Star Wars Roleplay: Chaos

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Loaded Homecoming

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

[SIZE=medium]Benedali couldn’t wait to get home, and it wasn’t just because she’d been gone for over two weeks.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]Roughly 19 standard days ago, the young Duchess of Alderaan had received a message from the mysterious Mouse, pushing for a meeting on Utapau in order to divulge information about a “mutual friend” of theirs. Despite Maka’s warnings of it being a trap, she had packed her things and dragged her archer to the agreed planet, consumed with worry as she pondered whether the “friend” was her brother, Arick, or her boyfriend, Orron. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]At the spaceport, the pair had met with Mallory, a young woman who claimed to be the liaison for Mouse (who, unbeknownst to Bennie or Maka, was the Mouse). The trio made their way to the rooms Benedali had rented to stay in, and it was there that the Duchess learned Orron had been killed by a Sith. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]Absolutely distraught at the news, the redhead bade Mallory farewell and spent the rest of the time sleeping as she absorbed everything she was told. Early the next morning, the Duchess had repacked her things, left the hotel with her archer, and boarded the shuttle back to Alderaan.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]Not once did she speak. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]Now, with her arms wrapped protectively around her bag, Benedali’s eyes were glued upon the gates of her house as the cab they’d rented drew closer. Then, once inside, the Duchess planned to truly mope; being surrounded by a bunch of strangers on a less-than-stellar shuttle wasn’t her ideal place for grieving. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]But for the moment, she just stared out the window at the passing fields, a mixture of natural flora and Vongforming. [/SIZE]
 
Maka was well and truly worried. Bennie hadn't said a word to anybody since they'd left Utapau, and he was a little bit afraid that he'd blown it. Getting drunk and laughing about his mother's death in front of somebody who'd just lost the person they were in love with was bad enough, but the fact that there'd still been that other woman around when he'd done it made it far worse. He had no idea if Bennie would ever forgive him.

What he wanted to do was put his arms around her and just hold her until the world exploded (again), and not let anybody else hurt her or even touch her. But it wasn't like she'd accept that, even if the archer was the one she wanted. Even her brother couldn't lock her up like that. As much as he wanted to talk to Bennie, Maka wanted to talk to Arick almost as much.

But how did you talk to a chicken-man that nobody could find?

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

As the cab pulled up to the gates, the driver, a portly Sullustan male, poked his head out the window and waved his cap a bit. "Hey, you! I got some lady wantin' to get in!"

After a pause, a crackle preceding a voice came from the speaker. "State your name and business!"


Benedali looked up, wiping her eye with her palm. Before the driver could say anything, the Duchess stepped out momentarily, making the "all-clear" gesture at the camera before returning to her seat. Still, not a word issued from her mouth.

Not even a heartbeat later, the gates opened up and the driver sped down the pathway, plumes of dust being kicked up by the engines.

Her head resting against the frame of the seat, Benedali stole a glance at Maka. From what she could tell, he looked tired out, maybe even worried. And what wasn't there to be worried about? She was certain she didn't exactly look all that great, either. But they both knew it wasn't just the trip that was causing it.

Closing her eyes, she replayed the final moments of their stay at the hotel.

As the sound of Mallory's wheels receded, Benedali looked at her archer. Maka looked right back, his voice cracking as he opened his mouth again.

"I'm sorry, Bennie."

Her large, blue eyes sad, the Duchess lowered her gaze. "I know, Maka," she whispered. With that, she turned and left the room, collapsing onto her bed and beginning her silence.

At the memory, a tear began to trail down her cheek, and she hastily wiped it away. Benedali was still upset with Maka's behaviour, but that wasn't the only reason she didn't speak to him -- quite frankly, she didn't know how to speak to him, not anymore.

Oh, how she wished Arick would return! Her brother was one of a handful of people who knew Bennie -- who knew her better than herself. All she wanted to do right now was curl up next to her sibling and spill everything that happened. Or, at the least, see him to know he wasn't dead. The last thing she needed was learning the death of another person she cared about.

Finally, the cab pulled up in front of the grand front door, and the Sullustan gave a whistle. "Damn, lady, you live nice!" He got out, opening the door for the Duchess and flashing the equivalence of a grin at Maka. "I'd open your door too, but ah, ladies first."

Benedali stepped out, ducking her head in thanks before fumbling for money from her bag. She bit her lip, embarrassed at her clumsiness. Her fingers felt numb and uncooperative.
 
Maka flashed an friendly salute at the driver, still unsmiling, and climbed out of the cab himself. Without seeming to actually do anything, a wad of cash appeared in his hand, and he pushed it into the little Sullustan man's hand. The guy deserved it, with the two of them being such poor company for the long drive from the spaceport.

"Sorry about the quiet ride, Tosh. Don't be a stranger, huh?"

The man doffed his hat and pulled himself back into the cab with a smile. Maka waved, and then glanced at the castle.

Home.

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

As the cab pulled away, two guards and one of the maidservants came out. The two guards nodded their heads at Maka in respect, and the servant rushed to Bennie's side. "M'lady, we are glad to have you return!" She pulled at the bag, and the Duchess let it go without any resistance. Sensing something wrong, the servant placed a comforting hand on the redhead's back and ushered her in, still talking. "it's always worrisome, when you leave without much protection. Why, anything could happen! We don't want the Sith taking you away-- Oh, dear."

At the mention of Sith, Benedali had pushed herself away from the servant and, gathering her skirts, took off for her room. The sudden, almost outlandish behaviour was a ruse to cover her tears. She didn't want anyone to see her cry.

The guards and the servant looked to one another, then at Maka, unsure of what to do.
 
Maka sighed, and shook his head at the woman who was staring at him. He had nothing to say on the subject. He was only a bodyguard, himself... Even Bennie wouldn't talk to him. The archer shook himself, and forced a small smile.

"Nothing's wrong... Our duchess just needs to cool off a bit. Please prepare the shooting range for my sniper practice. I'll be down after I change into something a bit less warm."

As he walked into the castle, he looked behind him, almost as an afterthought.

"And give me that list of local Sith patrols. I need to look over it."

He needed to shoot something. Badly.

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

The guards nodded at Maka and hurried off to do what they were told, but the maidservant stayed behind. A short blonde human, she'd only been part of the help for six months. Clarys, her name was. Her mother had chosen the name because it was a combination of "clear" and "rice". "Clear", because Clarys always seemed to know what to say, and "rice", because her mother liked rice.

Her mother was a very strange woman.

In any case, Clarys hurried after Maka, quickly falling in step with him. She continued to walk beside him for a moment, and when the silence grew to what she deemed to be a good size, the servant broke it.

"Sir, excuse my bluntness, but you are an absolute idiot." Ah, good. She'd gotten the tough part out. Without breaking stride, Clarys plowed on. "Did you ever think the Duchess wants you to go to her? I haven't been here long, sir, but I can tell you the good lady won't let herself open up to just anyone. She's fragile like that. My suggestion?" Her purple eyes twinkled. "Instead of angering the Sith, you should at least try to work out what happened between you's two." Clarys bobbed her head. "Yes sir, that's exactly what I think you should do. Be there for her. She's got no one else." The servant then looked at Maka, clearly unconcerned about the fact that she'd just insulted someone who was a higher rank than her.

Clarys was a bit of an odd duck, too.
 
It didn't even occur to Maka that Clarys was both technically his subordinate, and younger than him. It did occur to him that she was telling him to do something he wanted to, but seriously felt he couldn't. He could not force his presence on Bennie when she was crying over a guy he himself had hated. There was nothing for it, in his opinion, but to let both himself and his duchess cry into their metaphorical pillows for a bit.

He pushed his glasses up his nose, and raised an eyebrow at the little blonde woman.

"You don't know what I did. I both deserve and welcome some time alone. Sith hunting is simply a useful way of occupying that time. I'm not good for much else, am I?"

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

Clarys pinched the bridge of her nose, and prayed to any of the gods who were listening to give her patience. I'm sorry Mama, but men are idiots.

"No, I don't know what you did, sir, but I can tell you one thing: with everyone else gone, you're all the Duchess has." She winked at the Archer. "Don't think I haven't seen what's been goin' on between you's two while you were here, nosirree. Even if she ain't admitted it, the good lady has taken quite a likin' to you. Just like we's all know you've taken quite a likin' to the fine Duchess." Clarys swiped her tongue over her teeth, thinking. There was still something else that needed to be said, something to put the hammer on the nail and the nail on the board.

"If you don't go up there, sir, she's going to think you abandoned her."
 
Maka snorted at the blonde woman, and shook his head as he walked by her. She really didn't understand a thing he said. Ironically, the only person who might was Bennie... And he couldn't make himself just walk into her room and try to comfort her. It just wasn't something he could do, even after being around her this long.

"She knows I wouldn't abandon her. The one time I thought of doing so, she found me dying in a forest. And I lost an arm."

The archer looked back at Clarys, slightly sadly.

"I'd rather lose the other one, than force my presence on her when I'm unsure of my own mental state."

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

[SIZE=12pt]Clarys found herself once again praying to any gods that were listening, but this time it was for a different reason. “Forgive me, sir.” Taking a deep breath, the diminutive blonde drew her hand back and slapped Maka across the face. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]Quickly, she began to speak. “Sir, I would like to humble point out that right now, you’re acting more like a wimp than like the good lady’s Archer – and friend. And weren’t you listening to me? The Duchess needs you, whether she realises it or not. You’s two need each other, and screw your mental state. It won’t get any better simply by moping around like….like a no-good wimpy wimp!” [/SIZE]
 
Maka shot a glare at Clarys, but it softened a little bit as he walked to the stairs to the upper hall. He seriously hoped the woman didn't follow him. It'd look really stupid if he'd argued with her like that, just to go to Bennie right in front of her. But, he was going to his duchess. The archer practically ran up the stairs to her room, and quietly knocked on the door.

"Bennie... I get it if you don't want me in there, but we gotta talk. At least a little bit."

[member="Benedali Serrus"]
 
Clarys grinned when Maka glared at her but did nothing else. It seemed like something she said managed to get through. At his retreating back, the servant called out, "Don't worry sir! I promise you's two won't regret workin' things out!" Shaking her head in wonder, the girl turned and walked in the opposite direction, towards the kitchen. She herself had a bet she needed to cash in on.
--------------------​

Benedali sat in front of her mirror, staring bleakly at her reflection. Upon arriving to her rooms, the Duchess had changed out of her travel clothes and into her around the house clothes: that is, her shimmersilk robe and a lounge dress. She'd also let down her hair and had been brushing it numbly, almost mechanically. The tears, try as she might, wouldn't come.

Of course, that wasn't to say her eyes weren't red and puffy.

Where did I go wrong? she wondered. Why are they all leaving me? What did I do?

A soft, sudden knock on the door interrupted her thoughts, and she turned towards it as Maka's voice came through. For a moment, she decided to simply sit there until he went away....but he was right. They did need to talk. With a soft sigh, Benedali stood up and, wrapping her robe tightly around her, opened the door.

The Duchess looked at him for a moment. "Yes," she said quietly, her voice hoarse from days of not speaking. "Yes, we do need to talk. And I need to tell you something." With that, she grabbed his arm and pulled him to her bed. She sat down and gestured for him to do the same, before taking a deep breath.

"Maka....I've been thinking, and as odd as it sounds, I think I know why I'm mourning this much, why I feel so sad. And it's not for the reason you -- and I -- thought." She wrung her hands in her robe. "I don't think I loved Orron. We didn't get enough time together for that. No, I think I'm mourning the 'could have', as in 'I could have loved him.' We were certainly on our way there." Unexpectedly, the tears began to finally flow, and the words flowed with them. They might not have made sense, but she needed to say them.

"After all, that's why people bother with relationships, right? It's not because you start out loving them, but because you see something in that other person which makes you believe that, with enough time and effort, you could love them." Bennie's lower lip trembled, and she sniffled slightly. "I think that's why I'm crying, Maka. Because now, with him gone, I'll never know if we could have loved each other. I'll never know if we could have had what my father had with Arick's mother and mine. Instead, I'm stuck with all of these 'What if' thoughts, and I don't know what to do."

She looked at him, then, her eyes filled with tears. "They say it gets easier every time, but it doesn't. It never does."

[member="Maka Sumoto"]
 
Maka was surprised at how readily Bennie had admitted her sadness to him. But then, he realized something: With everybody else gone, he'd taken on a completely different role than a bodyguard. He was taking the place of Arick, who'd been both her older brother and a sort of adopted parent. He was the only person around she could talk to about her problems.

But, that was its own problem for him. Maka didn't want to be the duchess' brother, or father... He was in love with her, and he didn't know why he'd been unable to say anything about it since the day he'd cut his arm off. She was the only person he had left, period. There was no ambiguously gone older brother, nobody else to talk to. Being cut off from everybody for ten years, and then suddenly having people listen to him had been strange.

"I haven't been close to anybody in ten years, Bennie... I don't know anything more about death than what happens when I pull the trigger. I don't know what it would've been like if my mom hadn't died. I was going to get married to some minor noble that my mom thought was a good idea. And then that bloody Lord Thul. If I'd been there, he'd have been dead. She was never as fast as me, my mother."

He smiled gently at Bennie, and shrugged.

"It gets harder to deal with, and harder to cry. I've forgotten how to cry about death, Bennie. Killing is all I'm good for, any way you slice it. I stopped crying after that day, though. I don't know, anymore..."

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

Benedali rested her head on Maka's shoulder as he spoke, pressing her nose into the fabric of his shirt. Up until he'd come in, she hadn't realised just how thankful she was for him being present. Even if....even if things hadn't gone well on Utapau.

"Well I'm glad you didn't marry that noble," she mumbled quietly, surprised at the words. She hadn't meant to say them out loud, and hoped Maka hadn't heard her. Instead, she grabbed his hand and squeezed it gently. In a louder (albeit slightly cracked) voice, she told him, "Killing isn't all you're good for, Maka. Don't say that."

Then, to quickly change the topic (Benedali's emotional state was already teeter-y, and talking about assassination and killing wasn't going to help), the redhead said, "You haven't spoken much about your mom before. What was she like?"
 
Maka blushed a little bit as Bennie pressed her face to his shoulder, but smiled gently, anyway. He blushed much harder when she squeezed his hand, along with a barely audible sentence that almost made his head spin. She was glad he hadn't married that noble, huh? The archer didn't mention hearing anything about it, but it made him feel happier than he could ever remember feeling.

"Well, my mom was a lot like you... Strong, generous, loving... And overprotective."

He said the last with a teasing grin on his face, and hugged Benedali as he did.

"She's the one who trained me in combat, and she had a kind of harsh form of tough love always ready for me. I wasn't the greatest student out there. School was a real pain, even with just a tutor. Of course... I dunno who my father was, but apparently he was the Alderaanian half."

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

Bennie hugged Maka back , relieved that they seemed to be over the bumpy patch that'd begun in Utapau. She listened as he talked about his mom, giving a faint ghost of a smile. That soon left, though, when he mentioned never knowing his father.

"Your mother sounded wonderful, Maka," she whispered, genuinely meaning it. "It's a shame you didn't know your father, though." The Duchess sighed, closing her eyes for a moment, thinking. Her nose twitched, suddenly noticing that Maka smelled like forests used to, before they were Vongformed. I wonder wwhy I never noticed before? Why am I even noticing now?

Eager to evade that line of thought, for now at least, the redhead reopened her eyes. "Arick, from what he told me, didn't know his mother for very long -- he was just a baby when she died, I think. Then our father married my mother and had me. It...it was tough for us when she passed. She was sweet, gentle, and always knew what to say." A tear began to travel down her cheek, retracing a familiar path and was soon joined by others. "My father-- well, my mother always said Arick and I must have gotten our stubbornness from him. He worked a lot, but he still somehow managed to find time for us. He...he took my mother's death the hardest. It wasn't long before he joined her."

Her lower lip quivered, and a sob threatened to break through. Instead, though, she muffled it by burying her face in Maka's shoulder again. "I'm sorry," she hiccupped. Benedali wanted to say more, but didn't know what else to say. "I--I'm sorry."
 
Maka didn't cry... Bennie and Arick had gone through the deaths of a parent twice, where the Archer had only done so once. For a moment, his thoughts turned a little bit sour as he thought of everything they'd inherited because of it, but he mentally shook himself and felt a strange sense of amusement. It felt like Bennie went from crying over the deaths of her loved ones... And then somehow thought she was the one who should be apologizing. That thought was enough to make Maka laugh.

He did laugh, and he held onto his duchess so she could feel it. She needed to see that he had nothing against her at all, and that there was no reason to apologize.

"Ah, Bennie... Why do all our serious conversations start and end with an apology? What's there for you to apologize to me for? What I do to myself, and even to you sometimes, isn't your fault. What other people besides me do to you is definitely not your fault. I know you hate it when I blame people for their problems, but Arick running off is his business. It probably doesn't even have anything to do with you. While I'm at it, I'm going to say something even worse."

Maka nudged Bennie's face up towards his so he could look into her eyes.

"Orron dying had nothing to do with you. The first time either of us met him, he picked a fight with me, Arick, and a Sith Lord. Remember that? I think it's better that you know that he died doing what he always did than if you'd sat here thinking that he was going to come back. Closure is important when somebody dies."

The archer loosened his grip on Bennie a little, half-expecting her to pull away, and maybe even punch him. But, he couldn't tip-toe around the subject of that masochist of a Jedi who'd gotten himself killed like that. The death of that kind of people was sad, but he didn't see why the red-haired duchess needed to hurt herself like this over it.

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

Benedali was startled when Maka began to laugh, holding her closely. What is he laughing at? she wondered. It seemed that, lately, when she talked about death he was always laughing. That simple thought caused a sense of distraught to rise up in her, but his words quelled it.

Through his entire rant, the Duchess chewed on her lower lip, listening. As usual, Maka's words made sense. She knew she shouldn't always blame herself for things, but she couldn't help it. It just seemed easier to take the blame than to dish it off on someone else.

Then, he lifted her chin and made eye contact. And what did she do? Benedali Serrus, the young Duchess who could be a Force to deal with when she wanted to be, lowered her gaze. Her heart had started to flutter slightly, the way it did every time Orron and she had found time together. But she couldn't read into it now.

Besides, she was more focused on what he was saying. And this time, she did protest. "But it was my fault -- a Sith was going to get us, and Orron put a stop to him. If he hadn't, we...we..." She couldn't say it. And when Maka loosened his grip, Bennie pulled her knees to her chest, hugging them. "Maka, you weren't there with Mouse and I, you didn't hear it. But it's all my fault." The waterworks began again.
 
Maka sighed heavily at Bennie's response to his actions, and decided that he should simply put his arms back around her. She seemed to be fine with that. Her insistence on blaming herself for Orron's death bothered the Archer a lot, but the way he'd felt his heart jump when he looked into her eyes was interesting.

"We wouldn't be dead, Bennie. Part of what pissed me off when I heard he was dead was that he could never have been trained like I was. He died for nothing except a mistaken assumption that I wasn't good enough. If he'd listened to anybody, his blue-plated head would still be alive on his shoulders, and we wouldn't be having this conversation. His misconceptions of me and the rest of your guard are what got him killed."

The Archer realized that he was maybe being... a little too honest about his opinion of the Jedi. But, Benedali was crying her eyes out over him, and he didn't know what else to do. He squeezed her again, and shook his head, a little bit angry at himself. He felt himself calm down, and he reached out to brush the tears away from his duchess' face.

"What I'm trying to say is: Even if it was you who got him killed, I don't care. There's no point in dying for the girl you love, if you could've survived to come back to them with a little strategy. If I could find his ghost, I'd beat it bloody for making you cry like this. Nobody deserves to make you this sad."

[member="Benedali Serrus"]
 

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