Private Cup o Cafe and the Past

[Kyra Perl]

Cafe migraine. The worst.

Kyra didn't mean to run out on her ship but she had and here she was, squinting past the unwelcome light of some random spaceport within arms reach.

"What can I get you?" A metallic voice drawled, its sensors scanner her over and speaking Zeltronise. Oi that was spacist.

"Cup o cafe," she grumbled in basic, fussing with the button over her breast pocket for payment. "Five sugars, three creams. Ohey-- do you have any of that caramel flavor?" She asked, speaking over the traffic that roared overhead.

The street cart blended perfectly into the neutral spaceport landscape, but Kyra's hair stuck out like the spark of color it was. It didn't help that the humidity was unusually high here. Her curls appeared to be growing by the second, reaching for the moisture that coated the air like a damp fog.

She made a noise of annoyance and tried to sooth it down, handing over her credit stick.

The curls bounced back.

Amani Serys

 

[Amani Serys]

Kyra Perl​

Amani trudged robotically to her destination, face down in a personal datapad with little regard for her surroundings. There was nothing all that remarkable about this place. Just another stop on a never ending journey.

There was caf though, which was enough of an incentive on its own to make a stop.

She rounded a corner, coming to a halt right at the side of the cart. She drawled out an “uhhh-” as she prepared to make an order, cutting off as she saw the bright head of hair that, by comparison to everything else, inundated her eyes with vibrant, and more importantly familiar, color.

There had to be what, trillions of people in the galaxy? More? And yet, here the two of them were, in the same place, by chance.

Amani swallowed a more audible reaction, instead opting for a nervous, frozen stare in Kyra Perl’s direction.

It had, uh, been a while since they spoke.

 

[Kyra Perl]

Kyra gripped the cafe to her, sleepy fingers soaking in the warmth as she turned with her goodies to le- She froze, Amani's shock mirrored on her as they made contact.

"...Amani?" She echoed, disbelieving.

Green skin, dark hair, getting jostled by passing bodies. Yup. Definitely her. Kyra's features lit up. She surged forward, the once short girl wrapping her friend in a warm, familiar hug.

"Force- I thought I'd never see you again."

An understatement of the century.

 

[Amani Serys]

Amani stayed frozen, only reanimating when the hug effectively knocked her back into cognizance. Well, it was definitely the right Zeltron. Was Kyra taller than her now? She wasn't always taller than her, right?

It didn’t really matter. There was another pause before Amani returned the hug, but when she did she embraced her old friend with the same warmth. “You’re telling me…” A hint of disbelief still lingering in her laugh. It was these kinds of interactions that ran through Amani’s head during her long trips. Only, given how things had fallen apart around the time she left, she usually expected something a bit more negative to start.

“How--I--” There was a lot of catching up to do. “Wha-- What are you doing out here?" Decent enough place to start, I guess.

Kyra Perl​

 

[Kyra Perl]

Kyra peeled off her, mindful of her coffee and the slight, er, cream that was now on Amani's head. "Oh... you don't know?" She looked down at herself, clade in simple cargo pants and a bag sweater, no robe in sight.

Her cheeks flushed with heat.

"...I left the order. A while, ago, really, I've been working on projects since." She tried to brush it off, not wanting to dive back into warn out conversations before she had even had her caffeine. She cleared her throat and rubbed cream off her cheek, realizing that her friend might... still be in a bad way.


...Definitely not something she wanted to deal with before her morning caffeine. Her voice squeaked with strain as she asked, "So. Um. You doing... okay?"

 

[Amani Serys]

Neither seemed all that eager to jump into the details right this moment. Amani nodded sheepishly, her gaze meeting the ground for a moment, “Yeah, yeah… I’m uh, I’m okay.”

A beat. She straightened back up with an exhale, “Not too different from you I guess, heh. I left the Jedi stuff behind,” the Mirialan gestured at her own plain, spacer fashion, a weary smile stretched across her lips. Not that she had much of a choice; Being a Jedi usually involved the Force, and that hadn’t been a part of who she was for some time now. “Just started… drifting. Somewhere, anywhere, didn’t really matter. Small-time work where I could find it.”

Another awkward pause, “...What about you? Something about projects?”

Kyra Perl​

 

[Kyra Perl]

"Um." She glanced around, always overly paranoid when it came to her work. She had developed into a bit of a fatalist now a days.

"S'kinda a story, really. ... You just passing through? We could have breakfast or... meet for dinner, later, if you'll still be here," she offered, aware that they were standing in the middle of flowing street. Too many eyes, and bumping shoulders for that matter. Kyra liked quiet places now.

 

[Amani Serys]

Their obtrusive place of conversation had practically gone unnoticed to Amani up until this point, “...Right,” She shifted awkwardly to avoid bumping into a passerby. "Um, yeah. Yeah I'll be around. I mean, either works for me. If you wanted to now… or later.” She rubbed the nape of her neck.

Talking to old friends, surprisingly hard after a while, apparently.

Kyra Perl​

 

[Kyra Perl]

Kyra smiled thinly, her chest swelling in a mix of tightness and warmth. Yeah. This was a bit hard, huh?

She reached out and took Amani's hand, fingers warm and squeezing as she led her away. "Want some?" She offered, holding over her cup. Amani was about to remember the hard way that Kyra liked her food overly sweet. Five creams and sugars, sweet.

Dem Zeltron taste buds.

A few diners marked the streets of the manufactured spaceport. Kyra pulled them towards one, the depth of space painting the sky over the overhead dome.

 

[Amani Serys]

Amani gave a genuine smile back and shuffled along, as guided by Kyra's hand. The offer of caf was met with the briefest of hesitation, "Oh... thanks,"

She gingerly took the cup, and just a single sip was enough to surprise her with its sugar overload, a flat "...Mm." was all she offered, returning the drink to its rightful owner. It wasn't baaad. But it was… a lot.

"Never been here before," She made the attempt at pleasantries as they approached the diner facade. Not that she really made many repeat visits to anywhere.

Kyra Perl​

 

[Kyra Perl]

Kyra wasn't even sure she had been awake enough to notice the spaceport's name, never mind whether or not she had been here before. The obvious answer was no, she looked around regardless, leading them in for a seat at a table to the side.

It was busy, but not overwhelmingly so.

"So, um, how you been?" She had already asked that. "I mean, sorry-- what are you doing here?" They had gone over this. Kyra sucked in a nervous, regretful breath, only to be saved by a server stopping at their table.

"Can I get you two anything?"

Kyra sunk back into her seat, her cheeks turning red. "Pancakes..."

Amani Serys

 

[Amani Serys]

In a vain attempt to ease the awkwardness, Amani offered a nervous laugh as Kyra fumbled over repeat topics, both of their faces having turned a darker shade than usual by now.

She hardly had time to think things over before they were distracted by a waitress. Probably for the best.

“Erm… Just coffee. Whatever ya got.” Amani never actually got one back outside, might as well now. She wasn’t all that starving right now anyway.

And yet, you agreed to go for breakfast. Dummy.

The waitress left with an unassuming smile, leaving them one-on-one yet again.

“So…-” Nope, already covered that. “Uh-” Work stuff, right. “You were saying something about personal projects? Or, you did. Earlier.”

Kyra Perl​

 

[Kyra Perl]

"Oh. That, right, yeah. I'm working with plants?" She answered broadly, unable to help the slight paranoia that kept her from divulging the whole truth. It wasn't that she didn't trust Amani, three years ago she would have laid down her life in the woman's hands, it was the sith she didn't trust.

...

...

And the painful truth that Amani had been close to them, intentional or otherwise. It was better to be safe than sorry.

Kyra rubbed at a mark on the table with her thumb, picking apart the truth for the bits she wouldn't mind in anyone's hands. "I'm working with a team to help revitalize the Tingel Arm. It's all scar worlds over there, but I've found this tech-- this atmo stabilizer-- with luck we could start to heal it all." A small bit of excitement crept into her voice, betraying her usual spunk.

She couldn't help it.

 

[Amani Serys]

Okay, that's a start. From the first sentence Amani could tell Kyra was being at least a little indirect with her explanation. She cast her eyes downward, opting to just listen.

Only as Kyra revealed more, did Amani return her gaze, "Wow, that's great. I guess I wouldn't really know anything about all that but… Sounds like that could really help a lot of people." She smiled thinly, dwelling on the last few years before reaching all the way back to those Jedi days. The Bryn warpath turned more than a few planets into war-torn wastelands. They had both seen it first hand.

There was a moment of quiet before she returned focus to the conversation at hand, "Well, I'm glad you found something." She nodded, and folding her arms across the table.

Kyra Perl​

 

[Kyra Perl]

"Yeah..." Kyra agreed, her energy deflating to mirror Amani's. She crossed her arms as well, biting back a sudden sense of hurt that she couldn't place. This didn't feel like it use to. She didn't like that.

"Um." She ripped at her to go cup. "So, you? Where have you... where ya been?"

 

[Amani Serys]

“Iiiii… have kinda been all over, I guess. When I left I was pretty much just wandering wherever the next ship would take me. Eventually I pulled myself together and figured I might as well do something useful with my time, so I started participating in volunteer efforts. Disaster relief, medical aid, stuff like that. Mostly Outer Rim worlds.”

...

“It’s familiar work, at least.” She shrugged. Around then the waitress came back with her cup of coffee, Amani smiled flatly and slowly wrapped her fingers around the mug.

There was a long pause before she spoke again, “...You ever miss all the Jedi stuff?”

Kyra Perl​

 

[Kyra Perl]

Kyra's world walloped, her chest tightening in an instant. No. Nope. Nah. She did not miss that feeling.

She fought against a mindful breath and tried to push it all away-- or at least think past it. Her hands pressed flat on the table, clammy and white and she sought to ground herself.

"... No," she answered, with a shamed shake of her head. "... I mean it was my home. My family. Don't get me wrong it was nice to have that kinda .... direction. But. No. No, I don't think I do."

"...I'm not cut out for it." A hard thing to admit, but it felt right. It felt true.
Amani Serys

 

[Amani Serys]

The reaction was more than Amani expected. She may not have been able to feel that emotional resonance through the force anymore, but she could still infer the more tangible cues.

"Yeah… I don't know if I am, either." She rested a cheek on her hand, and watched wisps of steam dance above her coffee. "Not that it's… an option."

It was a real mixed bag of feelings. For a long time it was all she wanted to do. After everything that had happened now though, Amani wasn't even sure a return would fill that gap.

"Erm, sorry. I didn't mean to drop that question on you like that." Thinking of what else they could share proved difficult.

Kyra Perl​

 

[Kyra Perl]

Kyra shrugged, ripping off more of her coffee sleeve as she mulled.

"...Is it true? What they say. ...You saved the grandmaster?" Her turn to crest lines.

 

[Amani Serys]

There was no immediate reaction, like she hadn't even heard a question.

"...I guess." Came the monotone answer.

"It was luck more than anything. But sure, I saved the grandmaster."

She looked back up, her face dull and tired. It didn't feel like her efforts were something to be proud of.

Kyra Perl​