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

[Arali Zian]

She called.

Of all the times, in bed with Asra, she got a message from Arsele.

Dammit, dammit, dammit. Months of fantasies of what she would do to Arsele if she ever got exactly this chance run through her head, but at the same time, there's Asra, and they may have just met, but she feels like that relationship has a real shot.

But it's Arsele...

She sighs, as she puts the finishing touches on dinner.

[Arsele Girard]

Getting a message in reply, Arsele smiles to herself and heads past the guard, the man nodding his head at her. She knew she had some explaining to do about the missed calls on her communicator, but Arali didn't seem angry in her text back at least. And after all the trouble she'd been through the past few cycles, needed to see the lavender woman more than ever.

It wasn't long before she was outside, knocking on Arali's door in a grey sundress with white flowers in design near its bottom.

[Arali Zian]

Arali answers the door, and her heart fills with want and hurt. "Hey, Arsele," there's a melancholy to her smile, "It's been a bit. So much going on, it seems like ages."

She sports the casual look, too; artificial leather pants, a pale green blouse, and a darker green vest. As vests are eternally hip and fashionable in this galaxy and never look silly.

"Come in; dinner's almost ready. I hope you've been well?"

[Arsele Girard]

"Better, now," she says with a soft smile as she steps in; Arsele looks around and takes a deep breath in through her nose, the scent of flowers and food dancing through the apartment.

"And it smells as wonderful as you look, Arali dear; So all the more so," the blonde continues, slipping off her shoes.

[Arali Zian]

Arali's decor is light, but tasteful. She took the vase from her night stand to use as a centerpiece of her kitchen table, which folds out of the wall for more space. Right next to the fruit bowl, which she normally keeps on the counter. A vegetable planter hangs in the corner, and a landscape painting of a desert world adorns the longest wall.

Dinner today is a savory sauteed mushroom steak with a fried egg on top, over a bed of half stir fry, half some sort of mashed tuber, sweetened and ever so slightly spicy. The floral scent filling the room isn't just flowers; it's tea. A floral blend of her own making. And, of course, the meal is not complete with a nice, cold, refreshing glass of water.

"I'm sorry things have been rough. Wanna talk about it?"

[Arsele Girard]

Arsele nodded a little, following Arali over towards the table, "The past few cycles? Yes... well, up front I want to apologize for not being able to get back to you; When my issue came up, I found myself unable to get to my comm. As to the issue itself..."

She gave a sigh, facing Arali as she leaned against the table, "Do you want the long version or the short version?"

[Arali Zian]

Arali gestures for her guest to sit, then takes her own seat across from her. "If you have to ask? The long version. We have the time." She gestures at the meal in front of them; it's clearly going to be a while.

[Arsele Girard]

A small smile after she takes a seat, and Arsele continues, "Well, as you might know, I am from Alderaan. More specifically I'm from one of the noble houses, House Girard. As the oldest child, technically that makes me Princess Arsele Lerouche di Girard."

A small shake of her head, "I had kind of hoped I had left that all behind, but I suppose that was slightly vain of me."

[Arali Zian]

Arali blinks a couple times, then opens her mouth, then closes it again. She doesn't... look like she's lying?

"You're... a princess?" she says dumbly, trying to catch up.

[Arsele Girard]

"In theory," Arsele says with a shrug, "I purposely came to Nar Shaddaa to leave that all behind though; And not just for freedom, to leave behind all the rules and expectations, but also so I could know that the things I had I had earned myself. Not with inheritance or position, but with hard work."

[Arali Zian]

"I... see." Not really. System still processing.

"And... I'm guessing that's catching up to you?"

[Arsele Girard]

"Well, it's a little bit of a complicated situation."

Arsele wondered briefly if bringing her up would be a breach of confidentiality, but decided the story would make more sense if she mentioned her, "I don't suppose you know a Jedi knight here on Nar Shaddaa named Alysele Cortess, do you?"

[Arali Zian]

"I am," she nods, growing more curious. "She is... sort of my cousin." Not that the analog necessarily makes much sense to outsiders. Folks tend to be more confused when she calls Vatou her brother.

[Arsele Girard]

"Ah..." Arsele didn't question it for now; She would have time later perhaps, "Well, Cortess is also a Alderaanian noble house, and Aly is someone I grew up with as a close friend. When we got together here, though, she revealed she needed help; She was apparently engaged to the heir from a different House who was living here on the moon."

She sat back in the chair, "He was murdered in front of her and wanted my help finding out what happened, since she knew I had connections here. But before I could get too far in the investigation, my own family discovered I was interfering in House Thul's business and sent a minder to... dissuade me."

Arsele made a face, arms crossed, "And by dissuade I mean practically kidnap."

[Arali Zian]

The food's probably gonna get cold at this rate, but Arali's fork is down and she's hanging on every word. "I didn't know Aly was engaged... normally the order gets in the way of that sort of thing... how did you get away?"

[Arsele Girard]

"From Mikael? I snuck out, eventually. It wasn't the first time I've slipped away from one of my parents' minders. Though Mikael knows a lot of my tricks so was much more careful than normal."

Arsele frowns a little, "They seem to be watching my ship now though. Fortunately, my apartment lease is under an alias, so it seems that's still safe."

[Arali Zian]

"Wow. That is... a lot," Arali admits, and looks to her meal. Should probably actually eat something; she starts with a bite of mushroom as she considers.

"Whether you plan on staying or going, it won't be easy. What are you going to do?"

[Arsele Girard]

Arsele gave a sharp exhale through her nose, "First thing's first, I'll need to talk to Alysele to see if she still needs help; I don't abandon friends in need. After that... hopefully they won't have any reason to interfere in my life anymore."

She sat forward herself, picking up her utensils and starting to eat.

[Arali Zian]

"How are you going to do that?" Arali asks. "I have to admit, I don't really get all this noble houses stuff. I'm guessing, 'I don't,' isn't going to work, here. And I still don't get how they hold that kind of sway over a knight."

[Arsele Girard]

Arsele finished her bite thoughtfully, "That... is something I'd thought about; Because, frankly, I don't know the details. I didn't ask all the details, and when she made her private call on my secure link, I gave her privacy. So... I don't know; Maybe I need to know more at this point."

[Arali Zian]

"I..." she starts, then pauses. "We've never really gotten along, but she's family. If there's anything I can do to help, I know this isn't really my area of expertise but please, let me know."

[Arsele Girard]

That got a warm smile out of Arsele, "I appreciate that Arali, thank you. But here I come to see you, and I've just been talking about myself. How have you been since we were on the double date?"

She moved a hand closer to Arali's across the table.

[Arali Zian]

Arali looks to Arsele's hand. There is exactly what she's been dreaming of for months, right there, and as much as she still hungers, it scares her. Repels her, even, and it's not Arsele's fault. Her own hand twitches toward Arsele just the slightest bit, then turns away, grabbing her cup of tea. She doesn't drink; she just holds it, the warmth comforting in its own way.

"Things have been... busy. My stall at HuttCon did well. There were some Jedi politics. Faced my master. A wedding blew up. I got blasted into a girder during a bust on a child slavery ring..." she goes over those as if they're utterly uninteresting. They're the easy stuff.

She takes a breath, bracing for the hard part. "And... I met someone." Oh, God, it's actually out there. Damage control! Talk faster! "When you didn't return my calls... I thought you didn't want to talk to me, and Zane had this other friend he wanted me to meet, and it went really well, and I think it has a chance, and I didn't know what you were going through, and, and..." she trails off, out of breath. The longer she talks, the more she withdraws, shrugging and slumping deeper and deeper, not able to meet Arsele's eyes.

[Arsele Girard]

The whole scene earns a tilt of Arsele's head, perhaps even more so on the second part. She takes a bite of the meal as Arali is wrapping up, nodding slowly, "Yes, I remember seeing you at Huttcon; You were as ever in that costume. As to the other thing..."

She sets her fork on her plate and leans forward a little, "Are you saying you managed to find a girlfriend in the few cycles I was gone?"

[Arali Zian]

At the mention of the word 'girlfriend,' the tips of Arali's lekku flush deep purple and curl up behind her back as she begins fidgeting. "Well, that's a bit much. I mean, it's still really early, but... maybe? I hope so?" As she talks, a dopey smile creeps across her face.