Private Favour for a Favour

[Cadere]

Denon
Nightfall

​

How could he have been so stupid?! So careless?! Cas had been so busy with hunting down remnants of Sith Imperials from the battle, to engaging in war with the Bryn, that for weeks he hadn't noticed Yenna was missing, all the way back on Voss when he had lost track of her - Cas was too ignorant, too stupid to realise she had gone missing. Yes, his Padawan was independent and skilful enough to undertake assignments on her own now but he should have noticed sooner... it didn't matter. Because now, he was going to find her, even if it was the last thing he'd do. The thoughts that currently ran through his head right now... if he got his hands on the person who took her, Cas would relish seeing the light leave their eyes with his hands wrapped firmly around their throat.

It had been some time since he saw her, but right now it felt as if she was the only one he could turn to: Tess, his ex-girlfriend and his first love... and also, a spy for the New Imperial Order - at least she was when he had last spoken to her about it. As a spy, she was bound to have connections and leads that could possibly lead him to finding Yenna. And so, the Jedi Knight contacted her and called in a favour.

Shortly after docking in one of the hangar bays and leaving BB-5 to guard the ship, Cas made his way deeper into the city. The Kiffar was supposed to meet his former lover on a rooftop, overlooking a cantina called The Derelict Star Destroyer. After leaping and scaling his way to the top, Cas began pacing about the rooftop as the warm neon lights lit up on his face, giving the Jedi Knight's qukuuf and face a pink hue. Right now, he was irritable, anxious and dangerous - qualities that were unlike his normal personality, but how could he be calm when his carelessness led to his Padawan being kidnapped?

"Where the hell is she?" he stated aggressively, finally coming to a halt in the middle of the rooftop and with his arms folded.

Xan Deesa

 

[Xan Deesa]

Xan couldn't deny that this was a highlight in her day. She had chatted with Cas of and on since they last saw each other but when he mentioned that he had to see her, she was quite ecstatic.

She raced along the rooftops towards the place they agreed on. In the distance she spotted him and a broad grin appeared on her mask. But as she got closer she could see that something was very wrong. He was pacing back and forth and the look on his face told her that joking around would probably not be very smart. As she quietly reached the rooftop from behind him, she overheard his question as well as the aggression in his voice.

"Is that how you greet a booty call?" she quipped as she smiled at him, her arms folded across her chest. So much for not making jokes...

Her arms dropped and she closed the distance towards him. She pulled her mask off and looked up at him with a worried gaze. "What's wrong? I haven't seen you this pissed off in a long time. What happened?" she asked him as she took hold of his shoulders. He didn't give her any insight on why he needed her, but she knew it had to be serious. She still looked out for him and cared about him, even if they weren't together anymore. That's what friends were for. Unfortunately she had the suspicion that there would be no seduction of moves to be made on him. Not when he was quite ready to kill someone.

Cadere

 

[Cadere]

Not long after his minor outburst of impatience, Cas sensed the familiar presence that was Tess, or Xan, as she went by these days. His brow twitched slightly when he heard her voice call out to him, slowly and unenthusiastically, he turned to face her and greeted her with a twitch of a smile before it fell straight again. "Tess." he acknowledged plainly.

Seeing the worry within her eyes and expression, his own were stone cold as he turned to avert her gaze. Cas' body relaxed a little when Tess... Xan, placed her hands on his shoulders, at the sound of her question Cas' jaw visibly clenched as he continued to stare toward the ground. Fists tightening, he pulled away from "I need a favour." he stated bluntly.

A moment passed before his shoulders raised and then promptly lowered with a sigh escaping his lips. Calming down slightly, Cas forcefully reigned in his current temperament "It's my Padawan, Yenna... she's missing. She's gone and its all my fault." Cas confessed with frustration, running his hands through his dreads as he took a few steps across the rooftop, feeling his frustration begin to creep in again.

Cas was a roller coaster of emotions right now, as quickly as it came his frustration faded and was replaced with desperation. Showing clearly in his voice, he implored Xan "You're the only person I know with any kind of pull, any kind of connections that can help me on my search for her. Please, do you have... any information?" he asked with a pleading look. He felt guilty right now, with it being a year since they last met face to face, and him only calling upon her for his own selfish reasons - Cas would need to make it up to her sometime down the line.

Xan Deesa

 

[Xan Deesa]

Tess could see the anger and frustration inside him. He pulled away from her grasp and averted his gaze as he tried to calm himself down. He finally explained what was wrong and Tess was in a bit of a pickle. She blinked and rested her hands on her hips as she watched him get worked up all over again. She could say that it wasn't his fault... but it could possibly actually be. She was curious as to how the hell he managed to misplace his padawan. Though she waited patiently for the question she knew was coming.

"I'm sorry Cas, but I don't know anything about this. Not off the top of my head." she admitted as she approached him. "But I know for a fact there's some digging we can do." she continued with a smile as she tugged at his jacket to tidy it. "Now stop freaking out and relax. Otherwise I'm gonna feed you spice." she ordered him with a slap against the chest. "Come on. My place isn't too far, we can go dig around and see what we can find."

She led the way to the edge of the rooftop and hurled herself off it, sailing through the air until she landed in a roll on another rooftop. She shot him a daring grin and kept running along the rooftops, jumping far further and clearing much larger gaps than a normal human could. Eventually they reached a block completely different from where she lived and she used the fire escapes to descend to the ground. With a light grunt she landed in an alley and calmly waited for him to join her. "You're getting slow." she teased with a wink as she led the way up to her new place. "Yeah I'm living somewhere else now. My place got hit by a missile a week or two back. Darkwire's got some issues with the Corpos cracking down on it." she explained as she walked into an apartment complex. Compared to where she lived previously, this was a downgrade. A drunkard stumbled past them and collided with Cas, accidentally spilling a bit of his drink on him before wandering further. Tess stopped and cast a look at him as she gave a guilty smile. "Had to take whatever I could get." she elaborated before walking up some stairs. "I told you the other day I got a dude living with me. Fifteen year old kid who I'm gonna train. You kinda ghosted me when I asked if you could help with the force training but I figured you were on Voss at that time." she commented as she led the way.

Eventually they reached a door and she entered a code to open it. But halfway it had to be convinced with a hard kick to the frame. "I miss my old place." she grumbled as she entered the much more 'quaint' apartment. She tossed her mask and cap onto the bed and dropped into the seat by her desk. "Make yourself at home. There's some soda in the fridge, care to grab some for us?" she asked as she pointed to the small kitchen area in a connecting room. "Okay. Where did she go missing? Like when was the last time you saw her? It'll help narrow it down tremendously if you can give me as much info as possible." she requested as she spun around to look at him.

Cadere

 

[Cadere]

When Tess confessed she didn't have any information or leads he could follow regarding Yen, Cas' eyes shut and his head tilted upward in irritation. This isn't what he wanted to hear, and at this rate, if she had nothing, he was waisting time being on Denon and was ready to turn to leave but she reassured him that they could find something. Cas spun around to meet Tess as she approached him and tugged at his light armor's collar, trying to lighten the situation but the Kiffar was passed it unfortunately, opting not to react to her little joke.

Following their conversation, Cas accompanied Tess to the edge of the rooftop before allowing her to lead. Leaping after her through the use of the Force, he landed effortlessly on the other side and kept at a steady pace behind her as they made the way to her apartment. Throughout the journey, Cas' mind was displaced and worrying about the wellbeing of his Padawan and how he had failed her as a Master. When they reached the end, Tess began her descent into an alley way while Cas followed after her by nonchalantly stepping off the roof and landing below, softening his fall with the Force.

"Yeah." he subconsciously replied to Tess' playful dis at him, glancing around the area latently. He noticed the surrounding area of her apartment was different since the last time he was on Denon - either she'd moved apartments or he had completely forgotten what her old one looked like. Only a little later did Tess confirm that this was indeed a different apartment. "A missile?" the Kiffar questioned, wide-eyed and with both concern and curiosity in his voice... what trouble had she been getting herself into since they'd last met? When the drunkard hit him and spilled some of his drink on him, Cas whipped his head around and grabbed him by the collar and raised his cybernetic fist to pop him around the mouth. It only took a few seconds for Cas to calm down and come to his senses before shoving the drunkard away from him and following Tess to her apartment.

Tess mentioned that a guy was living with her now, thinking she was seeing someone he felt a little blow hit him, but she quickly elaborated that it was just some kid and reminded him that she had mentioned it before. "Sorry." Cas apologised, rubbing the back of his neck "Yeah, I was on Voss... what you mentioned completely went over my head." he elaborated, mindlessly rubbing the scar on his cheek he had received on the planet. Finally they reached her apartment and he nodded in agreement with her comment about missing her old place "I don't blame you." he stated casually as he glanced around her apartment.

Walking over to the fridge, Cas opened it and reached in to grab a single soda for Tess as he was, understandably, not in the right headspace for any refreshments. Returning to her at her desk, he handed her the soda before moving over to the couch next to her bed and sitting on it, although he couldn't relax. Interlacing his fingers together and resting them in between his legs, he leaned forward and bowed his head down onto the top of his hands and let out a defeated sigh, preparing to answer her question "It was on Voss. After the battle, she came to help out with the clean-up, to root out the stragglers. We were in some kind of cave and fought against some Imperial troopers and some... Dark sided creature. An ally of ours was injured... in my concern for her wellbeing and trying to make sure she was okay, I lost track of Yenna." he confessed with shame in his voice "At first I thought she was with us and had made her own way back or something... she's a capable and independant Padawan so I thought nothing of it. Later on I was so busy tracking down stragglers on Yavin to fighting Bryn on Nar Kreeta that she completely slipped my mind... she's been coming into her own so much recently that... I just thought she was beginning to outgrow me." Cas elaborated with a sigh "So, this is another thing on the long list of reasons as to why Cas Tynen is a massive kark up."

Finally lifting his head up, he wasn't making excuses but was acknowledging his failure as a Master and met her gaze with a determined, almost angry, stare "I have to make this right. I have to save her... not just as her Master, but as her friend."

Xan Deesa

 

[Xan Deesa]

Tess kept quiet and listened to every detail he mentioned. She felt bad for him and wanted to reassure him that it wasn't his fault, but they had more pressing matters to tend to now. So with his info she got onto her terminal and started to work. "Voss... Sith... definitely narrows it down." she muttered as she delved into the deeper parts of the Holonet. After nearly half an hour she finally sighed and glanced at him. Wordlessly she kept working and started to mess around with the little info she managed to get a hold of. "One record states they took a Jedi prisoner on Voss. But they don't specify where." she spoke up, her fingers and eyes still working overtime as she closed the records and continued to sift through it at a ludicrous speed.

She finally stopped and sat back, blinking in surprise. "Oh." she muttered in shock. "I think you'll like this." she commented as she read over the logs. "Apparently one of the officers who managed to get out before you guys could close them down is holding a party or something. A type of honouring for his soldiers or something. Anyone who wants to pay their respects or who lost someone in that fight can come. ID is gonna be tricky, though..." she explained, sitting back in thought. For several moments she stared at the screen as she tried to figure something out.

"I got a crazy idea." she started, glancing at Cas. "What if... me and you were married? And a brother of mine or yours died in the fighting?" she suggested, knowing quite well how ridiculous it sounded. "It's crazy and we could probably do a lot better. But as far as I can see, it's ridiculous enough to pass and it gives us good reason to both be there. It's so overt, it's covert!" she elaborated with a smirk as she waited to see his reaction.

Cadere

 

[Cadere]

For a few moments Cas remained seated as Tess began her search. Tensing up when she mentioned a Jedi prisoner from Voss, he finally shot up and approached her when Tess muttered a curious 'Oh' "What is it?" Cas asked, positioning himslef closer to her with his right arm leaned against the table while his left rested on the back of Tess' chair.

As she revealed a potential lead, the guilt driven Jedi felt a smile begin to creep... until Tess mentioned the catch. His growing smile faltered as he threw himself away from the table, spinning himself around with his back facing Tess - Cas unleashed a frustrated growl combing his hands through his hair. After a few seconds, Cas lowered his arms and rested them on his hips letting out a sigh "I'm going to have to storm the place. Make them talk." he expressed unapologetically, slightly turning to face Tess.

Then she proposed her own idea, one that even with his precognition he couldn't see coming. Eyes widening, his lips parted ever so slightly "M-married? Like... legally?" Cas asked with slight concern and a sheepish look, the Kiffar deliberated for a few seconds, it was probably much safer than his idea to crash the party guns blazing. Pinching the bridge of his nose tightly, Cas' brows curled as he found his answer "Alright. Fine. How are we doing this?" completely unenthusastic about the situation but at this rate it was a means to an end. "I can't exactly go dressed like this." he said, pointing at his light armor with both hands.

Xan Deesa

 

[Xan Deesa]

Xan snickered when his face completely freaked out at the mention. "No, not legally! I can forge papers and a signature easily enough. We don't got time for a ceremony." she quipped with a wink. When he asked about how it would go down, she rose from her seat and took a long sip of her drink. "Of course not, I'll shoot you myself if you go to a party dressed like that. No, we'll need to get a lot done. Clothes, invitation, ID, marriage documents. We can stick with our personalities... or you can at least, it's just easier." she explained as the pondered over the details. She looked up at him and gave a reassuring smile. "Let me worry about all the details. You've got enough on your plate. The party is only in a few days so we got enough time." she explained, resting a hand on his shoulder.

Her hand quickly slipped across his back as she pulled him into a hug. She knew he cared about his Padawan. Helping to put him at ease was the least she could do for him now. "You'll get her back, Cas. Don't worry. It wasn't your fault, the Sith just caught you off guard." she muttered into his ear as she held him in her embrace.

She released him and glanced around. "Make yourself at home. You can get my bed, I'll sleep on the couch." she commented, gesturing to her own bed behind him. A smirk formed on her lips as her hands rested on his chest. "I know you won't be able to keep your hands to yourself if we had to share the bed." she teased with those narrowed eyes and sultry smile he would be quite familiar. She sat down behind her terminal and read over the stuff, saving notes as she went until she got everything she felt she needed. She took another sip of her drink as she sat back in her seat and stared at the wallpaper in thought. "That scar on your face is new. I take it it's a parting gift from Voss?" she asked him as she looked at him with curiosity, hoping to catch up a bit and perhaps get his mind off the situation.

Cadere

 

[Cadere]

Cas let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding when Tess confirmed it wasn't going to be a legal marriage. It was nothing at all against Tess, he just wanted to save marriage for someone he actually intended to wed. "Okay, that's... fair." the Kiffar begrudgingly relented, rubbing at his chin softly. Despite Cas wanting this operation to go as fast as possible, the Jedi Knight did feel slightly at ease that they were getting somewhere.

Finally feeling calmer, Cas wrapped his arms around her waist and returned Tess' embrace. Relaxing his body and his head over her shoulder, he released sigh "Tess... thank you." although he didn't comment on her attempt to reassure him that Yenna's disappareance not being his fault. Raising his arms, Cas swiftly protested his ex's generosity "No, no, you know I can't do that - I'll take the couch." he insited before making his way passed Tess and toward the couch. Although, he quickly stopped in place at her little tease and turned to look over his shoulder, displaying a small smirk "Projecting much?" Cas fired back, fully certain that what happened last year would remain their last time together.

Now back to being seated on the couch, Tess questioned the origins of his scar - brushing over it with his index and middle finger "That's putting it mildly." he answered with a snicker through his nostrils. It seemed he was an injury magnet as of late, life lasting scars from Voss and a nearly healed rib injury from Nar Kreeta although Cas elected to leave that out.

Scratching near his laugh lines, the Kiffar's eyes were staring off somewhere into the distance "So... that missile. Anything you need help with?" he pondered before asking another question "And this kid, I didn't really get to ask much about him because of, y'know, Voss and Nar Kreeta. I didn't take you for mentor-y type."

Xan Deesa

 

[Xan Deesa]

Cas quickly volunteered to take the couch and she simply shrugged. "Okay. I'm just looking out for you in your old age." she joked as she went about her business. He commented on his scar but he clearly didn't want to elaborate. Tess eyed him with suspicion but didn't press the issue, instead she let him ask her about her own issue. She sighed and glanced around at her new apartment. "Nah, it's Darkwire stuff. Got a little situation with the Corpos. If they wanted to kill me and my partner it means we're getting close." she explained with annoyance in her voice as she took another ship.

He went on to ask about Cartri and a genuine smile spread across her lips. "I'm not. But I felt sorry for the kid. Country bumpkin offworld, nobody looking out for him, no means to defend himself... he'd be dead in a matter of days if it wasn't for me. So I decided to teach him a bit of my training. He won't be nearly as good as me, I doubt any normal person will ever be able to match me. Though it'll give him a great chance at keeping himself safe and surviving in this galaxy. But what gives him an edge is the fact that he's got the Force. That's why I wanted to ask you if you'd be able to teach him sometime. Either that or send someone who can. He's terrified of his own powers and I hate seeing him freak out when he does something and involuntarily uses it." she explained to Cas. Her grin faded a bit, but there was still a bright glimmer in her eyes. "I've never had family. I had handlers, I had trainers, I had competition, contacts and targets. But the closest I ever got to family has been you and him. He's like a little brother I've always wanted." she admitted gently, looking at Cas with a rarely seen look of raw honesty.

She sighed and looked at her terminal, shutting it down for the night. "I'll be in the shower. Gotta be up early to get everything going." she rose from her seat as she spoke, grabbing her towel and pajamas before disappearing into the bathroom. When she got out she immediately got into bed. "Goodnight. Don't let the couch bugs bite." she quipped before dozing off for the night.

The next morning she was up at 3 in the morning, doing her morning exercises of a hundred sit-ups, squats and burpees. When that was done she quickly got ready for the day and brewed a pot of caf for her and Cas. If he wasn't awake by then, she would start working on her terminal and wake him up at 5. "There's some caf over there. There's this great burger stand where we can buy breakfast." she explained when he was able to register galactic Basic.

Cadere

 

[Cadere]

"Old age?" Cas asked rhetorically, head twisting to meet Tess' gaze "Who was the cougar here?" he quickly fired back with a half-offended half-playful expression. She explained about the 'corpos' and her and her partner getting close which forced Cas to double take "Hold on, I thought you were with the Imperials? What're you doing harassing Corpos?" he asked with genuine curiosity, while they spoke, it was infrequent and usually never about 'business' - so all of this was completely new to him.

Then she went on to explain about the kid she had practically adopted, which was... still jarring to him, but he listened. Rubbing the back of his neck, Cas didn't know what to say "I mean... I'd love to help him figure things out, but, clearly I'm not the best teacher..." he lamented, thinking of how he failed Yen "I know a few people that can help though. My friend, Mathieu,he's a Padawan but I'm sure he could spare the time." Cas proposed. Tess then continued, mentioning her childhood and lack of a family - but she revealed something that was truly an eye opener, Tess felt close to the kid as she used to be with himself. That was all it took for him to know how important the kid was to her.

When Tess went to shower, Cas unzipped the top of his light armor before placing it next to the couch and slipped off his boots before sitting down to lay on the couch. "Night, Tess." he said solemnly when she wished him good night, turning over to face the front of the backset, it didn't take long for him to fall asleep. However, it wasn't a restful one as the guilt-ridden Jedi Knight spent the entire night tossing and turning in his sleep, showered with terrible dreams of his Padawan's potential suffering. Cas was so deep in sleep that it took Tess a few moments to wake him.

Groggy as all hell, Cas painfully rubbed his eyes and felt his body was sore from the uncomfortable sleep. Letting out a low groan, he turned to face away from Tess for a few moments, forgetting his back scar was in clear view before finally getting up, eyes redder than a Sith's lightsaber "What time is it?" he asked walking over to the kitchen counter. Pouring himself a cup of caf, Cas ran a hand through his dreads and let out a tired sigh "You say something about a murder stand?" the Kiffar asked, still clearly half asleep.

Xan Deesa

 

[Xan Deesa]

Cas asked about why she was messing with the Corpos and she gave a simple shrug. "NIO is way too wack for me these days. Plus I already removed myself from their systems and any trace of me being there. As far as anyone's concerned, I was never there. This fight... I just stumbled into it when I joined Darkwire. But I won't lie, me being here, fighting the Corpos, helping to give a bit of power back to the people of Denon... it's given me a sense of purpose. I don't want to leave this place anytime soon." she admitted to him with a glimmer in her eyes. He went on to comment about her request, arguing against teaching Cartri and rather wanting someone else to do it. She gave him a light smile and a wink as she spoke. "Can even drop your Padawan into that seat once we get her back. Though I can assure you that you won't be the wrong person for the job, Cas."

The next morning, she wasn't surprised that he was a struggle to get out of bed. It's the sole reason why she let him sleep in when they were together. Though the massive scar on his back was a surprise to her. Her golden eyes lingered on it for way too long before she finally glanced back up to his face. "Time to wake up." she quipped with a snarky grin as she gave his leg a light slap. He managed to drag himself over to the caf pot and poured himself a mug. Tess simply stood and watched with an amused grin as he was still working on waking up. "Burger stand! Trust me, you'll love it. They got some of the best burgers I've tasted in a while." she spoke loud enough to wake him up a bit. "Come on, get a move on. We got a bunch of stuff to do today." she quipped before sipping at her coffee.

Once he was ready to leave, she led him to the stand and bought a bacon cheese burger for them both and then continued walking. For the most past she was quiet, a simple hum or giggle escaping her as she ate her burger.

Cadere

 

[Cadere]

Cas blinked in surprise, her dropping the NIO was completely left-field for him... especially as it was one of the reasons for their breakup. However, his surprise swiftly turned into pride as it seemed Tess had completely turned over a new leaf in wanting to help others - despite everything, he always knew that despite her upbringing and what she was created for, she had an inherent goodness within her, he had always sensed it but to hear she was actually acting on it was pleasing to hear. Regarding her new protege, Cas really had to think about whether he was the right fit to train the kid as he was still wrestling with the notion that he may not even be the right fit for Yenna.

The next morning, Tess clarified that she was talking about a burger stand not a murder one, which, in hinsdight, made a lot more sense. "I don't know, there's this place on Coruscant that makes the best bantha burgers." Cas argued as he took a sip of his caf, with that he headed over to the couch to grab his clothes and throw them on.

With that, the Kiffar followed the rebel to this reputable burger stand, rubbing the last bit of sleep and drowsiness from his eyes as they walked Denon's streets. Finally at the stand, Cas was forced to stand and wait as Tess ordered their burgers seeing as he was too late to order and pay for himself, once they got their burgers Cas calmly lamented "I couldda paid for myself, y'know." however, he wasn't ugrateful "But thanks." the Jedi Knight added before finally taking a bite of his burger. It wasn't bad, still didn't beat the burgers from that diner on Coruscant but... this was a fierce contender. With his mouthful, Cas gave his "review" "This is nice but, I don't know, the bun's kinda dry and it contrasts with the moisture of the bacon, cheese and patty inside. I give it a 7/10." Cas shrugged "Call me when you wanna try a real burger." he playfully teased, nudging at her slightly.

During the walk over to the stand as well as when he was eating the burger, Cas contemplated on a lot of things - first of all, Yenna's wellbeing, but he quickly pushed those anxieities down as he knew it wouldn't do himself any good right now. Then his thoughts fell on to Tess' stray, he was personally not all that sold on training him due to his own shortcomings but... Tess had done a lot for him, not just recently but over the time they had known each other. Cas figured the least he could do was do her this one solid and help her out with the kid. "Tess." he addressed her, although his eyes were cast forward and didn't meet hers "The kid, I guess I can give training him a shot... after I find my Padawan." Cas revealed, a hint of resistance and hesitance in his voice.

Xan Deesa

 

[Xan Deesa]

As she ordered their burgers, Cas mentioned something about paying for himself. She waved him off before glancing at him. "You know credits aren't a problem for me, Cas." she quipped with a wink. When they got their burgers she wasted no time in starting to eat. Cas, however, started a conversation that was asking for an ass kicking session. "EGSH..." she started with a mouthful of burger but quickly swallowed it down. "Excuse me?!" she spoke again. "A real burger?! This is a real burger, mother kriffer!" she scolded as she pointed at the burger. "Dry my ass. It's moister than you ever were." she continued to rant. Clearly he had struck a nerve with his comment. But her "anger" quickly dropped as she shot a smirk at him. "Don't worry, I'll still forgive you if you take that statement back." she teased as she nudged him back.

As they walked and ate their breakfast, Cas spoke her name. She wasn't exactly happy that he used her "real" name out in public but she let it slide for now. To her delight he agreed to training Cartri after they got Yenna back. She smiled warmly and wrapped an arm around him in a hug. "Thanks." she muttered softly as she looked up at him. "And of course after we got your paddie back. Didn't expect you to just drop everything for this." she agreed with a chuckle before taking another bite. "Oh and just one thing. If we're out here... please don't use my name. Out here I'm Xan." she explained as she glanced at him. A smirk appeared as she nudged him with her elbow. "You can call me whatever you want behind closed door though." she teased with a smug grin.

The rest of the morning was a busy one for them. She took him shopping for proper clothing and even met with a few underground people for new ID's. She got them the names "Riva" and "Alden" Cullsar. His birthplace remained unchanged and was easy to spin but she needed one for herself. She decided to go with Dromund Kaas for convenience. When they got back to her apartment she sorted out their invitations and got a confirmation not much later.

Sitting back behind her desk she glanced at him. "Okay... all that's set. Now we need a speeder to arrive in. You know their models better than me. What kind of speeder looks good but will still be affordable enough for a soldier to own? And try to go imperial. Or at least go with a model built in Sith space. We gotta be proud supporters for these guys." she asked him as she spun her mask around on a finger.

Cadere

 

[Cadere]

Cas let out a hearty laugh at the offence Tess had taken, taking another bite of the burger he turned to face her and prodded on with the lighthearted teasing "My, my, you were never this easy to rile up when we were together." he smirked, cheeks big from the large mouthful of food in his mouth. "I'm not taking anything back." he said stubbornly but with a cheery tone, as to let the former spy know things weren't serious.

She was pleased that he agreed to train her, whatever he was to her, and so he returned her hug by wrapping one arm around her "It's all good." when the embrace was over with, Cas returned both hands to his burger and had another bite - Tess, or Xan, asked him not to use her real name in public which was still strange to him. Was she hiding from the Imperials? Was it a spy thing? Or did she want a change of pace? Nonetheless, he respected her wishes and simply nodded.

Following some shopping and other things, Cas wouldn't deny that it was nice to be spending time with Tess... but his mind constantly drifted to Yenna. Back at the apartment, Cas wasn't pleased with his new name "Alden Cullstar huh? Can't get anymore aristocratic than that." he said with obvious displeasure. Moving toward the couch, the Kiffar sat down and pulled out his datapad and swiped through potential models they could use - Cas hated Sith models for biased reasons and this would be a somewhat difficult task for him.

After some time swiping through, Cas found something that piqued his interest "What about this? An LC-A51, it's not much but its inconspicous. Or, this Lycan Sith Landspeeder but the problem is... it's a landspeeder." Cas proposed these two but ultimately let Tess be the deciding vote as she had more knowledge on the high rise lifestyle and what would be more appropriate.

Xan Deesa