Shadows of Bankor

Once again Elaranu found herself at the dingy Rygor academic library, walking towards the language section. She'd gotten distracted last time, but today had made it clear that she couldn't let herself get too off course; If she was going to be here, then the more intricate parts of Basic and Huttese were going to have to come quicker than simple osmosis would allow.

Some people might have gone to a bar to relax. Petrus went to the library.

His breathing was still a little high, and lines of stress were still evident in his normally youthful features. His red hair was still damp, from the post-battle shower he'd taken.

He wandered the aisles, seemingly at random, looking at random books here and there.

Lost in thought, hair also damp from her shower, Elaranu didn't notice someone pacing around looking at things until she had run into him. Quite literally.

Fortunately she was still in her workwear and not dressed for later, so the tumble she took was cushioned enough. Well, most places.

Petrus tumbled backwards, landing on his backside with a hiss. He wasn't particularly padded, but fortunately he was still feeling the stims that he'd given himself not long before.

He sat up. "Oof..." He winced. "Sorry about that. You okay, miss?" He essayed as much smile as he could manage, which was only a little bit.

"I am fine," she replied with her thick accent, muffled a bit by the floor as she made to pick herself back up, "I was not carrying anything either, so nothing lost."

Some tools had gone flying out of her pockets, and the woman sat up on her knees before she started picking up the various items. There was some purple blood bleeding from her nose, however.

"Here, let me..." Still frowning with concern, Petrus helped her, securing some of the... tools?... and returning them to her. "You some kind of mechanic?" He looked up at her.

His lips parted, suddenly aghast. "You're bleeding! Uh... here." He fished some tissues out of his pocket. "I'm sorry. Guess my head is harder than I thought." He said ruefully.

Reaching up, she gingerly touched her forehead with her fingertips, "Oh. Well, I would not blame the density of your skull, no no. That would more be trajectory and velocity of impact."

Taking offered tissue she sat back cross-legged, recovered tolls placed on her lap.

"Oh, I don't know." Petrus said dryly. "I'm pretty sure the density of my skull had something to do with it."

He held out a hand. "My name's Petrus. Uhhh..." He glanced around. "Can I get you anything? Water? Chair? A book on first aid?"

She takes the hand with her free hand... once again scattering the the tools that were on her lap as she stood up. The woman blinking at them as they clattered onto the tile floor loudly.

"...Err, no. I am Elaranu. I mean, I am good. Err..."

She turns to look at him, still holding his hand, "I do not suppose I could interest you in picking those up again?"

"Of course." Petrus smiled. "But I need this back first." He gave his fingers a little wriggle. His hand was warm, skin soft.

Ela coughed before dropping his hand like it was a rat, turning away, "Yes yes, I knew that."

She walked the few steps to the end of the shelf she'd been walking past, leaning back against before checking the tissue she'd been holding against her forehead.

It took Petrus a few moments to gather up all of the things she'd dropped; there were rather a lot of them. He held them gingerly as he walked over to her.

"Uh... here you go. Sorry again, that was my bad." He gave her a curious look. "I hope I didn't set you back too far. Uh, whatever you were doing. Browsing I guess."

Ela put each spanner and pen back in its appropriate pocket as she talked, "I... well... I was looking to improve myself, yes yes. One can never learn too much, I always say."

She seemed somehow... embarrassed about that, with the way she refused to keep eye contact. Yet her voice remained firm, even with her hesitation.

"Yeah?" Petrus nodded. "I like that. I'd say the same thing myself." He smiled ruefully, brushing his hand back through his hair. "Guess I haven't been sticking to that as much as I should, lately."

"So..." He began, "-what subject were you looking for? I was..." He frowned. "I guess I wasn't looking for anything, myself. I don't know."

"That is often the way of things; Looking for something, but not being sure what it is. Do you at least know what brought you in here, even if you do not know what to look for to ease it?"

Petrus sighed. After a moment, he smiled wryly. "Yes. I was seeking peace. Normalcy. Maybe a little escape."

He shook his head, still smiling wryly. "That's why people usually come to libraries, right?"

"Peace, I suppose. Not sure about normalcy. Perhaps if you found the right tablet... I could help you look for something, if you'd like."

Apparently the wryness was lost on the woman.

Petrus let out a sigh. "If you know of a tablet that can handle all of that, I'd like to see it." He gave her an encouraging gesture.

Pressing his lips together, he considered his next words. "Did you... hear what happened to the Aznuri?"

"Aznuri? Those primitives the locals talk about? Not really? I spent much of the day out of the city sweating like a nob'rath. Scavenging and harvesting and completely out of the news loop."

"Oh." Petrus considered this for a few moments. "What is it that you do, if you don't mind me asking?"

But right. "They have... had, an Enclave here in the city. Empire troops attacked it. Full force. They weren't looking to take prisoners, either. They were just killing people." His voice was tight, as were the muscles in his jaw.

Her brow furrowed, voice lowering, "I... heard they did something similar in the slums too, no? I think it may have something to do with someone named 'Oraka Hin'. Someone important enough that they sent an entire Imperial contingent and a mighty masked sky-walker, yes."

Petrus' lips twisted. "The crackdown in the slums was because an Imperial Captain had hurt feelings. And what happened to the Aznuri, well, they weren't asking for questions. They were killing."

He took a deep breath. Calm. Control. "I think it's about making examples. Establishing control."

"I see."

She had her chin in her fingers, thoughtfully, kind of staring at a point in space, bump on her head forgotten.

"The transition from one government to another is harsh for many people. Sometimes unjustifiably so it seems. Especially when the new one wishes to rule by fear, which seems like a good bet to me, yes."

"Yeah, that seems about right." Petrus said, nodding, his jaw firmly set.

After a few moments, he glanced over at Elaranu. "So... how does all that make you feel?"

"Sad... and a little bit homesick, I suppose. Nothing like that really happened when I was growing up. The planet barely even had any smugglers or bandits. Fighting and culling and insurrections are a bit... well, beyond me. Solidifies the fact I am out in the greater galaxy now, on my own."