Faction An Evening at the Golden Orchid - Galactic Alliance

[Kahlil Noble]

"Oh you're not getting out of it. We are heading home at some point, after all."

Kahlil gave a calm, patient smile. He was very patient. And they'd be home soon enough. So she could tease all she wanted, but once they made it home, she was certainly going to be the one in trouble.

"Just as you'll be in trouble on Eshan too, I imagine."

"She does, yes. She doesn't like it when I'm content with being alone and doing my own thing. She likes it when I make friends with people." The Introvert versus the Extrovert. He understood that much at least, and he was fine with at least humoring her so she didn't feel frustrated or alone. Aris fell into rhythm rather quick. His early teachings before Kahlil had picked him up was a lot on the academic side. And proper manners, such as learning how to dance.

"I'm not tall. You're species like most Human's are just short. And, Theories on Diplomacy. I'm brushing up on Form Zero so I can be prepared when the Padawan trials start." He didn't just want to pass. He wanted to be at the top, after all.

Valery Noble | Makko Vyres | Corazona von Ascania

 

[Vincent Coyle]

-
Tags: Anodyne Lyori
-

"What could you possibly have to share that I'd want to hear?"
​

The harsh edge of the woman's voice cut through the air, catching Agent Coyle off guard. In rare form, he understood the woman's sentiments though. He honestly wasn't even sure what to call it, what had happened. Better though, it was obvious the woman wanted nothing to do with it and to dwell was likely not something that would help.

"You've got me there, nothing worth hearing probably - but a drink maybe?" Coyle offered the flask from his inside coat pocket. "Ach, that?" Vincent shook his head. "If you're on the way out the door, I won't hound you - you've had enough of that for a lifetime I imagine. That said, I'd implore you to stick around." he shrugged.

Alcohol was flowing, people were saying things they might not otherwise, not that it was an excuse mind you, and somehow Coyle felt like the King of Ukatis was likely to say just about anything that popped into his head - right or wrong. It was a shame, really. Once someone tasted sour, it was hard to get them to come back around.

"You know, there's an art gallery back through there," he pointed. "Technically it's closed for the evening but I bet I could find a way in, if you're keen for staying a while. Might be a respite from all, this?" he waved his hands about.

What on Anaxes are you doing Coyle? he asked himself. Art gallery? Implore? You don't use words like that, you belong down in the dirt, the mud with the rest of the slop. Shut up. The man's internal argument went back and forth as he awaited the woman's response. The night was still early and frankly, he kind of dreaded having to spend even more time listening to Jizz. Perhaps an art gallery might be a respite for him too - and maybe a smoke. He could use one of those too.

"You're from Jelucan?" he added, mind aching at the hoops it'd jumped through to pluck that information from his memory. "Vincent Coyle," he introduced himself, offering a hand.

​

 

[Valery Noble]

​

Outfit: Dress | Wedding Ring
Tag: Kahlil Noble Corazona von Ascania Makko Vyres | Open

Valery blinked and continued to dance around him, though with a blush on her cheeks now, "Heh...heh...I was just kidding, you know." She said with a quick grin appearing - she hadn't at all been kidding with all of her teasing. But with all the kids home, he surely couldn't-

Nope, he could. She was definitely going to be in trouble later, but that just made for a fun night.

"Oh I'm sure I will be," she said with a waggle of her eyebrows. "There is a bit of trouble for you too, though. I was thinking...we go ice skating together. It can be very romantic." It was also a chance for her to show off and invite this trouble he spoke of, so she really hoped he was willing to give it a shot.

"But what if they do watch?" Vera sighed, but was proven wrong rather quickly, as Makko performed a chicken dance without stirring up too much of a reaction. Perhaps one or two had caught it from the corners of their eyes, but it didn't seem so bad.

Vera snorted though, but visibly relaxed after that and smiled at him.

"Colette is going to mess with me later. She saw me dancing," Vera said, though that wasn't really worth Colette's comments, and Makko probably knew that too if he knew she was a barbarian already. Vera blinked, blushed a little again and cleared her throat.

At least she was loosening up in her dancing skills a little.

"I also hope I uh, didn't interrupt your dance with Cora too much?"

 

[Makko Vyres]

UKATIS

"I also hope I uh, didn't interrupt your dance with Cora too much?"

"It's quite alright," Makko replied.

And this time it really was. They had the entire evening, they had friends and family around them. He didn't feel that deep well draining anything positive he tried to feel. They all just...were. Here in the moment, enjoying the gala, enjoying company. The slight buzz of the champagne helped too. He was certain that it went to his head more quickly than regular wine.

"I might steal Cora for a walk after the next song."

Vera knew that they had been together before and had even reported her findings back to Valery. She was too young to appreciate how the situation had twisted and turned, but Vera understood that the wedding had torn them apart.

"Hey and you're a great dancer anyway!" he laughed. He took one hand and danced with her to the lively jazz.

"It can't be that long before you and your brother are thinking of moving to Coruscant full time to train?"

 

[Shan Pavond]

"They've...adopted you?" Shan blinked at that revelation. How many kids did the nobles have now? Did they plan on invading the Jedi temple with children? Nah. That was a ridiculous thought. An amusing one, but ridiculous as well.

"It's still great to hear. See. I told you, you aren't as alone as you think you are." The Mirialan broke out into a bright smile at that, and wrapped an arm around Colette in a one armed hug. He remembered how she was when they first had a proper conversation, and how she felt like she was alone. This would only further help her to feel welcome. At least that's what he was hoping.

He followed Colette's view over towards Vera, giving the Noble spawn a small little wave in response. He wasn't going to tease her about this...unless she happened to tease Shan or Colette. Treat people how you want to be treated, y'know. Though he then turned his attention back over towards Colette, giving a few short nods.

"The kids are important to me as well. Same with Master Valery and Kahlil. So are you. You're all really important to me...and I need you guys right now if I'm being honest. Just being near you all is a massive boost. I don't know how I'd be without you guys. With everything that's happened, sometimes I feel like I don't deserve to be happy...but then I'm with you. And I realise I do."

Colette

 

[Raphael Calgar]

- - -

TAGS: Galactic Alliance

Music slowed as the evening went on, a brief respite here and there for toasts to the dead, even a few for the living. Once again the low tones faded into a smooth decrescendo and the lights on the main stage centered on a microphone. Shuffling out from behind a row of curtains came Robaert Ambrosius Cousteau once more to address the attendees.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have a few things to announce, among them - the winners of tonight's exclusive, one of a kind items! As always, we thank you all for your attendance tonight. It means so much to all of us."
​

"Now, I don't want to keep you waiting so, I'll announce the winners of the items and then everyone can get back to socializing. First up, Nebula Elegance: The Celestial Dress! We have here..." Robaert reached into a tiny yellow envelope that seemed to appear from thin air. Looking down at the name scribbled there, he looked back up to the attendees and smiled. " Braze | Tirin Raene ! Congratulations!" A wave of applause echoed in the hall, a curtain peeling back to reveal the dress, elegantly displayed on a manikin.

"Please find me before you leave and we can arrange for the item to be transferred into your care." Moving onward, we have the Cosmic Harmonium! The winner of this item is..." Robaert repeated the process he had moments earlier, squinting a bit as he tried to make out the scribble on this card. He cleared his throat. "We have a... Colette!" Another round of applause erupted as another curtain peeled back, this time revealing the pristine instrument carefully balanced on a display stand. "What a piece of art, to create even more art upon!" he shouted, smile stretching from ear to ear.

"Thank you all for coming out and showing your support to our men and women in uniform and I hope you all enjoy yourselves for the rest of the evening. Please, Please don't forget to retrieve yourselves your complimentary bottles of Galactic Ambrosia Tonic! Without further ado, we'll get back to the festivities!"

OOC NOTES

Congratulations! If you had more than one character in the thread, I combined the two in drawing and you can decide which character you'd like to receive the item! I will be filing those factory changes in the new year to reflect accordingly!​

 

[Colette]

Shan Pavond

"I am." She said and smiled at Shan. Ugh, there that feeling was again. How was it that this stupid boy could just strike straight through her defenses, and how was it that he seemed too stupid to realize that he did so?

As he started to talk about family, and Valery, and Kahlil, and all the kids again she couldn't help but reach out for his hands to hold them in her own and run her thumbs over them. She wanted to lean in, she wanted to maybe just maybe see if this whole thing was going somewhere.

"Hey," She chuckled to ease out of her nervousness. "Last time was really awkward, but if you are okay with it I'd like to try ag-…"

Try again. Except the sound of her own name pulled Colette out of it. She kept her hands in Shan's as she peered over her shoulder at whoever was—

Oh. Oh no. She had won the instrument thing? She didn't even know the first thing about creating music, and this was… Oh my. She let one of her hands slip from Shan's grasp as she turned just a little more and stood in surprise over what had just happened.

"Did I just…" She struggled to process it still. "Win a guitar?"

 

[Shan Pavond]

Shan didn't realise he was having any kind of effect on Colette. He was just being honest. He had his attention turned towards the announcements, as Colette took his hands into her own. Was something going on? Oh. It looked like it was some kind of announcement. Probably for the raffle or whatever it was called.

"Hm? Okay with what?" He turned his attention back over towards Colette...and then looked away as he heard her name being called out, raising an eyebrow at the sight of the guitar she had won. Shan bit his lip for a moment, debating whether or not he should try to pay Colette a compliment...Hm...

"It looks like you did. It's a perfect prize for you though I think. You...erh...well..." Shoot. All of his confidence was crumbling away now that he was actually going ahead with it. "You...erh...look like a work of art...and now...you can play one?" Blast it. He was being an utter idiot with all of this. He just ran his free hand down his face, squeezing Colette's hand with his other one.

"Do you want...to go and get it now, or?" He tilted his head at Colette, giving her an awkward little smile in response. "...Plus you can finish off your sentence. I dunno what you were asking for, but I'm always okay with anything with you."

Colette

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

"Siblings are like that." Cora smiled knowingly. "But they have our best interests at heart."

That might have been a generous statement. She certainly didn't think that Fantine had her bests interest at heart when she'd repeatedly stolen Cora's favorite hairbrush.

The smile dropped into an expression of mild surprise when Aris called her short. Which, truth be told, was true. Compared to many of those in the Jedi Order, Cora was rather short.

"What I wouldn't give for some Epicanthix genes…" Her sigh was one of mock-wistfulness, a sound that melted into a genuine laugh. “You’re going to break a lot of hearts, Aris.”

Plenty of girls (and boys) were into the brooding introvert types.

"Those are coming up, aren't they? What kind of Jedi do you want to be, Aris?"

Kahlil Noble Valery Noble Makko Vyres

 

[Colette]

Shan Pavond
@everyone

Dear god, the boy could stop bullets with a skull that thick. Colette blinked at him for a moment before she exhaled a breath of disbelief and laughed. Maybe he just wasn't interested enough for it. But that was most likely the wiser move as Jedi too. There was that whole attachment thing to keep in mind, or something. That was probably what Shan was thinking of too.

Still, he tried to give her a compliment that bordered on something that could have been flirty, but then again he was just too stupid to realize that only a short moment ago that was exactly what she had done to him. Colette dropped it and shook her head.

"Nothing." She said and followed up with a chuckle. "Forget about it, let's go get that guitar."

She let go of Shan and began to move towards the stage where the announcement had been made. Down a set of stairs, and then right up ahead. She approached the thing and just kind of looked at it for a moment, wondering just exactly how the hell she was supposed to lift it. By the long thing poking out like a stick? Probably!

Colette grabbed the instrument by the neck and held it upside down in her hands much like if it had been an axe. A microphone was right there. Wait, was she supposed to? Oh gods. Uhhh…

"Hi, I—" A loud shriek of feedback rippled through the room and Colette cringed up before she leaned in again, just alittle too close to the mic. Close enough that her lips would definitely be touching the damned thing. "Thank you."

Her voice bounced around the room like that of a teenager's voice filtered through a poor microphone in an online shooter. Which was to say most of them. The kid took her exit from the stage and hurried away to be out of sight and mind from just about everyone.

Public speaking had never been her thing.

 

[Shan Pavond]

Shan wasn't sure what Colette had wanted to say in the first place, and there was no chance he was just going to forget about it. But right now, it was her special moment! She had managed to win something, so Shan hurried off with her, walking onto the stage with her and giving everyone that awkward little wave. You know the one. Where you just keep your arm pressed up against your side and shake your hand about. Public speaking wasn't his thing either but at the very least, he hadn't needed to talk about any of this...Wait. Now that he thought about it, since he was walking around with her, would this be seen as the two being together? That wasn't something that had crossed his mind. Though the Mirialan did blink at how Colette was holding the guitar. Now he debated whether or not doing his little surprise for Colette would be worth it, when she'd be able to whack him across the head with the thing...

He reached his hand out to try and take Colette's hand whilst she got ready to speak at the microphone. Though he did flinch ever so slightly at the feedback, scrunching his face up afterwards. That wasn't fun to listen to. Though before Colette properly walk off the stage, Shan decided to just lean forward and give Colette a peck on the cheek. "Erh...Congratulations." It was something sweet, right? After doing that though...Shan could understand why Colette ran away during his party. He only just realised how many people were in the crowd. And how many eyes were on them. Oh. Oh. This wasn't fun. Not at all. He preferred it when Colette was the only person he saw, but there were so many other people in the crowd he knew. Valery. Kahlil. Makko. Cora. Saria. Braze. Ko. Why did he do that?

"...Alright. Let's go." With that, Shan practically sprinted off the stage, mostly to find a small corner to hide in. He'd have to deal with the consequences of his actions eventually, but right now? He was just hoping to relax before the eventual teasing and embarrassment.


Colette and a lot more people

 

[Renata Westaway]

Renata's glassy blue-green eyes followed the Senator's over to Valery Noble and Kahlil Noble , and she made a non-committal noise into her glass as she took another sip. She savored the drink, then cut her eyes back to Senator Calgar. "I'd hate to interrupt their... little family affair," she said, her voice scrupulously neutral. She had thoughts about Jedi, colored no doubt by her life experiences. She wasn't a fan, but she knew that the Galactic Alliance existed essentially as a shell for the Jedi, so it wouldn't do to antagonize them unduly. "Besides, it's not clear to me how the Senate interplays with the Jedi, except that that one there -- next to the buxom brunette -- has made it clear that the Jedi are up there." Her finger darted toward the chandeliers. "The Senate..." The same finger flicked at the rug.

She turned away from the Jedi then, shaking her golden head. "We'll keep them in our back pocket for now."

"The thing about Natasi Fortan is that she has more money than God and twice as much spite," Renata continued. "If push comes to shove she could finance a private war against the Mandalorian Enclave for years and run it from the sun porch of her country house. I have access to those funds as a fiduciary. Perhaps I could hire some bounty hunters to bring us information, and if not Natasi, then her captor. As the war progresses it seems unlikely that Y-Vizor blue owl keeps her pretty little helmet down."

Renata finished her drink, gestured to the bartender for another, this time producing her own credits for the tip.

"What's your story? Have you always lived on Anaxes?" the Prime Minister said, switching gears rather abruptly. "Fascinating place. Almost Machiavellian the way you hear people talk about it."

Raphael Calgar​

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"Ice skating could be fun, yeah. I'm not against it." He did like the idea, at least. And for now he'd allow the topic to shift from her being punished to a romantic evening. Mostly because mid spin he caught sight of Colette and Shan on the stage. And stifled a laugh. He couldn't help that much, not with what he'd just seen.

".. Perhaps Shan isn't as thick headed as we thought. Or, even more so."

Both were very possible.

Aris raised a brow.

"I've no intention of breaking any hearts. I've trained myself to make sure that I don't punch through someone's chest." With the Force, he was unnaturally strong. Even among his peers. Learning restraint was an important part of his training regiment. "And being short has it's merits. Much of this galaxy's infrastructure was made with your height in mind. I don't look forward to when I'm going to have to start ducking through doorways."

Aris's expression soured at the thought. At least back home the Epicanthix had built things with the intent of a proper height in mind.

"The Battlemaster. I can't do a lot with the Force, but I doubt many will be able to match what I'll be able to do with a Lightsaber. I want to use that to become the Battlemaster."

Valery Noble | Corazona von Ascania | Makko Vyres

 

[Valery Noble]

​

Outfit: Dress | Wedding Ring
Tag: Kahlil Noble Corazona von Ascania Makko Vyres | Open

"Really?" There was a mix of surprise and joy there when he expressed not being opposed to ice skating. Valery had done it before, and the idea of romantically skating together made her feel a lot of warmth inside. In addition to that, showing off some of her skills on the ice was exciting too, especially after their earlier talk about trouble. "I'd really like that a lot," Valery then finally said before she started to close in on him again for a hug or a kiss.

Only to suddenly hear Colette on stage. Valery blinked, stopped, and turned around to see Shan and Colette up there. A sheepish smile took over, and she felt quite bad for their oldest.

"He very much is," Valery said with a shake of her head. "I'll talk to Colette later and maybe spend some time with her. I think, right now, she'd rather be with Shan."

"So you're still stuck with me~"

...
"You should," Vera said while she began to loosen up in her dancing, and slowly but surely, a little more of her Mother's side was starting to show. Confidence, elegance, and her brightness was hopefully uplifting. "Cora would like that, I'm sure. She feels a lot warmer to me, now that she's back and with all of us again." Vera smiled lightly and danced her way around Makko. If he was going for a walk soon, she'd have to make the most out of it now.

"It's fun!" She then called back with an excited grin when she was called a good dancer. However, the mention of going to Coruscant a lot more made her ponder.

"We'll be there more for training, but I hope I won't be too stuck there. I don't like Coruscant," she said with a chuckle, and quite frankly, she knew very few people who actually did.

"Will you be teaching there, too?"

 

[Braze]

that seemed to appear from thin air. Looking down at the name scribbled there, he looked back up to the attendees and smiled. " Braze Braze | Tirin Raene Tirin Raene ! Congratulations!" A wave of applause echoed in the hall, a curtain peeling back to reveal the dress, elegantly displayed on a manikin.

​

Surprise washed over Braze as his name was announced as the winner of the "Nebula Elegance: The Celestial Dress." For a moment, he was caught off guard. Winning a dress was certainly not something he had anticipated.

As the applause echoed around him, Braze made his way to the stage to view the prize. Approaching the elegantly displayed dress on the mannequin, he couldn't help but admire its beauty. The dress, with its exquisite design and celestial theme, was indeed a work of art.

Braze stood there for a moment, contemplating what to do with such an item. It was far from something he would use personally, but the idea of gifting it to someone special began to take root in his mind. He thought of someone who would appreciate and cherish the beauty of the dress, someone for whom this unexpected prize could be a delightful gift.

Braze decided to accept the dress.

 

[Colette]

Shan Pavond
Colette put the axe on a seat and placed herself right next to it so that she could bury her red hot head in the palms of her hands. Why the hell did he do that there and then? Why did he not pick up on—

Gahhh!!! The girl wanted to scream.

"So THIS is what you felt like?" Colette asked and dug her nails into her skin to claw the pain away. "You must have wanted to kill me! This is…" Long exhale. "Holy chit, dude."

"WHY? Would you DO that?!"

 

[Shan Pavond]

"N-No! I didn't want to kill you! I was worried I had upset you...because you ran away and...and..." Shan stuttered at Colette's reaction, not entirely sure what to say about it. The fact that she thought Shan would have wanted to kill her, made it feel like she wanted to kill Shan...which honestly wouldn't be that much of a surprise right now as he just ran his hands through his hair, trying to figure out what to say to her.

"Bec-because you looked nervous! And I like you! And I just thought it would help make you feel better or something! I'm sorry!" Shan mumbled away, raising his hands up to try and protect his face. He didn't exactly want to get punched but he expected it was going to be coming whether he liked it or not. "...Please don't hit me in the face."

Colette

 

[Anodyne Lyori]

Vincent Coyle - Open​

The man seemed taken aback by her harsh words. Anodyne felt a little bad about it, given he wasn't really the source of her frustrations. But she was already on edge, and adverse to more nonsense. She just looked down at his flask blank-faced, desperate for a drink but decidedly uninterested in accepting one from a stranger. All the same he asked her to stick around, "Why?" She asked plainly.

Coyle tried to smooth things over, offering a visit to an art gallery on the grounds that might get them away from all the noise. There was a long pause, before Anodyne finally scoffed a quiet laugh. She shook her head, "I don't think I'm quite the artistic soul you might take me for," Anodyne didn't dislike the fineries of upper class life, but so much of it she had forced herself into enjoying because its what she was 'supposed' to do.

"The ambassador," The half-Sephi clarified, a tinge of unenthusiasm returning at the reminder, "Anodyne Lyori." She shook his hand.

 

[Colette]

Shan Pavond

Okay, Colette, deep breaths it was just as you made a fool of yourself in front of a crowd. A crowd you would most likely never ever see again, but a big crowd that was still very much present in the other room nonetheless.

The girl breathed in and held it until the tension pushed against her chest before she exhaled again. Her eyes wandered up towards Shan who was apologizing and covering his face. He pleaded not to get hit in the face, and in that moment Colette felt her heart sink even further. Was this who people saw her as? She was blunt, but only in the metaphorical sense. Did people see her as this? As some kind of brute who would just punched her way through her problems and cause pain over something so stupid as emotions? Some kind of heartless monster that…

"Oh my gods, Shan, no." She pleaded back. "Shan, no no no. Please." She begged as tears began to stream down her eyes, creating trails of black smudges as it went. The girl wrapped her arms around the boy in a tight hug. "I'm sorry, I would never—"

She panicked and tightened the embrace.

"I would never hurt you. I— I would never hurt anyone. I—"
"I'm so sorry, please. I would never hurt you."
"Please. I'm sorry that I made you think that."
"I'm sorry, Shan. Okay?"

"Even though you're the dumbest boy alive sometimes, I would never ever want to hurt you like that."

 

[Shan Pavond]

Shan was afraid. Of course he was. All of this was something new to him. Kissing was something that never crossed his mind, but now? He enjoyed his time with Colette and was terrified that he had ruined it. That she was going to hate him now. Was this how she felt with him? When she had kissed him during his party? He wasn't sure. And that's what scared him the most. People were confusing. Specifically girls were confusing. Or Maybe Colette was an exception to that...

Before Shan knew it, he felt Colette's arms wrap around him, and as much as he wish he didn't, the Mirialan flinched at first. He was just terrified that she was mad at him, though it took him a second to realise she was crying. That she was apologising to him. To him, of all people. The damned idiot who caused her to cry in the first place as Shan wrapped his arms around Colette in response, just holding her as tight as he could, letting her apologise and speak before he even opened his mouth.

"I just...I thought because you said that I wanted to kill you...that was how you felt right now...and...and.."
"Just...please. Don't cry over me. I'm not worth it. Really."
"I want you to smile...I like it when you smile. It's like...nothing else matters. Just you."

With that, the pair of them were both crying at this point. Shan didn't care about his embarrassment now. He was just upset that he had made Colette well...upset. Shan just rested his head against Colette's carefully, taking a few seconds to take in a deep breath.

"I'm...I'm sorry Colette. I didn't mean to upset you. I didn't mean to hurt you. I was just...I'm scared. I'm scared of hurting you. I'm...well...not used to liking someone. Well...I mean I am. I like Ko...I like Loomi...I like Braze...but I mean...I like you more than that. You're just...great. I'm sorry." And now it started with the rambling. Shan just rambling over and over again so he didn't have to focus on his own thoughts. Just let them come out of his mouth like some kind of...word vomit.

Colette