Populate The Courtship of Ukatis [GA Populate of Ukatis Hex]

[Ailmar Dawnstone]

Golden eyes and silver lips.

Rayia Si ​

---

In high spirits, Ailmar's crew had carried on with their song and drinks well into the evening. Soon enough they would begin to migrate into seclusion to avoid a confrontation with security. However, for the time being the large group of sailors beholden to the spirt congregated around the bar and continued enjoying their night of rest in song. Some of the more gifted folk broke out in dance, with a large half circle forming soon after, those partaking in the evening gradually encouraging each other up to and beyond becoming a nuisance to other party goers.

Others lounged in comfortable chairs scattered around the area, their weary bodies sinking into the cushions as they savored the momentary freedom from duty. Laughter and chatter filled the air as they shared stories of past adventures and dreamed of the ones yet to come. Nearby, a group of crewmates gathered around a makeshift table, engaging in a spirited game of cards. The clinking of glasses filling the air as they toasted to friendship and camaraderie, their voices blending harmoniously with the lively music drifting from the festival bar and personal instruments.

By the time Rayia made her way through the crowd and up to the bar, Ailmar wasn't alone. However, as she approached and her presence became apparent through murmurs and the buzzing of the Holo, those accompanying Ailmar quickly dispersed, joining the crowd already gathered for song, drink, and dance. Ailmar was already well into his second drink, and clearly joyful of the occasion. His first glass remained in front of him, patiently awaiting the overworked bartender who had been single-handedly managing the bustling bar until enlisting assistance from the spirits crew. It was clear they were quickly downing his stock, the least they could do was lend a hand. Among those lending a hand was Camilla, alongside a diverse group including a one-eyed Lasatan, a dignified Chiss lady, a slightly intoxicated Togrutan woman, an elderly Bothan sporting a monocle, and a remarkably efficient Durosan. Together, they kept things running smoothly behind the bar, ensuring the celebration continued without interruption.

Ailmar turned to face Rayia, a warm and welcoming smile gracing his features as she settled onto the seat next to him at the bar. "Not at all, such fine company is always worth the wait. Didn't seem like all that long though, decide against propriety did we?" He adjusted the crimson handkerchief in his breast pocket once more before subtly raising two fingers to signal the bartender for another drink. "I too find privateers more sociable, as much as I love diplomats and nobility. Here, have a drink, on me." his offer was careless in nature as he turned back to relax his posture.

Sure enough, Camilla responded to the wave, swiftly making her way over to the two of them and leaning gently against the counter. "Don't listen to a word he says, this sly-tongued knife ear ain't selling nothing but smugglers' tales and bantha fodder." The insult wasn't meant to cut deep, and it didn't, as Ailmar casually scoffed and rolled his eyes. He placed his hand upon his heart in mock pain, whispering, "I'm hurt!" playfully. This prompted a snicker from Camilla, who turned back to ask, "What can I get for you, Cherie?" Camila herself wasn't the fighting type, a Sephian with gentle features and a cheerful demeanor, she was more suited for lab work than any form of combat or intensive work.

As the night wore on around them, Rayia no doubt overheard comments about herself from various crewmen. Some speculated about her origins, with a handful debating whether she was Zygerrian, Catharan, Farghulan, Togorian, or perhaps another feline species altogether. One poor soul dared suggest she was Bothan, but they were laughed out of the debate and smacked gently over the head on their way out. A surreal feeling it was, hearing whispers questioning what you were. But, eventually the speculators narrowed the two choices down to Jazbinan and Felacatian, which itself devolved into bickering over if Jazbinans had fangs or not. Thankfully, there were enough sources of noise to drown out the questions.

 

[Rayia Si]

Ailmar Dawnstone @Others

---

A soft snort slipped from Rayia’s lips as her brows pinched together at the question of whether or not she had decided against propriety. “Perhaps it would be more accurate to say the stars didn't align,” she offered in reply. Trailing her fingers over the smooth wood of the bar counter, Rayia frustratedly tapped one of her fingers against its lacquered surface. “They never seem to. I swear, I must have been hexed,” she mutters to herself.

Perking an eyebrow at Ailmar’s next statement, she remarks. “Privateers? I thought you were honest explorers and pathfinders. Setting out to explore new paths and uncover forgotten histories,” Nevertheless, despite her teasing, an undercurrent of skepticism worms into her subconscious. If they really were privateers, then Rayia wasn’t sure if she felt comfortable asking about Felacat’s lost coordinates.

Fortunately, before that could be reflected in her face, Camilla arrived. Rayia laughed at her playful barb and Ailmar’s mock offense. A musical sound, it lingered a few moments before fading. “So he tells me. Perhaps I should listen to what you have to say then?” Rayia teased in turn. Her ear flicked in curious discomfort at the discussion raging in the background of what she was. The patrons didn't know it but the topic of conversation was dangerous. If her mother's spies found out, Rayia was in dire straights. So Rayia was very thankful when the conversation drunkenly stumbled onto a different topic entirely.

Tapping her cheek with one clawed finger, Rayia debated what to order. ‘Alcohol is a bad idea for… obvious reasons. Oh! Oh! What was that drink called?’ Rayia thought to herself.

“I’ll have a…” Rayia started before wincing. She was expecting to be heckled for this. “…a Riosa Punch, please.”

 

[Ailmar Dawnstone]

Rayia Si ​

---

Rayia's playful teasing brought little more than a casual shrug and smug grin from Ailmar as he reached for his own drink and took a few gulps. While alcohol might have been dangerous for her, he appeared to be holding his own for the time being. He held his tongue, unwilling to disrupt the pleasant company as they ordered the first round of drinks and exchanged lighthearted banter. Though he may not have been the sharpest tool in the shed, it didn't take a genius to recognize someone's discomfort. The Sephi had enough sense to relax and refrain from probing into topics that clearly made her uneasy. But what exactly were those topics? He couldn't quite discern.

"You should, Cherie, unless you truly wish to hear a man drone on about star charts and millennia-old routes no one has seen the light of day of since the fall of the first empire." Once more, her words carried a playful tone, causing Ailmar to fold his arms and raise a brow, pondering when the teasing would come to an end. Thankfully it wouldn't be long now, as Rayia braced herself for a tease.

"Riosa Punch." Camilla paused for a moment to process the request, consulting her data-slate overflowing with obscure knowledge relevant only to those within her trade. Once it clicked, she snapped her fingers towards her captain and casually mentioned, "Inner Rim seringua juice." Ailmar responded instantly with finger guns and a smile as the realization dawned on him as well. As Camilla began to work her magic, mixing the desired cocktail, Ailmar finally spoke in his usual relaxed manner. "I'm not sure if I've tried the vice, may need to order my own if you'd recommend it personally."

Business could wait until a more appropriate time, as clearly there was something more to this than getting a few drinks. For now, the so called privateer casually bit down on his cheek in thought before clarifying. "Fair to see we have our hands in many trades. Given the Alliance are are war, we are indeed privateers." A very brief pause as if to decide his next works. "That doesn't imply we lack honesty as explorers; indeed, we've been honest from the outset. No, it simply means we do our part to keep chaos at bay."

It seemed as if he wanted to say more, but before he had the chance, Camilla set down the drink mixed in her own special way without half the supply to fulfil Rayia's request. properly. "Couldn't have said it better myself, even if you need to watch who you tell that sort of thing. Doesn't matter, drink's done, Belle, enjoy." A smile wore on Camilla's face, though it did nothing to mask the annoyance with her captain. "Thankfully this one can be trusted."

Perhaps without company they would have begun to aruge over what could and could not be displayed to outsiders, but with Rayia already showing signs of being uncomfortable, Ailmar resided to nothing more than a nod and a simple, "Thank you Camilla, please, give us a moment."

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

"The…recent trend?"

Cora tilted her head to the side, confused. What did Ko bring an orphan have to do with…? Oh. Oh, that made sense. The Nobles had adopted Colette who'd grown up an outsider in her tribe, so it wasn't too far fetched that other Masters might consider adopting those who didn't have a family of their own. She smiled at Jonyna Si , pleased.

"Ah, yes. They seem to be doing quite well under your guidance. I’ve known Ko Vuto for a while now, and he’s always been a good friend and Jedi.”

Cora nodded along. Given the looming threat of the Dark Empire, it made sense that Jonyna wanted to move her assets away from what would surely become a target.

They meandered past Ailmar Dawnstone and Rayia Si at the bar. On a world mostly comprised of humans, it was easy to spot the sharp-eared man and the feline Jedi. The two seemed to be getting along.

Cora gestured to them in an attempt to draw Jonyna's attention toward her apprentice and their companion.

"My, aren't they cute together?"

There was a teasing, cheery lit to her voice. This was a courtship festival, after all.

 

[Jonyna Si]

​

Jonyna raised an eyebrow, looking over to Rayia Si and her 'friend' with a mother's eye. A Parent's eye.

"...I'm not impressed." Jonyna said with a bit of a smirk, giving Cora at first a look of grumpy disapproval, before letting out a snort. "Maybe we should go over and talk to them. A mom needs to get to know all her daughter's new potential mates, yes?"

She offered Cora an arm to hook hers in, being dramatic for the sake of it. It was Jonyna's way of being casual.
Tag: Corazona von Ascania Ailmar Dawnstone

 

[Auteme]

Nir Si
​

Auteme looked at the Cathar, thought about it for a second, then shrugged. "Sure."

She put out a hand, palm face up, and closed her eyes for a moment. Her fingers began to glow, white strands of Force twisting out and weaving themselves together as she pulled straight from her own mind. After a couple of seconds she handed the padawan her end product: a copy of her Guide to Mist-Weaving, seemingly on printed sheets of paper. Even manifested from Force-threads, the paper felt as real as any other.

"Read this, ask me any questions you like, and by the end of the day I want you to be able to un-weave these papers. Okay? I'm gonna go get a crystal." She gave Nir a thumbs up.

 

[Valery Noble]

​

Outfit: Dress | Wedding Ring

Valery squinted, tugged the straps of her dress back over her shoulders, and pulled herself up by the offered hand. She loved him very, very much, but right now she just wanted to wipe the smug grin from his face. In a contest of strength, she wasn't going to be able to do that. But in a race?

She could take him.

"You're not going to be this cocky when I'm done with you, love." She held onto his hand and looked him straight in the eyes. A grin began to spread, and after squeezing his hand, she pulled him along to the sack race. With mobility limited, it wasn't easy to run and he was not a small man.

Maybe she'd even see him fall!

"Alright, get in the sack." She snorted and threw him one of the sacks, before stepping into one herself. "Let's make it more interesting. The loser does dishes for a week? And if you fall over... you have to give a massage every day for the whole weekend?" Naturally, she only came up with these extra challenges in a race she could win. None of this counted for the tug-of-war.

Kahlil Noble ​

 

[Rayia Si]

Ailmar Dawnstone Corazona von Ascania Jonyna Si @Others

---

Rayia returned Ailmar’s smile but the lingering notes of discomfort in her expression remained. It was the little things: the way her ears seemed more alert and rigid, the way her posture felt taut as a cable, and the way her tail hid in its sheath at the base of her spine. Directed not at any one thing in particular, the discomfort hiding just beneath the surface was nevertheless noticeable enough to those who looked for it.

Contrary to what she had expected, Rayia received not one stray glance at her choice of fruit juice. Rayia perked an eyebrow when Ailmar proposed he might try it. “I’m not sure you’d like it. It’s mostly just fruit juice,” Rayia replied.

To Camilla, she shrugged. “Old routes can be important when the herd shifts over time,” Rayia said, remembering how the hunters and huntresses of her mother’s tribe logged everything. ‘In fact, I saw that being done on Cathar too. So I guess both my mother’s tribes value such records,’ Rayia thought to herself.

“But they deserve their own time and place if one is to deliberate over them correctly,” Rayia added, hoping as much to spare Camilla the exasperation as to get a better feel for Ailmar and his crew as a whole.

Tilting her head at his next statement, Rayia felt that she had to concede the point. She wasn’t entirely a stranger to such tactics. Raids did make sense during a war. “Well then, Mr. Privateer, what exactly do you do for the Alliance war effort?” Rayia asked.

It was at that moment when the small tuft of Rayia’s tail that had remained outside its sheath bristled. She felt two forms approaching towards her location. But it was when she heard two voices conversing, that Rayia groaned and her cheeks flushed embarrassedly. The first voice and its teasing tone Rayia hadn’t heard before. But the second was distinctly familiar to her and caused her ears to perk up attentively.

Sure enough, as Rayia spun around she saw Jonyna with someone in tow. “H-hey,” she said, waving weakly at her mentor and adoptive mother.

 

[Jaidan Shatani]

Typhos

Oh, clever boy. Very and problematically clever. The Gutretee knew full well the risk of his position, and he knew that he was talking to someone with greater than typical powers of observation, the full extent of which he did not know and had been deprived of any way of knowing. As such, he chose his words carefully, technically keeping any outright lies to a minimum. Perhaps it was Jaidan's misjudgment; a possibility, not a declaration. He meant no harm with the handshake; physically, no harm would have been done, and so the statement was true for a given perspective and definition. And if this precise wording required extra time, potentially visible concentration...well, that was easily explained away by the stumbling over Galactic Basic which he had previously demonstrated.

An innocent boy, as ably portrayed as with the assistance of theatrical training.

But as sound as the ploy was, it was ultimately basic, and an Echani was raised to pick such things apart. Day upon day, year upon year he learned from the time he grew into his fine motor control to the time he went off to the Jedi. And by then, he was accomplished enough to apply these methods to his later training. His opponents would employ feint after feint, strikes thrown with no intent to land, hits taken to secure a more favorable position, yet he was expected to deduce the ultimate intent and have his own grand design for victory in place just that little bit faster. Even as his people reckoned such things, Jaidan had been a gifted pupil, and if the only way to REALLY know someone was to fight them, Jaidan had come to learn there were many forms of combat. Stance, changes in breathing, fluidity of movement, tension of limbs, these things were all telling, regardless of context. And especially when compared against the words one spoke.

Granted, a crystalline being lay a bit outside the norm for the sort of being Jaidan was used to reading thus. But a Gutretee still possessed a basically near-human form; there were enough similarities to work with. And Jaidan had moved well past mundane cues at this point. He knew what he'd sensed. He'd give the boy the chance to acquit himself as he chose, but he was satisfied in knowing what he knew, and he'd already decided to give this brat a bit of recompense. Perhaps an upright and honorable Jedi or old, strict adherent to the Light and only the Light, would not have taken such a step. But this was not the Order of old; a Grandmaster with a family was testament enough to that. And if Typhos was willing to take such liberties with a Jedi's code of conduct, then so be it.

Jaidan was listening with more than just his ears. And oh, but he heard. Flashing a grin, he gave back the boy's insincerity with gusto.

"You do me credit, young one. And indeed, it is your words which are wise. What you say is true; the Force suffuses everything, and its mysteries are vast as the universe is vast. Even the wisest, Jedi or Sith, would not claim to understand everything. Mistakes are always possible, and it is a fool who refuses to take the possibility into account."

And then, the grin widened just a bit, as the brilliance of the cave seemed to dim around them, leaving the Echani sage to fully dominate the young Padawan's view as he stepped closer, leaning in yet somehow seeming to loom taller than ever, luminous and terrible.

"Still. Old fool?"

 

[Ailmar Dawnstone]

Rayia Si Corazona von Ascania Jonyna Si ​

---

"We largely operate in liberation efforts and anti priar-" Ailmar had begun to answer Rayia's question, but instead found himself holding his tongue as the two ladies of note approached. Having already put Corazona's name to her face, the Sephi felt his throat close up under the assumption he and his crew were being rowdy for such a formal and calm event. Indeed it seemed many of the crew must have shared his fear as they grew silent upon their graceful approach. The lady towing her around, Jonyna, was unknown to him. However given Rayia's initial interaction, he quickly put their relationship together; This only caused him to tense up more.

Of course, Camilla had taken her chance to leave for other patrons as the spotlight was no longer on her, and she disappeared off into the back to fetch another round. The sailors under Ailmar's flag did begin to migrate away from the bar as well, naturally avoiding the topic that they may have been causing a problem.

He couldn't afford to mess up relations with anyone in the GA, not at such a civil event as this. No, he might have despised formal meetings back on Coruscant, but at least they thought him how to appear calm. When propriety allowed him to speak, he did so in the same relaxed and casual manner as before. "Good evening Madam Ascania. Thank you for hosting such a fine event." There was a brief pause to adjust himself and his attire before addressing Jonya. "I don't believe I've heard of such company, may I ask of your name, Madam?"

Slight of hand was a wonderful skill if mastered, and Ailmar executed some subtle movements as he shifted the spotlight back to Jonya and Cora. Deftly, he retrievd a card from a holster currently in use for his wallet. He held onto the card for the moment, resting it between his middle and pointer fingers against his thigh as the conversation continued. There was no hiding those movements from Jonya or Rayia of course, but at the very least it was graceful and not interruptive. The card, if inspected, was simply his contact information under the Antares Exploration company.

 

[Loomi]

Ukatis
Tags: Jin'lian , Braze

​

"Not yet no." Then again, Jin hasn't really being trying reach out yet. "I'll try now while we are stood."

"Oh, here," Loomi chirped, handing Jin the kyber crystal. "If you focus on it, you can feel things that are similar. I think. It maked more sense in my head."

Loomi would glance between the two as they continued to talk. She was happy they were clearly talking and figuring things out, but she didn't really know how to add herself into the conversation. The Godoan didn't want to intrude, but she felt kind of weird just standing there listening to them.

Should she say something?

Probably not. She should just stick to looking for rocks.

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

Cora mirrored Jonyna's arched brow and chuckled quietly.

"Well, far be it from me to deny a mother's instincts…"

Rayia Si seemed to be the first to notice as the pair glided over, greeting them sheepishly. Cora nodded to her, a measure of warmth in her smile. Both brows rose as Ailmar Dawnstone addressed her by her family name, and she tilted her head to him in thanks.

"You're quite welcome. Though this event doesn't have a singular host, I did have a hand in coordinating accommodations for our off-world guests."

Ukatis, after all, had never been much of a vacation destination or an economic powerhouse. While many natives were wary of outside intervention, quite a few embraced their curiosity of foreigners. The latter were more the type to attend this festival.

The blonde turned back to Rayia;
"I don't believe we've had the fortune to cross paths before, though I have seen you around the temple. I wanted to thank you for your efforts during the Enclave's siege, Padawan Si."

She glanced to Jonyna Si .

"That goes for the both of you."

The pointy-eared man produced a card, and Cora peered closer to the script, curious.

"I'm glad that we've had such a showing of off-worlders. Are you and your company enjoying the festival so far?"

She waved a hand vaguely in the direction where his friends had scattered upon noticing her approach.

 

[Jonyna Si]

​

“H-hey,”

"Hey Kiddo." Jonyna snickered, as she walked over. "Having fun? Sorry for running off, Guffy was being a scamp as always."

The skittering of the racyon could be heard from between Jonyna's feet, as the little guy sniffed around.

"I don't believe I've heard of such company, may I ask of your name, Madam?"

There was a pause, as Jonyna's quirked an eyebrow and looked to the man with a suspicious, if not a bit exaggerated, look. Her posture stiffened, and she looked a bit more professional than usual

"Jonyna Si. Jedi Knight, head of Si Tech, as well as Rayia's adopted mother. And you are?"

Corazona von Ascania could tell it was all an act. A parent posturing for the sake of sizing up her daughter's potential suitor.

"That goes for the both of you."

Suddenly, the act broke and she turned to Cora with a smile. "Thank you. I'll admit that was a pretty harrowing day. Hilal Vizsla nearly took my arm off, the little acklay. I'm sure of the Imperials put yet another bounty on my head, she'll be the first to try and take it."

Tag: Ailmar Dawnstone Rayia Si