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Post by Solaris on Mar 15, 2013 15:48:42 GMT -5
Miri met his gaze and smiled what she hoped was a reassuring smile. Miri couldn't bring herself to lie to him, but with the Force it was sometimes hard to tell whether or not a dream was just a dream - or whether it was something more. Miri took a few minutes to answer, trying to figure out how to best word it. "I hope you do," she said softly after a moment, "and that she's still your sister when you find her.
"But maybe the dream is the Force's way of telling you that it's not too late - that she hasn't let them win, not entirely, and that she's still your sister. Maybe it's the Force trying to tell you that, um, that you're all she has left, her last hope, that you can't give up on her because if you do, she'll fall and then she really will be one of them." Miri shrugged, looking away shyly. She might have been biased after spending so much time around a bunch of yellow-eyed Vong, but Kelly had really nice eyes. Judging by the heat she felt on her cheeks, Miri was blushing again. What was she, fourteen? "Or something like that, I guess."
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Post by Reliable Idiot on Mar 15, 2013 23:02:56 GMT -5
"Yeah. Maybe." A weak smile returned to Kelly's former blank expression. "I won't give up on her, that's for sure."
She didn't mention her father anymore, so he decided to drop the subject in favor of .. wondering why her cheeks were so red, again. He glanced at his console; the air conditioning was fluctuating normally through the cockpit, and the same with the rest of the ship, not to mention that space was naturally cold.
"So.. deep question, here, Mir." He leaned over in his seat and looked at her with a furrowed brow and an unblinking gaze, even as a playful smirk crept through the corners of his lips. They needed something lighthearted to dwell on after that brief, but reminding, conversation about their pasts.
"Do you think you can still beat me in a fight?"
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Post by Solaris on Mar 15, 2013 23:52:47 GMT -5
Miri blinked at the non-sequitur, then frowned at him when she registered what he'd said. Why was he talking about something so inane as sparring when they'd just both poured out their hopes and fears? It was okay that he'd talked about his sister when she told him her father had tried to murder her, but trying to make like he was challenging her to a spar to pass the time right after that? To go from laying out their-. . . to wanting to play with his damn lightsaber like a freshly-promoted apprentice? "I don't think I can," Miri said crisply. "But my lightsaber doesn't have a training setting," she lied, as her tsaisaber could modulate more finely than most mechanical 'sabers, "so that theory will have to go untested."
She stood up from the chair before he could suggest unarmed martial arts practice or letting her borrow a 'saber. "Is there a galley on this 'vette? I'm hungry, and the only food I've had lately has been goo and sludge." Her tone wasn't nearly so warm and friendly as it had been, though she wasn't precisely being hostile she was certainly rather cross with him. "Much like most any other art, cooking is completely lost on Yuuzhan Vong."
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Post by Reliable Idiot on Mar 16, 2013 10:03:56 GMT -5
"Um.. yeah. Sure, follow me."
Nice buzzkill, Kel. Kely thought while he walked out of the cockpit.It's obvious she didn't like that idea. She probably thinks I'm an insensitive lokohin1 now.
And then another thought occurred to him: so what if she did? They were just friends, it's not like one misplaced remark would ruin that. Keller had told himself a hundred times that having a relationship with anybody would be impossible considering his responsibilities. Was that opinion starting to change?
The Justiciar's galley was much smaller than that of a stock CR-90, but it was still a good size for Kelly to accommodate whatever number of guests he might have onboard. All the appliances were stainless steel and appropriately spotless. The main centerpiece of the kitchen was a large square-shaped cooking surface, surrounded by granite counters and metal stools. That was where Kelly cooked and ate most of his meals, if not in his personal quarters.
"There's some stuff in the fridge; or I can cook you something fresh, if you want. I'm not promising a culinary miracle, but it'll at least be better than whatever the Vong are feeding you." He opened up a mini-cooler stationed on the wall next to the fridge and procured himself a can of sparkling jawa juice, cracking off the tab and taking a drink. preview
1fool
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Post by Solaris on Mar 16, 2013 12:46:49 GMT -5
Miri contemplated for a moment, her face mostly blank - she had been spending a touch too much time around the Yuuzhan Vong - before nodding and looking at him with a little smile tugging at the corners of her lips. Food someone else cooked always tasted better, and she just wasn't the sort who could hold a grudge for very long anyways . . . even if he was an insensitive puul-brain. "Kelly, I haven't had anything fresh in months. That sounds fantastic."
She slipped in past him to grab a can of Ardees for herself, smiling shyly up at him when she realized just how close she stood to Kelly. No, she really couldn't hold a grudge at all . . . not when he'd just promised to cook for her, anyhow. "'Scuse me," she mumbled as she retreated back to a seat at the counter, her pale cheeks once again flushed in embarrassment. Miri hastily cracked open the can and downed half the can of alcohol in one go, then set it down and propped her head up in one hand on the countertop, watching Kelly. "I also haven't had any alcohol in about as long," she said. "The People's idea of a drink is not . . . it's ugh." Miri shook her head. "Basically mud mixed with turpentine, and cut with moonshine."
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Post by Reliable Idiot on Mar 16, 2013 18:10:45 GMT -5
Kelly chuckled at her mention of Vong alcohol. "My dad was offered some of that once," he said, opening up the fridge and taking out a plate of some cuts of raw white meat. "He said it hurt worse going down than a .. well, I remember his exact terminology was rather crude, but you get the picture." He winked, tearing the protective wrapping off of the meat and turning the cooktop's burners on. The onyx-colored grilltop started to glow a dim blue from the inside while Kelly grabbed a couple bottles of spices and some plates from a cabinet. He then took a frying pan that was hanging from a rack overhead and tossed the meat into it, then went to preparing the rest of the meal.
The finished product was something Miri would find mouthwatering after having had months of eating only Vong cuisine, although it was fairly simple in concept: grilled chicken, rotini pasta and fresh steamed vegetables and sweetcorn, covered - but not drowned - in a tangy sauce and a collection of savory herbs and spices. Steam rose off the two plates as the aroma wafted through the galley and out into the rest of the ship. Kelly set down Miri's plate in front of her, then sat down on the stool opposite from hers. He smiled, picking up his fork and twirling it in his fingers while waiting for her to take the first bite.
"No refunds if you don't like it," Kelly said jokingly, tapping his thumb on the countertop.
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Post by Solaris on Mar 16, 2013 22:51:48 GMT -5
"Mm," Miri smiled as he set the plate down in front of her. He'd cooked it just for her, and it smelled great - though she was probably hardly the best judge, given what she'd eaten the last few months. "And that's how I can tell you're a bachelor. Careful - someone might mistake you for a keeper," she teased.
She picked up the fork and knife, cut off a small piece of the chicken and then popped it in her mouth. Miri's face lit up with delight, and she dug in eagerly. She kept glancing at Keller, but did not initiate conversation; she was entirely too focused on enjoying the meal, and had little idea of what to say anyhow. Small talk had never been Miri's forte, and it was a little awkward given how he'd switched subjects earlier. The one thing they really had in common was something evidently taboo to talk about judging by how he'd changed the subject so quickly - a situation that made Miri more and more uncomfortable as the meal went on.
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Post by Reliable Idiot on Mar 18, 2013 9:32:04 GMT -5
Kelly chuckled at her teasing, wrapping a coil of noodles and corn around his fork. "Very funny. Let's see.. last girlfriend I had was last year. She was cute, but, uh.. what's the word?" He stuffed the food into his cheek, gulping it down before finishing his sentence.
"Cynical! That's what. Cute, but cynical." He chuckled again, but started to cough from the chicken he'd swallowed just beforehand. He washed it down with some of the alcoholic drink, not that it helped much, but it gave him a fair sense of security that it would keep him from choking. "Not really my style."
"Anyway.. you ever think considered taking on a Padawan? -- after your diplomatic duties are filled, I mean;" Kelly asked, stabbing a greenbean with his fork -- this time, he took some more time to chew it. Maybe Miri was distracting him from the chewing etiquette his mother had constantly reminded him about as a child: chew ten times before you swallow, Kelly, or you might choke!
"I've thought about it a lot. My dad told me he took one when he was just fresh out of his trials.. didn't really say much else about what it was like, though." He paused. "Anyway, if the Council assigned me one, I guess I wouldn't have a choice."
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Post by Solaris on Mar 18, 2013 14:34:08 GMT -5
Miri giggled at his choking, covering her mouth with her fingers and smiling at him. "I'm not making you nervous, am I?" she teased, crinkling her nose as she smiled at him. "Well, turnabout's fair play.
"She must've been really 'cute'," Miri observed, toying with the food thoughtfully, her eyes on the plate but intent on the distance as she recalled what felt like a lifetime ago. "Half the girls in the class would've said 'yes' if you'd asked them out, y'know. Remember that Falleen girl, Zhenny? She had it bad." She paused. "It wasn't her, was it?"
Miri had deliberately skirted around the discussion about taking on an apprentice of her own prior to now. She hadn't put much thought to the subject, and frankly the idea of training up a student rather frightened her. The sensation was not unlike the prospect of unexpectedly becoming a parent. "I think you'd be good at it," Miri said as she propped her head up on her hand and looked him in the eye with a little smile. "But if you didn't want to do it, you could just do what I did and tell them you didn't feel you were ready for it."
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Post by Reliable Idiot on Mar 19, 2013 9:23:08 GMT -5
"Kreff, only half?" Kelly smiled in-between bites. "So I wasn't entirely irresistible, hmm?" he continued, winking at her to indicate his teasing nature while his mouth was full. "And, no, it wasn't her. Someone I met outside of the Jedi, during an assignment to Tatooine. Reddest hair I'd ever seen -- Hapan, y'know. It didn't last very long, though. Seemed our agendas were polar opposite."
"I could say that, but it'd be a lie. I probably am really ready for it, but it's still kind of hard to wrap my head around.. that." He paused, taking a moment to skillfully shoot the empty can of alcohol into a nearby trashbin. "Anyway, time will tell."
"Come to think of it, I know a couple guys who wanted to ask you out." Kelly looked at her, a grin pulling at his mouth. He wondered if it would have hurt to say that he was one of those guys. preview
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