pretty little things[open]

[haven]

Haven found herself in a little Irish run bar. Well, as Irish as you could be in this Verse after Earth-That-Was. She tossed back a shot before making her way through the place. Her browncoat had been that of a friend she had met along the way. He had died from an illness and he left it to her. Haven was taking care of him since he couldn't afford medical care-and she wasn't on a ship. Haven got a little messed up after that, seeing someone so close to her die like that. She was coming back out of that, but until she got out of this hole, she had a long way to go.

Her thumbs looped through the shirt that was under her jacket. A chain rattled on her hip as her boots clicked on the wooden floor. There were no ships that were hiring when she last checked yesterday. So she might as well have a bit of fun until she checked again either later or tomorrow. Haven had gotten many of Lucas's things off to his family, keeping the one thing he wanted her to have. They had formed a friendship before he had gotten sick. He was one of the first people she met getting of the forsaken ship. He had sort of taken her under his wing, finding her odd jobs here and there helping families who needed a little care but not enough for a doctor. There was only so much she could do, but sometimes the black market helped out a bit.

Now he was gone. Haven was left without a connection to finding a job. Some of the families she helped came to her still, but it was harder to get the medicine they needed. Lucas had been her connection to helping her and those families. Also, she wasn't a real doctor. Not like she could diagnosis many of the things out here. Some of these kids...they needed real doctors. But they just couldn't afford them. Some of these families she saw were barely scrapping by.

This is why she needed off. She couldn't keep giving these families false hope without the help anymore.

[Ari Deschain]

Another bar. Ari just couldn't seem to stay out of them lately. She'd been feeling down, understandably enough, since the Atlas had been taken and their little crew ripped apart. Stoot and Hannigan were gone, likely dead, and Ari had killed a man. Now, Deschain had killed before, but it never got easier. The thing that was different about this man was that she had actually sort of enjoyed ending his life. She felt as if that were sadistic of her, and it confused her a bit, but if Murdo really had killed Hannigan and Stoot, she was glad he was dead. The only regret she had was that she hadn't been able to discover what he actually had done with her friends.

Nursing the alcohol helped sometimes. Other times it just depressed her. She didn't want to end up some miserable drunk; she just wanted to rid herself of some of the pain. The bar wasn't too crowded tonight, which was a good thing. She was wearing simple brown pants and a white tank top under her brown jacket. With the help of Torren and some old mechanic friends, she'd been working on getting an old ship back into flying condition. She needed to see some friendly faces tonight, or maybe someone new to talk to. It didn't matter. She just wanted to get out of her head for a while. A distraction.

That's when her eyes settled on Haven. The girl was pretty, and she knocked back a shot at the bar before roaming the room. She was also wearing a brown coat, similar to Ari's. It brought a smirk to the mechanic's lips. Leaning forward over her table, Ari caught the young woman's eye as she came near. "Lookin' for someone?" She pulled out the chair beside her own. "If not, you're welcome to a seat." Her hand wrapped around her glass and she raised it to her lips, taking another smooth swig of the alcohol. Perhaps she'd have an interesting night after all.

[haven]

Haven hated to be landside lately. Mostly because people knew her to help others. And she also wanted to get away from her family. They were just so aggravating to Haven. Theyy acted like the perfect Alliance whenever those purple bellies came around, but still remained neutral as their closest friends and customers knew. But they all knew to keep hush-up or else they'd all lose their business. It was ridiculous and cowardly to her. Haven wasn't afraid to show who she was. She was proud of the crew of Serenity for sending out the signal and standing up! Her parents didn't like that attitude. They had to act all offended whenever the cowardly pigs came in and show sympathy. It was stupid and Haven couldn't put up with it any longer. So she left.

And now she was here, stuck on Persephone, trying to scrap by a living. The guy she was renting a room from was close to kicking her out. Her next thing would be on the streets. Or being his little plaything. Haven wasn't a companion and she didn't pretend to be either. Nor was she one working under the law. It wasn't her line of work. Helping people and doctor's was. At least ones who didn't get doped up on what little supplies a ship had. She had no big problem if it was their private stash, but stealing from the crew wasn't something she was going to stand for. Hence her leaving from the other ship.

"Lookin' for someone? If not, you're welcome to a seat."

The girl seemed to be looking at Haven. Haven wasn't really drunk, but she had a buzz going on. "You talkin' to me lady?" She took a seat in case, but would get up if needed. Her eyes fell on the jacket. Independent. No purple belly would even wear one undercover. Plus, she didn't look like no "respected Alliance official". Either way, not many of them came down around here. With a shrug she tapped the table and shook her head. "Nah, not lookin' for anyone. Just, lookin' to get away from people." Haven had been on this planet for a few months now, and in this town just as long. Well, she hadn't traveled far from the docks really in case a ship came by with a doctor looking for an assistant. "How long you been docked?" Was a fair enough question in her mind since she at least recognized regular faces who passed through the bars and pubs.

[Ari Deschain]

To her surprise, the young woman took the offered seat. "Yeah, I'm talkin' to you. But m'names not 'lady'. It's Ari. Ari Deschain." She extended a hand as the other woman sat nearby, introducing herself. Although Ari herself had had a few drinks, she was nowhere near tipsy. The woman could hold her alcohol. She guessed the woman was staring at her jacket, and she lifted her chin a little without even realizing she did so. She had taken a lot of abuse, verbal and otherwise, since the end of the war and her refusal to drop the brown coat from her wardrobe, so she readied herself for anything the other woman might say to her.

However, the woman said nothing about her jacket. At the woman's response, she cocked her head. Raising a finger, she got another drink delivered to the table, and she slid it across to Haven. "Get away from people? You in some kind of trouble?" Trouble Ari could deal with, even respect. She was a bit of a trouble-maker herself. As long as the Alliance didn't come knocking.

The question left Ari at a bit of a loss. How long had she been docked? It was a valid question, but one she didn't feel confident she could answer correctly. She'd been too emotional and lost to keep track of time accurately of late. "I don't know. A few weeks, at a guess." Her brow furrowed and she ran a hand through her unkempt hair. She didn't want to think of recent events. Too painful; too infuriating. "Me and the doc's all that's left of my old crew. I'm a mechanic, yeah?" Smirking, she brought her alcohol to her lips for another long pull. "I'm workin' on a ship I bought, makin' her space-worthy." She leaned forward, elbow on the table, chin in hand. Her eyes sparkled playfully. "What about you? What's your story?"

[haven]

Haven took the woman’s hand and shook it after she settled into her seat. This was one of the first people off planet she had met in a little while. Well, met as in knowing her their name. ”Haven Raines.” She had respect for the woman. Ari held herself up against Haven. That was a good thing. Meant she had a strong will. While Haven’s coat was a hand-me-down, she still wore it proudly. She knew what it stood for. And it was a good friends. Haven was obviously too young to have been a fighter. She would have only been a little girl at the time. Eight or nine years old.

Haven caught the drink in her hand and sipped at it. Might as well not gulp this one down and get completely trashed. She had to make her way back to her room where she was staying. ”Nah, nothing like that. I was helpin’ some folks around here with medical care but a friend of mine got me all the stuff I needed. He died and now I can’t help these people cause I don’t have the connections he did. Now, I’ve got all these people wantin’ my help but I can’t help them except some basic stuff. No meds for them anymore.” Haven felt bad though. She had gone into nursing to help people and now she couldn’t help them. She took another drink, this time a bigger swig. ”I can’t just walk into a hospital at this point. If I could, I absolutely would and help em.”

Ah, so either she lost her job or the ship was shut down. The later sounded like the right thing because she made it sound like there was more then one person who was looking for work. Usually ships came in and out, but if they were all looking to stay together it would be harder to find work. She had seen that. Harder for families, who usually just bought passage and ended stuck and grounded. But, listening, she realized Ari was all that was left. ”Where’d everyone else go? If you don‘t mind me asking.” Haven ran her finger along the edge of her glass. Her eyes got a far-away look. ”I’m a nurse. Trained on the core but left cause I couldn’t take the Purple Bellies. Ma and Pop remain neutral to keep their business with the government. Mainly, they act all Alliance aligned when they come around. Got sick of it so I split. Now I’m looking for a job on a ship as a nurse helping any doc.” Haven really wanted to just finish the drink off but resisted. Wasn’t good to get drunk in front of someone you just meant.

”You been flying for long?’

[Ari Deschain]

Haven. A pretty name for her pretty face. She only sipped at her drink, probably in an attempt to not get intoxicated. Smart thing to do in a bar mostly populated by large, drunken men. Ari could hold her liquor, but she was slowing down as well. She knew she could hold her own should something happen, but there was no reason to exacerbate a situation by getting drunk and drawing attention to herself. She listened to Haven's story, a sympathetic look soon washing over her features. "I'm sorry to hear that, Haven. You a medic, then?" Then Haven said something about not being able to get into a hospital. Strange. Not a medic then, it would seem. Not licensed, maybe.

"Well that's right admirable o' you. Why can't you help?" She cocked her head, watching her. But Haven asked her a question of her own, and she shrugged, biting her lip as she cupped her mug in both hands and looked down into the liquid. "Our Captain disappeared. Got himself into some kinda disagreement with a bad man, yeah? Anyway, our first mate went after 'im," her breath hitched for a second, as if it was hard to go on. Stoot was the most painful part of this. He'd gotten to her as no man or woman had in a long time, and she missed him something awful. "He went after 'im, and didn't come back. I went and saw to this bad man..." She drew a finger across her throat half-heartedly. Ari was a fighter, and if need be, a killer, but that didn't mean she enjoyed it. "Couldn't leave a man like that in the world, hurtin' people like he was." She fell silent for a minute, her mood a little more melancholy than it had been moments earlier. "In the end, the Alliance took the ship and everyone more or less disappeared on their sep'rate ways, though I see a couple of 'em around sometimes."

She watched as Haven ran a finger around the rim of her cup, then looked up and saw the look in her eyes. A nurse, then. Made more sense. She grunted appreciately at the mention of her dislike of the Purple Bellies. When Haven asked if she'd been flying long, Ari shrugged. "Not one for flyin' it myself, I just keep her afloat. My new ship's not space-worthy yet. We'll see how she does in a couple weeks." She had great hope for the Lenore, as she'd decided to call her. The ship would be good to go soon enough, and Ari couldn't wait to get back out into the black. "So what are you plannin' on doing here on out?"

[haven]

Haven had had more then a few drinks since being there. Ari had only seen the one shot plus this one drink she got Haven. There had already been two beers and thing of scotch, plus something that had a strong, burning taste she didn’t recognize. House special. But, she knew the bartender well enough to know he wouldn’t try to dope her up. This is how Haven’s nights had been. An excuse to not help much right now because she was too drunk. With a half shoulder shrug she sort of answered Ari’s question. ”Sort of. I could do some work as a medic on a ship, but I prefer to be the side kick. In case something goes wrong. Plus, four hands are better then two.”

A hardness settled along her jaw line. ”I don’t got the medicine. And I don’t got the connections that Lucas had. I’m too young-too fresh of a face to be trusted right now. Plus, parents got the Alliance connection.” That was the killer. And no use dancing around it. If she lied and the people she spoke to found out themselves, she could have one done over her-or worse. Haven couldn’t risk that. ”I do what I can without medicine. But most of these folks need it. I don’t got it.” It was sad. A lot of families she ran into desperately needed it, but couldn’t afford to go to any big Alliance hospitals. They overpriced for the ones who couldn’t afford it. And Haven knew it because she had worked on one. So up until Lucas’s death, she did everything that she could-which then had been plenty. But now, there wasn’t much she could do at all without medicine to help these people.

Haven noticed something slight in Ari’s features as she spoke about her crew. It was only a slight change, but she couldn’t quite read it. Remorse maybe? But her body language defiantly read off that she was upset over what had happened to her crew. Haven tilted her head as she took another sip. She kept alternating between sips and long, sweet pulls. There was the buzz in the back of her head, but nothing too bad yet. ”I’m sorry to hear about your crew. A lot of low lifes out there.” She shook her head at the Alliance taking the ship. Of course they would. That’s how the good-for-nothing government was-they took and took and when there was nothing else to take, they took some more. It’s why her parents played the ‘I’m Alliance and proud’ card to keep their business going. And that was something Haven didn’t agree with. They could have moved out of the core and off somewhere else; but they thought Haven should get the best education. So much that’s done. ”The rest of you and your crew go after him?” An honest question thinking over that that guy couldn’t be left to live. It’s what she would do.

From the way Ari talked she sounded to be a mechanic. Most pilots talked about gliding around. She talked about keeping her in the air. ”You turnin’ captain? Or hopin’ a captain comes along?” Was odd for her to be talking about keeping the ship up in the air, but hten having a new one. Mostly ones who wanted to captain bought them. If she really loved to tinker, she’d be content on staying there. Usually. Sometimes, though, people do change their minds.

Haven shrugged at the question asked. Her eyes scanned the bar to see if there was anything out of the usual there. Force of habit being here. Ten she focused back on Ari. ”Dunno. Been going down to the docks every time a new ship comes in. Seeing if any medic is looking for an aide. Aside from that, staying around and doing things here and there for now I guess.”

[Ari Deschain]

Her explanation was fair enough. She could see why someone would want to be the helper in that situation, and it was obvious that a nurse would be a great help to any doctor. Haven went on to explain that she had family with a connection to the Alliance, and that she wasn't trusted as easily as someone with more experience. It was a shame, but things like that were bound to happen. She knew well enough what a sham it was for people without money to try and get medical help. During the war, when she'd been injured, the Independent medics did what they could to help her, but they couldn't save the vision in her left eye. Ari was sure the Alliance had more than enough technology to help her, but she didn't have the money or the desire to go crawling to them.

As Haven expressed sympathy for Ari's loss, the mechanic just shrugged her shoulders. "Thanks." At the posed question about her and the rest of the crew chasing after Murdo, Ari took a swig from her drink and shook her head. "Nah. Jus' me. I killed him." In her mind, she saw the events replayed and grimaced. Since he had so many connections and so many friends in low places, Ari'd had to do it quietly. No guns. She'd slit Murdo's throat and left him to bleed out. She couldn't feel sorry for him. He'd been a very bad person.

Ari realized she hadn't been exactly clear with Haven when she asked if Ari was going to be a captain. She giggled a little at the idea. "No, I'm gonna stick to what I know. I'm a mechanic. Gonna fix up this ship, get her flyin' pretty, and find someone to captain her for me. I jus' want a ride. I'm hopin' a friend'll want the job." She'd spoken to someone about the position, but she wasn't sure if he'd take the job or not. Ari just wanted someone she knew to run the ship, rather than hiring someone right off the docks.

When the mechanic heard Haven was looking for a ship, she bit her lip. "Look, you still here in a few weeks, you come lookin' for the ship the Lenore. We'd take you on." It was unlikely she'd still be here; medics were prized on ships, and a nurse probably wouldn't be much different. However, she wanted to extend the offer just in case. It was only proper, and she liked Haven well enough, even though they'd only just met.