voice;

[runningscams]

Name: Han Solo
Date: July 14
Format: Voice

Hey guys, and ladies, of aefenglom.  I can’t help but notice that the full moon is coming. I know that some of the stuff that happens is tied into the lunar cycle ...

[ He takes a breath and tries to collect his thoughts. He’s not even all that sure of what he’s trying to ask to be honest. ]

I guess I was just hoping to hear from someone else that got here and felt like you were having a hard time adjusting. Did you find anything that was helpful?

Comments

[syndicators]

Do you want me to lie to you?

[Inching dangerously close to conversation material she doesn't want to actually talk about, but her point is valid as she tilts her chin up to make a point to him. She's not doing much better, but she's not going to come out and admit it.]

Tired, but handling it.

[And she's not going to talk about the coming full moon. She's already wondering how much changes she's going to go through next.]

So this is what I'm working on. [Changing the subject just seems best.]

Trying to get more people interesting in selling their stuff with us. We get a small commission off of it. I already have a few investors.

[runningscams]

I’m just saying I’ve gotten warmer welcomes, that’s all.

[ Not that he expected her to be dying to see him again after he spent the night at her place, but it could have been friendly. He’s missed her and after the other night, he thought it was at least possible that she might miss him too. ]

It’s an impressive amount if networking you’ve been able to do so far. You’ve been busy.

[syndicators]

[She's not exactly warm and fuzzy with the full moon only a day away. She looks more frazzled than anything, curls tussled a little more than usual.]

Had to do something with my time here.

[She was a fast worker.]

It's not much right now, but I can show you around. Get you familiar.

[And this way she isn't just standing around so close to him.]

[runningscams]

[ Qi’ra looking disheveled is something that Han can remember if he goes back into his memory to do it. He gets the sense that her look has been very carefully maintained ever since she has become a lieutenant in Crimson Dawn, though. ]

Sounds good.

[ He says smoothly. He’s hoping to try not to make it too awkward or otherwise rub her the wrong way. ]

[syndicators]

[Walking up the pathway, she steps up and heads into the open doors. There are a few people working within to make something of it. It's all she can afford at the moment, but it's something she's already proud of.]

I figure we could line vendors inside-- trade whatever they want. Every table has a price. [And they would have access to whatever they needed.]

[runningscams]

Like an indoor market?

[ There were plenty of examples of that on the different worlds he’s been on, but he never thought much about what it would take to organize one. ]

People pay for the space upfront or do you just take a percentage of their sales?

[syndicators]

Exactly. I want to get in the market of magical procurement.

[There is no more denying its existence. It’s real, and if it’s tangible there’s a market for it. If there’s a market for it, she can profit. She smiles up at him.]

Well I have some investors that intend on getting their money back. So to start we would need a down payment to hold their spot and a percentage would be nice. But it could be negotiable.

[Right now she wants contacts.]

[runningscams]

[ Yeah, it certainly was real and trying to pretend it wasn’t sure hadn’t been doing Han any favors. The only relief he’d felt at all from that power threatening to spill out of him was the night of the fair. ]

A good plan.

[ Han feels his heart start to swell up in his chest when she smiles at him and he almost shyly scratches at the hair on the back of his neck. ]

Have you thought about security yet?

[syndicators]

Other than just hiring out for it? Not exactly. [She raises her brow at him, glad he seems to be into this.]

Something you're up for?

[runningscams]

I think it might be a good fit for me.

[ If nothing else, it would give him a reason to take learning spells a little more seriously. ]

You know you can trust me, too.

[syndicators]

[She feels the sudden shift in the conversation. Turning to Han, she can't help but think of their last time together. And everything else they've been through since reuniting.]

I do. Trust you.

[That wasn't why she left him.]

[runningscams]

[ He hadn’t intended to shift the conversation that way and even though it was sort of ambiguous, he was pretty sure that she was referencing Savareen. He measures his response before answering ... ]

Good. Im glad you feel that way.

[syndicators]

[It isn't just about Savareen. She's fine not talking about the last time they were together, but he should know that she's not taking this lighthearted. Han is all she has here, and she doesn't want him thinking for a moment she doesn't trust him.]

I know I can depend on you. This place isn't any different.

[runningscams]

[ Han nods, uncertain of what to say about it. He’s not certain that he can believe her after the way things had shaken out between them. She had said she’d be right behind him and then next thing he knew, he was watching her fly away.

He has to believe there was a good reason for it, but damn if he knows what it is. ]

I’m ... glad I still have your trust.

[syndicators]

You never lost it, Han.

[She sighs, because it’s probably about time that something was brought up.]

I didn’t follow you because I didn’t trust you. I was trying to keep you safe, and I knew if I tried to convince you to leave otherwise, you wouldn’t.

[He would try to play hero.]

[runningscams]

[ Well, since neither of them had instantly found a way out of this place, yeah. They were probably gonna have to talk about this. He listens to her explain and he looks ... confused and a little bit sad. ]

It’s hard for me to accept that staying around there was too dangerous for me, but it wasn’t too dangerous for you. It seems more like it should have been both of us getting out together.

[syndicators]

And I knew you would think that.

[She places both of her hands in front her, interlocking her fingers.]

I couldn't leave. No one leaves Crimson Dawn. [Vos' death was only the beginning.]

[runningscams]

[ Han shrugs. He can tell by the way that she’s phrasing things and leaving out a lot of detail that she doesn’t really want to discuss this. She wants him to accept her truth. ]

Better on the run, taking on the whole galaxy together, than apart. I don’t think you’ll convince me otherwise.

[ He exhales a breath he didn’t realize he was holding in, then adds. ]

But it’s nice to know it wasn’t cause you didn’t care about us anymore...

[syndicators]

I am not trying to convince you. [She isn't arguing about it. She knows what she did, and she knows it hurt him. But it was either that or potentially losing everything, including him and everything she's worked for.]

It was never that. Please don't think I was just trying to exploit your emotions.

[Dryden might have let her go with him on this just for that reason, to make sure the job was done, but that wasn't Qi'ra's motivation. She never tried to trick him or manipulate him through his feelings for her.]