Private Not In My Job Description

[Tenn Kalos]

"The Jedi are the only reason I can do anything close to that," Tenn furrowed his brow at her, "I may not be able to travel the entire galaxy, but without them I'd still just be some kid on the streets. So, I kinda owe them."

"Not everyone has life served to them on a platter," It appeared as if Giselle had unintentionally struck a nerve with her question. But after a moment he sighed, and seemed to "reset" himself, continuing the dance.

Giselle Dune​

 

[Giselle Dune]

"In exchange for having to follow their teachings and do what they say for the rest of your life?" Giselle asked. She didn't actually know to what extent the Jedi Order enforced their philosophy upon the lives of their members, so it was a genuine question, not just a comeback. "It doesn't sound like true freedom..."

Her eyebrows rose at his jab. "Do you think my life is easy because I happened to be born into a noble family?—"

Tenn Kalos​

 

[Tenn Kalos]

"In exchange for having to follow their teachings and do what they say for the rest of your life?"

"Aaand what exactly is it you do with your life?" Tenn remarked. The noble life seemed to be suffocated by rules, traditions, and expectations. Not that the trade off of wealth and privilege wasn't worth it, from his perspective.

"Do you think my life is easy because I happened to be born into a noble family-"

"Yes." He said flatly, "You don't have to worry about if and when you'll get your next meal. You have a wardrobe of nice clothes that aren't dirty rags and hand-me-downs. You go to sleep with a big fancy roof over your head. You have servants who cater to your whims. Your life is easy."

"The Jedi aren't perfect, but they gave me a chance. Loyalty means something to me. Without it, I'd be dead."

Giselle Dune​

 

[Giselle Dune]

Oh, she'd definitely hit upon something in the young Jedi. Tenn was talking so much now, Giselle could hardly get a word in edgewise. But she didn't mind, biting her lip as she looked into his eyes. "You poor dear," she murmured softly, after he'd spoken his mind.

Though he didn't say as much, it was clear he was talking about himself, painting a portrait of a childhood spent in pitiful squalor. It shed some light on his perspective. Like her, he knew only the life he had lived—the polar opposite of a noble's upbringing, from the sound of it. The Jedi had saved him from poverty.

"I don't know whether I should be insulted, chastened, or feeling sorry for you," she said after a period of silent contemplation. "I feel a little of all three. I think you don't know whether to hate me, envy me, or pity me, either. Am I right?"

Tenn Kalos

 

[Tenn Kalos]

When Giselle finally had the chance to respond, Tenn glanced away, thinning his lips, "I don't need you to feel sorry for me," Pity always seemed to rub salt in the wound.

"I feel a little of all three. I think you don't know whether to hate me, envy me, or pity me, either. Am I right?"

His gaze lolled back to her, unamused, "Why don't you tell me your side of it then? Your life."

Giselle Dune​

 

[Giselle Dune]

"I don't need you to feel sorry for me."

"Oh, you're proud for a Jedi." She smirked. "If I were to I give you a million credits right now, would you refuse it just because of where it came from?"

"Why don't you tell me your side of it then? Your life."

"Why bother? You clearly have me all figured out." They were just mindlessly swaying now. Even the positions had broken down; her hand had somehow moved from his shoulder to his back, and they were standing almost chest to chest, her on tiptoe trying to stand up to him. "I may have a great big house with a fancy roof over my head, but it's empty. I'm alone most of the time with nobody to talk to. I can wander the house as I please, but I can't leave it by myself."

"My future will be decided for me by my parents. I could be married off to someone like the prince, or to a man old enough to be my father. I may have fun with all the pretty dresses and the parties, and I may not have to worry about where I'll get my next meal. But I'm not free." She squeezed his hand. "And that makes all the difference, doesn't it?"

Tenn Kalos

 

[Tenn Kalos]

Tenn scoffed, "Proud, maybe. Not stupid. Of course I'd take it." But that was just it- Real life didn't work like that. There was always a catch, and there certainly wasn't anyone going around dispensing a million credits to poor kids out of the goodness of their hearts.

He listened to Giselle give her side of things, and found a similar underlying feeling. Tenn studied her expression in brooding silence, and after a long pause, shrugged, "Then leave. It's what I did."

Giselle Dune​

 

[Giselle Dune]

"Proud, maybe. Not stupid. Of course I'd take it."

"I'd give it to you if I could," she said. "Alas, I can't throw that much of my parents' money around."

His response to her troubles made her snort. "It's not that simple." She shook her head. "I don't want to leave my family behind. Besides, where would I go? I'd be even more alone than I am now." Sagging glumly, her chin brushed his chest. "You at least got to join the Jedi... or rather, they took you in. You might have said yes, but it doesn't sound like you had much of a choice. I just want to live on my own terms."

Tenn Kalos

 

[Tenn Kalos]

"I'd give it to you if I could," she said. "Alas, I can't throw that much of my parents' money around."

Tenn nodded, finding the response predictable. Real life just didn't work like that.

He then frowned, and stopped dancing entirely, "Of course it's not that simple. And if the system won't change, they you need to decide which side of yourself you're willing to sacrifice for the other," It was cold, maybe, but it was the way things were. There was no perfect solution, "I had friends on the street. I left them to find a better life with the Jedi…" Tenn paused, remembering his past, "…Not all of them were happy about it. Happy for me. And I don't really blame them," That commodity he spoke so highly of. Had he abandoned it in his pursuit for something new? "Loyalty, right?" Tenn scoffed, almost mocking himself, "Like I said. Proud. Not stupid." He needed to get out. Giselle had to figure out if that's what she needed too.

Giselle Dune​

 

[Giselle Dune]

They stopped dancing, though they remained frozen in the waltzing position. Giselle was silent, listening to Tenn. He spoke the truth, and while it might be cold and almost ruthless, it was worth more to her than a warm, comforting lie.

"You didn't leave behind anyone who needed you, did you?" she asked. Did her family need her, or did she need them? She didn't want to leave her mother, the person she loved most. Leaving the nest was inevitable, but surely not yet.

Tenn Kalos

 

[Tenn Kalos]

Tenn thought about it for a moment, and shrugged, "Needed me?… Nah. If anything I was just another mouth to worry about feeding," He smirked in self-derision, but there was an undertone that he was convincing himself of it as much as her. Even still, he did believe, at least to an extent, "But I was also someone else that could keep watch. An extra pair of hands. An extra man in a fight."

"They didn't need me. But I guess at least some of them would've preferred I stick around."

Giselle Dune​

 

[Giselle Dune]

Giselle looked upon Tenn with sympathy, pursing her lips. Her hand moved from his shoulder to his cheek, though she just barely touched him before the sound of someone clearing their throat interrupted the moment.

Her mother stood in the doorway, looking bemused. Giselle immediately stepped away from Tenn, though she was back to smirking mischievously. "Hello, Mother. I was just plotting to follow in Corazona's footsteps and elope with another Jedi, as you can see."

"As I can see," Amanoa echoed, cracking a small smile.

"But he doesn't know how to dance, so he's entirely unsuitable as a suitor. I could never love a man who can't even do a two-step properly."

"Yes, well, your father and I are finished here. We're leaving now." She glanced at Tenn knowingly. "I hope she didn't cause you too much trouble, sir."

Tenn Kalos

 

[Tenn Kalos]

Tenn blinked, unsure of how to react when her hand touched his cheek. But the hesitation was short-lived, as it was then entirely replaced by surprise when a voice registered behind them. He spun around, looking like a startled cat, "Uh-" He tried to deny her claim, even though it was just a joke to begin with. Not that Tenn could get much of a word in anyway.

He sighed, letting some his nerves drop and resigning to his inability to hide the redness in his face, "N-no… ma'am," He had to remind himself of proper address, "I should… probably be going as well," Tenn glanced back at Giselle, "Have a nice night," He told them both, before slinking back to the main hall. Shep popped up from his rest, and stretched, before bounding off after his master.

Giselle Dune​