Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend (Nessarose, Cordelia)

[Asteria deWinter]

Naboo. Asteria didn't really spend much time on the planet in the past. Still, it had its beauties. It was nice for a visit. And Shiny was there, Asteria knew so naturally, she had travelled to the famous planet, left her Sith Infiltrator before finding herself a taxi that would take her to the boutique. On her way there, she managed to see more sights than she had expected, the city expending on her as the fare went on. The blonde didn't have to explain too much to the driver, he seemed to have heard of her sister's shop already.

When he finally stopped, the man read her the price of the fare but said nothing else, merely waiting with an extended hand. The Sith reached into her purse and pulled out the necessary credits and handed it to him. "Good day," she added in her even and uninterested voice before stepping out of the vehicle. It left in just a second after that, leaving her to to turn towards the ship. Turqoise eyes scanned the windows, the sign. It was the right place alright. With that knowledge, she lightly strolled into the place, noticing all the beautiful items on the display. A young shopkeeper quickly came to her side with a practiced smile on her face.

'Welcome to Shiny. How may I help you?' The girl asked her, causing the Sith Sorceress to look at the female for a moment. "Yes, you can," Asteria told her before she walked beside her, not giving that much attention to her. "Please inform your owner that Lady deWinter has come to see her." It was a simple sentence. Asteria wasn't asking, she was telling the girl exactly what she wanted. And obviously, unless the girl was truly that brainless, she would make some sort of connection between the two.

@[member="Nessarose deWinter"] @[member="Cordelia deWinter"]

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

Nessarose was in the back of the shop. She didn't like the hotels that Naboo had to offer, and had yet to purchase a permanent residence on the planet, which meant that she spread her home between Shiny, and the boutiques. This one was the one she was using today, and the backroom was filled with... Pink stuff. Most notably right now, amongst all the open boxes of diamonds, was the pink yoga mattress in the center of the room, where Nessarose was levitating while trying to mediate.

Nessarose was notoriously bad at meditating. It required staying calm, not bouncing around, not bubbling around, and generally just not being Nessa. So when the silly lady she'd hired to take care of customers just barged in, she decided not to just kill her there. Distractions were welcome.

"What?!" she almost fell on her tush the ground. Lady deWinter?

Wasting no time, the Sorceress used the Force to speed herelf to the front. "Mommie?" But no. The person there was indeed Lady deWinter, but not the one Nessarose's mind had thought of first. Her sister, Asteria, standing there, in broad daylight.

"ASTRIE!!!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, and launched at his sister, arms and legs ready to hug the shorter sibling like a koala hugs a tree.

@[member="Asteria deWinter"]

 

[Asteria deWinter]

While the female had left her alone in the front shop, Asteria took the time to glance around. Though she didn't have much time before she heard her sister's voice, the question Mommie? coming to her ears lound and clear. That pinched her heart a bit, just heard that word from her little sister's mouth. She knew exactly what it had caused it the moment Asteria heard it but there was no more taking back anymore. She too was Lady deWinter, it had been a gift from their Mother but it had still been her title first.

But it had been a long time since then. Much had happened since her eighteenth birthday, since the day she had been knighted and given that title as a present. Too much even because of which Asteria knew things would never ever be the same. At the same time, it was alright to miss their mother, right?

The thought had left her mind though quickly as Nessarose screamed her long kept nickname and launched at her. She had but a second to react as the younger yet taller deWinter girl hugged her with both her hands and legs. Her mind focused in a second, reaching to the Force. Telekinesis came naturally to her on any day and it did now, her mind wrapping around her sister and keeping her afloat enough so they wouldn't both fall as her arms wrapped around the girl, who thankfully, seemed light as feather to her skinny blonde. "Hello, dear sister," she woman said, planting a kiss on Nessa's temple.

@[member="Nessarose deWinter"]

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

Nessarose returned the kiss on her sister's cheek with a loud and popping sound, hugging her even tighter before letting go. If both had not been Force Users, that hug would've been enough to probably break a rib or two. But Nessa knew Asteria well enough to know that her sister was more than the tiny thing she appeared on the outside. Like her, Asteria was the daughter of Shery deWinter and Xander Stariller, and that meant that she was one tough cookie who would not break. Not from something like a koala hug, anyway.

"Astrieeeeeeeeeee" she purred into her sister's cheek before finally letting go, putting down her left foot on the ground first, and then the second, moving a little bit back so that Asteria could have her personal space back. Asteria loved personal space. "Where have you been?!" she asked, half jumping in her place. It was all too obvious to see that Nessarose was excited at her sister's appearance in the boutique, "what have you been doing?! Are you hungry? Are you thirsty? Is Simon here too? Ohmyforce, is anyone else here with you too?"

@[member="Asteria deWinter"]

 

[Asteria deWinter]

Loud kiss to her cheek reached her ears which made Asteria smiled as she felt the hug tighten for a moment.

As soon as she felt the hug lessen, so did her telekinetic hold over her sister. But she didn't let go off at once, instead slowly releasing her as Nessarose herself let go. Only when she was fully free did she release her sister, balancing the whole process out.

Her nickname got purred out and prolonged by her little sister before all the questions came in. Asteria noted her personal space returned which she felt grateful for but Nessarose was one of the few people in the entire galaxy who could actually enter it and get away with it. The blonde focused on all the questions. Where had she been? What had she been doing? Was she hungry? Was she thirsty? Was Simon there? Was anyone else here with her? Asteria smirked for a moment before she began to answer in order: "I was on Spira. I've been on a brief vacation. I've eaten on the Ice Princess and no, I'm not thirsty. Simon is on the Infilitrator. And no, it's just the two of us." She answered all the question in one go. Asteria knew how to communicate with her youngest sister.

@[member="Nessarose deWinter"]

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

Nessarose rolled her eyes. Astrie was being so... Pointy. Answering questions directly. Not offering anything. Just being all Astrie-like.

With a shrug, she turned around and picked her communicator up, ordering enough Chinese to feed a family of ten. Which meant Nessa would eat about 95% of it, and Asteria would maybe nibble a little before she claimed she was full. If Asteria hadn't been family, Nessa would have never trusted her, because you just can't trust a person that doesn't eat much.

"Sit," Nessa said as she used the Force to slam the door shut and close the boutique, "speak!" she added with a giggle.


@[member="Asteria deWinter"]

 

[Asteria deWinter]

Asteria looked at her sister as she ordered food. Even though she said she had eaten, clearly Nessarose was hungry. Though her sister could eat a whole candy house on most days. It was insane how that even worked. Sure, the younger one was taller but that didn't mean it made any more sense. It was just one of those things, Asteria guessed.

There was a short order. "Alright then," Asteria just said before she found herself a seat, probably reserved for the clients while they shopped and took a seat. The doors slammed behind her, making her head turn towards them and give it a look before she heard another one word sentence from Nessarose. She wanted her to speak. Though this time, the giggle make it impossible for it to actually seem like a order. Speak? "Oh, no. You're going to tell me about this place first."

@[member="Nessarose deWinter"]

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

Nessarose shrugged. "What's there to tell?" she asked, "Endelaan needs money, I have diamonds, so I put them to the best use that I can. There's enough rich idiots who'll pay more than it's worth just because it's custom made, and even more because I plastered my face over the company. If I get bored I could always close it or sell it."

Taking a seat next to her sister, Nessarose's body language was chipper and relaxed. Asteria was her best friend; that would never change. "Your turn!"

@[member="Asteria deWinter"]

 

[Asteria deWinter]

Endelaan needed money. Right. Yes. Asteria knew as much. And there was of course the diamonds which were a shame to just be left behind. The blonde nodded to her sister's words and quietly continued to listen. She smirked ever so slightly as her sister made the idiot remark. It was quite true.

But get bored and sell it? "I don't think so. This place has potential to grow further. Don't rush into saying such things." She couldn't help it. She had been a businesswoman for a long time, it was starting become normal for her to think of potential of things, the good and the bad for it, the possibilities. And Shiny had potential. Then again, Nessarose had that very unique talent of making everyone love her when she met them so the promise Shiny had along as her sister was attached to it was really no surprise.

Asteria took notice of the younger deWinter taking a seat beside her, in her usual Nessa-like behavior and smiled at her. While Asteria was the shorter one of the two, she was still the older sister. And despite all Nessarose had accomplished in her life, that feeling would never change for the blonde. But now, it was her turn. What had she been doing? "I've been around with Simon. Went home once...," she stopped herself from finishing that sentences. She couldn't really. It was home. And it was probably best if Nessa didn't have to hear what had come of it. "I have left Jessa on Coruscant, the Red Lady is... in limbo right now. It needs a major facelift and I need to put that right. No sudden decisions." Not that Asteria did sudden decisions for the better part of her life and Nessarose knew this all too well. But this was different, it was more important. It a legacy she had been given. Asteria would see to it that there would be no room for errors.

"I was going to take a trip to Endelaan next but with Shiny here, figured I should stop by and see if you're here first," she explained then. While Spira was supposed to be home and the Ice Princess had become home along the way, her sister's planet had somehow become quite important to her as well.

@[member="Nessarose deWinter"]

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

Nessarose was all ears as she listened to her sister who, of course, divulged the bare essence of the minimum. She nodded at Asteria's words, having nothing really to ask about those things. As always, Asteria had stuck to cold, hard facts.

"Yeah, okay, but what else did you do?" she finally asked, resting her chin on her hand, "what did you experience? What did you do that you'd never done before?"

@[member="Asteria deWinter"]

 

[Asteria deWinter]

Her sister insisted even though her answer had been given. The two sisters though from parents were in fact quite different, on the inside but also outside. Asteria smiled at her sister's questions. What did she experience? What had she done that she had never done before?

The chuckle itself was more of an automated respense than anything else. What Nesserose asked was eyond what Asteria would normally say. And if it had been anyone else, they would have receieved a long lesson about privacy. This being Nessarose deWinter of all people, her youngest sister and the only person in the galaxy Asteria would identify as her best friend other than perhaps her droid, the brunette got to be spared from that.

So she replied. "So many questions... Let's see. I asked Jessa what one of her client's likes. It's a Hutt. I don't... know why I asked but I was more trying to imply that she could be just my second in command rather than anything else somehow I got the detailed version. I don't think I'll ever be able to wash my ears from that. Not truly." The thought made her shudder once more. Jessa had been in the trade for so long that she'd sometimes forget Asteria though having the business element in mind simply was never nor would she ever be into such things.

Then there was of course the other matter. Which she had wanted to avoid discussing but since Nessarose had insisted, she would get it. "I was also home not long ago. The sight Morgaine has created of the mansion, what she has done with our zoo... It is no longer a Zoo. It's wild life and source of food to our sister." She paused for a moment realizing just how detached she had become of the whole situation. It should have hurt her the memories. Asteria had been the first to care fiercy for animals, only followed and passed in her feats by Nessa. And yet, her mind had rationally managed to somehow process it. It was no longer their Zoo, Morgaine had taken it over. If only Asteria realized how her heart was truly being over come by the ice which had come naturally for her to control.

@[member="Nessarose deWinter"]

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

No Zoo anymore. Nessarose had known that, though she said nothing. There was no point in hurting Asteria over it. She'd had a few people she know look into it, discover what Morgaine had done. Their eldest sister had someone managed to rewire all the droids in the mansion at once, turning them into shooting beasts. It was complete and utter chaos. Morgaine had even demanded her ship back, and was now scouring the Galaxy.

"She's collecting poop," said, "she plans on making money out of it. I've already had a few reports about it from various planets. She has a gang of teenager following her and they just... steal poop."

What would [member="Asteria deWinter"] make out of that?

Nessarose had no idea.

 

[Asteria deWinter]

When her sister spoke again, the information she had given Asteria made her eyelids flutter in complete shock. Morgaine was collecting poop and planned on making money. She even had a gang of teenagers following her and stealing poop. It took her an entire minute to process this. For her mind to actually comprehend what the eldest of them was actually doing.

It was surreal, the whole idea. Yes, Morgaine's mind worked differently than theirs, probably damaged beyond repair from all the drugs. But every so often, Asteria managed to get shocked all over again.

When her brain had finally processed it all, she leaned back and pulled he head back, her turquoise eyes focusing on the ceiling for the moment before she closed her eyes. Without so much as realizing it, Asteria had concentrated on the Force, her telekinesis lifting various objects around the office. First they just hovered in the air before beginning to speed around the center of the boutique. "Why is she so...?" she spoke, her eyes still closed. "Why is like this?" What she was doing to the boutique with the Force was nothing more than a way for her mind calming down.

[member="Nessarose deWinter"]

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

Nessarose squinted as she saw the items in her shop rise and spin in the air. Oh no. Absolutely not. "Stop that, Astrie," she said, her voice stern, not a hint of the sweet childishness that usually decorated it remaining.

"Morgaine has nowhere to go to and no one to see. In her head we all have our own lives and have no place for us in it," she then shrugged, "she's doing her own thing. Probably came up with galactic fertilizer because she was tripping on something."

But that wasn't really an answer. Why was Morgaine the way she was? "I don't know why she's like that," she finally said, "but she's not changing anytime soon. And unless you dare enter her mind and memories, which I doubt she'd let you anyway, we're not going to get an answer. Get over it."

[member="Asteria deWinter"]

 

[Asteria deWinter]

Nobody talked to her like that, not anymore. But when she heard Nessa's stern voice coming through the jumble of her mind, the objects stopped spinning. They remained in the air though as her eyes opened, seeing them like that and she focused on slowing them back to the floor.

She was right, Asteria knew that. Morgaine made the life for her that she did, just as they all did. It wasn't perfect... Asteria thought it was downright insane. But it was what she had done for herself. And no amount of reasoning could fix that. Not anymore.

Did she dare enter her mind and memories? "Did we leave her behind, Nessa?" Suddenly the question just rolled of her tongue. "I mean look at us and she's the eldest of us and yet she's the most lost of us. Is this our fault too?" She'd spent her life looking after those younger than them. Alistair could always take care of himself, he'd gone his own way a long time ago. But Morgaine was just... she was just so different from them.

[member="Nessarose deWinter"]