Dominion Sugar Sweet: CIS Dominion of Ukatis

[Daisy Americus]

Location: Truffle Booths
Objective: Gettin' My Dang Candy
Wearing: Yippiie-Ki-Yay
Tag: Kaden Farr Asaraa Vaashe

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Sometimes Daisy forgot that Kaden was from a bizarro-land. Where chocolate wasn’t readily available and there were monsters under every bed. Abruptly, she felt bad about it. The golden-haired woman leaned up and kissed his cheek softly. For no reason. Just to remind him that the civil war was just a dark cloud on a rainy day that had passed on a long time ago. “Ah’m sorry.”, she murmured. She didn’t want to get too mushy in front of Miss Asaraa but she couldn’t help it.

His past hurt her a little. Which, made no sense. If was his past. Why did it make her chest feel tight?

She smiled when Kaden asked about if chocolate came hot. “Yes. It comes in hot. Ah’ll make you plenty—Say swear.”, she promised, and pulled away from his form so she could sit down at the booth. Daisy found herself happily listening to the Jetii talk. She had a particular cadence to her tone that the Mandalorian found pleasing. “So...Wait, girly. Back this up. You mean to say that Jetii aren’t always moral and upstanding citizens?”

Daisy supposed that could be boring. And those Y U C K drag grey robes made out of green-hemp material just looked…Itchy. She felt itchy just thinking about it. Apparently Asaraa felt the same way as she repeated the itchy thought almost word for word. “Ah can see what you mean. Ah much prefer this an’ your way to pretty darlin’ to be locked up like a nun this early in life. If it were me ah’d go crazier than a cat in a hen house if you catch my drift.”

There were way too many handsome fellas. Or ladies? Daisy didn’t judge. Whatever it was that made the boat float made the boat float. Her eyes were already set on one handsome cowboy regardless. He wore a bucket on his head like no one else she’d ever met. That was only half the charm. Daisy rest her elbow on the table and leaned her cheek into her palm so she could surreptitiously check out the hind-quarters of one Kaden Farr. For scientific purposes of course.

They all tried their chocolate.

Well—Daisy inhaled it. First a nibble and then it suddenly just disappeared as if it had never been. Asaraa mentioned that it was Kaden’s turn to choose and the golden-haired woman bit her lip for a second. Why make him keep going to the front? “Next time you go just nab three of everythin’…Let’s do that. If we get tired of it we can get one of those to go boxes and Miss Asaraa can take it home so she doesn’t have to filch it for a minute.”

Brilliant aquamarine eyes sparkled when she looked back at the pink-haired woman. Clearly, she was teasing. Daisy kept things light and airy as often as possible. Her sad moments were for behind closed doors. Mandalorians didn’t cry anyway. Daisy sidled up into Kaden’s side when he finally returned to the table, nestling herself beneath his arm as innocently as she could, so maybe he, nor Asaraa might not really notice.

Being close was just…Nice. It felt like a real outing. With real people. She hadn’t had any fun since her former best-friend dropped off the face of the moon. Mostly…Too bothered. It hurt getting left behind.

Her head perked up when Miss Asaraa asked what it was like growing up. It was a fair question, though, Daisy’s smile seemed to dim just a smidge. She’d heard about the “New” Sith Mandalore. It broke her heart. “Ah was raised on Concord Dawn. Smaller clan but real nice. Family oriented. My Maw and Paw really tried to give us a good life. Ah trained with my brothers. Learned to fix things. Repair my beskar’gam, make sun-peach liquor, and pies…Picked up some medical skills from my maw. But everything was pretty normal…Joy ridin’ and jawa tossin’ you know. Just normal rastlin and what not…”

“It was good. At least until Forcies were declared unwanted citizens. We could take a parasite in our spines to neuter us…Or we could exile ourselves. My clan chose exile. Been livin’ on Haseria ever since.”

 

[Asaraa Vaashe]

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Location: Truffle Booths
Wearing: This
Tagging: Kaden Farr | Daisy Americus

“I know, it’s amazing isn’t it?”

A smile pulled at Asaraa’s lips as she leaned back, just basking in the sunlight that played over her like a cat. The Jedi’s eyes were closed, all she could see was the warm orange glow of the sun on her eyelids as she took a small contented breath. She could smell the fair, could smell the mixture of chocolate and warm grass, of the blue milk and people that made up the festival. In the past, in her old body, she’d be able to know, to smell so much more, be able to identify the individual scents, be the hunter. As it was, it all merged into a common mix, a unique smell for the festival, something to remember it by. A delicate hand came up, sweeping back long pink hair as Asaraa’s eyes opened, blue eyes twinkling with amusement as they settled on Daisy.

“You’d never think that Jedi were real people, would you? That’s the…image that my masters tried to push but, you know it never really stuck with me. I mean, a place like this is so amazing, so alive, and full of everything good. Why wouldn’t we want to just let ourselves sink into it, just enjoy it?”

It was an old argument, one that every generation of padawans had with their masters the same argument that every child had with their parents. Why should I follow your way of doing things when it’s a new era, a new generation. It always seemed to go round and round and never change, unless…well, you left.

“I think I get you and…thank you? It…I mean I get why they think that way but I guess it’s not something that worked for me. Like you said, being trapped away like a nun isn’t much fun. I’d rather live and love and…we'll try all the chocolate.”

Crystal blue eyes danced over to rest of Kaden’s face as the pink-haired one raised a single finger, a smile pulling across her face. That the man had grown up in a place where even simple pleasure like chocolate was denied him. It was…sad in a way she hadn’t been prepared for. Everyone, every child, deserved at least that much, the chance to be a child to enjoy simple pleasures without concern.

“You know, as good as the exercise is, always bobbing up and down could burn off these chocolates but, get the lot and we can just work on them over time. And…for what it’s worth…at least you get to sit back and experience them for the first time now. I’m sorry that you didn’t get the chance to try it before but…you made it to a more peaceful time now at least.”

She had no idea what kind of past the man had had, but to watch him today was to see someone who was relaxed, who had found a measure of contentment. That wasn’t something she could claim for herself but she was glad for him. Glad to see the possibility existed.

A small smile was offered to Kaden before blue eyes flicked back towards Daisy, the sadness retreating to be replaced by a hint of amusement, notes of playful teasing in her voice.

“See…why do you have to go and take all the fun out of it? It’s best when you get to outwit the masters and the guards. I mean…just having it would be…ok you know what I take it all back. I’ll totally take that doggy-bag please.”

A laugh escaped her lips as she leaned forward, listening to her new friend spoke about her past while surreptitiously sneaking under Kaden’s arm. They were cute together in a sweet way, sweeter than the dark chocolate truffle that Kaden had provided but, well she was game to try anything. The bitter taste a cut, a hit she hadn’t expected but…it was good. Before she knew it the truffle had vanished, there was no way she could have eaten it that fast could she?

“Growing up with your family sounds fun, sounds like you guys had a really good life there on Concord Dawn. We…I mean I can’t really complain, right? I mean I had a roof and clothes, food and people to patch me up when I got hurt it was just…it wasn’t about just raising you, it was about raising you to be something. To be a Jedi and carry on the legacy of those that came before. We would play a little together when we were younger, but it was a competition too. Everyone wanted to be picked by the best Masters to train, and that means you had to excel, to show you were better than the rest of the pack.”

A slight gesture of Asaraa’s hand had the truffle wrappers on the table lift as if they had been caught by a breeze. The Jedi’s fingers moved like a pianist, slim fingers rising and falling as the foil sheets flew together, merging and shifting, a gold and silver coloured rose left in its place, the metal ornament settling in front of Daisy as a sigh slipped from Asaraa’s lips.

“I was very good at playing that game, but…then they had me. There were expectations, and I didn’t want to fall short, to not live up to them. So, more and more I was circling, just caught in that trap. You’d never have guessed in the end it took the Sith to get me out of there.”

 

[Val Drutin]

Amaris Tanenat

As soon as he was done retching, Val slapped the edge of the counter with his bare hands, then sat bolt upright. He was still a little green in the face, but he took the water that the bartender begrudgingly handed him and drank it considerably slower and with far more care than he had arbitrarily chugged the booze.

In the meantime, the bartender walked away, his shoes scuffing, then returned with a mop. While he cleaned up the mess, Val glanced at Amaris over the rim of his glass. Color flushed the pallor from his face as he turned beet red.

"Sorry," he mumbled. "I, uh... I don't know why I did that. I don't even like alcohol."

Such was the day to day life of Val Drutin, a man who could no more control his random impulses than he could stop the beating of his heart. He most definitely needed help of some kind, but on the occasion he had gone to seek it out, he had fallen into the hands of Dr. Benson. Now he could not trust any doctor, and so he remained mad.

He could feel the bartender's eyes burning into his back. Setting down the empty water glass, Val hopped off the counter. "Maybe... I should probably go... back to my ship," he babbled. His conscience was guilty over leaving Amaris in such a situation, but she'd be better off if he left before he could cause any more problems.

Turning around, he backed away slowly, muttering, "Sorry about about the mess..."

 

[Kaden Farr]

Location: Truffle Booths
Objective: Try Something New
Wearing: xxx
Tag: Daisy Americus | Asaraa Vaashe

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The message to Kaden had come loud and clear. The next time he got up to get chocolate he needed to get one of the boxes that had all of them. That was not too tall of an order, Kaden would do anything considering he was very pleased to see that his assumption about Asaraa and Daisy was an accurate one. They seemed to be getting along, and he was content to simply watch and let them get acquainted with one another. For his own part he was surprised to here that Jedi were not the celibate monks he had thought they were. Then again, Kaden didn't really know anything about the Jedi at all.​

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Daisy apologized when Kaden reminded her about the conditions he grew up in, and simply shrugged in reply.​

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"It is far from your fault cyar'ika, you don't need to be sorry," Kaden gave her a small squeeze as he looked to the pink haired Jedi.​

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"My childhood was far from all kinds of pleasant. Maybe it is a story I will share sometime when I'm not so busy trying to help you two make friends."​

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Kaden winked. They both were likely aware of why he had invited Asaraa to come along. His motives were not hidden, and they were certainly from a place of deep care for Daisy. Kaden had also noticed Asaraa didn't seem to know too many in the Confederacy as well, and Kaden remembered had it not been for Daisy he would have had a hard time breaking in as well. Even in his previous life Kaden did more for others than he ever had done for himself. It was either his greatest strength or his greatest flaw. It certainly had led to his death. ​

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He sighed as the memories of what had once had been were pushed out of his mind.​

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Daisy was close, and he was reluctant to get up, but if he was going to get those chocolates, Kaden needed to get them. He politely excused himself just as Daisy began to talk about growing up on Concord Dawn. His cue was when she began to talk the purge of force users. Kaden had fought for the side which brought about that purge. He had married the woman who helped oversee its continuance when Ra disappeared. Guild seized him as his mind would not let him free of the thought he had contributed to Daisy's family being forced from their home. ​

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She knew this, and yet she was still with him. ​

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Kaden used his time getting the truffles to try and deal the sudden shift in his mood. He pointed to a box that had them all, several varieties of each, and returned in time to watch as Asaraa played with the wrapper using the force itself. ​

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It was a sight to behold.​

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"That's pretty neat," Kaden said as he set the box down on the table and slid back in next to Daisy. "I've only recently come to understand what it means to be force sensitive. The side effects of... a massive life altering event. The force itself is something Daisy and I don't fully understand. I just know I can do things... dark and unnatural."​

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Would Asaraa be put off that Kaden seemed to lean toward the dark side. Granted he considered himself to be neutral, but the truth was his power had a dark and primal feel to it. ​

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His eyes fell on Daisy once more. There was still a twinge of guilt that remained in them over what he knew. He knew it would spoil the chocolate, so he kept it to himself. Besides, it was not a secret between the two. She knew what part Kaden had once played in the Mandalorian Empire.​

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Kaden smiled as Asaraa took the remaining chocolate.​

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"I'm just glad that regardless of the things in our past, we are all here together, today." Kaden waved down a server and asked for three shot glasses of the famed vodka, and when they arrived he picked one of them up. "To new friends and brighter futures." ​

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Kaden offered the toast then took the shot.​

 

[Amaris Tanenat]

Tags: Val Drutin

Amaris would've gave him a pat on the back if it wasn't for their locations - she on a stool and him on the counter. Apparently, the poor guy couldn't handle his liquor. Like, at all. He hadn't even had any before, had he?

To be fair, Amaris had plenty of times where she couldn't handle it. Usually it was after a lot more... Well, this was him, not her. She cleared her throat as her memories began to string out. "It's fine," she said with a smile along with a little bit of a scowl towards the bartender.

"Probably deserved it anyway." She shrugged a little as she hopped off the stool right after he jumped off the counter. "Why? The race is just starting! I think... Or maybe it's over," she glanced towards the screens and out the window. She shrugged a little. "Come onnn," she pleaded as she gently punched his shoulder.

"We've ran into each other how many times and we barely actually talk to each other."

 

[Val Drutin]

Amaris Tanenat

A faint nervous blush colored Val's pale cheeks as Amaris playfully punched his shoulder. He wasn't sure where all this was going. On one hand, he enjoyed basking in the attention she was giving him. The madman already considered the cat girl a friend, despite the limited time of their acquaintance. On the other hand, he was concerned about what exactly she thought of him, and he wasn't sure how to interpret her reaction. Most people would be far more upset and angry if someone stole their drink and then threw up. He had caused her significant trouble, not to mention that no matter how one looked at it, puking in public was disgusting...

His attitude toward her changed, becoming irrationally wary of her intentions. Too many people had treated him like this in the past, brushing aside all his foolish behaviors seemingly out of kindness, only to reveal an ulterior motive.

"This is only the second time we've met," he replied carefully, taking a deliberate step away from her. "The first time was on that one planet I can't remember the name of. We both snuck into a fancy party dressed as servers, but we got caught by some guy who thought we were doing... stuff."

He turned to the viewing screen, desperate to change the subject. "The race already started, but it's far from over... oh!" He covered his eyes as two speeders became tangled together, jamming each other on a collision course with a wall. "Horrible!..."

 

[Eternal Artistry]

And the show went on.

A full day of revelry, amusement, and (perhaps far too much) sugar has brought joy and the hope of stability back to the population of Ukatis. Thanks to CIS pilots coming in clutch, the annual airshow went of without a hitch -- indeed, Captain Grace fielded several questions on how she managed to train such a talented and flawless group. Friends (and perhaps more than friends!) were made, and lifelong connections were formed.

Though this is the end of the the CIS story on Ukatis it need not be yours! Feel free to continue your fun and games as long as you'd like below -- there is always more chocolate.

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