Private Rebuilding

[Cassian Abrantes]

Cassian glanced down at her as they walked, the hint of a smile ghosting across his face. He was surprised that their conversations were settling into such an easy rhythm, but here it was, unfolding without any of the usual guardedness he carried into new encounters. She read him well enough to notice what he left unsaid, and yet she didn't press. He found it surprising and refreshing.

"The science section, then," he echoed softly. "Practical, thoughtful. Not everyone would choose that first." His tone carried a trace of amusement, but not in mockery. More that he was impressed.

At her question, he let the silence linger just long enough for her to sense he was considering it, not dismissing it. "If it were up to me... I'd start with what people walk past the most. The things no one bothers to look at twice. That's usually where the truth hides, in the shadows of what's considered unimportant."

His hand flexed slightly against his arm where hers rested, almost as though he was resisting the urge to cover it with his own. "But since we've agreed history is written by the victors, maybe it's better we start with science. At least numbers don't lie. Or not as easily, anyway."

Cassian tilted his head, finally letting that faint smile show again. "Come on then, Aren. Let's see if their facts hold up to the stories they tell."

Aren D'Shade

 

[Aren D'Shade]

"I must follow my interest, I guess. History is something that is needed...yes, but it might not be true. As you said, numbers don't lie. Science section, not fiction."

Making a play on the way the words sounded, she gave him a humorous smile and appreciated his tone. He didn't make fun of her choice and seemed to be impressed. After he considered how to answer her question, he provided it to her.

"This is my first time here, so I'd like to look at as much as possible and then come back and look at it all again. I'm not one to overlook something on purpose. Everything is important. Especially the things hidden in the shadows."

When he did his flex, she looked down at his arm and hand. While they had walked outside, he had not accepted her offer, and she respected that. Once again, she would do that and allow him to move at his own pace. Such was how things worked, and Aren wasn't going to hurry what she felt was starting to happen.

"Mistakes can happen in science, but those aren't lies. Lead the way, Cassian."

Motioning for that to happen with her other hand, she kept her other firmly ensconced on his. She wasn't about to let go unless she had to.

Cassian Abrantes

 

[Cassian Abrantes]

Cassian caught the humor in her wordplay, the curve of his mouth deepening into something more genuine this time. "Not fiction," he repeated, giving the phrase weight as though testing it. "That's a fair way to put it."

Her next words struck closer to the heart of who he was than she could possibly know. The notion of not overlooking anything, of considering even the forgotten corners as significant, resonated with the instincts that had kept him alive through more than a few difficult years. He gave a small, approving nod. "Everything is important," he agreed quietly. "Even what seems ordinary. Especially that."


When she motioned for him to lead, his gaze lingered for the briefest moment on her hand still resting on his arm. It was steady, unyielding in its intent, and he realized he didn't mind the weight of it, didn't want her to let go. He gave the faintest squeeze of his arm beneath her hand, a subtle acknowledgment before guiding her forward.


The museum's entrance to the science wing was marked by towering glass displays, light reflecting off the panels to cast shifting patterns across the polished floor. Rows of exhibits stretched ahead a holographic projections of star maps, preserved samples of flora from distant worlds, even a model starship engine suspended in a slow, rotating spin.

Cassian slowed his pace just enough for her to take it all in, his voice low but steady. "Numbers don't lie, as you said. But it's people who record them. And people… well, they always have an angle." He glanced sidelong at her, a flicker of wry amusement in his expression. "Still, I'll admit this is impressive."

He guided her closer to the holographic star map, its swirling constellations shifting with a soft hum. "Tell me, Aren," he asked after a pause, "When you look at all this…do you see order? Or do you see chaos?"

Aren D'Shade

 

[Aren D'Shade]

"I'm sure the recorded history is reasonably accurate from the point of view of the victors. So as I see things, I have to keep that in mind. We're only seeing one side of the story. So it's not entirely fiction, but it isn't the whole truth."

His slight nod meant quite a bit to her, and she smiled at him. Similar to his genuine smile, this one made her eyes crinkle a little at the corners, but she kept her mouth closed.

"Ah, seeming ordinary is sometimes just a front covering something extraordinary."

Her eyes looked at him directly as she said that last word. A hint was given, but it wasn't spoken out loud. Maybe he would catch it, and Aren thought he might. He was not a stupid man, and that intelligence was something she noticed very early on. Something she appreciated more than she let on—part of his charm and why she was here.

Keeping a smile more to herself for the moment, she allowed him to take the lead. This was his home and a museum he was familiar with. The movement of the muscles under her hand was felt, and she pushed her fingers into him just enough for him to feel it as well, and let her hand relax again.

"What kind of angle?"

Shifting slightly, she was able to glance at him as they passed some of the displayed items on the way to the science portion. The model engine was interesting, but that wasn't what held her attention. That would be Cassian.

"Both. There is order among the stars and chaos among the planets."

Choosing to stand as close to him as he would allow, she enjoyed the heat from his body and the glowing lights of the map in front of them.

"What about you, Cassian?"

She had the feeling his answer might be similar to hers, and he had probably seen a lot more than she had.

Cassian Abrantes

 

[Cassian Abrantes]

Cassian tilted his head, eyes catching the pale light of the star map as though he were weighing her words. For a moment, she wondered if he would keep his answer guarded, but then his voice came low, thoughtful.


"Order is fragile. People cling to it because chaos frightens them. But I've found both can be... necessary. Too much order, and you lose freedom. Too much chaos, and you lose everything else."

"What kind of angle?"

"It depends really, on the person." He knew everyone was different, some could be persuaded to change things and history as they saw it, altering things.

He glanced sideways at her, the corner of his mouth curving as if to soften the weight of his words.

"As for me? I suppose I've lived long enough and seen enough in both to know the difference. And maybe that's why I can appreciate what's right here."

His eyes lingered on her just a moment too long before shifting back to the stars. Cassian's gaze was upon the shifting lights of the map, though it was clear his attention had drifted far beyond the holographic stars. His jaw tightened, as if he was reliving moments in his life as he looked across the star charts.

"At some point I did have to find my own balance though. So I look at the stars, and I see both, the order that binds them together, and the chaos that keeps them alive. Maybe that's why I can't look away."

Aren D'Shade

 

[Aren D'Shade]

"Both are necessary. You make a point I hadn't thought of. I never thought that there could be too much order, but you are right. Empires stifle the freedoms of their people often enough. So thank you for opening my eyes to that."

When she had been with the Sith, she had been able to follow her desires freely and her wants. She hadn't given the general population a second thought, though. Had they suffered because of her choices? She didn't think so but that didn't mean that wasn't the case.

Closing her mouth tightly, she didn't want to admit too much so soon. Some of the things she had done might make him hate her at worst, and she did not want that to happen. Her truth would need to be told at some point, but it wasn't tonight. Their gaze met and held for a few moments, and each of them looked away at the same time. Each of the keeping something from the other but getting closer to revealing what secrets they held.

"I sometimes think I still need to find mine."

Looking at the wall for a second, she returned her eyes to the map, and she saw him dwell on his memories out of the corner of her eye.

"You sound very accepting of both the chaos and the order. I like that and you."

Was it too soon for her to have said that? Chewing on her lip, she wondered but she had admitted it and it was too late to thake the words back.

Cassian Abrantes

 

[Cassian Abrantes]

Cassian's head tilted slightly at her words, as though he wasn't sure he'd heard her right. A faint, almost disbelieving smile tugged at his mouth, but it didn't quite reach his eyes.

"That may not be the wisest of things to do." he said quietly, a trace of wry humor in his tone. Her admission lingered between them, fragile and real?

His voice, when it came, was quiet but steady, like he'd thought about these words for a long time.

For a moment, the glow of the stars reflected in his gaze, making them seem impossibly distant. He exhaled softly through his nose, and then hesitation giving way to something gentler, he let his hand rest lightly on hers where it lingered at his side. His eyes stared towards the star charts once more.

"But… I like that you see both. Most people only want one or the other. Order because it feels safe, chaos because it feels free. You… you're willing to maybe look at both without flinching."

His thumb brushed the back of her hand, not quite consciously, as if he were anchoring himself in the present.

"And I like that."

Cassian's eyes studied hers for a few precious seconds before he looked ahead, almost past and through the start charts. Unsure, of what to do or where to go from here. He was seemingly stuck in limbo for what seemed like an eternity. He took a deep breath before showing her a small smile.

"Shall we...press on?"

Aren D'Shade

 

[Aren D'Shade]

"Life is full of choices. Sometimes it's best to make them sooner rather than later. Even if they might not be the wisest of things to do."

At the touch of his hand, she returned the hold. His gentle caress along the back of it didn't cause her any distress, and she welcomed it. However, she didn't return the gesture. Letting her voice trail off, she dres in a breath and felt some serenity come over her.

"Let's just say I've had exposure to both chaos and captivity. I'm willing to look at both equally, and there is no reason to flinch from either."

He said he liked that part of her, but not that he liked her. It was a start, and Aren only hoped it would go further. There was no hurry, though. She had felt like this before and knew it was only a matter of time. Unless her intuition was totally wrong, she anticipated getting exceptionally close to Cassian in the future. Closer than she had been to anybody in a long time.

The thought and memory stilled her for a moment. Only when he spoke and their gaze met again did she come out of her own thoughts. Nodding at his suggestion, she would keep their hands together as long as he allowed it.

"What is the next exhibition?"

The smile he shared with her wasn't significant enough to reach his eyes this time. She would have to see about changing that.

Cassian Abrantes

 

[Cassian Abrantes]

Most people released his hand after a heartbeat or two, unsure of what to make of the gesture. With Aren, though, the contact lingered. She didn't mirror the caress, but neither did she pull away, and in that simple choice he felt something stir, a willingness, maybe even a trust, fragile but real.

Her words weighed on him. Chaos and captivity and spoken like she had lived them both, not just brushed against them in passing. He wondered what scars she carried, the kind invisible to the eye, etched into memory and muscle. He admired that she spoke of them without bitterness, as though she had reached a kind of peace he himself had never known. He liked that strength in her.

Liked.

Not her, not yet—he couldn't admit that to himself. To like her would mean letting her past his defenses, past the walls built of stone, paved with Honor, Duty, Code. He wasn't ready for that. But he liked the fire, the calmness beneath her words, the way her gaze never flinched.

When she asked about the next exhibition, he forced a smile, though it faltered before reaching his eyes. He hated that she noticed. She always seemed to notice.

Still, he didn't let go of her hand. If anything, it lingered a second longer against her skin, a touch that betrayed more than his words ever would.


"Something worth seeing," he said, his voice softer than intended. And in the silence that followed, Cassian found himself wondering, dangerously, foolishly, if she might become something worth holding on to. He couldn't peer into the future he wasn't one of Jedi, or some powerful seer of the sort. But he couldn't help but wonder, if she was put in his life for a reason.

Aren D'Shade

 

[Aren D'Shade]

Want and desire flared in Aren for a moment, but she stifled the second one. Acknowledging it internally, it was way too soon for her to give voice to that. Wanting was different but still aking to desire. She wanted Cassian and to get close to him. Closer than they were now, and as he slowly lowered those walls he had built, she would gently wedge pieces of herself into them. Of course, she was not aware of what was going on in his mind or what he might be feeling.

Looking at the floor for a moment and then up at him, she kept her eyes shadowed. There were ghosts in her past, and she wasn't yet ready to tell him about those. She knew that day would come when she was prepared to open up with him. Fear held her back as much as it did him. As they walked, the shadows faded and her focus returned.

The warmth of his hand gave her a sense of security. He steadied her, grounding her roaming thoughts and racing emotions. Lacing her fingers through his, she felt like she was chaining herself to him. Hoping he accepted this, she tried to breathe in calmly, but her pulse rose slightly.

"Everything is worth seeing, at least once."

Resisting the urge to lay her head on his arm, her head might have tilted that way for a heartbeat.

Cassian Abrantes

 

[Cassian Abrantes]

Cassian felt her fingers shift, threading through his. It caught him off guard, more than he would ever admit. For all the battles he had fought, for all the times he had faced danger without hesitation, it was this, her quiet, deliberate linking of hands—that unsettled him most.


Her touch wasn't demanding, but it was anchoring. A tether. And part of him feared what it meant to accept it, because acceptance implied permanence, implied trust. Both had burned him before. Yet, instead of pulling away, he let her weave herself closer.

Why?!

When she spoke—"Everything is worth seeing, at least once"—he almost smiled. Not because of the words themselves, but because of how she said them: with a conviction that seemed to include more than exhibitions and artwork. It sounded like a philosophy, one he didn't know if he was brave enough to share.


He caught the faint tilt of her head toward him, fleeting, as if she had considered resting against him and then thought better of it. That tiny restraint struck him harder than if she'd followed through. She wanted closeness, but she wasn't pushing. She was waiting, giving him room to breathe. That patience stirred something in him—respect, yes, but also a quiet ache.

It didn't make any sense, this didn't make any sense at all.


Her pulse quickened against his palm, and though she tried to mask it, he noticed. He always noticed. It made his own chest tighten, because in her hesitation, he recognized his own. Cassian squeezed her hand gently, letting the silence stretch between them, not to distance her, but to hold the fragile moment steady. He wasn't ready, but he realized with a jolt of certainty that he didn't want to let her go either.

"There's the flora...." Cassian spoke, realizing his voice came out just above a whisper before he spoke the words again. "There is the flora to look at." He indicated as he nodded his head in that direction.

Aren D'Shade

 

[Aren D'Shade]

Slow and steady, eventually her heartbeat returned to something normal, and her breathing became calm again. Aren hadn't been hurt by trusting the wrong person. Her pain was different, and it did not hold her back from opening up to him. The fact that he didn't pull away or resist her fingers meant a great deal to Aren. Picking up on his fear, she couldn't understand it. It did make her curious again.

He was such a reserved man. Something within Aren felt that if he ever let loose, he would be happier. He just needed to open up and allow her in. Maybe she could help him feel again. She felt that might be what was missing. He closed himself so much that he couldn't feel.

The gentle squeeze brought her pulse up again. Their silence wasn't heavy or stressful, but she felt just how fragile things were. A light touch of a feather could shatter what had been started. Which way would the shards fall? To their benefit or their detriment? What would remain standing after? The two of them unite, or would they fall with the shattering of his walls? Only time would tell.

When he answered, his voice was low and soft. A tone she'd not heard from him before. For just a moment, her ghosts flitted away, and she was a young woman standing on the brink of something unexpected. Then they came flying back in, and her own caution returned. She wasn't afraid to let him in, but she was scared of how he would react when he learned about her past.

"Flowers sound nice."

Firming her grip on his hand, he would be allowed to take it back if he wanted to. However, she didn't want to let him go.

Cassian Abrantes

 

[Cassian Abrantes]

Cassian felt the subtle increase in her grip. Not forceful, not desperate—simply steady, as though she was making her choice clear. She was willing to hold on, even if he wasn't ready to do the same. That kind of trust both unnerved and humbled him. She had ghost? Maybe just like he did. The Former General could sense them in the way her eyes sometimes darkened, in the way her voice faltered for only a heartbeat before she caught it. But she didn't flinch from them. She carried them openly, like scars she refused to hide, she was strong.

He, on the other hand, carried his past like a secret locked behind stone walls. She couldn't know what had hardened him, the things he'd done in silence, how he changed when he was on the field of battle. He had learned long ago that letting someone in meant giving them the chance to break you. And he wasn't sure he could survive being broken.

Not when it came to something like this, and that frightened him the most.

Yet when she said "Flowers sound nice" in that quiet, hopeful tone, something shifted. The words were simple, almost ordinary, but her voice wrapped them in warmth, in possibility. And against his will, he found himself wanting to give her that, something simple, something soft. Something untouched by shadows.

The corridor widened just a bit into a small atrium, its vaulted ceiling veined with glass that let in filtered light. Rows of blooms spilled across tiered platforms, a riot of colors and fragrances so carefully arranged it almost felt like stepping into another world. Pale blossoms glistened with droplets as though dew had been preserved just for them, while deeper-hued flowers leaned toward the glow like quiet sentinels.

Cassian slowed without realizing it. He wasn't a man who gave much thought to flowers, or beauty for beauty's sake, but something in the quiet order of the place struck him. Every petal, every curve, seemed deliberate yet unforced. Fragile, yes, but not weak.

He glanced at Aren. The way her eyes softened, the way the light traced her features as she took it all in, he found himself watching her more than the displays. For a moment, he let himself imagine what it might be like to share simple things like this, things untouched by duty or ghosts.

Her hand was still in his. He hadn't let go. The fact sat between them like an unspoken truth.

"What do you see?" he asked, his voice low, almost reverent despite himself. It was a question he hadn't meant to ask, but it slipped out all the same. He wanted to know, not just what flowers she looked at, but what she thought, what she felt.

Aren D'Shade

 

[Aren D'Shade]

He wasn't ready to trust her yet, and she was patient. His pain was his, and all she could do was offer the small amount of support by being at his side, by remaining with him as his world fell around him. Their steps slowed as they approached the atrium that preserved the verdant plants on display.

As Aren started feeling her own emotions again, she picked up on some of his. A touch of his want, the respect he was beginning to form for her. That's not what caught her attention the most. What was his fear? She began to open her mouth to tell him she wasn't going to hurt him, that he had no reason to fear her. In the end, she closed it and would give him the time he needed to figure it out on his own.

She didn't sense he was entirely resistant to the idea, and she liked that. Walking into the atrium, there was a small and intimate concert happening. A handful of people listened to the strings being played, and they didn't pay any attention to the two newcomers.

When he asked what she saw, she stopped and looked up at him. Keeping her hand within his, the music stilled for a moment before it swelled again.

"A potential. I see both chaos and chains. Servitude and duty. Honor and code. I also see a very lonely man who doesn't need to be. Do you know how to dance?"

Tipping her head to the musicians, there was an area just perfect for them to dance if he accepted the offer.

Cassian Abrantes

 

[Cassian Abrantes]

Her answer hit harder than he expected. Chaos. Chains. Servitude. Duty. Each word landed with a precision that made Cassian's chest tighten. She wasn't guessing, she was seeing him. Stripped bare in a way that felt almost dangerous. And then, as if the weight of her insight wasn't enough, she called him lonely.


It was the kind of truth he'd spent years burying under discipline, duty, and silence. Yet coming from her, it didn't feel like an accusation. She peered through him, and Cassian wasn't sure. While he knew it wasn't complete truth, it was partial. He had his family, and he had his sister Sibylla. Who by all accounts was his best friend. But he felt she wasn't referring to that sort of loneliness, it was the kind you didn't tell anyone. The feeling of loneliness that you kept hidden deep down, even from those you love.

His instinct was to deflect, to step back into reserve and let the words roll away unheard. But her gaze held his, steady and unflinching, and the pressure of her hand in his own kept him grounded. She wasn't pressing too hard. She was inviting him. When she tipped her head toward the musicians, he followed her glance. The music rose and fell with soft elegance, the kind that might have been background for most, but not now. Not with her looking at him like that.

Dance?

Cassian almost smiled at the absurdity of it. He couldn't remember the last time he did dance. He remembered how, yet the movements wouldn't be right, they'd be off, imperfect. But maybe that was the point. Maybe she wasn't asking for perfection. Maybe she was asking for trust.

His thumb brushed lightly against her hand again, his voice lower than before.

"I know enough," he said. The corner of his mouth tilted, not quite a smile, but close. "If you're willing..."

Aren D'Shade

 

[Aren D'Shade]

"Good."

Noticing the almost smile, she didn't stop hers. This would be a fun exercise, and she just hoped she wasn't going to step on his toes.

"I am."

Moving to stand in front of him, their hands remained in place, and she lifted her other to rest on his upper arm. Giving him complete control of their movements, she fell into motion with him.

Tuning out almost everything else, she could only see him and hear the music. Looking up to meet his gaze, she was silent for a few moments as they danced. Gulping, she wanted to ask him the same thing.

"What do you see?"

Speaking only loud enough for him to hear, she wanted the same type of answer from him. Not just about the beauty of the flowers around them.

Cassian Abrantes

 

[Cassian Abrantes]

The music folded around them, but Cassian barely registered the notes. Her hand on his arm, light yet steady, drew his focus in the way no battlefield ever had. For a man who lived in control, the strangeness of guiding her steps, feeling her move with him, was disarming.


When she asked the question—What do you see?—his first instinct was to answer with something safe. The flowers. The crowd. Anything but the truth.

The truth....he didn't know what that was anymore.


But her eyes held him, bright with expectation and something softer he couldn't quite name. She had given him her honesty without flinching. Could he do any less?

Cassian's jaw tightened, then loosened as he exhaled. His voice dropped low, for her alone.


"I see… someone who...…" He looked away for a moment. "Someone I don't want to lose before I've even figured out why." The words tasted foreign, but they were true. His gaze dipped, almost as if the admission was too heavy to bear eye contact, before he forced himself to look at her again.

It wasn't polished. It wasn't the kind of thing he normally shared. But with her in his arms, moving to a rhythm older than his fears, Cassian realized it was the closest he'd come in years to saying what he actually felt.

His hand tightened fractionally around hers, grounding himself. He almost added more, but stopped, afraid he'd ruin the fragile balance. For now, the music and the slow weaving of their steps were enough.

There was still so much ground to cover, so much he didn't know about her. He knew he had to pull away from this before his impulses mixed with what was in his mind and heart. But for now, he was content like this, just a little bit longer in her arms.

Aren D'Shade

 

[Aren D'Shade]

Their eyes met before he spoke. There was a flare within hers, something that had been missing from them for a while. It wasn't love, but that might not be too far off. She wasn't afraid like he was. Nothing was there to hold her back except herself. And in his own way, he could hold her back. What she might be starting to feel was almost foreign to her. There had only been one other person she had loved, and he was out of her life now. Realizing she had missed that, she now wanted to feel it again. Like a part of her had fallen off, and he was that part.

Closing her eyes as he spoke, she didn't pause in their shared movement. Opening them again when his didn't continue, she saw he wasn't looking at her anymore. His gaze was distant, but then he returned it to her. Hidden down, she saw what might be close to fear, but it wasn't so strong that it made him run.

Tilting her head up a little to meet his green eyes, she didn't blink or flinch away.

"Let's figure that out together."

Giving his arm a gentle squeeze, she wasn't going to let him go. Finally blinking, the dance went on, and their hushed conversation held a future that could easily shatter. A small part of her feared that it would happen, and maybe it was reflected in her eyes as he looked at her.

Cassian Abrantes

 

[Cassian Abrantes]

Her answer slipped past every defense he'd built. Let's figure that out together.

Cassian hadn't expected her to close the distance so easily, not with words, not with the certainty in her eyes. Together. It was such a simple thing to say, yet it carried a weight heavier than any vow he had ever made. Together meant sharing. Together meant opening.

And that terrified him, but he couldn't let her know that.

But her hand on his arm, the steady press of her fingers, reminded him that she wasn't demanding it all at once. She wasn't breaking down his walls with force. She was simply… there. Waiting. Holding on.

His chest tightened, caught between fear and something dangerously close to hope. He saw it in her eyes too, that flicker of doubt, the shadow of her own fear. For a heartbeat, he wondered if she feared the same thing he did: that all of this was too fragile to last, that the future might shatter what they were building.

And still, she hadn't let go. The music swelled, and Cassian let himself guide her through a slow turn. The world blurred at the edges, flowers, strangers, the vaulted ceiling, all fading until it was only her and the quiet, risky truth suspended between them.

"I'm not good at… this," he admitted, his voice rough but quiet. "But I don't want--"

There was a very subtle, bump into the former General as he turned to see who it was. It wasn't accidental, but deliberate. He could tell by the action and force put into it.

"Ah....former General Cassian Abrantes. Doesn't feel so good to be on the bottom of rope now, does it?"

Cassian gave the slightest shake of his head, his arm moving past Aren to scoot her behind him. Cassian cleared his throat. "Now's not the time, there are people here, families, enjoying themselves. Don't make a sce--"

But as soon as he said that, whatever beverage was in his fellow Officers hand was tossed into Cassian's face. He didn't do much, he closed his eyes as the clearly alcoholic liquid hit his face. Cassian let out an incredibly small, disappointing sigh, remembering to keep his composure. There was much more at stake here than his honor. Cassian's eyes opened, as the beverage slowly dripped down his face, staring daggers into the officers eyes.

"You done...?" Cassian spoke, a cold whisper. One that was challenging and deadly as well.

The Officer smirked and shook his head. "I suppose all the talk of honor, code, loyalty was a lie....right?" He turned and walked away, the quiet of the crowd was heard as everyone had seemingly paused to watch what happened.

He didn't turn red, he didn't do anything. It was scary, it was dangerous calm. He glanced over to Aren and showed her the smallest of smiles. "You okay?" He then glanced around, giving those a small nod, was he embarrassed of course he was. But he couldn't let that show, he was composed and with small words. "We should get going." He didn't wait for a response as he moved away, his goal was to get out of the building. He needed fresh air, perhaps that would be something to calm his quiet fury.

Aren D'Shade

 

[Aren D'Shade]

Just as Aren felt some additional progress was being made, it was interrupted rather rudely. The bump the man gave to her dancing partner was enough to bring the dance to a halt. Hearing the words, the danger in their voices, she allowed Cassian to position her behind him. It gave her the chance to see who was confronting him.

She wasn't familiar with anybody here other than Cassian and the small group she worked with. This stranger was obviously known to Cassian and talked down to him. There had been points in her life where the same type of insults were thrown in her direction.

In much the same way she would have reacted, he held himself in check. Unlike the military man who clearly craved an altercation, Cassian didn't rise or take any action against him. If he was worried that it might change how she felt for him, he was greatly mistaken. Much like her first master, Aren was not a violent Sith. She was a scientist and did not desire to fight. His lack of attack raised her opinion of him, and it brought her one step closer to what they were both missing.

Oh, he felt anger, and Aren sensed that. Drawing in a breath, she was able to watch the receding back of the other man and made a tiny gesture with a hand. Maybe he slipped on something wet or his shoelaces? It didn't matter as the man fell to the floor after she tripped him with the Force.

"I'm fine. Let's go."

The fragile chemistry mix had been shattered, but the bases were still there. Another day, another time. Following behind him, she caught up and walked next to him. This time, it would be up to him to initiate the contact. Something Aren wanted more than she should, but she didn't need it...yet.

Cassian Abrantes