Haircut

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

"jIt's not supposed to hurrt!"

Cirr shrilled at a MARCUS module perched on his shoulder, as an appendage of the droid applied a small vacuum tube to a tuft of freshly-shorn hair, sucking it up with a tttthoomp!

Instinctively reaching up to the base of one of his long ears to see if he'd been nicked, Cirr fumbled for the mirror with his other hand. This was becoming a disaster.

"Cirrsseeto, my work is accurate. If you would stop twitching as you do, I could complete this haircut as demanded."

Another module on the other shoulder began running a buzzer along his neckline, shearing the fine tufts of fuzzies that trailed to the base of the neck. How long had it been since he'd had a haircut again? And now, light years from anything resembling an accredited cosmotologist, he felt self conscious. He knew exactly why, but was keen to make any excuse. Truth be told, he'd been sporting a thick mop for months. It was time to remedy it somewhat.

"No no no, that's too much! Ahhh you've rrujined jit!"

Cirr grimaced as his attempts to micro-manage MARCUS during the haircut job was becoming a fiasco.

"It isn't ruined, the taper length is well within specifications of the picture I was given."

Panic-stricken, Cirr sucked on his lower lip as he watched the droids defile his hair.

"At thjis rrate, jI'd betterr just shave jit all off and seek asylum jin the Empjirre! jIf you kjill my beautjiful hajir jit's the scrrap heap forr you! Sanjis has wanted to junk you forr yearrs and jI've stopped hjim everry tjime. Not anymorre!"

MARCUS paused, visual receptors 'blinking'.

"Cirrsseeto, what a terrible thing to say."

[Sanis Prent]

"In the galley? I don't want your hair all in my food!"

I looked at my shirtless first mate as he sat, almost pitiable, at the table with a towel over his shoulders and two MARCUS modules perched on each side to anchor it.

I passed by, opened the fridge, and got the carton of blue milk out, giving it a quick sniff to make sure it wasn't ripe. Well, not too ripe. It could ride for a day. I chugged a bit out of the carton and picked up a container of some sort of leftover hash that we had on hand.

"Want me to paint your toenails too?"

This pathetic display. I knew exactly what was causing it.

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

"Sanjis, don't poke fun, thjis jis serrjious!"

Cirr looked up with a slightly annoyed, slightly pained face. Normally a bit easy-going, it was apparent his skin was a little thinner when it came to this subject.

"jI ajin't had a prroperr hajirrcut jin too long. Just because jI'm a frrejighterr jock doesn't mean jI have to look jit. You know, not too long ago jI got compljiments forr my hajirr."

A MARCUS module held aloft a strand of hair and, inspecting carefully, gave it a quick snip.

"Knowjing my luck, thjis sparrkplug jugglerr's gonna gjive me an ewok cut. jI can't bearr the thought!"

[Sanis Prent]

There was, in my mind, a solution to all this kvetching.

"How about you go to the Valiant and find some cute girl with a pair of scissors. Chicks like that sort of thing. Win-win I say. Get a real person's aesthetic working on you, and have a set of knockers hanging over your face while you get washed, shampooed, and sheared."

I reached forward and picked up a dark-colored tuft.

"And best of all, keep this shit off our dinner table. I swear you're somewhere between a dandy and a caveman at times, Cirr."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Following after Sanis was a rather familiar form, and with a glance to Cir, Loklorien s'Ilancy pulled a strange face; something between astonishment and concern.

She moved to stand beside Sanis, ever-curious at this newest display of self-consciousness from the Cizerack mechanic. A look to the shorn patch of hair in Sanis' hand, then back to Cirr.

"You know, you could've asked me to do it."

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

Cirr looked at s'Il with a mix of embarassment and fear.

"What, wjith a ljightsaberr?"

He grimaced and scratched at the back of his neck.

"Won't jit leave a rrash?"

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"Ha."

Her voice was deadpan, and the Lupine gave a roll of her eyes.

"Not everything I do is done with a lightsabre you know. I've cut Teagan's hair enough to know how to use scissors... "

She thought for a few moments before going on.

"I used to cut Zem's hair too. I'd wager that if I can cut his, I can cut yours."

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

"No offense to be meant, s'jIl, but Zem's hajirr was crrap."

For emphasis, the felinoid pulled his locks back tight and off to the side.

"Held togetherr by wjishes and engjine grrease. Wasn't that what he put jin jit?"

Forlorn again, he leaned forward, propping his chin in a palm.

"What's the pojint jI guess? jI'm doomed to fate."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"Well it was a long time ago," she defended, "I've not touched it at all in over twenty years. Whatever it looks like now is not my doing."

She stepped forward then, spurred on by his dejected attitude, and deftly plucking the pair of shears from one of the MARCUS modules, she shooed them away.

"It's not so bad," s'Il ran gentle fingers through the felinoid's hair, becoming stuck halfway through. A frown, and she carefully tried to continue. It was almost impossible.

"Ok well, maybe it is."

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

"Ow, owww, my folljicles!"

Cirr bolted up, his back stiff as a board as his tail thumped audibly against the side of the chair.

"My scalp's sensjitjive! And jI've got kjinks so go gentle!"

[Una Rakesh]

With quiet steps the woman cautiously made her way through Layla. She was mindful to not make a sound, since it seemed there was enough of that coming from the galley. The yowling she recognized - she'd recognize Cirr's voice anywhere as it was. She'd also recognized Sanis' voice. The woman she'd never heard before in her life. Sounded like an overbearing mother from the way she spoke though.

Moving to stand in the doorway, the redhead half-grimaced at the sight.

"Cirr?"

It would be a miracle if anyone in there heard her over the Cizerack's protestations.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"Calm down."

Extricating her fingers from his tangled mess of hair, s'Il gave an exasperated sigh.

"Just grit your teeth and deal with it."

She brandished a comb, holding it just over the top of his head. "Now on the count of three.

"One... "

And without warning the Lupine disregarded two and three, instead beginning the arduous task of brushing the tangles out of Cirr's mop.

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

The familiar voice speaking his name took all the pain out of the combing, and instead of complaining at the onslaught, Cirr's ears just ticked back and he made a curious face.

"Una?"

Sanis's face confirmed it, as he could see her approach. Cirr was suddenly immune from s'Il's assaults, and his mouth hung open a little.

[Una Rakesh]

Great gods almighty he did hear her. Of course that meant Sanis had turned to look at her, but that was to be expected. The blonde woman had stopped her combing to look at her as well, and with so many eyes upon her - did the blonde have a scar through one? - she felt a bit frustrated.

"Yeah," she finally offered, stepping into the galley a few more paces, "... it's me."

[Sanis Prent]

I gave a look to Una, and a look back to Cirr with a smirk.

"Just remembered, got to log a flight plan on Valiant."

The kids needed alone time, as I saw it. What was it, two years ago? Cirr was the one to keep track of those sorts of things.

I pressed by Una on my way to the ladder leading belowdeck, giving her a curious look. In my professional opinion about women, there were reasons they showed up months or years later after certain romantic encounters, and none of those reasons were good ones. Not my business anyways. Besides, Cirr would be sure to tell me about it whether I wanted to hear or not.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

In one of the few times that she shared Sanis' feelings on any matter, s'Il gently set the comb and scissors down. A polite smile and nod to the redhead, and she followed after Sanis.

He had the right idea, and for all of her normal worrying and doting, the Lupine knew when to leave alone.

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

Abandoned, Cirr did his best to tend to his mangled hair as Una came around to the forefront.

"Djidn't rrealjize you'd trransferred to the Wheel."

He smiled politely, his thoughts running a thousand miles an hour and a bit distant. Almost forgetting, he stood, offering her his seat. The last he'd seen of her, she'd been tending to a squad of Y-wings on some far-flung Rebel outpost. They'd stopped in for work and supplies and, well, things happened. It was a week's worth of fling, and they were out again. The way Cirr figured it, they'd probably never see each other again.

"How arre you?"

His ears dipped at that. What a stupid thing to ask.

[Una Rakesh]

She gave a mutual wince. How was she? From what she could remember of him though, it was a bit normal, this awkwardness.

"Fine... I suppose."

Una declined his offered seat. Her eyes wandered - throughout the galley and even over Cirr. But her gaze was as distracted as his own thoughts no doubt.

"I see you and Sanis are doing well enough. After that last time I saw you guys, I never figured you'd sign on with the Alliance."

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

"Bjit of an oddjity that we djid at all."

Cirr conceded with a nervous laugh, his tail jerking from side to side.

"But, yeah, ended up wjith the Alljiance afterr all. jI don't know forr how long, but that's how jit goes, jI guess."

He suddenly realized he was shirtless, and moved to pull his shirt of the back of one of the chairs, sliding it over his unkept hair and broad frame.

"You don't look a bjit djifferrent than when we met."

It was an earnest observation, but Cirr wasn't sure if he should've said anything, and averted his eyes a bit.

[Una Rakesh]

A weak smile, and Una looked away.

"Well thanks. You look about the same too."

And then she came to life, the reason for her visit needing to make itself known sooner rather than later.

Her eyes went up to meet his - well, she had to shift a bit to the side to meet his turned gaze - and she clasped her hands together in a bit of nervousness.

"Look Cirr.

"I'm here because of our son."