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! ]]

Comments

[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."