Private Rest and Recuperation

[Kyyrk]

C O N T E M P L A T E
​

Kyyrk stiffened as the woman reached out to touch his face. Another trait shared between them. The near panic subsided, however, as Kyyrk processed what the woman had just said. Srina had frozen when she lost her child. Kyyrk frowned as she said this. Srina didn't have a child. She never did. The only children she had were those two blasted droids.

Kuat.

It wasn't a word that flitted through his mind, but a feeling. That mission had changed her, and Kyyrk could never figure out why. Now? It all made sense. And for a brief moment, Kyyrk was consumed by guilt. It was his fault. The Exarch's wellbeing had been his one concern. He'd sacrificed himself to save her. He couldn't shield them both, so he chose her.

And yet she still lost her child.

Her unborn had died because of his failure.

Kyyrk was, however, reassured by Alessandra's next words. She was right, Srina did care for him in her own way. And it was clear that she did not hold him responsible for the death of her child. Or if she did, she had at least forgiven him. Kyyrk pushed the ordeal from his mind, hoping that his face had not inadvertently betrayed anything. Alessandra beckoned him to the table, but not without a bottle of wine. After making his selection, Kyyrk brought the bottle over, uncorking it as he walked. He poured two glasses, per instruction, and set the bottle down between the two plates.

Whichever setting Alessandra lingered by, Kyyrk pulled the chair out for her, before assisting her with scooting back close to the table once she was seated. He took his own seat, staring down at his food as he spoke. "Perhaps you're right. Maybe some time away truly is what I need. At least, a vacation that isn't medically induced." He glanced back to Alessandra, offering her a wry grin. "Its hell not knowing what you want to be when you grow up."

His smile slowly faded as he regarded the woman with genuine curiosity. "Which does beg the question: have you always known you wished to be an accountant? Or did the Minister of Finacne job just...happen?"

Alessandra Creed

 

[Alessandra Creed]

Location: Naboo [Theed] - Creed Tower
Tags: Kyyrk

"Darling won’t you let it go...
You don’t have to let it hold you." x
____________________________________________________________​

She almost regretted it.

The way he reacted to her nearness was telling, though, perhaps she hadn't been obvious enough about her intent. She wouldn't make that mistake again. The Minister also realized her second error. With how familiar Kyyrk seemed to be with the Exarch she had assumed, wrongly, that he knew. It had come up publicly a few years ago in a hearing against one of the Eternal Empire conspirators that had been captured. Alessandra could still remember it—Plain as day. The demand to know, why, this man deserved to live and her unborn did not.

Chilling.

"You didn't know."

It wasn't a question. She felt badly for dropping it in his lap like that, but for anyone that knew Exarch Talon as more than an albino nightmare…There was always a reason why. There was always a bastion of reason hidden within a layer of chaotic calm. One simply needed to know where to look. "I'm sorry.", she apologized for the surprise, but, not for the words. They were all still true.

And apparently something he needed to hear.

She could hear him rustling about looking for the wine she'd requested and continued to fix their place settings until satisfied. The slender woman took off her apron and returned to the kitchen to put it on the counter, for now, and came back to find Kyyrk dutifully pouring wine. At this rate—He was going to think she was trying to get him drunk. How did she explain that wine was just common?

Alessandra was used to it. Even as a child, on Brentaal IV, it was served watered down. She chose a chair kitty-corner to the head of the table so Kyyrk would be seated directly to her left. About to take her own seat, she paused, when he moved to usher her in gently. She offered him a light smile. "Do they teach the Knights manners now? Standard issue?"

She tucked her feet to the side and picked up a cloth napkin to lay over her lap. Another habit. The dark-haired epicanthix leaned back in her chair a moment to watch him settle in. Alessandra was still curious. The way he spoke. The way he moved—Her interest often lay in the things he didn't say as much as what he did. "I'm a woman, obviously, and therefore never wrong."

"You should try it. A real vacation. Turn your comm off—Even just for a few days."

It was ironic that she was giving the same advice that Mishel had given her not long ago. She hadn't taken any time for herself in forever. Even in the fallout of…Everything—She'd kept working. Kept going. As if nothing had changed. The Ministry of Commerce was a familiar stomping ground that lent her some level of stability. She cast him a small smile out of the kiss of her mouth while she reached to pick up her fork. "You've got time. It's never too late to choose a new profession."

Alessandra used a spoon to twirl a bit of pappardelle around the fork for easy eating and took a tentative bite. It was still hot, very, and she would rather not turn her mouth into leather. It did seem to taste as good as it smelled and she relaxed a little. For her sister she substituted ingredients to suit her specific medical needs, but this was traditional. His question painted a nostalgic smile on her lips. "I wanted to be…Everything."

"A soldier, like my father, a purveyor of antiquities, like my mother. I wanted to be a lawyer, an artist, a politician, a scientist…You name it. We found out in secondary schooling that I have a mind for numbers. Equations, really. Statistics. From basic algebra to complex derivatives…", she explained as well as she was able. The reason Alessandra was able to keep things flowing so well in the Confederacy was her ability to accurately predict the state of the galactic market and make adjustments accordingly. She could see a crash within their own economy coming a lightyear away. "I can usually solve them in my head and I never forget a pattern."

"As you can imagine...I don't play cards."

Mostly, because she wouldn't be able to help herself when it came to counting cards. It was the only way the games made sense in her head.

"Did you always was to be a Knight like your file suggests?"

 

[Kyyrk]

C O N T E M P L A T E
​

Kyyrk didn't respond to her apology about news of the Exarch. It wasn't entirely necessary, and he was still processing it anyways. He didn't speak until the question was posed concerning his manners. Did the Knights train that in to him? "No, lessons such as that are extra." He offered a wry grin along with his wise crack. "No, my Father was a very public figure. He wanted to ensure that his family was able to set the standard."

Kyyrk sat down at his own plate, his brow furrowing as he realized that begged more explanation. "Or at least, he was a public figure on our homeworld." Kyyrk took a tentative bite of the food, chewing carefully though otherwise the heat didn't seem to bother him. His own napkin had also been placed in his lap, though rather than across it, he only draped the napkin over a single knee. He sat forward in the chair, as if he was ready to leave at a moments notice. Kyyrk was a man of action, even in times when he was off duty. Perhaps it was habit? Or perhaps there was something more?

"I tried that....once..." He smirked, taking a sip of wine. "Come back to find that everyone was worried I had died. Apparently I'm too connected for my own good." He shrugged. Then snorted quietly as Alessandra suggested he change his career. Not too late? Well, he supposed that was fair. Five thousand years old, and no indication of old age remembering him any time soon.

He listened with a rather bemused look as Alessandra spoke of her grand aspirations as a child. Of wanting to follow in her father's footsteps. Her mother's. He nodded as she spoke of an innate ability with numbers and equations, but he held his verbal agreement for now. His application of the skill was quite boring compared to hers. Then she asked if he had always wanted to be a knight. He leaned back in his chair, contemplating his answer as he chewed. "Yes and no." The answer was casual enough that what he meant to say was yes, with a technicality. "I actually did follow in my father's footsteps, and joined our homeworld's local force order. Much more of a police force than the Obsidian. Most of what could be considered my apprentice training happened there. By the time I reached the Knights, Knighthood was barely a formality."

He fell silent as he took another bite of food, nodding quietly as if confirming what he'd just said was true. Might have been an odd habit or tick, though. "The food is good." He almost said 'almost as good as the company who made it.' But he held his tongue. This was not the right time to say such things. "Its been a while since I've had a dish like this." He looked around the room in silence for a moment, then back to Alessandra. "Was cooking something your family taught you, or did you pick it up somewhere else?"

Alessandra Creed

 

[Alessandra Creed]

Location: Naboo [Theed] - Creed Tower
Tags: Kyyrk

"Listen to the light...
Don’t let the darkness take you." x
____________________________________________________________​

She shook her head slowly at his quip and reached for the wine that he'd selected. It was a good year. Leftover, likely, from when Creed Tower had housed someone with far more expensive taste. "Just say the word and I'll find the funds to allocate to etiquette…", she spoke softly, a little distant, while looking at the label but nonetheless amused. Deep eyes stole away from it and instead turned back toward the face of her guest. He deserved her attention. Not, her ghosts.

The fact that his father was a politician caused a red flag to rise. The life that he reported to her did not seem to be the same life she'd read from his file. The amendment he gave didn't help. Rather than to dwell, currently, she noted that it reminded her of her own family. "My father was the same way. My mother, too."

Despite the fact that her parents were titled both she and her brother had chores and responsibilities just like any other household. It taught her to be self-sufficient. To appreciate the things that she had versus taking advantage of them. It kept her from becoming complacent, even now, when she seemed to hold the world in the palm of her hand. Intelligent eyes noted the way he sat. The way he always seemed ready to move. It was the way warriors learned to exist, she supposed.

Ever in a state of flux.

"You can relax, Kyyrk. You're quite safe here."

His commentary about trying to take a vacation caused her to chuckle softly. "I took a vacation several years ago and crash-landed on a strange backwater. I woke up freezing with a kitchen knife stuck in my abdomen…", she mused, though, that memory was far from pleasant. She was highly allergic to bacta and it had been the only thing capable of stabilizing her. The screaming, blinding pain of that, had been worse than the knife. "The Vicelord was less than amused and informed me that he hadn't given me permission to die. So, I was forbidden from worrying him again."

Who knew that Isley Verd worried, let alone, held concerns for his Ministers?

She nibbled on her dinner while Kyyrk recalled his path toward becoming a Knight. It seemed that he was always destined to carry a sword, so to speak, no matter the planet he was on. Alessandra swallowed a bit of steak and paused, thoughtfully. "What was the Force Order called? My historical knowledge of this area can be a little sparse but I might know of it."

Her smile returned when he complimented the meal. It was soft, but pleased. "I figured it had been a while. The Knights are always flying from one place to the next. You don't get much shore leave.", Alessandra owned up, partially, admitting her white lie about getting him here. The way he'd looked through the café windows had almost made him seem forlorn. Things had changed in his absence and that was always disconcerting. This was a small thing. A tiny gesture, that someone saw him.

Someone knew he was there.

"A bit of both."

Her father was surprisingly adept in the kitchen, though, she had picked up a good deal of her skills when she first left Brentaal IV. She'd only taken what she needed to survive from her trust so earning enough to live and eat while being forced to budget had taught her the value of eating at home. She'd found work easily…But it had still been an adjustment. The rest of it came when her son was born. She refused to let him eat everything from an auto-chef. "It's entirely pedestrian…But mealtimes should be spent with people. We spend too much time in the field or looking at data-pads."

"It's a thing. My thing, I suppose. Nothing beats a good meal, with good company."

 

[Kyyrk]

C O N T E M P L A T E
​

Kyyrk chewed thoughtfully as he processed the woman's words. He vaguely remembered seeing that report of her "vacation". Or maybe it was his mind playing tricks on him again. He took another sip of his wine as she inquired about the Force Order he once belonged to. "I'd be surprised if you did. It was a very small organization. Called themselves the Luka Sene. Don't see them much outside of the homeworld. And most don't talk about who they are or what they do." He paused for a moment, thinking back on things. "Well, except for me, I suppose."

He lapsed back into silence, taking another thoughtful bite. "Sometimes the Knights get too much shore leave. But perhaps that's my phobia of being idle talking." He looked down at his plate as he continued. "Though I'll admit, it is nice to eat something other than field rations every once and a while." When Alessandra spoke of eating meals in good company, he nodded softly. "It has been a while since I was last able to eat a meal with friends. Or anyone I'd call good company." He smirked, looking back to Alessandra. "I'm sorry you're stuck with me for company."

Self-deprecating humor at its finest. "I have, however, quite enjoyed the evening thus far. You're nothing like the rumors make you out to be." Kyyrk held up a finger to halt the objection he already knew was coming. "I never said I believed them. Just observing that they're wrong." He offered Alessandra a roguish grin, and took another bite of his food. "So," He said, preparing to change the subject, "If you had to pick a favorite planet, which one would it be, and why? Planets you have or currently live on don't count."

Alessandra Creed

 

[Alessandra Creed]

Location: Naboo [Theed] - Creed Tower
Tags: Kyyrk

"Your memories, aren’t your destiny." x
____________________________________________________________​

"Luka…As in—Miralukan?"

Alessandra was intelligent but she didn't outright recognize the groups that Kyyrk mentioned. It was easy enough to try and guess the origin of the Luka Sene, but she knew very little else. She'd only ever met a small handful of the eyeless wonders in the past and most of them had long since departed the mortal coil. The Force seemed to call them, too strongly, into an early grave. "Why don't they talk about it?"

It wasn't as if "Force Orders" in general were under fire as of late. At least, not in the Confederacy. The "Sith-Scare" had passed once the general public began to wise up with proof-backed facts versus paranoia-fueled works of fiction. They'd been taken advantage of. Bamboozled by the corrupt, power-hungry, and sycophantic members of the Viceroyalty that were in love with the sound of their own voices. Alé leaned forward a little and bit her lower lip for a moment while finely arched eyebrows raised. "Is it a secret?"

It wouldn't surprise her. Everything about Kyyrk Verros was a secret.

He seemed to think that the Knights had too much free time on their hands and she shook her head in disagreement. Most of them trained too hard. So much so; That they forgot to live. "Don't worry about being too idle. You can do the dishes later, if it makes you feel better."

Teasing, of course. She would never ask that seriously.

"You'll forgive me for not saying where we headed, then. It does have an amazing view and I thought you might like something someone actually made. You Knights, for the most part, really do work too hard.", Alessandra intoned, lightly, with a vaguely apologetic smile. She had misled him to get him to come with her, though, it had been with the best of intentions and he was certainly free to leave at any time. "Besides…The only use I have for field rations is using it as filler for permacrete. Perhaps, it would make a nice desk weight."

Her eyes rolled heavenward at the shot he took at himself and she reached for the wine cork and less than surreptitiously threw it at him with a petulant little click of her tongue. At the mention of rumors, though, her head tilted. Alessandra was certain there were some. Most, regarding her ex-husband. The fact that they even filtered among the Knights made her stomach bottom out a little. "You'd think that I would be used to the rumor mill turning in the capital. Just when I think I am…"

She shrugged. She wasn't, used to it. Even if she pretended like it didn't matter.

"Scarif. The beaches are beautiful.", she responded, rather quickly, though she'd begun to turn her fork idly in her pasta. "Since I'm not like the rumors painted me to be…"

"What am I, then?"

 

[Kyyrk]

C O M P A N Y
​

Kyyrk chuckled. "Have you ever met a Miraluka? And if you have, did you ever know them to be long winded? Even if you can get one talking, it's almost always in riddles..." Kyyrk himself was very guilty of that. He had a certain way of speaking about things that made perfect sense from a certain mindset. But if you did not share that mindset, he may as well be speaking a different language. Her comments on field rations were left unchallenged. She wasn't wrong in the slightest. But her retaliation for his joke could not go unanswered.

A hand shot skyward, grabbing the cork out of midair. Truly, reflexes that only a gifted Force User could posses. He smirked at her clicking tongue, and set the cork down on the table between them. He turned back to his food as the woman made the comment about the rumor mill. He felt a little bad, sensing the distress that such a topic had caused her. When she asked what she was really like, Kyyrk paused. He chewed his food thoughtfully for a while, as if trying to think about how best to answer without inviting bodily harm upon himself.

"You care."

Kyyrk turned his attention back to the woman. "A good number of the Knights don't see it. But it's quite obvious if you know what you're looking for." Kyyrk smiled softly, gesturing towards Alessandra with a flick of his fork before he stabbed it back into the pasta. "Everyone says you're the classic cold, uncaring, money above all else kind of person. In reality, you just have a really good barrier between personal and professional." Kyyrk took another bite, watching the woman. "Most people forget that what we show people is not necessarily who we are." Words that were truer for him than he was frankly comfortable with Alessandra knowing. "You are more than your title. And tonight's proved that assumption in more ways than one."

Alessandra Creed

 

[Alessandra Creed]

Location: Naboo [Theed] - Creed Tower
Tags: Kyyrk

"If I looked you in the eye,
And showed the broken things inside..." x
____________________________________________________________​

"I have a few times. Now that you mention it…", she trailed off with a laugh that was dulcet—Neither too high pitched, nor too low. From what Alessandra remembered about a few of the Miraluka she'd encountered he wasn't entirely off. The dark-haired woman simply hadn't put their need for cryptic and mysterious behavior down to a genetic and or cultural difference. "Most of them were Jedi or had a healthy appreciation for the Force…Which—They talk in riddles anyway."

"I'll never understand them."

He caught the cork that she'd used as a projectile and she had to resist the urge to childishly stick her tongue out at him. Of course, he caught it. "Stupid Knight reflexes…", Alessandra grumbled, but stubbornly eyed the object he placed between them. Clearly, he had never dealt with an older brother. There was only one rule. Never, return the object that could be thrown to grabbing distance. At some point in the conversation if she didn't like something he said it was very likely she would throw it again.

This time—When he wasn't looking.

She might have sent it careening back were it not for the subject of rumors that turned her focus inward. Alessandra didn't like that. She knew who she was, what she was. The Minister didn't like things that forced her to take unnecessary stock of herself. That made her question the persona that she had spent painstaking hours building so that she could contend with financial power-houses and cunning criminals that were out for embezzlement and quick windfall.

Her fork clanked down lightly against her plate while he considered a reply.

She found wine instead and took a tentative sip, though, that was followed by another. When Kyyrk did begin to explain she seemed to loosen up, some. He could have worded it much worse. There were far worse things that he could have parroted. It didn't completely take away the sting, however. Her shoulders squared and she took another sip of the deep red beverage. "Of course, I care."

"I could do any number of things in the private sector and make more credits than I know what to do with. But, I choose to remain here. I just…", she paused, briefly, to set down her wine glass and straighten the napkin in her lap. Physical order let her have mental order. It was silly—But it helped. "I can't be soft. I can't be weak. If I let my guard down…"

The economy of the Confederacy could very well collapse. Or—Implode from inflation. She was also a Minister to one of the largest nations in the galaxy. If the Vicelord and the Exarchs went missing one of the Ministers was noted as the designated survivor. It had happened before. Someone or something might seek to use that influence to their advantage. There were so many things to be wary of and very few that she could trust implicitly. "They aren't exactly wrong. I am cold within the Ministry. I don't tolerate excuses. There are times when I wind up being the deciding factor on whether or not funds are applied to this world in need, or, their neighbor that seems to be suffering just as much."

"It's not the same as what the Knights do. But, it is a fight of a different kind. Still keeps me awake at night."

Kyyrk seemed to see between the lines of the persona she used on Naboo and she felt momentarily grateful. She didn't know why she felt the need to justify herself to him; but she did. As if the impression he had of her mattered. Maybe, it did. Sighing, she took a bite of pasta while it was still hot and sampled some of the bantha steak. It was pretty good. Her head did tilt a little, though, when at the memory of having proven herself in more ways than one.

In truth—She'd just been herself in his presence. Alessandra hadn't thought that she would need to show him she was different than what people said. Sadly, it hadn't even crossed her mind. She'd just seem him staring into the Presidium Café looking for all the world as if the ground beneath his feet had been swept away. Lost. It had driven her to act. To fix it, in some small way.

"…How have I done that?"

 

[Kyyrk]

C O M P A N Y
​

Kyyrk visibly paused as she asked how she had proven that she cared. He leaned back in his chair, his eye catching that far away look once again. After a moment, he blinked, as if rousting himself back to the present. He opened his mouth to answer, but nothing came out. He smiled, a choked laugh coming from his mouth. He gestured at the apartment around them. "Just...all this. You didn't have to. I mean, for all I know this could just be some elaborate ploy. A ruse to get inside my head and satisfy your own...sick curiosity of what was really going through my mind." Though his tone had naturally grown more accusatory, his face did not betray the same emotion. If anything, there was just a glimmer of...gratitude.

He smiled softly, looking back at his plate of food. His head shook gently, disagreeing with his own words. "But it isn't. I've met enough liars to know when someone isn't being honest. And you've been nothing but sincere this entire time." He turned his head to look out the window once more. "I was thinking about how lost I feel." Though he didn't draw attention to it directly, it was obvious that he spoke of what he was thinking of. What had been going through his mind when she found him. "I've been away from the Confederacy for two years. From the place that I had hoped to call home. One last chance to not be....alone. But things happen, I get called away, and when I get back...everything's changed. But nothing has. The friends that I thought I had are gone, the nation I was loyal to is threatening to tear itself apart over a war that didn't even concern us..."

Kyyrk trailed off, shaking his head again. Clearly, he spoke of the division about the Sith. The war that they had not even taken part in. Yet they had been ready to crucify Isley for daring to hold the title of Darth. He turned his attention back towards Alessandra. "You didn't have to do any of this. Nor could you know what I was struggling with in that moment. For all the both of us knew, you were just being a good person." Kyyrk smiled softly. "Not many people would do that, these days."

Alessandra Creed