“Me too,” Astra turned her gaze to the window, watching the stars, “Wouldn’t be the first time we’ve had to go to battle, he’d be ready for it if the time came.” She replied, “I just hope it doesn’t.”
You're Gonna Carry That Weight
Kai felt himself slipping towards a little too much sympathy, so he backtracked, grinning one of his sardonic grins. "I don't care either way. It's all about the paycheck for me."
Astra rolled her eyes, a frown pulling her lips down as she kept her gaze on the window, “Yeah, don’t worry, I know. Money is all you bounty hunters seem to care about.”
"It's what makes the worlds go 'round," he agreed, shrugging, shifting his attention back to the controls. According to the GPS, they were a few minutes outside of the closest planet, Hilte. He'd never visited, but it appeared sizable and well established. They would hopefully fly under the radar there. "When we get to Hilte, we're going to need new clothes. I'm dressed like a servant, and you –well, you know. Can I trust you to not run when we get there, or do I have to lock you in here?"
The princess leaned against the nearest wall with a soft sigh, slipping her hands into the pockets of her pants, “You can trust me,” She said, “I’d rather not be locked inside for the remaining time I have left in this world.” Hopefully they’d be at least some decent clothes on Hilte. She’d only been once but hadn’t been able to see much of the planet, mainly because she was there for diplomacy reasons.
"Alright, I'll take at your word," he said, "since you've been nothing but trustworthy so far." His lips twisted to the side as he stood, heading back for the main part of the cockpit. He paused, and keeping his back turned, admitted, "I feel bad, you know. Wish we could have met under better circumstances."
Astra looked over her shoulder at him, her already soft features softening further of at all possible, “Me too. But, we didn’t, and it’s just the way things are sometimes,” She shrugged, “The universe works in strange ways.”
"The universe and it's frustrating indifference," he agreed, breathing out a laugh. His voice brightened again, and he pulled himself into the pilot's seat, switching off autopilot. "I'd recommend sitting back down and strapping in, the landing gear on my ship isn't great."
“Maybe you should upgrade your ship with the reward money.” She did as she was told, taking up the nearest seat, “Try not to break the ship on landing.” She buckled in, making sure she was secure.
"With that money, I'd buy a whole new ship and name it after you," he laughed. He ran his hand along the dash before taking hold of the controls. "I've had this ship for seven, eight years, ever since I left my home planet." He eased into the gravitational field, the ship violently shaking as they burst through the atmosphere.
“How romantic,” Astra crossed a leg underneath her, holding onto the sides of the chair as the ride became bumpy, “What was your home planet, if I may ask?” She looked over to Kai.
Kai thought about answering her, but changed his mind, a small smile flitting across his place. "Pretty far from here. I doubt that you've been there." They broke through the outer atmosphere and entered the dusty orange sky, alighting over the biggest city in the main country on the planet. It was still fairly rural, even though it had some elements of a successful city. They began to land on the landing dock, squeezing between other ships.
Astra’s eyes widened a little at the sight, taking in the breathtaking orange sky and the distant lights of the big city. It had been ages since she’d been anywhere but Eirus, so time say she was curious about the planet was an understatement. Once they landed, she unbuckled, standing from the seat, “Nice landing.”
"Thank you, I'm an excellent flyer," he bragged, admiring the tiny distance between his ship and the ship next to them. An inch closer and he would have crashed it, but she didn't need to know that. He stood up, slipping back into the servant's shirt, and headed down the ramp. "Clothes first, then fuel, then maybe food?"
"Technically you're in charge here," She shrugged, falling into step beside the bounty hunter, "So do I really have a say in what your plan is?" She looked around, taking in the people and the amount of ships in this one area, "But, I think that plan works fine."
He smiled at her, stretching with a toss of his head. "I've been a gentleman so far, why stop now? But great, let's get going." He led the way down the busy street, kicking up plumes of orange dust as he went.
Astra rolled her eyes with a small smile, “For a bounty hunter you’re quite polite to your captives. Is this an everyone thing or just because I’m royalty?”
"I'd like to say it's because you're my prettiest captive," he quipped, "but really, I treat everyone this way. Especially when they're polite back. I'll admit I'm not amazing at this bounty hunting thing."
“Pretty is an over exaggeration,” She mumbled, “Why become a bounty hunter if you’re one, not going to kill your bounty and two, this polite? Doesn’t it prevent one from completing their work?”
Kai glared out her out of the corner of his eye. "You ask a lot of questions. Are you always this nosy, or only when you've been kidnapped?"
She shrugged, “Hey, what can I say, I’m curious about who my captor is.” She smiled back, “I’ve never been kidnapped before so I couldn’t know if this is a new development or not.”
"Aww, I took your kidnapping v card, so to speak," he said, bursting into childlike laughter. "Hey, most bounty hunters wouldn't even give you their real name. I guess you can't verify it, but I'm totally an anomaly."
“I guess that’s a stoke of luck there, then,” Astra chuckled lightly, “Apart from you trying to kill me at least you’ve been honest. Well, as far as I know, anyway.”
Kai shrugged his shoulders in a happy go lucky way. "Honesty's overrated." The two of them arrived at the first clothing store, a modern, sleek boutique with many different styles of clothing. Most of it was lightweight, and judging by the temperature on the planet, it was summer. Kai held the door open for her.
Aster smiled, nodding her head in thanks as she entered. She hadn’t been shopping in ages and to say she was excited was an understatement. The clothing was nice. Maybe not as nice as what she was currently wearing but nice nonetheless.
Kai shoved through some of the racks of clothing, starting to enjoy himself. He was a little (a lot) materialistic, and he really liked new stuff. He snatched a pair of garish, 60s/earth style sunglasses off of a shelf and grinned. "How do I look?" he asked Astra, striking a small pose.
Astra looked over from where she was comparing a burgundy crop top to a white and blue one, “Fabulous,” She laughed, reaching over to take them off Kai’s face and place them on her own, “White and blue or burgundy?” She asked, raising the two shirts.
Kai took a long look at the two options. "Burgundy, definitely." He located a flowy blouse-like shirt with an obnoxious flower pattern and a belt. "Too much?"
“Hm…” She rifled through the shirts, finding a simple white shirt with a flower pattern on the pocket, “Try that instead. Less obnoxious.”
"Whoa, good taste," he said, accepting the shirt with a smile. "Fashion a part of princess training, or just a personal interest?"