Awkward Pauses

[Gaia Sunaris Cadera]

Concord Dawn​

​

Kaho Estate and Winery​

Beth was enjoying the mid-afternoon weather in a floral dress. She sat on the long bench on the porch that overlooked several acres of vineyards for wine production. It felt like the easiest and safest location for her and [member="Caedyn Arenais"] to meet considering all the turmoil that had been going on in the galaxy as of late. Everything was either falling apart, being ripped apart, or all sorts of awful things. But that's the way of the galaxy. Not to mention, it was relatively quiet. A good place to just talk, relax, and enjoy the rest of the day.

She sighed as she leaned forward awaiting his arrival, watching the broken pieces of the planet slowly move across the sky.

Kaho Estate and Winery were luckily located only a few minutes walk from a town but was extensive estate by itself - cooks, maids, gardeners, guards, could be seen out and about the estate performing their regular functions. Caedyn would expect to run into a host when he arrived who would bring him here or the host might get her and take her to him. She wasn't really sure what they were doing but they were expecting his arrival. There would be meals they could get, entertainment area, and then probably the more fun and interesting thing would be to visit the local town. Big ole' market full of a little bit of everything. And it was beautifully lit at night, so it would only make sense that they might visit.

There was a garden in the nearby town that Beth loved to visit, too. It hadn't been taken very much care of as the walls were decaying into rubble, but there were a few gardeners that maintained the vegetation and a large fountain in the middle. And, her favorite part, is they almost always had a series of candles lit and placed around the garden. She never saw anyone there, but maybe that made part of it so enchanting. Maybe she'd show him it tonight. She usually went there to meditate, relax, and to mostly pray when she was on the planet. It was her favorite spot on the planet, and really, one of her favorites anywhere.

Beth was nervous but excited to see Caedyn. She hadn't seen him for a while. Finally, they both were brave enough to send those messages. And finally, they were actually meeting outside of chance encounters! It only took them forever, but they finally did it. In either case, Beth checked her holopad one more time before she stood up and leaned on the railing. He should be here any minute now. Man, if it wasn't for the ridiculous amount of butterflies in her stomach, this would be a whole lot more bearable!

In either case, though, she hoped he was alright. With the Sith blockade going on with Commenor and the continuous negotiations, she hoped he wasn't too busy. And that she didn't inconvenience him with him coming out to Mandalorian space to visit.

 

[Caedyn Arenais]

So much had been happening lately, happening and changing for the worst.

Caedyn couldn't yet make it back to Commenor Space thanks to the blockade of the Sith Empire, the Emperor apparently targeting them in the hope of forcing them to turn over refugee's who had fled to the aid of the Systems Alliance following some foreign war that had nothing to do with them all.

Naturally it wasn't uncommon for [member="Lady Kay"] to have her people take in refugee's, the Systems Alliance was all about doing it's best to help other people, especially those with nowhere else to go or those under continuous threat like being hunted by Darksiders as strong and malicious as the Dark Lord of the Sith was.

On another note, and just as troubling, it had been four months now since [member="Asha Hex"] had disappeared. Just vanished on the World of Nar Shaddaa, Caedyn unable to track her down or find any trail nor sign of where she might have gone. Due to a recent friendship he had made, and a lack of such among the Je'daii, Caedyn had turned to the Silver Jedi Order for continued guidance and the means to ensure both his protection and that he might do so for others....And that same week, the Mandalorian Empire just happened to send a strike force against the Silver Order's capital world initiating a War...-Or at least, the first war time scenario that Caedyn had ever been involved in.

It was because of this last point that Caedyn had come to Concord Dawn wearing not the attire of a Force User but rather his Casual looking Attire. He and [member="Beth Australis-Mantis"] had been in back and fourth contact a little, not a great deal but finally they'd managed to drop their guard enough to correspond and in that Caedyn found some joy in among all the horrible times that seemed to be following him lately.

So finally when he had arrived on site, he met with his would-be escort a little disappointed that it seemed they wouldn't be left alone. He couldn't help but wonder if there was someone else pulling the strings here like all the people who'd been trying to push them two together lately. Being part of the Silver Jedi was certain to liven things up some, though he wasn't sure whether Beth was aware of this just yet and so he kept his eyes open and his mind keen on his surroundings just in case he were to be the victim of grave accusations thanks to his recent new association with the Jedi.

 

[Gaia Sunaris Cadera]

Beth was only slightly impatient and her nerves continued to grow as she waited for [member="Caedyn Arenais"] to arrive. Part of it was her own nerves to be around someone she liked a lot, but also because she hoped he didn't have any problems getting to Mandalorian space. Was it really safe for each of them to be traveling through the Sith blockade? Beth was unaware that Caedyn had actually come from Silver Jedi territory. She had assumed he came from Commenor or some other area.

Beth checked her comms to see if he had arrived yet. There was no reply, so she could only assume he hadn't yet. Her mind drifted to the raid on Kashyyyk that had just occurred. Retribution for Barataria and Silver Jedi refusal to negotiate for Roche. While Beth was one who didn't particularly like violence despite her Mandalorian roots, she still understood the need for something to be done. Her sister was born too early. On life support on Mandalore, she passed away, only to be brought back to life because of her grandfather's possession of her father at his weakest moment. And then his imprisonment. It had mostly worked out but at first? Beth had no idea if she'd even see him for the five-year sentence the Wue'gi'vod gave him for destroying the bral on Mandalore.

And now poor Adara was blighted with the dark side for the rest of her life. Whether that made her evil or not, she wouldn't know. A dark sided Force user could still be good. She had seen it herself. But, for now, Adara had an empty stomach that made her weak, sickly, and frail that only the dark side could fix. She wished there was something she could do to help her, but... Beth was too fixed on the light side. There was nothing that could help Adara from her. Kark, it might even hurt her if Beth tried to help her in some way with the light side of the Force.

Beth was so focused she barely noticed the ping in her ear notifying her that the escort was bringing Caedyn over. She got the ping, however, right as the guard/escort dumped Caedyn into the room with the balcony. Sheesh, no time for a warning.

She saw Caedyn and paused for a moment before she gave him a happy, glowing smile. Her long ears were long, standing up in excitement even as her heart skipped a beat. It'd been a while. She gave a little wave with her hand and walked up to meet him. The escort/guard person nodded and ended up leaving without any word between the two. It was just her and him now, at least as far as they knew. Baiko may have bugged the house, Goddesses know.

"Caedyn!" She was happy to see him! And glad he arrived safely, soundly, and didn't seem to be in any type of... Well, trouble. How was she suppose to be a hostess, on a side note? "Um, there's water and sodas and food and stuff and yeah, basically just let me know if you need anything."

 

[Caedyn Arenais]

Concord Dawn was awe inspiring, half of the very world had been blown to bits and left to orbit the remains, filling the sky with massive pieces of debris that the vessels coming to and from the world had to avoid making it a treacherous path for any inexperienced pilot; between his Force sensitivity and LK-EX1000 (Lexas) however, they'd made it through in one piece and since been brought to the place he was due to meet [member="Beth Australis-Mantis"].

It had been some time since their last real time spent in each others company and before now, it only ever seemed to be while others were around, forever teasing the both of them and pushing them together like some sort of arranged marriage or whatever. It was forever embarrassing and made it much more difficult for the two to just relax and be themselves while so many eyes were upon them. Today however, she had invited him to the ravaged world and despite the look of Concord Dawn, Caedyn's mood as well as their future seemed to be much brighter.

Though their still seemed to be some awkwardness between them judging by how Beth sounded as she greeted him and quickly suggested food and drinks as if he had come from Tatooine or something. Her generosity didn't go unappreciated, though it certainly wasn't necessary either. He'd come to see her after all, not stuff his face.

"Hey!" He grinned, walking on approach and glancing back over his shoulder as his escort seemed to take some kind of hint and make themselves scarce; "The welcoming party is pretty crazy on Mandalorian worlds huh!?" he chuckled quietly under his breath as he reached her and pulled her into a hug that perhaps lasted a moment or two longer than it should've. He had figured it was the best way to break the ice and show her that he'd been looking forward to this, though as he parted from the embrace, he couldn't help but feel a little sheepish in how forward he was being.

 

[Gaia Sunaris Cadera]

Beth relaxed some as she realized that [member="Caedyn Arenais"] himself seemed fairly relaxed. Granted, part of it was they would be at least mostly alone. She didn't want to make things weird by being an awkward, nervous mess herself! As such, she took a second to calm herself down. After her near panic on Vena when Adara and Azure ran off while she was babysitting them, she had been working on keeping her emotions under more control. Little adorable brat beans...

In either case, Beth smiled happily as Caedyn walked over and pulled her into an embrace. At first, she was a little surprised but it only took a second for her to wrap her arms around him in return for the hug, maybe a little tighter than normal, and just enjoy the embrace as she rested her head next to his on his shoulder. She could only imagine how their families would react for the hug that lasted just... A little bit too long. They would have been in a frenzy - as they are every time either of their names is mentioned together. It was embarrassing! But, in truth, she had to admit she liked Caedyn.

In either case, she stepped back after the hug ended. She gave him a smirk and a little bit of a laugh, "Yeahhh, well, this is Baiko's estate so it's more... Fancy, than most I think. I kinda got pinned down for us to meet here when I told them I was going to be gone for a bit." She shrugged a little before motioning for him to come into the room with the nice view.

"You know how our families are," she said with a big grin.

 

[Caedyn Arenais]

Caedyn was rather a little relieved when it seemed as though [member="Beth Australis-Mantis"] wasn't put off at all or refused to hug him in return. He supposed it was a bit of a bigger risk given it wasn't something they'd ever done before but with everything else that was going on around him, it seemed nice to hope for something good to work out between them both.

Truthfully, it wasn't like Caedyn Arenais had many friends in the Galaxy. He wasn't like his father had once been where everyone knew and felt inspired by him. Caedyn was just an average kid in his own eyes, nothing special outside of his ability to use the Force. There was of course [member="Asaraa Vaashe"] within the Order, yet she had a Master and her own friends and Caedyn didn't want to be someone's tag along the whole time he spent on Kashyyyk.

[member="Loreena Arenais"] on the other hand was somewhere still training with Jaster or Jester or whatever his name was, as far as Caedyn knew. Truth there was that the two of them had fallen away and she'd returned to Commenor, yet communication between them had been sparse lately with all the things going on in their family and Caedyn's need to distance himself from his father.

"Unfortunately, I do" Caedyn replied under his breath as Beth spoke of their families. He wondered if things were so messed up on her end of things as they were on his. "I guess it gives them something to be happy about. Mom doesn't seem to be doing much outside of her work lately" He theorized aloud, though for the sake of the mood between them, perhaps he shouldn't have.

Wandering on into the room alongside Beth, it truly did have quite the view over Concord Dawn. "What happened to this World, it looks like it's been blown apart...".

 

[Gaia Sunaris Cadera]

Beth, in truth, quite enjoyed the hug. It was the closest the two teens had ever been to each other and really, he was the only person she's hugged who wasn't directly related to her. Beth herself didn't have that many friends in the whole grand scheme of the galaxy. And it seemed she may have more enemies than friends, in truth - like almost getting kidnapped by Echani when she got stranded on Jazbina for a day. Apparently, they really don't like Mandalorians. It was just a crazy time to be alive.

Beth wandered onto the balcony that overlooked the planet and leaned slightly against the railing. It was a beautiful view, even with the destruction that it showed. The leftovers of the planet healed, from whenever the cataclysm happened. It reminded her a bit of the situation with her sister. Beth would be heading to Sabarene, on the other side of the galaxy, soon. Baiko had told her to prepare for the trip, but to not tell Yasha about it for some reason. Something about Adara and maybe she could be helped given Beth's relative light energies, Beth wasn't sure what it was all about.

She gave [member="Caedyn Arenais"] a small smile as he whispered under his breath. "I'm pretty happy about it, too," she said with a small smile as her cheeks turned only with the faintest blush. It was true - she was happy to see Caedyn, especially in a more personal setting. Not to have any of their crazy families hovering over them, so they could just... Get to know each other and all that corny stuff!

He mentioned his mom, though, which caused some worry for her him and [member="Lady Kay"]. Things were getting bad with the Sith blockade. Rumors of war and such were whispering around. Granted, that seemed to be pretty common for the galaxy right now. Coruscant itself was still burning into rubble... And it'd been, what, at least a few months since the fall of the Alliance? It was the Age of the Dark, that much Beth could sense. "How is your mom? Is she holding up okay with the blockade? Is Lori still with [member="Jaster of Clan Awaud"]?"

She gave a small shrug at his question. "I'm not sure. There isn't really a precise date I could find - it's just that it was destroyed during one of the countless wars. Most of the southern hemisphere got blown out. Somehow, the planet healed though. I think it's a beautiful sight, although kinda... Well, you know." Kinda like what the galaxy itself would eventually do. It'd take time but things would, eventually, recover. Hopefully, at least.

 

[Caedyn Arenais]

"I don't really know what Lori's upto these days, to be honest. As far as I know she is but then I figured you'd know more about Mandalorian stuff than I do...-I was gonna ask you how she was" Caedyn chuckled a little under his breath. [member="Loreena Arenais"] was able to take care of herself, the two of them had been moving in opposite directions for a good while now while still maintaining their sibling relationship as best they could. The only trouble these days was the Blockade of Systems Alliance Space making it increasingly difficult to keep track of who, in their family, was where.

He watched and listened as [member="Beth Australis-Mantis"] replied about the planet, though not knowing much of the details herself from what little she told him, Caedyn could only nod and imagine what such a disaster might've looked like from space. A whole world being blown apart yet still somehow able to retain it's atmosphere after having lost one half and the pieces left to litter the "sky" so to speak.

"I haven't seen much of Mom either, actually. She's usually burying herself in her work though since Dad left", he spared any further comment on his father in order to remain in the best of moods for the occasion. "Things with me have sort of gone a bit differently too, My Master disappeared on Nar Shaddaa for months and the Je'daii Order felt too empty without her. I didn't know much of the others and they're all out in the galaxy doing their own thing so I've been spending a bit of time on Kashyyyk with other Force Users like me" Fortunately, [member="Asha Hex"] had returned and called for him to meet her on the world of Aurum. Caedyn had however chosen to remain with the Silver Jedi Order in the hope of capitalizing on his training and learned abilities in the Force.

"What about you though, what've you been doing?" He asked curiously, glancing back to Beth having realized he didn't know all that much about her and her life within Mandalorian Space. Her family make-up still confused him some, like how Yasha and his Mom were somehow related but not by blood. Mandalorian's seemed to have this idea of family where anyone could join and simply call themselves a brother, sister, father or Mother.

 

[Gaia Sunaris Cadera]

[member="Caedyn Arenais"] wasn't sure what his sister was up to? That was a bit worrisome - weren't they pretty close? Beth knew that was an assumption, but still. In either case, Beth gave a small smile and the tiniest of shrugs. "Ohhh," she chuckled slightly, "I'm not sure! I haven't talked to her in a bit. I know she was with Jaster last, but... Jaster and his Clan aren't apart of the Mandalorian Empire. They're independent so we don't get as much information from them and stuff." She nibbled her lip a little as she gave Caedyn another smile before glancing back to the sky.

Her long ears lowered as he spoke about not really seeing his mom. Then, his Master went missing. Sheesh, he really couldn't catch a break. She wanted to give him a hug right then and there for all the crap things that had happened. She was too nervous to do such a thing, though, so she just gave him an encouraging smile as he spoke about what was going on. Nar Shaddaa was a dangerous place - she hoped his Master was okay. "I'm so sorry, Caedyn, it sounds like it's been pretty rough for you lately..." She gave a little smile as she reached out and squeezed his shoulder gently. "Did you find your Master? Is she okay?" Although something did strike Beth as odd - he was on Kashyyyk? It hadn't even been a week or two since the Mandalorian raid on them... In retribution for Barataria and for Roche.

He didn't exactly say he had joined the Silver Jedi, but hanging around Force users on Kashyyyk kinda said it all. But, Beth wouldn't make any judgments until he confirmed it for sure. And... She preferred to just ignore it, for a bit, if she could.

What had she been doing? Whew, where to start... "I saw your mom not too long ago, actually. My mom was trying to figure something out about the Sith blockade with yours. It got a bit heated because an admiral insulted my mom, though. My mom was talking to The Dark Lord but... I don't think they were able to come to an agreement." She sighed as she bit her lip and looked back towards Caedyn.

Her father had gotten out of prison! But was that something she really wanted to say to Caedyn? Or that her, Adara, and her grandma would be going to Sabarene to see if there was a way to help the dark sided toddler Adara. It seemed too... Complicated to talk about. And, the whole situation with Adara was... Secretive. Or that her 5-year-old nephew got shot and killed by radical ysalimir environmentalists on Myrkr? And, as usual, her facial expression probably gave away her thoughts as she tried to figure out a way to explain things. She, however, gave up. She didn't want to burden him anyway with the not so great things that had happened to her own family - he had plenty of things already on his mind with the Blockade and the detachment from his family.

"Is there anything I can do to help? With, you know, all the stuff that's happened?"

 

[Caedyn Arenais]

"That blockade's the whole reason I haven't seen Mom or Lori" Caedyn pointed out, frustration in his voice mixed with concern for both his family and the people of Commenor. The Sith were closing in on the supply lines for the Systems Alliance and every world was slowly being starved and forced to reconsider their political ties. There were rumors that some had already defected, yet from the outside, those were simply rumors without any evidence to the contrary.

What surprised him however was that [member="Beth Australis-Mantis"]' own Mother had apparently been talking with the Dark Lord of the Sith...-How was that even possible. Were they that close to the Sith Empire that they could simply strike up a conversation with the most dangerous Sith Lord in the Galaxy? "Your Mom spoke to the Dark Lord of the Sith Empire?" He blurted out in obvious astonishment, "Does my Mom know about that? Can they do anything to stop what's happening to the Systems Alliance?!". Millions of people were suffering under the restrictions put in place by the Sith. Crime had escalated according to Holo-Net reporters within the CSA Territories, people desperate to feed their families resorting to theft and violence as there was little other choice. These formerly innocent civilians arrested or worse by law enforcement when all they sought was to provide for their loved ones. Stories that held no good endings for anyone. "I don't know how much longer Commenor can hold up against the Sith. Sooner or later there's going to be nothing left to keep the world from collapsing in on itself if there isn't a steady supply of resources and trade, it's the Systems Alliance's biggest asset, to be able to trade in high profile commerce across the Galaxy..." Commenor especially was well known for it's trade, it was how they made the credits to support such a wide-spread government and subsequent Military Force. Albiet smaller than most other great powers across the Galactic Map.

Being asked about his Master and whether [member="Asha Hex"] had been found again left Caedyn feeling relieved to know that she was safely hidden away on Aurum. His Sister however would probably head back home if things with the Mandalorian's didn't work out. Hopefully that wasn't the case but it seemed that Beth didn't have any answers there either. "I hope Loreena's keeping herself out of trouble. Hopefully she's not gone off looking for Dad to come and make a bigger mess of everything..." He spoke scornfully about Veiere, still carrying a great deal of resentment for the things he had done and what had happened to their family by consequence. "And yeah, my Master actually found me...-Or atleast, called me to meet her on a Je'daii world. It was a huge relief to know she was okay; I'm gonna train with her and the Jedi now though so I can learn as much as I can from both the ancient practices of our Order, and what Jedi are doing these days" he smiled a little, "I reckon I'll get pretty strong in the Force knowing more from both of them".

 

[Gaia Sunaris Cadera]

It wasn't right that this is what [member="Caedyn Arenais"] had to worry about. A 16-year-old didn't deserve to have this kind of burden on his shoulders. While usually an optimistic, happy individual Beth naturally felt down at seeing Caedyn in such a state. And with how the CSA was going... And how the general affairs of the galaxy were going. Everything was falling apart... Nations were falling... And the darkness was winning. It wasn't stopping.

Beth's ears quickly fell down, even pulling back as Caedyn asked about Yasha speaking to the Dark Lord. She knew he was suprised that her mom had talked to Carnifex but the girl didn't exactly prepare for his reaction. Maybe she shouldn't have mentioned that after all. Beth kicked herself mentally - she was only making this worse. Her face probably betrayed her emotions but she tried to think of an optimistic thing to say in such a moment. "I... Yeah, she did. Yeah, your mom knew. They... I don't... I'm..." She stumbled over her words as her mind tried to pick something good out of it. "I don't think she can stop the blockade but I'm sure there is something that was agreed upon."

She let one of her hands slip onto his and give it a soft, reassuring squeeze. "It's going to be okay, Caedyn. The Force works in strange ways." She personally would have preferred the Goddesses but that was just due to her own religious beliefs. Her free hand went up to the necklace around her neck with the small statuettes as her fingers twirled on them.

But Caedyn seemed relieved as the conversation seemed to shift to Asha Hex. Beth nearly took a breath of relief as her ears slightly perked again. She was glad that Asha was okay. And he was excited about his new... Trainers, per say. Beth could only assume whom he meant but it wasn't the right time to talk about it. She didn't trust them, but she trusted Caedyn. And so long as he wasn't too open about it. She wasn't sure how other Mandalorians, civilian, military, government or otherwise might feel about it.

"You're already pretty strong in the Force, you'll be unstoppable if you train too much." A small, sly smirk appeared on her lips.

 

[Caedyn Arenais]

Caedyn smiled, [member="Beth Australis-Mantis"] claiming that he was already strong in the Force was a really nice compliment to hear but he failed in comparison to his mentor, [member="Asha Hex"]. There were some Jedi within the Silver Order that had thus far been alarmed by his talents in the creation and embodiment of Force Weapons, yet such expertise had come from the teachings of [member="Ignis Imura"], while Caedyn was otherwise still on the same league as the Je'daii Journeyers back home on Svivren and Tython. Jedi Padawan were a little different of course, they had trained only in the lightside of the Force where as Caedyn had been allowed to respect and experiment with both the Wills of Ashla and Bogan; he was further ahead than others his own age yet Padawan within the Silver Jedi of Kashyyyk were of all ages and experience, thus he couldn't truly compare.

"Asha's been a great teacher, and the Je'daii Order encouraged me a lot to pursue my studies and training exercises" Caedyn briefly explained before adding with a little less confidence, "But it's nice that you think so, Beth, thank you" he grinned a little sheepishly. For a moment, as their eyes locked, the woes of the Galaxy seemed to disappear and the lad felt comfortable alongside her. He didn't know the Mandalorian culture like Beth did, just as so she not understand the Commenori like Caedyn. Neither of them could have forseen the two being at odds within the coming weeks, but while the shadows crept ever closer, for the time being they'd remain blissfully unaware.

"I guess your people have different friends from my Mom's.." He thought aloud, soon glancing back to look out the View-Port to the floating debris that surrounded Concord Dawn; "But what happens if the Sith start fighting us?" He soon asked, thinking more specifically about himself, Beth and might happen to them if that were to be the case; "If you're friends with the Sith and we're friends with...-Well, everyone else?".

 

[Gaia Sunaris Cadera]

Beth glanced out over the balcony as she thought about the situation they were all. Everything was falling apart and the Sith were winning. It came in cycles, though, right? The Dark beats the Light, then the Light beats the dark. Despite dreams from idealists of a balance, there never would be. It was just a matter of surviving - keep your family and yourself alive. That was what it all boiled down to in the end.

He thanked her for her compliment. She looked back at him and their eyes momentarily locked. She remembered when they first met - she still stood by how nice his eyes looked. Maybe they'd get through all of this relatively unscathed. It might be hard but maybe... Beth sighed slightly as she gave the man a reassuring smile. Sure, everything seemed bad but surely there was still plenty of good and reason for optimism! After all, despite it all, they were standing here together alas. It took them quite a while but they did it.

She perked a brow at his question, a long Elven ear turning slightly. "Kadikla. We don't really have friends, Caedyn. We're not friends with the Sith... We just have a non-aggression pact. Our government is very... Neutral, now. At least, the Empire is. And most of the Clans and individuals only pick sides cause of merc jobs. I mean, granted, there's the Silver Jedi stuff going on... But that would have turned out differently if they would just negotiate with us instead of bailing out." She shrugged a little, unsure of how to really answer his question otherwise. "It's kinda weird, but chances are we won't be fighting anyone unless it's an individuals choice... Politics is annoying," she admitted as she herself glanced over to the view, one hand fondling the small statuette necklace of the Naboo Goddesses.

There was some comfort in these trying times, at least.

[member="Caedyn Arenais"]