The Finest Arts (D9 LA, Arali's Apartment, Closed)

[Arsele Girard]

And that earns... a smile, Arsele sitting back again, "Then I hope so too; I think you deserve to be happy, and with a smile like that I suspect you're at least getting there. Obviously I am jealous, of course; More jealous an a creditless Hutt at a buffet. But that doesn't break down my happiness for you in the slightest."

And it was all true, both the bad and the good; For a thief and na'er-do-well, Arsele was a surprisingly straightforward person.

[Arali Zian]

Arali tries to shift her smile to something a little more normal, casual, "And I'm sorry for that. I didn't know what was going on, and it isn't fair to you. And..." she sighs, "there's really nothing I can say that can make that right."

[Arsele Girard]

"That implies there's something wrong; I'm sure, whoever they are, they're a perfectly wonderful person to have you so interested. Hmm... and probably more than a bit pretty, knowing your tastes."

Arsele motioned to herself, "Now, I ~could~ try tempting you away from this individual... THAT might be wrong though, non?"

A little bit of saucy Alderaanian crept in there as she gave Arali a purely innocent look.

[Arali Zian]

The words hit Arali hard. She thought she was past the worst of it, but... Arsele is under her skin. She goes nervous, she's fidgety, she can't look Arsele in the eye. Though she definitely side-eyes other parts of her anatomy, undressing her in her mind. "Some people would think that, yes..."

[Arsele Girard]

"And if I don't?" she asks as she sits up out of the chair, bare knee going up on the table and Arsele leaning further over towards Arali. One of hands goes goes to the side of Arali's plate, holding herself up so she doesn't knock over the centerpiece, "Because I came here for you, Arali dear. And I would hate to just give up when I needed you so badly."

[Arali Zian]

Arsele comes closer, and Arali can see what's coming, wants it so terribly, but...

Emotion, yet peace. Ignorance, yet knowledge. Passion, yet serenity...

She closes her eyes and straightens up. She takes the visions, the fantasies, the thousand daydreams of Arsele, but she does not build the wall around her mind as she was trained. Instead, she accepts them. They are part of her, dear to her, but they do not control her.

Inhale to gather strength. Exhale, and the tension leaves her body.

"No," she says. Calm, even.

For the first time since dinner started, she meets those beautiful blue eyes. The want is still there, but there is a sadness with it. "You are dear to me, Arsele, and I never wanted to hurt you, but I can't do this. I can't be this for you."

[Arsele Girard]

Arsele stays where she is a moment quietly, looking down at Arali thoughtfully before sliding back off the table into her seat. She actually does look a bit sad, "Okay, okay... I won't press the issue then; I respect you far too much to push your commitment. I like you too much for that as well."

A wan smile, Arsele picking back up her fork, "...not a waste though; I got to see you again and try your cooking, and see your lovely place. Which are all wonderful."

[Arali Zian]

"Thank you." On more levels than one, but she chooses to focus on the compliments, as she looks around the room. Simple decor. Most of the furniture came with the room, if not built-in to save space. Not much more is her touch than the flowers and her paintings, but it brings life to the room.

"It's one of the things I missed, growing up in the order. Home. An actual home. Not just a bare room in a temple or the enclave. Something I hadn't had since..." she thinks back to her homeworld. And the aftermath. "Well, let's just say most Jedi don't get happy childhoods. I am going to miss it..."

She sighs, "Arsele, there is something else I wanted to talk to you about. A few days ago, I..." she thinks how best to explain the duel with Lorne, and decides 'not at all' gets to the point better, "I received my master's blessing to face the Jedi trials. I'm not sure how it will go- no one ever is- but it means I'm leaving Nar Shaddaa. Soon. And I may not come back very often."

[Arsele Girard]

A slight frown as Arsele nodded, looking across the table carefully at Arali, "I suppose that's one thing; Even if something had worked out between us, there is this."

She brought her hand up to her chin as she rested an elbow on the table, "Will you be able to stay in touch with me at least? Like I said before, I don't abandon friends. And I certainly consider you a friend Ari~"

[Arali Zian]

"In another life," she raises her tea cup and drinks to what could have been.

"The galaxy is a small place. I can still keep in touch, but what about you? Now that your family knows you're here, are you staying on Nar Shaddaa? I have some friends on unaligned worlds and fringe colonies who could help you set up. Nothing glamorous, but some of them are good places to hide."

[Arsele Girard]

Arsele briefly bit her bottom lip, "That's... a good question. I hadn't had time to think about that. It's not that I'd feel unsafe, but it might be nice to not have them looking over my shoulder all the time. ...not to mention you leaving and other things..."

[Arali Zian]

"Well, there's no rush to make up your mind. My connections aren't what they are a couple weeks ago, but I can put you in touch with some people who can get you off-world quietly, or help you and your ship slip free. You'll definitely want to sweep it for trackers before you go anywhere, though."

[Arsele Girard]

Arsele chuckles softly, "Believe or not, it wouldn't be the first time I've done that. One might say I'm fairly practiced at slipping away unnoticed in fact. Maybe less so the past year or so though... This place had actually started to become something like a home. Even the tiny apartment and the Viper and the strip club..."

[Arali Zian]

Especially the strip club?

"Good luck, whatever you decide." She takes a deep breath, taking in the smell of her home, so much better than the wet, greasy mess outside.

"It's about time to move on. Nar Shaddaa has grown on me, but it's not what I have in mind for when I settle down."

[Arsele Girard]

"Same, same... Maybe not Alderaan for me, but certainly some place brighter and safer. Did you have anything specific in mind yourself, Ari? A sort of vision or goal in mind?"

She looked at Arali with a warm curiosity as she finished asking, finishing the food in front of her.

[Arali Zian]

"I've never been a city girl," Arali admits, surprising no one.

"A quiet home, on a peaceful world, running a farm. Might even have the white picket fence, for completeness' sake. Though, with knighthood on the horizon... that could be a long way off. And I'd need the galaxy to quiet down first."

[Arsele Girard]

"Yeah... I suppose I'm lucky in having the freedom to pursue that sort of thing. Though I probably want to save up more credits before I think of things like settling down with kids..."

Arsele let out a soft sigh, "One day though... I suppose we will both just have to wait, non?"

[Arali Zian]

Arali raises a finger as the meal wraps up, and heads to her conservator, where she pulls out most of a sunfruit pie, and serves up a slice for each of them.

"We're both young yet; we have time. Until then? I hope you like sunfruit."

[Arsele Girard]

"Hmmmm... I don't know Arali; I might, just a little."

Truthfully, Arsele loved citrus. And sunfruit had a similar sharp but sweet taste that she really went for, like plums or kiwi. So the grin on her face was hard to hide.

"It certainly LOOKS like a treat though~" she said, commenting on the bright colour and neat slice.

[Arali Zian]

"I had a hunch you might appreciate it," she smirks as she takes a bite. Turns out, she's learned a thing or two about Arsele's favorite drinks over the last few months. Some things translate.

[Arsele Girard]

And it's as delicious as it looks; It shows on Arsele's face.

"Mmmm... one question though; Where'd you get the fruit? I didn't know there were any markets with such fresh sunfruit, since it's not exactly grown in-system."

[Arali Zian]

"Oh, it isn't fresh," Arali corrects. "It's made from preserves. I go to a lot of agricultural colonies, so I like to stock up while I'm out."

She closes her eyes and takes a bite, puckering at the tartness.

[Arsele Girard]

"Huh... I never would have guessed that."

Arsele finished the slice on her plate before sitting back a bit with a sigh.

"Chez Arali will definitely need to get a high rating on the holonet later."

[Arali Zian]

At that last comment, Arali perks up, and holds up a finger as she heads over to the counter to grab her comm. A couple taps, and Arsele's comm chirps, directing her to something called Chef du Jour. Some sort of amateur cooks' swap site for tips and recipes, and it does, in fact, have a ratings system.

"Let's just say I take my cooking seriously."

[Arsele Girard]

Looking at her comm, Arsele can't help but chuckle, "Fair enough; Part of me had been hoping this was just extra effort for me, but your way seems much more believable. ...hm, there's even a section for simple stuff; I think even I could make some of these, threadbare kitchen or no."

She looks over the holonet site as she talks and a moment more besides, but then closes her comm and looks back up at Arali.