Private One Afternoon on Naboo

[Ra'a'mah]

The lunch crowd had already thinned by the time Ra'a'mah finally admitted that caf was not an adequate substitute for food. Her morning business in Theed had lasted longer than expected, stretching well beyond the appointment she'd originally set aside for it, and she'd emerged into the early afternoon with several agreements settled, two more matters requiring attention later in the week, and absolutely no desire to look at another contract until tomorrow. Fortunately, one advantage of conducting business close to home was that she knew precisely where to go afterward.

The restaurant sat along the edge of one of the city's open markets, its tables spilling beyond the covered portion of the establishment into the pleasant Naboo afternoon. Ra had claimed one outside, setting her datapad beside her rather than leaving it in her bag, although the darkened screen suggested she'd lost interest in whatever remained on it. Her clothing suited the meetings she'd attended that morning: tailored dark trousers, a fitted blouse beneath a well-cut jacket, and practical shoes chosen by someone who had learned long ago that expensive didn't necessarily have to mean uncomfortable. Nothing about her attire announced the Baroness she technically was, and certainly nothing suggested the considerably stranger occupations scattered throughout her past. Today, she looked exactly like what she had become over the years. A successful businesswoman enjoying a late meal after a long morning.

Her choice of food wasn't particularly sophisticated either. Eggs, toast, and caf had sounded considerably more appealing than the remnants of the lunch menu, and Ra saw little reason to let the hour dictate what she was allowed to eat. She broke a corner from one piece of toast and used it to catch some of the yolk before taking a bite, her attention wandering toward the market beyond her table. The worst of the midday congestion had passed, but the walkways remained comfortably busy. Merchants tended their stalls while shoppers drifted between them, some with obvious purpose and others apparently content to see what caught their attention. Snatches of conversation occasionally carried toward the restaurant before disappearing again beneath the ordinary murmur of the city.

Ra watched without particularly meaning to. People were interesting, and old habits had long since blurred into the ordinary. She noticed faces, movement, changes in the rhythm around her, but there was no tension behind the observation and no expectation that anything required her attention. Naboo was home. For once, there was no crisis waiting at the end of the afternoon, no Protectorate meeting she needed to hurry toward, and no shipment threatening to become her personal problem because somebody had misplaced three digits on a customs declaration.

She took another drink of caf and glanced toward the neglected datapad beside her. "No," Ra murmured to it with quiet finality before reaching for another piece of toast instead.

Whatever remained on her schedule could wait until she'd finished eating.

Cassian Abrantes

 

[Cassian Abrantes]

Ra'a'mah ​

It was a normal day on Naboo, a normal day for Theed. Families were out and about, enjoying the comfort of each other's presence. He looked over the menu once, then twice, and then a few more times before he settled on the fact that he wasn't very hungry at this moment. He raised his hand, getting the attention of the server that was fixing to pass him. "Can I get a cup of caf, please?"

"Sure thing, sweetie!" Young, vibrant, happy. She seemed to have the best outlook on life right now. That was something to definitely want to achieve.

The Exile nodded his head, the faintest of smiles crossed his face, before he pushed the menu away from him. Other than what he saw as he looked up earlier, he didn't see or say much. He stared at the table for a moment. He was told to get out and be among people, that would help ease things up for him.

He would see if it worked.

 

[Ra'a'mah]

Ra'a'mah's eggs were disappearing steadily and the toast somewhat faster, while the caf had reached that unfortunate point where she had to decide whether another cup was a good idea. Experience suggested it wasn't. Experience had also been ignored often enough that she lifted a hand when the server passed nearby.

"Another caf, please."

Apparently, that settled the matter.

The restaurant had remained pleasantly quiet since the lunch crowd departed, which was part of the reason Ra hadn't felt any particular urgency to leave once she'd finished eating. That changed when the doors of a nearby theater opened, releasing the audience from an afternoon matinee into the surrounding market. The difference wasn't immediate, but within several minutes, the walkways had filled noticeably. Families and couples spilled among the stalls, conversations overlapping as some continued onward while others began looking for somewhere to sit, drink, or eat before continuing with their afternoon.

Ra watched the sudden change with mild amusement as her fresh caf arrived. "Excellent timing," she murmured, thanking the server before drawing the cup toward herself. The empty chairs at her table hadn't mattered when half the restaurant was vacant. Now, with newcomers beginning to claim the available tables, the datapad she'd abandoned beside her seemed unnecessarily territorial. Ra picked it up, slipped it into her bag, and left the remaining places open rather than pretending she required an entire table to herself.

She settled back with her caf, perfectly content to remain where she was while the temporary rush sorted itself out around her. If someone eventually needed one of the empty chairs, they were welcome to it. Until then, Ra had caf to finish, and nowhere she particularly needed to be.

Cassian Abrantes

 

[Cassian Abrantes]

Ra'a'mah ​

Cassian glanced up when he noted his drink brought to him, which clearly wasn't his. The Exile made no fuss whatosever, but with a just a smiple explanation and it seemed that it happened the same as to a woman sitting to the table on his right. "I think she might have my drink." Cassian voiced, as he stood up, taking the drink to her table. He waved of the server, as it wasn't a big deal at all, no worries over something so small and trivial.

"Milady, it appears you have my drink, and I have yours." Cassian voiced, with the smallest, barely noticeable smiles. He placed her drink on the table. "I think they got things mixed up."

 

[Ra'a'mah]

Ra glanced down at the cup in front of her and then toward the one Cassian carried, realization settling easily across her features. He was right. Amid the sudden influx of customers, the server had simply switched the two orders. It was hardly worth troubling them over when the solution had already presented itself.

"It appears you're right." Ra offered him a friendly smile as she exchanged the misplaced cup for her own. "Thank you for bringing it over."

She lifted the caf for a sip before the formality of his greeting brought her attention back to him. "And Ra is perfectly fine," she added warmly. "Ra'a'mah Numare, if we're going to be properly introduced."

Her gaze briefly moved beyond him toward the restaurant, where the previously quiet collection of tables had filled considerably since the theater emptied into the market. The chair across from her remained vacant, as did the one beside it, and there was little reason for her to occupy them when seating had suddenly become harder to come by. Ra gestured lightly toward the nearest one. "You're welcome to join me if you'd like. It seems we've both chosen an interesting time to occupy a table alone."

Cassian Abrantes

 

[Cassian Abrantes]

Ra'a'mah ​

"It appears you're right." Ra offered him a friendly smile as she exchanged the misplaced cup for her own. "Thank you for bringing it over."

She lifted the caf for a sip before the formality of his greeting brought her attention back to him. "And Ra is perfectly fine," she added warmly. "Ra'a'mah Numare, if we're going to be properly introduced."

"It's no trouble. and Ra, Ra'a'mah, its a honor to meet you. My name is Cassian Abrantes." Cassian voiced, his hand extending out to her. Despite what he had been through, as politeness greeted him from others. It was the honor within him compelling him to return the favor. No matter how much he wanted to be alone.

"You're welcome to join me if you'd like. It seems we've both chosen an interesting time to occupy a table alone."

"I think I would enjoy that." Cassian turned to gether what he could at his table, which wasn't anything. But he tucked the chair back under the table and straightened things out before joining her at hers.

"What, brings you to Naboo, if you don't mind me asking."

 

[Ra'a'mah]

"Likewise, Cassian. It's a pleasure to meet you." Ra accepted his offered hand with a friendly smile and a firm but comfortable shake, then released it. She watched him return to his table long enough to straighten the chair he'd barely used, an unnecessary little courtesy perhaps, but one she appreciated nonetheless. By the time he joined her, she had settled comfortably back into her own seat with her caf.

His question brought a touch of amusement to her expression. "Naboo itself? Home, actually. My husband and I have lived here for more than twenty years." There had been a time when Ra would have found the idea of remaining anywhere for that long difficult to imagine. Somewhere along the way, Naboo had simply stopped being one of the many worlds she traveled through and become the place she returned to when the traveling was finished. "Theed today was business, though. A few meetings ran longer than expected, so I decided a late meal was preferable to pretending I wasn't hungry until I got home."

She took another sip of her caf, her attention remaining comfortably on the man across from her. There was no reason to turn an accidental meeting over mixed-up drinks into anything more complicated than it was. "What about you? Business as well, or did you have the good sense to come into Theed for something more enjoyable?"

Cassian Abrantes