Private Quiet Hours

[Everest Vale]

Outfit: Robes
Equipment: Lightsaber, Bracelet, Earrings, Seer Stone, Wayfinder's Flare, Engagement Ring
Companion: Isari
Tag: Ala Quin

[Following on from this]


"Almost nine hundred?"

Eve's voice was quiet, not from shock, but from that particular kind of reverence reserved for things older than she could truly comprehend. She didn't blink in disbelief, just tilted her head slightly, silver hair catching the low light. Her hand stilled on Isari's head for a breath, then resumed its slow, absent motion.

"That's… a long distance," she murmured, glancing at Ala with a faint smile. "Though I should've guessed. You've got that same sort of presence as…"

Her words drifted, but the thought hung clearly between them. Tigris, her love, was from a similar time, as was Azzie. A time she could rarely fathom. Between them both, and Valery, and now Ala, sometimes she felt like the odd one out.

"Well," Eve said slowly, her lips curling into a small grin. "You look very good for your age."

The humour was light, affectionate, but underneath it was a flicker of something deeper: respect, wonder, and the reminder of how little she truly understood about the galaxy's vastness.

A single candle still flickered on the table, casting long shadows across the floor. Eve let the quiet settle between them again, her gaze following the play of light.

 

[Ala Quin]

"I'm not that old!" Ala practically squealed.

Her caf almost spilled from her cup. "Whoa...hey now...no sploshin'."

She had lost track of the time, and didn't care to look at the clock. "Long story...but this...body...is only like...29 years old? I think? I am a bit older than that...but its a long and pretty ick story, so let's not go down that rabbit hole."

Through clenched teeth, Ala let out a puff of air that was meant to blow away all those thoughts. She didn't need to ruin a lighthearted moment with a new friend by trauma dumping. She instead gave way to blushing, while pushing an errant curl from before her eyes.

"So. Tell me about this little one," Ala said with a gesture towards the curled up Isari, "how did you meet? I sense...a special bond between you two."

| Everest Vale |​

 

[Everest Vale]

Outfit: Robes
Equipment: Lightsaber, Bracelet, Earrings, Seer Stone, Wayfinder's Flare, Engagement Ring
Companion: Isari
Tag: Ala Quin

Eve grinned at Ala’s reaction, unable to help the quiet laugh that slipped out. She watched as Ala nearly spilled her caf, then puffed out the memories like candle smoke. There was something unspoken behind it, something Eve recognised. She didn’t press. Just gave a small, understanding nod, and let the moment pass.

Her eyes drifted down to the small, curled shape beside her. Isari was deep in sleep now, tail wrapped neatly over her nose, rising and falling with each soft breath. She let her finger gently stroke her head.

"We met on Eshan," Eve said quietly. "About a year ago."

She spoke without thinking too much, just letting the memory flow, the way it always did when she thought of that trip.

"I was visiting home with Valery. First time since joining the Order. It was… emotional. And grounding. One day there, I went to the old hot springs I used to hike to. And there she was, watching me from the trees."

A faint smile touched her lips.

"The next night, I saw her again, outside my mother’s home. Just standing there like she’d owned the land. I could feel her through the Force. Strongly. Not just presence... but... intention, and curiosity. I don't know if that makes sense."

She paused, hand absently moving to rest near Isari’s flank. The silver fox didn’t stir.

"And then, when we really connected… I heard the name Isari in my mind. Not spoken, but… just sort of placed there. Like it had always been hers. When I left Eshan, she followed me, all the way to the starport. Through the towns and across distance I didn’t think she’d cross. It wasn’t a mistake. She... chose me."

Her voice softened further.

"And the moment she looked at me… it was like we’d always known each other. Like something in the Force snapped into place. I’ve read about Force bonds. I have one with my fiancé as well, so I understand how it works. And with Isari… it was the same. Natural. Immediate. Powerful."

Eve glanced back at Ala.

"She’s always aware of me. And I of her. Even when we’re apart."

Just like Tigris. She knew, across the stars right now in their apartment on Tython, her love was soundly asleep. She smiled softly to herself at the subtly feeling in her heart.

 

[Ala Quin]

Ala listened in stillness, her caf forgotten in her hands. Her gaze drifted between Everest and the curled figure of Isari, and for a time, she said nothing at all. She just let the quiet between them bloom like a flower opening to dusk.

"You don't need to explain it," she said softly at last, her voice lower now, more grounded. "I’ve felt something like that before... that moment when the Force stops feeling like a current around you, and instead becomes a thread inside you. A bond that doesn't ask questions. It just is."

Her smile was both gentle and wistful.

"And sometimes it finds us when we least expect it. In a quiet grove. In a shadowed corner of the past. In the eyes of someone who simply chooses us, even before we understand what that means."

Ala glanced toward Isari, her expression softening further.

"You were meant to find one another. The Force... it knows things we haven't yet remembered."

She let that settle. Her eyes sparkled with mischief. "I wish the Force would lead me to magical looking fox companions...I just stub my toe on tree roots instead..."

She grinned, nudging the mood back toward warmth again, but not entirely letting go of the quiet meaning they’d shared.

"...I guess the Force led me to Isla...and...Lorn...took its time too..."

| Everest Vale |​

 

[Everest Vale]

Outfit: Robes
Equipment: Lightsaber, Bracelet, Earrings, Seer Stone, Wayfinder's Flare, Engagement Ring
Companion: Isari
Tag: Ala Quin

Eve remained quiet for a while. She just let Ala’s words settle in her chest, warm and steady. The Force doesn’t ask questions… it just is.

Her gaze drifted down to Isari, who was still curled up in perfect contentment, tail wrapped tight. Then to the ring on her hand, the faint weight of it grounding her in another bond, different but no less certain. Tigris and Isari. Always there. Always present in her heart. A soft, almost shy smile tugged at her lips.

Then Ala’s joke landed, and Eve’s shoulders relaxed as she giggled.

When Ala mentioned Isla and Lorn, however, Eve’s silver eye lit up with curiosity. She shifted on the sofa, turning so she could sit on her knees and pull one of the cushions into her arms, hugging it as if it were a secret shared between friends.

"Tell me more about them?" she asked, earnest and eager, her voice carrying that mix of excitement and quiet trust that came so naturally to her.

Isari twitched an ear in her sleep as if listening too.

 

[Ala Quin]

Ala blushed deeply. For one so forward in her manner, it was a stark contrast.

There were several aborted attempts to say something, but each time Ala closed her mouth and looked away thoughtfully. How was one supposed to put things like this into words?

"Imagine. You...have only recently discovered what it was that you truly longed for..."

She sipped her drink. The steam irritated her nose, which immediately twitched like a squirrel.

"...and then you turned around and it was all right there waiting for you."

Her eyes grew misty, not for the first time.

"Family. That is the word that describes them. Family...it is all I have ever wanted, but only recently understood it. Maybe it is because I am getting older...time is ticking by...and I won't live for ever!"

She gritted her teeth as if there was a story to tell, but she avoided delving into it.

"Isla is Lorn's daughter," she said, clearly moving on from a subject that could bring the mood down, "she has been through so much...but has such a depth of wisdom and understanding. She truly is...a light. And Lorn...well...what can I say..."

She bit her lip, trying not to blurt out all the superlatives she knew.

"...tall...strong...dedicated...such a damned good kisser...not the greatest listener...but I probably talk too much...but his heart is so pure...and his need to carry every weight on his shoulders so intense...it is hard not to love someone like that. It is easy for me to love him."

| Everest Vale |​

 

[Everest Vale]

Outfit: Robes
Equipment: Lightsaber, Bracelet, Earrings, Seer Stone, Wayfinder's Flare, Engagement Ring
Companion: Isari
Tag: Ala Quin

Eve felt her eye sting as she listened, though no tears fell. The way Ala spoke — unapologetically, brimming with affection — was so beautiful it made her chest ache. It wasn’t just the words, it was the way her voice softened, the way every syllable was steeped in love.

She couldn’t stop smiling. Her cheeks hurt from it, but she didn’t care. With a slow, contented sigh, she let the warmth of Ala’s words wash over her like sunlight.

"I completely understand," she said at last, voice quiet but sure. "That’s exactly how I feel with Tigris. It's... so easy to love her. And… she loves me in a way that makes me feel more seen and validated than anything. I always feel like the luckiest girl in the galaxy."

For a moment she fell silent, her gaze going unfocused as she leaned into the familiar hum of her bond. The distance between Naboo and Tython meant nothing. The connection was still there, steady as a heartbeat. She could feel Tigris Aphra sleeping, sense the rhythm of her breath through the Force, slow and even. The intimacy of it made her smile widen and her cheeks warm until they bloomed pink.

She bit her lip faintly, pulling herself back to the candlelit quiet of Ala’s chambers.

"I’m glad you have something like that too," she said earnestly. "Not everyone gets to. With the galaxy... the way that it is... I think it's important, you know?"

 

[Ala Quin]

Ala smiled.

"Dear. Sweet, Eve. The one thing I know from spanning the centuries in this little thing called life...is that the galaxy is always the way it is."

Ala's hand extended, taking her friends. She squeezed just slightly, giving her a look of understanding.

"We are not unique in our suffering. Nor are we unique in our joys. But what we are...is able to choose. I am so glad you chose to love."

She held Everest's hand, while finishing it off her tea. The cup was set aside with a delicate clink on her saucer. Her other hand reached forward to pat the top of Everest's hand, the one safely nestled in Ala's grasp.

"Come on. Its already two in the morning. We really should sleep. And tomorrow. I will introduce you to that bakery in the Theed community market...their berry pastries are positively sinful."

Her legs uncurled from underneath her. And she leaned back, removing her hands from Everest's touch, and nabbed a comfortable blanket.

"You can have the sofa if you want...I haven't...done laundry for a few days...you probably don't want the bed."

| Everest Vale |​

 

[Everest Vale]

Outfit: Robes
Equipment: Lightsaber, Bracelet, Earrings, Seer Stone, Wayfinder's Flare, Engagement Ring
Companion: Isari
Tag: Ala Quin

Eve gave a soft, breathy laugh, the kind that came more from warmth than amusement.

"That sounds lovely."

She let Ala's hands linger a moment longer before allowing them to slip away, the warmth of that quiet affirmation still cradled in her chest. Her silver eye shimmered in the low light, tired now, but no longer weighed down.

"I think I needed to hear that," she admitted softly. "Thank you... And thank you for letting me stay, and just for all your kindness."

As Ala reached for the blanket, Eve leaned back into the cushions with a content sigh, pulling her own borrowed throw around her shoulders.

"Sofa is totally fine," she said with a small grin.

She nestled in, letting the stillness settle again between them. Outside, the night pressed gently at the windows, peaceful and dark.

"Goodnight, Ala."