Public Winter Solstice Festival | Eshan

[Braze]

TAGS: Loomi

"Yeah, I don't quite get it either, to be honest," he chirped, brushing his shoulder against Loomi's in a friendly nuuuuuuudge, breaking into a playful smirk. "Imagine if I swiped your dessert at dinner – you'd probably love me a little less, right?" he teased, his eyes twinkling with mischief.

"I think love is a concept that's always shifting, always subjective. I don't think it really is quantifiable. " he continued thoughtfully. "Maybe you could try focusing on someone you really care about. Pour all your love into thinking about that person in the moment, and then use the whistle. See what happens."

Braze paused, his expression turning more contemplative. "As for me, I've decided not to fixate on loving just 'one' person. There's lots of people I love and care about... And not in a romantic sense. I feel like there's so much more to experience and so many different kinds of love to explore and I don't really know how to discern the differences. I think I have... mixed signals. " he mused.

"And I never know if any one likes me back or not... I think that's the subject for a lot of romance novels where one person is pining after another so much so they are in agony, and the other person might not even know about it, or if they do they don't know how to approach it. "

 

[Aldric Varanin]

That was a word for it, sure, majestic. Aldric was interested in getting out of the Six Sisters and into the galaxy but he wasn’t about to join some cult to be a tourist to the great graveyards of the galaxy. He didn’t see his brother going to be doing that either, but here they were.

“Wait, you went to see how the world was… destroyed? With the Force?” Aldric took a second to take that all in. The Force had a wide array of methods to use it, but this felt drastically dark sided.

“What has Mom said about you with the … Isopter?”

Merion Oreno

 

[Merion Oreno]

“Wait, you went to see how the world was… destroyed? With the Force?” Aldric took a second to take that all in. The Force had a wide array of methods to use it, but this felt drastically dark sided.

“What has Mom said about you with the … Isopter?”

​

"Right! The Central Isopter way has a lot of stuff around distance and time. So visions of things that happened, and sensing when things are going to happen, and by things I mean planets blowing up. Some Jedi just came to visit us and try to learn how to do that. — how to know what planets might get torched. The visit was pretty messy and I don't think they liked it any more than Mom does — but you know how much she hates when we get Force teachers that lean one way or the other way too hard, remember when she fired that tutor for leaning Jedi? I think Dad's cool with me going full Isopter, though. I think he likes me doing my own thing."

Not like Merion NEEDED their approval to dress however he wanted. He shuffled his robes uncomfortably.

 

[Katherine Holt]

Objective 1: Festival in the Streets
Outfit: Dress
Tags: Iuuna Talon
​

It had been the Summer Solstice Festival that had seen Katherine last set foot on Eshan. It hardly felt like a lot of time had passed since then, but a lot had changed between then and now. For one, the winged Padawan was a lot more confident and comfortable with herself.

Sure, there were still a few nagging thoughts in the back of her mind. Namely, her nature as a partial Sithspawn, one that used Echani as the ‘body’ of the modifications. But there had been no altercations the last time Katherine had visited, aside from some looks from the more older Echani.

But if anyone dared to confront her about it, they would not find a meek girl. Katherine had come to accept what she was, what others had intended on her being, and her determination to be the complete opposite.

Katherine walked the festive streets, dressed in a long, flowing red dress. The body of it had an intricate pattern woven in, mirrored by the smaller elements along the arms. She had picked this dress in part because of the sleeves, not that Katherine was wholly bothered by the colder weather. Its shade of red was darker than her hair, but matched the blood-stained effect along her wings.

There was practically a bounce in the Padawan’s step as she moved. Her head almost on a swivel as she took in the numerous stalls that lined the streets. She had in her mind to purchase one of the hand-carved whistles, but the first order of business was getting a drink.

She was curious to see what was on offer for the Winter Solstice.

 

[Cato Harth]

OBJ III
Inanna Harth​

"Can you focus enough to grow a tail and fins in their temperature?" Cato smirked. He wasn't sure he could focus on much else, knowing the icy plunge that awaited. Despite being a city-world, Nar Shaddaa could have some pretty chilly winters, given the lack of access to good heating, and the fact that everything was cold metal. But living there he never had to dunk himself into a frigid winter lake.

Cato couldn't help but wonder if the supposed magic reward was worth the trouble. What if he couldn't find one? What if there was no 'new path' opening up in his life? Alas, Inanna was interested in giving it a try, so he'd stick it out for her. "After you, little lady. I ain't jumping in first." He wasn't gonna be that nice about it though.

 

[Connel Vanagor]

I learned from my mother and father, but I am not them!​

Spoiler: PERSONAL EFFECTS

Jedi Defender Light Corvette
"Crotch Rocket" Speederbike
Headset Microphone Comm-link
Vambraces
Custom Robes/Armor
Long handle Lightsaber "Alpha"
Short saber "Omega"
Astromech Droid "D1-N3"

[Any text in brackets signifies comm-link usage and not face to face conversation]
SECTOR: Eshan
MISSION: Winter Solstice
WITH: Buster
TAGS: FULLY OPEN

"A tingle in the air..."​

Connell was actually happy to be here. He knew that he was ridiculously shy and did not want to enable it any more than he already had. So right now, though his instincts were to hold up the walls, the young Jedi Knight, dressed in a suit that fit him like a glove but made him about as comfortable as a guy wearing nothing but a glove, made his way into the expansive hall. Father would want him to be taking notes on what snacks and ganoshes were being presented, but this was a party and he was not here in any official capacity.

You’re being a GOOD boy! Offering a small plate that he put together and slipping it down to the floor, he was not sure that he should do this, but he could not just leave the little wigglebutt by himself. The Echani had a rough going on in their history, but they really had made a life for themselves here, it was good to see.

Connell did not consider himself a historian, but he respected cultures that withstood the test of time. They also knew how to cook! The smells alone..

Spoiler: SUMMARY OF ACTIONS

...

 

[Kina Ropal]

"Were you both going to just jump in without me?" Kina's tone was certainly a bit miffed as she came up to join Aris and Vera at the edge, a frown clear across her face for a few moments before it disappeared, her gaze now trained on the lake. Just how deep was it? How deep would they have to go. Her eyes flicked upward, looking at the underside of her bangs, and a hand came up to touch the accessory that adorned her ponytail. It would serve no purpose underwater. If anything, it might cause problems. The thin piece of gold metal was promptly removed, Kina setting it off to the side on the shore.

"You two are excited for this, aren't you?" It was a question of genuine curiosity, directed to both Aris and Vera as Kina turned her attention to her two friends once more. She herself felt a bit... apprehensive, the only tell tale sign of such being her eyes sometimes flicking to look at the water before back to them.

Valery Noble | Kahlil Noble

 

[Inanna Harth]

"Can you focus enough to grow a tail and fins in their temperature?"​

"Probably not," she admitted. The cold posed enough of a problem that she had decided to wear an actual bathing suit, rather than shifting one like she usually did with her clothing. She was that desperate for even the barest protection against the icy water. "But if I could, I wouldn't want to be something stereotypical like a mermaid. That's not nearly fun enough." She tapped her chin thoughtfully. "If I was thicker, I could turn into a seal. That would be amazing..."

Her seal fantasies were interrupted by Cato's urging. "Okay, big guy," she sassed, rising from her crouched position. "Enjoy the view."

She sashayed over to the water's edge, where she stretched her chilled muscles and called upon the Force. After all, regulating one's temperature required one to still have some warmth left to conserve, right? Exercise would warm her up a little. Her concentration was broken by the sound of voices on the other side of the lake. Well, so much for having the place all to themselves.

Enough dancing around. It's now or never. She took a deep breath and finally jumped in, though it was less a graceful swan dive and more of an awkward hop followed by an anticlimactic splash.

The torrent of Basic and Shi'idese profanity that followed her emergence from the frigid depths made up for it. No matter how well she regulated her body temperature, the water was still, in her own words, "fething freezing!"

Cato Harth​

 

[Atin Tracinya]

Zark San Tekka​

Again, no armor. It felt...sacrilegious to disturb the planet's festivities by wearing full battle armor. Culture was something every Mandalorian understood, held sacred, and Atin was simply unwilling to violate the Echani's, even if he did not understand it. And, Atin had to admit, he liked not being stared at. The ball had been a welcome reprieve from the frightened looks, the angry glares. Maybe Atin was weak for having jumped at another opportunity to shed the armor that marked him as an enemy. But better to choose to remove it of his own volition than to be stripped of it, watch it be melted down and defiled again.

Though this was only the second exception to Atin's self-imposed rule, he feared it might become a habit. Master Zark San Tekka, both Atin's savior and enslaver, had yet to see his face before tonight. Now though, the face of a young man, dark eyed and pitch black hair turned towards the Jedi after having been persuaded to buy some Echani trinket by the pretty girl manning the stand.

Atin walked along beside the Jedi, examining the pendant hanging from a chain until he was sure he was sufficiently far away from the girl who'd sold him the item before blowing on it. Engraved silver and light, etched wood worked together to fill the air with a bright, high pitched sound. "What is this trinket?" Atin muttered, looking at it again with a hint of confusion. "I thought that girl said only someone I care about could hear it? It just sounds like a normal whistle to me." Atin blew into the mouthpiece again, and the same sound was ushered forth. "I think I just got ripped off," the man grumbled. Served him right, the girl had seemed to sweet to say no to, but it was all part of the marketing ploy. Good on her for fooling the Mandalorian, and every other poor sod who fell for her tricks.

 

[Valery Noble]

Eshan

​

Outfit: Winter Coat | Wedding Ring
Tag: Kahlil Noble

Valery couldn't stop smiling.

She let out a soft little squeal of joy, and wrapped herself around his right arm, "Let's get a whistle, then. We'll need to give it a proper test and... I really look forward to having it along on missions." She knew why he wanted it, and it made her romantic heart beat just a little bit faster. For as stoic as he had always been, he could be really sweet when he wanted to be. In recent years, it was coming out a lot more, and it made her very happy.

Even though it also came with an increase in teasing.

"It's a surprise, so you'll have to wait a little longer." She batted her eyelashes and smiled innocently, while she pulled him along the market. There were couples, families and friends going out together everywhere. It made the atmosphere cozy despite the cold, so for perhaps the first time, Valery didn't see bothered by the temperature.

"I think I see the stall where they sell them!"

"Eugh..." is all Vera added to Aris calling her parents romantic, of all things. He was right, sure, but she preferred to think of them as disgusting when it came to that stuff. For now, though, she was going to focus on the lake and smirked at her brother. "I'm also part Keshian, you know. We're warriors, too." Vera squinted at him and stepped by his side to make it known that she was ready to do this.

But before she could jump in, Kina Ropal approached them.

"Oh hey! I wasn't sure if you'd make it in time, but join us." Vera offered Kina a smile and looked at the water. "Very excited, but it's going to be very cold. We're not stopping until we make it all the way, though."

"Failure is not an option."

 

[Celeste Varanin]

.

 

[Noelle Varanin]

Palace

Noelle sighed at her daughter's admission. Both her sons' ships had been reported as present at the spaceport, which meant they were shirking their roles here tonight. Merion she might have expected it from, but Aldric?

She felt the distinct pressure of eyes on them both. She forced herself to release the tension from her brows and smile. "Find them," she ordered breathlessly to Celeste, dismissing her with a flick of her fingers.

Location: Great hall of the palace
Objective: 4
Tags: Celeste Varanin Noelle Varanin (Open to others)
Outfit:

It was during times like these when Cori was infinitely grateful to be a member of the Jedi order. After all, had she not been a Jedi, she wasn't sure if she would have been so quickly and painlessly ushered into the palace, no real invitation needed to take part in the elegant ball before her. Of course, she didn't really need an invitation to an open party like this, but her status as a Jedi had saved her having to go through the security process the other non-echani were. Cori didn't blame them for being cautious, though. Their sovereign was inside these walls, and therefore the future of their entire planet.

Speaking of the sovereign and her family, Cori shot a glance towards them over the rim of her champagne glass. A smile tugged on her lips as she noticed that the princess of the planet was wearing a pretty silver dress that was similar to her own. Cori was rather proud of her outfit tonight, she felt that the white and silver of her dress perfectly matched the theme of the winter event. It wasn't the most practical choice, of course - the long sleeves got in the way, and it was not made by her people so she would surely tear it if she was to shapeshift - but tonight wasn't about practicality. Tonight was about having fun, and experiencing echani culture for the first time.

"Hors d'oeuvres, Miss?" a server asked her, waving a tray of steaming hot refreshments in front of her face. Cori bit back a gag. She never did understand why other people ate their food hot. She only ever ate cold food.

"No thanks," she politely declined, finishing the last of her drink. "Would you take this to the kitchen for me? Thank you."

Handing him her glass, Cori delicately made her way over to the sovereigns. Upon reaching them, she gave both the princess and the queen a respectful curtsy.

"Your majesties, I wished to thank you for this wonderfull celebration," the Jedi knight smiled. "I am honoured to be able to attend. Oh, and princess?" She paused and gave her a wink. "I adore your dress. Great minds think alike, right?"

Noelle turned towards the woman, her features a mask of calm serenity. "We are glad you enjoy it. You'll have to excuse my daughter, she is needed elsewhere."



"And your name is?"

 

[Celeste Varanin]

Palace-> Streets

It was always chilling when her mother did that. Celeste was not half as good at hiding her emotions. She barely seemed to hear the newcomer or the compliment to her dress. She nodded to them both and departed with a tight curtsy.

"I'll skin them myself," she growled under her breath. She pushed through the front gates and into the bitter cold. She barely felt it under the furs she had dawned. She was use to the cool temps of her home, unlike the others she had never left it before. It was just like Merion to make mother mad and ruin the whole night.

She should be twirling on the ball floor with lord Emis, not tracking down two snot-nosed brats in the streets.

Celeste forced herself to clear her mind and fall into the veil of the energy that made up the force. There was a reason her mother used her and not the palace staff. Celeste had one notable skill, and it just so happened to serve her duties as the eldest flawlessly.

Tracking.

The world lit up in her minds eyes, hundreds of little strings tugging at her. She pushed them all away and reached for the brightest, most familiar pair. They were near a mile away, and from here she had the vague sensation that they were in the same area together.

"What brats." She stalked towards them.

Merion Oreno Aldric Varanin

 

[Aldric Varanin]

It was probably the worst thing that the Queen of Eshan had done, let their father give them ideas. Aldric and Merion had both taken the lead from him and were able to venture out into the galaxy. Aldric a little slower than his little brother. The planet needed him, or so he thought. It took a bit of of convincing for Aldric to leave, but exploring and visiting other worlds would give him a better understanding of how to help home.

“Wait, you are able to sense that? The future impending death? Or disaster?” And they weren’t doing anything to help? That seemed a bit untowards, for a child of the Royal House. Sure, Mom was more neutral and didn’t want to get anyone wrapped up into anything they couldn’t solve, and Merion was right, about the Jedi-leaning teacher.

“Does Ashin know?”

Aldric took another sip of his drink, asking about their grandmother knowing something was silly. Varanins were a Force using family. And that meant Aldric had a momentary instinct Celeste was nearby. He turned to see his older sister.

Yeah, she was mad.

“Oh, hey Celeste!” He said, in his best ‘we’ve been waiting for you’ tone. Maybe she’d not be mad.

Merion Oreno Celeste Varanin

 

[Merion Oreno]

“Wait, you are able to sense that? The future impending death? Or disaster?”

“Does Ashin know?”

"Yeah! But only for megaplanetary devastation, and I'm not very good at it yet. So like if someone was probably going to blow up part of Eshan, yeah, I might feel that a day or two early if I was already here. And yeah, I think Grandmother Ashin knows — her ship visited the Observatory I was on. Even got a cup of tea out of it." Which was close to the most face time he'd ever had with that particular family member.

“Oh, hey Celeste!” He said, in his best ‘we’ve been waiting for you’ tone. Maybe she’d not be mad.

With perfect timing, the Force gripped Merion.

"I...I'm having an Isopteric vision! The Spawn of Adas is at hand. Somewhere the Exalted Consecrai sets foot on Eshan: That Which May Break Worlds, the Sith Messiah, Firstborn of Tund. Aunt Ibbie. Oh hi, Celeste."

Celeste Varanin Ibaris Varanin

 

[Celeste Varanin]

Hunting your brothers for a mile when you were meant to be eating cake did little for one’s disposition. Celeste channeled her aching feet into a particularly untrue report.

“Wow. Back for a day and already grounded? Well done. Moms already given the impound order to the ship yard,” she greeted, scoffing down at them both.

 

[Jared Starchaser]

.

 

[Aldric Varanin]

The fact that his brother could predict or be there to witness that there were devastating events coming along made him anxious. He didn’t know why, it didn’t seem like the Isopters were creating the events, just there to watch. Some perverse tourism, maybe? Aldric was fine not being able to do that. Echani martial arts and a bit of internalized Force powers were definitely fine for him.

“A cup of tea? Someone’s the favorite…” A smirk.

It definitely took Aldric by surprise as he looked over to Merion. The other had started to fall into a Force… was it a vision? Or theatrics? What he was more concerned with was what Celeste had to say.

More Varanins. He never had a problem with that, but the family history wasn’t in line with what his mother preferred. And that was a problem.

Wait, his ship?

“Mine? Grounded… I told that pilot droid to keep the ship safe…”

Merion Oreno Celeste Varanin Ibaris Varanin

 

[Merion Oreno]

“Wow. Back for a day and already grounded? Well done. Moms already given the impound order to the ship yard,” she greeted, scoffing down at them both.

“Mine? Grounded… I told that pilot droid to keep the ship safe…”

The vision was fading. Merion felt his face fall and was grateful that his masked robes concealed it. His shuttle was family property, like the bodyguard droid and everything else — except his robes.

"Well...guess I've got no choice except giving in and going to the palace. Good thing I'm feeling formal and festive."

He did a little twirl, every inch the Central Isopter death cultist.

 

[Celeste Varanin]

"Meriiion," Celeste complained, a slight hint of panic to her voice as he twirled. "No. Come on. I'll sneak you through the server's entrance and you can change. Both of you."

She gave the pair a hard look, neither of their garments ball appropriate.

If they moved quick she might even be able to lie. Sorry mother, they were in their rooms all along. Celeste would certainly take the hit if it meant a smoother night between them. They all know how the queen felt about formal events.

She grabbed the youngest by the robes and tried to pull him with her, not unlike a cat cuffing its kitten. Aldric was expected to follow.


WhatwasthathesaidaboutAuntIbbie.