Private Stomachs A-Growlin'

[Colette]

Shan Pavond

"Know what else this 'McShanle' has?" Colette asked and raised her brows in defiance. "Loads of cat shit, rat shit, and all other various shit types there are."

"Good luck keeping that place clean, Farmer Boy."

 

[Shan Pavond]

"I believe the correct term is manure, Colette. And who said I was going to be getting any kind of cats? Dogs are so much better. With their...fur. And their slobber...and their...barking. Yeah. Totally better. Totally."

Shan chuckled at that, shaking his head as he closed his eyes, resting his head atop of Colette's.

"You're right though. I'd miss you. More than I could probably imagine at the end of the day."

Colette

 

[Colette]

Shan Pavond

"Hey, if you don't love all parts of the dog — don't get a dog." Colette said and nodded. "Buuuu-ut…"

"I'd miss you too."

She let in a deep breath and turned her attention towards the documentary again with a content sigh. Or about as content as one could be given what the mood had been less than five minutes ago.

"Their large tail fins serve as excellent warnings to any would be tourist boats, or in some cases…" The documentarian's voice paused for comedic effect as the camera cut to a zoom onto the cutest seal Colette had ever seen. "As a means of mischief." They continued and the camera switched to a wide view as the whale used its fin to throw the unaware seal several feet into the air accompanied by a small whistle as it went.

"That's so cruel." Colette frowned. "That poor baby."

 

[Shan Pavond]

"Who ever said I like dogs? They're gross, dirty little things that get fur and mud all over the place."

Shan smirked, teasing once again as he turned his attention to the documentary, watching the Seal suddenly go flying up into the air and then crashing back down to the water. Whilst Colette frowned and said how cruel it was, Shan didn't seem to react that much. It was to be expected. For them to assign stuff like cruelty to animals...Well...It was just not natural.

Though her last comment about the seal, caused Shan to go down a rabbit hole of thoughts. Poor Baby...Baby...He wanted a house where everyone could stay...Maybe he could start up an orphanage. Would that work? It would be a lot of effort...and he'd need to do a lot of saving up to make sure there were proper staff...Plus he'd have to be careful about publicity since people might look at the orphanage strangely if they knew it was being ran by a Jedi...Wait no. Don't focus on that. Focus on Colette.

"...I'm sure the Seal ended up being fine, don't worry hun."

Colette

 

[Colette]

Shan Pavond

"I hope so."

And almost as if on cue, a second whale type emerged from the water to take a chunk off the seal's body and tear it apart violently before diving back under the water again to munch down on the piece it got.

"That's… Terrifying." She mumbled and grimaced. "At least on solid ground they'd only have a single way to attack us, and most of them we'd have ways to see them and chase them away."

And there she went and reminded herself of life on the road again. She pushed the memories away despite the smile it spread on her lips. The idea of having a settled home would most likely always be difficult for Colette. There was no greater joy to her than merely existing and 'subsisting' with nothing more than her mind and body.

"I wonder if that's the kind of philosophy the Sith live with." Colette thought out loud. "Can someone be violent by nature as a fully-aware individual?"

"Our brains and minds are what separates us from animals. There is no right and wrong in nature, only survival. But we, as people, always have the choice to do the right thing and the wrong thing. Like, our survival is made a lot easier because we can think differently."

"... I think about this a lot when I mediate."

 

[Shan Pavond]

"I can clearly see that you think a lot when it comes to meditation."

Shan smirked to himself slightly at that...before realising what happened to the seal on the screen. Well. That was just a result of his big mouth, he supposed at the end of the day. Though he tilted his head ever so slightly at something Colette said, shaking his head at the same time.

"Even on ground, they could find alternative ways to get to us. Animals evolve and adapt to their hunting grounds. Whales have perfected the art of hunting in the water, but if they were hunting us on the ground, I'm sure they'd have their own style of hunting that they'd be able to use against us."

Though yet again, the comment on the Sith brought a frown to Shan's face. The Sith were always more of a sensitive topic for him, since he was always trying to see the best in them as opposed to looking at them as some kind of criminal or monster...

"...I think like the Jedi, the Sith have a wide array of philosophies To fit them with only one philosophy feels wrong. But I can see where you're coming from Colette. Most of the time, I believe Sith give into their more base instincts. Their fear. Their anger. They turn to being Sith, because it makes them feel strong. It makes them feel safe."

Colette

 

[Colette]

Shan Pavond

"Sounds like abuse." Colette hummed. "Someone did them wrong, so they do everyone else wrong."

"A child gets bullied, so they bully everyone else."

"A mother gets her child taken from her and so she wants to take everyone else's child away."

"Funny how a code built on passions, strengths, power, victory, and breaking chains, really just seem to put them in even more chains. Like, yeah, the force shall set them free and all, and in a sense it's really just a mantra of self-sufficiency up until the point where they mention those chains, but those are also chains THEY put upon THEMSELVES."

"It doesn't make sense."

 

[Shan Pavond]

Shan raised an eyebrow at her reaction to all of that. Part of him wasn't sure if he should try to comfort her...but this wasn't something he could comfort her over. It was something he entirely disagreed with. Something he was going to make evident with his next point.

"A child gets their parents ripped away from them in front of their eyes, and has no-one to protect themselves except for themselves. Why would they care what other people think, when no-one was there for them when it mattered?"

He kept his eyebrow raised. Shan had never seen this side to Colette before. It was...overly aggressive in his eyes and over aggression was never something he would have associated with her. It was strange to say the least as he thought about it. Maybe he didn't actually know her, if this was her opinion on all Sith. If she was just painting them all with the same brush, without taking in their situation.

"At the end of the day, it makes perfect sense. People are always lying. Either to themselves or other people. I lie to myself every day when I think there can be peace in the Galaxy. There never will be. But I like to believe it."

Colette

 

[Colette]

Shan Pavond

"That's kind of a bleak look at it, don't you think?" Colette said and shook her head. "That's not a lie, that's hope."

She sat up straight again to look at Shan. Surely he wasn't actually believing that everyone lies?

"A lie is a lie, something that isn't true. It's not a lie that peace can be achieved, that's hope."

 

[Shan Pavond]

"And isn't Hope just another way to comfort people?"

Shan raised an eyebrow at that. It was hard for him to actually believe in Hope after everything with his dad, and how long he had been searching for his mum for. He had just lost hope that she'd ever be found in the first place.

"I've also seen too much to believe peace can actually be achieved. At least not in the way I'd want it. Plenty of people would think peace can only be achieved by wiping out the Sith, or wiping out the aggressors...which I don't agree with."

Colette

 

[Colette]

Shan Pavond

Her brows sunk in the same moment that she felt her heart sink. No, this was just pessimistic nonsense. A lie wasn't to comfort people, not truly. A lie was still a lie and was inherently untrue. The truth was the only way to bring people comfort in the long run, even if at first it might not seem like it.

So, why was it then that despite these thoughts racing in her head, Colette decided to just let her lips thin as she leaned back into the couch?

"I suppose." She said and shrugged it off. Except not really. "We'll just agree that there are other ways to ending the war. But the lies… Not at all."

And then, she said nothing. Not a thing. Her focus set on the documentary that had continued in their absence. Now it was talking about their swimming patterns. How fascinating. Maybe next they'd show whale conflict resolution for good measure.