[and LO, cassian is there, thirteen minutes later, because he is perpetually early. he doesn't like being social, but he knows how to hold himself at bars; it's with a very light, casual step and an easy posture that blends in with the rest of the patrons while he waits for poe at the counter.]
[ Poe wanders in wearing something as close to the standard-issue browns of a casual uniform as he could find, a fresh leather jacket thrown on against the cold. He's not particularly focused as he scans the bar--he still has that list in his head, running like a mantra.
Muran. Lampar. Kun. Asty. Arana. Furillo. Meltsa. Seastriker. Teffer. Wright.
Blame yourself and you'll wish you'd died too, he thinks, with irony.
That's about when his meandering search finds Cassian at the bar. He slides onto a stool next to the man. ]
[he doesn't move when poe slides in, having already noticed him arrive. he does glance sideways when poe sits down though, expression fairly unreadable until he figures out what else poe wants from him.]
From a distance. I never knew so many people hated birds.
[but he can still treat it lightly because he DOES get the sense poe doesn't need a serious sit down]
I think what makes someone a kid is very dependent on circumstance. [he probably left most of his childhood behind as soon as his father died on carida and he hadn't even reached the double digits yet.]
[when he was rey's age, he was already in intelligence.] But I know she was isolated on Jakku.
[he orders something very very mild and watered down. there's a few moments of silence, then -] I don't know who Karen is.
Gee, you think? [ Poe snaps it out, then very literally bites back on his temper, briefly clenching his teeth before he relaxes into letting the anger go. He pinches the bridge of his nose. ] Sorry. Yeah, I know. She hasn't had an easy life. I know that. But it's about to get a lot harder and a whole lot meaner.
[ The bartender likes Poe. Their drinks come fast, Poe's tonic and lime and Cassian's whatever-it-is. ] She's still a kid, and I hate knowing what growing up is going to mean for her.
[ He hates knowing what it's going to mean for all his kids. His gunners, his techs. They're passionate, vibrant, driven. Some of them have lost more than he can imagine. But so many of them are still so young. ] Karen's a friend. She was the one toe-to-toeing with Taako.
[when poe snaps, cassian just gives him a very flat and very unimpressed look.] I am not here to fight with you. [he'll leave bro.]
Nor am I saying things did not get blown out of proportion. Of course Rey is young. We all are. War does not make exceptions.
[he looks at his drink, thinks about being dead, and knocks back a sip.] We are on a moon with a portal that pulls people in from different dimensions. A little open mindedness will go a long way.
I was not talking about you. You elected to turn yourself into a bird.
But obvious skepticism is too antagonistic.
[you gotta be subtly curious even if you're full of wtf because then people will actually answer you and no one fights! god it's like people don't know how to get information about strange scary things like magic.]
[he has zero doubts that poe enjoyed every single moment of it.]
[he also has zero doubts that he walked right into such a direct question. it doesn't quite catch cassian off guard, but it's a mildly sudden conversation shift.]
[the question hangs for a few moments, and cassian lets it.] I have worked with Pathfinders, but I have never been one. [even before scarif. he knew a lot of them. he takes a sip of his own drink.] You are fishing for what I did. The answer is Intelligence.
[ 'Mildly sudden shift' could possibly be Poe's middle name if Poe's middle name weren't Shara.
He shrugs expansively--yep, he's fishing, not gonna deny it.
He's also gonna stay quiet for a little while after Cassian says what he did. Poe knows Intelligence people. They're all sharp edges unless they're too smooth to show a fault, and suddenly Cassian makes a lot more sense to Poe. ]
My dad was with the Pathfinders. I've done a little bit of intelligence work, but. [ Poe squints, a prolonged wince. ] Usually it ended with blowing things up.
[ He's glad the First Order is in the open now, that there's no more pretending or ducking around the New Republic's embargo on military action. He's glad, and whenever he thinks about that, he hates himself a little bit for it. ]
At least I was mostly the one causing the explosions.
[the quiet isn't unusual. people tend to go a little silent when they find out he's intelligence, because even though it says nothing in detail, it opens the door to ideas. intelligence agents are like shadows.]
The Pathfinders are invaluable.
[cassian just sort of...looks at poe for a second, trying to imagine him doing any kind of undercover or intelligence work. it's literally impossible. he wears his heart on his sleeve.]
[of course he blew everything up.]
The only time it's a good thing to end with an explosion is if that is the end goal, you realize.
[ Poe sits up a little straighter at Cassian's declaration. Not that he didn't always think that himself, not that he won't consider his parents' service invaluable until his own dying day, but it's different to hear it from someone who was there that his father's contribution is valued.]
It usually worked out.
[ Except for that last time on Jakku. But hey who talks about that certainly not Poe.
[the pathfinders did a lot of the gritty and dangerous work on the frontlines. cassian absolutely utilized them when he deemed it necessary.]
[he stares again though. who tf put this man on a covert mission?]
'Usually' does not inspire much confidence. [there is maybe a little judging. or a lot. he is basically a super spy, okaY!!] I hope you did not do it often.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
after That Whole Thing
[ and like not being stared at or worried about. ]
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[liSTEN.]
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Not all of us can fly.
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do you want a drink or not, andor?
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Fifteen minutes?
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Muran. Lampar. Kun. Asty. Arana. Furillo. Meltsa. Seastriker. Teffer. Wright.
Blame yourself and you'll wish you'd died too, he thinks, with irony.
That's about when his meandering search finds Cassian at the bar. He slides onto a stool next to the man. ]
So you saw that mess.
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From a distance. I never knew so many people hated birds.
[but he can still treat it lightly because he DOES get the sense poe doesn't need a serious sit down]
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Yeah, well.
[ Poe sighs. ] She's a good kid. She just... Well, she's a kid. And Karen thought Taako drugged me, so that was fun.
[ The bartender appears, a crooked smile on her face, and says "The usual, commander?"
Poe salutes, and the woman turns her attention to Cassian. "What can I get you, hon?" ]
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[when he was rey's age, he was already in intelligence.] But I know she was isolated on Jakku.
[he orders something very very mild and watered down. there's a few moments of silence, then -] I don't know who Karen is.
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[ The bartender likes Poe. Their drinks come fast, Poe's tonic and lime and Cassian's whatever-it-is. ] She's still a kid, and I hate knowing what growing up is going to mean for her.
[ He hates knowing what it's going to mean for all his kids. His gunners, his techs. They're passionate, vibrant, driven. Some of them have lost more than he can imagine. But so many of them are still so young. ] Karen's a friend. She was the one toe-to-toeing with Taako.
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Nor am I saying things did not get blown out of proportion. Of course Rey is young. We all are. War does not make exceptions.
[he looks at his drink, thinks about being dead, and knocks back a sip.] We are on a moon with a portal that pulls people in from different dimensions. A little open mindedness will go a long way.
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Poe sighs again, leaning forward until his forehead rests against the bar. ] My mind gets any more open and my brain'll fall out.
[ He sits up again, the rolling the bleak mood off with a stretch of his shoulders. ] Which isn't true, but it sounded good.
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I was not talking about you. You elected to turn yourself into a bird.
But obvious skepticism is too antagonistic.
[you gotta be subtly curious even if you're full of wtf because then people will actually answer you and no one fights! god it's like people don't know how to get information about strange scary things like magic.]
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[ A tiny, tiny smile, backed by the memory of coasting on the day's rising thermals.
Poe turns his glass incrementally on the counter, studying Cassian in silence for a little while. ]
When we first met, I would've guessed you were with the Pathfinders. But you weren't, were you?
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[he also has zero doubts that he walked right into such a direct question. it doesn't quite catch cassian off guard, but it's a mildly sudden conversation shift.]
[the question hangs for a few moments, and cassian lets it.] I have worked with Pathfinders, but I have never been one. [even before scarif. he knew a lot of them. he takes a sip of his own drink.] You are fishing for what I did. The answer is Intelligence.
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He shrugs expansively--yep, he's fishing, not gonna deny it.
He's also gonna stay quiet for a little while after Cassian says what he did. Poe knows Intelligence people. They're all sharp edges unless they're too smooth to show a fault, and suddenly Cassian makes a lot more sense to Poe. ]
My dad was with the Pathfinders. I've done a little bit of intelligence work, but. [ Poe squints, a prolonged wince. ] Usually it ended with blowing things up.
[ He's glad the First Order is in the open now, that there's no more pretending or ducking around the New Republic's embargo on military action. He's glad, and whenever he thinks about that, he hates himself a little bit for it. ]
At least I was mostly the one causing the explosions.
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The Pathfinders are invaluable.
[cassian just sort of...looks at poe for a second, trying to imagine him doing any kind of undercover or intelligence work. it's literally impossible. he wears his heart on his sleeve.]
[of course he blew everything up.]
The only time it's a good thing to end with an explosion is if that is the end goal, you realize.
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It usually worked out.
[ Except for that last time on Jakku. But hey who talks about that certainly not Poe.
Don't judge him Cassian gosh. ]
I said I did it, I never said I was good at it.
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[he stares again though. who tf put this man on a covert mission?]
'Usually' does not inspire much confidence. [there is maybe a little judging. or a lot. he is basically a super spy, okaY!!] I hope you did not do it often.
[kanyeshrug tbh.]
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He looks away from Cassian and lifts his drink, studying the lime at the bottom without taking a sip. ] Didn't have much of a choice at the time.
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