Junction Sun & Starlight [ME][TSO][THR][TSC] | [Empty Hex][Dahrtag][Iphigin][Phu]

[Skadi Lightbane]

Tag: Aerik Lechner ​

There was a sense of contentment as Skadi walked hand in hand with Aerik, the wooden creak of the boards beneath their feet mingling with the sound of voices, laughter, the cries of seabirds overhead, and the constant rushing lap of water on the black sand. Aerik answered her inquiries by saying that the water should be warm, but warned her not to drink it - apparently he had done so himself, and learned that the water tasted terrible. The Valkyri stored that knowledge away as they continued onward towards the beach, and Aerik warned her again not to trust the water either.

“You make it sound as if this were a dangerous place to be. But there are so many others enjoying the water - surely it cannot be all that bad.” Skadi said, glancing from the water to Aerik’s face, noticing the amusement within his eyes.

"We should probably find a place before everyone else does." Aerik said with a nod towards a couple of loungers near the water’s edge, but far enough away from the throng of people and the resort to give them some privacy. "Unless you intend to spend the entire day standing here staring at the ocean."

“It would not be a terrible waste of our time - it is so beautiful.” the Valkyri remarked, glancing from him and back towards the water, but letting him lead the way towards the loungers he had pointed out a moment prior. “But I agree - we should go claim our spots before someone else does. We can go play in the water afterwards!”

Once on the sand, Skadi seemed to perk up and became a little more animated, turning to give the young wolf a mischievous grin as mirth and playfulness danced in her golden eyes.

“Race you! Loser has to fetch the drinks for the rest of the night!” she said, before she dropped his hand and began to make a sprinting dash across the sand, her feet sinking in and her dress wrap whipping about her body as she made her merry run down the beach. ​

 

[Naniti]

Naniti smiled and offered Lysander von Ascania one of the drinks. "Mind if I join you? Investigations sometimes go faster with more people."

If the Togruta heard Mercy 's mutter for Lysander, she gave no sign of it. Thing was, even her ability to perceive the future wouldn't have caught if she had missed it. To the outside observer it might seem magical and able to discern every answer ever, but only if Naniti thought to explore the possibility -- to be in the right place at the right time able to perceive the right thing. It was always her just able to explore 'What If' to a far greater degree than almost any other (barring precognitive types, of course, which didn't need to explore 'What If' so thoroughly).

Then Arris Windrun arrived just as sudden as she had, and with her own fanfare with Mercy . The two had a complex relationship. Then again, what ruling body of Sith Lords didn't? A sentiment no better exemplified than Mercy's quip about kindness and sanity.

Blue eyes turned to regard Varin Mortifer and Seren Gwyn nearby as well. "Surprising everyone's here. We're not actually just going to be pairs, but just in proximity to each other are we?" She glanced back to Lysander with the smirk. "There's plenty of daylight left. We should do something as a group and when the sun starts to set then think about privacy." What did a group of Sith do on a beach anyway that didn't involve butchering people? This was the perfect opportunity to find out!

Hopefully it wasn't getting absolutely plastered, which seemed to be Mercy's and Arris' current go-to plan.

Rayia Si

 

[Helena Cross]

Helena gave the suddenly taciturn Alistair Sterling a look of slight alarm as the cat she had been admiring as it traipsed along the bar and sniffing at her drink approached and then leapt onto her shoulder, then rearranged itself across her shoulder.

"Do you -- need something?"

Helena glanced at Alistair once more, her eyebrows furrowing.

Yes, she had just spoken to a cat as if expecting it to answer back.

The operative lifted a hand and let her fingertips stroke along the soft fur of the cat's flank. Uninvited though the contact may have been, Helena figured that the cat had played the first gambit by using her like a cat tree.

"Who are you?" Helena murmured to the cat, turning her head to see its face out of her peripheral vision. "Have you got a collar, hm?"

Ria the Cat | Alistair Sterling​

 

[Lucette Raaf]

Viers Connory

For her part, Lucy had certainly met Viers with the kiss.

She lifted her hand after, tucking it gently under Viers' chin with a soft smile. "That's good, Viers, one foot, then the other," she said, pressing a quick kiss to her cheek. "We'll make it to the food yet."

Then Viers said what she said, and Lucy laughed, a bright, slightly scandalized sound that she swallowed down quickly, mindful of the beach filling up around them. She leaned in close, dropping her voice to a warm murmur near Viers' ear. "We cannot." She said with softer voice, and then, lower. "But we absolutely can when we get back to our room."

She pulled back just enough to look at her, expression perfectly composed and eyes not composed at all, and then turned and guided Viers' arms around her waist as she settled in beside her.

"Right." She laced their fingers together as they began to walk. "Snacks. The bar looks like it has something, or I can flag down one of the droids." Her gaze drifted across the beach, cataloguing. "There are rather a lot of people here. I think that might be the Empress over there, though it could be another Echani. They have a certain look to them, don't they. Very silver."

She filed that observation away and kept moving.

"Oh, Iskey! Kai!" She brightened, spotting them and lifting a hand in their direction before glancing back at Viers. "My cousins. I'm sure you remember them."

A moment, then, taking in the whole of it the gold on the water, the music threading up from the shore, the long bright day ahead with nothing required of either of them.

"We could swim first, though." She tilted her head toward the water. "What do you think, darling?"

 

[Guinevere Cavello]

​

Gwen frowned as she watched Elian grow fidgety and nervous. It was so unlike him that it immediately put her on edge. Had she said something wrong? Done something to upset him? He brushed sand from his hands and shorts, and her gaze followed the motion without thinking. Her eyes drifted lower, lingering on the strong lines of his legs. The moment she realized where she was looking, heat rushed into her cheeks and she quickly looked away.

What was that about? A strange knot of confusion tightened in her chest. Was this... attraction? The thought caught her completely off guard. Elian was her friend. Her best friend. He had always been her friend. He held out a hand to help her up. Gwen took it automatically, but the instant their fingers touched, a flutter erupted in her stomach. She drew in a sharp breath.

Butterflies.

At least, that was what people always called it. Why was she feeling that now?

As he pulled her to her feet, she found herself reluctant to let go. Their hands remained clasped for a moment longer than necessary before she finally released him. The simple touch left her strangely aware of him in a way she had never been before.

Everything felt different. Everything felt confusing.

"I hope I didn't upset you."

Her voice came out softer than she intended, laced with worry and uncertainty. And beneath that was something even stranger, nervousness. Why should she be nervous around Elian? When he mentioned heading back, she sighed and nodded. He was right. By now, Taza had probably organized a search party, complete with armed guards convinced she had wandered into some terrible danger.

The thought almost made her laugh. Instead, she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him.

The hug felt natural. Familiar, and somehow completely new.

Resting her head against his chest, she listened to the steady beat of his heart and found herself wishing the moment could last a little longer.

"I hope I get to see you again soon," she said quietly.

Elian Abrantes

 

[Taiia Locke]

//: Allyson Locke //:​

Taiia's eyes narrowed immediately because she knew that look. The moment Allyson pulled her closer and lowered her voice, Taiia already suspected exactly where this was going, and by the time the whisper reached her ear, the flush had already begun. "Allyson." The warning carried absolutely no weight whatsoever, partly because she was smiling and partly because the Corellian knew exactly what she was doing. The kiss against her cheek only made matters worse. "That is not helping your case." The fact that Allyson looked entirely pleased with herself confirmed that helping was never the goal to begin with.

Still, she allowed herself to be led along the beach, fingers intertwined as they walked. The ocean rolled gently beside them while warm sunlight danced across the water, peaceful in a way the galaxy rarely allowed. For a little while she enjoyed that. Then Allyson brought up the tent again. Taiia groaned. "Min Laurel, there are some memories I would very much like to forget." The prayer gesture earned an incredulous look. The smile tugging at the corner of her mouth ruined any attempt at seriousness.

She squeezed Allyson's hand gently as they walked, and despite her best efforts, she found herself laughing as the conversation circled back to the infamous tent. "You were absolutely lucky." There wasn't even a hint of hesitation. Her eyes drifted briefly toward the sea. "I distinctly remember being far more worried about you than the tent." That much she was willing to concede.

The dramatic mention of decapitation earned another laugh. "Oh yes, it would have been tragic." Taiia nodded solemnly. "Imagine surviving everything else only to lose you to poor camping accommodations." The seriousness lasted approximately two seconds before amusement won the battle.

When Allyson asked about vacations, her expression softened, and the answer came more slowly. "I think we would have tried." Her gaze drifted out across the water. "I do not think either of us has ever been particularly good at sitting still." A faint smile appeared. "You less than me." The distinction felt important. "But I think we would have found reasons." Her thumb brushed gently across Allyson's hand. "A few days here. A week there. Somewhere quiet whenever the galaxy allowed it." Her smile grew warmer. "And when it didn't, I suspect we would have disappeared anyway."

The image felt surprisingly easy to imagine: a younger Allyson dragging her toward some adventure, Taiia pretending to object, neither of them fooling the other. She glanced sideways at her wife. "Though I am reasonably certain half of those vacations would have involved you getting into trouble." The amusement returned to her eyes. "And me pretending I wasn't enjoying it."

​

 

[Mercy]

Arris Windrun Varin Mortifer Lysander von Ascania Seren Gwyn Rayia Si Naniti

She saw the approaching butler droid bringing more tropical cocktails with little umbrellas. One impulse was all it took, and suddenly the droid tripped forward, spilling the drinks into the sand.

Her eyes flicked to the butler droid who had been bringing her drinks with no trouble all this time until Arris showed up and suddenly its state-of-the-art inertial dampners failed and he toppled over like a toddler.

All the drinks (with the funny little umbrellas that had been bringing her joy) falling to the ground and spilling.

"Oh no!" Arris feigned shock - her hand even went up to cover her mouth before returning to her hip.

Eyes glanced back at Mercy, tone flat again. "Shame that. I'll find us something."

Eyes flicked back to Arris when she overextended her emotional response. In all the time that Mercy had known Arris, she never covered her mouth when something 'shocking' happened. Mercy wouldn't even know what would be considered shocking to the pair of them. Not after all the things they had done together.

"You know, Arris..."

"Better, yeah?"

She paused and took a deep swig from her glass, nodding there absently. The alcohol certainly burned its way through her mouth in a way the cute tropical drinks had not.

"You are way too much of a shit bird to act cute with me." Mercy finally said before taking another deep swig, finishing her glass finally, before reaching out to snatch the whole bottle from Arris' grasp.

"Especially considering you ditched me last time we were supposed to get plastered. Now sit your bony metal arse down and leave the fuckery in the Core."

 

[Alistair Sterling]

Helena Cross Ria the Cat

He smirked at the clear knowledge exuded by miss Cross. Clearly she knew her art and then some. She was not afraid of laying it all on the table either, which was something that Sterling could appreciate. Some women were concerned about showing up the people around them. They stayed quiet or shrunk themselves.

Cross did not have this issue.

He plucked the card out of her fingers.

"Oh, you will find my pockets to be exceedingly deep, miss Cross. And my patrons are equally generous." Both happened to be true. The Heirate would front any cost if the data that was on the table was truly as sensitive as they suspected. And he had squirreled away enough funds to be able to afford a nice piece of art as a treat.

"My oh my, dating that far? Now that would be very-"

There were not many things that could break the concentration of one Alistair Sterling.

A cat popping up out of nowhere and jumping on the bar was a great contender however and made him pause in his sentence. "Well, hello." Tone became gentle to not scare away the cat.

"Who are you?" Helena murmured to the cat, turning her head to see its face out of her peripheral vision. "Have you got a collar, hm?"

From this superior vantage she surveyed the beach: the glittering crowd, the music, the absurd black sand, the hundred little dramas playing out across the sun-warmed bodies below. She gave her paw a few idle, regal licks, the picture of a cat who had always meant to be exactly here, all the while scanning the throng for a face she knew.

"She is cute." 'Gunn' said with a chuckle. "Perhaps she wants you to adopt her." He continued with a tease.

He opted not to reach out for a scritch, because if the cat decided his attention was undesired, the last thing the agent needed was to get scratched up. Headquarters would have a field day about that one.

Agent Sterling, felled by a cat.

 

[Ria the Cat]

Quinn Varanin | Adelle Bastiel | Helena Cross | Alistair Sterling​

The trouble with being a cat, Ria reflected, was the catastrophic loss of bandwidth.

She had, at this moment, a great deal she wished to convey. Yes, she had a collar. Yes, the woman should absolutely look at it. No, she was not a stray, she was a highly competent operator currently embarrassed to be soaking wet and riding a stranger like furniture, and if the fancy lady would kindly investigate the little mechanism tucked against her throat, there was a real chance two reasonably clever people could get Ria's voice back before sundown. All of this, rich and articulate and urgent, available in full inside her small skull.

What came out was a chirp. The another pitiful chirp, for Force sakes...

She tried anyway, because trying was the only setting she had. When the woman murmured about the collar, Ria seized the opening with the desperate enthusiasm of a creature who has been handed exactly one lever. She arched her neck, deliberately, theatrically, tilting her head back so the slim band, and the small dead weight of the transponder fixed to it, sat squarely in the woman's eyeline. There. That. Look at the thing. Touch the thing. She even leaned into the fingertips along her flank, which was undignified and not at all how she'd have played it with hands, but hands were the entire problem, weren't they.

The man, the fancy man, the one wearing his charm a little too neatly, joked about adoption. Ria spared him a flat, unimpressed look over one shoulder. No, she informed him silently. I am not in the market for an owner. Had one. Several, actually. It did not take. He didn't reach for her, which she noted and grudgingly respected; the man knew the difference between a cat and a cornered one.

But it was the woman who mattered. The woman had clever hands and clever eyes and the particular still attention of someone who noticed things for a living, Ria knew the type, had been the type, and that was exactly the kind of person who might, if nudged, turn over a strange cat's collar out of nothing more than curiosity and find a transponder gummed half to death with sea salt.

So Ria did the only thing left to her. She pressed her throat insistently toward the woman's fingers, fixed her with a stare of enormous and specific meaning, and willed the message across the unbridgeable gap between species with everything she had:

Lady. I am begging you. Read the collar.

Then, because hope was exhausting and the bar was warm, she tucked her paws beneath herself, settled more heavily across the woman's shoulder, and waited to see whether the universe would, for once, take the hint.

And then with the clarity of a bell, what little bandwidth Ria possessed had came roaring back in the form of a single, ice-cold realization.

The collar.

She had never updated the collar.

Somewhere on that little band, etched in a tasteful and expensive font by people who had genuinely meant well, were words Ria had spent a good chunk of her current life pretending didn't exist. A name. A title. A jaunty little artifact of an era when a noble house had decided the resident shapeshifting street thief made an adorable mascot and had her tagged accordingly, like luggage.

MITTENS, the collar would say. Royal Cat of Eshan.

Ria froze, cat not found there was most certainly a 404.exe error happening in her little brain right at that moment. Every instinct screaming at her to reverse course. The clever-eyed woman was right there. She read things for a living, Ria could tell, and she was about three seconds and one curious fingertip away from reading this, out loud, in public, at a gala, and there was not one single thing a cat could do to stop her, because the entire problem with being a cat was that you could not say wait, no, not that side, the OTHER side, read the broken comm bit and ignore the part where I am apparently royalty.

Just get the gunk out, she thought, and then we can talk like civilized beings.

This was worse. So much worse. It was immeasurably worse, if the cat could count.

There was a Varanin on this beach.

She'd run directly over half the guest list on her way in, and somewhere out there in the glittering crowd was someone whose family had commissioned this collar, someone who might hear "Royal Cat of Eshan" drift across the bar and turn, slowly, with dawning recognition, toward a small wet orange cat draped over a stranger's shoulder like a stolen scarf.

Ria's tail went flat.

She had, in her time, been shot at, bountied, cloned, drowned, and thrown off a boat by a man with enormous hands. She had faced all of it with more composure than this. But she pressed her throat toward the woman's fingers anyway, because the transponder was still her only road home, and apparently the price of the road was her dignity, and willed across the unbridgeable gap between species one last, doomed plea:

Lady. I am begging you. Read the collar quietly.

The feline had at that moment, in her small pitiful brain, recalled her more recent scan of people at the beach. Adelle was there, oh Manda, oh Force. Why was she here? Why were any of these- nevermind, she thought, she let out another chirp this one came out as a cute-pathetic but cute meow.

 

[Helena Cross]

"A charming idea," Helena conceded to 'Gunn' as the cat writhed and wriggled under her hand. She thought the critter was simply enjoying the attention. "But I'm afraid I'm not at home enough to give a cat as much attention as it deserves. Especially if they're a bit like this. Hmm?" She runed her head toward the cat again, fingers scritching and stroking until they found the collar.

She leaned her head back a little, studying the collar.

"Oh dear," she said to 'Gunn'. "I'm afraid we've behaved very badly. We are in the company of a royal cat, and we didn't even genuflect. See?" She turned the collar tag toward 'Gunn' and murmured, "Mittens, the Royal Cat of Eshan. We ought to return Mittens to the Echani. They can be so exceedingly touchy and I'd hate to give them reason to think I am attempting to steal their cat."

Her fingers cradled the collar a moment longer before she realized her fingers were feeling something on the opposite side. She studied it a moment. "What have you got here? Some kind of chip?" Helena set her drink down on the bar. "Come on. I can't really see that closely. Sit. Sit, kitty." She tapped the barstool and then, with an exasperated smirk at 'Gunn', she scooped up the cat and gently deposited it on the barstool.

"Don't let this cat ruin my image," Helena said. "I'm a shark, really."

She leaned over the cat to study the device. It looked like a transponder. "Well, of course. A royal cat would have a transponder." She asked the bartender for some cocktail napkins and cocktail sticks and set about wiping off and picking out whatever gunk was gumming up the works. After a few moments, she stood back to admire her handiwork. "Expect to be swarmed by Echani warriors at any moment."

Alistair Sterling | Ria the Cat​

 

[Arris Windrun]

Mercy Varin Mortifer Lysander von Ascania Naniti Seren Gwyn Rayia Si
​

Her brow rose as soon as Mercy snatched the bottle. Rude.

Still, it didn't break her heart. Unlike full 'ganics, Arris couldn't enjoy the 'wonderful' effects of alcohol. Not enough to get plastered in the classic sense, anyway.

Arris snorted when Mercy called her a shit bird, however. She folded her arms.

"I really don't know what you're talking about, Merce." She teased behind a flat tone and straight face.

Oh, and here came the guilt trip as Mercy reminded her of 1313. "Now, that was a misunder--"

Hey.​

Wait.​

​

Did she say...​

"Bony?!"
​

 

[Iskendyr Yvarro]

Maiza Vex
​

Iskendyr hadn't noticed her at first, he had been busy guiding Kai toward Myra Arceneau Dashiell and maybe his cousin and Viers Connory that part he wasn't sure of. He stood beside Kai waiting for the man to decide if he was going to engage strangers or familiarity. He hadn't anticipated seeing Maiza, mostly because he had pushed her out of his mind sometime ago. Not necessarily out of cruelty, but simply that they had both moved seemingly moved on at least. He had done what he could to show that he cared but as his aunt Ivalyn had once said.

You can't force people to do what they don't want, nor could you force them to be something they weren't. The most he could do was to wait and live his life in the meanwhile. So when he simply looked around and happened to see her, he thought for a moment he must have been losing it. Maiza, there? On the beach? In the Commonwealth no less.

Something in his chest went very still, the way the air goes still before a storm breaks, and he knew that stillness, didn't he. He'd felt it once before, on a Korriban rooftop, in the half-second before the metal had torn itself off the stones and the lightning had answered his fury without being asked. She was the only person who had ever drawn that out of him. The only one who had ever found the place beneath the composure where the Snake's blood ran, and pulled.

He had carried her down off that roof telling himself it was mercy. He'd spent the years since telling himself it had been respect that let her go afterward. You can't force people to be what they aren't, Aunt Ivalyn had said, and he'd folded the words around the wound like a bandage and called the matter closed. It repeated in his mind now as it had years ago.

And yet here she was, and his hands, steady hands, gentleman's hands, hands that had not trembled at his aunt's wedding before half the galaxy, were not entirely steady now.

 

[Allyson Locke]

//: Taiia Locke //:
//: Attire //:

Taiia's response drew a small laugh from the Corellian. She figured the woman would have enjoyed the memory of their first time together without the dramatics of the Obsidian Knights looking for her. Allyson knew she could press further, but she decided not to. It was a memory that, despite everything, was a fond one for the Corellian. For her, it was a moment she fully understood what love was.

And why, even after so long, could she never stop loving Taiia?

Allyson watched as the water crashed against the beach. She realized it was probably the first time in a while that she found herself just being idle. Taiia wasn't wrong with her comment that they could never stay still. Her lips parted to protest, but she didn't. Taiia was right.

But that was how things usually went.

"You less than me."

Her eyes moved, looking towards the woman beside her from the corner of her vision. Allyson knew her words weren't meant to jab or harm, but they did. Staying still was hard. It allowed time to linger and her thoughts to drift to the acts she had committed. Nightmares and memories that didn't belong to her filled her mind when she was idle.

Sometimes it was too much, and it was easier to run, to try and escape them for as long as possible. Allyson sucked her lips in slightly, her jaw tensing as she let the words sink in.

Though almost as if Taiia sensed it, the gentle caress of her thumb drew Allyson from her thoughts. A reminder that these words were just words. Allyson allowed herself to smile, to think of the moments they would have been allowed.

"Probably," She huffed, "Force knows I can't keep my nose out of trouble… always gotta stick it where it doesn't belong."

It was more true when she was trying to be a Jedi. The daunting feeling she had to save everything, everyone — while that feeling hadn't completely disappeared…

It was more focused on what… and who mattered.

Another small laugh, "What? You're not a fan of cleaning up the messes I make?"

Allyson brought Taiia's hand to her lips as she kissed it gently in an attempt to hide the mischief in her smile.

"The places I've been would have been better with you by my side." Nodding, she lowered Taiia's hand.

"Would have definitely kept me out of a lot of trouble… but a family…"

Allyson paused for a moment as she let the thought linger. Would they have had children as soon as Taiia did? Would they be discussing it now?

"A part of me wonders, despite wanting a family — we would have never stopped long enough to do it, I'm not saying never would have happened… but when,"

She tried to laugh, but it was almost sad to think about it.

"Can you imagine dragging toddlers through some of the chit we've been through?"

 

[Aselia Verd]

Wearing: [X]

Aselia followed Adelle's gaze for a moment before looking back at her, the smile already threatening to grow. It was becoming easier to find moments like this with her, where the galaxy seemed content to leave them alone for a little while. Just warm sun, the sound of the surf, and the woman she had somehow managed to convince to slow down with her.

At Adelle's protest, Aselia let out a quiet laugh. "I noticed," she said. She knew what it looked like when someone was trying to unlearn habits that they had carried with them for years. She'd spent most of her own life convincing herself that slowing down meant falling behind, that there would always be one more mission to prepare for, one more responsibility waiting if she let herself be still. It turned out Adelle wasn't the only stubborn one.

When the teasing came, Aselia didn't answer immediately. Instead, she let her eyes wander quite deliberately from Adelle's face for just long enough to make her point before returning to meet her gaze. "I was," she admitted without the slightest embarrassment. "Still am." The corner of her mouth curved a little more. "And no, I don't need a holopic." Aselia gave Adelle one last lingering look before shaking her head with quiet amusement and turning toward the lounger beside her. "I'd rather enjoy the view while it's here."

She settled back into the chair with easy familiarity, stretching out and folding one arm behind her head as she looked toward the turquoise water. The warmth of the sun settled comfortably across her shoulders, the sea breeze carrying the scent of salt through the air as the rhythmic crash of the waves filled the silence between them. After a few moments, she turned her head just enough to look at Adelle again, the smile returning more quietly. "I could get used to this. No crisis, no meetings, and nobody trying to start a war before lunch. How about we retire?" Her eyes drifted back toward the horizon. She was teasing, of course, but it sounded oh so good right now.

TAG: Adelle Bastiel
​

 

[Adelle Bastiel]

Tags: Aselia Verd

The blatant appreciation was enough to make Adelle flush a bit. Rishii had been her last actual relationship and due to their additional relationship as coworkers, the Selonian hadn’t been quite so open with her flirtation. But Adelle couldn’t say she minded the attention or the thrills Aselia’s lingering gaze inspired. It made her a little more self-conscious and Adelle couldn’t find a clever or funny comeback for Aselia.

As Aselia eased back in her lounger and an easy silence fell over their little space on the beach, Adelle watched the ocean for a moment before closing her eyes and listening. The throngs of people faded into a murmur as the crashing of waves nearly lulled her into a rare restfulness, the type she’d only found while working on Noba’s farm.

After a few moments, she turned her head just enough to look at Adelle again, the smile returning more quietly. "I could get used to this. No crisis, no meetings, and nobody trying to start a war before lunch. How about we retire?" Her eyes drifted back toward the horizon. She was teasing, of course, but it sounded oh so good right now.

Adelle hummed approvingly at the idea and flashed a mischievous smile at Aselia. “Sounds good to me. We’re young enough to thoroughly enjoy retirement. And Aether did promise enough credits to buy a lakeside villa on Naboo for a bounty I completed.”

It was a joke, of course. Adelle could never sit completely still literally, much less figuratively, especially when there was work to do, and Aselia was bound by blood and honor to protect her own. With the way the galaxy was going, moments like this would be few and far between.

“I do plan to take full advantage of this short vacation though,” Adelle said. She took in the way Aselia lounged in the sun, how the light both highlighted and cast warm shadows on her body. “In every way possible, if you’re game for it.”

 

[Vaux Gred]

Reina Daival

As Vaux walked along the beach, looking about as comfortable as a fighter pilot in an ion storm as she tried to figure out what relaxing was. She’d continue until noticing someone alone, enjoying cake. Wait… where the heck was cake? She just looked a little, then shrugged and walked over.

“Uh… hey? Kind of surprised anyone’s here by themselves with all this going on.” She admitted, then looked at the cake again. “Where in the nether did you get cake around here?”

 

[Srina Talon]

Tag: Darth Empyrean
Wearing: .XoxoX.

Hawkish eyes stared at the mimosa that was offered as though it might have been a cleverly disguised assassination attempt. Not because she thought there was actual poison in it, but because she tended to avoid anything with alcohol, especially when in unfamiliar surroundings. It dulled the sense and made her Echani eyes feel like they were failing. It was a sensation that was far too close to blindness—A handicap in a galaxy that wanted her head on a pike.

It didn't matter that the Commonwealth had all but ordered a nonviolent venture for those who had chosen of their own free will to attend. She hadn't suddenly lost all sense just because she held a pair of sandals and beheld joyous, public beaches, full of people. The Blackwall Empress did not employ the Force in any way, but that didn't stop the Light from rubbing against her senses like sandpaper. Just like a practitioner of the Dark Side…The Light…left a little something behind in its wake.

The ivory-haired woman wasn't overly concerned.

If it came down to blows…Surely, Ivalyn Yvarro wouldn't hold it against her if a mother was required to protect her children. As long as civilian casualties were avoided…Even if the property damage was a tad severe. She had left Darth Prazutis to his own devices with Hasuras Na-Gerra , but something pulled her eyes back in that general direction. What was there that she didn't see?

What Light was so elusive? So practiced—that the truth danced between rays of sunshine like a ghost.

Her thoughts shifted, after a moment, and she accepted the flute that Darth Empyrean offered and held the stem between delicate fingertips. Her ears honed in on the sound of his voice just in time to hear his commentary about living in a cupboard. "You are my husband, not a church mouse…", the response was withering, but there was an edge of something that might have been human lingering behind her constant chill. Many thought she held no sense of sentiment at all.

That her heart was as frozen as her face and attitude, that she held the emotional capacity of a teaspoon. They were both right and wrong. She did have difficulty with some social cues and displaying the correct emotion at the correct time. But she did feel. One merely needed to know how and where to look. How to listen. Her eyes lingered on him, on his flowery robe, and she was once again struck by the sight of him alive and breathing. Had he always been this…Beautiful?

It was hard not to watch his every move, fear, his every breath. The superimposed image of the Dead God often lingered over Rhysion, and she half-expected him to revert at any moment. To die right in front of her eyes a second time. The Worm was removed from him, contained, but not gone.

She snapped back to the present and her eyes narrowed slightly at the mention of swimming. It appeared inefficient for entertainment because all afternoon, she had watched the same thing. People entered the water, people got wet, and exited the salted water. She failed to see the appeal…But if it was something her husband wanted? Her expression softened. "No politics….Or business…"

Srina skillfully skipped over murder because of the earlier presence, but it seemed to have dissipated. She wouldn't press the grace the Commonwealth offered unless someone forced her hand. It was rude to act like a fool in someone else's house—And she despised rudeness. "…I am all yours for the foreseeable future."

Trusting him…She raised the glass to her lips and took a small sip. Not bad. The white-haired woman closed the distance between them and let her shoes fall to the sand so that her hand could rest on his waist. Her cheek, to his shoulder. It was as if she had given up on keeping Empyrean at a distance for the moment, giving in to the selfish, petty desire to be close. To be a normal couple for ten minutes… "Our people have forgotten how to live…Perhaps…I have forgotten."

She sighed softly, breathing him in…It had been so long.

"They know how to fight and conquer…But there should be something else waiting for them."

The words would sound strange from a woman who had more blood on her hands than water. For a moment, she just stood with him while the ocean breeze tugged at loose strands of silver hair. Watching the water. Watching people—Apprehensive, because no one was currently trying to kill her. No void stone bullets, no midichlorian destroying devices, no death threats (that she knew of) that required imminent intervention. Eventually…She took their drinks and set them down.

Metallic eyes flickered while she took his hand and began to pull him toward the water.

"Come…Swim with me."

Oh—The things she suffered for him.

But, she was not playing "chicken" of any kind.

 

[Reina Daival]

//:Tags: Vaux Gred //:
//: Objective: The Black Shore - Beach Day //:
//: Outfit //:

"Hm? Brought my own. Wasn't sure if I'd enjoy any of the snacks that they'd have on offer right now."

Reina gave a small shrug of her shoulders as the stranger asked about the cake. A small little smirk playing on her face, as she glanced over towards them, shaking her head afterwards.

"I didn't bring extra. And trust me, if you knew me, you wouldn't be surprised at me being here all alone."

Another casual shrug of her shoulders at that, as Reina just nibbled away at the cake, turning her gaze back over towards the horizon.


​

 

[Darth Empyrean]

Tag: Srina Talon

"If only I were a church mouse - I could live in your pocket. Wouldn't that be convenient?", he mused. It was nonsense, but he enjoyed the whimsy of it all. How long had it been since he could even feel more of an emotion than pure hatred, pure anger? Before his fall, his death, he had been a charismatic and coy man. Death had a way of carving that part out of him, and he intended to bring it back by force.​

​

He made sure to finish the flute before allowing it to be taken from him. He couldn't actually get drunk in his new body - poisons, wounds, so much would fail to truly manifest in immortal flesh. It was the power of being a Veritas, of having a body that was as much physical as it was something more than that. A conversation for a different day - he didn't want to think about the magics that had dominated his life.​

​

"Many forgot what it is they search for in power. It is a... devious thing.", he said as she pulled him towards the water.​

​

"They will not find what waits for them until they realize what it is they truly want from this world. Beyond power, beyond strength, beyond wealth and riches. We are lucky for knowing - but we have moved beyond what they see. Sometimes, all you can do is hope they see it before their need for power consumes them."​

​

A short way to express the lesson he had learned, the hard way. It took death for him to realize what it is he wanted - he hoped these people could find what they wanted before that. Not because he cared for them - he didn't, not really. But because Srina did, and he cared for her - and if she cared, then he had to by proxy. It was simply how it worked.​

​

The water was surprisingly warm under the light of the sun, and its salty clarity seemed to hide nothing. Before they went too deep, he deftly tore his robe from his shoulders and tossed it. Landing a surprising distance away, considering he didn't have the force, it would await his return in a small pile of sand. The warmth of the water moved up to his stomach, and Srina's waist, as he lowered himself to swim in the shallows.

He seemed to circle her for a moment before letting the water float him on its surface. He beamed to her, his hair already sopping wet as he floated on his back. He wondered if he could get her to play chicken - but with who?​

 

[Quinn Varanin]

//: CT-312 //: Seris Mataan //: Iuuna Talon //:

Quinn nodded and smiled softly as Seris spoke. Her words were truer the more the young Queen thought about them. In every moment, she could escape into the stories that surrounded her. Often she found the answers she was looking for in these fictional stories.

"Even though they're make-believe, sometimes it's nice to want them to be true." She shrugged, as her eyes trailed to the ocean, then to the trooper who was making her way over.

"Maybe one day."

With 312 finally closer than the perimeter she had been guarding, Quinn felt a bit more at ease. The trooper explained the situation that Quinn had flagged to the woman, and she nodded. Hearing that Commonwealth security was handling it meant that there was no need to worry. Though, it really was an odd situation… especially since it was one of the Jedi that had decided prosecution was more important than peace.

Quinn did her best not to think more on the matter; she wanted to have fun. Today was a rare moment, and she knew it. Up until now, she had been locked in the Eshan palace, watching terrible romantic comedies (forcing poor CT-312 to suffer with her), and eating sweets. Sighing softly, she listened to the Clone and her Mandalorian companion talk.

"You did wonderfully during the Corellian event, yourself, 312." Quinn smiled softly at the Clone. Even if CT didn't realize it, fending off the Zeltron was quite the feat.

Her eyes trailed towards the bottle of lotion that the Clone had offered. It was explained that it was important to use to avoid crispy, burnt toast. Quinn huffed, amused at the comparisons. In her opinion, burnt and crispy toast was comfort food — though being the toast was not at the top of her list.

"That's a good idea," Quinn said, tucking her book into the bag she brought with her. The sunglasses that rested on the bridge of her nose were pushed back into her hair as she adjusted her seat.

"312, could you put it on us?" Quinn adjusted her swimsuit's straps; part of her didn't want bad tan lines, especially with the dress she had planned to wear in the evening at the Gala.

As her arms slipped through the straps, Quinn stopped. She looked at Seris from the corner of her eye and then changed her mind.

"312, put the lotion on me, and I'll put it on Seris." Quinn nodded to emphasize the choice.

"If that's alright?" she asked Seris. Who knows, maybe she did want the Clone to be the one to do it… but Quinn didn't want 312 to do it.

Seris and 312 both pointed out something about another joining their group. This was when Quinn finally looked towards the individual who was making their way towards them.

In that moment, Quinn's heart sank into her gut. Iuuna Talon was her cousin, and a woman that was far more confident than Quinn could ever dream of. Iuuna always teased the younger Echani, while it was often done out of love — it still didn't always make Quinn feel the greatest. In almost every facet possible, Iuuna was better than her.

For just a moment, she regretted leaving Eshan.

"She's…" Quinn sighed softly and gave a small smile, "my cousin; she's Srina's niece."

When Iuuna drew closer, Quinn would look up at the woman and smile.

"Hello, cousin"