Private Cat Got Your Tongue

[Miri Nimdok]

<Two of what?> she asked softly, against her better judgment.

She glanced over at the eyeless mask he had picked up. It looked familiar, but she couldn’t quite place a name to it.

<I’m surprised you can think about food at a time like this.> Then again, they were out of danger now, weren’t they?

Miri wasn’t so sure.

<I don’t know if there are any places to eat around here. That serve human food, anyway. Unless you’re trying to tell me something, Kyell...>

Raising her eyebrows, she walked past him, heading back the way they had come.

Kyell Laysel​

 

[Kyell Laysel]

Location: Odryn
Tag: Miri Nimdok

<T> "Well, you saved me more than once here," he said, a slightly awkward smile on his face. He felt a little embarrassed that he came all the way out here, only to feel like he needed to be saved constantly. It was only after the kiss and the way it broke the spell on his mind that he felt like he was adding something.

He wasn't quite sure why, or he just struggled to acknowledge it.

<T> "I guess thinking about food is just easier than thinking about becoming food," he replied to her comment, as his eyes briefly shifted back to the rats they had taken down a moment ago. But when she stepped past him and he heard her follow-up comment in his mind, he was left frozen for a moment again. <T> Uh well... I..." he paused and turned to first head back after her.

<T> "I didn't mean out here, but you know, somewhere else," he said with his signature, awkward smile while a hand came up to rub the back of his neck, <T> "I know it won't exactly make up for what I did but..." Yeah, he had no clue how to finish that sentence, and just let out a soft sigh. He wanted to make up for what happened, and he also enjoyed her company, so the idea seemed fun.

<T> "I understand if you'd rather just leave all of this behind you, though."

 

[Miri Nimdok]

<Oh. I forgot about the first time.> She shrugged, adjusting her grip on the bowl. Man, was it heavy… <All in a day’s work.>

Because clearly she went around saving dudes in distress all the time. Especially if they got possessed by evil masks and tried to throttle her.

Blinking, Miri glanced back at Kyell, her face bright red. Lots of flushed cheeks today. You'd think she'd caught a fever. <I was joking. Implying that you aren’t really as human as you look...> She trailed off awkwardly, then added, <I wouldn’t mind. Especially if you paid for it. Then it’s basically free food, and who would turn their nose up at that?>

Provided it was good food, at least.

Kyell Laysel​

 

[Kyell Laysel]

Location: Odryn
Tag: Miri Nimdok

Noticing how heavy the bowl was, Kyell stepped towards her and offered to take it over while she could carry the mask back instead. It wasn't only an exchange of weight either — the mask had controlled Kyell only a few minutes ago, so maybe it was best that he didn't carry it. Either way, he wasn't going to snatch the bowl from her hands if she was adamant about carrying it herself, but the offer was there.

Miri then looked back at him with a blush on her cheeks, and it seemed there was some virus going around or something — he was a bit red in the face too, <T> "Ahh..." he chuckled nervously, having completely missed the joke she was trying to make, <T> "Nope, all human here," he continued, which really made him want to bury his head in sand.

Really? All human? he thought to himself, embarrased at how stupid that must have sounded.

<T> "It'll be on me, and I don't mind where we get it either," he said with a nod. <T> "Although I do wonder what people will think when we show up somewhere in these torn clothes with blood stains on them." He blinked and began to rethink his plan a little bit while they made their way out of the Sanctum.

 

[Miri Nimdok]

Miri swapped artifacts with him. Upon receiving the mask that had possessed Kyell, she jabbed two fingers into the empty sockets as if to poke its eyes out for good measure.

<Well, I’m not all human, if we’re setting the record straight.> Not that it was particularly noticeable. Her long hair covered up her pointed ears. <Only on my mother’s side.>

Kyell remarked upon the state of their clothes. <Hey, there’s time to change. Unless you’re too hungry to wait.>

Kyell Laysel​

 

[Kyell Laysel]

Location: Odryn
Tag: Miri Nimdok

Kyell couldn't help but chuckle when she poked her fingers through the mask's eyes, but the mention of her not being human quickly drew his attention, <T> "Really? Well, I suppose that explains why your mind is a literal fortress? Or is that practiced?" he asked, genuinely curious to learn a little more about her.

Looking around as they came up to the entrance, he spotted no more rats, so he didn't waste any time and moved outside to get some fresh air and distance himself from this dark place. <T> "Man this thing is heavy," he sighed and lifted it up and down a few times.

<T> "And... yeah let's get changed first. I should have some spare clothing at my shuttle. I'll drop off this thing as well. Then maybe...hmm, we could meet up on Hapes? I heard it's pretty fancy there, so there has to be a good restaurant, yeah? It's not that far either." He, of course, didn't seem to know that it was a very strict matriarchal society with some interesting views on men.

Kyell then paused before moving off to his own ship, <T> "Oh and uh.. thanks again. For today." He flashed her a smile and readied himself to turn around and head back.

 

[Miri Nimdok]

<Oh no, all I got from my alien heritage was pointed ears and these weird eyebrows that make me look super serious all the time.> She daintily stepped over the body of a dead rat. <My father trained me to shield my mind. I could teach you how to do it too, if you like.>

A few minutes later, they were home free—or at least, outside the Sanctum. Kyell seemed to be struggling with the heavy bowl, while Miri was carrying the mask with just her two fingers jammed in the eye sockets as if it were a bowling ball.

<Hapes?> she blurted, staring at him. Unlike Kyell, she had already been to Hapes once before—and it wasn’t an experience she could forget. <The planet where men are treated like second-class citizens by a backwards matriarchy? Are you sure, Kyell?> She held up the mask, eyeing it with suspicion as though she suspected it was still in control of her companion.

<There are fancy restaurants in other parts of the galaxy.> She thought for a minute, then asked, <How about Jerrilek? It’s in the Core, so probably closer to home for you…> She had noticed the NJO insignia on his jacket, at least.

Kyell Laysel​

 

[Kyell Laysel]

Location: Odryn
Tag: Miri Nimdok

Pointed ears, huh?

She could likely notice his eyes searching for them a little, but they were hidden underneath her hair and he didn't want to stare too openly either, so he gave up on it for now and offered a warm smile, <T> "I think your eyebrows look great," he said, and again he hated himself for it — this must have been the strangest compliment he ever gave someone.

<T> "I mean, uh, you don't come across as too serious at all, or anything," he smiled nervously and quickly stepped over the dead rat, careful not to take a tumble and embarrass himself further. The two then stopped just outside, where she seemed rather surprised at his suggestion to travel to Hapes.

When she explained why he almost dropped the heavy bowl.

<T> "Hey, it's not the mask..." a soundless chuckle followed, and he'd shake his head a little <T> "I didn't know, but that definitely seems like a bad idea. So let's go with your suggestion." Jerrilek was that tropical vacation planet, right? Yeah, that seemed like a much better idea.

<T> "Meet you there soon, then?"

 

[Miri Nimdok]

Seeing him looking (and trying to look like he wasn’t looking), Miri raised a hand to push aside her long dark hair and reveal a delicately pointed ear.

<T> "I think your eyebrows look great. I mean, uh, you don't come across as too serious at all, or anything,"

<Your eyebrows aren’t so bad either,> she replied with a smile. <They’re very… shapely.>

The look on his face upon learning the truth about Hapes was priceless. She couldn’t help but laugh.

<The restaurants on Jerrilek don’t come with a sexist society attached, yes.> She hadn’t been there since she was a child, but she had fond memories of it. <Oh, are you sure you want to bring that Dark Side bowl thing onto your ship after what happened? I could at least coat it with some nullification resin before you leave…>

Kyell Laysel​

 

[Kyell Laysel]

Location: Odryn
Tag: Miri Nimdok

There was no hiding his embarrassment anymore, really, but she made him feel fairly comfortable about everything despite it. Her laugh and comment back about his own eyebrows got him to laugh along, and he didn't even feel awkward about the fact that she had noticed him looking at her ears. She pushed aside her long hair to show the pointy ear, and he just smiled.

<The restaurants on Jerrilek don't come with a sexist society attached, yes.>

<T> "That's a plus in my book," he said with a grin before she made another good point that caused him to blink <T> "You know, at this point, I think I'd have been dead more than twice without you. But you're right, let's secure them at your ship, and then we'll head to Jerrilek for some food."

He really needed to stay more focused - it was so unlike him to be this scatterbrained. Perhaps the murderous rats and dark side artifacts had messed with him more than he realized. Or maybe it was her company that he had started to enjoy more and more that kept him a little distracted.

Either way, with the bowl in his hands, he intended to follow her back to her ship.

 

[Miri Nimdok]

<Eh, you live and you learn.>

Her ship, the Conestoga, was parked a little ways away from the ruins. An ancient freighter, it had recently been refurbished, but was still a little rough around the edges.

At any rate, the interior looked a lot better than the exterior. Miri led the way through the sleek halls into a cargo hold filled with boxes and containers. In particular, she approached a large plasteel case roughly the size of a refrigerator, opening it up to reveal modular racks filled with various objects. Each item was a noticeable void in the Force, and all of them had been coated in a glossy black substance.

Gesturing for Kyell to place the bowl on one of the racks, she explained, <This is a preservation case. It’s designed to protect artifacts during transportation. My dad modified this one specifically to house dangerous relics. I used to called it Francis when I was a kid.>

Accordingly, she set the mask inside, where an automated system swiftly coated it in a liquid form of the black resin. It hardened rapidly, obscuring the malevolent aura of the mask until it could no longer be sensed with the Force.

Kyell Laysel​

 

[Kyell Laysel]

Location: Odryn
Tag: Miri Nimdok

It wasn't too surprising to him that her ship was an ancient design. He figured she had a love for history, and it showed even in what she used for transportation. It was without a doubt a lot more interesting than his basic shuttle as well. <T> "I didn't know old ships like this were still out there being used, but I love the upgrades you made," he said as he walked through the interior and looked around.

At least he was able to tell that the interior wasn't quite the same anymore. It had a more modern, personal touch to it.

The two finally reached the containment case for the artifacts, and he watched her demonstrate how it worked. The mask was automatically coated and the second the resin hardened, it felt as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders, <T> "Well, I sure like Francis," he smirked and slowly lowered the bowl into it as well, so it could be processed and the darker feelings were finally gone entirely.

<T> "That's better." He let out a soft sigh of relief and rubbed along the muscles in his arm, now that he wasn't carrying the heavy bowl anymore. Looking back at her, he blinked as he suddenly remembered something.

<T> "Oh uh, Miri? I was meaning to ask - back at the Sanctum you did this... thing... to connect our minds for Telepathy. I don't know if it's something you were taught alongside the mind shielding, but, would you be able to teach me sometime?" He felt a little bad for asking more from her, but she had offered to help him learn how to protect his mind, and if she could help with his Telepathic skills as well, his life would become a lot easier.

 

[Miri Nimdok]

<All this stuff was my dad’s. I don’t think I own a single thing that wasn’t his first.> She sighed as the aura of the Dark Side finally disappeared entirely, stifled by the nullification resin.

Kyell suddenly brought up her telepathic abilities, and asked if she could teach him. <Everything I learned about telepathy and shielding my mind comes from the teachings of the Benandanti,> she explained. <The Benandanti are an Order of mentalists from Lao-mon. I’m not a member myself, but I learned some of their techniques. I can teach you what I know, but if you want to go further, you’d have to find a real Benandanti.>

It was no trouble for her at all. Quite the contrary; she liked him enough that she didn't mind keeping him around. Of course, she expected him to leave soon and never see her again, but that was just business as usual. People floated in and out of her life without rhyme nor reason, and she could do nothing to make them stay. So she just kept moving on.

Kyell Laysel​

 

[Kyell Laysel]

Location: Odryn
Tag: Miri Nimdok

Lao-mon? That was deep in Maw Territory, wasn't it? If that's where these Benandanti were, he probably wasn't going to find any. But he probably didn't need to. What Miri had shown already was far beyond his own telepathic skills, and he relied very heavily on them. Every little bit would help.

Kyell then blinked and slowly nodded, <T> "I would really appreciate you teaching me what you know if it's not a bother. Maybe I can help you with something in return, although I'm not sure if there's something I could teach that you don't already know," he chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck again.

<T> "But maybe if you need help with some work you're doing, I can do that." If he wasn't just going to end up holding her back, but she'd be able to judge whether or not he'd actually be helpful. Kyell then blinked again and looked down at his belt to retrieve his datapad really quickly.

<T> "Would you mind if I added you to my contacts?" he said, right as the display showed his contact list, which mostly contained other Jedi, teachers in particular. <T> "Would be hard to stay in touch otherwise." This was perhaps a strange way to ask someone for their number, but he was somewhat oblivious about these things, still.

 

[Miri Nimdok]

<It’s not a bother. I'd be happy to help you for free.> She smiled. <I’d like to think that we all have things we can teach each other.>

Kyell held out his datapad, and Miri overzealously reached for it—only to realize he probably meant for her to tell him her contact information, not for her to type it out herself. Feeling a bit foolish, she let her hands drop back into her lap, rattling off her number.

This was a good sign, wasn’t it? Although she knew better than to get her hopes up.

<Right, er—we’ll meet again soon on Jerrilek.> She seemed to suddenly be in a hurry to send him off, though that could be attributed to anything from tiredness after their little adventure to nervousness about having a man she’d just met aboard her ship. <Safe journey, Kyell.>

Kyell Laysel​

 

[Kyell Laysel]

Location: Odryn
Tag: Miri Nimdok

<T> "I appreciate it a ton, thank you again." He said, clearly excited to learn from her, and while he didn't mention it, he was really hoping that he could return the favor someday. Whether it was by teaching her something or helping her out on another adventure, he'd actually look forward to it.

What got him to smile even brighter was that she also shared her number, after first making a move to type it into his datapad herself. He wouldn't have actually minded, but it was amusing to see he wasn't the only one with moments of awkwardness. <T> "Great, I'll send you a message when I'm at my ship so you can add me back." he paused and blinked. <T> "If you want to." he stopped again and facepalmed internally.

She wouldn't have given her number otherwise, dipshit.

<Right, er—we'll meet again soon on Jerrilek.>

He felt some relief when she said it, not because he wanted to get out as quickly as possible, but because it would get him to stop making a fool out of himself for a while. <T> "I'll see you there soon. Safe travels," he smiled one last time before he headed back out of her ship with a bit of a spring in his step.

In his shuttle, he could wash up and get some new clothes, but he was on his way to Jerrilek fairly quickly — it was too difficult to be patient now. He was excited to meet with her there again.

 

[Miri Nimdok]

After Kyell left, Miri ran a hand through her hair and blew out a breath. Well, that was… an interesting experience…

Of special concern to her was the kiss. She’d done it out of necessity, to shock Kyell out of the trance. Kyell had to have figured that out, right? He hadn’t misread her intentions. Maybe she should set the record straight once they were back on Jerrilek…

Or not. The thought of awkwardly trying to explain why she’d thought it was a good idea to kiss him while he was strangling her was enough to make her cringe. No, she wouldn’t say anything unless she absolutely needed to, and that seemed unlikely, so… forget about it.

It was a nice kiss, though.

What?

Never mind.

LATER

​

The city of Graleca looked pretty much the same to Miri now as it had when she was a child. Well, maybe a little more tourist-y, but it was known for being a resort world.

She was waiting for Kyell at the starport. Clad in a purple velvet dress and gold jewelry, it was a little hard to miss her standing just outside the hangar bay.

Kyell Laysel​

 

[Kyell Laysel]

Location: Odryn
Tag: Miri Nimdok

Holy crap, a girl kissed me.

Okay, he may have been choking her to death, and it was the only way she could get him to snap out of this trance, but it was still a kiss, right? His first kiss. He let out a soft sigh as he entered his own shuttle and turned on the auto-pilot so he could get ready along the way. But while he washed up and picked out some new clothing, the kiss and time spent with her stayed on his mind. It may have been sparked by a desire to stay alive, but... it felt nice.

Of course, he wasn't going to tell her that — Hey, that kiss you gave me when I was choking you to death was great. Yeah, that wasn't going to come across well.

His ship wasn't nearly as fast as hers, so it took him a bit longer to arrive on the tropical vacation world. He had changed into some nice-looking jeans and a short-sleeved t-shirt that fit around him really well. It wasn't really formal looking, but he actually didn't have anything better, so he hoped it was going to be alright.

But after leaving behind his shuttle and finding her within the busy spaceport, he blinked and felt his jaw drop for a moment.

Holy-

He shook his head to not finish that sentence in case she could somehow read his mind with her telepathic skills, and walked over with his face already a little reddened. But along the way, he convinced himself to do his best, and be himself, <T> "You look... beautiful," he smiled and looked her up and down, <T> "I'm sorry I don't have anything quite as fancy, but..." he blinked and never finished that sentence as he was left in awe.

<T> "Let's uh, find a nice place to eat, hm?"

Should I offer my arm? Should I keep some distance? Someone, Help...

 

[Miri Nimdok]

Upon seeing Kyell and hearing his voice in her head, Miri straightened up, beaming at the compliment—and then looked down at her clothes self-consciously, realizing she’d overdressed. Oops.

Kyell looked equally confused and embarrassed, thinking he had underdressed. At this comedy of errors, Miri could only laugh.

<I dress like this normally, don’t worry,> she said, waving her hand dismissively. <You look nice. Although you’d probably look good in just about anything…>

Did she really just say that? Oh no.

Miri grabbed Kyell’s arm and proceeded to drag him through the starport, not sure whether she was trying to escape the crowds or her big mouth. Er, big thoughts...?

<A nice place to eat, right… Do you like seafood? I know a pretty good restaurant…>

Kyell Laysel​

 

[Kyell Laysel]

Location: Odryn
Tag: Miri Nimdok

While his compliment made her smile, he did notice that she got a little self-conscious about being overdressed, which was quite amusing since he was in the opposite boat. But much like her, he was able to laugh his way through it and seemed to be quite relaxed around her, especially compared to how he had been initially.

But then she complimented him in a way that got his cheeks to burn brightly, and his eyes visibly widened for a second or two <T> "Oh thank you.. that's uh.. very-" he was interrupted as she snatched his arm and dragged him along through the spaceport. And he was totally fine with that.

It gave them both a second to escape their awkward moments.

<T> "Seafood? That sounds amazing, lead the way," he said but he tried to get her to slow down a little, so they could both enjoy each other's company more, and get used to all of this. <T> "All of this is kinda new to me," he admitted after a moment, <T> "Going out for food and spending time with someone like this, I mean," he said, but with uncertainty about what like this, meant. He was making friends already, but this felt different to him.

<T> "But it's been great. You're.... really great," he blinked and hoped it didn't sound dumb the way he put it. He really just enjoyed spending time with her a lot.