A Beacon in the Storm

[Riamah]

"I can be unnerving as well though."

Giving him a bit of a smile, Ra hoped she could figure out what she meant. Looking down at Akata, she wondered how he would react to Ankhaara. Letting out a clicking noise the nexu was used to hearing, she came out of one of the other rooms. Approaching the party with caution, her tail waved behind her. A simple motion of a hand from Ra and she sat down where she was.

"This is Ankhaara."

Looking at Akata, she then turned to face Vulpesen.

"Should I just let him down so they can meet? Ankhaara won't attack."

[member="Vulpesen"]

 

[Vulpesen]

Vulpesen nodded and at the suggestion. "That should be fine. Akata is pretty calm, and even if he does get rambunctious, I'm sure Shadow here will keep care to keep him from getting in trouble." To make sure that there would be truth to his words, Vulpesen pointed at the greater fox, then to the two smaller beings. "Garve e sur serra." As the words left his mouth, Shadow walked over and plopped down beside the two, her body positioned almost between them as the fox and the nexu grew acquainted with each other.

@Ra'a'mah

 

[Riamah]

Setting the fox down, Ra watched as he moved to explore the area around them. He kept an eye on each of the animals and approached the nexu. As she said, Ankhaara sat there calmly and allowed the meeting to happen.

After having held the fox, its weight out of her arms, Ra rubbed at them and gave them a chance to relax. Looking at Vulpesen before she spoke.

"Would you like something to eat? Need to get food for these guys too."

[member="Vulpesen"]

 

[Vulpesen]

Smiling brightly, Vulpesen nodded to her. "That would be great, thank you." Leaning back against the door frame, he waited for Ra to lead the way while Shadow batter her tails a bit to distract the smaller fox from bothering the nexu too much. Given that veran fox pups were often times excitable, Shadow was likely to equate such a thing to Akata, and thus she would to her best to keep the small fox from gnawing on the quilled cat.

 

[Riamah]

The personal barrier having broken between them hours ago, Ra held her hand out to Vulpesen to take. She would then go back the way they had come and somewhere between the library and the rooms she had made for Ankhaara, she lead him to the kitchen.

It was fully modern, but still had a stove and some other appliances that contained actual food. Looking at him, she tilted her head to try and decide what to make. While she could have had one of the servants fix something, she wanted to do this for him herself.

"What's your favorite food that can be fixed outside of Veradune? If I have it, I'll make it."

If not then she would make her favorite dish.

[member="Vulpesen"]

 

[Vulpesen]

Walking with her, he smiled as they entered the kitchen, his ear perking up in a bit of interest as he looked around. After a year of Veran dining halls, he was still trying to get used to how the rest of the galaxy ate. It was different, a somewhat quiet affair in comparison to the wild parties that seemed to be the regular back at his home. Due to this, he found himself smirking as he looked at the comparably small cooking utensils. "while I enjoy some nerf steak, I'd be happy to try anything else you might feel like making."

 

[Riamah]

She did have steaks she could cook, but figured he had never had what she thought of as her favorite food and went with that. Their next meal could be those steaks. Moving away from him, though she didn't want to, Ra walked over to the one of the appliances and took out three helpings of the food. One would fill her up, but felt he would probably eat more. They may similar in height, he weighed more than she did and would need to eat more.

Cooking some vegetables and rice on the stove, the smell of the cooking meat filled the small kitchen. It wasn't very long before the food was done and she set the two plates on the table for them. Before she sat down though, she went and got drinks for the two of them. It was sweet fruit wine.

"I hope you like it. This is something I learned about so very long ago and make it every chance I get."

Now she sat down and started cutting into her food.

[member="Vulpesen"]

 

[Vulpesen]

While Ra cooked, Vulpesen was happy to hand around, the sensitive zorren nose catching whiffs of every ingredient she put into it. She was certainly a good cook, or at the very least, good when it came to cooking her favorite meal. In truth, he could hardly stop his mouth from watering. As a human he had learned to go long stretches without food, years travelling the galaxy and fighting in wars had called for it. But upon finding himself with the zorren metabolism, he had found that missing a meal could be a very bad thing indeed. And now it was occurring to him that he hadn't eaten all day.

As Ra set down the plates, Vulpesen eagerly took a seat with her, smiling broadly. "It smells delicious." Taking a knife, he cut into the meal and took his first bite. As he thought, it was as good as his nose had led him to believe. Smiling after swallowing the first of it, he gave Ra an appreciative nod. "Its delicious." And with that, he continued to eat, trying his best to slow down as to not appear rude.

 

[Riamah]

Accepting what help he could give her when it came to handing her stuff she needed, they cooked the meal together. She could have done it on her own as she had many times in the past, but it was nice to have him there.

Sitting down, she smiled at his words and praise.

"You're actually the first person I've cooked this for."

It wasn't often she had company so the opportunity to do it was rare.

"Try the drink."

Picking up her own glass, she took a drink of the sweet wine.

[member="Vulpesen"]

 

[Vulpesen]

"I'm sure I'e said this already tonight, but consider me honored." He smiled as he reached over and took the wine. He couldn't help but laugh a bit at the irony. Any other time a sith might have said that to him, they'd need a saber against his throat to even make him consider it. But here this woman was, disarming him with her own charm as he took a sip of the wine, enjoying the sweet taste as it washed over his palate. "You really are an amazing cook, Ra."

@Ra'a'mah

 

[Riamah]

"I'm not sure you have, but while you may a guest of mine here, the feeling is shared. You honor me by trusting me not to harm you just because of my alignment."

It was true, it was something many didn't give her and in her turn, didn't trust them. Vulpesen was amoung a bare handful of people she trusted completely. And he had done it in mere hours. It shocked her just how easily he had gotten into that circle.

"Thank you. I can cook a few things and I learned on my own. So much has been that way for me. I think that's changing though."

Her look was soft and clearly showed the same thing that Ace had shown him when they were on the back of Shadow.

[member="Vulpesen"]

 

[Vulpesen]

Vulpesen's tail waved behind him as he pushed an empty plate a bit aside. Though he had tried to slow down, the truth was that his appetite made it so that few dishes could last long against him. Gazing back up from the plate to catch sight of Ra's blushing face, he offered her a happy smile. "And you've certainly giving me a far more welcome back into this galaxy than I might have expected. Thank you." For the moment, he simply sat there, his tail curling and flicking through the air as he enjoyed the sight of her reddened cheeks. As he stated before. She looked nice when she blushed.

 

[Riamah]

Ra was only about half way done with her own food when he pushed his empty plate to the side. At least he ate everything and she chuckled at that a bit.

"Next time it'll be the steak."

His smile warmed her and she smiled back even though she was blushing.

"I'm glad to have been part of your return. It seems we both have things to learn yet. Since everybody thinks all sith are evil and I taught you otherwise. You have a whole culture and language I want to learn. The price paid for wanting knowledge, but I'm willing to pay that with you."

After dinner, she would have to tell Vincent to get a room ready for Vulpesen if he hadn't already.

[member="Vulpesen"]

 

[Vulpesen]

"I'll look forward to it." His tail wagged a bit faster at the mention of the future meal. Then as Ra started to speak of learning and teaching, he grinned and took a sip of his wine. "I wouldn't say all sith. Just the vast majority." As she had the room prepared, Vulpesen smiled and leaned back a bit in his seat. "I can't say I'll be as good of a cook when you come to Veradune. But I'll certainly make sure you feel just as welcome in our dining halls."

 

[Riamah]

Her eyes lit up at his hopeful words of the steak.

"I just hope you like it as much as you're anticipating it."

In mentioning not all sith were evil, she gave him a small smile. Ra thought she was one of the few that weren't truly evil. In her interpretation of the code, it was far more personal to her than the others.

When he said he may not be as good of a cook, but would still make her welcome there, that small smile turned into a grin.

"Let me show you to your room."

[member="Vulpesen"]

 

[Vulpesen]

"I'm sure I will." Considering what she had just made for him, he had no doubt that the woman could handle a simple steak. After a moment of silence, he flicked his ears to her voice as she spoke about showing him his room. Smiling a bit, Vulpesen rose up from his seat and used his tail to push it back under the table. "Alright, lead the way." Walking around the table, Vulpesen made his way to Ra's side, allowing her to guide him to where he'd be sleeping.

 

[Riamah]

"Ah you never know. I may over cook them or something."

He stood up and walked over to her side, Ra stood up. Taking his hand into hers, she moved to exit the kitchen. Before leaving totally, she turned to face him.

"For Ankhaara, I only have food fit for a cat. Can the others eat that until I can get something more suited for their taste?"

She didn't know what they could or couldn't eat, but hoped they could eat for now the same food her cat did. Once he answered, she would make sure Vincent know to feed them and lead him to the room that had been made up for him.

Certainly smaller than hers, it wasn't lacking in comfort. Being a castle, it did have its own fireplace with a chair near it and a small table, much like what was used in the library. There was a large, single bed, chest and armoire for clothing. Another table was next to the bed with two light sources besides the fire. Vincent had lit that already and room was comfortably warm. Everything was in earth tone colors, but the walls were white.

"It isn't much and there's a refresher in the next door over there."

Pointing to the door in question, she thought about telling him where her own rooms were, but decided not to yet. They weren't far though. He was a guest and she wouldn't be far from him anyway. She didn't want to be either.

@Vulpesen

 

[Vulpesen]

"I sincerely doubt that." As Ra walked with him to his room, he sighed a bit at her question. "Ace could do with just about any meat you have in the kitchen. Shadow may be a prblem. She's used to quite a bit of meat. Though, I do have some back in my ship in the cargo holds. Perhaps I or Vincent could go and get it." Shadow was a royal fox, and with Veradune's resources, there hadn't been any reason for her to eat anything but the flank of some large creature each night. "Or... I could send Ace with Shadow to open the ship then return here once they find the food. It has been prepped for him to get around without me." The hesitation came from what such an absence could mean. Since they met each other, Ace had always been there to guard Vulpesen as he slept, and while he hadn't spoken to Ra about it, it was a bit more trust than he had placed in most people he had ever met.

 

[Riamah]

"Ace will be covered then. If you go, I'll come with you. How much food do you have for her locked in there?"

When he hesitated, her intuition kicked in and she put things together to a degree. They had only just met and she was sith. By sending the two of them away, he would be fully alone with her.

Stopping and looking at him. Her face had a totally new look to it. One that was fully serious, but quite honest. Her voice held a sense of power, maybe when she spoke her words, it held something within the Force.

"Vulpesen Torrevaso, I give you my word, no harm will come to you or yours under my roof."

[member="Vulpesen"]

 

[Vulpesen]

"Enough to feed us for quite some time." As Ra then changed her demeanor, Vulpesen froze, caught in the intensity of her gaze. As her words hit his ears, they were barely a comfort. But that was mostly because they were necessary. After a moment, Vulpesen looked up with a smile. "Ace." Immediately, the small blue form of his friend popped out of his pocket and scampered off to find Shadow. "Just try to have the doors open for them when they leave and come back miss Ra."