Silently nodding as thanks, he took the cup into his hands. The tea's heat was mostly insulated from his hands by the gloves he wore. Though he very much disliked the discomfort of hot ceramics, he felt a tinge of self-consciousness arise when he glanced at his hands, still clad in hefty gloves. They were not exactly what he imagined proper table attire to be, yet there was no motion in his mind that compelled him to remove them. He mentally shrugged the thought away when his host resumed speaking, timing his own sip with that of his host instead of developing on the theory of optimal tea flavours.
"Kii-" he replied almost instinctively before the strange circumstances reemerged. It had become all too common to give out one of his many fake names tied to complete identities fabricated entirely to allow for absolute anonymity during his travels. He hadn't spoken his real name in close to half a decade. He also hadn't taken the time to just sit down and have tea in about as long. So many insincere conversations, discussions, and relationships had only accelerated the degradation that he felt occurring to his sense of self. Stress, pressure to accomplish goals, and the constant threat of exposure only acted as a crucible in which his persona was being destroyed it seemed.
He sighed as he set down his elbows on the table, staring at the barely visible wafts of steam rising from the liquid's surface. The risks involved in simply giving out his own identity to a complete stranger, even one he felt compelled to visit due to the Force, were too great. He recognised that and only knew too well where such reckless behaviour lead. Many knew him by only by his first name however. There had been only three people in the galaxy who knew of his second and third names, two of which were his parents, the other one had been dead for decades, at the very least.
"Aurellian, may I ask for yours?" he replied, the slightest hint of a smile creeping into his face as he did. Something about saying his own name felt liberating, even if only in a small manner.
"Kii-" he replied almost instinctively before the strange circumstances reemerged. It had become all too common to give out one of his many fake names tied to complete identities fabricated entirely to allow for absolute anonymity during his travels. He hadn't spoken his real name in close to half a decade. He also hadn't taken the time to just sit down and have tea in about as long. So many insincere conversations, discussions, and relationships had only accelerated the degradation that he felt occurring to his sense of self. Stress, pressure to accomplish goals, and the constant threat of exposure only acted as a crucible in which his persona was being destroyed it seemed.
He sighed as he set down his elbows on the table, staring at the barely visible wafts of steam rising from the liquid's surface. The risks involved in simply giving out his own identity to a complete stranger, even one he felt compelled to visit due to the Force, were too great. He recognised that and only knew too well where such reckless behaviour lead. Many knew him by only by his first name however. There had been only three people in the galaxy who knew of his second and third names, two of which were his parents, the other one had been dead for decades, at the very least.
"Aurellian, may I ask for yours?" he replied, the slightest hint of a smile creeping into his face as he did. Something about saying his own name felt liberating, even if only in a small manner.