Center Stage

[Rawnie Tal'verda]

The lights were dimmed on stage, only a single blue spotlight shone upon the diva. She opened her mouth and the stars themselves sang. Her long white silk covered sleeves stretched out as if inviting the audience itself into the tragedy that was the demise of Tarkin.
The last song. She sang of the loss of her beloved and the death of the thousands manning the giant battle station. She sang of war itself, questioning the need for it, demanding answers for the dead.

The Agony of Tarkin was easily one of the most well received shows produced by The Galactic Opera House. They had received great reviews from some of Coruscants toughest critics, many of whom praised their excellent casting choices and marvelous special effects.

And Arinitha was annoyed by this. For all these great reviews, she wasn't even the star! Oh yes, she was the love interest, the leading female, but that hardly made her the focus. Still, she sang to the very last note, holding it long until the music faded and the curtains closed behind her.

Applause rang out, almost deafening. The dive smiled, the stage filled with the rest of the cast, and final bows were taken.




"That was dreadful!" the Diva snapped in her light foreign accent, stomping to her dressing room, "Those Chorus girls need to be replaced if they cannot learn to sing in key and Skylin missed his cue! Again!"

"Miss White," one of her assistants said nearly running after her to keep up, "You have an interview in two hours, and a holonews appearance at seven in the morning. Your appointment to the spa directly conflicts with tomorrows lunch with-"

"Cancel the lunch, then. I can afford to miss a meal or two," the door to her dressing room was opened for her and she stepped in.

"-Oh! And Miss White? Don't forget that you have to sign autographs. When you are ready, of course."

The Togruta rolled her blue eyes and settled down at her mirror, removing blue face makeup little by little.

 

[Arage Bao]

The evening had been wonderful, full of singing, dancing and other merriment. One woman had stood above all, the one portraying the lead romantic interest. Jared was half of mind to go and pay her a visit, get to know her a bit better. But nature called and would not be denied, hence why he was now walking around the Opera trying to find a fething toilet.

He was in the backstage area and realized he did not belong here. But nothing that a good ol' fashion memory trick and a handwave could not solve. He had already tried a couple of doors, but for now he had only encountered storage closets and the sorts. But not a sign of a proper toilet, he was already wondering what kind of establishment they were running when a big and burly man walked up to him. “Buddy, I don't think you belon--” but before he could finish his sentence Jared had already dug his mental thorns into the man's mind. He would not remember Jared nor a good portion of the evening.

Then he opened door number nine.

@[member="Arinitha Treblanc"]​

 

[Rawnie Tal'verda]

"What in the F-!"

The Diva stood up, angry at the intrusion. Her face was nearly clear of blue, save for a little streak along her bottom lip, which trembled with anger.

"What is this!? How dare you barge in without knocking! I should go to the director and have you fired! Didn't you see the Kriffing star on the door, idiot!?"

Arinitha was dressed in a long silk robe, and nothing else. She held it closed at the top with one hand and with the other had a small bunch of makeup removing wipes- which she promptly threw at the mans face.

"Now get out before I have you thrown out!"

 

[Arage Bao]

And here he was, face to face with a raging diva, notably the one he had so enjoyed listening to a few minutes ago. She was kinda cute when angry and Jared wondered-- he did not finish that train of thought after noticing the cause of her anger. Seemingly he had dropped in right when she was about to get dressed, his blue eyes flashed yellow for a second and then turned back into blue. With a feint smile playing on his lips, he bowed lightly and said: “Excuse me, m'Lady. I was simply looking for a bathroom, forgive me for my intrusion.”

While he was at fault, the Lord of the Fringe would not accept getting things thrown in his face. With a slightly arched eyebrow he halted the progress of the tissues in mid-air, silently it floated in the air for a moment. Twirling around, making circles before being thrown into the garbage bin by an invisible hand.
Then he left the room without a second glance.

@[member="Arinitha Treblanc"]​

 

[Rawnie Tal'verda]

She was about to call for security when he eyed her like that. Honestly, the nerve. But he looked so familiar. Why? Probably one of the leaders of her "one and only fanclub" which was really about twelve fanclubs run by different people. She didn't have time for his excuses of "looking for a bathroom". As if anyone was clumsy enough to just "Accidentally" walk into her room without knocking.

"Ugh, if I give you an autograph will you-"

She stared, mouth open in shock. No. No! Now she knew why she recognized him! Last week! The incident! They ruined her show! He ruined her song! And what she'd seen after, while she was hiding under the stage...

"Oh-! Oh! It's y-you!" she stuttered, reaching to grab his arm and pull him back inside the room, "Come back!"

 

[Arage Bao]

Jared was about to leave the room when she suddenly grabbed for his hand, his first instinct was to ram it through her throat, his second instinct was to pull-away. But eventually he settled for option number three, getting dragged into the room by a bare-naked Lady. At first he was not sure why she decided to pull him back in, until her words settled down in his mind.

She knew him. And that could only mean trouble, for the only time she could have seen him was during the last show he was here. The same one where he threw a chunk of metal at a Sith Knight, pinning him down.

He was not so sure what to do about her, so instead he just asked her then. While trying to ignore her appearance and the short-distance between the two of them. “Is there something I can help you with, m'Lady?”

Suddenly the urge of nature was forgotten.

@[member="Arinitha Treblanc"]​

 

[Rawnie Tal'verda]

"You!" she hissed in her light accent, shutting the door behind her, "You were there! And those other two. At the last show! I remember what you did."

Thinking back, she would realize what a stupid thing she was doing, locking herself in a room with a dangerous force wielding man. Later.

"You ruined my aria! I want an apology. The show was cancelled for a week after that. Are you pleased with yourself?"

She crossed her arms in front of her chest, the shoulder of her robe dipping dangerously off one shoulder. She didn't care. Nobody ruined her show and got away with it!

 

[Arage Bao]

The fact that he was now standing in a room with a half-naked beautiful woman pleased him immensely, but looking at the darkened expression of her face he wondered if that would be a smart thing to relate to her. “Probably not..” Jared wondered how it came to be that for some reason he had missed this girl, his surveys should have been able to detect her instantly. It seemed he would have to train harder to perfect it. Quietly he studied her for a second and then slowly moved closer to her, with the sudden grace of a predator considering his prey. He stopped just a few inches from her and positioned his head by her ear, almost as if he was going to whisper something.

Then he touched her mind with his, making her feel his power. “Little bird, you are a bold one, aren't you? What does this one get for his apologies?” the words would appear in her mind as a whisper.

 

[Rawnie Tal'verda]

The singer took a step back as the stranger closed in. Not a good idea. This was not a good idea! She should yell for security, but the words could not quite find her. She closed her eyes and turned her face away as her back hit the vanity table behind her. Nowhere to go.

“Little bird, you are a bold one, aren't you? What does this one get for his apologies?”

"What did you say?" she asked, but it was very clear that he had not spoken outloud. She opened her eyes again, studying his face with curiosity, "You a Jeedai, yes? What would a Jeedai want from me?"

From her perspective, all force users were Jedi. Silly religious fanatics. Doing more harm than good with their stupid war. Claiming to do what is right, but where were they when she was a slave? Where were the mighty Jedi then?

 

[Arage Bao]

“Do not insult me with that name, I am as much of a Jedi as you are a waitress in a bar.” he said with contempt in his voice. Jared had always disliked the Jedi, a bunch of upstart hypocrites and hippy treehuggers, the lot of them. Where were they went he was starving or freezing, crying in a corner wishing for a quick death? Never did they once visit the Understreets from their Jedi Temple, too afraid to soil their robes. Well, Jared was not one of them and never would be.

What did he want from her? He did not know yet, she was a pretty thing though. But at the same time she was quite the diva, so instead he just said: "What can you offer me?"

 

[Rawnie Tal'verda]

So, this one wasn't a Jedi? How did that work? She wasn't quite clear on the concept of Force users having any other religion but the Jedi one. He was interesting.
"...I can offer you an autograph, and a picture with me," she answered, "Usually I charge for those. I would call it lucky for you. But an apology from you should be free. I should not have to pay you for ruining my show."

 

[Arage Bao]

“You do realize it was a Sith who interrupted your performance in the first place. He was going to kill everyone in the Opera House, so I saved you. And as your savior.. I think I deserve something better than an autograph and picture. Don't you?” His eyes flashed yellow at the last part and quickly bounced back to blue again.

He wondered if she would still keep her facade of ice-cold diva.

 

[Rawnie Tal'verda]

That was enough right there. He had just crossed a line.

"Savior or not, I don't do private meetings. It says so in my contact."

The shifting of his eyes made the diva shiver. She did not like being black mailed.

"Security!"

 

[Arage Bao]

Little did she know that her expensive security detail were walking around aimlessly and drooling. They would be alright in a few hours, probably wake up with a nasty headache though. Jared studied her for a while longer, until she finally understood no one was coming to her 'rescue'. Then he chuckled softly. "My Lady, you can keep your clothes on. I am not interested in that."

His eyebrow arched slightly. "I merely hoped you would be able to provide me with free season tickets to the Opera house. Maybe a backstage pass.."

@[member="Arinitha Treblanc"]​

 

[Rawnie Tal'verda]

Arinitha waited. And waited. And waited. Nothing. She called again. No response.

Those idiots! Probably getting drunk back stage! Can't they do anything right?

Then, all at once, it hit her. Nobody was coming to save her. The Diva reached behind her on the vanity table, looking for something, anything. Then she found it. A long hair stick, metal, sharp at the ends. The one she wore in act 2. Fine. If nobody would come save her, then she would save herself. With the other hand she closed her robe again, just as the intruder said something... odd.

"What? You just want tickets? Seriously? All this, and you just want..."

She dropped the hair stick and straightened up, shaking her head as if to clear it of something.

"...Okay. Okay fine. Tickets. Back stage passes. Will you stop being creepy now?

 

[Arage Bao]

"I am being creepy? Woman, I just walked into this room, hoping to find a toilet. Instead I find a woman screaming my ears off, when I decide to leave? You pull me back in and start demanding apologies because I saved your life. Then when I suggest I might have earned more than a photograph, you practically accuse me of wanting to bed you and decide to call security on me. Who is being creepy here, lady?”

He looked at the stick and snorted, if four burly men were not a threat to him. Then neither would be a half-naked woman with a stick.

 

[Rawnie Tal'verda]

The Diva shot the intruder with a nasty look, turned her back and sat down at her vanity table.

"I'll get your season tickets and your back stage pass," she snapped, "As long as you stop talking for a kriffing second."

She picked up another makeup wipe and started wiping off blue makeup down her neck and collar bone too, entirely ignoring his words.

"Besides, you're cuter when you're silent."

 

[Arage Bao]

She got a smile for that, 'cute' was a long-way better than 'creepy'. There was progress here, even if she did not see it like that. Jared sat down in one of the empty chairs and studied her for a bit, she was a pretty lady that was for sure. Sadly she was also quite the queen, he wondered if that was just an act to protect herself. Or if there was simply nothing more to her than that. It would be interesting to get to know her a little bit better, but how would he approach her?

“My Lady, are you.. hungry after the taxing performance you just gave?”

 

[Rawnie Tal'verda]

The Togruta examined her face in the mirror, turning it this way and that to make sure she got all the makeup off- before she started applying a fresh, new layer of makeup. This was more her natural skin tone, a lighter orange than most togruta, and the white tattoos were elongated, exaggerated. She built a career off of appearing exotic and unapproachable.

"I don't know. Are you asking me out or are you just asking if I'm hungry? Those are two very different things."

@[member="Jared Ovmar"]

 

[Arage Bao]

Acting like a blushing school boy was not Jared's usual manner, but this girl was just.. he did not have the words to describe her. But his curiosity had peaked and whenever his interest demanded something there was no stopping it. As such he just leaned back in his comfy chair and feigned nonchalance. He immersed himself in the force and found some clarity of mind.

"That all depends, would you be interested in going out with me?"

@[member="Arinitha Treblanc"]​