𝐏𝐎𝐋𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐒 » obi-wan kenobi.

03 | pocket film.

DESTRUCTIVE was an understatement of how Roko described Ben's care for his speeder as soon as he read through Sora's ship manifest. Surely he'd never expected the man to completely rip the entire thing apart, but during his twenty-five years of living in the barren midst of Mos Eisley whilst facing its ongoing conflict in crime, Roko soon came to realise that perhaps Ben's handling of the speeder was just another one of the desert city's many surprises. Unwanted of course, but it was there anyway.

He pinched the bridge of his nose in defeat- though his presence was rarely noticed, and with visits as infrequent as they'd ever been, Ben Kenobi happened to be a great smooth talker when it came to making exhausting and tedious requests. Yet by the forgiving looks of his newfound partner standing patiently beside him, Roko thought it was best to leave the issue at hand and wait for the next day. Taking in a deep breath he faced Sora and sighed, his mind still holding some doubt, "You got your work cut out for ya. Is it really-"

"Worth it?" She replied, her pleading eyes working well in convincing Roko and- he noticed with little effort- herself. "You don't have to worry about splitting your payments. Ben offered me extra earlier, I'll get on just fine with that."

Though Roko was reluctant on Ben's sudden generosity and commitment to a woman he'd only met that evening, he smiled softly towards her and folded his arms. "Alright, if it means you'll at least consider staying for breakfast here. It's getting pretty late, and I doubt you'd find a good place to get to before sunrise."

Sora was in brief thought at the mention of his unexpected request. "Stay here?" She repeated, averting her gaze to the deep indigo sky housing three crystalline moons, then back to him with rising apprehension. How could he be so ignorant!

"Ah, my brother is away for the night, I'll give you the keycard and I'll stay in the workshop outside," Roko rambled quickly, realising his offer to Sora needed more than a roof over her head and a bowl at the table. At the end of the day, she had a poor idea on who Roko and his family were, and the very last thing he was willing to do was compromise on her security, not that it crossed his mind to begin with. Taking out his keycard from the leather pouch on his belt, he held it before her with a flushed face of apology. "The code for the store is on the back if you need it. And uh, if you're stuck on anythin', just give me a call through the comm desk in the living room."

Briskly taking the thin silver flimsy off his fingers, Sora returned him a nod and said, "I have to thank you more then. I truly wasn't expecting anything at first, much less your invite. There won't be any more surprises from my end, I'll make sure of it."

Roko looked at her, his dark eyebrows raised, then a light chuckle escaping his thin lips. "No assurances needed. It's the least I could do. I mean, you came through here like one of those desert ghosts all the kids talk about, and managed all you could alone. Didn't have to take me much to not leave you out in the streets."

She quaintly smiled, her small front teeth reflecting the moonglow above. Even in the fading light of day, under the flickering bulb of the workshop's overhanging lantern, could he still see a sheer rosiness painted over her cheeks. Repairing a set of five speeder bikes, on top of the absolute horror setup that the puffbag Kenobi left her to deal with, was more than enough of gruelling handiwork that even Roko would have refused to do. Well, he did ultimately leave it to her in the end, but she got something out of it and so did he. Win win.

The irregular pumping of a nearby moisture evaporator broke the short silence, to which Sora brought up her ill-fitted clothing for the night. "It's poor planning on my part," she said, pointing towards her old grey thermals that lay stiffly folded on a blue canister. "I've been rather forgetful lately, even more today after the heat got to my head. I'm finding it difficult to ask you further but, you don't happen to have a spare, do you?"