Nar Shaddaa

Zane stood outside the restaurant he had picked, umbrella over his head to keep off the oily rain falling from the sky. common sense might say he wait inside for his date to arrive, but Z was anything but common, and believing the woman might arrive by taxi he lingered outside the door. Ready to provide her cover from the rain should she need it.

The Restaurant itself was high end, at least for the lower city, a tw'ilek run establishment by the name of 'The Ripe Season' The shop boasted of it's fresh produce, and most of the fare was vegetarian, though there was a good selection of meat dishes for those that preferred it. Reservations were not required, but they were encouraged, especially at peak hours.

The interior had plenty of plant life present, making it seem a bit less drab then the normal restaurant in this part of the city. It did close doors relatively early though, probably in a effort to keep out undesirable elements.

Taxis crawled along with the traffic, none stopping to let out any pretty women. No, Arsele arrived by more humble means, a droid pulled rickshaw dropping off the familiar blonde a little ways away under an eve.

The flash of golden hair wasn't missed, and soon enough Zan was on his way over, a smile on his lips as he approached. "Good afternoon Arsele." He greeted her warmly eyes moving over her form for a moment. "I must say, you look lovely this afternoon, I hope you didn't have any trouble arriving?"

Arsele looked up at the greeting, offering a wry smile, "Heya, Zane. Traffic was awful as always during the rain for down here. I hope you weren't waiting out in it too long."

"Not at all, it was only a few moments" Even if he had though, the answer would of been the same. Stepping under the awning he offered Arsele his arm, though she was free not to accept, before positioning the umbrella so when they stepped out young woman need not worry about the rain.

"I hope you don't mind my choice of restaurants, fresh air is hard to come by Nar Shaddaa, and while I did consider something more extravagant in Uptown, I thought The Ripe Season would fit better with lunch."

Arsele accepted the offered arm; That was within her boundaries certainly.

"An interesting choice; I've never eaten here, but word is it's a refreshing change for the area. Colour me intrigued."

"Oh? I was sure someone would of invited you here already." He replies as they stepped out into the rain, a few drops hitting the shoulder of his suit as they walked.

"It's mostly vegetarian dishes, I hope you don't mind. I just thought something fresh would be nice after a long trip through hyperspace."

"I don't mind, no."

She gave him a curious look as they walked towards the entrance, "Do I seem like the particularly carnivorous type to you then?"

"Not at all, though I've been wrong about such things a time or two." That he would admit to at least. "And I don't recall ever discussing your favorite foods."

Arriving inside he parted from Arsele for a moment to communicate their reservation to the hostess.

"Mmm... just drinks I suppose."

Arsele took care of Zane's umbrella, putting it in the restaurant's umbrella holder as he took care of the reservation.

"Thank you." He offered her a smile as he returned. The hostess moments behind him to take them to their seats.

The table for two was near the corner of the establishment allowing the pair a bit of privacy, as well as a view of the room, something Zane at least liked.

"On the topic of drinks though, did you want with lunch? Or would you prefer to absatain?" He asked as he held out her chair.

Arsele slid into a seat with a smile, "Well, that kind of depends on what I decide to order to eat. Lemme look over the menu here."

"Certainly." He nodded, making sure she was comfortable before moving to take his own seat.

The menu consisted of a variety of various cuisine based around vegetables, with the meat choices consisting mainly of different types of poultry.

"Did the landing procedures go well though? They didnt try and stick you out on the far end of port again did they?"

"Me?" she batted her eyelashes at him, "Never."

Arsele went back to looking at the menu, "I'm just sad I couldn't negotiate down the fees this time; They're certainly on edge over there."

His lips curled into a smile as he chuckled in response. "That they are..." He trailed off for a moment his tone taking a bit more serious tone. "Honestly we all should be though."

"Not even including the peace talks, things have taken a turn towards the darker around the moon here. There seems to be a string of disappearances lately, and not the normal sort either. You should be careful about being out late Arsele."

She felt she could take care of herself. But it never hurt to be cautious... or to maintain a facade.

"Of course. I'd say that's just part of life down here, but I get what you mean; It's not just the crime bosses who see both danger and opportunity with all the big wigs coming here."

"I'd say it's worse then that Arsele." He paused pitching his voice a bit lower. "There are no bodies found, and no new slaves on the auctions. Xierreau the Hutt that runs the Starcross is the one who brought it up, and you know who he has connections with, I still confirmed it with another source though, and it's getting bad."

"I know you can take care of yourself, but I've already set up a few extra precautions with the people on the Starcross, you might consider doing the same." He offered at the end, offering her a slight smile.

Taking a breath he shook his head slightly. "Sorry if I spoiled the mod with all that serious talk, I just thought you should know."

Arsele listened carefully before smiling, "Hey, it's just nice to know someone's watching out for me, you know? I don't have a crew or such to do that, so feeling like I can rely on you a little bit is refreshing Zane."

He returned her smile with one of his own. "I know a little about what it's like being out there on your own, so I like to help where I can. So, should you ever get into trouble please feel free to give me a call. I'll do what I can."

"Oh? And you'll come running, blasters blazing like the hero from some late night B-vid?"

Her smile turned into a wry smirk.

He laughed a little at that. "I'm no hero Arsele, I'd be more likely to sneak up behind your assailant and hit them over the head with a vase or something." Or just shoot them in the back.

He tilted his slightly and looked her over for a moment. "Though you would fit nicely as the beautiful damsel in distress in one of those vids." He teased.

"I ~have~ always considered acting as a backup career; The fame and credits might actually be worth the boring and hectic lifestyle. Though I suppose there might be less boring jobs an actress might have if she is open and persistent..."

She left that open ended as she finished looking over the menu, "I think I'll have that rawberry salad with womprat cheese. Would go good with a white."

It was Zane's turn to smirk. "You might just be right on that account."

Hearing her choice of wine helped him decide his own course for lunch and after calling over the waitress he placed the order, hers first followed by his own; which was a salad as well though it came with an assortment of nuts and berries and no cheese.

"Should we move onto business though? Or did you have something else you wished to discuss?"

"Business is good; It's what we're here to talk about, after all. Did you have a fairly open schedule?"

"I can free up some time over the next few days, my schedule is a little complicated at the moment though, I had a small job offering earlier, it's likely to take up some of my time."

"Was there a particular time you would prefer to play? Early in the evening? Or perhaps later?"