Never in her life had she been so baffled, but feeling elated at the same time. Her pack was filled with more clothes and a shiny new vibrosword dangled at her hip opposite of her other one. She was starting to get tight on credits again but she was already scheduled for the next two duels at the ring. She had been out all night and most of the day scouring most of the shops and trying to get an idea of the layout of the upper city.

She barely covered her mouth from an enormous yawn, quickly opening the door to the hideout and strolling in, she was ready for a nice long nap. What she wasn't ready for, was the wave of anger that smacked her in the face in the form of a tall boiling captain.

"The hell is your problem?!" Carth shouted as soon as the door was closed, his arms folded tightly over his puffed out chest, dark brown eyes wide and his teeth gritting.

Mira tilted a bit as she peered at him, exhaustion poking at her hard now that there was a bed in sight. All she wanted to do was fall into it until her alarm went off.

"You're going to have to elaborate on that one cap'in." Her voice came out with far more venom than she thought was possible with how tired she was. Apparently she still was displeased with his behavior from yesterday evening.

"Your problem with trying to get us exposed! You were gone before I was even done showering and you didn't come back unti-"

"So what?"

Carth jerked back at her response, his eyes widening further but this time in shock. His chest deflating, he took a good look at her expression and swallowed. She had rings under her eyes, obviously she was tired. But it was the ice in her eyes that made him pause. "What?" He asked, trying to put a hint of defiance in his voice, after all he was right this time, she had been out for several hours by herself and probably could have gotten into a heap of trouble. Not to mention she probably wasn't even fully healed…

"You heard me. If I get caught so what? If I get into trouble so what? I'll be out of your hair since the pod crash didn't take care of me for you." Ok she was far more angry still than she could admit to even herself. The pulse of cold rage flowing through her chest and down her limbs left her feeling smug at seeing his expression turn into confusion.

"I didn-"

"Whatever. I need sleep. Don't wake me up." Mira shoved past him, using her pack to nudge him out of the way and throwing herself onto her cot.

Mira pulled her hair into a simple ponytail high on her head, letting her bangs fall and frame her face while her neck remained exposed. The black low swoop neck top clung to her curves perfectly, as did her green tights. They used to go under some Echani fiber armour but they looked just as well paired with the top, not to mention they were worth it for the event.

Carth looked like a kicked kathhound pup on the sofa, his eyes devoid of spark and irritation and replaced instead with confusion and worry. A whiner through and through. He tried to keep his attention on his datapad but couldn't resist looking up at her when she exited the bathroom. He could have sworn his breathing stopped for a moment, even her cold eyes on him couldn't prevent the heat that flushed through him. At least at first.

Mira gave him a short quick breath through her nose and sauntered past him, her hips swaying as she sweeped to pick up her pack. "Don't bother waiting up this time. I wouldn't want to be a bother to you." She snipped, her hand almost on the door panel when a large warm hand landed firmly on her shoulder. She whipped her head around, blue eyes piercing him.

"At least tell me where you're going in case you need help. You don't even have your sword on you…."

He didn't even see her move, he barely caught the glimmer of silver before the metal was pressed to his neck, not nearly enough to cut, but he could still feel the cold durasteel on his skin. When did she have a small blade on her? Where did she-? He probably didn't want to know.

"Don't pretend to worry now. Like I said either I'll be back or I'll be out of your hair." She tucked the blade back into her sleeve and continued sauntering out the door.

"Mira!"

She swayed a bit back and forth across the hall back to the apartment, her now full pack clutched tightly in her hand over her shoulder. She was still exhausted from only getting a few hours of sleep earlier, now full of alcohol, she was a bit unsteady on her feet. The apartment door was in sight now though, and she felt relieved she could sleep for a while.

That was, until the door slid open, and Carth stalked out, looking grouchy as ever, his hair disheveled, and his eyes hunting as if he had been looking for his hairbrush all day with no success.

It was when his eyes landed on her that she realized it definitely wasn't his hairbrush he had been missing.

"Mira!" his voice was almost a sigh, his face still held a hint of frustration, but the pure relief was there, obvious as daylight and making it hard for her to be angry with him when he looked at her like that. Her nose crinkled at him as he marched over to her and wrapped his hand around her arm, tugging her back into the safety and darkness of the apartment.

"Sorry I came back maybe next time I get us-" She tried to duck under him, not ready to let go of her anger quite yet when his arm shot out and he suddenly had her trapped.

She hadn't even made more than a few steps passed the door when he had her pressed up against the wall, her smart remark had fallen off her tongue as she looked up at him, his arms entrapping her on either side. Her blue eyes were wide with shock as his dark brown eyes bore down on her.

"Alright sister have I got your attention now? Whether you like it or not you're going to hear me out!" Carth growled at her, leaving her speechless. Up until now, she had only caught glimpses of his anger. Now it was far more than that but she couldn't exactly tell what. He looked drained. Like there was a mixture of fury and worry etched into his eyes leaving him exhausted.

"Almost two days now, you've given me the silent treatment, left me hanging stranded and worried, and alone in this place over a conversation you refuse to let me finish or explain."

"You called that a conversat-"

"No you're right I call that an interrogation. Everytime we turn around you try to pry into my life and fine dammit you must be the most persistent woman I've ever met!"

"I'm not goin-"

"You're right!" Carth snapped finally, her mouth dropping open. He took a deep breath and lowered his voice, seeing that she seemed done interrupting him. "You're right." He repeated, more softly this time. "I don't trust easy and I have really good reasons for it. It was a huge coincidence that you were recently added to the roster last minute and you survived. In my experience, coincidences usually aren't just that. There's always something behind it." He saw her eyes flash and he lowered his head closer to her's, his hands wrapping around her shoulders, taking a quick breath he quickly continued.

"That's not saying I don't want you here… You've saved my ass several times so far, you've gotten us so much further than I could have alone and I understand why the jedi added you to the roster last minute. Your skills are impeccable. But that still doesn't explain why you were the only one they wanted. Why you were able to get through those sith so easily. I've never seen anything like that it was…." Carth's voice fell away as he watched her eyes tear up, one lone drop slipping down her cheek.

"I'm sorry." He whispered, hand slowly coming up to brush it away. "I shouldn't be so hard on you after all you've done but please know it's nothing personal, I just can't… I don't...We can talk about this more later but… I'm… Is that wine I smell?" Carth blinked, his hand falling away from her face and his other hand sliding down her arm back to her elbow. Mira blinked owlishly at him then sniffed loudly, one of her hands covering her mouth "Uh… Yeah… About that…"

Carth raised an eyebrow, Mira felt the swell of defensive attitude growing in her but held her breath, instead of snapping back, she analyzed his expression before responding. He didn't look accusing, he looked genuinely curious, and still a bit worried. But mostly curious.

"Here.." She mumbled, handing him the pack that was now dangling at her elbow. Carth glanced at it then back at her, still with the curious look in his eye as he gently took it from her, stepping away to peek inside and give her space at the same time.

"What the- How?!" Carth looked between her and the shiny sith uniforms in the pack with disbelief. The look on his face caused a smile to creep onto hers, the conversation left the air feeling thick and warm between them. Her cheeks flushed a hot red "I did come recommended for my skills. Young sith soldiers had a huge party and I managed to get an invite with a handful of other people."

Carth flashed her a grin and stepped away to put her bag down on the table. "You really are astounding. I take it we can use these to get into the lower city?" Mira nodded and wiped at her eyes, trying to clear them of both tears and sleep.

"You look exhausted. We can figure out our next step tomorrow sound good?" Carth tilted his head, offering her one more smile as she nodded and made her way to head towards the bathroom. But instead of stepping she stumbled, landing right into him. Luckily enough he was able to catch her before her face landed right into the back of one of the chairs. "Mira?"

"I'm sorry…" She mumbled right before she vomited over his leg and the floor.

~Woo! Finally a new chapter out! It's been a while for this fanfic but I'm pretty pleased with the results of this chapter. Please R & R! Hopefully I'll have chapters out for my other fanfics shortly! thanks so much for sticking with me for so long and being so patient! -Lady Chey ~