The woman didn't know Kay well enough to be surprised, so just smiled and nodded and vanished back the way she'd come.
Cassian was slightly crawling out of his skin to be back here, but shot a compressed smile at Kaytoo. "Very nice."
They didn't have long before—"Will?" A curtain parted. A light-haired woman swept into the room, grinning. "Ha, you are back! We had a wager." She went straight for Cassian, gave him a solid kiss on the mouth, then stood back and looked at him critically. "No offense, dear, but you look terrible. No one's going to follow you in here, are they?"
"No," said Cassian, smiling back, though his was less charming and more exhausted. "I guarantee they won't." (They're on a different plane on a different planet in a different year in a different dimension.) "I am here to beg sanctuary. We don't have many" (any) "credits on us, but if my friend and I could use a spare room for a few hours, to rest and maybe clean up…?"
"Your friend." She'd seen too much, and much stranger, to find that unusual description of a human-droid relationship worth more than a slight smile. "Sure, honey. You can consider it our repayment for your assistance with that Brushaun business. Just don't spread it around, all right? You'd be surprised how much business we do with people who really just want a nap."
"No, I wouldn't." He took her hand and kissed it. "Thank you."
"Don't technique me, hon. You don't play a player." Nonetheless, she was grinning as she withdrew her hand, and gestured for them to follow her.
She led them to a back hallway, less lavish, bypassing many other doorways, which turned into a narrow stairway. At the top was a slant-ceilinged loft. It sported a wall-less 'fresher (toilet, washbasin with mirror, bathtub with feet, even what looked like an old clothing refresher) and a mattress on a wrought metal frame. She went to a corner filled with crates, opened one to pull out some blankets and pillows; opened another and left it so, nodding in indication. "Soap and such in there. There's an old charging station in that corner—if it doesn't work, there are others downstairs. I'm sorry there's no privacy." She mostly refrained from making any tonal innuendo.
"This is great," Cassian said immediately. "Thank you, Ymya. I owe you."
"Pffsht," she said. "No you don't; I already said, it's payback. Just make sure you say nice things about us when it comes up around town."
"Always."
She dropped the bedclothes onto the mattress. On her way out, she gave Cassian a light shove in its direction. "Whatever's really going on, you'd better actually sleep. You look like you've had a med exam by a rancor."
"Need for sleep is absolutely what's going on." Kay would be able to tell he was being honest, but also resigned to knowing she wouldn't believe him. (She knew him and his circumstances well enough that why on Fest would she? Ever?) "My love to the others—though maybe wait until after we're gone."
"'f course." She nodded courteously to Kaytoo, with another glance between them, but didn't stick around to ask questions. "Let me know before you leave."
She swept out as gracefully as she'd swept in, closing a door at the bottom of the stairs, behind her.
Merci buckets! - zooming along a bit but can def. backpedal
Cassian was slightly crawling out of his skin to be back here, but shot a compressed smile at Kaytoo. "Very nice."
They didn't have long before—"Will?" A curtain parted. A light-haired woman swept into the room, grinning. "Ha, you are back! We had a wager." She went straight for Cassian, gave him a solid kiss on the mouth, then stood back and looked at him critically. "No offense, dear, but you look terrible. No one's going to follow you in here, are they?"
"No," said Cassian, smiling back, though his was less charming and more exhausted. "I guarantee they won't." (They're on a different plane on a different planet in a different year in a different dimension.) "I am here to beg sanctuary. We don't have many" (any) "credits on us, but if my friend and I could use a spare room for a few hours, to rest and maybe clean up…?"
"Your friend." She'd seen too much, and much stranger, to find that unusual description of a human-droid relationship worth more than a slight smile. "Sure, honey. You can consider it our repayment for your assistance with that Brushaun business. Just don't spread it around, all right? You'd be surprised how much business we do with people who really just want a nap."
"No, I wouldn't." He took her hand and kissed it. "Thank you."
"Don't technique me, hon. You don't play a player." Nonetheless, she was grinning as she withdrew her hand, and gestured for them to follow her.
She led them to a back hallway, less lavish, bypassing many other doorways, which turned into a narrow stairway. At the top was a slant-ceilinged loft. It sported a wall-less 'fresher (toilet, washbasin with mirror, bathtub with feet, even what looked like an old clothing refresher) and a mattress on a wrought metal frame. She went to a corner filled with crates, opened one to pull out some blankets and pillows; opened another and left it so, nodding in indication. "Soap and such in there. There's an old charging station in that corner—if it doesn't work, there are others downstairs. I'm sorry there's no privacy." She mostly refrained from making any tonal innuendo.
"This is great," Cassian said immediately. "Thank you, Ymya. I owe you."
"Pffsht," she said. "No you don't; I already said, it's payback. Just make sure you say nice things about us when it comes up around town."
"Always."
She dropped the bedclothes onto the mattress. On her way out, she gave Cassian a light shove in its direction. "Whatever's really going on, you'd better actually sleep. You look like you've had a med exam by a rancor."
"Need for sleep is absolutely what's going on." Kay would be able to tell he was being honest, but also resigned to knowing she wouldn't believe him. (She knew him and his circumstances well enough that why on Fest would she? Ever?) "My love to the others—though maybe wait until after we're gone."
"'f course." She nodded courteously to Kaytoo, with another glance between them, but didn't stick around to ask questions. "Let me know before you leave."
She swept out as gracefully as she'd swept in, closing a door at the bottom of the stairs, behind her.