As First Dates Go, This One is Flying (Anija Ordo)

[Arrbi Betna]

"Alright, lunch it is," Betna said with a grin.

He pulled the starfighter around in a long banking maneuver and aimed back towards the hangar. He waited until Anija pulled around as well and matched his speed before increasing the pace and dropping altitude.

"So, anywhere you wanna go for lunch?" he asked with a laugh. "I know a cafe down the road from the hangar area. They make great sandwiches, caf, and behot. Oh, and their soup is to die for."

[member="Anija Ordo"]

 

[Anija Betna]

She laughed lightly and chuckled over the comm channel. "That sounds like a good idea. Hard to find a decent behot...." As she spoke, she killed around to follow [member="Arrbi Betna"] back to the hangar.

 

[Arrbi Betna]

"It's a plan, then," Betna said with a grin.

He lead the two of them back to the hangars and landed his bes'uliik back in the spot he'd vacated. He popped the cockpit open and let the glass move away and he shut down the starfighter. A few more systems were shut down and he unbuckled himself from the pilot's seat and hopped out. Arrbi made his way over to Anija's fighter and grinned up at her.

"Well, did you like it?" he asked with a laugh.

[member="Anija Ordo"]

 

[Anija Betna]

Following [member="Arrbi Betna"], she brought her own bes'uliik down to a careful landing in the designated spot. She had to admit, to fly was both exhilarating... and terrifying. An interesting mix to be sure. She sat back after the craft touched down, and slowly ran through the shutdown procedure. After a moment, she popped the canopy, listening to the ticks as the engine cooled and the faint hiss of engine coolant. His footsteps echoed across the permacrete, and she glanced over at him with a slight grin as she saw him standing there. "Like it....I fething loved it!" she replied as she reached up to unbuckle her crash webbing. "I could certainly get used to this..."

 

[Arrbi Betna]

"It's definitely a lot of fun," he said with a wide grin. "You think you'd get bored of it, but you always find something new about flight each time you go up to enjoy."

He offered his hand to help her down off the starfighter if she needed it and jabbed a thumb at the door nearby. As they walked, he spoke again.

"If you want, just let me know any time you want to take one of the bes'uliike up and I can have one of them set aside for you," he said as they walked. "I'm not actually on the payroll here, but I do enough odd jobs for the owner of the place that I kind of get free reign for the most part. I guess you could say I'm a bit of a private contractor with some neat perks."

[member="Anija Ordo"]

 

[Anija Betna]

At [member="Arrbi Betna"]'s comment, she laughed an shook her head at him. Though, she had to admit about the perks being pretty cool. Part of her wondered what it might be like to work here. She'd never really touched a starship until she'd apprenticed under Ordo during her teen years. He, along with many others, certainly knew his way around a ship. Gratefully, she took his offered hand for balance and carefully slid down off the upper hull of the bes'uliik. "I... don't think I'll get bored of it. Not for a long time, anyways.." she replied softly once she was on her feet again. Taking another look around the hanger, she gripped his fingers for perhaps a moment longer than intended. "Let's go see about some lunch, lek?"

 

[Arrbi Betna]

"Lek," echoed Betna with a soft smile.

He'd felt her hand grip his a little longer than usual. It had felt nice, holding her hand, and he'd been reluctant to let go if he was honest. It was an odd feeling, but a nice one, being around her. He constantly felt like he had to be on his toes the whole time and, to that extent, it reminded him of combat. The difference was that this was a good feeling. It was kind of like waiting for gifts on your birthday. You couldn't wait, yet you didn't want to overdo things. It was very confusing yet... very pleasant and, for some reason, he was comfortable around her.

He held the doors open for her on the way back out to the speeder where he held the speeder door open once more. He waited until she was seated and then closed it before moving to the driver's seat and starting the vehicle.

"The cafe is just a kilometer or two down the road," he said, pointing in the rough direction where it lay. "A few of the pilots here recommended it so I checked it out. Turns out it's an amazing place and the behot is to die for."

[member="Anija Ordo"]

 

[Anija Betna]

Anija grinned then. Her love of behot was rather well known among her friends and aliit members. And.... if she was being honest about it, she was a bit of a snob. She was picky. Ordo had made some excellent behot growing up. He'd offered it to her as an alternative to caf, since she was young. And she'd fallen in love with it. And well, she kinda needed a break after the last few weeks. The wedding had been a whirlwind of activity for Anija, and while she was happy for Rianna and Ordo, she felt exhausted. The thought of food, and warm behot made her smile, and she felt her stomach rumble slightly. This caused her to glance sideways at [member="Arrbi Betna"] and wonder if he'd heard it. Hopefully, they'd get to the cafe soon.

 

[Arrbi Betna]

It was a simple matter of getting back to the speeder and getting going, though Betna made sure he held the door once more. Mando women were very tough, strong, and fiercely independent... but it was still nice to hold the door for one.

It was a quick run down the road to the cafe he'd mentioned and, once there, he quickly got them a seat. Once they were comfortable and settled, the waitress came over and took their orders, leaving them to wait and talk. From the way things had gone so far, Betna was beginning to feel very comfortable around Anija. Not enough to be his usual, ultra goofy and strange self, but he wasn't afraid he'd scare her off anymore.

After a minute or two, the waitress returned with his caf and Anija's behot. With a grin, Betna waited patiently.

"Well, give it a try," he said with a chuckle. "Let me know how it tastes."

[member="Anija Ordo"]

 

[Anija Betna]

The interior of the cafe was cool and dim compared to outside, and it took Anija's eyes a moment to adjust as [member="Arrbi Betna"] found them a table that was a bit more private. he'd been right. The place was quite popular. As she looked around, she was quite amazed as the amount of people that she saw. Some she recognized - others she didn't. But, that didn't really matter. What mattered right now, was food, and behot. She smelled it coming before the waitress even appeared with the two steaming mugs. The caf, she set in front of Arrbi, but the other mug she set down carefully in front of Anija.

The scent which rose from it was... heavenly. Pleasantly pungent and filled with the sharpness of the various herbs. it had a rich herby and earthy scent to it. As the waitress set it down, Anija quickly wrapped her fingers around the mug to warm them. She found the warmth to be very comforting and relaxing. For a moment, she sat like that, savoring the warmth as she took in the room around them. When she judged it cool enough to drink, Anija carefully lifted the mug to her lips and took a slow sip. The aroma wasn't quite the same as what she was used to, but it smelled... richer. Slowly, she lifted the mug to her lips and took a slow, experimental sip. The liquid was warm and smooth. She could taste the milk and the honey which had been blended into it. They didn't overpower the flavor of the behot itself, however. She savored the flavor for a second or two before swallowing slowly. "Kandosii.." she whispered.

 

[Arrbi Betna]

"I'm glad you like it," he said with a grin.

With their food and drink at the table and the more relaxed atmosphere between the two Mandalorians, Betna felt more at ease than he had before. They talked and chatted and joked until late into the evening and beyond. From what he could tell, they'd really hit it off which made him very happy and excited, too. When the bill came, he covered it before she could move. It was the nice thing to do and, besides, he didn't mind it at all.

All in all, it was an excellent date. He even got a kiss on the cheek from walking her to her door. Hopefully, her father hadn't seen that part. Betna really didn't want to end up somewhere between Mandalore and Concordia without a spaceship.

[member="Anija Ordo"]

 

[Anija Betna]

[member="Arrbi Betna"]

It was a nice change, just sitting there in the cafe and chatting about things. And it wasn't all about work. That was probably the first time in weeks she'd really taken a break from anything work-related. As they talked, she could feel herself relaxing more around him, and she could tell he was as well. She ate slowly, savoring the flavors and the richness of the food. They were back to chatting again hen their waitress came by with the bill. Anija hadn't even moved before Betna paid the bill without even blinking. Anija found herself somewhat shocked at how quickly he had done so.... but also pleased.

Deep down, she knew she was still trying to overcome her hesitance which was a result of the events which occurred during the Sith invasion of Mandalore. Events which Betna knew well, for he had rescued her then. As she sat there sipping at her last cup of behot, she chanced a look across at him, smiling to herself. it wasn't long before they were finished and headed back towards the Ordo homestead. When they got there, she walked with him towards the door, and was pretty sure she'd surprised him when she kissed his cheek. Privately, she hoped Ordo wasn't upset, wither. Though, he did seem to like Betna.