Golden Cage

[Nora Lithos]

The chair creaked as Nora leaned into the optics of her microscope once more. Although she expected little in the way from the samples that she had brought with her from the temple she still considered the pursuit of her own understanding within the subject to be a worthwhile cause of its own. Both her parents had worked with information one way or the other, and now it seemed she too had set herself down a path that wasn’t all that different from theirs. Her mother had always had a fascination for books and organization whereas her father had always been one for exploring the great unknown histories of the galaxies in his work as an archaeologist. He had enjoyed that life, but it was not until the very end of it that he had met the love of his life: Nora’s mother.

The girl sighed and separated herself from her equipment. She missed them more than she thought she would, and right now with all the things that had gone on around her they felt more distant than ever. Most of her friends, those that had managed to find a place of their own, were still on Arkania and yet here Nora was with a stable scholarship on the other end of the galaxy. There weren’t many Arkanians around here, at least not as many as she was used to and the food that she made herself would always fall short of the wonders her mother could concoct. Another sigh burst through her nose as she raised her hand towards the stereo and flicked her hand upwards to raise the volume.

The sensors in her HoloPad responded and the music was raised ever so subtly to drown out the miserable thoughts of home. She never understood the magics behind it, but it worked and that was good enough for her. Her eyes set on the emptied laboratory and the clock mounted on the wall. Evening was upon her, yet the thought of going back home just to cook and then fall asleep on a folding couch again felt rather lackluster. Instead her eyes set on the rest of the equipment around the lab. She could always do take-away, but as far as money was concerned it ran the risk of blowing her budget. Her lips thinned at the thought of eating nutrient packs for another month. She had already consumed enough of those to last a lifetime on the three day trip to Monastery, the longer she went without relying on them the better.

Yet sitting around and being unproductive served no one and another sigh burst through her nose while she decided to find something else to do. With luck, maybe there was one of the other pupils around.

Or a planet of Arkanians, that would be nice too.

[member="Hazel Zanteres"]

 

[Hazel Zanteres]

Busy.

That was the word of the day, the week and the month for Hazel lately. From Dosunn to Maena. Then to Monastery, to Coruscant and back to Monastery. Not to mention the recently held negotiation talks that the Order had hosted. That in itself had been a whole event, and as she had suspected at the time it had been a lot of different mindsets in one room. Hazel could still feel the headache drumming about, and it had been a week already since that had concluded. Another thing that had come from that, was her invitation to the Order's Council of Elders. That had come as a shock to her, especially because it had been revealed to her amidst the negotiations they were hosting. Which had been much to the chagrin of [member="Bethany Kismet"], as the Jedi Master had been trying to get ahold of the Hapan ever since she had returned from her time away.

In the wake of that, it seemed like Hazel's workload suddenly doubled. Or well, that was her excuse for it anyway. The reality being that it had changed nothing, and she was just up to her usual habit of taking on too much with the intention of just trying to keep herself busy. The latest had taken her out of Sanctuary and over towards Leonasa. Apparently a couple days ago they had asked for the Order to help them with a medical emergency. There had been a illness breakout, a number of folks falling ill within quick succession within the town. Thankfully it hadn't been anything contagious or major, and had simply been a case of food poisoning. Some of their livestock had been unknowingly infected with something and had transferred into the meat. Hazel had left them with the needed medical supplies, and cautioned them on ensuring their farms were kept healthy, Adding that they should call for someone with knowledge in agriculture in Sanctuary to come over and help them.

After that Hazel returned to Sanctuary, done with the most of her work for the day. Her appearance was fairly disheveled, mainly her hair that was loosely held in a ponytail. She was dressed in her usual garb, with the strap of her medical satchel slung over her right shoulder. As she walked through the hallways of Sanctuary, Hazel's eyes were glued to her datapad, flicking through aimlessly. Turning a corner, she had the foresight to look up incase of any potential run ins, and in doing so caught sight of a familiar face heading in her direction.

"Nora?" She gave the young Arkanian a bright smile.

[member="Nora Lithos"]

 

[Nora Lithos]

[member="Hazel Zanteres"]

The doors slid open with a mute hiss. A slight breeze caught the girl’s hair in a brief whirlwind that forced her to tuck it all back behind her ears again. She took a step out as optimistic eyes wandered up and down the hallway looking for another soul to talk to. Weekends seemed to have a way with the students such as her, and during said evenings even more so. Nora had been invited to the get-together as well but she had rejected it on account of wanting to finalize the last few analysis on the strains she had found within the waters of the temple she had been offered to follow on all those weeks ago when she had first settled down. Of course, the results boasted of the usual suspects that induced all kinds of nasty surprises. Diarrhea being a seeming favorite amongst these bacteria and viruses in particular.

It was no life-changing stuff but interesting none the less if you looked at the smaller and cruder lifeforms within the waters. It really went to show that there was more to life than what the eye could see. In some ways Nora couldn’t help but wonder if her cellular structure was to the microbial lifeforms what the rest of the galaxy was to her, an endless and vast ocean of knowledge just waiting to be found. Was there life within the lifeforms? Would anyone ever know? These were the questions she hope to answer one day, but that day wasn’t going to arrive any time soon.

Heading down the corridor she believed herself to hear the sound of someone else. Eyebrows perked in anticipation of the potential to just speak to someone again. All things considered, Nora was a social creature. She just had to come to terms with her nerves first, and the woman who approached her was by many means proof of that. Once starstruck at the sight of the familiar blonde, now just… Amicable. At least so Nora hoped.

“Doctor Zanteres.” The Arkanian shone back at the blonde woman before her. “It’s good to see you.”

Nora moved her hand in a circular motion pointing at the doctor’s hair. “Busy day?”

 

[Hazel Zanteres]

"It's good to see you too." She said, chuckling lightly. "And please, feel free to just call me Hazel, you aren't in my class right now and I don't think anyone else is around to be bothered about the informality." To jokingly emphasis her point, she looked around the hallway, which was clearly empty apart from the two of them.

The subject of teaching in general had been a new concept to Hazel. It had certainly not been something that had even crossed her mind until after Mustafar. It had been a comment made by [member="Joza Perl"] when they had met up again post the Ren's stay on Monastery. At one point the Zeltron had asked whether she was or had been a lecturer. Hazel recalled laughing at the thought, thinking that she was hardly teacher material in any sense of the word. But, it had laid a seedling of thought in her mind, and she inevitably found herself making plans to set up a class. There had been about two lectures before Hoylin happened, followed by her absence. So she'd be very surprised if anyone really remembered she had started it, or that it had even been a thing.

Perhaps she'd just throw it back out there, see if any of the students were still interested. There never had been any set schedule for when she would hold the lectures.

Hazel turned her attention back to Nora, and laughed lightly. She peered up a bit to few strands of blonde hair that had managed to fall down over her face. Then looked back at the young woman.

"Quite yes. I just got back answering Leonasa's request for medical aid. They had a bit of a food poisoning issue that managed to effect a significant number of their people."

[member="Nora Lithos"]

 

[Nora Lithos]

[member="Hazel Zanteres"]

“Okay then, Hazel.” Nora obliged with a small smile on her lips. She’d have said that Hazel could call her Nora, but since Doctor Zanteres already did there was no point to it. Eyes stared down the empty hallways again at the nod of the blonde doctor’s head. It seemed as if it was just them, their voices certainly seemed to be carried down the halls with a slight echo to them. It was a quiet evening, perhaps if one listened closely they would hear the sound of a thousand students partying around town as well. Obviously they wouldn’t, but the thought certainly crossed Nora’s mind along with the potential causes for the problems on Leonasa.

“Sounds like it could be clostridium botulinum, E.coli or salmonella. They’re all water and foodborne pathogens commonly found in areas poor infrastructure.” The girl balled her hand into a fist and raised it to her mouth in an effort to ponder it further. “Livestock chitting in close proximity to-” She thrust her eyes wide open the second she caught what she had said. “I uh, I meant to say; Livestock defecating in close proximity to a waterhole, or perhaps just improper hygiene amongst those who handled the food. There are many causes for all of this.”

“Though I am pretty sure you didn’t want to talk about the hypothetical situation on Leonasa with the new girl around the lab.” Nora snickered at herself. “Actually, what are you doing here? If you don’t mind me asking, Doct-... Hazel?”

 

[Hazel Zanteres]

Let it not go unsaid that Hazel wasn't exactly a shining example on keeping to formalities. Her first class had been rather rough given it was her first venture into teaching, albeit she did manage to get into the groove of things by the time it finished. But the biggest annoyance had been forcing herself to not refer to the students by their first name. It had taken the Hapan an honest effort to have to call everyone by their surname; prefaced with Mister or Miss. After it had finished, Hazel had a good laugh to herself over how difficult she had found it in comparison to previous endeavours.

She watched Nora as easily slipped into thought and began speaking her mind on the potential problems with Leonasa. Slowly, a bright smile appeared on Hazel's face as she listened, not daring to interrupt until the Arkanian student was finished.

"Oh, I don't know about that Nora. I was thinking I should've taken you along with me. I think you would've enjoyed being there." A soft chuckle followed. "And me? Well given that Leonasa had managed to take up the majority of my day, I was planning on heading to my lab to drop my satchel off and find something else to do."

[member="Nora Lithos"]

 

[Nora Lithos]

[member="Hazel Zanteres"]

There was no denying that the young Arkanian would have loved to be present for the work that had taken place on Leonasa. The chance to investigate actual viruses and other bacteria in a situation where her efforts could make or break a situation. While she knew that it would have been an impossible task on her lonesome, she still knew that the people around her would have had her back. The Sacred Lotus were by many means like a second family, albeit one that was extraordinarily big.

That was not to say that they could replace or dampen the girls’ homesickness.

“Could I come with you?” Nora hesitated for a second. “To the, uh, next field trip. I mean.” Also to drop the satchel off, but who asked a teacher to if they could come with them in a desperate attempt to socialize with someone on an evening before the weekend? Nora Lithos. That was who. “Actually, with the satchel too.”

“I think I just need someone to talk to. With all that’s been going on and the crazy-huge amount of first impressions and- and- and-” The girl exhaled. “I miss home, and I just want someone to talk to.”

 

[Hazel Zanteres]

There was a slight twitch in Hazel's expression, the beginnings of a sad smile that the Hapan had to bury before Nora caught it. She knew the look in the Arkanian's eyes, the way she spoke and likely felt right now. She knew it all too well from her own experiences years ago. Hazel could count a total of three different times when that homesick feeling had reared its head. When she left for university, when she had been kidnapped and when she had gone off to war. No matter if she had gotten over it each time, it still returned whenever she had parted from her family and friends. Hazel felt a great deal of empathy towards the Arkanian student, knowing exactly what she was going through right now.

As such, she took a step forwards and immediately brought the white-haired young woman into a hug.

"I know how you feel Nora, believe me I've been through the same thing more times than I would've liked. If you ever need anyone to talk with, you can always come and find me." Hazel eventually pulled from the hug, but she remained close and placed her hands gently on Nora's shoulders. "And you can most certainly join me my next field trip, and with the satchel too." She added the last bit with a smile.

With that, she let go of Nora completely and began to lead the way towards her lab. It wasn't long into the walk that Hazel spoke again.

"Have you had a chance to eat yet?"

It was something that had occured to the Hapan herself on the way back from Leonasa. Food had been available at the town, but she had ultimately ended up neglecting it in favour of keeping herself occupied with the work at hand.

[member="Nora Lithos"]

 

[Nora Lithos]

[member="Hazel Zanteres"]

It was almost weird to think that only a few weeks ago Nora had stared at Hazel in what most would describe as starstruck terror and yet here they stood in a comforting hug. It wasn’t that the girl was one to shy away from the company of others, if anything she loved it, but with all that was going on she just couldn’t help but feel at times as if there was just quite simply too much going on around her. She was as social as the others were, she attended the parties and the get-togethers. Today was an exception if anything, caused by homesickness and a lack of solid test results. The others had not been as thorough in their studies or laborations, but Nora had always aimed to excel in whatever it was that she did, it was what her parents had raised her for.

Eventually Hazel would pull away to put her hand on her shoulder. She understood what Nora felt and once again it helped solidify the growing bias and favoritism that the young Arkanian felt towards her mentor. She nodded at the offer to simply talk at some point if she needed it and the offer to come along at some point when the doctor would head out in the field again. It mattered to her, made her feel as welcome as the rest of the Sacred Lotus had made her feel with the exception of perhaps a few outspoken souls, but they were generally quiet when it came to showing their disapproval of having her around. Quiet enough for Nora to give them the cold shoulder when the situations arose at the very least.

“Nope, I have not.” She said to the accompanying rumble of a stomach being reminded of food. “The others went to party while I stayed here to get my lab results back.” She bobbed her head and arms around in subtle jest of herself. “The bright side is, I have my results. The down side is, everyone else will have to redo their tests once the weekend is over.”

The teacher had been very clear about this when he had handed each and every single student a sample of their own, save Nora who had already gathered her own from the field much like he had also asked them to do.

Yeah, no, teacher’s pet might actually have been an accurate way to describe her.

“I mean, don’t get me wrong, I like to get wast- hamme-... Drunk… As much as the next gal. But I mean, you know, not during lab week.”

 

[Hazel Zanteres]

Hazel found it difficult to not be constantly smile as she walked alongside Nora. The younger women reminded her of herself when she was that age, in many ways. The same desire to excel in her studies, but also balancing that need to remain social with her peers. For the longest time, Hazel had buried herself in her studies after the two incidents during her teenage years. It had only been during her university studies that she finally began to be more social again, attending parties and events.

She gazed over at Nora slightly, not enough for it to catch the Arkanian's attention. Hazel only hoped she'd never have to experience what she had, especially having to go to war. But back to the matter at hand.

"And that is why you're such a great student, Nora. You take the time to see your work through, even though it means it takes place of something else. That, and its not like students only throw a few parties."

They eventually reached Hazel's lab, standing outside the door just as Nora began stumbling with her words. Hazel turned to look at her, an amused look in her eyes.

"Wasted. Hammered. Hmm?" She let out a small laugh. "Believe me Nora, I'm quite familiar with that side of the vocabulary."

With that, Hazel unlocked the door and walked in, holding the door so Nora could follow. After she had, Hazel let the door close behind them and strode over to her desk. Her lab was practically identical to the labs used for classes, at least in terms of the general aesthetics. It was a bit smaller in comparison, but it still had plenty of space as it didn't requiring needing copies of equipment for each potential student. In addition, all the various machines had been obviously moved around to the Hapan's personal preference, settling certain ones near to others. Aside from that, there was nothing much different other than it was clear Hazel took a lot of care in keeping it clean and tidy.

"So, what food are you in the mood for? We could probably find some type of take-away if you want something specific?"

[member="Nora Lithos"]

 

[Nora Lithos]

[member="Hazel Zanteres"]

Was there anyone who wouldn’t shine like the sun itself at a compliment? Nora followed into Hazel’s lab with a wide smile on her lips. There were nearly twenty years that separated the two, yet the life of a student was most likely something that didn’t change all that much. They still got themselves wasted, or hammered, or drunk and they still managed to excel in their courses. Okay, so maybe the last one was more of a Nora thing, but heck she liked to believe that she wasn’t too much of an exception when it came to the average student.

Obviously she would be wrong in said assumption, but that did not mean she wouldn’t make it.

“So, I take it you were a student once as well then.” Nora laughed it up. “I am not sure I have anything I am really feeling more strongly for over the other. I tried Atrisian food for the first time ever the other day, Naboo delicacies the week before that. I grew up with my mother’s cooking and, at times, my father’s burnt crisps.” She frowned for a second. Even if they were about as good as they sounded she would have given anything to have some of those burnt crisps right now. “I was an only child, so they pretty much spoiled me rotten. Or well, tried.”

Money hadn’t been an issue for them, but there had not really been any room for luxuries either. It was an comfortably uncomfortable existence, her father used to say. Just getting her to Monastery took a lot out of their coffers, but thanks to resourceful savings and spending as well as a mix of contacts and favors they had managed to get their one and only daughter an education guaranteed to take place within the circles that they knew they could trust. The education here on Monastery might not even have been the best of educations either, but heart mattered more than mind in these things. Especially when the student already had the ‘mind’ aspect covered on her own. That’s what her mother had told her, and her father nodded his head ever so gently at.

They had faith in her, and she had no intentions of failing them now.

“I don’t know…” She felt the frown grow. “Is there anything you want to eat?”

 

[Hazel Zanteres]

At her desk, Hazel moved with a practiced and methodical grace as she propped her satchel off her shoulder and onto the desk. She opened it and began pulling the contents out of it, seperating the completely spent supplies from the half depleted ones. It was a process the Hapan was familiar with, that came second nature to her as she gradually disposed of the one half and used her datapad to type down a list of what to resupply. All the while, she spared several looks towards Nora, answering the young Arkanian's questions.

"Yeah, most of my studies were on Corellia. Was born there, lived with my parents until I graduated and left to do my university studies." Hazel paused, letting out an amused chuckle as she thought back to those days. "I took on so many courses. Too many probably. But I just wanted to learn everything I possibly could. Ended up taking on almost every medical course they had available, long with a few science cources that blended in well." With her satchel now emptied, Hazel gathered all the empty supplies and began to dispose of them. Making a point to seperate them correctly into the right bins.

"I was an only child too, and indeed you can never beat home cooking. My mother made it a point to know how to, as her upbringing didn't particularly allow it. And as much as I adore my father, he cannot cook a decent meal even if his life depended on it." Hazel let out an amused snort as she thought of her father, still stuck in his old smuggler ways even years after hanging that up. After finishing with the disposal of the supplies, the Hapan began to repack her satchel with the remainder that had been half exhausted, finishing her list inbetween. Once she was finished, she sealed it back up and tucked it beneath her desk.

"So food..." Hazel began, turning to face Nora. "Well I've never been particularly picky, and I think by this point I've probably ate one from the entire takeout menu." She hummed in thought a bit, thinking. "Hmm, Balmorran isn't half bad...Oh! How about Mon Calamari? It's been a while since I've had that."

[member="Nora Lithos"]

 

[Nora Lithos]

[member="Hazel Zanteres"]

It was amazing to witness the organisation that went into Hazel’s work to sort the contents of her bag into their appropriate boxes. She made notes, Nora could only assume taking stock, while sparing her the occasional glance as if to acknowledge what it was that Nora had said. The doctor would take pauses every now and then to talk and Nora in turn would take a seat a top of one of the nearby benches and let her feet dangle before her as she pushed herself further and further up until she could lean back against the wall with a sigh. This wasn’t the time to admit that she too had made the mistake, probably. If anything because of how uncannily similar they had already proven to be. Biology was fun, but so was several other fields such as chemistry. It packed her schedule tight, but with proper planning and careful organisation she was able to manage it, it just came natural to her.

In any case it was nice to know that the woman that Nora was starting to look up to, despite the potential for some questionable ‘work’ ethics, was someone that she could feel rather familiar with. It made the feeling of loneliness that the homesickness brought about a bit more bearable. She watched as Hazel finished her procedure, tucked the satchel away and then look her way with questions of food, turning the question that Nora had already tried to put in Hazel’s court back into Nora’s. She wanted to curse under her breath, the doctor wasn’t making this easy.

“Uh, sure, that sounds good. I think?” Nora tried to smile through the frown only to end up with the awkward grin and a perked brow that made her look, well, very uncertain.

Deep breath. “... What’s Mon Calamari food?”

 

[Hazel Zanteres]

"Oh." Hazel's eyebrows rose in surprise, just now realizing Nora was likely not aware of what it was to begin with. "It's uh- sushi, seafood. That type of stuff. I mean if that's not your in the mood for, we can certainly go for something else."

She certainly didn't want to force the choice on the younger woman if she didn't even like the sound of it. Hazel's eyes lingered over towards the clock, and smiled when she noticed the time.

"You know what? Let's go head to the kitchens. We can discuss it more along the way."

Hazel pushed herself away from her desk, and headed towards the door. She waited until Nora had managed to follow, before they once again departed - Hazel locking the lab up behind her.

The walk didn't hadn't taken too long. At this point Hazel was very familiar with the various twists and turns in Sanctuary, and knew certain ways to around to places quicker than usual. Along the way the duo continued talking, mainly about the different foods they had experienced. Hazel had inquired about the ones Nora had tried recently, like Atrisian and Naboo that she had mentioned earlier. And even though she was familiar with each answer, she still wanted to hear what Nora had to say. Though they inevitable ended up recalling family meals again. And Hazel was nearing the end of a particular story when they finally reached the kitchens.

"...and from that day my father was practically banned from being in the kitchen while my mother was cooking. He wanted to help her, but he-" Hazel paused to let out a chuckle. "well he's very good at his job, he's not so great in the kitchen, that and you never get in the way of my mother when she's cooking."

She delivered a soft knock against the door. There was a few moments of silence, maybe they were too late and the staff had left. Though that was answered when Hazel knocked again, a bit more loudly, and there was a sudden clattering of many pans hitting the ground.

"Szu'tak!" The voice was clearly a Twi'lek, the sudden curse in Ryl being the obvious indication.

Hazel had the decency to be a bit sheepish in response.

"Whoever's out there, just come in..."

With the invitation laid out, Hazel pushed the door open revealing a male, green skinned Twi'lek currently crouched down picking up the fallen equipment.

"My apologises Yune, I didn't mean to startle you." She quickly rushed over and began to help him.

"It's fine, it's fine." He muttered, until he looked up. "Oh, Doctor Zanteres! What are you doing here?"

"Well, I was hoping we could get you to cook something up before you left for the day?"

"We?" With the last of the pans picked up, he finally looked over towards Nora. "Oh. Sorry miss, I didn't see you there." He gave her a small, albeit tired smile before dropping the cooking equipment on the nearby table and walked up to her. "I'm Yune, one of the cooks. And you are?" He held out a hand for the young Arkanian to shake.

[member="Nora Lithos"]

 

[Nora Lithos]

[member="Hazel Zanteres"]

To a degree Nora felt ashamed. She had great knowledge in the field of biology and matters that related to such but when it came to food there was only really the one thing she had known until now, and that was her mother’s cooking. When Hazel mentioned Tzu’Chi Nora struggled to hold back a quizzitive brow, and it hadn’t exactly gone away on their way to the kitchens. Hazel had asked her about the foods that she had tasted, to describe the flavors and sensations but to be honest there was little Nora could say beyond ‘it was pretty okay, a bit salty’ or ‘Naboo seem to like cheese a lot.’ Thankfully it had eventually moved on to a more relatable topic which was home cooking, or rather that of the parents’ homecooking. They shared anecdotes on their parents and even then it seemed that they shared a lot.

The white-haired girl chuckled at her friend’s joke on her father’s behalf. It seemed all familiar, with the exception that her father was an archaeologist. Charred remains seemed to be his specialty both in the field and in the kitchen. They arrived at the kitchen and Hazel had a talk with the cook. Nora stood off to the side feeling unsure what they were doing here, it seemed as if they were wrapping their day much like the two women were. It didn’t really strike her as a request they could make of the man, but Hazel had already proposed it and Nora stepped forth at the man’s beckoning.

“I’m Nora Lithos, I am a st-” Student would imply some sort of inappropriate fraternizing. “-aunch supporter of my friend. Hazel.” Never let it be known she was a quick improviser or a good liar. “We’re both feeling a bit hungry, and uh, we were wondering if you would be willing to cook something for us.”

“I personally don’t have any real, uh, preference. I just want something to sate my hunger.” Nora scratched her neck. Lying didn’t fit her but she was too far off the deep end at this point. She hated it. “Right, Hazel?”

 

[Hazel Zanteres]

Hazel had opened her mouth to speak, but Yune beat her to it.

"No need for that, Miss Lithos." He said, his slightly narrowed eyes indicating clear enough that he was talking about the lying. "I am a cook here, I see students often enough to spot one. That and I'm fairly certain I could spot you out in a crowd." There was after all, not that many Arkanian's on Monastery, especially those here studying. But then, not a moment later the Twi'lek's demeanor suddenly lightened, framed by a smile on his face. "Don't worry about it. Goddess knows, Doctor Zanteres here is awful at not befriending everyone she can. Some she ought to probably not have." He turned to give the Hapan in quesiton an admonishing look, albeit rather jokingly.

"Yune, I am not that bad."

"Oh? Shall I list them then? Cinder, Mishel, Nylea-"

"Point made, Yune. Point made. Now, can you please cook us something up?" She asked.

"Of course, though that does remind me..." As he whirled back around to Hazel, the Hapan shared a look with Nora that essentially equated to a 'uh, oh.' "You haven't eaten today, have you?"

"I have. I ate in the morning."

"Was it an actual meal?"

"...I still ate something." Hazel blushed lightly, being caught red-handed as it were. "And in my defence, I was over at Leonasa most of the day."

"That's always your defence. And Leonasa I'm fairly certain, is capable of cooking something." Yune sighed, and ushered them over to a table nearby. "Have a seat, I'll see what I can do." Despite the subject matter, and how the Twi'lek was clearly dissapproving of Hazel's lack of proper eating, the conversation had been rather light-hearted. The Hapan certainly didn't seem to mind with the amused expression on her face as she took a seat.

"So aside from the homesickness, how are feeling Nora? Classes going well?"

[member="Nora Lithos"]

 

[Nora Lithos]

[member="Hazel Zanteres"]

There her cheeks went and turned into a soft red color again. Nora had always been raised to be an honest woman and to follow the rules wherever she went. It was a point that her mother had stressed quite often despite the fact that Nora had only ever told a few lies in childhood, and even then those lies weren’t big. She had never really liked Uncle Hera’s stories and visiting her grandmother had almost always been a boring hassle. At least the time when she was four years old and didn’t know any better.

The point still stood, she was an awful liar and she had been called out on it.

She remained silent and stared between the two when they spoke, Nora began picking apart the small hints that she was provided about Hazel from the chef. For one, she liked to befriend people. Second, there were the names ‘Cinder’, ‘Mishel’ and ‘Nylea’, one of which she already knew. Her brow perked at the mention but quickly fell down as she continued listening. It seemed Hazel might have been someone who skipped out on lunch or dinner if the workload called for it. Was breakfast important to her, or was that also something she was willing to skip? Nora didn’t ponder it too much, focusing instead on what she had learned about this ‘Yune.’

He cared for Hazel and her food habits. Perhaps out of occupational obligations or personal grievance? He spoke to her like a friend, it was most likely out of personal grievance but that did not exclude one or the other. On top of that if Nora hadn’t heard it all wrong he had in firsthand chosen to refer to a ‘goddess’ when he had first called the girl out on her bluff. Religious man, perhaps?

It didn’t matter. She nodded her head and snickered along with the conversation when needbe. When focus finally returned to her, and when the two women had found themselves a table to sit at Nora couldn’t help but shrug at Nora’s question.

“I don’t know.” She sighed as she lowered her arms. “I started reading about toxins after the supposed peace summit. Professor Li had some pretty interesting notes to share on the matter of Devaronian blood-poison.”

“Now that was something else.”

“So, I guess class is just okay. I keep up, I get good feedback on what I hand in, but…”

“If it’s not homesickness it’s the summit.” Nora shook her head. “I still can’t really wrap my head around what made me run for Nylea like I did. I could have died. Possibly.”

 

[Hazel Zanteres]

"Yes. The peace summit..." Hazel's words drifted off as her gaze wandered away and around the room. That event had been precisely what the Hapan had imagined it would be; a headache. Although the the biggest component to that had occured early on, and as far as Hazel could recall, the remainder of the meeting had gone on a lot more smoother. It was certainly an experience for her, as a freshly appointed Elder to the Order.

But that seemed like nothing compared to the reaction Nora had to it all. Just sitting aside during the rest of the meeting. Hazel was never one to use the Force beyond her healing, not to even see if those around her had a sensitivity to it. It had never occured to her until that day that Nora wasn't capable of using the Force. That it would be a jarring experience for the young Arkanian, feeling the odd one out given the order Lotus members at that time were all capable of it. It's why she had given the younger woman the offer to talk. Which shortly after the summit had concluded, happened.

Hazel's lips thinned slightly, thinking on how to correctly word what she was going to say next.

"You probably could've, albeit there are much worse situations it could've been with you throwing yourself into harms way. But it is a good deed, hell to many it is the ultimate good deed, to save another's life - even if it simply an attempt to." Hazel had seen that plenty enough during her time on the battlefields. And it certainly expanded beyond that. As she finished speaking, a pleasant and delicious aroma began to waft through the kitchen. The Hapan looked over to see Yune was busy cooking something up. "Just be mindful of those situations in the future, take it from someone who knows that well, and has a number of bumps and scrapes to prove it."

[member="Nora Lithos"]

 

[Nora Lithos]

[member="Hazel Zanteres"]

It wasn’t exactly as if Nora was the kind of person to actively seek out danger. She had seen someone get shot and she felt an urge to help, it really didn’t go beyond that. Maybe she and Nylea had simply had a good connection from the start, or maybe, just maybe, it was because it was the right thing to do. Nora could pretend to be afraid of the choices she had made but at the end of the day when all was said and done she would feel little else but proud of herself for doing what few others would have done in that moment.

Maybe she wasn’t as proud, or any less confused about, the crisis that had taken place afterwards but that was over and done with by now. At least on the surface. It still messed Nora up whenever she saw people jump buildings, levitate rocks and zoom past her at incredible speeds, but at least by now she was able to keep it in and move on. The sting of being unable to do any of it still burned, of course, but not so much once the darker side of all this was made known. That was to say the side that was quite literally just that; the dark side.

It sounded horrible, it was almost worse than horrible.

And much like everything else it made no sense at all.

In the midst of her talks Nora couldn’t happen but notice Hazel make mention of bumps and scrapes from fights. By the looks of it Nora wouldn’t really have expected the doctor to be one to acquire such things.

“You… Have bumps and scrapes?” Nora looked as surprised as she sounded. “I mean, I hope you don’t take offense, Hazel, but you don’t look like it.” Nora perked her brow. Doctor Zanteres didn’t really strike her as someone who would lie about such things. “Wait, do I even want to know?”

She tried to smile it off. “Call it the force, but I get a very weird feeling that I really don’t want to know.”

Yeah, because apparently the force did that too. Gave people weird feelings.

Not that Nora would know.

 

[Hazel Zanteres]

Hazel looked away again, a small, sad smile appearing along with a flash of irritation as she felt the scars and general marks around her neck rub against the material of her shirt collar. Bringing up her 'bumps and scrapes' had immediately brought it to the forefront of her mind. After spending ages trying to not remember it. Hazel cursed silently, as she tried to push the thought aside, to little effect.

"No offense taken, I take it as more of a compliment." She chuckled, turning her attention to Nora once more. "But there is a reason why I wear what I do."

Even before her situation had gotten worse, Hazel had always worn clothing that covered as much skin as possible when in public. Long sleeved, high collar shirts, trousers, etcetera. She never wore skirts, or shorts. Despite the fact the healing kept them hidden, she always held that inkling of fear that they would suddenly appear without her consent.

She had pondered about using an old method of hers, which involved using makeup to cover them up. It was something she had used after being freed from the Hutt, long before the Jedi took her in to teach her how to heal. The severe scarring that collar had done to her throat had dealt an major blow to her vanity at the time. But then, what seventeen year old wanted to have such a thing.

It just so happened that the profession she eventually went into, had a dress code that worked perfectly with her desire to keep them hidden.

"I discovered that folks weren't exactly happy about their doctor being scarred." Before she could really saw more, Yune had walked up to them.

"Alright. I've got something cooking, in the meantime what would you two like to drink?" He asked.

"The usual; water."

The Twi'lek nodded, then looked at Nora. "And you, Miss Lithos?"

[member="Nora Lithos"]