Mud | Obikin

20.

I admit that, after all, Quin's disguise is not completely pointless.
I'm just another stray Bounty Hunter when I land on Dolomar. Nobody gives me a second gaze, and I exit the hangar smoothly.

It's still early afternoon here, but the sun has already crossed the mountains skyline; the narrow valley lies in the shadow.
The raising wind sweeps snow from the ground to make it whirl before me. White clouds gathered in the distance, anticipating a snowstorm.

I take a deep breath, shivering in my inadequate gear, and quickly descend underground, where most of the planet's life takes place, and the temperature is slightly more bearable.

I spot Anakin pretty soon. He looks funny, entirely covered in fur, and I can't help smiling behind my helmet as I greet him with a pat on his shoulder.

He spins and ignites his lightsaber at the Bounty Hunter who dares touch him. The whole market stops to look at us.

My hands raise; his blade already on my throat. "You don't want to do this to your Master."

He disengages, a comical, perplexed expression on his features that worsens when I bare my head and tell him that he should try being nicer if he wants my help.

Anakin doesn't smile back and takes me away from the crowd. "I could talk about that thing you're wearing for hours, but I'm afraid we'll have to wait better times."

"Are you going to tell me what's going on or you want me to guess? Where's your Padawan?"

He bites the inside of his cheek. "I don't know."

I stop to glare at him, both eyebrows raised.

"Quinlan found out the Embassy explosive can only be extracted from Dolomar mines, so we came here to investigate. We had problems since our landing - too many Bounty Hunters and pirates around here, Jedi just look like walking credits to them."

He peers behind my shoulder, slightly blushing. "Sorry, I can't talk to you if you're wearing that."

I open my mouth to admonish him, and he continues before I can. "At the cantina, we separated to ask around. I hadn't seen Ahsoka since then, not long before I called you. She's not answering to her comm, and nobody has seen her."

"You lost your Padawan," I deliberately state.

His Signature starts burning, kindling mine like sparks on paper. "Don't lecture me; I'm worried enough, and it doesn't help. Let's try again at the cantina, we could find something more."

He starts hastily walking, and I must follow, raising my voice to reach him. "Only scum here, you said it yourself, yet you let her alone."

He slows down, tempted to turn and confront me, then resumes his pace, nervously blowing smoke in the cold air. He's dying for a fight, the only thing that keeps him is his urgency to find Ahsoka.

"He comes here wearing that, then scolds me for being distracted." I hear him mutter under his breath.

At the cantina, vapour rising from the wet coats fogs the fireplace light. The floor is slippery with brownish melted snow, and everything smells like drenched dog.

Anakin tells me he already questioned the customers, so I propose to go for the workers, "I take the kitchens, you the waitresses. That annoying face of yours usually works better than mine with that sort of things."

I leave before he can reply anything, and go looking for the back door.
I coast the clay building to a small entrance in a dimly lighted alley. A couple of mine-rats are getting dinner on a pile of trash, not bothered at all by my presence.
I'm trying to figure a way in when the Force comes to the aid.

A Zabrak child exits the wooden door, dragging a bucket of dark water behind her. When the rubbish mountain is near enough, she inclines it to let its content flow on the dirt. Then, she turns around to get back inside and petrifies at my sight.

"I'm not going to hurt you," I say first thing, crouching at her eye level. "A dear friend of mine is missing, maybe you've seen her."

My efforts to sound friendly are undermined by the fact that this is exactly how any Bounty Hunter would enquire about his pray - as if looking like one wasn't enough.

The child's eyes light at Ahsoka's description, and I resolve to influence her trust.
She instinctively steps back when I raise my hand but, soon, my inexpressive voice suggesting that she's going to tell me where she saw my friend captivates her.

Ahsoka was right here, 'sleeping on the back of a speeder' and the man driving it had 'wrinkly leather skin and spikes on his jaw'.

Probably feeling guilty for tricking a child, I offer her a few credits. She swiftly grabs them and disappears back inside immediately after.

When I'm back, Anakin is whispering in the ear of a gracious red-headed bartender. She holds her tilted head with a hand, exposing her fair neck, and leans on the counter to show all the possible cleavage.

I roll eyes, considering that probably this is why my Padawan never bothered properly learning mind tricks.

He quickly straightens up when I sit on the next stool, making me chuckle.

"What?" He bursts out, forgetful of the girl that, to be honest, isn't exactly delighted by my arrival.

"Maybe your lovely friend will appease my curiosity." I manage to keep a straight voice, despite seeing Anakin acting red-handed is hilarious.

I enquire about any Weequays at the cantina today. The girl looks at me with disdain, though Anakin's intense stare eventually wins her reticence.
We apprehend that the only ones around here are pirates - Anakin throws me a knowing look - and that they're using a smaller, secluded spaceport near the glacier, a few speeder hours from Diflu.

"Or a few minutes by shuttle," I try to conclude.

The waitress glares at me as I was a particularly obtuse Worrt. "Not unless the snowstorm stops, and this ain't gonna happen soon. They're closing the port right now 'cause the wind wipes ships away the moment they take off. Wouldn't try it, not even by ground. You'll most likely get snowbound."

When I explain to Anakin why we should be interested in Weequays, he grimaces. His mouth twists at the 'sleeping' Ahsoka part.

"Old friends," he growls, anger boiling under his dry words. "Can't wait."

We rent two speeders and buy what we need to face the cold. Then, I try to persuade Anakin we should, at least, wait the morning light to leave.
He explains quite clearly that I can follow him or let him go alone, making me miss the times when I had some authority over him.

It's pitch black and heavily snowing when we ascend to the surface; nevertheless, my 'I told you' look doesn't achieve any recognisable effect.