#stlwrt: steph

[reawakcn]

"willing to get dancers caught in the line of fire, more like." Iaera muttered under her breath, curling lekku around her shoulders like another might tug a shrug closer to their bodies.

that, at least, wasn't something she needed to try hard to keep her cover. catching innocents in the line of fire was something she'd always tried to avoid as a Jedi. was something that still got on her nerves even hiding away like this, pretending to be something she is(n't).

a noncommital shrug. worked here long enough, but she doesn't voice that much. "depends.... your secret gonna get me in trouble with the Guard?"

"what can i say? some people are willing to pay for a fireworks show."

the shrug comes out more casually than stephanie expects despite the knots of anxiety at the bottom of her stomach. sure, bruce and tim had taught her well, and she'd had more than enough time to get acquainted to the business. but the most that she'd done in terms of work growing up had been errands, not genuine harm. she supposes she'd have to get used to that in time.

at least the job's to make a point, not keep a secret.

"worked here for very long?" she asks, eyes narrowing just so to finally look at the twi'lek carefully since the dust settled. "think you can keep a secret for me?"

[reawakcn]

[ @stlwrt -> dealer's choice. | accepting ] ❛ stop asking me if I’m ok I’ll literally make out with you. ❜ / stlwrt, steph to anyone you feel like dkdnejdnq

Faux lashes bat, feigning innocence and ignorance. Well. Alright. The merc's got game. And also immediately broke the illusion of being strong and powerful. Well. Iaera had no doubt that part was still true, but people tend to take airheads and ditzes incredibly un-seriously.

Case in point.

"You did walk out of a literal fire." Painted lips purse, makeup and glitter smeared from its meticulous application just a few standard hours ago. Really, so much for her 'job', such that it was. Probably so much for her leads, too. Hard to get people talking when the club was up in smoke and its patrons would scatter to the wind.

Her own mark included. "I would hope you are stunning. Since you just put me out of work."

[reawakcn]

face scrunches up. "ugh. don't tell me they paid more to have this whole place demolished." arms wrap around herself in a half-put-upon bit of discomfort. tchun twitches, a nonverbal grumble to herself. it figures she was stuck with the chattiest merc this side of the galaxy while the Coruscant Guard took their sweet time responding to this particular explosion.

and Iaera knows she isn't the only dancer to stagger out of there. just, perhaps, one of the few who got out as whole as possible. establishing an alibi with the authorities and keeping her alias intact would go a long way to keeping her cover from folding like a stack of sabacc cards.

"client had some particular demands." she replies easily, the corners of her mouth upturned in amusement. there would have been a grin flashed the cute twi'lek's way if she wasn't in gear. "occupational hazards, you understand."

she'd also be lying if she says she wasn't tempted to work with explosives. doesn't come by often in this line of work. the disadvantage just seems to be she's underestimated the possibility of there being other explosives in the building.

her tongue clicks quietly. least there hadn't been many casualties that she's seen. only thing she could take solace on.

"—not the most explosive one out there, promise." that's not going to help your case any, stephanie.

[reawakcn]

her sigh is greatly exaggerated. "good enough, I suppose."

and besides, armor or no, mandalorians hunting in the Core, hunting with this much explosiveness. that didn't bode well for her. next thing she knows, it's purple and gold on her trail, with orders to kill. no, Iaera would prefer not to get too entangled in that while the opportunity was there to avoid it.

"I didn't think mercenaries would be so..." mouth twists, not quite smiling, not quite sour, "explosive. the city's full of folk. it's not like those wildernesses in the holovids."

pained wince crosses steph's expression under the helmet, less physical pain and more the mental damage done to her with just that statement even when she was fully prepared for it. oof. she's gonna feel that one for a while, that's for sure.

"no, i didn't think so either." she replies, eyes darting around the clearly destroyed area in a once over as far as her vision allows. in the distance, her target's body hangs limply over a beam of steel, some limb uncomfortably twisted and half-crisp thanks to the fire, only mostly recognizable thanks to their rather distinct attire.

mission accomplished. collateral damage aside. "would an apology suffice, then?"

[reawakcn]

painted brow arches ( and she's quite sure it's smeared, too —Iaera'd never favored the popular twi'lek tendency to tattoo eyebrows over their brow ridges. makes it a bit harder to change up your appearance ). "I favor having a job."

which, of course, needed no reminder that it was lost. a piece of transparisteel cracks with enough force to resemble the echo of a slugthrower. "armor or no, you're not quite that pretty to make up for it."

the air of mystique had been shattered. utterly trashed, as it were. she can't say she remembers any other mercenary coming off as completely oblivious to their surroundings, even when faced with a disheveled and clearly dolled up dancer.

now, if there's anything—and stephanie really means anything—she'd ever be known for, she's pretty sure it's going to be her big mouth, because really. who says that as a reply to are you okay?

( her, apparently. to her great chagrin. absolutely spectacular, steph. )

it takes her a beat of a second to scramble to her feet, expression twisting and turning like the contents of her stomach under her helmet. still needs another minute to get used to this arson thing. "depends on your standards." she quips, "—i'd think i'm pretty good looking. i'd be in your eyes too if you're into people in beskar'gam."