Private High Society

[Persephone Dashiell]

MAHRANEE

​

EVE FOUNDATION CHARITY FASHION SHOW

Head turned as the model walked by wearing a dress embroidered in gold thread. A small scattering of murmurs throughout the crowd as one of the finest displays of craftsmanship this side of the galaxy.

A rival to the High Core fashion houses someone whispered beside her.

It seemed the production put on by the Eve Foundation was a success. Persephone suspected it was due to the location on Mahranee, a planet comfortably situated between the Hapes Cluster and the Corporate Sector. To her it was no real surprise - those with wealth had fled the Core. Many settling on Naboo or in the Corporate Sector like her parents had.

Sitting two rows back, clad in a splendid green dress, her oceanic eyes tracked the models with great interest. Fashion was her first love and would remain so despite working towards becoming an art and antiquities dealer. In a way she found the two intertwined.

"Persie, are you going to the afterparty?"

Beside her the daughter of a Senator out of Beta Olikark. They had become close when her adoptive father opened a mine on the planet.

"Of course. How could I not?"

An afterparty put on for those in attendance, plus the models and others in the upper echelons of society. It was going to skew young and full of socialites, a perfect place to let the guard down. A chance to see others her age that were in, as her parents would say, acceptable social circles.

 

[Tavian Djo]

"Tav, what the hell are you doing all the way out there, sport?"

"Hm?"

A young man with dark blonde hair so perfectly tousled it must have been curated looked down from where he stood off to the side, gawking up at the night sky. He wore a dark jacket and a stiff collared shirt beneath. All designer, down to the shoes. Not the sort of designer that any curious client could walk into a fashion boutique and purchase either. The sort that you had to be on a list for months before acquiring. The sort that came with price tags so ludicrous that people started looking for guillotines and other sharp instruments while muttering about 'wealth inequality' and other such things.

Tavian Djo, of course, did not particularly realize the depths of his wealth. Or, if he did, perhaps that explained why he seemed so perpetually despondent despite the lap of luxury he sat in and the silver spoon thrust in his mouth since he was a child. Tav glanced over at the other man and gave a chagrined shrug.

"Oh, just looking at the stars I suppose, Dare."

"The what?" Darien Kvo had never heard anything so ridiculous in his whole life. "It's the middle of the night."

"Well... yes."

"Tav. You're blind. Hells, I'm blind."

Tav looked down at his right hand, where he loosely held a pair of data glasses. "Hm. I suppose you're right."

He put them on and the nighttime festivities came back into crystal focus.

Darien just shook his head in disbelief. "Sometimes I do wonder if one of the butlers dropped you and never told anyone."

Tav smiled wanly. "Yeah, maybe..."

"Come sit back down.'

"Fine, fine."

Tav walked back to his chair as the fashion show rolled on. His eyes tracked the models, but he was not really paying much heed.

"You going to the afterparty, Tav?" Darien whispered, breath thick with alcohol already.

"Ah, right. The party..."

The party after the fashion show. A show put on presumably for charity, but held in one of the most exclusive access places in the galaxy. An event for the elite, by the elite, on behalf of the poor? Tavian could not recall how many of these he had been to. They lost the charm after the second time. Or maybe that had been because he'd drank too much and vomited on a Chandrilan's priceless painting.

"Yes, sure," he said, his eyes drifted across to the people sitting on the opposite side of the runway and he suddenly found himself staring at a young woman in a very elegant green dress who he had never met before. A slight frown creased his brow. Who was she?

Persephone Dashiell

 

[Persephone Dashiell]

Half-way through the fashion show and Cora Vikar gently nudged her.

Brows furrowed as she took her eyes off the fashion runway to look at her friend. The girl inclined her head across the way where two young men sat. First thing Persephone noticed was his well tailored blazer. Odd, considering his age. Most at this point of the male species were wearing horribly ill-fitting clothes, as if they were in some sort of rebellion.

"He's been staring at you."

Persephone rolled her eyes.

"Cora he can't even see over here, his glasses look horribly thick. The guy is probably struggling to see the stage, let alone me."

A scoff of disbelief.

"Think about it. We're roughly across from one another. Looking at the models requires looking this way. You're letting your mind play tricks on you."

"Fine, fine but when he asks me for your number later..."

"He won't and you'll have nothing to say." A small pause. "You know I hate blondes."

Tavian Djo ​

 

[Tavian Djo]

The show ended. Tav only realized because Dare jostled him. And then he realized he'd been staring half the time at the girl across from him.

"You on something?" Darien asked, laughing. "All the models are leaving."

Oh, right. The models. Tav forgot, Darien was seeing one of them. What was her name again. Catrine? Kitrine? The young man shook his head, then nodded, "No, I'm fine."

"Uh huh."

"Hey Dare..."

"Yeah?"

"Do you know who that girl in the green dress is?"

"What girl, Tav?"

Tavian looked back at the opposite seats, but couldn't see through the crowd of people leaving. All bound for the afterparty no doubt. "I... nevermind. Let's go find your model."

Darian slapped him on the back. "That's the spirit, sport. Theron and Serian should be there as well."

"Will they? Still allowed after last year's incident? I hope the venue has fire insurance."

Laughing, the pair of them walked with the rest of the crowd toward the afterparty set up amidst the ruins. This whole area on Mahranee was supposed to be a protected archaelogical dig site, with great pillars and ancient earthworks jutting up into the sky all around. The venue probably just thought it had good ambiance.

Not wrong, Tav supposed.

Darian took two glasses of Chandrilan 75 from a passing waiter and shoved one into Tav's hand. "Here. Don't wander too far, I need to go find Khatrina."

Ah. Khatrina. That was the name.

"Sure," Tav said smiling, he shoved a hand in his pocket and sipped his glass, glancing up again at the sky above. With his glasses flickering readouts, he probably could have enhanced his vision to cut through the light pollution and see the stars above. But it wouldn't be the same.

Not that he could see in the dark anyway. Hapans had the worst night vision.

Persephone Dashiell

 

[Persephone Dashiell]

The afterparty definitely was for the young socialites.

Held in some archeological site, the stone that jutted from the ground was bathed in neon colored party lights. Off to one side there was a deejay and some lazer lights, a crowd already forming. The other side of the archeological site was more low-key. Food and drink flowed and numerous sentients were engaged in conversation.

"Going to dance. See you later Persie."

With Cora leaving her, Persephone was free to drift. Drink in one hand, canapes in the other, she left the festivities to check out the massive stones. There was no stanchions or any type of barrier, just a simple trust that the ancient items wouldn't be vandalized. Given the crowd here Persie wasn't so sure all could be trusted.

Slipping behind the main face of the stone, she was taking an entire three-sixty view of the ruins, slowly walking around. Enjoying her time in silence, it was soon interrupted.

[ I cannot see you behind the stone Miss Persephone. ]

"A million apologies Zee. Although I highly doubt anyone is looking to kill me. Security seems tight, you think they are going to let all those models get attacked? Too much of an insurance liability."

[ The point still stands. ]

Tavian Djo​

 

[Tavian Djo]

Tavian wandered too far.

So far in fact that he lost himself among the ruins. He wondered how many archaeologists had picked through this rubble and what it all meant. Tav supposed he could simply scan it and ask for a history from his glasses' uplink to the holosphere, but that would deprive all the mystery from this place.

Instead, he tried to imagine what it all looked like when it had been standing. How high did its towers go? What sort of artistry did they adorn the structures with? And who traveled within? If he closed his eyes and listened, shutting out the thrum of the music, he almost thought he could hear the whispers of the ghosts still moving about their daily lives.

"Oh," he nearly stumbled into a young woman in the dark, "Apologies, I didn't..."

Tavian trailed off, thought gears grinding to a halt as he saw that the woman was the same one he'd seen earlier in the green dress.

"It's you," he said, "Er, I mean. We sat across from each other at the fashion show. I meant to introduce myself. Tavian," he stuck out a hand.

Persephone Dashiell

 

[Persephone Dashiell]

Peace and quiet interrupted by her droid, Persephone went back to ignoring Zee's presence as she stood behind one of the stone pillars, staring up. Last bit of crabcake was popped into her mouth and she chewed thoughtfully, wondering if this would count towards her internship credits over the summer break.

Maybe.

Silence was once again interrupted, almost getting bumped into this time. She had expected someone looking for a quiet place to make out - frankly she was surprised this section wasn't overrun yet - instead it was the blonde with thick glasses who had sat across from her. Much like her friend said, he had been staring at her during the fashion show.

Interesting.

Hand wiped off on the napkin around the base of her boozy punch so it could extend to shake the others.

"Persephone. A pleasure." A small smile played on her features. "What are you doing creeping back here? Party is up front."

Tavian Djo ​

 

[Tavian Djo]

Persephone.

He wanted to repeat the name. So many syllables and yet he thought it might just roll off the tongue.

"Enchanted," he smiled, though it grew wan at her comment about the party.

"Hm. The party. I have been to many. I think tonight I would rather sit here amid the stones. I like how quiet it is."

Did that make him a bit of a bore? Perhaps it did. But he so seldom got time to himself, with all the bustling of court. Always a butler or bodyguard lurking around the corner at home.

"And your excuse, stargazer?" He craned his neck up to look at the sky.

Persephone Dashiell

 

[Persephone Dashiell]

"A whole party full of beautiful girls and you choose the ruins."

Mildly skeptical but she was trying to keep the judgement to herself. She had seen the type before, this guy. Normally they were in the thick of it looking like a fool, bouncing from girl to girl. Typically ran in packs too - like feral sandpathers. This one seemed displaced from his feral crew. Maybe a fight over a girl, although the night seemed too young for that.

"Wasn't looking at the stars. Decided to check out the stone pillars here while eating my canapes. Pillars were clearly supporting a roof, although its a bit sunken and sideways now. Was trying to figure it out before I went back to hang on the edge of the party until my friend was ready to leave."

Girl code. One wouldn't leave without the other. Persephone would head back to Beta Olikark before hitting the Corporate Sector to go home. Judging from how excited Cora had been, she anticipated being here until the wee hours of the morning.

Tavian Djo

 

[Tavian Djo]

"Oh. Is that what this was?" Tavian looked around with newfound interest, his daydreaming about what the ruins once must have looked like now crystallizing just a little more. He saw it now. Pillars. "Fascinating," he muttered, more to himself.

"I was supposed to wait for my friend as well, Dare," he shrugged, "but I believe he is out with one of those models as we speak."

Tavian smiled weakly. Very Hapan.

"What do you think this building was... if those were the pillars holding up the roof?"

It might be rude to think it, but he very much doubted that any of the models around Darien would be at all interested in talking about ancient architectural design. Oh, maybe one or two of them might say they were interested and then listen and nod and smile and laugh while he talked about it, but they were not truly listening.

Persephone had just informed him about the design without him even asking. How interesting.

Persephone Dashiell

 

[Persephone Dashiell]

​

"Your friend couldn't be bothered to hook you up with one of the models? Some friend."

Persephone shook her head before taking a sip of her boozy punch. Red with a slice of fruit for garnish, although she suspected it was there to soak up the alcohol, one would eat it for more of a buzz.

Taking a step back - a feat in her green dress and matching heels - her head tilted to match the tilt of the ruins.

"Don't know much about the planet. Wealthy planet, rich in resources since the times of Separatists. Public works building? Senate? Old corporate headquarters?"

She moved once more and touched the stone.

"Material says otherwise though. My money is on bath house or whorehouse. Same thing depending on local culture."

 

[Tavian Djo]

A chuckle of delighted disbelief left Tavian's lips at her casual vulgarity, which would have engendered a round of gasps and pearl clutching if uttered within the halls of the Fountain Palace.

"Really? You think so?" the young man's teeth flashed in the darkness, brilliantly white and perfect. The sort that left the observer wondering if he won the genetics lottery or could afford more expensive procedures. Any other Hapan would just boast that it was genetics. Tavian would just smile cryptically.

He took a sip of his white Chandrilan. The bubbles fizzed along his throat as he swallowed, eyes fixed on Persephone.

"Interesting. I prefer this," he waved a hand at the ruins, "to ah... dalliances with models. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Isn't that what they say?"

His eyes watched her fingers on the stone. It made him want to reach out and do the same, so he did, palm flat against the cold rock. Lifeless. Empty.

"They say some Kiffar have the ability to sense the echoes of the past in objects," he stared wanly at the unspeaking rock, "Wouldn't that be something?"

Persephone Dashiell

 

[Persephone Dashiell]

"Dalliances? The love 'em and leave 'em type, are you?"

Persephone bit her tongue from saying more. She had seen these ones before. Feral boys roving around in groups at these parties, looking for their next victim. It explained the brilliant-white flashy smile, as if every word he said should be lingered over. It wasn't really a surprise, probably one of those types who pretended to be scholarly to pick up women.

Typical blonde behavior if you asked her.

Hand left the stone and she sipped on her punch, regarding him. She was debating on messing with him more or making an excuse to leave. Grab another handful of canapes and escape to a different part of the ruins.

"For some, sure. I wouldn't want the ability to be honest. Life doesn't have enough mystery. Plus if everyone had that ability I would be out of a future career."

Tavian Djo​

 

[Tavian Djo]

“Is that what you want to do?” The tall Hapan looked down at her, his eyes the pallor of seafoam, though ill lit in the night and hidden behind his glasses.

“Archaeology?” he seemed lost in the question, his mind traveling to all the possibilities of such a career and where it might take her.

“That sounds like quite the adventure,” Tavian smiled wanly, knowing he would never be permitted to run about on his own, traveling to dig sites across the galaxy. The matriarch would never allow it.

“Much better than dalliances at a fashion show’s after party.”

Persephone Dashiell

 

[Persephone Dashiell]

"Archaeology. Arts and antiquities."

There was no need to tell him where she was in her journey or what university she attended, even though he did seem relatively interested in her thoughts. Persephone didn't quite think it was an adventure or overly exciting, but perhaps he was trying to flatter her. Difficult to tell.

Especially when he went on about dalliances once again. Hand dropped from the stone as she regarded him. Something wasn't sitting right with her.

She had no reason to suspect anything improper. However, it made he wonder why he went on about it. A vast amount of subjects in the universe and he was hung up on groping some girl on the dance floor.

"I rather enjoy these events." A small, polite smile. "I should be getting back to what I travelled all the way here for. If you would excuse me, Tavian. I hope you enjoy the rest of your time on planet."

With a small nod, she turned back to head away from the ruins and towards the crowd.

 

[Tavian Djo]

Oh.

She was leaving.

The thought of never seeing her again made a shiver of sudden sadness spike through Tavian. He did not want to walk through the ruins alone, wondering always evermore about Persephone in the green dress. That would seem such a shame.

"Wait," he said, before his thoughts fully had time to align.

He took a step toward her.

"Er."

All those years of etiquette and speech training for an er when he felt it mattered most. His tutor would have an aneurysm.

"That is, would you mind very much if I accompanied you back? Darien must be looking for me as well and... well." he came alongside her and looked down. She seemed so confident and utterly unflappable. He admired that. "Well, I was rather enjoying your company, Mlle. Persephone."

Persephone Dashiell

 

[Persephone Dashiell]

Pausing, she looked back at Tavian Djo as he asked her to wait. Then seemed to flounder or have some sort of stroke as thoughts were trying to form. Eyebrow raised as she waited, turned back to look at him.

Despite his repeated references to dalliances she couldn't be overly rude. With her luck he would be connected to someone higher up in the Eve Foundation and it would come back to her family.

"I cannot stop you from waking this way."

Pace started once again. She was slower than usual, heels and grass required a bit more thought and effort than on polished stone. He would easily catch up with barely any effort.

"You were enjoying my company? Really? I did not get that impression by the way you were speaking." A small pause. "You must really win over the crowds."

 

[Tavian Djo]

Tavian let out a disbelieving chuckle at her sharp retort. Very few talked so brazenly in the palace. The bite of her fangs was less painful than a reminder that those outside the court were under no compulsion to give a Djo the respect they came to expect.

"Crowds? I don't know about that... What do you mean about the way- oh. I only jested," he looked a little crestfallen. "I'm not the sort to... That is to say I didn't mean... Ah."

Her wheedling wit confounded him in a way that he found utterly disarming. And somehow beguiling.

"I do enjoy your company. I don't often get to talk about archaeology."

Adjusting his glasses, Tavian slowed his stride so that they walked in sync. "Are you from a nearby system's court?"

Persephone Dashiell

 

[Persephone Dashiell]

"Oh, so you're not the sort for anonymous dalliances? I got the impression otherwise."

I don't often get to talk about archaeology. Persephone's brows furrowed at that. Was he a archaeology student? History? Governmental Studies? Law? There were quite a number of disciplines that intersected with her own. Throw a dart at a board and that would be a better method to decipher his comment without further clarification.

"University student?"

When he referred to court, Persephone was quiet for a long moment. Did this planet have a monarchy? Not that she was familiar with and besides, the monarch would have been present at the fashion show. Head turned and she blatantly looked him up and down. Tall. Blonde. Impossibly thick glasses. Persephone was not a loyalist, a royal watcher. Nearly every sector or system had a royal family and it made it difficult to determine who the important ones were.

Considering the glasses, she took a stab in the dark.

"You're Hapan? Do they let men out on their own? I thought your type was repressed?" Head shook. "Not royalty myself."