Private At Rest

[Aselia Verd]

The workshop sat just far enough from the main flow of Sundari's traffic that the city felt distant rather than absent. The sounds that did reach it came softened by passing engines, the occasional low rumble overhead, but nothing that pressed in. It was a place meant to work, to think, to breathe. Aselia stepped inside, the door sliding shut quietly behind her before she crossed the space with intention. She didn't stop at the center. Instead, she continued straight toward the far wall where a set of larger hangar doors were set into the structure.

Her hand found the control panel and pressed it without looking.

The doors responded with a low mechanical groan, splitting apart and sliding open to reveal the open stretch beyond enough space for a speeder to come through cleanly. Light spilled in across the floor, cutting through the dim interior in long, sharp lines. Aselia stepped back to the side, one hand resting lightly against the frame as she looked out toward Adelle. She stayed there while she guided the swoop inside, giving her the space to maneuver. Her gaze tracked the movement, following the line of the bike as it crossed the threshold and settled into the cleared section of floor.

Once it was in, Aselia reached back to the panel and hit the control; the doors slowly slid shut again, sealing the workshop off from the outside world. The light dimmed back to its steady, controlled glow, and the quiet returned just as quickly. Just the low hum of the workshop and the two of them inside it.

Aselia moved back toward the center of the space, passing her BARC as she went. It sat a few panels open where she'd been tuning it earlier, tools resting nearby. She brushed her hand along the handlebars as she passed, a brief, absent motion, before her attention shifted fully to the swoop.

"Looks good," she said. She stepped closer, one hand settling lightly along the frame, more familiar than clinical, like she was getting a feel for it rather than inspecting it. There was a faint hint of amusement in her voice when she spoke again.

"You got it here faster than I expected."

Her gaze lifted briefly to Adelle, holding there for a second before drifting back to the bike. It seemed like she might say something technical, something precise, but she didn't. Instead, she leaned lightly back against the nearby workbench, arms folding loosely. The quiet stretched, but it wasn't uncomfortable. Aselia exhaled slowly, her posture more relaxed than it had been outside, her attention drifting between the swoop and Adelle without urgency.

"You picked a good time to do this, I'm just tuning the BARC now so I can give you my undivided attention," she said after a moment, though the faint shift in her tone suggested she wasn't just talking about the bike. Her eyes settled on Adelle again, lingering just a second longer this time before she looked away, letting the moment breathe instead of forcing it forward. "Not that you need my help with the swoop.."

TAG: Adelle Bastiel
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[Adelle Bastiel]

Tags: Aselia Verd

Transporting the Halberd from Kyrimorut to Sundari was a bit of a production to do, but finally getting to drive it felt good. Adelle had been looking forward to this though: modding the Halberd had been on her to-do list for a while but she’d be lying if she had said that was the only reason she looked forward to the trip. Adelle slowly guided it inside the hangar, easing into the obvious cleared space front and center in the hangar, as the doors closed behind her. The bustle of the outside world was shut out and quiet settled in the space. Adelle dismounted as Aselia made her way over.

"Looks good," she said. She stepped closer, one hand settling lightly along the frame, more familiar than clinical, like she was getting a feel for it rather than inspecting it. There was a faint hint of amusement in her voice when she spoke again.

"You got it here faster than I expected."

“What can I say?” Adelle said with a shrug and a smile. “I’ve been looking forward to this.”

For a brief moment, it looked like Aselia might say something about the swoop. But the redhead leaned against a workbench, her posture noticeably more laid-back. It was good to see Aselia relaxed. Life had been hectic lately but even a warrior society needed downtime and rest.

"You picked a good time to do this, I'm just tuning the BARC now so I can give you my undivided attention," she said after a moment, though the faint shift in her tone suggested she wasn't just talking about the bike. Her eyes settled on Adelle again, lingering just a second longer this time before she looked away, letting the moment breathe instead of forcing it forward. "Not that you need my help with the swoop.."

There it was again. Something layered but not outright spoken in Aselia’s words. Adelle busied herself with the Halberd, gently scooping a sleeping Phantom and a small blanket the spukami liked to sleep on out of the sidecar. She’d gotten used to Na’an and Leigh: everything was direct and precious little was buried behind other words. And what Na’an couldn’t say to her face, she could say in a sparring match.

This was vastly different. But it didn’t feel uncomfortable.

“Oh please,” she said with a scoff, moving towards the opposite wall. “I need all the help I can get and I know it.”

Adelle tossed the blanket onto the floor out of the way and let Phantom spill out of her arms onto it. Phantom yawned and arched before settling down onto her haunches and sleepily looking out at the hangar. <<Oh here. Safe. Good.>>

That earned a brief eyebrow raise but Adelle turned and walked back to the swoop. She rested a hand on it for just a moment. Memories hovered in the back of her mind.

“I’ve got experience in a lot of things.” Her fingers trailed off the chassis as she moved to lean against it. “But messing with swoop bikes? I’ve only done that once and even then I had help.”

She met Aselia’s gaze, blue eyes a striking contrast with her red hair.

“I’d welcome whatever input you want to give.”

 

[Aselia Verd]

Aselia's attention dipped briefly as Phantom settled on the blanket, the small creature's presence drawing a faint, almost automatic softness from her. As she stepped past, her hand lowered without thought, fingers brushing behind Phantom's ear in a light, absent scratch before she continued toward the Halberd.

When Adelle admitted she'd only worked on a swoop once and welcomed her input, Aselia didn't hesitate. She moved in beside her rather than across from her, keeping the space shared and natural instead of distant. One hand came to rest along the Halberd's frame, more deliberate this time, her posture angling just enough to give Adelle room while still guiding the moment.

"Alright," she said, her voice low but steady, slipping into something more instructive without losing that quiet warmth. "Then we'll start simple."

There was the faintest hint of amusement in her tone as she added, "I'm not going to do it for you. I'll teach you." Aselia shifted her stance slightly, bracing one hand lightly against the bike while the other gestured toward the midsection, though her eyes flicked to Adelle rather than the swoop as she spoke.

"Start here. Balance first. Everything else builds off that."

Her gaze lingered a moment longer than necessary before she looked back to the bike, though the softness in her expression didn't fully fade. The space between them remained close, easy, unforced.

"If something feels off, don't force it," she added more quietly. "Adjust it until it makes sense. Same way you ride."

A small pause followed, her hand still resting on the frame between them, her presence steady rather than pressing.

"And if you're not sure," she finished, her tone easing just slightly, "I'm right here."

TAG: Adelle Bastiel
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[Adelle Bastiel]

Tags: Aselia Verd

An old but not wholly unfamiliar pressure gripped Adelle as Aselia closed the distance, coming to stand alongside her at the Halberd and placing a hand on its body. She folded her arms across her chest, trying to pay attention to what Aselia was saying. It immediately disappeared when the redhead mentioned not doing the work for her. Adelle leveled a flat stare at Aselia, though the dry smile at the corner of her mouth belied its seriousness. The pressure returned with a flash of heat in her ears, on her neck, and in her skin when Aselia turned her blue-eyed gaze on her for what felt like minutes.

Adelle stared at the floor and tried to focus on what Aselia said over the faint ringing in her ears. She remembered this feeling, the pressure that made the air feel hot and thick. Once, with Rishii, her partner in CorSec that had helped with her physical therapy during recovery. And then again, after the dance at some elite ball for a festival on a faraway planet, with Na’an.

One had died by her hand. And the other was lost to the galaxy.

"And if you're not sure," she finished, her tone easing just slightly, "I'm right here."

“Well,” Adelle said, pushing off the swoop to stand up. She stretched her arms out in front of her before making herself face Aselia again. “Mind showing me where your tools are? I know I’m good with my hands and skilled with the Force but I think this requires actual tools.”

She fell back on humor. It brought the conversation back to more comfortable ground—safer ground. Even still, Adelle found she was unwilling to leave the shared proximity. In spite of the discomfort her body seemed determined to torment her with.

 

[Aselia Verd]

Aselia caught the shift, not in anything obvious, but in the way Adelle moved, the slight break in rhythm before she pulled herself back into something more controlled. The humor helped, but it didn't cover it entirely.

"Yeah," she said easily, pushing off the Halberd and turning toward the workbench. "That would help."

She moved past Adelle on the way, close enough that the space between them narrowed for a brief moment, her shoulder nearly brushing hers before she stepped to the tools. Her hand moved across the surface with familiarity, selecting what she needed without much thought before turning back. When she held one out, her tone had settled into something more grounded again.

"Start with this," she said. "You'll want a bit more control than your hands alone."

As Adelle took it, Aselia didn't step away. Her fingers lingered for a fraction of a second longer than necessary in the space between them before she let go, her hand settling against the edge of the workbench instead. She watched, not critically, not like she was waiting for a mistake, just attentive in a way that felt steadier than simple instruction.

"Here," she added, stepping in slightly closer and angling herself beside Adelle rather than across from her. One hand lifted, not quite touching, but close enough to guide the motion of the tool.

"Ease into it," Aselia said, her tone steady and instructive. "You're not trying to force the alignment. Just bring it in gradually."

She shifted slightly to give Adelle a clearer angle, one hand resting lightly along the frame as a point of reference.

"Start with a quarter turn," she continued. "Then check the play in the housing before you go any further. If it tightens too fast, back it off. You want it to settle, not lock."

Her gaze stayed on the adjustment, following the movement closely without reaching in to take over.

"Right there," she added after a moment. "That's where you check it."

She tapped lightly against the edge of the panel with her knuckle, indicating the exact point of tension.

"Now test it before you adjust again. If it holds, you can fine-tune from there."

TAG: Adelle Bastiel
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