A Conversation

[Aela Talith]

Vineta
[member="Jamie Pyne"]

Aela stood quietly on the balcony of a Hotel that...well boggled the mind. The massive tower like structure pierced the sky and sat at the edge of a lakeside. Hundreds of boats, luxury yachts really, sat within the lake, dozens of people moved around on the docks, taking in the sights and marveling at the splendor that was this odd little city. Aela didn't blame them, she was just as stunned as the rest of them.

Every building in the city, every surface, every road seemed to have been designed with comfort in mind.

The room that she and Jamie were staying in was utterly ludicrous in comfort as well.

The beds were both like comfortable fluffy clouds, the blankets seemed to be stuffed with feathers, the pillows were equally divine. The shower was created to emulate a fainforest, the bath tub was bigger than she'd ever seen and everything...well everything was utterly perfect. Aela was rich, or rather her parents were rich, so she had lived a fairly comfortable life, but this place was utterly ridiculous in the amount of splendor that it provided.

She took in a deep breath of fresh air as a gust of wind poured over the tower, her hair whipping back and forth.

This was, without a doubt, the best protection detail she had ever been a part of.

Aela and Jamie had been sent here to protect a Governor of the Alliance, the man who ostensibly ran some world on the border. There had been a threat to his life, but so far in the week that she and Jamie had been here there hadn't even been a hint of danger. Thus they had enjoyed what had become...well a vacation. They were still watchful of course, still careful, but it had been nice. A good contrast to all the chaos they had experienced.

She smiled slightly as the sun began to set in the distance. They had protected the Governor for most of the day, the other team having taken over the nightshift so she and Jamie could get some rest.

It was nice.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

Real showers and baths were the greatest luxury in the modern galaxy. Jamie could spend hours soaking in the water. If she had been alone, she may have very well done exactly that. Though out of consideration for Aela she had tried to keep it to under thirty minutes. Steam covered the entire length of the tall mirror over the sink in the room as she pulled open the glass door of the shower. The air was hot, as if it were a sauna rather than a bathroom. She stepped onto the cool floor, quickly wrapping herself up in a nice thermal towel, before running fingers through her hair to shake out the clinging droplets of water. Another towel was then pulled free and twisted around her hair.

Jamie placed her hands on either side of one of the two sinks in the bathroom, looking at herself in the mirror. This had been one of the simplest jobs thus far, and definitely one of the most cozy. It felt a lot like home, perhaps even a bit better. For the most part they hadn't really done anything, short of trail along behind the man they were protecting.

Quickly she brushed her teeth, dropping the brush into a small cup on the counter top and flashing her teeth to herself, ensuring that they looked pristine. Her hand reached for the door knob and twisted, sending a sudden rush of crisp, cold air into the bathroom. The girl flinched for a moment, half forgetting that the temperature in the room was many degrees colder, due to the air conditioning, than the steaming hot room she had made the bathroom in the half hour she held herself up in.

The blonde plopped down onto the bed, laying her head back on the pillow, her leg crossing over the other as she looked over towards where Aela was standing, people watching. She didn't say anything, just watched her for a minute before she reached over the night stand and grabbed the remote for the holo projector, deciding to check the news for anything of importance.

[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

Aela heard the holo-broadcast behind her, head turning to find Jamie lazily laying on her bed. For a moment more she stayed on the Balcony, then after another minute or two stepped into the room. The sliding glass door automatically closed behind her, slipping shut with only the tiniest hiss.

The Marshall turned almost reflexively, a bit freaked out. "Weird."

She was okay with luxury, but she was pretty sure that she could close doors without too much trouble on her own. Head shook side to side and she wandered towards her on bed, sitting down on the end of it as she watched the broadcast with Jamie. Surprisingly...there was nothing on. No breaking news, no terrorist attacks, nothing. Everything seemed to be going so well that the News was having difficulty actually finding something to report on.

The current broadcast was about a pair of Nexu cubs born entirely white.

"Wow." Aela said quietly. "Guess the galaxy is quiet for once."

A rare thing really, at least since she'd joined the New Jedi Order.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

"Don't jinx it." She said, casting a glance over to Aela. "I'm enjoying doing nothing for once." The wide smirk on her face confirmed that.

The blonde tossed the remote over to the other bed beside Aela. "You can find something to watch if you want." The news certainly had nothing of note. "Anything happening outside?" She asked. Aela had been out there observing the city since Jamie had gotten into the shower. Perhaps she saw something worth looking at, or doing, or maybe there was some kind of entertainer or street performer.

It was certainly busy enough of a place that there was always something to see, even if it were just crowds of people shuffling to and from one side of the street to the other. This was a big tourist area, loaded with people from all corners of the galaxy looking for all kinds of entertainment. Vineta provided more or less any luxury one could afford to spend credits on.

[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

"Not much." She admitted.

The place certainly was beautiful, it had been designed to be. Everything about the city seemed to be utterly perfect. It felt a little artificial in truth...but she supposed that was the way of things. Even the lake itself had been built by Vanir Technologies and ATC to perfectly constitute what the City actually needed. It was nice, there was no two ways about it, and Jamie was right in saying that they shouldn't jinx it. Downtime like this was rare for them.

Very rare. "Maybe we should go around the city."

They had circled once or twice while following the governor, but hadn't been able to go out on their own.

"We have until noon tomorrow." She checked her chrono. "That's quite a bit of time to check things out."

The suggestion was unusual for Aela, she had always preferred curling up with a good book, but...well she had the idea for a good reason. Jamie was still more than a little troubled about...whatever had happened, and she figured that going out might help her apprentice. Besides, they hardly ever had time to relax like this.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

An eye perked up, looking over to Aela with a small bit of confusion on her face. Going out was the last thing she imagined the woman wanting to do. Jamie had never taken Aela for one to want to go wander about in crowds, mingle with people and sight see. Obviously the Padawan knew she could do those things, given the number of times they had done it on various missions, but to go out and do so on her own was entirely different. Aela was the type to lounge around and read, think, meditate, or otherwise remain anti-social.

It wasn't a problem for Jamie, that was just how Aela was. The younger girl had grown up in a life exposed to social gatherings, large crowds of people interacting constantly. To her it was second nature. Reading a book or interacting with strangers was all the same really.

"Are you sure?" She asked, her voice mimicking the curious look on her face.

[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

"Sure." She could already sense excitement in Jamie, these bracelets really were an odd thing. Her Padawan needed...something, something that wouldn't let her sit around and stew about everything that had happened, and perhaps while they were out...they could finally talk.

It was worth a shot. Aela cared a great deal about Jamie, and in her opinion being the girls Master didn't just entail teaching her about the force or changing the way she did things, it was about being her friend. So she would go out. They both had plenty of money to spend, each of their families being wealthy, so it wasn't like it would break the bank either. She shifted and slowly stood from the bed, tossing the remote back to Jamie. "Pull up the map."

Aela told her.

"I'll shower." She told her. "You find where you want to go first."

This place was big, lots to do.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

"Okay!" Catching the remote with her left hand she proceeded to turn her attention to finding someplace to go. She wouldn't turn down an offer to get out and do something, especially if Aela actually wanted to get out of the room for a bit, aside from when they were charged with escorting their assignment around the city from place to place. "Careful with the dial in there. I only turned it about halfway and it was almost too hot." Apparently the designers of the hotel thought it prudent to allow the temperature of the water to get hot enough to actually burn human skin. "It's probably still pretty hot in there." She had the dial nearly at that point, that was how she knew.

Jamie turned back to the projector, looking through various sections of the city while Aela went off.

The shopping center in the heart of the city was littered with what appeared to be thousands of outlets, boutiques, and storefronts. Alternatively there was also a rather large dam that was likely worth a stop for nothing more than to look out at the scenery. Nature was quite obviously something that Jamie held a great interest for. That was likely the best place to satisfy that desire. She could take or pass on the opera houses, theater wasn't a big drive for the girl, unless Aela wanted to see something there. As much could be said for the arena, though it didn't appear that much was scheduled for the arena that evening regardless.

[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

Aela took her shower quickly. Unlike Jamie she didn't find the need to linger and drain an entire ocean. She scrubbed what needed to be scrubbed then quietly stood in place within the center of the waterfalls, smiling slightly as she allowed herself to relax just a tiny bit. Steam began to fill the room and she realized just how much she'd needed...well for nothing to happen for a while. The Jedi Marshall smiled as she turned off the water, simply standing in the warm silence for a moment.

A few seconds later she stepped out of the bathroom, hair tied up and new clothes already donned. "Figure out where you want to go?"

There was plenty to see within the city. When they had first come here she'd studied plans of the place and had been amazed at the amount of...stuff that they had managed to fit in. Hotels, resort areas, arenas, shops, everything that one might ever want to visit on a vacation. It was amazing, expensive, but amazing.

"Wait wait." She said before Jamie could answer. "Let me guess."

She glanced towards the map on the screen. "Shopping."

Easy enough to guess with her padawan.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

Jamie's mouth clamped shut when Aela sarcastically guessed what she wanted to do. Her nose scrunched, lips bunching and shifting to one side. She then rolled her eyes as if annoyed by the fact that Aela thought the only thing that was on her mind was that when in truth she wanted to visit other places as well. Speaking as if she had been offended by the other girl's presumption she started off with a hmph.

"And the dam looks nice." As if that invalidated Aela's presumption that Jamie wanted to go shopping. "Was there something you wanted to do?"

She grinned, considering for a moment whether to add in what she was about to say or not. "Aside from stop at the erotica boutique, of course."

Jamie knew what kinds of novels, smut really, that Aela took enjoyment of reading. Some of them she had read herself, though she had made sure to keep those well enough hidden from her parents back home. No need to share that interest with the galaxy at large. But on more than one occasion Jamie had seen the titles of some books she recognized that the Jedi had with her from time to time.

[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

Aela's cheeks colored, but she glossed over the accusation almost instantly. "I would like to see the Opera Houses."

There was no need to discuss was novels she read on her own time, and she certainly wouldn't buy anymore with Jamie around.

"Not necessarily to see something there." That would likely take too much time and she wasn't sure if there was even anything interesting on, but she had heard the inside of the buildings was absolutely beautiful. She had once visited the Archives that Vanir Technologies had built, and that building had been a remarkable piece of construction. Not to mention it was one of the biggest libraries in the entire galaxy. Basically Aela's dream. "Just take a few pictures."

She gestured to Jamie's Camera.

"Other then that I'm alright with just walking around, and shopping." Aela said with a glare at the girl. There would be no erotic boutiques.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

Jamie burst into a small fit of laughter the moment she saw Aela's cheeks flush. "It's okay. I read The Sith Inside Me too." Just one more little jab at the girl's flustered composure, just to let her know that she knew, and Jamie would snicker and move on. With a nod the blonde tossed her legs over the edge of the bed and scooted off, pulling the towel from her hair and shaking it loose once more. She then pulled an outfit out of the few drawers beneath the projector, tossing the damp cloths onto the floor of the bathroom while she quickly dressed.

"My hair is fine as it is. It can dry on the way."

They weren't exactly going to anything fancy, otherwise she'd have made sure to fully dry and curl the golden hair before hand. This was just a spur of the moment sort of thing, and required no incredibly fancy dress or appearance. The outfit itself was rather plain as well, a simple dark colored crop top and set of shorts. The weather was warm enough as it was, comfortable for summer wear. The bracelet and sunglasses being the only two accessories.

Beside the bed her camera bag sat, which she snapped up into her arm and slung over her shoulder so that Aela could take pictures of the Opera Houses.

[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

Aela didn't say anything, she just turned away from Jamie and blew a hot puff of air out of her lips to toss some of her bangs out of her face. "Sith Inside me."

She muttered quietly.

"Garbage." Again too quiet for Jamie to hear. "Doesn't even compare to Pirate's Life."

Now that was a seminal novel one couldn't ignore. She shook her head and then turned back to see if Jamie was ready, her Padawan had thrown on some clothes and was apparently alright with her hair. Aela shrugged and then headed out the door, the heavy durasteel slid away the moment she approached it, revealing the grand hallway beyond. She frowned slightly, still kind of disliking the automatic door functions that seemingly everything in Vineta had. "Let's go."

Shopping first she supposed as she walked down the hall.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

Jamie was satisfied with the girl's lack of response. It simply reaffirmed her statement. The red in her face was all the answer she needed.

"Alright." She said, following along beside to the turbo lift at the end of the hall. The tower was enormous, the exact number of rooms it contained was hard to estimate, but there were certainly thousands. Everything about this place was immaculate, accentuated, and grand. It made Jamie feel incredibly small by comparison. While Naboo had simple elegance, this has accented glamor. It was designed very specifically and obviously that way. It was a place she certainly wouldn't call home, but for a destination? It was certainly favorable for Jamie.

The ride down was relatively silent, likely Aela still recovering from the embarrassment that Jamie thrust onto her back in the room. For half a second she felt almost bad for it, but came to the decision that she hadn't done any real harm, and that there was hardly anything to be embarrassed about. It wasn't like Jamie had pretended to be appalled by it or anything. When they reached the lobby and the frosted glass doors slid open Jamie decided then was a good time to break the silence. "The Opera Houses, are they why you decided you wanted to come out?"

[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

The warmth of Borleias washed over her as they stepped outside, the familiar scent of the ocean falling on her nose. She couldn't help but smile slightly at the sight of her homeworld, even if they were staying at a massive tourist destination instead of at her house. "Kind of."

She had wanted to see them, there was no lie to that, but it wasn't entirely the reason she wanted to go. Her lips thinned for a moment as they began to wander down the side of the street. The evenly lined cobblestones were easy enough to walk on, oddly styled in a place like this but nice.

"The truth is though." Aela began quietly. "I think you need it."

She didn't want to force Jamie into anything, but this was important. "With everything that's happened to you...I think a little bit of relaxation will be good."

 

[Jamie Pyne]

"Oh." She hadn't quite expected that. "Well. That's very kind of you." Jamie had sort of edged herself into the understanding that her life was kind of in the dumps right now. Her family, extended family, Kurt, Naboo, her duties to her people as well as training as a Jedi, it was a lot. Coupled with the small scar that now graced her skin just above the knee, reminding her of what Vrak had done, and seemingly wished to continue to do, well, she had been rather off the past few weeks. Each time there was a small break, somehow, some way, it always got worse.

If had gotten to the point where Aela knew Jamie was a mess inside, then it was clear she needed a break from the chaos.

"Thank you." She said with a very genuine smile.

Even if it were nothing more than an evening, the ability to just unwind, to try and let go some of the tension, it might be good for her. Jamie could appreciate that. It was comforting to know that somebody cared about her. Perhaps if she could organize her thoughts, settle some of the stress, and relax, she might be able to get back on track.

[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

"Everything might be going to Chaos." Aela told her padawan quietly as a group of people wandered by them. "But you need to know that I'll always be here."

It was really all Aela had to offer Jamie. She couldn't fix things with Kurt, she couldn't go back in time and stop Vrak, she couldn't even handle her parents, but at the very least she could be there for her. She was Jamie's Teacher, her friend, that was all she could do, but at the very least she would always do it. Unlike seemingly everyone else within Jamie's life Aela was about as stable as a rock. "For whatever you need."

She smiled.

They moved along the street until the lights became a bit brighter, shops started popping up around them, and the signs became far more ornate. Storefronts were illuminated and displayed everything from luxury purses to high end cigar cutters. It seemed that Vinetta had tried to cater to everyone, and succeeded. She thought that there was a shop for pretty much everything that you could imagine. For a moment she marveled at all of it, then looked at Jamie.

"Where to?" She would let her padawan lead.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

"You proved that back on Naboo." She said with a nod. "If you hadn't come," Jamie didn't finish her thought, instead looking towards the stores that Aela had pointed out. What would have happened was more than likely obvious to both of them. And even though Jamie hadn't quite explained the whole of that story either, it was clear enough that the Sith had every intention of killing her. "For whatever it's worth, I'm here for you as well."

Sappy and cliché perhaps, but she felt it needed saying. Aela was always saving her butt. But whatever Jamie could offer to the other girl she wouldn't hesitate.

She tapped her chin, looking around at all of the stores, the towering buildings above them with even more on each level. There were so many places it would be impossible to stop at every one.

"How about there?" Pointing to a small storefront that was decorated with exotic fruits from across the galaxy. Fruit that was hard to come across just anywhere, especially fresh. Sure dehydrated fruit and local wild berries were pretty common, but something like fresh strawberries, jogan fruit, or pingpears? Much more difficult. It might not have been quite what Aela expected as a first stop, or at all, but it would be nice to have during their travels as a small indulgence.

[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

"Ohh." This was something they could share a mutual interest in, food. Aela hadn't always cared about such things, not really anyway. Her mother had always tried her hardest to change that with cooking different things and Aela had always eaten everything put in front of her, but most of the time she hadn't really cared about the taste.

Lately that had changed though. After her talk with Jacen, the one about how both of them had been pushed a little bit too far, Aela had decided that she needed to actually enjoy the smaller things in life. She had figured that the best place to begin was with simple matters, food being one of them. "Let's get..."

She stepped into the store and began to quickly browse what fruit they had.

"Everything." She looked up at Jamie. "Everything."

That was a lot of fruit, and her attitude was...well somewhat unlike herself, but tonight she was making an effort, not only to get Jamie to unwind, but to allow herself to do so as well.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

The store wasn't huge, but it was by no means a small fruit stand on the corner of the street, either. "Everything?" Jamie said, almost nervously.

That's a lot of fruit.

She smiled. "O--Okay." The girl said with a nod. This will take some time. "I'll get a basket." They certainly wouldn't be able to carry everything. The store carried everything from berries, pommes, drupes, achenes, and hesperidiums. Dozens of sizes, shapes, colors, but most importantly, flavors. The galaxy was a big place, and there were certainly no shortage of planets to harvest from. Some of the more tasteful fruits however were in fact locked away behind small shielded barriers to prevent theft. Where a common fruit might cost a credit or so, certain truly exotic berries were near hundreds each.

Jamie had eaten a number of those in her life, and they were worth every single credit. Upon spotting the more pricey section Jamie let out a small "Oooh!" Sauntering over towards that section of the store, fingers flexing while her tongue danced along her lip before she bit against it, finding it difficult to resist urges.

This was probably about to become an expensive evening. And it was only just getting started.

[member="Aela Talith"]