Private Open Air

[Meri Vale]

The gardens of Theed Academy had become familiar to Meri in a quiet, earned way. Not memorized, not exhausted of wonder, but known well enough that she could feel when a corner of them was different depending on the hour. The light shifted here in the afternoons, filtering through flowering trees and casting soft patterns across the stone walkways and the slow-moving water below.

She paused near one of the older terraces, datapad tucked under her arm, stylus balanced between her fingers as she studied how the architecture curved toward the greenery rather than away from it. Naboo did that often. Built with the land, not over it. It still caught her attention every time.

Meri had just begun sketching when she became aware she wasn't alone.

Not startled, just aware.

She glanced up to find another figure nearby, someone she didn't recognize but who seemed just as at ease in the space as she was. That alone was enough to make her curious. She hesitated only a heartbeat before offering a small, polite smile, the kind that acknowledged shared space without demanding it.

"Hi," she said softly, voice gentle and unassuming. "Sorry, I didn't mean to block the path."

She shifted half a step to the side out of habit, then lifted her datapad slightly, an unspoken explanation. "I'm Meri. I've been here a few months now, but I still stop every time the gardens look…different."

Her gaze flicked briefly back to the trees and stone before returning, curiosity peeking through her reserve.

"It's easier to think out here," she added after a moment. "Do you come this way often?"

Zaytee

 

[Zaytee]

The young Kiir let out a quiet, but deep sigh, filling her lungs with the fresh air to clear her mind from the countless thoughts, her eyes following along as her fingers traced along the old, yellowed paper, following small lines on it like they could tell her the answers she was seeking in the last weeks. She's been travelling for at least four months already, hitchiking from one planet to another with ships, gathering friends and enemies along the way... But she still didn't know what she was looking for this badly.

This rarely visited little corner where she currently found a place to hide was something that helped her calm the confusion and nervousness inside her, letting her feel the soil and rocks under her feet, the trees above her head, and for a moment, letting her forget the dark clouds that returned again and again into her thoughts' periphere... But it was really just a small, almost fading moment compared to the usual mood she was in.

Her tail flicked impatiently as her gaze stopped at a smudged little spot on the paper, a place she was not ready to return yet... Then as the voice of someone came from fairly close, she crumpled up the paper quickly, looking up toward the newcomer with a bit of hesitation before her mind finally returned to its normal rythm, and a wide smile appeared on her face, forcefully pushing down the negative thoughts.

"Oh, I think I saw you before!" Zaytee jumped up from her place, tail wagging behind while she made a small circle around the girl, leaning close for a moment to take a sniff, then realising that it was probably a rude gesture, she took a step back. "Uhm... Hi, I'm Zaytee! I'm just..." She took a short glance toward the paper in her hands, hiding it under her shirt within a moment. "I'm just came here to think. But really, I think I saw you before... Hmmm... Oh, weren't you here last week too? The one that almost fell in the pond?"

Meri Vale

 

[Meri Vale]

Meri startled just a little at the sudden movement, more from the burst of energy than from fear, and instinctively shifted her weight back a half step before catching herself. The reaction passed quickly, replaced by a small, sheepish smile as she took in the girl circling her.

She nodded once, then again, a little more firmly.

"Yeah," she said softly, a hint of amusement creeping into her voice. "That was me."

Her gaze flicked briefly toward the pond, as if reassessing the distance and the stones along its edge, then returned to Zaytee.

"I was distracted," Meri admitted. "And the ground there looks more solid than it actually is. I figured it out just in time." A beat. "Mostly."

She shifted her satchel higher on her shoulder, grounding herself in the familiar weight, then relaxed a little as Zaytee stepped back.

"I come out here a lot," Meri added. "It's quieter than most places. Easier to think." Her eyes lingered for a moment on Zaytee's tail, not staring, just curious, before returning to her face.

She tilted her head slightly, mirroring the other girl's openness.

"So…this is your thinking spot too?"

Zaytee

 

[Zaytee]

"Its alright, I experienced the same slippery edge from firsthand too." Zaytee chuckled lightly, remembering her not very ladylike reaction to falling in the icecold water after she tried fishing out some small fishes from the edge, but to the girl's next question, she started scratching the back of her head, tail twitching sideways with a strong swish, while she tried to hide her embarrassment.

"W-well..." She stuttered, face turning red for a short second. "Yes, you can say like this. Thinking, sleeping, eating spot... Basicly everything."

The young Kiir tried to keep the conversation lighthearted, looking toward the datapad in the other's hands curiously.

"Oh, are you working on something particular?" She leaned closer, head tilting slightly. "Not like I could help a lot with anything that is more difficult than connecting a few cables in a fusebox... But you can never know."

Meri Vale

 

[Meri Vale]

Meri shook her head quickly at that, a small, almost embarrassed smile tugging at her mouth as she adjusted the datapad in her hands.

"Oh—no," she said softly, warmth creeping into her voice as if to soften the admission. "I'm really not very good with the practical side of things. Cables and fuseboxes and all of that." She gave a tiny shrug. "I tend to make things worse when I try."

She hesitated for a heartbeat, then turned the datapad so Zaytee could see, steadying it with her fingers at the edges. The screen showed careful linework: stone steps worn smooth by time, the curve of old Naboo arches half-hidden by moss, the way light pooled at the edge of water beneath overhanging branches.

"I'm just…observing," Meri continued, a little more confident now. "And drawing what I see. Places feel different once you really look at them, and I like remembering how they were meant to be walked through."

She glanced up at Zaytee, a hint of shyness returning, but her eyes were bright.

"It helps me think," she added. "And notice things I might otherwise miss."

Zaytee

 

[Zaytee]

Leaning close to take a better look, the Kiir's eyes went wide after a second, looking at the drawing with enthusiasm before without thinking, she grabbed it out of the girl's hold, almost completely pushing her face against the datapad to see it as close as possible. Her gaze followed along the dark spots of shadows, the cracks and imperfections of stone, and her eyes only grew wider with amazement from all the different greens in the picture.

"Whoa..." She stared for a minute before handing the datapad back, smiling widely. "You are very talented! I wish i could draw things like this.... It would help a lot to remember everything new I come across."

Her tail swayed back and forth slowly, relaxed, but still attentive at her environment, not hitting against any of the stonepillars and bigger rock formations around.

"Do you want to join me for a walk? I talk better while moving... Sitting is one place for too long makes me nervous." Zaytee chuckled with embarrassment, her tail making a bigger flick around.

Meri Vale

 

[Meri Vale]

Meri startled at first when the datapad was taken from her hands, a quick intake of breath catching in her chest, but she didn't reach for it or pull away. Instead, she watched Zaytee's reaction, the wide eyes, the absorbed stillness, and the way her attention traced every detail with genuine interest. The tension in Meri's shoulders eased almost immediately.

"That's…okay," Meri said softly, when Zaytee finally spoke, a small, shy smile tugging at her mouth. "You can look as long as you want. I don't mind."

She tucked her hands together in front of her, fingers lacing and unlacing in a quiet, habitual motion.

"I'm not really talented," she added, a little embarrassed. "I just…spend a lot of time looking. Drawing helps me remember where things were, how they felt. It's easier than trusting my memory alone."

At the offer, Meri nodded without hesitation, relief flickering across her expression.

"Yes," she said simply. "I'd like that. I think better when I'm moving too."

She shifted her weight, already turning to walk alongside Zaytee, glancing once more at the datapad still in her hands.

"And you can keep holding it," Meri added gently. "If you notice something I missed, I'd like to hear about it."

With that, she fell into step beside her, pace unhurried, comfortable with the shared motion as the stone paths stretched out ahead of them.

 

[Zaytee]

Holding the datapad tightly in her hands, the young Kiir kept looking at their environment, then back at the drawings, shifting her gaze again and again while trying to keep her steps steady by moving her tail to the sides with a little bit more force to hold her balance on the unsteady rocks and slippery, time smoothed stone stairs across the garden.

"You silly, these look perfect." She muttered quietly, stopping for a moment to look at a picture for a bit longer, head tilting so far to the side that even her neck cracked in the process. "Hmm... How old are these buildings anyway? They look old, but I don't know anything else..."

She looked up from the screen, taking a deep breath while her feet dug into the soil below, trying to connect with the plants around them.

The trees, the bushes, even the vines that covered the old walls from top to bottom, and the small, blue and yellow flowers that bloomed in the tiniest cracks were all used to this place for so many generations, their roots going a thousand way underneath the surface, wrapping around each other, exchanging information and sustenance between each other like a close knit neighborhood... or like a tribe of Kiir.

"...And the plants are too busy to tell anything. Oh, hold it for a sec!" Zaytee handed back the small tablet, running down back to the lake with a few steps, then by cupping her hands together, she ran back with water in her palms, pouring it onto a light purple flower, repeating this a couple of times. "Here ya go little one, the gardener neglected your needs in the last days... Grow tall, and make many seeds."

Meri Vale

 

[Meri Vale]

Meri barely had time to react before the datapad was back in her hands again, and instead of pulling it away, she simply adjusted her grip and watched Zaytee with an expression caught somewhere between fond amusement and quiet awe.

She smiled, really smiled this time, the kind that softened her whole face.

"I don't think they're perfect," she said gently, glancing back down at the drawings before lifting her eyes again. "But I think they're honest. That's usually enough for me."

She took a few careful steps forward as Zaytee moved, matching her pace and letting herself be carried along by the other girl's energy rather than resisting it. When Zaytee asked about the buildings, Meri paused, eyes lifting toward the vine-covered stone walls.

"Very old," she answered after a moment, thoughtful. "Older than the city around them, at least. They were probably foundations first… then repurposed, built over, lived in, and forgotten a few times." Her gaze traced the lines where stone met root. "Places like this don't really have one age. They keep becoming something else."

She watched quietly as Zaytee hurried off with the water, kneeling to help the small flower. Meri crouched nearby without thinking, close enough to see the droplets darken the soil, the petals trembling slightly as they drank.

"That was kind of you," Meri said softly. "I like that you noticed."

She glanced up at Zaytee then, eyes warm, clearly enjoying the moment.

"You move as if you belong out here," she added, a note of admiration in her voice. "I think the garden knows it."

Zaytee