Leaving The Nest... For Good? (Bennie)

[Maka Sumoto]

Maka didn't really know how he felt about the Serrus castle. On one hand, he'd lived with Bennie and Arick here for a few years. His two best friends (with the Duchess maybe being a little more than that), resources that would make most techies cry with joy, and actually having a home... That'd been a very different experience for him.​

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On the other hand, there were a few memories that he'd be rather happy to get rid of. Mostly of a certain Jedi who'd gotten to the red-headed Duchess before the archer had. And then the bout of depression and alcoholic tendencies that'd followed, on his part.​

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So, if he didn't want to reminisce, why was he coming up the stairs to Bennie's bedroom? And why was he knocking on her door?​

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"Hey, Bennie... It's Maka."​

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[member='Benedali Serrus']​

 

[Benedali Serrus]

[member="Maka Sumoto"] [member="Arick Serrus"]

Benedali had been sorting through her things, picking and choosing which things to get rid of and which things to keep. Her bed was piled high with dresses, but the pile on the floor was even larger. And, though resolved to keep all of her jewelry restricted to one box, it was still hard to go through everything. But, she had promised their cousins a majority of the estates, and her possessions were one of them.

Like the dress she held in her hands, for instance. It had been the one she'd worn a few years ago. In fact, it was the exact one she'd changed into at a certain garden party, back before everything else had happened. She had first met Orron, had just joined the Alderaanian Resistance group, had had what she suspected was her first brush with the dark side...life was simple back then. Though Benedali cycled through dresses like snakes cycled through skins, she had always kept this one. There was a simple elegance to it, one which befit her better now than it had then.

The Duchess sighed as she remembered how she used to be. Self-absorbed, flirty, and caring mostly for the materialistic life. She grew up pampered, sheltered, and spoiled. Now, though....now she was to grow up for good -- to give up her home in order to deliberately start a life on the run. It would be edgy, exciting...and dangerous. Did she truly want this? Did she truly want to give up almost everything at the age of 24, just to live out a holodrama life?

Who am I kidding? My entire life was a holodrama. This was just a way to get a new (and better) perspective on life. And then, maybe, the galaxy would start to take her seriously. Maybe, then, she would find a place in life that wouldn't grow stalwart.

It wasn't until she heard Maka's voice that Bennie realized she'd been crying. Throwing the dress onto the "keep" pile, she quickly dried her eyes and recomposed herself. "Come on in, I'm dressed," she called out, in reference to when she'd been only in her nightgown a few weeks ago, when Arick had come home and when she'd decided to start up a life of piracy. Of course, that wasn't the official story -- rather, they'd decided to say that the homestead possessed too many memories, and they were going to go find simpler lodgings. Arick and Bennie's cousins hadn't believed them (they knew how much Benedali loved the life of an elite); nonetheless, they accepted the sale and gave them a date to evacuate. "I'm just sorting through my things."

 

[Maka Sumoto]

Maka walked in, sighing a little bit resignedly as he saw that Bennie was crying. Without really asking, he slipped his arms around the duchess and hugged her. Then he smiled a tiny bit as his hand came up to dry her tears.

"It'll be okay, you know. You'll get all this back, one day, and you'll be happy. The real question is how many of my limbs will be left by then."

He gently bopped her nose and pulled away a little bit so he could talk to her easier.

"I actually came up here to distract you for a while. I was gonna go for a walk or something."

[member="Benedali Serrus"]​

 

[Benedali Serrus]

[member="Maka Sumoto"]

Bennie smiled briefly when Maka bopped her nose.

"Well, alright. I'm almost done here, anyway." She pulled away completely, gesturing around her room. "I'm going to miss this place. It's filled with so many memories...good and bad." As if the words themselves had summoned them, memories began to push at her mind, and the redhead promptly turned around to face her archer again. "Ahem. Any specific destination in mind, or...just idle exploration?"

 

[Maka Sumoto]

Maka felt himself sigh inaudibly as Bennie mentioned memories. Leaving Alderaan bugged him, too, but not so much that nostalgia had gotten rid of all the bad memories. Getting away from the places where he'd been caused more pain in a decade than most people dealt with in their whole lives was probably going to be a good thing... After maybe seeing them one last time.​

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"You wanna see my mom's old place? It's a burnt-out wreck, but it was my burnt-out wreck... a long time ago."​

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[member="Benedali Serrus"]​

 

[Maka Sumoto]

[member='Benedali Serrus'] ((Because broken tags))

 

[Arick Serrus]

Arick had his own opinions about what Maka and Bennie we're planning, most of which he had refrained from spreading during his discussions with their relatives. If they wanted to sell the estate he would just have to find his own damned house. They most certainly weren't going to ask him to come with. As little as he wanted to admit it (Even to himself) He was worried. Bennie had already managed to put herself in far more dangerous places than he would ever have allowed. "It's a shame I can't do anything to stop her. Maka to, but he can handle himself. I'm not so sure about the little rebel." ​

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"You worry too much!" Came a shout from behind him. One of the few guards who had offered to stay as a sort of... Personal squad. Had been helping him sort through the armory -Or what was left of it, which wasn't much- And was now giving him a disapproving stare. "Believe me, she can handle herself. Whether or not you think she can." He paused to grab another crate off one of the large racks and bring it down to the floor. "'Ere, you mind sifting through that one?" ​

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"Only If I have to." Arick muttered with a slight grin, he loved the work. It gave him something to do besides think. Thinking was the only thing that could get those two in trouble, and it had already gotten him into more than enough of that. "You're right, you know. 'Specially with Maka stalking her. He wouldn't let her get in arms reach of a fly. I wonder where those guys are. I haven't seen them all day..."​

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"Sir."​

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"Sorry."​

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[member="Maka Sumoto"]​

[member="Benedali Serrus"]​

 

[Benedali Serrus]

[member="Arick Serrus"] [member="Maka Sumoto"]

Bennie slipped her arm around Maka's, giving him a soft smile. "Perhaps before we leave," she told him. "I don't want to leave the estate just yet...but I promise I'll make sure we go there." She knew how important going to his mother's place was, and she had full intentions of making good on her promise, but as she told him...Bennie wanted to make sure everything was ready or at the very least, almost ready, before they went.

The Duchess pulled her archer along gently, walking out the door and shutting it with her foot. As they left, she murmured to him, "We'll also have to decide on how the hierarchy will work. I was thinking you, me, and Arick could have a sort of...triumvirate, with each of us deciding on important things, and in charge of certain aspects of the pirate stuff. Like Arick could be in charge of defence, and making sure we're safe and secure; you could be in charge of offense and planning attacks, and I'll be I charge of everything else."

The redhead paused, pursing her lips. "Of course, none of that will matter if we don't have a big enough -- or good enough -- ship. What do you say?"

 

[Maka Sumoto]

Maka squeezed Bennie's hand, mostly because he didn't blame her for not wanting to leave her home, yet. When she stopped, he smiled back at her. His duchess' thoughts were fun to watch at work. His non-metallic hand ruffled her hair a little bit as he looked at her.​

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"Been a while since I planned an ambush. You sure Arick'll want to come along, though? He got kind of annoyed at the both of us, me being all excited, and you being all mopey. And then me trying to cheer you up. The last conversation I had with him was something along the lines of 'get a room, idiots'."​

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Yes, Arick was a truly delightful conversationalist.​

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[member="Benedali Serrus"] [member="Arick Serrus"]​

 

[Arick Serrus]

Arick huffed with effort as he brought down another crate, this one seemed to be full of more sentimental items, nothing of his of course. The only one with this many things was Bennie, she had really changed. None of this stuff was something anyone needed. A few pictures which he stacked neatly into a much smaller box. The other things he tossed away. There was nothing left. The armory was empty. "Well, if you want to worry about it you should go see them. If I had to guess i'd say they were up in her room."​

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"Arright, I'll head up in a few minutes. If they wanted to see me they would be here, they can wait a little longer."​

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[member="Maka Sumoto"] [member="Benedali Serrus"]​

 

[Benedali Serrus]

[member="Maka Sumoto"]rist [member="Arick Serrus"]ly

Bennie swatted at Maka's hand as he messed up her hair. "Unhand my gorgeous locks, cretin!" she commanded teasingly. "And of course he'll come along. There's no way Arick'll let his little sister get into any more trouble." The Duchess gave a haughty sniff, affecting the air of a superior noble (of which she technically was, but being deliberately mean took a lot of energy). "And if that birdbrain doesn't come, I'll make him come!" Then, grinning, she added, "Come on. Let's go see what Arick's doing."

One of her hands had begun to twirl a strand of her red hair as they resumed walking, and it was this hand that Benedali looked at now. A sort of strange expression overtook the Duchess's face as a thought entered her mind. It was a vague idea, something which she hadn't entirely thought of, but even so...

"Do you have a ribbon?" Bennie asked Maka, almost absently. "Wait, nevermind, I think I have one on me..." Stepping a little bit away from the Archer so she wouldn't accidentally elbow him, the redhead began to pat herself and search her pockets. "Ah! Here we go." From one of her pockets she withdrew an orange ribbon, the color even more vibrant than her hair. With a practiced ease, the Duchess tied it around her hair, creating a ponytail (albeit a long ponytail). "Much better," she said, smiling at Maka as if nothing was wrong. "Now, let's go find my brother."

OOC note: look up what the color of orange means xP

 

[Maka Sumoto]

Maka raised an eyebrow at Bennie as she did her facetious haughty noble bit. At least, he assumed it was facetious. No matter how hard on herself his lovely duchess was, she'd been anything but haughty for the few years he'd known her. He winked at her as she tied her hair back. Damn, did she look good.​

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"Well, m'lady, you certainly found a way to make your 'gorgeous locks'... more gorgeous."​

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He batted at her ponytail and winked at Bennie as he grabbed her hand again.​

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"So, what's bothering you? I don't need any of that Jedi magic to know it is something."​

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[member="Benedali Serrus"] [member="Arick Serrus"]​

 

[Benedali Serrus]

[member="Maka Sumoto"] [member="Arick Serrus"]ly needs to get his butt in here

Benedali grinned at Maka, jerking her head back as he batted her ponytail. "Careful, Archer, this much hair can become a deadly weapon....I think."

She squeezed his hand as it grabbed hers, pretending not to know what he was talking about. "Who says anything's bothering me? And Jedi magic only belongs to Jedi, which you are not." The Duchess frowned thoughtfully, looking at him. "Unless you are. Is that what you've been sneaking off to do? Or do you have another mistress?" Bennie leaned in close, a wicked smile on her face. "Is she pretty? And can we cook? I don't mind you having a mistress, so long as she cooks."

Obviously, she was dodging the question. But there was an idea, no more crazy than becoming a pirate....yet even so, the reaction might very well be the same. Oh, it wouldn't hurt anyone, but it would require an even more dramatic change to what had been going on. In fact, it would remove a weight from her shoulders.

Literally.

 

[Maka Sumoto]

Maka almost snorted, but he managed to keep his cool enough to tease Bennie back. In the corner of his mind, though, her first question was bugging him. He sure as hell wasn't a Jedi, but he definitely wasn't a Sith, either. Pushing the thought away for the moment, the archer slipped his arms around his duchess while she teased him, pulling her a bit closer.​

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"Well, I can only handle one beautiful insane person at a time. You're definitely not cooking, though. The answer to your original question... I've been practicing on my own."​

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The specifics would have to wait, because he couldn't think of a way to explain that wouldn't disturb Bennie. Lightning was a Sith trick, after all. The thought got pushed away again as he kissed her on the cheek and squeezed her a little.​

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"C'mon, though... What's bugging you?"​

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[member="Benedali Serrus"]​

 

[Benedali Serrus]

[member="Maka Sumoto"]

Benedali sighed dramatically. "Oh, fine. I was just worried that Arick would throw out the vibroswords we have before I was able to pick one to keep." Though not many individuals would have guessed it, the Duchess was a fair swordsman; not enough to beat a Master, but definitely good enough to hold her own.

And to show off without looking like a total bumpkis.

Within minutes, the two arrived at the armoury, where crates upon crates were stacked up. "They better have not gotten rid of my swords!" she gasped, ripping out of Maka's embrace and frantically searching for the swords.

"Oh, good! They're here!" Her keen eye had spotted the rectangular box, stacked underneath a couple of other crates. But despite her attempts, the Duchess could not get the boxes down. "Fhoowi!" Bennie exclaimed, a scowl on her face. "Maka, get these crates down for me!"

 

[Maka Sumoto]

Maka almost laughed as his duchess pulled out of his arms and went running for the armory. She was always like that: Whenever he finally convinced her to stop and talk about whatever problem she was thinking of, she suddenly jumped straight into whatever action she thought would help... Without actually making any plan at all.​

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"Why don't you ever ask for help, Bennie?"​

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He walked up behind her and stretched his arms out. The two crates slowly floated up and away from the box of swords, and he flicked the box out of the pile. Then he suddenly felt dizzy, and the crates fell back onto the pile. There were spots in his vision, and he felt a drip of something coming out of his nose and onto his lip. Oh, fun, he was bleeding. Whatever. He blinked at Bennie.​

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"Swords, huh? Maybe we should practice later."​

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[member="Benedali Serrus"]​

 

[Benedali Serrus]

[member="Maka Sumoto"] [member="Arick Serrus"]ly is gonna have his butt whooped by a girl if he doesn't get in here.

"I just did, didn't I?" Bennie dove towards the crates, making sure they didn't crash too hard. Without glancing back at Maka, she checked for any cracks, then began carefully taking the swords out and examining them. "Oh, well, I guess I should have said please. Thank ​you, though sword practice will have to wait until we have a ship or headquarters, at least."

As she turned her head back to Maka, she said mischievously, "Perhaps you could even show me how to use your-- Oh! Maka, your nose!" Setting down the sword in her hand, the Duchess withdrew a handkerchief from her pocket and blotted at her Archer's nose. "Why is it bleeding like that? Why didn't you tell me about that?! Does this happen frequently?"

 

[Maka Sumoto]

Maka let his duchess fuss over him... Firstly, because he did need the blood wiped off his face. Secondly, because it was kind of cute when she fussed over him. And finally, because he liked catching her off guard a little, and he certainly had this time. He bopped her nose and grinned at her with the thin trail of blood still coming from his.​

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"Don't worry about it. I just lifted too much, there, Bennie. Doesn't happen often at all."​

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He wrapped his arms around her, still grinning. Now he was curious as to what she'd almost teased him about. He stuck his tongue out at her. As much as they were teasing each other, he was more than willing to teach her whatever she wanted about weapons.​

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"Show you how to what? Use my bow? Sure. Maybe even a lightsaber. It's not like we'll be wanting for spare time."​

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[member="Benedali Serrus"]​

 

[Benedali Serrus]

[member="Maka Sumoto"]

Bennie smiled, giving Maka a peck on his cheek. "You've got that right!"

She pulled away from him then, pleased that his nosebleed was of no concern, and eager to continue checking her swords. There was, after all still that idea floating around...

Kneeling down, the Duchess picked up a short sword and lifted it so she could better examine the blade. "This is a dirk, you know. They're like long daggers." Standing up, she showed Maka the sword. "You're supposed to hold it with the point down, but I think I'm small enough to hold it like a normal sword."

Bennie turned back around, peering once more at the blade. "This one is really rather sharp. Ah well."

It was time to put her idea in motion.

Gripping a good five or six inches below where her ribbon sat, she pulled her hair over her shoulder and sliced it of less than a half inch above her hand.

The sudden loss of weight caused the ribbon to fall down. The Duchess, meanwhile, turned back to Maka with a sort of sheepish smile. "I hope I didn't scare you. But I'd been wanting to cut my hair for a while now, and I decided against waiting any longer." She held out the long lock of hair still in her hand. It was still a good two feet long. "Think we can donate this?"

 

[Maka Sumoto]

Maka had been surprised for a moment, but not very worried. As much as Bennie sometimes did things that scared him, it usually wasn't anything to do with either of them, especially since physically harming herself didn't seem to be in her repertoire. He also wasn't overly worried about the fact that she'd just cut off most of her hair. His own was a little long, but only reached down to his jaw. The amount of hair his duchess had been walking around with had boggled his mind for a while. He grinned back as he answered her.​

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"I don't scare easily. You know that. I do wonder who would need all that hair for a wig, though."​

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The archer batted at the now-shorter hair on Bennie's head, still grinning. He took the dirk from her hand and waved it around a little, spinning it between his cybernetic fingers, and then finally moving his arm as if he intended to throw it end-over-end. It was a nice weapon. He wiggled his fingers at the sheathe and made it fly into his hand, before strapping the blade to her waist.​

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"Huh. You have a good eye for weapons. Eh-"​

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He had to stop himself from asking her to go rifling through an armory with him. He'd sound like a total freak... Or maybe he wouldn't. Bennie already knew her archer was a weapons geek. After all, the thing he ran around shooting was an old Dathomiri relic. Maka leaned over to grab her hand excitedly.​

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"After we find somewhere safe for all that hair, let's look through all this stuff. I don't know why I didn't do this before!"​

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[member="Benedali Serrus"]​