A Bar Off-Island, Friday Evening

[suitably_heroic]

"I'm telling you," Atton said, "Everything in life comes back to pazaak."

He might've had a couple of drinks already - going at a rate about three times Sia's, give or take. "The plays, the guesses, the losses and the wins." He took a sip of his whiskey. "Actually, that's a load of bantha poodoo," he amended, "But it's the kind of thing that sounds good in the right cantina."

He'd been to a lot of the wrong ones.

This bar, though? This one was nice. Well-lit, just this side of pretentious, inexpensive. The kind of place college students would frequent. That kind. Atton had hated it on sight.

[[ for sia! ]]

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[notconflicted]

"And is this the right cantina?" Sia asked, guessing that no, it was not.

[suitably_heroic]

"No," Atton said, putting his drink down. "You could eat your food off the floor in this place and still not catch anything."

[notconflicted]

"Well that is extremely disappointing," she totally lied.

[suitably_heroic]

Atton snorted. "You're lucky you've never been anywhere near Nar Shaddaa."

[notconflicted]

"Who says I've never been near it?" Sia asked.

[suitably_heroic]

"If you had been, you'd still be smelling like it," Atton said, though now he was shooting her a curious look.

[notconflicted]

"A quick visit and a few dozen baths and you're good as new," she said helpfully, sipping her drink.

She'd never been to Nar Shadda, but why say that.

[suitably_heroic]

Atton snorted. "Yeah, you haven't been," he said. "But then why would you?"

[notconflicted]

Sia shrugged. "Things happen. You end up in strange places sometimes."

That at least was completely true.

[suitably_heroic]

"Me, sure," Atton said. He gestured at her with his drink. "You?"

[notconflicted]

"Definitely me," she said. "Like I said, things happen."

And sometimes you were running for your life or ended up having to meet someone somewhere neutral and a lot of the time that ended up in being somewhere you didn't want to be.

[suitably_heroic]

"What kind of things?"

Atton made sure to keep his voice neutral. Maybe a little slurred.

[notconflicted]

"You travel, something happens to your ship, you have to land somewhere not so pleasant... When I act as emissary for my father I have to meet them where they ask, usually. Those kinds of things," she said.

[suitably_heroic]

Atton finished his drink and sat it back down in front of him. "Yeah, I hear those clandestine meetings can take you some places you'd really rather not go."

[notconflicted]

"It does make things interesting, though." Usually in bad ways. "It's part of the job."

Of princessing.

[suitably_heroic]

"Do you like it?" Atton asked.

[notconflicted]

"Not particularly, but it needs to be done," Sia shrugged. "And I don't hate it, at least."

[suitably_heroic]

"Now there's a vote of confidence if I've ever heard one," Atton drawled, waving over the bartender so he could order another one. "Don't you ever just want to skip out on it?"

[notconflicted]

"Of course. It's a benefit of being here." Might as well be honest about it. "But it would never happen permanently."

[suitably_heroic]

"Why not?" Atton asked. "And do you want something else?"

[notconflicted]

"Because that's the way it is," Sia said vaguely. "It's what I need to do, so I don't consider anything else. There's no sense in getting attached to an idea that won't happen."

[suitably_heroic]

"You said it yourself," Atton said. "Things happen. Though this time I was asking whether you wanted another drink."

[notconflicted]

"This is where clarification helps," she told him. "And no, I'm still working on this one."

[suitably_heroic]

The bartender set Atton's fresh drink down in front of him. "Your loss. And, c'mon. You can't tell me you haven't thought about deserting at least once."

[notconflicted]

"And do what?" She was sort of curious what he might come up with.

[suitably_heroic]

"Something else," Atton said vaguely. "Live another life."

[notconflicted]

"Considering that would probably very much separate me from my family, I'm not sure I want that," she admitted.

[suitably_heroic]

"It'd be easier. In some ways," Atton said. "Maybe all of them if you get out in time, I don't know."

[notconflicted]

"There is no 'out in time' with them," Sia said.

So really it was going to suck a lot when she got through canon.

[suitably_heroic]

"There's always an 'out in time', we just don't realize it until it's too late," Atton retorted. "That's the whole problem."

[notconflicted]

"That's pessimistic." And not a shock, from him.

[suitably_heroic]

"Realistic," Atton retorted. "All those high and mighty ideals about duty and fairness and family - they only take you so far until you wind up somewhere you don't wanna go."

[notconflicted]

"I like to think that I'm pretty well equipped to deal with that." Seeing as how she'd been preparing for it for literally her whole life so far.

[suitably_heroic]

"Think whatever you want to think," Atton said. He slammed back his whiskey.

It wasn't like he was planning to be around if she went home and went to pieces.

[notconflicted]

Like Sia went to pieces ever.

"I do tend to do that, yes," she said easily.

[suitably_heroic]

Everybody had a breaking point. Atton knew that one better than anyone else.

"You've got to be the second most stubborn person I've ever met."

[notconflicted]

"Only the second? I'm disappointed." No, she wasn't.

[suitably_heroic]

"I know, you're practically crying over there," Atton said. He shook his head. "Just be careful with that."

[notconflicted]

"The stubbornness or the hypothetical tears?" she asked.

[suitably_heroic]

"The stubbornness." He picked up his glass and took a swig.

[notconflicted]

"It's served me extremely well so far," Sia replied. "I can give in when I need to."

[suitably_heroic]

"Sure," Atton said vaguely. "Just don't let it kill you."

[notconflicted]

Technically, she had let it do that once. "Is this concern?"

[suitably_heroic]

"Experience," Atton said, shrugging.

[notconflicted]

Sia took that in, and it wasn't exactly terrible advice. "I'll do what I can there," she said, meaning it.

Stubbornness would totally get her very near killed in the future.

[suitably_heroic]

Funny thing, really; because Atton was a hypocrite to the core, and the only reason he was here at all was that he stubbornly refused to die, even when he really wanted to.

"Thanks," he said. "You're not a horrible sentient being. It'd be a shame if you died early."