"Believe me, I don't need you to protect me." Cara laughed as she took a big swig of her spotchka, her face sterned as she dropped the tankard to the table.

"You're going out of town, what's to say you won't be ambushed by some Klatooinian raiders? You think you're going to get far without protection?"

"I'll go easy on you, you came here to look for some work and I can't help but take pity on you. Go away." You wrapped your hand around the top of the carved wooden back to help yourself to a chair, but a heavy thunk of Cara's boot against the scratched seat told you that was a bad idea. "There are plenty of seats, I suggest you pick a different one to this before I show you just how much I don't need you to protect me." The empty cup was swiftly taken away from under her and was quickly replaced with a fresh, frothy brew. "I look after the people here, not the other way around."

"If you're so tough, how come you haven't done anything about the klatooinians?" The usual chatter of the shabby tavern turned into silence as you felt the piercing eyes of what felt like the whole village on your back. "You keep saying how you don't need any help... how come the people you're supposed to be protecting have to hide from those savages every time they want their free helping of krill?" Cara's knuckles turned a harsh white as she firmly grasped the handle of her tankard. "I thought you said you were supposed to be protecting these people?"

"It's a bit more complicated than that." She said through gritted teeth, the normal patrons of the tavern still watching with fixed gazes. "Actually, you're right." She smirked as she brought the froth to her lips. "Why don't you accompany me to their hideout, and we can flush them out together? That shouldn't be a problem for such a strong, brave adventurer like you, right?"

A few of the onlookers allowed their lips to curl into an amused smile as they brought the rim of the tankard to hide from your vision whilst others just stared on waiting for something to happen.

"So, what do you say? I'll even buy you a drink before we set up, not that you'd need the extra courage."

You felt it best to grab what supplies you could and then make your way over to the next village.

~*~

Written by Aaron.