The burning glow, and the screams that accompanied it. The hum and thrum of death, and the chase into darkness and void. The end of childhood innocence. These are the hues in which nightmares are painted. The details are not always quite so dire perhaps; were one to study the elements in isolation, some of them would be rather mundane in fact. One a burning haze, the other a flickering glow of a holo-ad's projector that has seen better days. One a scream, the other the sound of speeders passing in the near-distance. The undeniable sound of finality one moment, shortly followed by the jingle of that damned holo-ad. And just think, the sight of *both* of those things, one so shortly after the other, had been firsts for her.

She still wakes up in a cold sweat like this now and then, the echoes of her screaming fading; the same nightmare imposing itself on her as it has done many times before. The memory of that day burning itself into her retinas all over again. Of course, Tylia knows the after image will fade just as the tension in her muscles will fall away. At the very least, breakfast will be a distraction. And whatever remnant of these damned echoes is still left behind after that will have to struggle with more immediate concerns for the privilege of keeping her attention.

With a sigh, she went to the task of getting ready for the day and then find breakfast; whatever semblance of it could be found in this motel or the streets near it.

It wasn't the type of place to offer breakfast, beyond stale, burnt caf. So, Jaxom had gone out and purchased some. He'd brought back a wide assortment of pastries and several cups of fresh caf. It wasn't enough for everyone staying at the hotel, but it would feed a few.

First come, first served.

When she got down from her room, she found that breakfast waiting. At first, she thought it was just a 'package' deal. That was because she wasn't really a morning person; because she was certainly clever and experienced enough to know that places like these didn't have package deals. Bare minimum, that was the draw.

So she'd already sat herself down without a word and was about to start eating when the thought finally occured to her that this was strange.

"Uhm... wait," she looked around for the person who had arranged all this, "this isn't mine, is it?"

"You're here before anyone else." he sat down across from her. "It's yours."

"Nothing's free," she said, though the tired looking young woman still started eating.

"Thanks."

"It cost a few credits, but I figured it was worth it." he shrugged. "A taste of Bellionas for those who haven't been here before, or a reminder for those who have."

It wasn't bad; as far as planetary tastes went.She's had food much worse. Just as she's had food of such quality that it was valued at prices far beyond anything available on this planet. Or maybe that was just because of the rarity. Cheap but filling was often the better choice, in any case.

"You're local? Didn't think there'd be any staying at a place like this."

"Used to be local. A long time ago." he explained. "I don't have a home here anymore."

"Well," she said after taking a bite, "There's a lot of people like that all over the galaxy, I suppose. But, nobody's blown up the planet. So unless there's some other reason why you couldn't, you could always make this your home again."

"Maybe." There was a wistful grin. "But, not yet. Not as things are now."

"Well, I guess there's only a few reasons why that could be. So, how high is the bounty?"

It was probably a joke; she looked nothing like a bountyhunter.

"Good question." he chuckled. "There should be one, from one side or another. It felt like I left a job undone when I left. I'd like to finish it now."

It wasn't as if she had the inclination to particularly care about the plights of random strangers; even those that bought her breakfast. But neither was she inclined to dismiss them.

"Oh? An actual job job? Of the kind that nets you bounties? Now you have my attention."

"No." he shook his head. "It's the kind of thing where you lose a fight you couldn't win, but it still bothers you. You still want to fight. One way or another, you want to finish it."

"Shame," she said, "could've used a real job myself. It's hard having to rely on strangers bringing in breakfast."

"I have a feeling there will be a few jobs coming." he shrugged. "For better or worse, I'm expecting some trouble to be stirred up here on Bellionas. That kind of thing usually brings opportunities."

Another one, then, she suspected.

"Could be so. Could just end up being another one of those fights you can't win."

"Probably. But, I think I still have to fight it." he shrugged. "If things go bad, you may be able to turn me in for a bounty."

"Promise? Better make sure you earn a high one, though. Otherwise I might feel conflicted about turning in someone who bought me breakfast."

"Someone should benefit if I mess up." he grinned. "I'll make sure to make it big."