An Ancient Gift

[Aren D'Shade]

"Shoot first? Ar'ekk!! That's what she's for."

A thumb motioned to the guest room where EL was shut down and recharging. Droids the others might be, but in a way they were sort of like humans and needed rest. All of them were in that sleep mode​ until Aren would need them.

"Yes, sorry."

Soon enough, she came padding back to the table wearing mismatched socks, but looking comfortable in them. Unlike Ar'ekk she could not run around without socks on. Her feet were almost always cold.​

"Nice, small, comfortable and enough room."

[member="Arekk"]

 

[Arekk]

LITHIOS​

Ar'ekk's Apartment, Ethos City ​

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INTERACTING WITH: [member="Aren D'Shade"] ​

"Nice socks, though."

The older brother laughed about his little sister's mismatched socks, something about this mundane look just made him laugh like he hadn't in a long time. Although rather cruel, he stopped laughing so Aren wouldn't feel bad and ate a rather big portion of his plate.

"What do you think of the place, huh? Big enough to do a lot of things, I don't go out usually because of the weather."

As always, outside was raining to no avail. The windstorm did not look like it would stop for at least a week so going out was out of the question for now, at least for him. That didn't mean they would stay inside all day doing nothing but relaxing, Aren was free to come and go as she pleased.

"Much better than anything I've set foot on."

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[Aren D'Shade]

"I like them too!"

Smiling with him, the mis​match was done on purpose. Just a quirk of her personality when she felt she could get away with it. Hardly ever has she needed to take her shoes off, so almost always wore socks that didn't match.

"It's a roof over our heads. Enough room to keep my companions and still have some for me to sleep."

She looked outside when ​he mentioned the weather and nodded.

"I'm pretty sure they will want to stay in too. Afraid of rusting they are. I keep them up though so wouldn't allow that to happen."

Deciding to focus on eating, Aren did keep looking at Ar'ekk in case he decided to speak again. After a few bites and a drink, she sat back with her bowl empty. She had eaten to fast it was like she felt like it would disappear or be taken away.

"What do you do here?"

[member="Arekk"]

 

[Arekk]

LITHIOS​

Ar'ekk's Apartment, Ethos City ​

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INTERACTING WITH: [member="Aren D'Shade"] ​

"Better safe and cozy inside than going out to freeze entirely, trust me."

He digged into his meal fiercely, enjoying each bite with extreme pleasure. The food was definitely tasty and felt proud because of that, hopefully Aren had the same opinion about what he had prepared.

Ar'ekk's eyes followed his little sister's, nodding as well.

"Well... The apartment's fully equipped with television, computers, a gaming device, HoloNet access, you name it. I usually read by the window or simply relax as the rain unfolds outside."

Boring for the girl, perhaps. His brother enjoyed the silence and calmness inside what was definitely his personal space, his own home.

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[Aren D'Shade]

Pointing her spoon at Ar'ekk, she grinned at him and his answer.

"Just the things to make a girl fall in love. Well, it's too bad we're related, brother. I could do fall in love with this place. So much technology for me to tinker with."

Not really knowing what love was in a romantic sense, Aren only thought of the slicing she could do while she was here. Getting her nose into things it probably shouldn't be and basically becoming a digital shadow.

"How can you freeze when all it does is rain? That means the water and weather aren't cold enough."

[member="Arekk"]

 

[Arekk]

LITHIOS​

Ar'ekk's Apartment, Ethos City ​

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INTERACTING WITH: [member="Aren D'Shade"] ​

"I thought you and Ran had something going on. Maybe it was just me."

Ar'ekk hid a devilishly grin beneath his fork and food, trying to dig further into Aren's adventure with his former Jedi Padawan. Perhaps there wasn't anything there or could totally be a connection but that probably did not happen at all.

Even then, he took the chance to just mock his little sister like a good older brother does.

"Lithios is special. You've got heavy rain, freezing temperatures, fast winds and frostbite could kill you in a minute. It's no joke."

They were safe inside his apartment, that's for sure. Perfect ambience temperature to enjoy their dinner. No cold, no rain, no preoccupations.

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[Aren D'Shade]

"Well, yes we do. Sort of."

More travelling companions than anything else so far. Time spent together, hanging out. They had grown close, but her love of droids still seemed to be a sticking point with him. Rann didn't like them as much as she did.

"Frostbite can't kill you!"

Aren said this with tota​l disbelief in her voice.

"Strong enough winds to blow a little person like me around?"

[member="Arekk"]

 

[Arekk]

LITHIOS​

Ar'ekk's Apartment, Ethos City ​

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INTERACTING WITH: [member="Aren D'Shade"] ​

"Mhm, alright. So mysterious about it."

He continued to smile from ear to ear as he sipped from his glass. Aren did have a fixation for droids and passionately cared for them, something he had not seen before from a person. Such devotion for lifeless beings, no one could really understand that.

"On this planet I can. Go sit outside with a t-shirt and barefoot, see how good that goes for you."

A'rekk countered in jest, dragging the matter a little further. Lithios was indeed unforgiving both on the streets and the weather.

"I'm not sure, the winds haven't been so bad since I got here. But I have heard people talking about them, the bad season has yet to arrive."

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[Aren D'Shade]

She shook her head at the tease her brother did, but kept her silence on the status of the relationship with Rann. If it ever became his business then she would tell him. Right now it wasn't.

As she asked her various questions about Lithios, Aren was formatted a plan in her mind. Knowing it would be cold, she planned to dress warm. With it raining much of the time, her companions would need to stay here. She would visit this entertainment area and nothing would stop her.

"When I do go try that, make sure there's a hot bath waiting for me when I come back in."

It was said with a joking tone, that was not something Aren was going to attempt. She didn't even own any short to sit outside in.
​
[member="Arekk"]

 

[Arekk]

LITHIOS​

Ar'ekk's Apartment, Ethos City ​

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INTERACTING WITH: [member="Aren D'Shade"] ​

"Hey, talking about showers. If you want to have one, there's fresh towels in my armoire. The water should be hot enough for you, you must feel icky after so many hours aboard public transportation."

His index moved between his sister and the armoire by the bed, indicating where the towels were. She had her own one in the guest's bedroom with comfortable clothes to use, including PJs.

Ar'ekk could not stop Aren going wherever she wanted even if he tried hard, they were too much alike and it was in their blood to be adventureous and defiant.

The Entertainment District had a massive law enforcement presence after a war between local gangs had erupted over control of specific territories, countless of dead gangbangers filled the streets at night.

"If you go outside, just be careful. That's all I ask."

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[Aren D'Shade]

When he mentioned the shower and her being icky, Aren couldn't help but laugh a little.

"I could have showed up all covered in engine oil, you know. As it is, I just have people cooties. Thank you, Ar'ekk. I think I will take that shower."

Seeing where he po​inted, she went and picked a towel out for herself and ran into her room. Rumaging through the drawers there she found the pajammas and came back out holding both of them. Closing the door of the refresher with her foot, she disappeared for about twenty minutes. When she did come back out, her hair was clearly washed along with everything else.

Different and mismatched socks covered her feet and she carried her dirty clothes in her arms.

"Where do they get washed?"

[member="Arekk"]

 

[Arekk]

LITHIOS​

Ar'ekk's Apartment, Ethos City ​

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INTERACTING WITH: [member="Aren D'Shade"] ​

"You know... I might start copying your fashion style."

He pointed out at Aren's socks and laughed again, covering his face with both palms. Turning around to direct his little sister towards the kitchen and pointing to one side at the washing machine, she'd be able to get her clothes cleaned.

"Leave them there. They'll wash, clean themselves and dry off automatically once you put them inside. It's amazing, huh?"

At this point, the monotonous things in life such as cleaning or doing the laundry had become automatic processes thanks to brand new machine technology and whatnot. Lithios was highly advanced in tech, machinery, robotics and the like compared to other planets or cities.

"You smell good now."

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[Aren D'Shade]

"You're making fun of me..."

Giving her brother a very​ dirty look, Aren turned her head in the direction he pointed and nodded when he told her what to do. Walking over to it, she would put her clothes down where he told her to and the machine swallowed them up.

"Hey give those back! I hadn't gone through the pockets yet!"

Grumbling under her breath, she shook her head and turned back to Ar'ekk.

"As long as it gives me back anything I left in the pockets..."

He commented she smelled good now too and she nodded.

"Thank you. So what are we going to do tomorrow?"

[member="Arekk"]

 

[Arekk]

LITHIOS​

Ar'ekk's Apartment, Ethos City ​

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INTERACTING WITH: [member="Aren D'Shade"] ​

"No, I'm not."

Sticking his tongue out in jest to mock Aren, he focused on his little sister trying to deal with the washing machine. It was highly advanced technology and seeing someone as knowledgeable as Aren struggling with such device was very amusing.

"It might eat your socks too, you never know."

He held his palm up, nodding too. Ar'ekk appreciated to have his sister around, the silence when no one was around definitely wasn't enjoyable all the time.

"Not sure, to be honest. We can head to the market down the block and eat some noodles?"

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[Aren D'Shade]

She had not tried to communicate with the washing machine and just allowed it to do what it was built for...washing clothes.

"She better not eat my socks. I like my feet being warm..."

Narrowing her eyes in a way to indicate she was watching the machine, it let out what sounded like a fearful gulp, but continued with the cycle of clothes it contained. Nodding when the message was made, Aren looked back at her brother to listen to his answer.

"Is noodles the only thing to eat here or something?"

The thought of going to the market interested her though.

[member="Arekk"]

 

[Arekk]

LITHIOS​

Ar'ekk's Apartment, Ethos City ​

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INTERACTING WITH: [member="Aren D'Shade"] ​

"No. It's delicious and the only thing that makes my stomach full, you haven't tried Jovim's yet."

He laughed once more at the thought of the machine eating her socks, it was a common thing to happen too so he wasn't really joking. It could very well happen now, which it did, once Aren started taking the wet clothes out of the machine.

"If you wanna head elsewhere, we can do that too."

Ar'ekk walked up to the window and looked outside as it rained, the sheer thought of being sheltered within a warm interior was blissful enough.

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[Aren D'Shade]

"No, but I tried yours. Pretty sure you snagged the recipe off him at some point and have copied it to memory. It's what I would do."

Shrugging her shoulders, Aren hid a yawn with a stretch and rubbed at her eyes. It had been a long day and she was starting to feel it. Skeeter had fallen asleep under her chair after he had eaten everything Ar'ekk gave him.
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Standing up and digging around at the bottom of the washer, she found her mis-matched socks and held them up almost proudly.

"She didn't eat them this time. Knew I would scramble her brains if she did."

Gathering up the clothes, she set them in the dresser and turned back to her brother.

"I think it's best if I get some sleep."

[member="Arekk"]

 

[Arekk]

LITHIOS​

Ar'ekk's Apartment, Ethos City ​

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INTERACTING WITH: [member="Aren D'Shade"] ​

"I wish. My noodles would be much more tasty if I knew his recipe, believe me."

Finishing with his food, Ar'ekk picked up his bowl and Aren's to clean them up at the sink. Hot water running and his eyes looking over his shoulders to spot his little sister, he'd speak out again.

"You are lucky. Mine are usually gone every week."

Laughing all the way from the kitchen and shaking his head, he cleaned up his hands with a towel and walked up to the couch nearby to slouch as a lazy Hutt on its throne.

"Go ahead, I'll see you tomorrow."

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[Aren D'Shade]

"Can't you use mind mumbo-jumbo or whatever to get that recipe from him? It's like what I do with droids and machines."

As he looked back over his shoulder at her, Ar'ekk would be able to see she really was tired and even though she was in good sprits, sleep called her. Her eyes were only about half open and she yawned every couple minutes. Not at all bored though, Aren tried to keep awake.

She watched him take a seat on his couch, but at least he agreed she should go to bed.

"See you when we all wake up."

Scooping Skeeter up an​d carrying him into the bedroom, she kicked her door shut behind her and quickly fell asleep.

[member="Arekk"]

 

[Alexandra Feanor]

Alexandra arrived soon after Aren had disappeared behind the door of the bedroom she had gone into, knocking on the front door to [member="Arekk"]'s home and waiting as she pulled the coat tighter around her. She had been visiting her friend frequently as of late, choosing to enjoy actually being around a home after the debacle that had brought her back to Veradune for a short time. It let her imagine that she was there, that she was resting with her children when she rested here, dreaming of them and thinking on them. But it also was a chance to have a happy time, to relax and know someone was there as a friend, not just a college or a critic.

Which is why when she felt two life forms she raised a brow, waiting to see what it was that she was sensing. She wondered if Arekk had gone and actually gotten himself someone to shack up with, in which case this whole interaction would be rather interesting considering how her visits normally went. She would have to pay Arekk back for the booze at some point, but she figured the man didn't mind so much, and was happier to see his friend actually getting better as time went on.

She ran a hand through her hair, not waiting any longer and letting the illusion drop as her hair returned to the red shade and the tail she now had appeared. She was careful, hiding it until she had gotten here, but at this point she was tired of hiding it and there was no one else in the hall, so she figured it was ok. She didn't quite get how the world was so anti-alien as it were, and the fact that she was mostly human looking anyways, but hey, the galaxy was a big place.