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[myownprice]

[No cute away message here. Just a single sentence, slightly muffled by his helmet.]

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Voice; message left for 1313, late on the day of the riots

[loyal_soldier]

[622's voice is flat and clipped. He just had a close shave with the mob out in the streets, and his brain still isn't convinced he's not in a war zone.]

1313, this is TK-622 with a status check. Are you in need of assistance? Aerial extraction is available.

voice;

[myownprice]

[The message comes as a surprise—at first. When Boba sees who it’s from, he gets the feeling that he should have expected this.]

Negative. I’m in a secure location. [He hopes the trooper will let him leave it at that.]

[loyal_soldier]

Copy that. If the situation changes, extraction will be available.

K'oyacyi, hibika. [Stay alive, cadet.]

[myownprice]

Understood.

[The words in Mando’a catch him by surprise and he feels a sudden rush of embarrassment wondering if he’s expected to respond in turn. His father had been teaching him Mando’a, but Boba hasn’t practiced any since his death. He tries his best all the same, mumbling as if that’ll help hide how clumsy the words sound on his tongue.]

K’oyacyi, vod.

thanksgiving morning

[applewatcher]

I know this is entirely unannounced, but would you like an apple pie? It's a local feast day, and while I'm not terribly skilled, I've finally found cookware I know how to use.

There's also set to be free food at the Heropa Community Center, by the way. [Because Sithis knows, when he was on his own, he always wanted to know where he could get more.]

text;

[myownprice]

[Ever since the blow-up with 622 and Rex, Boba’s been keeping a low profile. He’s not really sure whether it’s necessary or not, but the incident hadn’t really left him feeling all that outgoing anyway. Even if he knows no one would react as strongly as the clones had, he doesn’t want to risk having to come clean about his double act or his reasons for it to anyone else. If he did, he’d probably just lie again anyway.

As a result, when Lucien contacts him, it’s the first non-work-related interaction he’s had in a while—and honestly, it’s a relief that it’s from someone who only knows him by one name. That said, it still takes Boba around an hour to decide whether or not to respond.]

Ok. Where are you?

[applewatcher]

[He set about his daytime work, waiting to see if he'd rouse a response. Hopefully it wouldn't be more than a day, he wasn't sure how long the pie would keep.

But it didn't take quite as long as he thought it might, actually. How nice. He sends an address to a safehouse in Heropa.]

Knock when you arrive. Would you like me to bring any food from the community dinner?

[myownprice]

[Boba isn’t used to social visits on the best of days, much less after several weeks of self-imposed exile. He throws on a jacket and prepares to head out to the Maurtia Falls Porter, feeling out of sorts.]

Sure.

[He doesn’t specify any more than that. Free food is free food, after all.

He’ll show up at the provided address within the hour and knock at the door. He still has the vague feeling that he shouldn’t be here, but at least he’s not as wary as he was the first time he visited one of Lucien’s safehouses.]

whoops this got lost in my inbox @_@

[applewatcher]

[A single heartbeat outside the door, at the right height for his expected guest. He disarms the door and opens it for Boba, stepping aside with a smile.]

Please, come in. [This is one of his more livable safehouses, by the conventions of this country. There's working plumbing and lights, but he's not likely to keep this place for long. It's easier to trace him to this one. Still, he hadn't wanted to meet Boba in the government-provided apartment he still retained. Both of them valued privacy more than that, he thought.]

I ended up taking quite a lot from the event, so there will be food to spare.

np!

[myownprice]

[As much as Boba trusts Lucien more than he did before, his instincts upon being invited into a new environment are much the same; he stands at the threshold for a moment, eyes briefly looking past Lucien to scan the room behind him. Then, seemingly satisfied, he looks back up at Lucien with a nod and steps in.

This safehouse feels more like an actual home than the last one and yet, Boba doesn’t seem at all at ease. He’s not quite on-edge or mistrustful, just tangibly awkward as he struggles to remember how to be social after several weeks of near-solitude.]

Okay, [he says, standing stiffly in the middle of the room.] Er… thank you for inviting me over. And for giving me the address.

[Another safehouse compromised. Boba wonders how many he has left.]

text

[ct_7567]

[ On a day when they would have been scheduled for lessons: ]

You're late.

text

[myownprice]

[Some time has passed since Boba’s confrontation with the clones. He’s past the point of fearing that Rex and 622 may have been lying—that they’d called their Jedi the second he was out their door. If they’d done so, Boba knows something would’ve happened by now. But even if the clones aren’t going to rat him out, they still can’t ever go back to the way things were. He’s not one of them and now they know it.

Which is why he’s so surprised when he gets a text from Rex.]

Late for what?

text

[ct_7567]

Lessons. Do you want to catch up with 622 or not?

Re: text

[myownprice]

[In all honesty, Boba had thought that he was done with Mando’a lessons, having burned bridges with the only two people here capable of providing them. But rather than feel relieved, his first reaction to Rex’s offer is suspicion. He hasn’t forgotten what Rex pulled last “lesson.”]

Why? What have you found out this time?

text

[ct_7567]

Don't be ridiculous. The only reason I fell for your last farce is because the odds of you being who you are were literal millions to one.

I'm not enough of a fool to trap you the same way twice. If I wanted to trap you, I'd damn well trap you a different way. I didn't write up all these lessons for my own health.

text

[devoutish]

[One of Alfie's regular clients has mentioned Boba's name a few times - he's a courier that he's used before, and even though he's young, he's inconspicuous, responsible, and reliable. It's information that Alfie had filed away, but not acted on... until he ends up with a last-minute job that none of his regular men are available for.]

Are you available for hire this afternoon?

- A. Solomons

[Depending on how familiar Boba is with the Maurtia Falls underworld, he might recognize Alfie's name. He's not one of the biggest players - not like he is at home - but he's a pretty prolific freelancer, and he's worked with some of those biggest players.]

text

[myownprice]

[As the weather has chilled in Maurtia Falls, Boba has gotten busier. With fewer people willing to make their own deliveries in the cold and fewer couriers willing to do the work for them, it seems like winter is set to be a very profitable season for him indeed.

He’s only just finished one job when he receives another message, requesting a delivery that afternoon. He responds immediately.]

What’s the job?

text

[devoutish]

[Instead of answering the question, he drops the address of a local pizza parlor.]

Come for a chat.

[He doesn't like discussing details over the communicators.]

Re: text

[myownprice]

[Understandable. Boba is used to clients who prefer to discuss details face-to-face.]

Who should I look for?

text

[devoutish]

Ask for Alfie at the door. I'll be at a table, they'll direct you to it.

text

[ct_7567]

I've got something that belongs to you. Respond ASAP.

text

[myownprice]

[At first glance, Boba assumes the message means he left something at Rex’s place during their last Mando’a lesson. Maybe a notebook or something similar. He might've even considered ignoring the message and picking up whatever it is next time, but... It’s the urgency in the second sentence that gives him pause.]

What is it?

text

[ct_7567]

A holo.

I have reason to believe that it's of your father.

text

[myownprice]

[Boba goes from disinterested to on his feet in an instant.]

I’m on my way.

[A moment later:]

Does it look like a black book?

text

[ct_7567]

It does.

You know of it.