[D7 ME] Date for the Dance

[Zeno Deathwright]

One of his hands goes to her cheek.

"Well, I hope I've been useful in fulfilling the mission Vowrawn gave you," he replies. "And I hope to be able to continue doing so."

[Shaisha Vreysk]

"I always have fun with you, Zeno", she smiles and turns her head slightly so she can kiss the palm of his hand. "Well, almost always."

"We've had fun here on Nar Shaddaa, and then we had lots of fun back at the Academy."

[Zeno Deathwright]

"And there's more to be had. We should start collecting little baubles from each planet we have fun on." He smirks at her. "What do you think?"

[Shaisha Vreysk]

"That might be a nice idea... as long as we're not including the last planet we visited together," there was an involuntary shudder as she thought of that place. "I don't need anything more to remind me of that place."

"But... maybe you picked up something on Dantooine?"

[Zeno Deathwright]

"I got some new socks there. And a couple tools for my toolbox." He laughs at that. "But no. Mostly just left things behind."

[Shaisha Vreysk]

She laughs and pokes his sides. "And have you visited any other places where you got the chance to pick up any souvenirs then?"

[Zeno Deathwright]

"Not really. But let's go shopping sometime before we leave here and get something to remember it by. That would be fun I think." He grabs her hands and pulls her close as he takes to his feet.

"What dancing is next? Your choice."

[Shaisha Vreysk]

"Hmm..." she ponders the choices before her and breaks into an (almost) innocent smile. "Would you be in the mood for something slow then? I've seen you been able to move to some of the more fast-paced stuff, but can you handle being slow?"

[Zeno Deathwright]

"You know I can be soft and slow," he says with a wink. "Let's go," he says waiting for her to lead the way.

[Shaisha Vreysk]

Smiling, Shaisha takes Zeno by the hand as they move to another part of the Club that featured softer and slower music. The place was of course full of couples dancing. Almost all sorts of pairings one could imagine really.

The music was something suitably sentimental to the kind of mood the place was going for.

It wasn't really what Shaisha prefered most of the time when she thought about going out to have a good time, but... it kinda was what she wanted right now, even if it was sappy and cliche. At least it wasn't hard to dance to this kind of music.

"... Damn, I used to hate this kind of thing before, you know," she admits with a quiet tone as she leads him into the slow dance. "Worst part of social events with nobles was always the slow dancing."

[Zeno Deathwright]

He takes her gently in her arms, perhaps surprisingly knowing the proper positioning and moving pretty easily.

"That's because you didn't have me there," he says with a soft smile. "To enjoy the dancing first then get into trouble with later. Though I suppose you did have people to get in trouble with, didn't you?"

[Shaisha Vreysk]

"Of that I was never lacking," she smiles fondly, thinking of childhood memories. "Sylvain was always the best of us at this kind of stuff... and Kristal being the one with two left feet the size of flagships."

"I would often sneak off and amuse myself some other way than suffering through the same old song and dance while those two were proper. Then we'd get into trouble together later when they got tired of being proper."

[Zeno Deathwright]

"Well... we can sneak off a bit later if you want. Just let me know if you end up wanting to get naughty. But I'm actually enjoying this right now. It's a nice change of pace, enjoying a calm moment with you Shaisha."

[Shaisha Vreysk]

"We could always do that," she favours him with an impish smile. "But yeah... this is nice. A change of pace from our usual fast-paced action and fiery inferno of passion?"

"So what would you do for fun during your pilot training, considering the lack of boring parties and ballroom dancing?"

[Zeno Deathwright]

"We would throw our own parties, with more booze than the boring parties. Cheaper booze as well, I imagine. But in between pilot training I was often studying with my tutor the things I needed before the academy, so I was a bit more busy than most of the others."

[Shaisha Vreysk]

"Most likely cheaper booze, yes," she chuckles and steals a small kiss from his lips. "But more? I'm not so sure about that... we'll have to examine this in detail; we'll attend some stuffy noble affair in Kaas City first, and then we'll head to Deathwright station and let loose with your crew. All in the name of research, of course."

[Zeno Deathwright]

"I can't guarantee we'll have more, but I highly suspect. The biggest parties have a few hundred, and everyone lets loose while aiming to get drunk and have a good time. The biggest party tends to be the one following the big tournament every three years. We lose a few pilots every time and we celebrate their memory and send them off during it. Celebrate their accomplishments and drink to their memory while unwinding after a dangerous ordeal. As well as honoring the champion."

[Shaisha Vreysk]

"So, it's some kind of pilot-tournament then? Don't think I've ever seen that before... so that of course begs the question when the next one will be?"

The music changed to something with a different tempo, but still favouring the overall theme of music that couples could dance to.

[Zeno Deathwright]

"It is. A huge event with the best of the best, some invitations for those outside of the Deathwrights. It's held over three days with races, seek and destroy, team and individual dog fights, both space and aerial planet side. All done with live fire. Those that do well tend to be identified for leadership roles and special assignments. The Capital Defense Squadron is almost entirely made up of pilots that have placed in the top ten at some point in their lives. During this war, there are slightly fewer participants but we still have a lot," he says with a smile, thinking back to it. "Next one is in about a year."

He shifts with the change in music, though it's not a large shift.

[Shaisha Vreysk]

"I'd love to see it next year then," she smiles and changes with the music too. "Is it something you will compete in too? Or would it be... hm... poor sportsmanship, considering you have the advantage of the Force enhancing your abilities?"

[Zeno Deathwright]

"No such thing as poor sportsmanship," he says with a chuckle. "We use what advantages we have. Some of us have natural talent and a gift in the cockpit, some train during all their waking hours. Others are masters in the workshop and make some amazing modifications to our ships. We use all the talents and skills we can muster to prove our skill in the tournament. I'd actually love to participate, it would be my first one. I hadn't graduated the pilot program yet which is a requirement for all Deathwrights to participate, though obviously not for the outsiders we invite."

"If you like, I can arrange for you to stay on the station during the tournament. Mother hasn't competed in the last two and likely won't in the future. She hadn't finished outside the top five in any that she participated in and won three over the years, so nobody questions her skills. I'm sure she'd be glad to host someone I'm close to along with the handful of other special guests, a few moffs and a couple Sith usually, who we regularly assign pilots to."

[Shaisha Vreysk]

"I would very much appriciate it... who knows Vowrawn might even be interested in going, though I don't think aerial expertise is a hobby of his. Not really mine either, but I like watching you in action," she smiles and gives him a wink.

"I take it your father doesn't compete either?"

[Zeno Deathwright]

"He doesn't. But he does attend. For many that watch it is a blood sport, for him it is that and an opportunity to show of the expertise of his top pilots."

[Shaisha Vreysk]

"Such a social thing for someone who sounds like he hates those kinds of affairs?" she chuckles and leans closer for another kiss. She considers asking about his sisters competing in the past tournament, but she wasn't sure how that would go over, considering the news he got at the Academy.

"... Being in a high-speed chase yesterday, I think I'll stick to just watching the pros doing these kind of things in the future."

[Zeno Deathwright]

He lips were met, softly, and with a sense of lightness counter to his contained anger earlier.

"Well, he may not be much for social engagements, but it's an opportunity to show off his power, and remind people that he has one of the most militarily potent houses at his disposal. It's a demonstration and a means for offering favors to trade. Strikes against targets that others might not be able to hit as well. He may not be a very sociable creature but he understands that trading favors are important to wielding power."

"And I'd be glad to have you there to observe. I imagine I may have fallen a bit behind my fellows a bit, since they're still focused on their piloting. I may have the reflexes and senses to help me in a dogfight, but they're honing their talents with techniques specific to many other aspects of that job. While I've put effort into expanding my skill set as a whole. Even with the force by my side, I wouldn't be surprised if I only placed in a middling position, though it's hard for me to know since we don't have many force sensitives participate."