[Kallile]

The bright teal that crept onto her skin caught Axel's attention immediately and he leaned forward slightly, staring at her cheeks in utter, speechless amazement. People blushed in colors other than pink? The very thought was something akin to earth shattering for the already attention-deprived Clone. When he realized just how close he was letting himself lean he instantly fell back onto his backside and grinned. Wow...that was so cool. He made a mental (and therefore soon to be forgotten) note to remember she did that.

"Well...so long as she won't get mad at me. She's always mad at me when I come in here. I think that's why Mech..."

Oh shab. He was here for something. What was it? Think think...He lifted his bright yellow eyes back up to her, seeming to suddenly remember he'd been talking. "Why Mech...uh...sent me here. For something. That wasn't chocolate related." He frowned, clearly displeased with himself for not being able to remember what it was he was supposed to be getting.

And just like that, the sad look was gone and replaced with one of confusion. No one, at least, could say Axel wasn't an expressive Clone. "Only if we really have to. They call us the Death Squad because the Generals all said we reeked of death. Because...you know...not supposed to be alive anymore. So...the name just stuck." He grinned goofily. "Though it does make us sound pretty scary and awesome."

[8]

[MillietheWarrior]

Resmi opened her eyes, only to find herself nearly nose to nose with Axel as he leaned in to inspect her cheeks. She felt them light up again in embarrassment and confusion, pressing herself against the wall as flat as she could. “W-what?” she squeaked, not understand why he’d suddenly felt the need to lean in so close. What was wrong? Did she have something on her face? “What-what is it?” But then he was leaning back, and looking rather confused.

Resmi herself was feeling just as confused as he was, and she blinked up at him with wide, teal colored eyes. “Mech?” she managed to whisper. Axel made absolutely no sense. He kept talking about things and people she knew nothing about. But then, she supposed that was her own fault; she never left the safety of the hangar or her ships. “W-what’s a Mech, exactly? Is-is it some kind of…machine?” Just the thought made her cringe slightly, but she managed not to shrink away from him anymore.

He was actually rather nice, and he hadn’t tried to attack or hurt her so far; he even seemed willing to just sit and talk. “O-oh…Well…if it makes you feel any b-better…I don’t…Think you reek of death. Y-your too nice to be scary…but I guess you can be awesome?” She smiled weakly, and slowly set the wrench down beside her, though her eyes darted to it quickly, as if reconsidering it. She’d give this man the benefit of the doubt;; maybe he wasn’t like everyone else.

[9]

[Kallile]

Tilting his head, Axel continued to watch her in amazement as her cheeks lit up again. He lifted both hands and seemed to consider reaching out to point to her cheeks and quickly redirected them to his own. "You're...teal." He breathed out almost whimsically. He let his hands fall back into his lap, but kept staring on with wonder filling his already blindingly bright eyes. "I've never seen anyone turn...teal before."

He shook his head to clear it of the apparent fairy dust or something equally whimsical that seemed to be holding his attention and shook his head with a chuckle. "No, Mech's my commander's name. He's...more metal than man, kinda. A...whatchamacallit..." He made a small face and his lips moved as he silently went through what seemed his entire vocabulary before realization struck him and he bounced slightly. "Cyborg! Yeah--he's mostly one of those."

He smiled at her pleasantly, still holding the child-like quality that never seemed to waver. If he was anything more than a child--it was buried somewhere deep within him. "Well, the Generals have all those...mind trick things and special senses...so I guess we're bad or something if they don't like us." His grin didn't fade--apparently the Generals and their opinions didn't bother him too much. He bounced almost excitedly, his grin broadening. "You really think so? Because..."

His eyes followed hers down to the wrench and he made another small face. It never occured to him that she'd been holding the object as a weapon for the past several minutes, but with a new postiion came forth a new realization that she'd been holding it all along. "Oh...I'm not interrupting you from working...am I? Because if I am...I'm so, so, sososo sorry. I can leave..."

[9]

[MillietheWarrior]

Resmi blinked. He…was referring to her blush? This only made her more embarrassed, and the teal darkened slightly as she lowered her gaze. “I-I’m sorry…Was I not supposed to do that? I can’t help it…It-it’s just the way I am. A-Annix turns silver when she blushes…But she n-never blushes so…no one…knows about it…” She fell silent, fidgeting slightly with her hands as she wrung them in her lap, lowering the shield her knees made so she was sitting with her legs tucked beneath her. She watched him silently, amazed that his face could go through so many dramatic mood chances in the course of only a few moments.

“He’s…Mech is…is a person?” What an odd name. But then, all the Clones had strange names; Axel was no different. “If-if you don’t mind me s-saying so…he d-does sound like someone who…would be…more metal than…than human…” She raised her hands as if in self-defense, and shook her head violently. “B-but no offense! I bet he’s a-a very n-nice person! L-like you are.” She smiled weakly, feeling stupid for even opening her mouth and saying anything.

Her eyes widened a little as he glanced at the wrench, and she shook her head, headtails twitching slightly. “N-no. I…I’m not busy. It gets…kinda lonely a-around here. No one ever visits me…or even knows I’m h-here for that matter. It’s…nice to have a…break…” She smiled lightly. “Er…what were you saying? Be-before…When you…stopped…You said… ‘because…’ ‘Because’ what?” She’d really rather hear about him; she didn’t have anything to say about herself that he’d want to hear, and she would rather he knew as little about her as possible.

[10]

[Kallile]

Axel furrowed his brows at her. He didn't do well with rhetorical questions, and she seemed to use them a lot rather she meant to or not. "I don't know...are you not supposed to do that?" He returned, still looking very much confused about the whole situation. Oh shab--was she really not supposed to turn teal? Was she sick or hurt or something? "It's just pretty. Everyone else just turns pink. But no one has ever turned teal before. That's...ok, right? You're ok?"

When the topic changed so did Axel's facial features. "That's how come he has that name. He had another one before...but he took a new one since he says he's not that person anymore. I think he wants it to be ironic or something..." He blinked at her, wondering what he'd done now to make her upset. "No...Mech really doesn't like people. He gets mad easy...especially at me."

His head tilted, blinking hard at her and trying to remember. "Because?" He echoed, reaching up to scratch at his scalp. "Because...oh! Because no one else thinks I'm anything close to awesome. People get mad at me...and don't like to be around me. They say I'm too unfocused...so you're the first persona who's actually talked to me when you didn't have to."

He frowned suddenly. "You didn't think you had to, did you? Everyone mad at me is already enough...Everyone minus one would be nice for a change." The look she got following was what one could only call a "sad puppy-dog eyes" look. Poor guy looked so dejected...

[10]

[MillietheWarrior]

“O-oh,” Resmi said, lowering her eyes to her hands as they wrung nervously in her lap. “It’s…it’s normal for us Twi’leks. We all blush different colors according to-to our skin tone and…I suppose I just happen to have teal. No one…has ever thought…it was pretty…” She looked up at him, her words seeming to flow much easier than before. She seemed to slowly acclimatize to him; he was cute, and sweet, and he wasn’t scary at all, except when he leaned really close to her. “You…you called it…pretty? Do you…really think so?”

Her face fell when he spoke of Mech, and Resmi silently committed the name to memory; she didn’t want to get in the way of someone who was always mad at everyone, especially if he got mad at even his closest brothers. Resmi watched his face carefully as each new thought passed across it; Axel was completely transparent. Resmi decided he’d probably never had a bad thought in his life, and it made her smile slightly. His puppy-dog eyes caught her off guard, and like every woman, Resmi instantly went into ‘aww, how cute!’ mode.

Despite her aversion to being close to anyone, she reached across and hesitantly put her hand on his, though it was trembling violently as she went against everything she was feeling inside. “I’m not mad at you. How could…how could anyone b-be mad at you? Your too sweet. And…and I’m talking to you because I want to. You’re the…first person besides m-my sister that I’ve spoken to civilly in…years…No one else ever wanted to talk…” No, they’d always wanted something else. Resmi shuddered, her hand still on Axel’s as she blinked up at him with wide, teal eyes.

[11]

[Kallile]

Ah, no she was talking in a way Axel could follow again. his grin mimicked his relieved and overall content feeling and he nodded rather enthusiastically at her question. "It's a really nice color for you--it goes with the brown, I think. That's what being pretty is supposed to mean, right? It's something you like to look at." He seemed to realize that in order to do that, he'd have to keep embarrassing her and he drew his mouth back in almost a nervous grin. "But...I'm not going to keep making you do it just so I can look. That wouldn't be very nice...or fair..."

The touch of her hand drew his eyes down, and he watched her trembling fingers curiously. Was she cold? Afraid? Why would she be afraid? She must be cold. Because there was nothing scary in this hangar besides Annix--and they were sisters. He carefully reached up with his other hand and put it on top of hers, frowning down at their stacked hands. She didn't feel cold. "What's wrong?" He asked softly, looking up at her with fearful eyes that mimicked her own. "I'm not doing anything wrong, am I?"

He'd never really spoken to many women before, and besides being punched or kicked at by some of them he'd certainly never been touched by one. The fact that she was touching him and being nice about it instantly told him that there must be something very, very wrong.

[11]

[MillietheWarrior]

Resmi nodded timidly, a small smile inching it’s way onto her face. “You…really...think that?” she asked. He liked to look at her? Well, according to his definition of pretty, he did. Resmi tried very hard not blush again, mostly because she didn’t want him to have to lean in to see it. She stared at him for a few long moments, as if sizing him up.

Was he being truthful? Was he just making things up so he could get closer to her? Something about the open honesty on his face told Resmi he wasn’t. She smiled softly, ducking her head as she did. His touch on her hand made her jump slightly, but she didn’t pull away. She was frozen with indecision for a moment; should she take her hand back and run, or should she sit and talk with him a little more? In the end, her curiosity and his kindness made her stay.

The fearful look in his eyes mimicked her own, and she instantly felt guilty for upsetting him. How odd; it was as if the tables had turned in a few short hours. “Er, ah, n-no…Your not d-doing anything wrong…I just…I don’t like to…be touched by…males…er…Um…Just…bad experiences. It’s-it’s nothing,” she said hastily, her gaze lowering for a moment as she gently tugged her hand, trying to get it back. That simple sentence had brought more unpleasant memories of her past life rushing back to her, and Resmi closed her eyes, wishing they’d go away.

[12]

[Kallile]

HIs lopsided grin said volumes in and of itself--of course he thought that. Though Resmi had only just met him, Axel wasn't the type to lie and weasel his way into friendships. The Clone said what was on his mind at any given moment--an attribute that probably had the whole base upset with him. That, and his dire lack of focus in none-battle situations. "Well, yeah. Why would I say it if I didn't mean it?"

The concern had not left his face and slowly the lopsided grin became more sad in appearance. He was doing something wrong--he had to be. He squeezed her hand lightly--trying to be comforting--as he felt her continually tremble. He lost his grin completely when she said she didn't like to be touched and felt confusion seep into every pore of his being. Then why had she touched him? He was a male...so that must mean he was upsetting her. The tug of her hand made him jump and release her quickly as if her skin had just caught fire. 'Sorry!" He yelped, scooting himself backwards until he hit the pilots seat. Now he was at a loss for what he was supposed to do or say. He was making her uncomfortable and he couldn't stop; he couldn't really do much to change what gender he was. All he could do was apologize and hope she didn't get mad at him like everyone else.

"Sorry, sorry..." He repeated, looking away from her like a scorned child. "I didn't know...I didn't mean to...don't be mad..."

[12]

[MillietheWarrior]

Resmi flinched instantly when he jumped and pulled away, clutching at her heart as her eyes widened. He’d nearly scared her out of her skin, and she’d almost jumped as high as he had. It was so abrupt, she almost was at a loss for words. Hadn’t she told him he wasn’t doing anything wrong/ He was just holding her hand, that was all. It wasn’t bad…was it? He seemed to think it was, and Resmi frowned softly, her entire body jittering from the fright as she scooted forward on shaking knees until she was a foot away from him.

“N-no,” she said, her voice trembling from the shock of his sudden actions. “It’s not y-your fault. You didn’t do a-anything wrong, I promise. And…and I‘m not mad…” As if to prove her point, she reached forward and took his hand in her smaller, shaking hands, smiling up at him with a wobbly grin. “Y-you don’t have to be scared of…of me. I’m not mean or anything.”


('Human' form)

As if on cue, the doors to the ship hissed open. A green skinned Twi’lek stepped through them, cleaning what looked like a wrench with a ratty old rag in her delicate, teal hands. She wasn’t even looking up, simply stepping through the doors and into the cockpit as if she’d done it a thousand times. “Resmi. I just finished calibrating the-” her words died on her lips as she lifted her gaze to see her sister sitting only a few inches away from none other than the terror of her hangar; Axel.

Her eyes darted between them, noting the way their hands were linked and how close they were now sitting. Slowly, like a darkening storm, her brows drew together, and she stood over them, wrench clenched in her fist tightly. “Axel…” she hissed slowly, her voice dark and dangerous. “What exactly do you think your doing in here…with my sister?”

[13/6]

[Kallile]

HIs brilliant yellow eyes raced up to meet Resmi's teal ones, his heart feeling caught in his throat. He'd never been able to not fix anything before, and the idea that he was stuck without a way to make it better was foreign and unwelcome. He watched her carefully, almost shrinking away from her as if just being near him would upset her again and make her tremble. He didn't like that at all.

When he felt her hand on his again his eyes went wide and cast her an almost terrified look. Now he was direly confused; what was she doing? Her words seemed to be reassurance enough and he relaxed his posture a little; his confused eyes moving slowly over her face to take in every feature. He didn't understand. "But...I thought..."

The voice brought a new terror to his eyes and he slowly turned his head to meet the angry face of Annix. He gulped, slowly reaching down to stuff the empty wrappers in his pockets--hopefully before she could see them. His hand began trembling something like Resmi's and he found himself holding onto her gently put fastly. She was, right now, his only lifeline stuck inside the cockpit with Annix. "I...I'm just..."

He tried, looking up at her with a fleeting hope that maybe...just maybe...she wouldn't be mad at him this time. "Just came to...find something I left and...Resmi was here and she found them and...I did not hide chocolate in your ship..on complete purpose." He winced, covering his head with his free arm. "Please don't hit me with that again--those sting."

[13]

[MillietheWarrior]

The door hissing open had made Resmi jump even more than Axel’s shocked exclamations from before. Her head whipped about, lekku twitching frantically, as Annix tromped in, her face serene…until she caught sight of Axel. Resmi had never known about him coming into the hangar, or about her sister’s dislike of him. Annix had only ever said not to talk to anyone who came into the hangar. But Axel was the exception, right? She suddenly found him clinging to her like she was his lifeline, and her body froze, mind instantly going back to a thousand painful memories of all the times before. But then, there was no pain from his hold, and there was no angry shouts or words; she felt comfortable here, for some strange reason that both frightened and confused her.

Slowly, she exhaled her held breath, body still trembling against her will as she looked up into the angry eyes of Annix. Her gaze flickered to Axel as he lifted his arm to shield himself, and she was instantly reminded of herself for a brief moment. Her hand suddenly found his shoulder and she gripped hard, her gaze turned to her sister as she reached up with her free hand and snatched the wrench away from a very surprised Annix. The teal skinned woman looked shocked, her eyes drifting from Axel and then back to her sister. “Axel, I told you to keep out of my hangar…and I especially told you to keep away from my ships.  But now I think I’ll add my sister to that list as well. Give me my wrench back, Resmi.”

Resmi held the wrench behind her back, shaking her head vehemently. “N-no,” she said, her soft voice growing a little bolder. “He didn’t do anything wrong, Annix. He-he was just being nice to me…Talking to me…You don’t need to chase him out...P-please don't...” Annix’s dark gaze narrowed even further, and then slid slowly over to Axel. “Doesn’t look like it to me,” she said, folding her arms across her chest and glowering dangerously. “What do you think your doing with her, Axel? What exactly are you up to here? And don‘t give me that osik about candy bars again.”

[14/2]

[Kallile]

Axel inhaled sharply at Resmi's hand fell on his shoulder and gripped, his wild eyes raising to find that she was...fending off her sister? He blinked at her, deciding that she was the most confusing woman on the base...but he liked that about her. Even if trying to keep up with what was going on with her was starting to give him a headache. Annix's voice sent a chilling reminder of why he was cowering, however, and he looked up at her more sheepishly. "Mech asked me to come to get something...but I forgot what...so I came here to find where I...hide candy bars at. It's not osik, Annix, really!'

Fumbling, he carefully tossed the two wrappers that had been on the floor towards her before returning to his former huddled position. "See? They were really in here." He didn't offer to tell her that Resmi had not only found but eaten them--he didn't want her to get in trouble. He was always in trouble in here and he knew the drill well.

Annix would harp and growl and beat him over the head with her wrench and shout angry threats at him as he made a hasty retreat. Only now there was no way to make a hasty retreat--Annix blocked his one path out. He could only blink up at her, completely confused. What was he doing with Resmi? What was he up to? Sure, he knew some of his brothers had girlfriends...but they always got quiet around him. He had no idea what Annix was trying to get out of him. "Talking? I don't know...I don't know what you want to know..."

[14]

[MillietheWarrior]

Annix’s folded arms twitched slightly, her gaze narrowing even further. Resmi didn’t like that look; she knew her sister well enough to know when an angry tornado was on the rise, and now looked like one of those times. When it came to defending Resmi, Annix was completely serious, and she wouldn’t take any bull for an answer. Annix’s eyes slowly shifted to the wrappers on the floor, and a low growl rumbled in her chest. Without warning, she reached down and yanked on the front of Axel’s shirt, hauling him closer to her so their noses were only inches apart.

“What I want to know is…” her eyes glanced to Resmi. “Why you think it’s okay to be near her, or touch her, or even be close to her? Do you have any idea what she’s been through?! I don’t need some idiot Clone running around scaring the life out of her and dredging up bad memories!” A pair of small hands closed around Annix’s, and she jerked her head to the side sharply to see the angry face of Resmi. Annix looked confused; she’d never seen her sister wear a look quite like that, and she was torn between letting go of Axel, and asking Resmi what was wrong with her.

“Let go, Annix,” Resmi said, her meek voice now strong, and angry. “He didn’t do anything, and he wasn’t going to. Let. Go.” The tow sisters locked gazes for a moment, before Annix growled, and did as she was told, stepping back to narrow her eyes at Axel. Resmi cast her sister an anxious glance, before glancing at her ‘new friend’, kneeling down beside him.

[14/3]

[Kallile]

Axel's eyes didn't have time to widen as Annix drew closer--before he could realize what she was ding she had her fists wrapped in his shirt and had him hauled up as high as she could muster. Which, Axel had to admit was pretty high. It only made the hangar manager all that more terrifying to him, though. He gulped--looking at her through the blinders that were her fists wrapped in his shirt.

"I...I...I didn't know anything. I promise. She was just starting to tell me...and I'm sorry...I didn't mean anything. She's just nice and..." He looked to the side, finding Resmi beside him and locked in an angry stare and conversation with her sister. Axel looked between the two, wondering what his fate might possibly be today. It hadn't been a hit over the head, but Annix had never laid hands on him before. The pit of his stomach ached painfully; if she was grabbing him now, it couldn't be good.

Then he was dropped back inot a heap on the floor, looking up with wide, confused eyes. "Wha...?" He looked to Resmi beside him. What...had just happened? No hit? No punch? No...anything. HIs wide eyes went quickly back up to Annix before they returned to Resmi. The look clearly said 'I was doing something wrong. please forgive me.'. "Why?" He asked softly, looking at her as if she'd just turned life as he knew it on its head.

[15]