Private Festival of the Ancestors

[Amani Serys]

"Mmmhmmm…" Amani peered knowingly at Valery. Her and Vera were looking awfully similar right about now. It was a humorous light to view the great Sword of the Jedi in. She raised her brow even higher at Alicio's insistence on inevitable victory, smugness still written across her face. A smugness that was then swept away when…

"Do you guys want to play another game or maybe join one of the big crowd dances?" she asked before she smirked. "I don't know if Alicio has had a chance to show off his dancing skills to you yet, but he should,"

Amani blinked, and her cheeks quickly flushed a darker shade of green. They had never actually danced before. Something which Amani was actually quite alright with. She was exceptionally self-conscious about her dancing skill (or lack thereof). Turns out, just because you can move gracefully doesn't mean you can apply that movement to music. The mirialan grinned sheepishly, hesitantly; But the look on Alicio's face was obvious. She swallowed her concern, then responded with a nod and a quiet, "...Sure."

The festival had a large clearing in the center where people seemed to have congregated for dancing. At the moment, a band was performing a lively, though thankfully not too energetic tune. Amani shifted a bit on her feet, "So… do we just…?" She flailed an arm broadly at the other dancing partygoers.

Alicio Organa | Valery Noble​

 

[Valery Noble]

Outfit | Weapon | Appearance

Outfit | White dress
Location | Pasaana | Festival of the Ancestors
Tag | Amani Serys Alicio Organa

"And this wasn't a loss. Just a... temporary setback. To our eventual victory. Yes."

"Agreed," Valery said with a nod, but Vera was quick to chime in, "Nuh-uh! We won!" she called out, causing her mother to giggle a little. It wasn't often that this side of Valery showed so openly and easily, but Vera always had that effect on her. The little girl's smile, excitement, and joy in life made everything feel better.

"Sure you did, sweetie," Valery teased before she turned to the others to continue the subject of dancing or games. As she glanced between the two love birds, it seemed rather quickly they were going to dance. "Yay, dance!" Vera called out as she moved around her mother and jumped up and down.

"So… do we just…?"

"Yup!" Valery called out after sneaking behind Amani to place her hands on the woman's shoulder. She nudged her forward and did the same with Alicio to get them to join the large dance ceremony together. "Come ooon, you two got this," Valery encouraged with a wink.

"Vera, you wanna dance with mommy?" Valery then asked, which got the girl to run over and start moving. It wasn't exactly to the rhythm, but it had a lot of energy, and that's all that really mattered. Valery, however, wasn't holding back at all and moved gracefully to the music, hips and body swaying along to the rhythm to draw attention. "Watch me closely and follow me," Valery encouraged Vera, who tried to copy her mom.

​

 

[Alicio Organa]

Alicio tried to continue his arrogant facade, especially as Valery backed him up, but he couldn't completely suppress his smile, which battled to make itself known on his face.

Which turned into a grin of sympathy as Alicio watched Amani's reaction to his excitement at the prospect of dancing. He closed the short distance between them, reaching for her hand and squeezing briefly. "It'll be fun, I swear. And... if it's not, we can find another game for you and Vera to beat me and Val at."

His attention was turned to the aforementioned Vera, who was literally bouncing with excitement at the idea of dancing. Alicio turned away to release a brief, pained expression. She was too damn cute.

It wasn't long before Amani and Alicio were pushed into the festivities by Valery.

"Come ooon, you two got this."

Alicio nodded happily, before glancing around, trying to get into the rhythm. With a little assistance from his future sight, the Count fell into the dance quickly, more rigid than Valery's style, and certainly with less hip swaying, but his footwork was immaculate.

"We've got this, Serys," he managed, before waggled his eyebrows, and taking a moment to point menacingly at her.

- Amani Serys - Valery Noble -

 

[Amani Serys]

Amani had intended to use their approach for careful study, absorbing whatever information she possibly could before they slipped in to join. The others, however, weren't nearly so hesitant. Valery in particular pushing her luck to nudge them in, and Alicio gladly following suit. The mirialan stared daggers at her friend as she was whisked off, but still couldn't help the annoyed smirk twitching at her lip.

Once they were actually in the middle of the dance, her grumbling was replaced by nervous hyperfocus, too concerned about messing up to think about anything else. She looked back and forth between herself, Alicio, and all the other dancers, hoping to mimic as best as possible. The end result was more conservative and awkward than most everyone else, but at least passably related to the dance itself.

The Count's words of encouragement took a few moments to even register, and when Amani looked up her face was still burning dark green. But his little gesture earn a more flared reaction, "I swear if you do that stupid point at me one more time…" She laughed, moving a little closer to him.

Alicio Organa | Valery Noble​

 

[Valery Noble]

Outfit | Weapon | Appearance

Outfit | White dress
Location | Pasaana | Festival of the Ancestors
Tag | Amani Serys Alicio Organa

Valery definitely noticed the way Amani looked at her, but it only encouraged a somewhat smug and annoying grin from Valery in return. She knew Amani was a bit nervous about the decision to go dancing, but that's why Valery didn't want her to try and avoid it. Among friends, there was no reason to be embarrassed about these things, after all.

If that wasn't enough though, perhaps they could take comfort in the fact that Valery was a little distracted by Vera as well, who wanted all of her mother's attention while they danced. Some strangers tried to step in, likely because Valery was on her own, but she barely paid attention to them and focused on her little girl.

She was so happy to be here with her mom.

"You two are looking adorable!" Valery did manage to call out when she found a moment to watch them dance and mess around. Even though they came here together, she still felt it was important for them to have these little moments as a couple. It all reminded her of the early days of her own relationship.

"Mommy! Looook!" Vera called out to draw her mother's attention back with some new moves she came up with. It all looked a bit silly, but it was the cutest thing in the Galaxy to Valery.

​

 

[Alicio Organa]

Alicio snickered at Amani's reaction to his point, stepping closer to her as she did to him. While he was more used to an Alderaanian court than the wide dunes of Pasaana, he didn't let his discomfort dissuade him from a good time. "I'm just putting our training to good use," he said, quirking a lip up.

He turned his head to the side as Valery called out to them, his cheeks taking on a pinker shade, but none of his mirth receding. Still, as the Jedi Master's attention was pulled back to her daughter, Alicio took advantage of the privacy.

Giving himself over to the moment, Alicio rested his arms around Amani's hips, slowing down their pace. It was as if a couples dance were playing in his head, the festivities fading into the background, as grey eyes met blue.

"You know," he murmured, his voice taking on a playful tone, "Valery and Vera are distracted. This might be our only chance."

- Amani Serys - Valery Noble -

 

[Amani Serys]

"Uh huh," Amani rolled her eyes, and then shot Valery another knowing glare at her comment. Watching Vera's little jig made it too hard to force a frown, though, and she broke right back into a smile, giving the young Noble a bit of extra encouragement, "Go, girl!"

Getting into the rhythm was becoming a little easier, the movements a little more familiar. But then she felt Alicio's hands against her hips, found his eyes looking into hers. The tempo seemed to slow, but it was just the moment playing out in her head. Amani draped her arms over his shoulders in return, and scoffed at his suggestion, "Just can't help yourself, huh?" She muttered, moving just a little closer. After a few long moments just watching his eyes, Amani finally leaned in to kiss him.

Alicio Organa | Valery Noble​

 

[Valery Noble]

Outfit | Weapon | Appearance

Outfit | White dress
Location | Pasaana | Festival of the Ancestors
Tag | Amani Serys Alicio Organa

Seeing another glare from Amani, Valery waggled her eyebrows teasingly and focused on her daughter after. It was cute that they believed Valery was distracted though — she kept up with an energetic kid, a lot of Padawans, and a Galactic war... she was always aware of what was happening around her, so their little moment did not escape the Keshian.

The arms wrapping around each other, the kiss that followed, it brought a happy smile to Valery's lips, even though she wasn't looking their way. Because as fun as it was to tease them, she also wanted to give them their moments of joy together.

"Bleehhhh..." Vera commented on the scene, though, but it was probably not loud enough for them to hear. Valery just chuckled and picked Vera up to spin her around with her little feet off the ground in their next dance move, "That's not bleh, sweetie," she said after the spin ended with the girl hugged to her chest in her mother's arms. "You don't think mommy and daddy are bleh either, right?"

"...right?" She looked at Vera, who just grinned and wrapped her arms around Valery's neck. "I see how it is."

​

 

[Alicio Organa]

"Just can't help yourself, huh?"

Alicio didn't respond, simply letting himself fall into Amani's gaze, pressing his forehead against hers. He lingered on that anticipatory electricity for as long as he could, before they finally came together. Nothing else mattered, for a few tantalizingly sweet seconds.

The Count pulled his head back, some indescribably strong emotion hidden deep behind his eyes. "If this is what happens, I may never help myself again," he said, taking the mirialan by the hand, and leading them both back to Valery and Vera, who were in a different kind of embrace. The Alderaanian let them have a brief moment, squeezing his girlfriend's hand at the sheer adorability of it all.

"So, Amani and Vera won water guns... Valery and I won dancing..." An impish grin cracked through his forced calm. "It seems like we need a tiebreaker."

- Amani Serys - Valery Noble -

 

[Amani Serys]

Amani closed her eyes, and for those couple seconds the festival disappeared. Just the two of them together, and nothing else. When they broke away, the sound of music filled her ears again, and the world around her rematerialized. It was a feeling that never got old. She said nothing, though there was an underlying desire to. Instead, she merely offered the Count a shy smile, and took his hand.

With their little moment over, they gave Val and Vera a few more seconds of their own. Amani rested her head against Alicio’s shoulder, feeding off of the joy radiated by both Nobles. She grinned at Val specifically, as if expecting that she was already aware of the little kiss earlier.

"So, Amani and Vera won water guns... Valery and I won dancing..." An impish grin cracked through his forced calm. "It seems like we need a tiebreaker."

Amani pulled her neck back, and stared at him incredulously, “‘Won dancing’? Uh, okay,” Had she realized it was a competition, she would have tried a little harder to woo him on the dance floor, “Fine. Tiebreaker. But whatever it is needs to have a prize.” Her eyes scanned the rest of the festival, settling on a plush Tooka cat behind one of the counters. On top of that, it was a Whack-A-Whomp game. Perfect. “Like maybe that one?” She pointed it out with a glint in her eye, “Ready for me to prove the last machine was broken?”

Alicio Organa | Valery Noble​

 

[Valery Noble]

Outfit | Weapon | Appearance

Outfit | White dress
Location | Pasaana | Festival of the Ancestors
Tag | Amani Serys Alicio Organa

"So, Amani and Vera won water guns... Valery and I won dancing..." An impish grin cracked through his forced calm. "It seems like we need a tiebreaker."

Valery grinned and looked at Amani, "Oh we definitely won the dancing competition. Did you see my moves?" she asked, clearly to tease both of them a little. "You two seemed a little... distracted," she added if the first comment wasn't quite enough. A wink followed but as she looked down at Vera, it was clear all of this went right over Vera's head.

She was just staring at the plush Tooka Cat Amani had been pointing at.

"Whack-A-Whomp, hm? Alright, I could use a new stuffed animal," Valery said, which drew a shocked face from Vera up towards her mother. How could mom ever take the plushie from her? Valery was just grinning, clearly to challenge her 5-year-old a little. If she had anything from her mother in her, now it was going to show. "Nuh huh!" she exclaimed again, before marching over to the machine to take a hammer.

Valery wasn't exactly expecting all that much given her daughter's young age, but something fairly strange happened. The second she took the hammer and got ready, it was as if Vera knew exactly where they'd pop up, and she was quick to whack them with her mother's ferocity. Vera's ability to see into the future through visions sparked at a very young age, and now her mother wondered if she unintentionally tapped into it just to win a plushie.

"You better don't fail me and beat that girlfriend of yours again, Alicio."

​

 

[Alicio Organa]

Amani's sudden appalment at Alicio's declaration of a dancing victory brought forth a snorting laugh from the Count. He simply gave her a side-hug, conceding quietly to himself that he was maybe having too much fun messing with her today.

He nodded emphatically at Val as she propped up her own dancing moves, as if it proved his point. "You certainly got your credit's worth from those Jedi Dance Instructors, Valery. You're too good," he offered, recalling to when they had first met on Coruscant.

"You two seemed a little... distracted."

But his cheeks quickly burnt a subtle pink, and he looked down at Amani shyly. "Oh, well, you know... Tactical diversion." Of course, it hadn't been a competition yet. Semantics.

"So, what's your excuse when you lose this one, Amani?" The group walked over to the Whack-a-Womp, and Alicio simply observed the all-too-hittable faces of the rats popping up from their holes. "It'd be a little suspicious if you said this one was broken, too."

Unlike the water guns, for this game, they had to take turns at the one machine. Alicio looked on in growing recognition as Vera seemed to predict where each Womp Rat would rear it's head. As if she could see where they would show up...

Wait a minute. That was his trick.

"Wow, Vera," he said, displaying genuine awe. "You really showed those womps who's boss."

The Count was up next to whack, gripping the hammer in his right hand. Valery's encouragement was met with a confident smirk. With the taste of sea salt assaulting his tongue, Alicio laid the future bare in front of him.

And he did the exact same thing Vera did. Each falling blow hit a rat just as it began to emerge. Alicio accidentally felt himself falling into a Soresu rhythm; wide, circular slashes that bonked the targets as they appeared.

He passed off the hammer to Amani, a smug sort of confidence to him. "Don't break it~," he sang out quietly.

- Amani Serys - Valery Noble -

 

[Amani Serys]

"No kidding. I'm trying to move like that," Amani concurred with a brief sway of her hips. If she and Alicio could agree on one thing today, is that Valery's skill outmatched them all. On top of that, she had all the more ammunition to use against them now, and both of the lovebirds blushed a bit darker at her comment. The Count's response earned him an elbow in the side.

Even as the approached the machine, he couldn't help but tease further. Amani looked like she was holding back an explosive response, her nostrils flaring at the continued ribbing. But for now, the mirialan reined it in, giving him the silent treatment.

Vera went first, followed by Alicio. Both of them managed to surprise her with their near clairvoyant predictions. With Vera, it left her looking quite amused. With Alicio, it left her with a suspicious glower. His notable soresu-like movements got her to scoff, "You are such a dork."

He slipped another comment, unwisely doing so right as he handed Amani a hammer. She exhaled through her nose, "Careful Organa~" She raised and wiggled the squeaky bludgeoning tool in his direction, "I'm only seeing one womp rat right now, and he's looking awfully hittable."

The game began soon after, and Amani set to quickly smacking each rat as they came up. She wasn't quite as specialized in the Force's predictive capabilities, at least not quite on the same level as Alicio. But she made up for it with the rest of her training, managing to react not quite as immediately as him or even Vera, but still ending with a score that tied the Count's. That was enough for her, "I TOLD you it was broken! Eh?! Do you see it now?! Ready to take back all your gloating yet? Or do I still need to hit the final rat to prove my point?" She smacked his arm playfully with the toy, before finally looking over to Valery. Their final contestant, and the one that would decide just who got the stuffed Tooka after all.

Alicio Organa | Valery Noble​

 

[Valery Noble]

Outfit | Weapon | Appearance

Outfit | White dress
Location | Pasaana | Festival of the Ancestors
Tag | Alicio Organa Amani Serys

"Get him!" Vera exclaimed when Amani called Alicio a womp rat and threatened to whack him for his comment about her breaking the machine. Valery couldn't even breathe anymore because of how hard she laughed and wrapped her arms around herself to hold her sides. This was exactly the type of stuff she loved to see.

Amani then played the game and performed just as well as her boyfriend, which sparked even more playful competition between the two. Valery laughed again and accepted the squeaky hammer, "Easy there, Amani...." Valery said with a smirk, "Too many witnesses here," she winked and stepped up to the game.

This was it.

She could fairly easily tap into the Force, use her precognitive skills that she honed through years of combat experience, and outperform her daughter. But the little girl knew that too and looked up at her mother with the biggest puppy eyes. Valery felt bad almost immediately and let out a soft sigh. Without using the Force, she began to whack the womp rats, and both Amani and Alicio could easily tell she was holding back. In the end, she reached one womp rat short of Vera's score, and let out a fake but heavy sigh. "Seems we've got a winner," Valery said with a smile as she looked at Vera, "Yay! I beat mommy!" she called out before running over to Amani to celebrate with her.

Valery meanwhile stepped close to Alicio and grinned, "Sometimes you gotta let her beat you," she told him, just in case he had been really hoping to win. "You'll win in other ways because of it, I'm sure." Her tone was anything but innocent, but she gave him no time to really respond to that last comment and stepped over to Amani, who was handed the plushie by the game owner.

Vera stared up at it with the biggest grin.

​

 

[Alicio Organa]

"Careful Organa~" She raised and wiggled the squeaky bludgeoning tool in his direction, "I'm only seeing one womp rat right now, and he's looking awfully hittable."

Alicio expressed an incredibly hittable, wompish grin at that, before laughing out loud at Vera's challenge, and simply stepping aside.

His false arrogance was just that- false, as he quietly rooted for Amani behind her. She was quicker than he was, even if his future vision kept them on equal footing. Finally, Amani had matched his score.

Not beaten. Matched.

The mirialan's crooning was met by a stoic smugness, breaking into something more giddy at the sound of a squeak against his arm. "You've been practicing since Sanctuary? Just to try and beat me, huh? That's just sad, really." He hugged an arm around her shoulders, offering a more genuine "Good job," in her ear.

But, of course, he didn't need future vision to see how this would end. Valery threw for her little girl. In her shoes, he would've done the same thing. That didn't make the defeat sting any less. The lead over his girlfriend was squandered, over a stuffed tooka.

Valery paused near him before joining Vera and Amani in their little victory circle. He seemed to be about to respond to her first sentence, before her second shocked him into blushed silence, which he tried to cover up by clearing his throat, and following the Jedi Master.

He didn't need to 'let' Amani win. She could do that, all on her own.

- Amani Serys - Valery Noble -

 

[Amani Serys]

Alicio’s joke about her practice nearly made the mirialan go feral. But she held it back on account of Val’s effort to dissuade her, “You’re right.” Even Alicio himself had managed to save his own skin by offering a more genuine compliment, “Yeah huh,” She responded with an annoyed smirk. Vera didn’t need to see such violence here anyway, and thus the Count was spared.

When Val’s turn came, it soon became clear that she wasn’t quite putting in the maximum effort. Amani couldn’t help but smile at the display, knowing full well who was to really blame for that. She had seen Valery the Sword, and Valery the woman. But Valery the mother was a fresh sight, and perhaps the most beautiful of them all. The pure love she had for her daughter was radiant, capable of melting away even the most stoic of expressions. Amani couldn’t help but wonder if she would one day get a taste of that feeling herself…

Such reveries were put on hold, however, as their victory was assured. Vera ran over to celebrate, and the mirialan beamed in return, “Woo! Great job, Vera! We did it!” Amani was handed the prize: a plush tooka with bright yellow fur and a particularly large head. It stared back at her with beady eyes and large, flat smile, which she then turned to show off to Alicio, “Guess Chauncey’s gonna have to wait a while longer for a new buddy,” She gave him an exaggerated frown, then spared the Tooka one final appreciative look before making peace with the truth. “Because this little guy is going to look great… in Vera’s room.”

Amani handed off the toy to the little girl, and sighed. It was only right that it went to her.

Alicio Organa | Valery Noble​

 

[Valery Noble]

Outfit | Weapon | Appearance

Outfit | White dress
Location | Pasaana | Festival of the Ancestors
Tag | Alicio Organa Amani Serys

Amani celebrating along with Vera meant the world to the littlest Noble, who was only getting more and more excited about it all. A day of fun with mom was the best thing in the world, and now she made more friends, too! Not only that, but she also beat her mother fair and square in her new favorite game, and they won the plushie.

"Mhmm!" she called out to Amani before she watched the woman accept the tooka cat plushie. It looked so huggable — the perfect friend for Eddie, her beloved teddy bear. But as much as she was an energetic child, Valery had raised her to be quite polite most of the time too, so she didn't ask for the stuffed animal. If Amani decided to keep it, she would be okay with it, only because Amani was now her friend.

But when the Mirialan turned and handed her the toy, she grabbed it and stood still for probably the first time today, just hugging it tightly against herself.

"Aww, what do we say, then?" Valery asked, which got Vera to look up again, "Thank you, Amani!" she said with the sweetest smile and a little hop. Valery seemed happy with it and nodded to her friend.

"It has been a long day and a little wild too. Maybe we grab something to eat while we start heading back?"

​

 

[Alicio Organa]

Having unknowingly dodged a bullet, Alicio watched on in quiet contentment as Amani and Vera celebrated their total victory, and Amani handed the prize to the young girl. In Alicio's mind, there had never been any doubt as to who the stuffed animal would go to, in the end. Even if Valery and the Count had won, there wasn't a world where Vera Noble didn't end up with a plushie.

Still, watching her hugging the little cat, and thanking Amani for the new friend, Alicio couldn't help but grimace, his heart tied into knots by how cute she was. Some other, sadder emotion was there too, suppressed under waves of second-hand adorable-ness overload.

At Valery's suggestion of food, Alicio nodded mutely, taking up a natural position at Amani's side, as they traveled back the way they came. The Count was being rather silent, something he picked up on hopefully before anyone else, and attempted to fix that, stepping around Amani to keep pace with the young Noble.

"Does it have a name, yet, Vera?"

- Amani Serys - Valery Noble -

 

[Amani Serys]

Amani gave Vera a slight curtsy and a smile, “Of course, Vera. You more than earned it.” She was happy to give it away, especially watching as the little girl hugged her new toy tightly. Valery’s suggestion soon turned their thoughts elsewhere, and the mirialan nodded, “No kidding. Maybe a more proper meal this time?” The day had gone by quickly, but she was feeling the tiredness all the same. They had only got a quick bite last time, not to mention Amani’s feet were aching for a spot to sit and rest.

On the way back, Amani walked closely by Alicio, all of her ‘ill will’ seemingly sloughed off now that the competition was at an end. As they walked back towards the entrance of the festival, she eventually took note of the Count’s pensive attitude. Him brooding wasn’t exactly a rare sight, but here it seemed almost out of place even for him. Amani looked at him and raised a brow, her look turning almost concerned before he separated to go speak to Vera.

The mirialan smiled sadly watching the two of them, then picked up the pace to return to Alicio’s side. Once his and Vera’s little exchange was over, she would whisper out of earshot from the Nobles, “What’s up?”

Alicio Organa | Valery Noble​

 

[Valery Noble]

Outfit | Weapon | Appearance

Outfit | White dress
Location | Pasaana | Festival of the Ancestors
Tag | Alicio Organa Amani Serys

"Let's get a proper meal, yeah," Valery said with a nod to Amani before they began to walk back and looked around for a place to eat. There were plenty of options, but she wanted to go with something really good. This was a day of fun to remember, after all. Along the way, Alicio asked Vera about her new friend but was met with a shake of the head.

"No name yet," she said as she thought about it. "Well, I'm sure Eddie will be happy with the new friend," Valery said before she looked at Amani and Alicio. "Her teddy bear," she clarified for them.

But much like Amani, Valery picked up on Alicio's shift in demeanor as well and quickly turned to Vera. She'd give Amani a chance to ask about it, and decided to distract Vera by suddenly picking her up. She placed the girl on top of her shoulders and walked ahead a little. "Wow! I can see our ship!" Vera exclaimed happily.

Valery just nodded in Amani's direction and moved towards what seemed like a good place to get some food.

​