[Jessari]

Like a little boy who doesn't understand why the girl had to play with a doll in the first place, Talyc turned her words over in his head and found he still didn't understand them. He'd have been Robin's friend no matter what gender she was, right? Assuming her appearance was the only thing she'd changed, he knew Robin to be a superior mechanic, someone he could trust with his life and Cuyan's, and perhaps what he liked most, she wasn't afraid to launch insults back at him when he teased her.

But had that really been who she was? Had that all been a show? Talyc realized that this possibility, more than anything else, unnerved him.

Although the only outward sign was a slight shifting of his gaze, Talyc flinched when she brought up his previous dealings with women. Yeah, there had been a few times (okay, maybe more than a few) that he'd hooked up with a woman in some town he'd visited and ended up sharing her bed. Then, of course, he'd come bragging to Rob. Wasn't that what men were supposed to do, amuse each other with tales? The details, for the most part, had been exaggerated anyway. It wasn't as if he'd gone looking for one-night stands, but what kind of man turned them down when led on by a pretty lady? And how was he supposed to know he was talking about his experiences with a woman who would hold it all against him? It was all pretty unfair, if you asked him.

"Everything changes," he told her, sounding like a true cynic as he thought of how drastically his friendship with Idris had been altered when he'd fallen in love with Fianna. He could tell she wanted reassurance that he wouldn't just fly off and disappear, but he didn't know what he could tell her. He didn't really know how he felt at the moment, and he respected what they'd had too much to lie to her.

"I want to keep being your friend, Rob. I really do." The corners of his mouth turned down. "But...I need time to think about this."

Cuyan, tired of being ignored, had given up on Talyc and was now tugging on Robin's hand, silently begging to be picked up. Talyc watched her for a moment, then lifted his eyes back to Robin. "Tell you what. If you'll watch her a little bit longer, I'll head to town and bring back some grub. I can't think on an empty stomach." That wasn't his main reason, although he was feeling a bit hungry, but he desperately needed some space to cool down and think.

[MillietheWarrior]

“Fine,” Robin said, narrowing her eyes stubbornly. She wiped her face with the back of her arm, clearing a bit of oil and grime away from her skin. The insistent tugging on her hand stole her attention, and she looked down at Cuyan, who was begging to be picked up. With a half-hearted smile, she bent down and retrieved the girl, settling her on her hip with a fond tap of her nose. Despite Robin’s anger and annoyance at Talyc and his non-understanding, manly ways, she could never be annoyed with Cuyan. Frustrated, yes, but annoyed? Never. “Fine. Go get that food of yours. When you come back, we’re going to talk about this like rational adults. Understand?”

She shot him a pointed glare, neon green eyes narrowing slightly, before she stalked off through the grass back to the hangar, Cuyan bouncing on her hip and hair swinging behind her back. She didn’t understand Talyc’s need to get away from her so quickly. Why couldn’t he just talk to her about it now, and not later? Why did men have to be so difficult? That was the thing with Talyc; he was a great friend, but a man nonetheless. Men tended to be more complicated than she cared to puzzle out. Too bad. Robin strolled to the hangar, mulling over Talyc’s words and caught up in her own thoughts; she didn’t see the eyes watching her from the shadows of the hangar, hidden by the machinery and various speeder parts. They were watching, waiting, and biding their time; this certainly couldn’t be good.

[Jessari]

"Whatever."

The word sounded more tired than angry, which was a step in the right direction at least. Reaching out to tug on a strand of Cuyan's mussed hair, he managed a smile for her. "Be good, little tiger, alright?" In doing so, his fingers brushed against a wind-tossed lock of Robin's curls, and he drew his hand back as quickly as if something had bitten him. He cast a furtive, unreadable glance at her face, then turned and began walking towards the garage and his speeder. "I won't be long."

* * * * *

Barely an hour later, Talyc was again travelling down the path that led to Robin's garage, a bag full of take-away wedged into one of his saddlebags. The food, along with the rocketing pace of the speeder bike, had slowly chipped away at the anger and frustration until he was able to lay out the facts. Female or not, Robin had been his friend for quite some time, and if that friendship had been faked, it would have fallen apart long ago. Bounty hunters didn't make very many friends, especially ones with a tongue as sharp as Talyc's, and he'd come to depend on that relationship more than he cared to admit. That, he confessed to himself, was why her revelation had hit him so hard.

He still didn't quite see why she had to keep it hidden from him, but if she was willing to make nice, he was too. There were a few things he'd said during their argument that seemed a little...harsh, and in hindsight he decided he'd maybe been a little hard on her. He wasn't quite sure he was going to apologize (the words 'I'm sorry' never came easily to him), but he'd ordered her favorite combo from the local steakhouse. Surely that would be enough, right?

Talyc shook his head, picturing 'the new Rob' in his mind. Now that the secret was out, he didn't know why he hadn't suspected it before. Grease, fangs, and wierd ears aside, his mechanic friend had always had delicate features, something he'd teased her about from time to time. But with that dark hair curving around her face, there really was no doubt she was a woman, and a beautiful one at that...

The tail end of that thought made him jerk, nearly sending the speeder nose-first into the cornfield bordering the road. No. He was not going to think of Rob, er, Robin like that. It was just too weird.

[MillietheWarrior]

Robin had, had plenty of time to mull over her annoyance and anger at Talyc’s inability to understand her reasoning for keeping her identity a secret. She twirled idly in the chair in her office, Cuyan safely tucked into the corner, asleep.  Robin didn’t understand what the big deal was; she’d kept her identity secret so she could make a living. It wasn’t like she’d stolen money from him or blatantly lied. She’d just…never told him the truth. Robin twirled a finger through one of her dark locks, sighing in frustration. Why couldn’t men just get their heads out of their shebs long enough to see why women did things and that there was always a rational explanation for everything.

She leaned back in her chair, setting her booted feet up on her desk. She glanced up at the clock; he’d been gone nearly an hour. How long did it take him to pick up some food? Did he get lost, too? Robin huffed, and pushed herself up from her chair. She chanced a glance at Cuyan, making sure the girl was still sleeping, and strolled from her office through the hangar, and towards the hangar door. The breeze danced through her hair and across her cheeks, and she briefly closed her eyes, thoughts of Talyc and his ill-humor gone, if only for the moment.

Bad idea.

Robin wasn’t aware of the silent feet racing towards her, but she most certainly was aware of the scaly hand that clamped over her mouth and the other that locked around her waist and hauled her backwards. Robin’s eyes widened, too shocked to do much but allow herself to be dragged out of the hangar. Until she got mad. Her attacker had a hell of a time holding onto her once her tail started swinging and her claws came into play. He grunted as they connected with his scaly cheeks, and the Trandoshan hissed angrily. He probably would’ve been disemboweled at some point, if a blue skinned, red-eyed man and a Weequay hadn’t jumped into to help subdue her. They grabbed her legs and arms, hauling her from the hangar as she snarled and growled and muffled angry curses at them. What the hell was going on?! Who were these men and why were they taking her?!

“What about the little girl?” the Trandoshan hissed, his voice low as they bundled their target towards a waiting speeder. “Leave her,” the blue skinned man, a Chiss, growled angrily. “We got what we wanted. We need to get out of here before he gets back.” Another Weequay, the driver of the speeder, ushered them angrily towards the vehicle, a struggling Robin still in their grasp. Her eyes darted around to each man in turn, and she realized they wore the garb of street thugs and pirates. Wonderful. What could they possibly want with her? “The bounty hunter won’t be able to resist the bait,” the Trandoshan hissed, his voice reptilian and gravelly. As they dumped her in the back of the speeder, the Trandoshan’s hand slipped from her mouth. She was able to get off one good shout, before her hands, feet and mouth were bound and gagged. She wriggled angrily as the men piled in and tugged at one of her boots, yanking it from her foot. They were careful to keep her tail crushed beneath her and out of commission.

“Thought you said this one was a man,” One of the Weequay rasped, looking over Robin’s obvious curves and open jumpsuit. “This ain’t no man!” The Chiss snarled at him, and smacked him in the back of the head. “It doesn’t matter. She’s the one we need! Now go!” Robin squeezed her eyes shut, wondering what the hell was going on and knowing that somehow, this was all Talyc’s fault as the Trandoshan tossed a note tied to one of her boots onto the ground. Stupid, stupid men!