Private Beyond the Beskar

[Veyla Krinn]

Veyla laughed into her glass.

"Someoneovich?" she repeated, shaking her head. "That one's certainly memorable."

She let the conversation drift from names as naturally as he had intended, taking another bite before answering his question.

"No family." Her voice remained calm, matter-of-fact. "My parents are gone, and I was an only child." There was sadness there, but it was the quiet kind that had long since settled into acceptance.

"No husband. No boyfriend. No partner." She smiled faintly before giving a small, self-deprecating shrug. "Life's been busy enough without trying to convince someone to put up with me."

Her emerald eyes lingered on Kallous for just a heartbeat longer than before, the corner of her mouth tugging upward.

"Though..." she added lightly, "I've been told I'm easier company than I give myself credit for."

She rested her fork on the edge of her plate.

"I'm not one of our full-time warriors like some people are, but I take my turn when it's needed." She shrugged. "Yesterday was a good example of that. If people need protecting, I go. When they don't..." Her smile returned with a little more warmth. "...I'm usually standing in front of a forge instead."

"Armor repairs make up most of my work. Weapons, too. New commissions when they come in, repairs more often than not." She glanced at his hands for a moment before looking back to him.

"Have you ever thought about learning?" she asked. "To work metal, I mean." She tilted her head curiously. "You said you aren't much of a craftsman, but everyone starts somewhere. And if you're planning on staying..." A small grin crossed her face. "...having a Forgemaster owe you a few lessons isn't the worst arrangement you could stumble into."

Kallous

 

[Kallous]

He nodded solemnly, "I'm sorry for asking."

Her comment on why she didn't have a partner yet however earned a chuckle from him. "I don't quite know you well enough yet to make an informed comment on that. But I'm sure you're not so bad to be around. You'll find one eventually I'm sure."

He lifted his glass to drink down the rest of his ale to hide his expression. Because just as he said that sentence he got an uneasy feeling. A shiver that ran down his spine of impending doom. He was quick to push it aside, he would have to meditate on it later, ask the force what it had been trying to warn him about. But he would have to wait until he was alone to do that. For now he had a friend to engage with.

"Actually yes, strangely enough." He said setting his glass down again and sitting back in his chair more comfortably. "See, I have another friend out there, lives on her lonesome. But she's been in touch with the force for about as long as I have, and she's learned some of the more esoteric stuff that I never really studied, which includes force imbuement. She gave me a few brief lessons, and explained that actually crafting the item that you imbue as you imbue it makes the imbuement stronger. So you could make common Durasteel about as strong as Beskar if you do it right, probably not quite, and if you did the same with Beskar I could only imagine what could be done with it. But yes, I did consider learning how to shape metal, I just didn't know where to look."

"If you're willing to teach, I'm willing to learn." He said to her earnestly. "I'm afraid I can't offer you room and board like you have for me though. I might need to pick up a second job to pay my way."

Veyla Krinn

 

[Veyla Krinn]

Veyla nodded thoughtfully as she listened, filing away every word about Force imbuement. The idea fascinated her almost as much as the Force itself. Not because it promised stronger weapons, but because it married two worlds she suddenly found herself standing between.

She tipped her head toward the restaurant's front windows, in the direction of the old quarry where they had spent the day.

"When we're back out there..." she said, "...maybe we can look around for some unrefined ore. There might still be enough left in the walls or spoil piles to practice on." She smiled slightly. "Probably not enough to forge an entire weapon, but that's hardly the point. Doesn't hurt to try."

She shook her head when he mentioned finding another job to repay her generosity.

"Nah." The word came simply, without hesitation. "I'm the one who owes you, Kallous." She met his eyes across the table. "You agreed to stay. You agreed to teach me." A small shrug followed. "As far as I'm concerned, it's my duty to repay that."

Finishing the last few bites of her meal, she leaned back comfortably in her chair, content after a long day of training.

"Thank you..." she said sincerely. "For today. For your patience." A warm smile settled across her face. "...and for the company at dinner."

Kallous

 

[Kallous]

"I look forward to learning from you." He said earnestly, genuinely looking forward to learning that craft. And being able to put to work the skills he'd learned with channeling the force into an object. It would be quite the exploration for the two of them, each learning the other's half to that same whole. It would be quite the adventure too. Perhaps, once he'd learned enough he would make a new weapon to replace his lightsaber. It had served him well, and he wouldn't be getting rid of it, but the crimson blade was, at the end of the day, a sith weapon. The final remnant of a life he had left behind a long time ago, and their conversation about names had gotten him to think.

He was who he chose to be, and if he wanted to be more than he was he needed to let go of the parts of him that held him back.

But that was for much later.

Kallous nodded to her thanking him, and stood up. Pushing his chair in he responded. "You're most welcome Veyla. And thank you for putting your effort into it earnestly. And I must say that I found your company equally pleasant. So thank you too."

Once the bill was paid he would make sure he was the one holding the door for her on the way out as they departed the restaurant. He would walk her home before returning to the barracks he was staying in while he house hunted. For the first day of training, she had been remarkably successful, and he looked forward to seeing her progress moving forward.

Once he got back he set himself down to meditate on what had happened throughout the day. And what lessons he would impart next time.

Veyla Krinn