Private Not In My Job Description

[Tenn Kalos]

Ukatis
After Wedlocked and Loaded
Giselle Dune​

---

Given how the uncomfortably the night's events had played out, Tenn normally would have been one of the first out the door. But he had signed on to fulfill a security role, meaning he couldn't give one of his classic "say nothing and escape the party early" routines. Not without getting himself and the Jedi in even more hot water, anyway.

Besides, he did feel a little bad about the broken chandelier. A few bystanders had gotten cut up by broken glass, and the mess was going to be hell for whatever servants had to clean it up.

So, Tenn reluctantly decided to stick around, and use his abilities for a bit of good. The padawan telekinetically lifted a mass of glass shards, safely and efficiently moving them to a large bag that could be thrown out. Shep, not much one for moving things with his mind, sat to the side and watched his master at work.

 

[Giselle Dune]

As relatives of the bride-to-be, the Dunes were obliged to stick around after the disastrous engagement party. Lady Amanoa was called to an emergency family meeting, while Lord Vultan continued his efforts to help clean up the mess.

Giselle opted to stay with her father, watching as servants, Jedi, and a few sympathetic nobles swept up shards of glass, spilled drinks, and the occasional splatter of dried blood from those injured. What exactly had caused the chandelier to fall still remained unclear. Giselle thought she could detect a faint undercurrent of tension in the room, but it had been steadily ebbing away as the work neared completion.

For now, she was more concerned with the dog in their midst. "Oh, I hope you won't cut your little paws on all the glass," she said in concern, crouching down to offer out a hand for the hound to sniff. "What are you doing here, I wonder?..."

Tenn Kalos

 

[Tenn Kalos]

Shep looked up, and immediately found excitement for the stranger offering out her hand. He sniffed her hand enthusiastically, and panted with glee. Tenn had just finished tossing away his latest batch of broken glass, when he saw the interaction unfolding. The padawan uncharacteristically stepped in, "O-oh, don't worry. He's nice," He said a bit nervously. Between Shep's previous antics getting into the food, and well, literally everything else that unfolded tonight, Tenn was a bit worried about setting someone else off.

"Sorry. I can make him wait outside if you'd prefer," Even as he said that, he got the sense she hadn't quite been irritated by Shep, at least not yet. Still, better safe than sorry.

Giselle Dune​

 

[Giselle Dune]

"Aww, who's a good boy?" Giselle cooed, all but wrapping her arms around the friendly dog as she scratched behind his ears and under his snout with both hands. "Is it you? Yes, you are!"

She thought she had seen this very same dog at the party, getting into the food spread. At any rate, he was being a very good boy now.

"Sorry. I can make him wait outside if you'd prefer."

"I was just concerned about all the glass lying about," she said, finally glancing up at the dog's owner. To her surprise, it was a boy not much older than herself. "He seems disciplined enough, if a bit mischievous. Did you train him yourself?"

Tenn Kalos

 

[Tenn Kalos]

Shep whined happily as Giselle began to shower him in affection, only breaking from his state of bliss when Tenn arrived. The dog looked between them curiously, but stayed in place.

"Oh, yeah, he knows to stay out of it," Tenn scratched his head, and let some of his initial concern fade. He more or less just assumed every aristocrat here would be royal pissed at the Jedi, and by extension, him. Indeed, Shep seemed rather intelligent for a companion animal, especially one trained by a guttersnipe. Not that Giselle quite knew that little detail, "Sure, yeah. I found him on the street and took him in. We've been pals ever since," The dog yipped quietly, as if in agreement, "Likes to get into stuff he's not supposed to sometimes, but yeah. He's a good dog."

He looked between them, and shrugged, "He seems to like you. That's good."

Giselle Dune​

 

[Giselle Dune]

"Well, I'm glad you found each other. What's his name?" Giselle asked, still loving on the dog. He was clearly enjoying the attention.

She looked back up at the boy. His accent gave away that he wasn't Ukatian. A Jedi, then? Or perhaps just another diplomat or foreign aide. Something told her the former was more likely, though he didn't seem to radiate the open hostility so many of the other Jedi had.

"Your dog likes me. What about you?" she asked boldly, eyes agleam with mischief.

Tenn Kalos

 

[Tenn Kalos]

Well, I'm glad you found each other. What's his name?"

"Shep."

"Your dog likes me. What about you?"

Tenn blinked, "W-what?" Either he didn't fully understand the question, or he had no idea how to answer. Possibly both.

Giselle Dune​

 

[Giselle Dune]

"Shep!" She planted a kiss on the dog's silken head.

The boy's confusion made Giselle laugh. "Animals are a good judge of people, are they not?" she asked. "But what do you think of me? Do you agree with Shep? Do you like me?"

Tenn Kalos

 

[Tenn Kalos]

"I-I don't know anything about you."

Giselle Dune ​

 

[Giselle Dune]

Giselle stood up, though her hand still occasionally drifted down to pet Shep's fur. She looked at the boy square in the face.

"You know that I'm Ukatian," she replied, still in that teasing tone. Though now there was a bit of underlying tension revealed. "And a noble. Does that affect your opinion?"

Tenn Kalos

 

[Tenn Kalos]

Tenn took a moment to himself, processing Giselle's question. He looked her up and down, studying the nuances in her words and in her body language. He twisted his lips, "…Usually it does, yeah. I've been wrong about nobles before, though," Giselle's own cousin, Cora, most notably came to mind.

Well, Cora actually confirmed a lot of his stereotypes about rich kids. But— she wasn't a dick. That was the important part. He struggled with what to say out loud when it came to his little character analysis. If he told her that she came across as a bit privileged, would someone step up and throw a glove at him?

"I dunno, you seem alright. I generally trust Shep on these things, so," Tenn rubbed his shoulder, "…Got a name?"

Giselle Dune​

 

[Giselle Dune]

"Oh?" She lofted an eyebrow. "Well, at least you admit it."

He hadn't taken the bait, but Giselle was hardly disappointed with his answer. She had her own prejudices when it came to Jedi, clearly.

"Lady Giselle Dune," she replied. "Corazona is my cousin. And you are?"

Tenn Kalos

 

[Tenn Kalos]

Tenn blinked, unaware of the relation until now, "Oh. Cool," He deadpanned. There was just a second-too-long pause where the padawan forgot to exchange introductions of his own, "…Uh, Tenn Kalos. I'm one of the Jedi," He wrinkled his nose as if anticipating a harsh response. Then again, she probably already knew that. He obviously wasn't one of the other nobles.

Awkwardly, Tenn shifted around on his heels, unable to find anything compelling to talk about, "Sooo… Cool party," Probably not that. Too late.

Giselle Dune​

 

[Giselle Dune]

“I noticed,” Giselle said. “Although you do look rather young for a Jedi Knight. Are you a squire, then?”

"Sooo… Cool party,"

That provoked a sudden burst of laughter from her. She quickly covered her mouth, eyes darting as if afraid someone had heard it. “If you say so,” she giggled. “I’ve been to bloodier Ukatian parties. I was surprised nobody was challenged to a duel in this one. Probably out of consideration for your more pacifistic customs.”

Tenn Kalos

 

[Tenn Kalos]

Tenn raised a brow, "…Squire? No, I'm a padawan."

Even he couldn't help but crack a wry smile when Giselle laughed at his assessment of the party. It had been, for all intents and purposes, a disaster. Although it was her confirmation that duels were an actual aspect of Ukatian culture that received an audible "Pft. I guess. Not sure anyone made an impressive introduction tonight."

Tenn knelt down and scratched Shep behind the ears, "So are you like a… princess or something?"

Giselle Dune​

 

[Giselle Dune]

"Padawans? Is that what you call your squires?" The mirthful glint in her eyes made it clear she was playing with him.

"I suppose combining my cousin's engagement party with such a vital diplomatic alliance wasn't the best approach. But it is common for us to seal treaties with a literal marriage between the two parties." So it was simply a matter of cultural differences not translating well.

She laughed again at his question. "No, I'm only a lady, and likely always will be. My parents own a manor, but our modest little fiefdom isn't enough to attract the attention of royalty."

Tenn Kalos

 

[Tenn Kalos]

"I don't know what a squire is," Tenn shrugged, then noticed the expression on her face and shrugged again in resignation.

"Does everyone on Ukatis have to marry some random person they don't know?" Maybe the Prince wasn't exactly random, but given the surrounding context, and Cora's own body language, it was pretty obvious this whole thing wasn't a desirable affair.

"No, I'm only a lady, and likely always will be,"

"…Okay? I'm a dude. What does being a lady have to do with whether or not you're a princess?" He raised a brow. Cora used that language, too, but Tenn more or less just wrote it all off as nonsensical aristocratic jargon. Guests tonight talked like that the whole time.

Giselle Dune​

 

[Giselle Dune]

"I don't know what a squire is."

"A knight in training, essentially. Like an unpaid intern."

"Does everyone on Ukatis have to marry some random person they don't know?"

"Usually they do know the person they're marrying. But I know what you're getting at." She waved her hand vaguely. "Ukatians marry for more practical reasons than simply finding each other attractive."

"…Okay? I'm a dude. What does being a lady have to do with whether or not you're a princess?"

She giggled again. Couldn't help it. "No, no, I wasn't calling you a lady." The confusion was multi-layered in this particular interaction. "A princess would be the daughter or daughter-in-law of a king and queen. A lady is a female noblewoman. Nobility and royalty are not the same thing."

Tenn Kalos

 

[Tenn Kalos]

"A knight in training, essentially. Like an unpaid intern."

"Oh. Then yes, exactly that."

"Ukatians marry for more practical reasons than simply finding each other attractive."

"Sounds not fun. And so does marrying just because you think someone's hot, for that matter."

"No, no, I wasn't calling you a lady."

"I didn't think you were?"

"A princess would be the daughter or daughter-in-law of a king and queen. A lady is a female noblewoman. Nobility and royalty are not the same thing."

"I guess that makes sense," Tenn blinked a few times and scratched the back of his head, and slowly but noticeable deflated, "I dunno really anything about this stuff, sorry." He didn't like feeling like he was stupid, but sometimes it felt like it was true.

Giselle Dune​

 

[Giselle Dune]

"Sounds not fun. And so does marrying just because you think someone's hot, for that matter."

"How gallant of you!" she declared. "To be fair, love matches are looked on as favorable, though unnecessary. The age of chivalry is all but dead."

"I didn't think you were?"

"Oh. Well then, what did you think I was saying?"

"I dunno really anything about this stuff, sorry."

"I can tell. It's rather adorable." This was shaping up to be an extremely entertaining conversation. "Perhaps it is something you should learn more about, if you want to be a good diplomat."

Tenn Kalos