A Meeting in a Quiet Garden.

[Alexandra Feanor]

Alexandra leaned against the tree that stood in the middle of the flower filled and life covered garden, stone paths barely showing and the walls covered in a mass of ivy and veins. It was a common place for many in the Republic Jedi to meet and meditate, but also where the Grandmaster of that specific order remained for hours upon hours. She did not go to the grand temples or the praxeum in orbit around Arkania, refusing to have some great seat or some place of importance. She preferred her lonely temple in the forests of Alderaan, surrounded by others who sought to merely grow and become more complete.

But that was the nature of the Republic Jedi, ones who were merely Citizens of the republic, seeking to control their gifts and then return to their lives, or to study and record what they might learn from the force. To grow and to cultivate the lightside so that it may grow and better hold its place in the galaxy. The Jedi of the past had fallen into wars and fighting, focusing on only the elimination of the dark to create balance. but Alex did not see it that way. Her order would preserve the balance by studying the dark and the light, strengthening the latter through devotion and understanding of it.

Not all in her order thought that way, those like Avin Starfire finding more ground with Coren, a common ally of her order. She did not stop this though, understanding the the force chose different paths for others and eventually the galaxy would continue on with the actions of those within it meaning little. Just as the path that brought those to Alexandra's temple changed with the seasons, the creations of those within the galaxy would change with time.

Which made her smile, as she knew something new approached her home and her garden. Someone she had not met before and she was curious who sought out the temple this time. It could perhaps be someone of interest, or someone who merely wished to meditate and be left alone. Either would be welcome... though Alexandra would be lying if she said she preferred the latter.

 

[Damian Starchaser]

Alderaan was not a planet that Damian visited often. Once when it was being invaded, another time to close out a fashion deal that went nowhere, and now. He had seen the planet at its supposed best and then of course at its worse. Of course it's best didn't include this garden. Damian was, as he often was in these meetings, well over dressed. Of course he wore his suit for nearly every situation where a first impression might be needed. Not because he was business man or because he wanted to project wealth, but because it's what he was used to wearing at this point. He had tried Jedi robes and it hadn't really worked, and while more comfortable in athletic clothes or his drifters jacket that wasn't proper for meeting important people like now. No he wore his suit, overdressed but prepared for a fight, not that one would break out.

The garden was magnificent. Having been to many magnificent places Damian wasn't instantly in awe over the ascetics of the garden. Indeed planets were plants and he'd seen a number of fantastical gardens having his asociate [member="Hylocereus"] building many fantastic gardens and agricultural sites for his use by his fashion company. The kid, now married to [member="Mara Merrill-Valkner"], was gifted with plants. It was only after he opened himself up enough did he feel the the beauty of the place. Having never been the most proficient force using Jedi in the galaxy Damian rarely opened himself to the living force in ways that others he knew spouted he should.

This place was different though. Of course that was all about to be ruined when he finally met [member="Alexandra Feanor"].

First impressions were a big deal. And Alexandra was a pretty woman. And Damian had an innate distrust of pretty women. It took awhile for them to earn his trust and confidence in any meaningful way. "Damian Chase," he said dropping the Star. He often did this, and while he knew she knew who he was... sometimes he didn't know enough to just tell the truth about himself. Yeah that made sense Damian. "I have to admit I find your garden to be a singular wonder." It wasn't exactly a lie but it rolled so easily off his tongue it could have just as easily have been one. "A pleasure," he extended a hand.

 

[Cotan Sar'andor]

"Who wears a suit in a garden?"

Cotan came walking up from the opposite end of the place as Damian, the pair coming to meet Alexandra in the middle. He nodded at the grandmaster, somewhat more respectfully than he might normally—after all, he was in her territory for once. And, to Damian, he shot the man a grin, if only to show that he wasn't trying to be too mean when pointing out how over-dressed the man was. Then he resisted the urge to squint at Damian.

He looks oddly familiar.

Turning back to Alexandra for a moment, Cotan started talking again, pushing the thought to the back of his mind. "Cotan Sar'andor, by the way. I was just here dropping off some books from the praxeum on Eira Pechal, figured I'd stroll around a bit before I left. Nice place you have here." He found a different tree to lean up against, given that the centerpiece was taken. "I definitely enjoy the garden, too. I wouldn't say it's quite as great as Naboo...but it's definitely a close second." He gave another somewhat-sarcastic grin, hoping that he didn't get dirt or sticks thrown at him for the joke.

"Certainly nice to be away from Coren and Arcanus for a week, anyways. Always dragging me into either a fight or an argument."

 

[Alexandra Feanor]

[member="Cotan Sar'andor"] and [member="Damian Starchaser"] arrived one after the other and quickly intorduced themselves to Alexandra who, for her credit, just blinked and looked between the two. The two were not an expected sight and she leaned forward onto one of her hands as she watched them. The two were certainly not what she expected, certainly an odd pair and yet they were clearly not common to this place. The two choosing to comment on her garden, showing up in a suit and... a comparatively normal dressed man.

It was amusing to the woman who had not been expecting guests, and as such sat there with grease and oil stains on her tunic and trousers, not to mention the dirt and grass that clung to her. It was such a difference between the three of them that Alexandra smiled and said no words, Letting the two finish before she heard the names of two individuals she knew... well one she knew, the other she knew the reputation of. Coren was an equally odd individual and to bring him up meant that this man knew Alexandra, or Damian, also knew the two.

A soft clearing of her voice happened, and she spoke up with her chin not leaving her hand. The deep red hair hanging to the side and getting a bit infront of her face as she talked.

"As much as I would like to trust you, I doubt the gardeners on Naboo have quite the skill to surpass this... but I think that depends on the person in the first place... and thank you." She switched between the two with her gaze as a soft smile joined her voice, eyes closing and she continued to talk.

"I would assume you two know me, but such could just be coincidence that you both choose to speak with me. My name is Alex, I am the historian of the temple and it is a pleasure to meet the both of you. And thank you for the compliments on the temple as well Cotan." She turned her eyes on the man, studying him again and debating on if she should drop nut from the tree above him onto his head, but the thought vanished as she opened and eye, the golden orb leaving soon after as she closed her eyes again.

 

[Damian Starchaser]

Damian stood with a straight face on as he looked at [member="Cotan Sar'andor"] before cracking one of his disarming smiles. "It all depends on what type of garden you're going to." He adjusted his tie loosing it a little off the suit to suggest a bit more of the informal setting in which he found himself in. "I can't blame you from wanting this lovely break from my uncle Coren." he nodded to the man before reaching his hand forward. "Starchaser, Damian Starchaser. A pleasure to meet your aquantance."

Turning after the handshake he looked back at [member="Alexandra Feanor"] suppressing any predatory grin. "Coren told me where I might meet you. I've come to offer you my services, but I must say.... even covered in dirt you look utterly amazing. I'm not sure what services he might have had in mind." He made a low bow. "Damian Starchaser, also known as Damian Chase of Chase Fashion. At your service." He took her hand and bowed politely letting his lips barely touch the back of her hand before rising up. "Although if I may say, you could be one of our models if you look this good without trying. I'd love to see you in a slinky dress...."

It was a play act he had done for so long it came nearly as naturally as his true self. As a fashionista everyone underestimated him, no one took him seriously, but important people still listened. This wasn't his only cover identity of course, but it was the one he had played up the most in the last few years. "I do appear to be a tad overdressed for this little chance encounter though don't I?" he laughed it off.

 

[Cotan Sar'andor]

Ah, so Coren was the man's uncle.

"Uncle Coren, eh? Explains why you look familiar." He fell silent for a moment more, listening to the rest of the exchange. It was a bit odd to see somebody related to Coren quite so randomly. Moreso seeing a relative of Coren's in a suit. Of course, it wasn't reasonable to assume everybody in the Starchaser family would be quite like the action-prone Jedi Master that was Cotan's first acquaintance from the family. Maybe Coren was the black sheep of the family.

Somehow, I still doubt that.

The most surprising thing was finding out that Damian was involved with a fashion company. That seemed to hold his alias as its name. He resisted the urge to laugh out loud at the thought; it wouldn't do well to come across as impolite, and he already pushed the bounds quite regularly by acting as familiarly as he did with...everybody. "Chase Fashion, eh? I think I bought one of your shirts once. Saved my backside when a mercenary on Haruun Kal felt like taking a potshot at me." Then Damian dropped his next bomb on the conversation, and Cotan had to try even harder not to break out laughing—though his grin certainly grew wider.

Love to see her in a slinky dress, eh? Cotan almost couldn't believe it. "Bold move, Starchaser," he said after a moment. "Let's see if it pans out for you."

[member="Alexandra Feanor"] [member="Damian Starchaser"]

 

[Alexandra Feanor]

Alexandra could just blink as the scene played out in front of her, eyes focusing in on the two and more superficially the one who was holding her hand and had kissed it. Several thoughts crossed her mind and she had to restrain herself from just striking him in the face. Oddly though something in her chest pushed her towards a more skeptical and tempered reaction. She wondered why but she finally sat up straight.

The compliments hit her before she could correct for her body's reaction, a slight color finding her face even as she gave him that skeptical look, especially when the bit about her in a dress came up. She spoke, but with an equally skeptical tone to her voice as she focused both open eyes on the man, though they seemed to look through him, not at him.

"You offer is interesting... Sure. I'm not a jedi and I already do pit fighting, something I doubt your Uncle already has an annoyance in hearing. Why not add modeling for his nephews company." She accepted and turned to look Cotan.

"Fortune favors the bold after all."

 

[Damian Starchaser]

"Indeed" Damian replied to [member="Alexandra Feanor"]. Further adjusting his tie Damian broadened his smile and looked over at [member="Cotan Sar'andor"] raising his eyebrow a bit. "And there is never a wrong occasion for a crisp suit. I'd be happy to bring you to a fitting one day, although with your adventurous looks I'm sure a more rugged jacket might be called for. Distressed leather is en vogue. I can have a tailor set you up." Damian put his hands on the mans shoulders and acting as if he was sizing the man up. "But we can't ignore the woman of the hour can we?"

Turning back to Alexandra he said "I tend to do research on anyone I intend to meet. Coren said we should get together and while doing standard searches I have to say the holographic representation of you on your dating profile doesn't do you justice. The image recorded is not nearly as flattering as you are in real life." a Devilish smile appeared on his face as he watched the woman intently. Then without giving her a chance to respond he said "So for your shoot one of my designers had an idea. He told me... pastels. Well actually he always says that. "

 

[Cotan Sar'andor]

Cotan wasn't able to keep the laughter back after Alexandra, somewhat unexpectedly, agreed to the request. "It sure does," he replied to her comment, before Damian came over and seemed to size him up. The laughter likely made it somewhat difficult. "Suits aren't my style, sorry. I might take you up on the jacket, though." Then he turned back to Alexandra, steering the topic of discussion back towards the modelling. Cotan almost burst out laughing again.

Holonet dating profiles, eh? This just keeps getting better and better.

He listened to Damian for a moment, before raising an eyebrow at the end. "Pastels are really only good if you're advertising spring wear, maybe summer," he countered. "At least, for the way we do things on Naboo, that's how it's always been. Neverminding how they always seem too...youthful-looking." He glanced back at Alexandra, stroking his chin thoughtfully. If he was going to be here for this discussion, he might as well try and get some sort of input in.

"I think you'd be better off trying to go for something dignified—more like your suit, less like the casual clothes that I've got. What ideas do your other designers have?"

 

[Alexandra Feanor]

[member="Damian Starchaser"] had an interesting set of information on how he knew about Alexandra, or atleast knew who she was and that thought made her wonder. Especially when he mentioned a certain set of words.

'A dating profile... Abigail...' Her daughter seems to have meddled in her life once more, making her very curious as to the existence of this profile.

She would need to ask Eve to find and remove such a thing from the Holonet later.

What came next was another compliment that made her raise a brow and wonder what the man might be referencing considering her rather unruly looks at the moment. There was absolutely no way that the man was telling the truth unless Abigail had placed a far less flattering picture on such a profile... which Alexandra doubted. So the most likely answer to his comment was that they were praise to garner her attention, which made her smile a bit.

Even if unlikely to be true, the compliment did make her happy. What came next lost her though when the two started talking about pastels, a field of conversation she was dreadfully underprepared for. She didn't dress in a more formal manner for this reason, not really having had the time to learn about and understand the finer things in life. For her, ships and knowledge were what was important, which made her sigh when they talked about what she should wear.

It was amusing to her, so she said nothing, only smiling.

Though, she did comment on the facts lain before her.

"I would recommend something that does not... closely match the color of my hair. You will find that there are certain unseen things about me that would become rather troublesome for your shoot if I decide to drop the illusion... And if I might add in my input. I do prefer the color silver, its kind of my thing."

 

[Damian Starchaser]

"So," Damian started after hearing the others out. "For you my fine sir, a rugged jacket. Something hardy with a frontiersmen vibe. Nerf leather, soft, but thick for protection. Layers of deflex of course for protection on speeders, or in the harsh environment of a nondescript rimworld." Looking over [member="Cotan Sar'andor"] he smiled and gave him two playful pats on the shoulder. Damian didn't know much of anything about Cotan but his first impression was favorable. Yes this Cotan fellow seemed a decent sport. As for [member="Alexandra Feanor"].... "And a nice silver dress, something with a bit of slink, soft material. It will be great."

Pulling a pocket square from his front beast pocket he reached out and removed a smudge of color from Alexandra's cheek. "So now that has been sorted let's get down to business." he folded the little piece of cloth again and placed it back in it's proper space. "I did come here with a purpose besides schmoozing you into modeling." The broad smile on his face turned a bit more somber as he looked back at the woman. Eye contact was important, and so he gave her a look straight into her eyes to help show his sincerity. "I came to see if there was anything I could be of service."