A New Festival of Lights.

[Alexandra Feanor]

[member="Jessica Rye"] would find Alexandra's head slowly rising and turning look at the woman who had approached her. No other motion followed though, her lets remaining in their place at the far end of the bench, resting on the arm while her tail drifted off the side and swung idly. She couldn't really control the latter appendage, but its presence was still very obvious considering the red color and white tip, and she was not bothering to hide it tonight. Other than that her one arm remained behind her head while the second held onto the bottle, half hanging off the bench itself and the bottle swinging like a pendulum.

She did smile though when Jessica had arrived, not wanting to be rude and even moving her head in what was meant to be a bowing like motion, though in truth it just looked awkward with her laying as she was. It was there though, for what it was worth.

"Got to cherish what some liquid courage and happiness it can bring, for what little time that it does." Her smile faded for a moment before returning and she watched as the woman pushed away from the railing, the fuzzy cape being dusted off. She was an interesting one and it made Alexandra's mind clear up a bit, focusing on the woman and curious about what her intent was.

"As for where you might get one, I suggest a stand not far from here. I can show you it if you so require, I am doing nothing of importance right now. Also, dear sister? You are going to have to explain that one to me, my siblings are missing or dead... I think." She always wondered about that fact, wondering if they were truly gone. She only knew about her oldest brother, and even he was dead now.

 

[Alexandra Feanor]

Mispost

 

[Jessica Rye]

Jessica smiled.

"Sister, dear sister. It's just what I call people sometimes. A... um? Colloquialism, I suppose. Hehe. Anyway. Pay it no mind. It is a party, isn't it."

She gave a soft laugh and a curtsy. Then touched her heart. "Jessica. Jessica Rye. A pleasure."

Rye then softly turned to motion towards the drink stands, "And yes. Please! Let's. Otherwise? Poo. I shall be sure to become quite lost. Hehe."

[member="Alexandra Feanor"]

 

[Mereel Vaun]

Seo had decided to hold her ground as he edged closer to her, preventing him from getting out of the glitter blast radius by just easing her backwards alone.

That in itself may not have been a problem, but she had also decided to exchange a string of her lights to him now, keeping him where he was. He thought for a fraction of a second that he was going to be able to move to safety after that, but then he felt her wrapping her hands around the back of his head and he realized it was over.

The storm of confetti and glitter began raining down on the top of his head and upper back, and he reluctantly pulled his lips back away from Seo's.

As he opened his eyes and let his hands fall from her waist to straighten himself out, a string of confetti attached itself to his lower lip and the final few specks of glitter planted themselves on his left cheek and mouth.

The sudden absence of her contact gave him a second to appreciate just how fast his heart was beating. He blew the string of confetti away with a breath and began ruffling his right hand through his hair in an attempt to get some of the newfound colors out of his hair.

Although the ruffling of his hair might have conveyed minor annoyance at the glitter, his face was absolutely beaming as he began taking in their surroundings. It seemed she had lead him to a spot with several couples in various stages of doing what they had been doing seconds before, not entirely secluded but more than enough off of the beaten path to prevent the people stopped here from being a nussiance to crowd foot traffic.

Mereel looked back to Seo with a dubious grin and pointed to the string of lights now around his neck as a possible revelation dawned on him, "Did you get your lights like how you gave me mine?"

A stifle of restrained shocked laughter crept into the edge of his voice, "If you did, you should know that you made someone else's month."

[member="Seo Linn"]

 

[Seo Linn]

If it was in her nature to say, 'I told you so', she would have done. Technically it was in her nature, but not until she was totally at ease with the other person. When that happened, Seo was almost completely different. Here though she kept a hold of her humor, but some of it shone in her eyes.

Eventually the kiss ended when Mereel pulled away. Of course the glitter hit them like it was supposed to and he ended up rubbing it deeper into his hair in an attempt to get it out. Some of it did brush off, but he was grinning so all in all, her plan to get him involved in the festival had worked. It also relaxed him or so it appeared to Seo.

"Well yes. Would you like another one?"

She did ​not intend to spend their entire time at the festival with locked lips, but that kiss was certainly one she would like to repeat.

"Considering you didn't know what to expect, you made mine."

Now he was at least partially covered with the festival's glitter and a little into the spirit, she wondered what he him so down in the dumps before.

[member="Mereel Vaun"]

 

[Mereel Vaun]

Mereel simply smiled and shook his head in mock disapproval as she admitted how she got her lights.

His heart was still beating fast from their last round, and at the moment he wanted nothing more than to get another string of lights from Seo.

"Yeah, well, I might've made more than your month if I hadn't been trying to dodge glitter during it. Although, now that I'm a little less distracted . ."

He let his voice trail off teasingly. He wanted to get back into it straightaway, but for some reason his brain decided now was a good time to remind him about the journal.

Although he had originally asked her to meet him solely about the journal, he didn't think he had the stomach to ask her go through with it anymore.

He already felt responsible for when she got shot up on Carida, and so far he had done nothing to repay her for that favor. And here he was again, bringing another issue to her doorstep.The worst part of it was that he thought being shot in the legs was a much smaller favor to ask than using the force to see what had happened on the derelict. Didn't leave close to the same impact on the mind.

And so he decided that he didn't want her to use psychometry on the journal tonight, or preferably ever. He would find another use for the journal, or he could just find a different lead to go off of.

Mereel let a grin settle on his face, thinking the issue would be successfully averted, "Hey, let's not worry about the journal tonight. I passed by a place on the way to the café that I'd much rather show you instead."

Since he still didn't know that he hadn't brought it up when he reached out to her, he casually mentioned his sister's diary without any other context and had already moved on to planning what to do next.

[member="Seo Linn"]

 

[Seo Linn]

It was true what Mereel said, even if he was joking more than being serious. The kiss was a surprise to him and unexpected, but sometimes those were the best kind. For now they would have to make do with the one, but Seo had the feeling that would change before the day was through.

She could read him pretty well by now and knew something was on his mind. It must be the reason he had asked to meet with her in the first place. Still something unknown to her.

Not being a psychic, she couldn't read his thoughts or know what he was going to say. He slid in a comment about a journal at the same time as mentioning seeing a place he wanted to explore with her. An item or personal belonging would be there any time, but this festival wouldn't. The journal could be dealt with later.

Giving the hand they were still holding a little squeeze, Seo gave him a grin. This festival really had gotten its hold on her and opened her up like nothing else had since she was a child.

"Show me this place. I'm looking forward to whatever it is. Assuming you keep it a mystery, I have no idea what to expect. Pay back for the kiss, huh?"

[member="Mereel Vaun"]

 

[Eugen Aker]

Dress

Jyoti didn't have positive memories with her emergent Force abilities as a child, so in moments like now, she enjoyed observing Allyson working through her new powers, still full of a sense of wonder. I made her realize how often she took her own powers for granted.

"I mean, I'm fine with whatever you want to do, buuuuuuuuuuuuuuut...I'm kind of interested to see you dance."

She looked up at the sky, smiling. "We always have stargazing to look forward to as a backup, in case you turn out to have two left feet."

[member="Allyson Locke"]

 

[Alexandra Feanor]

[member="Jessica Rye"]

"You are certainly odd with your speech... but who am I to judge. I am the hermit that has lived in holes or a forest most of her life." She smiled and drew herself up, still quite stable and comfortable. She had downed a good portion of the bottle but she had come to realize this newer body does not get drunk so easily. She was clearly affected though, looking a bit more happy than one normally should, or maybe that was just who Alexandra was.

She would quickly lead Jessica back down the street, passing people and vendors again and soon turning, letting her body direct her down the street backwards as she started talking. Something about the night lit a fire in Alexandra, she didn't know what though. She felt like she should, considering her body's age. She felt like she was actually young again and that hit her harder than she had expected.

"Well, Call it what you may, happy to be called such. Something about the title feels good." She smiled at Jessica, continuing her almost automatic walk backwards for a bit longer before turning back around and walking normally forward once more.

"So, it shouldn't be far. How about you tell me about where you came from. Are you one of the Jedi from here?" She grinned, a knowing light flickering in her eye as she looked back, able to sense what Jessica was.

 

[Allyson Locke]

[SIZE=10pt]Raising an eyebrow, Allyson glanced towards the Echani as they continued to move towards the area that music was playing. “Two left feet, my dear Jyoti my feet are light, and I can dance with the best of them. I’m Corellian after all” Allyson smirked and turned her head from the woman, being Corellian had nothing to do with dancing – it just was a good excuse to use when explaining why she was good at something. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]For the most part they were alone, and Allyson took the moment to grasp the Echani’s hand, locking fingers with her. Usually, Allyson fought the urge to do this, but right now felt like a good time. Small moments like this made everything they did worth it. The building that the music flowed from was in view, people moved to the beat of the serenade. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]“Seems like we’re here, by the way, who said you were just going to be watching. I need a partner, unless you have two left feet” Allyson grinned as she stole a kiss on the woman’s cheek. “It will be fun, promise.” [/SIZE]

[member="Jyoti Nooran"]

 

[Mereel Vaun]

He had no doubt she was happier tonight than he had ever seen her before. That simple reason alone gave him the feeling that they had made the right decision in forgoing using psychometry on the journal tonight. A feeling that was only reinforced when he felt her squeeze his hand.

The night was like something of a confused dream to him, but despite the loops Seo had thrown him for, or perhaps because of them, he knew this was the happiest he had felt in a while too.

"You can call it payback if you want, come on -"

He turned around to backtrack the path they had taken, gently pulling her along by the hand as he began walking into the flow of footraffic. "I think you're gonna love this."

The crowds around them thinned more and more as Mereel lead them down haphazardly layed out commercial sidestreets. He smiled as he saw a familiar multi-tiered, 13 story office building just up ahead. It towered above the smaller three and four story buildings placed tightly on either side of it.

The middle of the street they were currently on had a small number of speakers and a couple of food vending carts set up. The area was clearly still part of the festival, but it was more of a sanctuary for couples than the crowded main areas where music was blaring and food vendors lined the streets in droves.

Mereel thought the place was perfect. Not because he wanted an intimate dance, but because there were far less people there who might've ended up witnessing their ascent. Mereel lead the duo past the small company of festival goers and into the narrow and dark alleyway between one of the smaller office buildings and the larger tower.

Thankfully, no one else was in the alley when they got there and Mereel finally let go of her hand. He slid his newly freed hand behind his jacket and pulled it out brandishing a self-hoisting grappling spike launcher.

Although he had never tested the launcher's height limitations, the man he had bought it from said that it had an effective range of up to 200 meters, well over what was needed to get them to the top of the tower's first tier. He wasn't particularly worried about it being able to support the weight of the both of them either, he had used the thing to climb a mountain in full armor with a heavy hide coat and a loaded backpack over his shoulders.

He had no reservations at all when he took aim at a duracrete pillar just above the edge of the first tier and fired the liquid cable. He looked at Seo with a boyish grin.

"Grab on, and hold on tight."

[member="Seo Linn"]

 

[Eugen Aker]

"Good or bad, it's going to be fun for me seeing how you do."

The reserved Echani didn't peck her back, not a fan of public displays, but she did give the Corellian's hand a light squeeze under the cover of the long shadows cast by the dim street lamps that lined the street.

They were in the middle of a commercial district, so it wasn't all that hard to find a place for dancing. It was called the Big Band Club, lively jazz beats overflowing from huge double doors each time the slid open for new patrons.

Closer, and she could feel the pulse of the music right against the skin, while in the Force, she was nearly smothered in waves of frenetic energy. It was intoxicating, and the Empath let if flow through her to leave her with a pleasant buzz.

Allyson asked to be her dance partner, but the Echani shook her head, a devilish grin on her face.

"I really want to see how good you are, so we each pick a partner to compare. Would you like to make things interesting?"

[member="Allyson Locke"]

 

[Seo Linn]

With the open change in her, Seo couldn't help but chuckle under her breath when he said she could call it payback if she wanted to. So it wasn't exactly payback, but still a mystery to her when he lead her away from the main part of the festival.

He took her to a more commercial district with more office buildings than anything else. Only one was very large though and it appeared that was their target. Holding hands and walking was a nice change from running for their lives and getting shot at. Or in her case, actually getting shot. All in the line of work though and something she would do for her friend.

When she thought they were going to stop and listen to one of the various speakers or get some of the food or drink, Mereel surprised her and took her an empty ally. Nobody had noticed them going there, but Seo wasn't worried about something happening. In fact, she trusted Mereel greatly. Enough that she let go of her inhebitions and allowed more of her personality to show.

Watching as he fired a grappling line, she figured out what he intended. His words of grabbing on and holding tight were met with a grin. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she leaned to plant a quick kiss on his cheek.

"For luck."

[member="Mereel Vaun"]

 

[Allyson Locke]

[SIZE=10pt]The bombardment of emotions was something the Corellian wasn’t used to, but she compared it to the feeling of being surrounded by thousands of buzzing machines. Exhaling softly, she gathered herself and looked towards the Echani. The grin that spread across the woman’s face always spelled out something interesting for the pilot. Though the response was something she hadn’t expected. Blinking quickly, Allyson kept a smile on her face, but she still sighed and shook her head softly.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]Still unpredictable, Jyoti suggested a competition and that Allyson needed to prove herself. She was never the type to back down and this was going to be no different. Crossing her arms, she wished she would have worn something not her spacey uniform. “Alright then, but I know its because you’re scared I’m going to make you swoon with these moves.” A cheeky grin and Allyson looked towards the doors and then back towards the Echani.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]“Let’s make it interesting. Any rules or anything I need to know before I find the lucky soul who gets to dance with me?” Pausing for a moment, she shrugged. “You’ll owe me at least one dance after this got it?” [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt][member="Jyoti Nooran"] [/SIZE]

 

[Mereel Vaun]

Mereel almost returned her kiss with one of his own, but he was a little preoccupied with making sure he didn't bork the grappling job. He realized if he messed it up their injuries had the potential of being a lot worse than what had happened to Seo's legs on Carida.

So instead of taking the time to return the favor and risk the loss of focus he remained locked on ascending cable. Although most of his attention and his eyes were directed upward, he allowed a delighted smile to show on his face and spoke the words that came easiest to the mind,"Thanks, that should be enough to get me up. You though -

The spike launcher shuddered in his left hand as the cable slackened. With the cable seemingly stopped he smiled and looked back into Seo's eyes, ".. actually, you know what? That'll work. One arm just needs to be a little lower on my shoulder like -" he nudged her arm on his right shoulder a little ways away from his neck with his free hand, "so."

He waited five seconds more to make sure the hook had found its mark, and when it didn't come back down to smack him in the head he was satisfied enough to test the cable strength with a strong tug from his right arm. The cable went taut, and he felt it try to pull the spike launcher from his hand in an instant.

He hit the spike launcher's activation trigger and held onto the device with both hands for dear life. It took all of muscle in his arms and no small amount of grip from his fingers, but after twenty long seconds they were lifted above the edge on the roof of the building's seventh floor.

As soon as he felt it was safe to do so, Mereel released his grip on the spike launcher and let it pull itself into the duracrete pillar that extended up to support the next tier of floors.

Mereel let out a deep exhale of exhaustion and let his relief at their success drench his voice,"That was a good workout, we should do it more often."

He didn't have to adjust his vision any to see what he had wanted to show Seo. Dim, floating orbs of blue light littered the city's airspace in all directions, illumaniting every corner of the planet's sky that his eyes allowed him to see. Although he had already seen it before, the sheer spectacle of it all brought a smile to his face and made him forget any tiredness he had felt.

Not wanting to ruin her first impression with any more of his typical banter, Mereel bit his tongue and sauntered over to the ledge of the building to sit down.

[member="Seo Linn"]

 

[Seo Linn]

Doing as Mereel asked and allowed him to reposition her arm as it wrapped around him, she anticipated the abrupt movement up. She was a little surprised he was able to hold the both of them and his grip on the gun. Not counting how long it took to get where he was taking, her, Seo looked forward and watched as the building passed by them.

It really did not take that long and she was on her feet again. She had to chuckle a bit at what Mereel said about that being a workout. Lightly tapping her midsection, she gave him a playful smile.

"Or maybe I could use a little weight loss."

​Turning around, she was able to view what he had brought her here for. She looked up and around them in wonder and almost confusion. It wasn't like anything she had seen before and when she was done, looked back at Mereel.

"What are they?"

Taking a seat next to him now that her initial wonder was over, she gazed out across the city in front of them.

[member="Mereel Vaun"]

 

[Mereel Vaun]

His eyes shrank away from the sky for a second and a little color went into his cheeks as she sat down next to him. Until she had laughed and said her joke he hadn't realized the faux pass in his workout comment.

"Considering you haven't thrown me off the roof yet, I'm guessing you know I didn't mean anything by that.

Although now that you've mentioned it -"

Not one to let himself end on an embarrassed note, Mereel turned his head slightly to look at Seo's eyes with a teasing glint in his own and a spirited grin. He lowered his voice and tried his best to make it sound sultry, "I haven't actually seen you without a shirt on yet."

The comment was more bold and particularly direct than what he usually cared to make, but he figured he could get away with it with her. After all, she was the one who had started off their night with a whisper in his ear and a surprise kiss. He felt it was only fair for him to get a turn at being the wild one.

After he had already dug himself in with that comment, he decided to push the envelope just a little bit further. "Do you really want to know, or do you want me to show you?"

It was the same exact question she had asked him earlier at the café, down to the word. If she answered with the latter though, like he had, she wasn't going to get a surprise kiss or anything like that, or at least not right away.

His question was very much still about the lights, one he would gladly provide an answer for either way, but the reckless and carefree spirit in him had high hopes she would choose the latter.

[member="Seo Linn"]

 

[Seo Linn]

Not noticing the blush, Seo had not taken anything serious from his comment and made a joke at herself in the process. With that spirit of humor between them, he suggested he hadn't seen her without a shirt on.

"I'm a little surprised that didn't happen after Carida. A good solid physical probably would have been better than self administering the medical attention we did. I would imagine getting as close of a look at my thighs gave a good idea of what the rest looks like."

She said this with an entirely straight face and dry tone. Her body language belied her words and tone. Seo was joking around with him and hopefully Mereel would know that. When he asked her exactly the same as she had him earlier, it brought a smile to her face.

"Show me."

[member="Mereel Vaun"]

 

[Mereel Vaun]

Even though he was clearly able to distinguish that she was joking, it made him think about the past event in a new light and brought a tinge of red to his cheeks.

Thankfully, he didn't have time to dwell on those thoughts for long. She had responded with the same answer as him, and it made him excited to no end.

"Anyways.."

He inched away from the ledge a bit before springing to his feet. Hastily removing his jacket, he quickly pulled off the shoulder holsters that housed his two pistols. After carefully placing the shoulder holsters further in on the roof, he handed his jacket to Seo,"Hold onto that for me if you will, and if anyone starts throwing rocks while you're up here don't try shooting them with both of the blaster pistols at once. You're aim will be crap and the KC-95 will throw out your wrist if you try it."

In their current situation it was a joke, but it was actual advice if she ever had to use the weapon. A smile came to his face and he put himself on the edge of the ledge. There was a light floating between two buildings away from and below them, "Be right back."

And with that he cleared his mind and jumped off of the roof.

[member="Seo Linn"]

 

[Jessica Rye]

[member="Alexandra Feanor"] and Jessica walked and talked along the nightlight city streets.

"I'm from Fondor most recently. And yes. Like so many rare people these days? I possesses just a little bit of wee-womanly magic. Hehe."

Sisters indeed. A woman's intuition was just what the night had called for. Jess knew there was something special about Alex from the moment she saw her. And, no just the tail either!

"Though. Truly. I don't believe that's anything special about me. I prefer to talk about my fashion sense, choice in cars, and long history with shoes. Hehe. But that's just me."

Jess didn't much like talking about Jedi things. It always lead to politics, wars, galactic events, and arguments about religion. Which, by now she considered boring and mundane topics of discussion. Oh no. She'd much rather talk about the city nightlife and frivolous pretty things instead.

"What about you? What brings you to enjoy the city tonight? Got a boyfriend I've yet to meet hmm?"