moved and their facial expressions. It took a well-trained individual to hide their thoughts and feelings from an Echani-even a young one such as Gryff.

As the young Echani was finishing with dispensing the tea for the two men, he heard Gunnar ask about the name of his ship. Personally, the name had no significance to him. More than likely, it was because he hadn't named it. His father had named the vessel after their home planet of Kira-more than likely in some obscure gesture to Echani honor.

"She's called Kira's Star. Dad named her."

He kept the details short and sweet, not because he was meaning to be rude or mysterious, but because talking about his father still tugged at his heartstrings. He had no special reverence for his people or for their customs, but Gryffin missed his father. He did his best to hide the grimace that no doubt showed when he spoke of his father. After a second, he hid it behind a polite smile once more.

With a quick wave of his hand, Gryffin gestured for Gunnar to take a seat at the small counter that he normally ate his meals at. He placed the steaming cup of tea in front of the older man and took a seat across from him on his own stool. The white-haired young man spared a glance to his sandy-haired lunch guest as he blew some of the steam away from his hot tea. As he waited for Gunnar to speak, move, do anything, he took a quick drink and enjoyed the hot liquid running down his throat.

[Lysander Odakota]

"I hope you don't mind tea of the instant variety. I'm not great at brewing it myself."

“No worries, I’m not picky,” Lysander replied nonchalantly. He was too busy subtlety picking out his surroundings. He had noted a definite path to the boy’s lead through the ship. There had been some decisiveness in the path he’d chosen, and the Jedi could only assume that he didn’t want him searching out the corners of the ship, even on accident. That meant the boy was probably hiding at least a few things.

He supposed the Echani was just fortunate that his particular Jedi wasn’t in the business of taking out every little injustice he came across. In the middle of Nar Shadda that would have been a fools errand anyways. And he certainly wasn’t looking to make a criminal of himself, either. His business with Gryff was completely legit. Sure, he was technically lying about who he was, but his purposes were true.

"She's called Kira's Star. Dad named her."

The ferret still in hand, ‘Gunnar’ moved to the seat as indicated by the boy. Making himself quite at home, he sat without preamble, accepting the offered drink with a muted ‘thanks’ and sat the little animal on the table in front of him. The creature sniffed at the cup curiously but was ultimately denied any further exploration as the stranger picked it up to sip at the heated contents.

He noted the pang of sorrow Gryff felt at the mention of his father. Dead? Maybe, but not the only possibility. Maybe just left behind. The Guardian wondered why that was. He set the cup back down, letting the animal on the table explore curiously at it once again. The ferret stole a few laps of the tea. Lys didn’t care.

He fixed his ever steady gaze on the boy, unable to help himself from questioning now. “Don’t find many Echani out in this part of the galaxy. Especially not so young. What’s the deal?”

Count on this Knight to not cut any corners when he had nothing to lose by asking.

[Gryffin Dakai]

“Don’t find many Echani out in this part of the galaxy. Especially not so young. What’s the deal?”

Ah, the time for awkward questions about the past that were best left unanswered. Any informal meeting of relative strangers needed to include at least a few minutes of this. Gryffin normally did everything in his power to avoid questions about his past and about how he had come to be on Nar Shaddaa. The terms of his leaving were not exactly ideal, and the young man was sure that his father was still suffering for his choices. The Echani and the Mandalorians had that in common, at least...neither culture took dishonor lightly.

Gryff set his drink down on the counter and swiveled slightly on his stool. He really didn't want to talk about his leaving home, but he realized that he couldn't hide from the fact forever. Gunnar seemed like a nice enough man, even if the pair had only met an hour or so ago. Besides, it wasn't as if the Echani had any incredibly close friends that he could divulge his secrets to...Dodge was nice enough, but they hadn't seen each other in quite some time. Gryff couldn't even explain his feelings toward Gunnar, but he trusted the man. It was a strange feeling, as Gryffin rarely trusted even those whom he had known for a significant time.

The young man took a deep breath and ran his fingers through his lengthy, white hair before speaking softly and quickly to Gunnar.

"I guess that I got tired of the way of life on Kira II. Every waking moment was spent training and preparing for a war that might never happen. I wanted to travel...see the galaxy, you know? The Elders didn't like that much. They really didn't like it when I left anyway. My father and I were both dishonored in the eyes of our people."

Gryff took a long gulp of tea, nearly scalding his throat. He fought back the urge to cough as the liquid burned its way down to his stomach, so that he could continue his little narrative. Now that he had at least begun to talk about his situation, he wanted to finish.

"I've been traveling a lot since I left. Denon, Coruscant, Kuat, Nal Hutta...and now Nar Shaddaa. I can't exactly go home, you see, until I can earn my honor back, so I'm better off living on my own for as long as I can."

Gryffin stole a glance at the worn traveler's attire that his lunch guest wore. Perhaps it was the boy's turn to ask a question or two now.

"What about you, Gunnar? You seem like you've seen your fair share of travel."

[Lysander Odakota]

"I guess that I got tired of the way of life on Kira II. [...] My father and I were both dishonored in the eyes of our people."

Lysander wasn’t sure what made the boy decide to answer the near-stranger’s question, but he did. Admittedly, he knew that he came off as someone others could trust, and that was a trait he’d given Gunnar in turn. That said, it was also likely the young Echani hadn’t had anyone to talk to seriously in some time. Something about that sort of absence made many sentients more inclined to divulge.

It made sense, though, his story. Wanderlust wasn’t a trait particularly cared for in more isolationist cultures. And losing honor was definitely something Echani strove to avoid. He felt for the boy, knowing it could be hard to live up to a culture that didn’t necessarily line up with one’s personal desires. Many young Jedi ran into similar problems, and it was only through careful considerations and adjustments that they either overcame the issue or found another path.

"I've been traveling a lot since I left. Denon, Coruscant, Kuat, Nal Hutta... [...] so I'm better off living on my own for as long as I can."

So he’d been wandering ever since. That seemed to confirm the boy’s status as likely ‘lonely.’ While he wasn’t sure the young man would appreciate being labeled as such by his current companion, it would be hard to deny. Traveling alone only really served to disconnect one from the galaxy at large, and if he was hanging out in places like Nal Hutta and Nar Shadda with any amount of regularity...

No wonder the kid had been suspicious at first and then eager to befriend when it became clear that the capable pilot meant him no harm.

"What about you, Gunnar? You seem like you've seen your fair share of travel."

For the briefest moment, the Jedi considered telling Gryff the truth, but ultimately decided against it. Not that he felt he needed to hide anything from the boy, but on a place like this, it was best if he didn’t know anything. If someone came around looking for ‘a Jedi’ it was probably best if the younger man truly had no idea what they were talking about.

So instead, Gryff would get the history long concocted for Gunnar Trell. “Oh yeah, plenty. Sort’ve uh... pilot for hire, I guess. Independent contractor, I like to fancy myself as. Been all over, some places much worse than this and many much better. Doing work where I can find it.”

He trailed off, taking his cup away from the ferret who had been stealing more laps of it during his chatting. He sipped at it himself before relinquishing the rest to the animal. “I don’t know if I’d call it anything particularly fascinating. Right now just looking for a guy someone hired me to look for. Not sure why they want him. I tracked him here, but I’m afraid he’s probably already gone. Seems to keep being the case.”