Faction [THP] Among Rebels and Stars

[Connel Vanagor]

REBELS AND STARS
ODESSEN
OBJ 1

Michael, Gabriel, Azrael, Sariel, Raphael, Jeremiel, Connel, Raguel
[Any text in brackets signifies comm-link usage and not face to face conversation]

Sitting cross-legged, he let Buster crawl into his lap. .

Well, if you change your mind… He lightly massaged the back of the pup’s head.. Arrangements could be made, you could get a ship with personal quarters, or I could set you up on the Enterprise. He shrugged, telling her about the ship that Guardian Authority afforded him as a Forward Operating Base.

It was actually over eight centuries worth of interest. He wasn’t trying to brag as he didn’t think about it often, it just was what it was. Let me know if I’m being too pushy or anything… He shrugged.

My parents taught me if there is someone important to me, that I help them out if I can.

Katarine Ryiah​

 

[Caelan Valoren]

Her skin was smooth, warm, and sent a tingle rushing through him to the pit of his stomach. It was a feeling he hadn't felt since he had gotten married to Anavi, and that was purely on him, as she had never reciprocated his feelings. This though? This was already different. Her hand rested on his and her cheek tilted into his. She enjoyed the touch as much as he enjoyed it. He felt his chest clench up, tightening because of the feelings rolling through him; nothing was wrong.

"I'm glad you said yes."

And he genuinely was. They had a connection between the two of them that he had really only experienced once before, and that had ended with the disappearance of the girl he'd grown close to when he first arrived at the Jedi temple. He'd seen her father die, tried to help her, but it wasn't enough.

But those thoughts were quick to disappear as he stepped closer to Xian. Though he certainly wished to talk with her, there was something else he had felt called to do since they arrived. The hand on her cheek, the thumb slid beneath her chin to tilt it, just slightly, so she was looking up at him. Everything in him told him it was right except for one little piece in the back of his mind that was screaming that it was too soon. But he'd listened to Anavi. She'd appeared to him to give her blessing. He needs not fret. So, he leaned down to Xian, and kissed her.

ATTIRE: LINK | WEAPON: Lightsaber | COMPANION: BD-F8 | OTHER: Sigil Bead (Necklace), Prosthetic Left Arm

TAGS: Xian Xiao ​

 

[Xian Xiao]

For a moment, she closed her eyes as she felt the touch he gave her. While his chest clenched, hers warmed.

"Why wouldn't I have said yes?"

Speaking in a hushed tone, she wasn't aware of what thoughts or memories he was having. Xian was focused on the now and the new feelings he was giving her. As well as what she was feeling. At that point, her stomach gave a slight flop. It wasn't making her feel sick or anything.

He tilted her chin up, and once again, their eyes met. And he surprised her, but this felt natural and right. Closing her eyes, his mouth brushed hers, and she returned the kiss with her own. Her stomach flipped again, but she ignored it.

This first kiss was a probing experiment, and it was a success. When it broke, she wrapped her arms loosely around him and leaned in for a hug. Lying her head on his chest, to hear the steady beat of his heart, she was wondering what her feelings meant.

Should she fan the flame that was forming? Deep inside, she thought she knew the answer. Another part of her wondered if this was real. Drawing in a slightly shaking breath, she lifted her face to look at Caelan again.

"What do you see in me? What are you looking for from me?"

Maybe it was too soon to ask those questions, but they were the ones that came to her mind. Sticking the tip of her tongue out, she tasted him on her lips. She realized she wanted it to linger longer than just the evening.

Caelan Valoren

 

[Katarine Ryiah]

Tags: Connel Vanagor

Katarine watched as Buster crawled into Connel’s lap. The poor pup must be getting tired. This day and been full of such excitement for him.

“Eight centuries? Wow. I wouldn’t even know where to begin with that type of wealth. I can’t believe the bank still had your father’s account. I guess I should have opened a savings account back in my glory days.”

His next words were kind and she appreciated them. It was nice to be thought of as important to someone. Ever since her return five years ago she hadn’t put down any roots. It was nice to finally have a friend, actually two counting Buster.

“Thank you.” She smiled and idly played with the grass around her. She didn’t think he was being pushy at all. He was friendly and fun to talk to and didn’t seem to just be talking to her to get in her pants, which sadly was a common thing in the types of crowds she ran with under cover. Criminals were predictable that way.

“Do you mostly stay elsewhere? Or here at the base? Does Buster have his own puppy bed or does he like to hog your bed?” The thought made her grin.

 

[Connel Vanagor]

REBELS AND STARS
ODESSEN
OBJ 1

Michael, Gabriel, Azrael, Sariel, Raphael, Jeremiel, Connel, Raguel
[Any text in brackets signifies comm-link usage and not face to face conversation]

With Buster sitting like a king on his throne on his lap, Connel shrugged, yet again.

I don’t really think about it… He adjusted his seating... My parents, they started a company that my cousin ran… Guardian Authority… they financed it. It wasn’t really anything important to him, just how he grew up.

I mean sure, the money they got back, they took enough out to live on… but the majority of it went back into the company. Though he clearly wasn’t trying to, Connel felt like he was bragging. He wasn’t raised a “rich kid”, in fact he didn’ like the mentality.

I grew up on the house on Alderaan. We… I guess I now own the entire island… but yeah… if I’m not there, I’m on the Enterprise.

Bark

Yes… you too… we’re usually in between all three. You know what? Give me a week. I’ll make arrangements as my cousin’s widow took over for him when he died. You’re done with “bunks”. Jedi can help in different ways.

Katarine Ryiah​

 

[Phobos]

Objective II
Tags: Reina Daival

​

"Ah, no. Small difference. I was raised amongst the ocean. I was found at sea as a kid. A group of fishermen raised me. Took me from planet to planet, but I never really left the ship until I was...sixteen I think?"

Phobos listened in a whistful manner. It sounded rather... nostalgic. Almost like she had been told these words before by someone else when she was much younger.

Why was that the case? She didn't even remember ever being a child, let alone if she could have been one at some point. As far as the Ashspawn was aware she sort of just... started existing one day. She wasn't sure why. Nobody was present to give her answers when she woke up. All that she woke to was the looming darkness of the Sith, waking in their space. It hurt her to be in that place.

"What is the Ocean like?" Phobos asked. "I have... seen it. I have sat near it, but if I enter my connection to the Force... my flame. It will extinguish. I fear what I may experience without that lifeline... so I do not enter the water. But..."

She paused for a moment. A thoughtful pause.

"I very much desire to. I am unsure of why."

 

[Caelan Valoren]

The kiss sent waves running through his mind. Waves of euphoria, of calm, of being whole and alive. It was like that feeling you get when you know something is just right, and everything will be okay. It was a perfect moment, and he was slightly forlorn that it couldn’t last longer, as they both parted to draw in breaths, and she stepped closer to him to wrap her arms about him and lay her head upon his chest. He wrapped his arms around her in return and held her close because it felt nice to have that level of closeness between them.

Then she asked him two rather poignant questions, her gaze looking up at him in an expectant manner, though soft and full of good feeling.

To be honest, he wasn’t sure how to best answer her question. Did he tell her that he wanted someone to help him raise his children that loved them as much as he did? Someone that loved him AND his children? Someone that wanted to be with him? Was it more of a duty that he maintain a queen? Why did he want this? There were so many questions and it really all boiled back down to what Anavi had told him the first time he and Xian had met: she feels safe with you, and your children need you to be happy and to show them that love isn’t just loss.

“When we first met I didn’t want anything but to be alone-”

That was true. He hadn’t been alone, truly, since before Anavi died, and aside from this moment, he hadn’t been without a lot of other people nearby, or attendants fawning over him, since.

“-but alone is not something I’m good at. I don’t like it and I struggle without someone beside me. There was something in your eyes, the way you spoke, how you looked at the children, that told me that you cared, that it wasn’t an act being put on by someone that was sent to do some diplomatic work. You may not have known it before you arrived, but you wanted to be there. Most importantly, when you looked at me, your eyes said you saw safety and comfort.

“I want to be that for you, and I want you to continue to want that from me because it feels right. I can’t hide behind my grief; it’ll just teach my kids that love leads to loss and pain and then what future will they have? I need you to be you, and that’s all.”

ATTIRE: LINK | WEAPON: Lightsaber | COMPANION: BD-F8 | OTHER: Sigil Bead (Necklace), Prosthetic Left Arm

TAGS: Xian Xiao ​

 

[Everest Vale]

Outfit: Gown
Tag: Tigris Aphra

Eve melted into the warmth of her fiancé, nuzzling into the open curve of Tigris' neck as her arms wrapped fully around her. She held on, unwilling to let go, savouring the closeness and the quiet safety it gave her. A gentle hum slipped from her chest in answer to Tigris' words, her breath brushing against her skin as she whispered, almost shyly so.

"I missed you... I missed us."

The words loosened something inside her, and though her smile lingered, a single tear welled and fell against Tigris' shoulder. It wasn't sorrow, far from it. It was joy, and relief, and the overwhelming contentment of being here now, of knowing that despite everything they had faced, they were still together, stronger than ever.

The music cradled them, slow and soft, and they moved with it as if the rhythm had always belonged to them. Step by step, their bodies swayed in perfect harmony, guided not just by practice but by something deeper. It felt as though the galaxy itself had conspired to place them in this moment.

When Tigris' voice came, low and tender, telling her how amazing she looked, Eve's breath caught. Her silver eye lifted to meet the dark warmth of her gaze, and heat bloomed across her cheeks. She bit her lower lip, shy and flustered beneath the weight of such love, before she found her voice again, barely above a whisper.

"You do too. Love you~"

And then, for a while, there was nothing else, only the music, the lights, and the way they moved together as if made for this dance.

 

[Xian Xiao]

As she searched his face and waited for his answer, she listened to her heart. It was something Xian had relied on very little. Growing up on Coruscant, she had to use her wits and mind more often than almost anything else. Her emotions never played much of a role in her life. Right now, it was different, and she felt they would give her a better answer than her head.

As she felt his grip on her, this might be her answer to a question she had never asked herself. What did she want her future to be? Could she see herself next to him beyond tonight? Most of her life, she had been alone. She cared for herself and, as she grew up, the younger children of the orphanage and the street.

While that had not been a part of her life for several years, the memory lingered. Speaking in a near whisper, she looked away from him and at the stars above them. Something she didn't do was let go of him. Her arms remained looped around him loosely, and she didn't feel like letting go of him. So she didn't.

"I do and I did."

That was her simple reply to his first two points. The third was tentative, but she wasn't going to deny it entirely. He had kept her safe.
Breaking her gaze from the stars, she finally met his eyes again. Taking hold of his hand and keeping it between them, she squeezed it lightly before speaking again.

"This and you do feel right, Caelan. And I can see myself being with you for more than an evening. Not yet, though. I have never known love or what it feels like to be in love. Though I do not doubt you can teach me, and more than that, you can show me.

"I need to go slower. To appreciate everything I'm feeling. To know this won't be a one-time thing or a passing phase for either of us. After tonight, I want to see you again, Caelan. Just the two of us, like this. Without any of your people, if that is possible."

In the darkness, he might not be able to see the pleading in her eyes clearly, but he should be able to hear it in her voice. There was no fear in her, and he would be able to feel that easily.

"We...I need time, and I will be able to give you an answer."


Caelan Valoren

 

[Katarine Ryiah]

Tags: Connel Vanagor

Katarine was watching Connel try to explain in amusement. He seemed to be struggling with explaining his living situation without coming off as a rich pompous jerk, but he need not worry. Nothing about him screamed rich boy to her, and certainly not jerk.

"Hey.. its okay. Your family is allowed to have money. It doesn't change who you are." Heck for all she knew her family had money. She'd never really checked on their financial status after all.

Buster barked and she smiled wide. He wanted to be included in the conversation and it was adorable.

Connel seemed determined to offer her a more comfortable place to stay, at lest for a little while and she didn't want to shoot him down. Maybe travel would be good for her who knows?

"Alright, if you and Buster insist. Though I'm not sure how much downtime we will be getting with this Hidden Path. I still have to read the instruction manual to know my assignments."

She laughed and sat back on her hands, looking up at the stars. It seemed impossible to imagine a war going on when everything now felt so peaceful. The calm before the storm and all that.

"I saw the enclave they built on Eshan. Maybe that's my next task... help them establish another one."

 

[Caelan Valoren]

The response he received wasn't quite what he expected. No, rather, it wasn't what he had hoped for. Part of him knew that this was going to fast. The same part of him that had balked before he had gone to kiss her. It was fast, but he was convinced it was right because of his conversation with Anavi. She was his future and he knew that. It was how he had been lead to believe.

But he understood the reasoning behind what she said. It was fast. He'd only recently lost his wife. The fact they hadn't been close didn't matter, it was still recent and it DID affect things. She was younger than him and she was likely nervous about it all. She didn't want to get hurt and he understood that.

"I understand," he said, not drawing away and letting her hold onto his hand. "It is probably for the best for both of us that we go a bit slower. Even just for the sake of enjoying our time together."

Leaning forward, he kissed her forehead lightly, and breathed deeply of her.

"I will find a way for us to meet somewhere privately to spend some time together. Perhaps I can get Cora to watch the children. I need to speak with her about the children anyway."

He squeezed her hand.

"How long do you want before we get together again?"

ATTIRE: LINK | WEAPON: Lightsaber | COMPANION: BD-F8 | OTHER: Sigil Bead (Necklace), Prosthetic Left Arm

TAGS: Xian Xiao ​

 

[Xian Xiao]

"You sound so sure. That gives me hope my heart isn't mistaken."

The pleading tone was gone, and there was a touch of confidence in her voice now. Xian still felt like she was making the correct decision in taking this part of her life more slowly. There was no reason to hurry it. When he didn't pull away and even said he understood, she nodded. Her movement was probably better felt than seen.

Chewing on her lower lip as he kissed her forehead, she almost sensed his disappointment, but he didn't react negatively. Instead, he accepted her answer and said he would find a way for them to meet.

"In time, when I am more familiar with you, I do want also to spend time with your children."

Though she had confidence at first, she lacked confidence when she finished the first part of her statement. As she continued, it returned.

"They are a part of you, and anybody who has a future with you needs to understand and accept that. I will never deny that, but I need to know you before I know them."

Glancing at their interwined hands, she still wasn't ready to let go of him.

"Duty permitting? How about next week?"

Caelan Valoren

 

[Lily Decoria]

Location: Odessan
Objective: 2 - Fireside Chats
Outfit: Dress
Tag: Shan

Watching Shan stumble over his words as he realised that she was merely teasing him was cute. It was fun for Lily to tease him, keep him on edge as she let out a dramatic sigh. "Is fighting truly all I am good for these days." She gave a wink, with a soft giggle as she looked around and found a spot for them to sit and settle without being watched or overheard.

Hearing that Shan once again stepped away from the path of a Jedi, it wasn't surprising news for Lily but she knew there was more to the story. "I am sorry to hear that, the Order can use minds like yours. People who aren't wanting to jump into wars." There would always be a place for people like Lily who put their lives on the line and there would always be praise for that. But there wasn't enough given to people like Shan, people who worked differently, built peace and hope in other ways. Ensuring that the efforts of warriors like Lily weren't wasted. It was just as important and he was just as much a Jedi as she was for it.

"Hopefully you are still teaching Zaiya, she probably needs your guidance and support now more than ever. A lot has happened and everything is so chaotic in this region of the galaxy." She knew how guilty Shan had felt in abandoning his Padawan the first time, she didn't want him to feel that way again, there were ways to train a person and guide them without needing a blade. Without fighting.

The important thing was Shan felt no regrets in this decision.

Nodding her head, "there is a need for it, and there is a need for Jedi who inspire hope in ways that aren't through violence. Fighting isn't everything that makes a Jedi who they are. If it was, then we would be warriors not peace keepers. To proclaim that title, we need ways to handle situations that aren't inherently violent. We need people who inspire hope and happiness in ways that the fighters in the Order cannot." Lily stated, she didn't want Shan to feel pressured or forced to stay a Jedi, but was more talking aloud something she was realising.

Giving Shan a playful nudge, "just be you and I am sure you will probably still be a Jedi, even if you don't carry the title." Lily grinned.

 

[Connel Vanagor]

REBELS AND STARS
ODESSEN
OBJ 1

Michael, Gabriel, Azrael, Sariel, Raphael, Jeremiel, Connel, Raguel
[Any text in brackets signifies comm-link usage and not face to face conversation]

After a few moments, Buster got up, stepped off Connel’s lap and onto Kat’s. Though he clearly didn’t care, Vanagor made a face.

Oh, is that how it is? As the pup settled himself, Connel playfully exhaled through his nose. You traitor! Buster just looked up at him and plopped his chin on her knee.

Really? Shaking his head, and then seeing the tail wag, he looked back at Kat.

I guess the deal is sealed...

Bark

Anyway, He just playfully glared at Buster. We have more, like the one on Alderaan, that’s more a safehouse though. Assignments for me are ridiculous, which is why I have the ship. It’s more a “mobile station”. You want access codes to it?

Katarine Ryiah​

 

[Caelan Valoren]

She was nervous, worried that he would reject her for not wanting to rush into things. He understood it, but he didn’t feel worried about it. That feeling that the Force was pushing him towards this wasn’t dissipating despite her words. It was clear to him that she just needed some time for herself, for assurances, and to get to know him better. That was normal. Typically, when one met someone they had feelings for, the courting process began and it wasn’t always quick. Here, they had met one time before, but already kissed at a dance on Odessen, the second time they’d been in each others presence.

That was quick.

“That’s fine, Xian,” he said, smiling warmly at her. “You are not wrong for wanting to get to know me before being thrust into the lives of my children. I appreciate that you’re looking out for them in that manner.”

The fact she wanted to see him again the next week was reassuring, though. While she clearly wanted to have some time to see things through, she didn’t want to wait a long time between. On some level, she really was comfortable with being with him. She wanted to be with him. They both needed to make sure it was for the right reasons, though.

Perhaps some time somewhere they could be completely alone would help with that. He knew of a few safe worlds, ones where there were few to no people, but had a serenity and beauty to them that made the trip there worthwhile. He hadn’t been camping in a while, so that did present an option. Backpacking, hiking and finding a spot to camp and enjoy the scenery wouldn’t be a bad thing. Even though he hadn’t been the type to go hunting with his father and sister, he did really enjoy being in the outdoors. Fishing was particularly a fun pastime for him, so if they could find somewhere with a good water source, he could at least provide them with decent fresh food.

“How about one week from today on Ragoon 6? I’ll set up a beacon so you can find me.”

ATTIRE: LINK | WEAPON: Lightsaber | COMPANION: BD-F8 | OTHER: Sigil Bead (Necklace), Prosthetic Left Arm

TAGS: Xian Xiao ​

 

[Valery Noble]

Outfit: Red Dress | Wedding Ring

Valery's smirk returned almost instantly, her head tilting as she leaned a little more into him. "You know I can feel that grin of yours," she teased, "And yes, you are very much a cheat. First you fluster me on purpose, then you swoop in and catch me like that. Throwing a heel was just my way of making things fair again."

Her laughter spilled out again as she looked up at him, eyes glowing in the starlight. Then, a streak of light cut across the night sky, bright against the darkness. Valery's expression softened, and she nudged him gently with her shoulder. "Look," she said, pointing upward. "A comet. Seems like the galaxy's giving us a moment. We can both make a wish."

Her orange eyes lingered on him for a beat longer, her smile warm and playful. "Though I think I already know what mine will be."

Kahlil Noble ​

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"Sure, sure. I suppose you'd be the expert, considering you ran before you even said start, mm?" Kahlil chuckled lightly, 0but his gaze traveled up towards the sky as she pointed towards a comet. His smile softened as he hugged her more to his chest, idly tilting his head to give quite the sudden show of affection. A kiss to her cheek.

"I've everything I could ever wish for, right here. Why would I need a comet?"

Valery Noble