The Festival of Glad Arrival [ Open To All! ]

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

"Because you're my girlfriend." Kurt said with a simple smile.

"They know what you are." He shrugged. "But that's not what matters to them."

Despite their outward appearance of just running a farm Kurt's parents were actually rather sophisticated people. At one point in time they had both been scientists working for the Sith Empire. Each one had developed different weapons for the Sith, though always placing a critical flaw in them that rendered them useless. That was the reason why they had eventually fled the Empire, escaping with the help of a rebel group and eventually settling on Tatooine where they had Kurt.

Even with that mind however, neither of them had ever really tried to turn Kurt into anything that he didn't want to be. They allowed him the freedom to choose, and he had chosen Jamie. "My mother will like you as long as you're good to me, and my father will no matter what."

That was just who he was.

"You could show up dressed in rags and they wouldn't blink an eye." They were good people through and through.

 

[Kaiden Rohn]

He heard her voice in the back of his mind. Asking him to dance. Taunting him. Kitt was the one that got away. And he heard another, a softer accent. Steph repeated the question. Then he snapped back to reality. He wasn't staring at [member="Kurt Meyer"] and [member="Jamie Pyne"] in the same capacity as before. He was staring at them, wishing he was twelve years younger and had half the scars he did now.

He sat down, his facial expression softening. He watched from afar, before scanning the rest of the festival. He checked in with his security team, trying to occupy his mind with work, rather than anguish over what could have been, and what and whom he lost.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

"That's only because even covered in rags and dirt I would still be the pretty one." She said with a smirk and a wink. The need for caution was still there, and so Jamie maintained her composure and held her desire to kiss him in check. The public eye was not quite where she wanted her relationship with Kurt just yet. People were free to speculate, to gossip, but continuous public displays would set the wrong example and begin to blossom the type of image for herself that she did not wish for.

He would have to wait.

They would have to wait.

"Perhaps visiting them will be the first experience for the both of us where nothing goes horribly wrong." It was a nice thought, but with their record thus far, the odds were surely against them. Still, just once something had to go smoothly. Hopefully it would be that time, for everyone's sake.

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

He smiled. "There was never any doubt of that."

Kurt's gaze flickered to the crowd once more. It was clear that being at the center of all of this made him more than a little bit uncomfortable. It reminded him of a time past when he'd had to stand in the middle of the crowd, something that he left behind. Jamie knew that Kurt wasn't too great when it came to looking back, even if it was for things that had been objectively good.

"Well." He told her. "We've always gone to safe places."

In theory anyway. "Maybe the trick is to go somewhere dangerous. It will just naturally even out."

He gave her a tiny smirk. Tatooine wasn't really dangerous, not if you had someone who knew what to do and where to go, but most people who had never been there assumed it was a horrid hive of villainy and scum. They weren't exactly wrong of course, Tatooine had pirates, slavers, smugglers, Krayt Dragons and all sorts of things, but most of those could be avoided if you were smart enough. Kurt had lived there for his entire childhood and never once had a problem...except for that one time.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

"That logic makes no sense. You know that right?"

Though if nothing else, she now felt far more prepared than ever before for things to go wrong, if it came to something like a desert sand monster, or some other creature that was looking to kill or eat them this time. Her understanding and application of the Force was stronger, she was more mature and had a firm control over her abilities within the Force to make better decisions; Ones that wouldn't leave Kurt with any more large scars from hungry, territorial Manka Cats.

Jamie wondered just what they might run into on Tatooine, or if it might actually, finally, by the luck of the draw be a pleasantly quiet experience.

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

"Pfff." Kurt said with a slight wave of his hand. "Logic doesn't apply to Tatooine."

It most certainly did, but that wouldn't stop Kurt.

"My homeworld is a hodge podge of wonderful and fantastic things. Logic certainly isn't one of them." Of course what he was saying made absolutely no sense, but then again neither did much of Tatooine itself. The planet was one single massive desert with a few spotted cliffs and canyons. How anything had managed to survive on his homeworld was something of a mystery, how it had come into being in the first place equally so.

Not that Kurt ever really cared.

"We'll be fine." He assured her. "I'll show you where I won my races."

 

[Jamie Pyne]

Logic doesn't apply to Tatooine? The expression on her face was dumbfounded. "You are silly."

The blonde smirked, leaning in closely to him. "Maybe I'll enter you into another race while we're there so you can show me just how good you are." A wink followed. "That would be exciting."

The festival itself was well enough underway, enough so that Jamie needn't make herself as visible as earlier. "Come, this way." She said quietly, standing from her seat and ushering Kurt away from the crowds towards the river. "I could use a walk, and to speak more privately." The river wasn't far, in fact it was still well in sight of the festival, but far and away from earshot of the crowds. The bank of the river was a gradual slope, painted with perfectly landscaped white sand, completely untouched and smooth. A gentle rolling of water played through the ears as it carried downstream. Crystal clear as it passed allowed one to see the bed beneath the small waves and the fish as they swam.

As the girl stepped from the grassy knoll down to the soft patch of sand she slowly pulled her feet free of the shoes she'd been wearing, gathered the fabric of her dress and adjusted it so that she could walk through the shallow edges of the water. It felt cold, the runoff from the mountains chilling the river more so than the sun could warm. Still, it felt pleasing and she turned to Kurt, a warm smile on her pale colored face, hand out for him to take.

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

He smiled slightly. The idea of entering a race had entered his mind a few months ago, they had even talked about it briefly, but he doubted he would do so when they visited Tatooine. There were a few circuit courses year around of course, but most of them were somewhat dangerous.

That was the nature of Tatooine though. "Maybe, but then you might be too impressed."

Kurt gave her a small smirk, then slowly stood as she pulled him along towards a place where they could have more privacy. He glanced towards the people around them once or twice, silently appreciating the fact that they would at least get a few moments somewhat away from people. He frowned for just a second as they reached a small stream. For a second he glanced down at his shoes which were much nicer than the usual kind that he wore.

"One second..." Kurt muttered as he raised one foot and untied the shoe, half falling over for a moment as he bounced on one foot to untie his shoe. When that was done he quickly undid the other, taking her a hand a moment later.

"Oh shit." He cursed quietly, half jumping. "Cold."

 

[Jamie Pyne]

Jamie stood watching Kurt fumble about with his shoes, all the while an amused yet quizzical look played on her features. When finally he stepped into the water and cursed at the cool temperature she couldn't help but giggle. The water was a bit chilly, but to her it felt nice, soothing. "If you think this is bad you should see some of the lagoons that are isolated from the sun almost entirely. Those are cold!" Many of them had natural minerals and such within them too that brought out a vibrant, deep blue, almost in a glowing fashion beneath the water. It was a sight to behold, but swimming was dangerous because of the frigid temperatures.

But that hardly stopped Jamie.

"I'll take you to one sometime. Then we'll see if you still think this river is chilly, desert boy."

The woman nodded, "So, what do you think?" She asked, twirling herself partially in the ankle deep water. "Does it suit me or no?"

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

”Are you trying to drown me?” Kurt joked with a wide smile. ”I still don't know how to swim, remember?”

Plus the thought of going into water this cold? No thank you. It already felt like his toes were already about to freeze off and the idea of submerging...other parts of himself into this freezing concoction was almost as horrifying as the idea of having them cut off. He shuddered at the thought for a seconds, then looked up at Jamie as she twirled gently around in the water.

”I think you look beautiful. “ He smiled, taking a step forward to gently catch her, his hands landing on her hips.

In truth he had never expected Jamie to take up politics, even less so become Queen of Naboo, but he knew shed be good at it. Kurt had a lot of faith in her abilities, he knew well what she was capable of and this would be a walk in the park. At least that's what he thought.

”A bit too much make-up for.me thought.”He joked. ”I prefer my girlfriend not looking like a ghost.”

He understood it was traditional, but still.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

"Right. We still need to teach you how to swim properly, desert dweller." She winked, settling into his gentle hold. "It's really not that hard."

It was still an odd thing to her that an adult didn't know how to swim. It was something all children were taught how to do, though perhaps living ones life entirely on a planet devoid of such volumes of water made that a challenge. But still, it wasn't as difficult a thing to learn as learning to shoot a blaster, which she still couldn't do for the life of her, or become a professional pod racer or pilot. It was a basic skill really, one that she would have to make sure he learned. The last thing she needed was for him to drown in a puddle.

"A ghost? Do you forget my appearance already? I don't need makeup to direct attention to my pale complexion."

The stark red dots and bar on her cheeks and lips did a remarkable job of accenting that look however.

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

"Mmm, that's what people keep telling me." Kurt mused.

Swimming had never really...come up. Sure he'd gone to the beach plenty of times and once or twice in basic training his instructors had raised the point, but it had always been sort of...glossed over. That was probably a bad thing of course, swimming was an important skill, but he was from a desert planet where anything bigger than a puddle was more amazing than hyperspace.

It hadn't exactly been a priority.

"Well..." He trailed off. "Maybe it's the dots throwing me off."

A small smile touched his lips, and slowly he reached up with his index finger as though he were about to poke her cheek.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

Jamie quickly swatted the man's hand away. "Very funny." She said behind squinted eyes and shaking head.

"Regardless. Given the gravity of the situation of things now, the tense peace between the Alliance and First Order, I will be mostly confined to Naboo for the time being. Shouldn't be too hard to find me for the time being though." She still had yet to tell Kurt about her time as captive of the First Order's Knights of Ren, the fight she'd endured, and the series of events that led up to those peace talks, but it was for the best. Kurt not knowing, at least for now, would keep the burden off of his shoulders while he handled the situation with Kaile's pregnancy and the difficulties with that.

He didn't need to know she was nearly offed, taken prisoner, subsequently escaped, and then returned to the very people that had taken her captive to discuss peace.

That was a messy thing to think about, let alone divulge to Kurt.

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

"Good." He said with a smile.

In truth one of the biggest concerns he had day to day was Jamie getting hurt or wounded fighting in some sort of war. He understood why she did it, that she had a need to help people, but it stlil kept him up at night. They couldn't always talk, and one of his greater fears what that he would wake up one day and see on some Holo-News show that his girlfriend had been killed. It was a thought that haunted him, and her staying put on Naboo would at least help with that.

"At least here you won't be getting chased around." He said with a smile. "Maybe I should rent a hangar here."

Not that he could ever afford that. He and Kaile were doing fine on food and fuel, but getting anything permanently was more expensive than most people would ever even consider. Plus he doubted very much that things in Theed were cheap enough for him to ever even really consider such a thing.

The place was filled with rich nobles after all. "Am I gonna have to sneak into the palace every time I come here or do I get some sort of pass to swipe at the door?"

He smirked slightly.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

Jamie's cheeks puffed as she tried to hold back the laughter, biting down on her lip at the same time, but it was difficult.

"I'm rather fond of watching you try and fumble your way around, but I suppose I can inform the guard that you're cleared to come and go. I will make sure that they're aware for future reference."

What a way to spoil the fun, though!

"However I'm sure I'll still find myself chased around. Perhaps not by maniacs and lightsabers, well, come to think of it, maybe still the maniacs, but I digress. I am sure I will still have my hands full with enough things that I will feel chased around."

Sure it was safer for her physically, but mentally it was a totally different story. Nobles were a certain breed, and her parents were only the tip of the iceberg when it came to their type.

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

He smiled for a moment and then pulled her a little bit closer. He pressed a kiss against her forehead. "I'm sure you'll do fine."

Still, Kurt didn't envy her in the least. Being a politician was hassle enough from what he had seen, and becoming Queen of Naboo? Well that sounded like an utter nightmare. He wondered briefly just how she would be able to handle all of this, but she supposed her advisors and people of that sort would be helping her every step of the way.

At least he hoped.

"Plus." He began, pulling away from her just a bit. "If you ever need any advice, I've played a lot of Star Galactic Citizen."

Star Galactic Citizen was a holo-game that centered around the construction of a planetary civilization that would eventually grow into a galactic government. The game was fun, easy to sink time into, and oddly enough Kurt was actually pretty decent at it. "I'm basically an expert at government."

 

[Jamie Pyne]

The blonde rolled her eyes, "Thank goodness I'm in good hands. I'm certain your council will be invaluable with your intense training."

In a way politics was a game, one of pawns and pieces and strategy. But it was so much more than just that. To play it like a game would be a grievous misrepresentation and an underestimation of the gravity it held on both a planetary and galactic scale. Naboo was important in a unique way. It was a planet of elected monarchs, and a firmly neutral world. It took no sides in war, and chose instead to facilitate communications between parties at odds.

That shouldered immense weight onto her, and this peace between the First Order and the Alliance would only hold with continued discussion and civility.

"Besides, if it doesn't go well, I'll be out of office by the time I'm twenty three, and we can run away to Onderon or something."

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

He laughed.

"Onderon?" That was an interesting choice. "Why Onderon?"

He didn't really know all that much about the planet, except for it's moon of course. Once or twice he'd visited it for a trade or delivery run, but other than that most of the world was a complete mystery to him. Aside from all the monsters. "Aren't you afraid of big monsters?"

Kurt teased with a grin.

"If we move to Onderon a Drexl might crawl out from under our bed one night." Completely unrealistic, those things were massive.

The Courier had never actually seen one, but he would like to eventually.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

"It was just what came to mind. I don't specifically mean Onderon. I could have said Spira, but, well, we know how that turned out."

Though she doubted a Drexl would fit under the bed to hide itself. "On another note though, things with my sister are somewhat cleared up now. My mother knows, they're handling their own issues, and Mariya seems okay. It's nice seeing her now, spending time with her. Being home makes that easier too. She's quite the handful though, far more rebellious and curious than I ever was." That girl got into everything. Jamie tried to supervise her when and where she could, even had a few guards constantly looking over her but the little fox managed to slip away under their noses from time to time. She was quite the slippery one when she wanted to be. Even for one without the Force, she was sly.

"One of the guards last week found her sneaking around one of the towers, climbing along the outer balcony. She nearly gave the man a heart attack thinking she was going to fall."

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

”That's good.” He knew that her family had been a big point of contention, something that kept her up almost as much as the troubles they'd had a bit ago. The thought wasn't really a pleasant one, mostly because it reminded him of what they had gone through not so long ago.

He chuckled slightly when she added more detail to her sisters adventures.

”She sounds like she's more my sister than yours.” He'd gotten into plenty of trouble as a kid, something that was easy enough to do when you lived on Tatooine with half a dozen criminal kids. ”Should probably put a tracking device on her.”

He smirked. ”That's an idea I've had for you too.”

Kurt didn't know about the latest incidents of course, but he could still refer to the last few times that she had told him about.