[D6 - MM] Bring Me Back My Rhodey! (Zeno's room)

[Zeno Deathwright]

"Yeah. The nutrient paste at the academy was pretty not-good at all," he says with a smirk. "Pretty sure they made it that way specifically to torment us."

[Luth Khalan]

"Can't have us going soft with all these fancy-schmancy 'flavors'," she said, using air quotes around the last word.

[Zeno Deathwright]

"I may not be a professional cook, but I'm about to give you some flavor." He smiles at that as he pours the eggs into the pan, scrambling them up.

[Luth Khalan]

"Music to my ears." She inhales once the eggs are a little way into cooking. "I'd add my nose to that, but it wouldn't make any sense. It smells delicious already, anyway."

[Zeno Deathwright]

"I'm glad you're enjoying the experience of your sense," he says with a nod as the eggs turn slowly from a liquid to a tasty scrambled mess fit for consumption.

[Luth Khalan]

"Actually... Speaking of senses," she let a smile cross her face. "You always seem to know exactly what to do... where it's feeling the best or if something's uncomfortable. Is it just experience, or...?" She trails off on a note of curiosity.

[Zeno Deathwright]

"A mix of experience and the force giving me insight into the feelings of others," he says nodding. "Those that have the gift aren't the only ones that can benefit from it. Experience taught me the myriad of ways to do things, my extra senses allow me to understand which are most effective. It allows me to feel the sensation as well, so every time you arch your back or quiver, I get that sensation. It's just unfortunate you don't have the same gift. Two people together... it's like being in an echo chamber where the echoes are pleasurable sensations."

He pulls the pan off the burner and sets it aside while he grabs a few plates, serving the eggs and setting Asra's plate in front of her.

[Luth Khalan]

She nods, listening to him. There was a moment of heavy mood in her at the reminder that she would always be lesser in the Empire, but the emotion was knocked out and locked in a box faster than someone the Hutts don't like, and she focused on the moment, on the meal in front of her and the pleasant company. "Thank you," she said with a smile.

[Zeno Deathwright]

"Of course," he says, taking his own plate and sitting next to her. He takes a few bites, and waits for her to do the same. "What's the verdict? Like I said, I'm no professional, but I've made eggs a few times."

[Luth Khalan]

She takes a few bites, chewing and swallowing. "Leaps and bounds above rations, and in the grand scale of things, pretty darn good," she assesses with a smile.

[Zeno Deathwright]

"Well thank you, but I do have good ingredients to work with so that makes it a lot easier," he says with a nod, taking another bite. "I'm glad you like it though."

[Luth Khalan]

"It does help," she agrees. "Spring onions are the best with eggs." She looks across to him thoughtfully, seeming contemplative for a moment before turning down toward her food to watch what she's doing.

[Zeno Deathwright]

"What?" he asks, curious, with a smile. "Something the matter?"

[Luth Khalan]

"You got me thinking last night," she said after swallowing. She pauses, trying to find the best wording. "Doing what I want, taking what I want... I was in a different context, but it made me start to consider what that might in a slightly larger scale. I've never considered it much. It used to be pointless to want. How long did it take to realize that's not true anymore? I hate to think."

[Zeno Deathwright]

"The first steps to freedom start with passion," he says with a smile. "And I'm not talking about what happened with us. You have to figure out what it is you want. Desire is one of the strongest motivators. Embrace it, live it, because that's the truth of freedom. It's not something you achieve, or something that has an end goal. It's not limiting yourself and your choices."

[Luth Khalan]

"It's like the old saying with training... 'stay hungry'," she said, nodding slowly. "Freedom isn't something I know well... Though I suppose it's a matter of perception. One's choices are as limited in a given situation as one perceives them to be... Physical or other hard limits notwithstanding."

[Zeno Deathwright]

"It is all perception. One man might consider a life or death situation in such a way that he feels there is no choice because the drive to live is impossible to overcome. In such a situation he may feel like he is not free to do as he wishes," Zeno takes a bite before continuing.

"Another man might look at the situation and decide that he has two choices, one being living a life he doesn't want to and another where he dies swiftly without suffering. In spite of only having two choices he may feel that because he can choose his own path, he has the freedom of choice."

He takes a few more bites during her response, finishing off the eggs.

[Luth Khalan]

"And then there's learned helplessness. Training someone or something to believe they have no choice, or their capabilities are less than they are," she ate quietly, her expression quiet and contemplative, but a little ball of anger reviving in her stomach where it had died out ages ago. "Lots of food for thought, anyway."

[Zeno Deathwright]

"Actually, there is a portion of Deathwright training like that. Leads to a not insignificant number of suicides," he says with a nod. "It's meant to weed out those that can't overcome insecurity or lack faith in the family."

[Luth Khalan]

She half-smiles at that. "Daily life for one person used as training for another. An interesting contrast," she observes. "I'm not surprised that it leads to relatively frequent suicide."

[Zeno Deathwright]

"It's a bit more intense than daily life," he says, shaking his head. "They identify the instructor you get along with least. That instructor ejects you into space with nothing but your vac suit. 72 hours alone in the void with no explanation for why, only the knowledge that the person that likes you the least did it to you."

[Luth Khalan]

She nods. "Thaaaaat's pretty specific. Not exactly the psychological phenomenon I was referring to, but I can see how that would do it. And probably drive someone forward."

[Zeno Deathwright]

"Nothing like thinking someone who hates you ditched you and left you for dead to make you question your life. It also has the added affect that if survived, you're far more likely to be unafraid of being lost in the void," he replies with a shrug.

[Luth Khalan]

She nods thoughtfully. "That seems like it would have the most impact if it came as a surprise. Do they keep it quiet that this happens to people before it does?"

[Zeno Deathwright]

"They do. Sometimes the trainees find out, but even then it's still a jarring experience I imagine. It was a complete surprise to me," he says with a nod, before finishing off the last of his eggs.