milliways_bar | (no subject)

"A moon?" She asks in open surprise and delight. "You come from a different world? How wonderful. But it must be a pleasant break to visit here in summer? If the place you're from is always so cold. Have you seen the garden? And the lake, it's really quite pleasant."

She asks for a cup of pear juice with ice, thanking the rat, dithering from answering his question.

"A courtesan is a... a woman whose company is for sale." She always with a soft note of shame.

Baze delights in her delight. He nods eagerly. "Yes, that's right. My friend, Chirrut, and I haven't been here long enough to visit during the summer, but we're certainly looking forward to it. We've seen the garden and the lake and the beach--oh, the beach is glorious. It's so warm there! We love sunbathing. We can't get enough of the sun, though we've recently found out that it burns."

His smile dims at her answer, and her obvious discomfort with it.

"My apologies, miss. I didn't mean to stir up bad memories. I'm glad you're a tavern singer now."

"Oh no." She claps her hands over her mouth, trying to suppress a smile. "Oh, I'm sorry. Bring sunburnt for the first time must have been terrible for you."

"Thank you for your kindness. Such days are behind me now and I find great joy in what I do." She gestures to the bar. "And here there is a great wealth of new songs and stories to learn."

It was terrible. They had blisters on their asses--which Baze does not say, as she's a lady and he's not that crude. He simply nods again, a little less eagerly this time.

"Well, now we know, and we've erected a warning sign out back for anyone who needs to know," Baze says, smiling again. He shifts on his feet. "And you're welcome. Expressing my sympathy is the least I can do. And you're right about learning new things from the bar! Good for you, for seeing the bright side of it."

"That was thoughtful of you, to put up a sign to warn others."

"It would be ungrateful of me to turn down the bounty this place provides." She smiles modestly.

"But what of you?" She asks brightly, "Would you tell me of your cold desert? What do you do there?"

"That was Chirrut's idea," Baze says, inordinately fond of his friend. His smile dims again at her question, but he waves a hand. "Oh, I don't do much there anymore. I'm permanently retired, as it were. But I... I used to be a Guardian of the Temple of the Kyber. Those are crystals which are attuned to the Force, which is an energy field that binds and surrounds all living things."

No, this isn't painful at all! Not even a little! It's just... Surrounded by painful things, and one misstep will plunge him into the depths.

"Your friend sounds like a very wise individual." She nods.

She steps forward, gently resting a delicate hand on his. Her skin is warm and smooth, she seems to radiate calm and soothing. "I'm sorry. You have this place, and your friend with you. Will you tell me of the other things you've found joy in here?"

Edited 2017-06-29 04:57 (UTC)

"He can be, though he can also be smug about it," Baze says, grinning. "He's just a touch vain, so he thinks he's immortal, and that makes him a pain in my ass, because I have to rescue him all the time."

He squeezes her hand, offering her a brilliant, grateful smile. He's tempted to kiss her cheek, but holds back. "Thank you. I brew my own beer here. If you're a drinker, I have stout, red ale, and hard apple cider--well, at least, I did have all of that, before the moonshine still blew up."

"But you care for him very much?" Aureus asks with a soft smile. "I can see it in your smile."

"I've never been overly fond of ales but I enjoy cider. What is moonshine?"

"No, I don't care for him at all," he says, grin fading into a completely straight face. "He's a jerk--just a total bantha fodder of a person--and I regret every moment I spend with him."

No, Baze can't keep that up to save his life. Not that that matters much anymore. His horrible grin totally gives him away.

"Just kidding! He's a sweetheart, and I adore him to pieces," he says, chuckling. "I am happy to spend my afterlife with him, just as I spent my life with him as well."

He blinks at her question. "Oh, uh. Moonshine is... Moonshine... Hmm. It's hard to define. I watched a holovid about it, and it was apparently illegal to make in a lot of Earth countries. It's made from corn mash, and is also called white whiskey."

She laughs warmly. "I'm sure he's a terror." Her smile falters a moment at the mention of the afterlife, almost forgetting the character he's playing. "I'm very glad you're together."

"I've never heard of it. I'd love to try it but it sounds like it didn't go well the first time."

"Oh, my Force, he is," Baze says, laughing with her. His smile fades when hers does, however, so he loops an arm around her waist and offers a companionable squeeze. "Thank you."

He breathes in the sweet scent of her, smiling once more. "Well, moonshine needs to be distilled, using a pressure cooker with a hole punched in it and a copper tube sticking out of the lid. Mine was too pressurized, or too many of the fumes escaped or something, and it exploded. I have a friend looking into the cause. I'll make some eventually, but the explosion took out my whole damn workshop, and all the alcohol that was in it."

Edited 2017-06-29 09:11 (UTC)

She leans into him, petite and delicate next to the big man, beaming warmly.

"It's very lucky no-one was hurt. That sounds terrible. But you think you can make it again?"

Oh, here's someone who seems to appreciate cuddling! They're so rare! Baze is delighted.

He doesn't mention that the explosion probably would have killed him and Chirrut again if he hadn't been so quick to fling himself onto Chirrut's poor face, shoving them back. He doesn't mention that dying again means they might not be able to come back. He chooses to ignore all of that.

"Well, I've already got a new workshop from Bar, but I've left the pressure cooker's lid embedded in the roof, because it's an art piece now," Baze says, snuggling with her. They don't call him the most tactile person on Jedha for nothing. "I'm calling it 'The Hubris of Man.' Chirrut thinks the whole thing is hilarious, and it is. But yes, to answer your question, I think I can make the moonshine again. It shouldn't take too long--about four days, all told, and then I have to try it, and perfect the recipe. It's quite potent."

Aureus is very cuddly indeed, warm and fragrant. "Man's presumption toward the gods. What a wonderful name for an art-work. And a lesson in life."

"Only four days? It can be made so fast? I thought ales took some weeks?"

Baze would like to continue cuddling this woman, but he has a staff in hand--and tea to pick up from the rat, which finally returns. Decisions, decisions. He releases her--reluctantly--to set his staff against a Lego table, and scoop up the drinks. His, a pomegranate tea, smells delicious, and he takes a gulp while offering her her pear juice.

"Thank you," he says, wrinkling his nose over his grin. "I liked it, too. It's very presumptuous."

He shakes his head. "Moonshine is quick and dirty. It can take anywhere up from four days to fourteen depending on what yeast you use, what the temperature is, and how much sugar you put in it. I wanted it done fast so I could start testing it, so I made sure I worked the mash out to ferment quickly. Next time I won't be so... presumptuous."

She sips her juice delicately, fingers brushing Baze's as he takes the glass. "There's always a chance to learn from a mistakes. And the gods of this place are kinder. Most of the time."

"Sounds like you'll have a new batch very soon then. I hope I'm around to taste it."

Baze is much less delicate about enjoying his tea. He indulges the way he always does: with gusto. Besides, he wants to get back to cuddling, and the sooner they're done with their drinks and have passed the cups off to a rat, the sooner that can happen again!

"I think this time I'll slow it down, and use the full two weeks," Baze says. "And why wouldn't you be?"

"I fear I need to go back soon. I can't stay long this time." She says mournfully, leaning against his shoulder.

Baze loops an arm around her thin shoulders, frowning slightly, as if the corners of his mouth have been drawn down by tiny hooks. "I'm sorry to hear that, Aureus," he says. Then he brightens. "But I'm always here, and you can always come back, right?"

"I very much hope so." She shrugs, "But I've learnt to make the most of the time I have." She presses up on her toes to kiss his cheek softly.

Baze's skin tastes of salt and spicy soap. He beams down at her, and brushes his lips against her brow. "That's good! That's the best skill one can ever learn, hands down. All we have is time."

Aureus nods and cups his cheek, looking up into his eyes. "Would you... kiss me properly?"

It is a universal truth that a Chirrut left to his own devices must be in want of a Baze. Thus, it should come as no surprise that Chirrut appears, with a start of a sunny greeting.

It is a little odd that he stops short, a good several feet from the pair. His eyebrows rise towards his hair in surprise.

"As should shock absolutely no one, you are a better man than me, Baze." He declares, the laughter in his voice more due to surprise than good humor. Then he adds, to avoid Baze's admonition about being rude:

"Hello, Sinric."

Then he heads off to the Bar, because he wants nothing to do with the child.

Baze was panicking. He's never kissed anyone "properly" in his life. Even if he wanted to, he's not sure how it's done. He's just running through creative ways to let her down gently when Chirrut shows up.

The words he says don't make sense to Baze. Better man? Why? Then Chirrut drops the name and wanders off.

Sinric? The golden brat?

"No, she's--" Baze tries to deny it, but Chirrut is already gone. Baze stares at the woman he'd been cuddling, and then jerks away from her so fast, he nearly spills his tea on her. His hands itch for his staff. "You tricked me! I trusted you!"

Edited 2017-06-29 18:39 (UTC)