Private Diners, Drive-Ins, And Dives

[Aris Noble]

"This is probably my favorite spot on Niv Hani." Aris took his seat at one of the tables. It was a diner through and through. Epimac, home of the bets damn mac this side of the galaxy. It wasn't a chain or anything, in fact it was the furthest from such a thing. An older couple that Aris occasionally helped with, working the kitchen as he used what he had been learning from Valery Noble and Kahlil. He liked to cook, after all.

It helped a lot with keeping him calm.

But this time he was here for a meal, not work. He got comfortable on the booth, idly looking through the provided menu with a faint smile. "They're known for their mac, but I promise the burgers are just as good. If not better. Should tried the fried mac burger. They don't actually fry the mac, more grill it so it's crisp and then use it like cheese to top the burger. Very good stuff."

Colette

 

[Colette]

Aris Noble

The smell of fryer oil was almost overbearing. Colette had never been big on fast food. It was oily and greasy and made her feel like a bloated nexu after eating. When it was her time to choose what to cook she would more often go for some sort of salad as crisp as it was hearty in flavor. Burgers were… Not that.

But beyond the fact that Colette herself wasn't a big burger person, the fact was that Aris very much was and she loved her brother enough to overlook her own hesitation on the matter. As he spoke of mac (whoever— oh, wait no, whatever that was) and a mac burger, she listened with an amused smile. It was good to see this side of him.

"Oh, I see." She said and looked down at the pile of bread, meat, cheese, bacon meat, and a host of pickled and unpickled vegetables. Next to it was an equally big pile of potato rectangles that had been fried. Fries, as it were.

"Okay, so — I know how to eat a burger but, this is a special sorta burger." She laughed at her uncertainty and glanced up at her brother. "Do I still just grab it or do I… Cut it up piece for piece?"

"... How should I eat this?"

 

[Aris Noble]

"With your hands. That shouldn't be a problem- maybe."

Aris paused as he spoke, glancing between the burger and his sister. Unlike him, she wasn't Epicanthix. And this diner was certainly made with Epicanthix in mind. He was taller now, even taller than their father. Colette was not.

"If you think it's too large yeah, chop it up. You want to get all the parts in one bite, so, make it smaller if that helps?" He shrugged. It didn't matter to him how someone ate something, so long as they experienced the goodness that it was. An absolute cheat of his diet, certainly, but he was allowed a cheat day every now and then. He plucked up a fry, which had a healthy dosing of malt on it, among other seasonings.

"How have you been, though? It's- Sorry, I'm not the best at keeping up with people."

Colette

 

[Colette]

Aris Noble

Fit for an epicanthix indeed. Colette tilted her head as she tried to think of how she wanted to tackle the meat mountain before her. At first she had wrapped her hands around it only to find that a wooden stick poked out from the top and gently scratched her nose as she leaned in for a bite.

Disheartened, she put the burger down and took the upscaled toothpick out only to find that parts of the burger began to pour out the back when she took her first bite and got little more than soggy bread from the experience. She chewed the piece and gave Aris a small shrug as he apologized.

"Don't be. It's… A two-way road, you know?" Colette kept from scratching her neck in shame, on account of the grease that was now covering both of her palms. "I could have reached out too, the Coruscant temple wasn't that big."

And now it was thankfully sadly even smaller. Colette grabbed a nearby fork and knife to cut the burger into more manageable pieces before she picked one of them up to take a bite.

"I've been good. Val— moth— … MOM— has been keeping me busy." The older 'sister' exhaled an embarrassed chuckle. "Sorry, it's still hard not to feel like it's an insult to call someone that, you know?"

"I… Don't actually know if we ever spoke much about my life before the Order now that I think about it. You and me, that is. Or well, anyone, really. I don't enjoy talking about it ever since I came back."

 

[Aris Noble]

"True, you could've too." Aris nodded his head in agreement as he took a bite of his own burger, smiling faintly as he did. It was terrible, health wise. But it tasted amazing. At least to him. He did end up blinking at the chuckle and the apparent difficulty with referring to their mother as.. Well, their mom. She at least explained, which had him nod a little in understanding this time around.

"We haven't. I haven't really talked about my life before dad found me either. Zaiya, Ayhan , and Mahsa know the details of it all, but I don't really open up about that sort of thing, you know? It was the past, not the now." Though he had a feeling Zaiya Ceti likely knew more about how he felt on it all than even he did. Their connection, her ability to feel his emotions even while he didn't understand them was always something that put a lot into perspective for him.

"It's not something we have to talk about if you don't want to, either."

Colette

 

[Colette]

Aris Noble

The first piece of the burger was good! Well, better than most burgers she had experienced at least. The meat didn't taste like a paper towel covered in beef stock, and the cheese seemed to be at least partially edible. The glue-like consistency was there, but Colette wasn't sure if that was a trick of the mind given that her last interaction had made her throw up.

That cheese had been sold as a 'blue cheese', whatever that meant, and Colette had been far too tired to realize that it was in fact just plain old regular mold. This cheese was soft, savory, and melded with the beef patty. The menu had called this one 'smashed' and Colette still had no idea what that meant but it tasted well enough.

"We both had some rough early years, huh?" Colette frowned and took a bite of a potato fry. "I was abandoned by my mom and dad, and I don't really know why. Growing up without that connection to… True love, and without anyone who really cared… It hurts looking back, and it makes you think things about yourself that you know aren't true but can't stop thinking."

Colette caught herself and stopped. She shot a glance off towards Aris to gauge his reaction.

"Sorry, I… maybe shouldn't start with the heavy stuff."

 

[Aris Noble]

Aris listened in silence. He nodded once, as she spoke. Understanding. It was the most emotion on that he showed, given just how he was. There were a lot of emotions he was still trying to figure out, but he was far more aware now. What she spoke of, it was sad. He knew that much, especially because of their family showing them a different life.

"When I woke up, I was in a tube. I lived in that tube for years until dad came back. The only interaction I had was with a droid programed to ensure I was ready to be a prince of the Epicanthix. I didn't know emotion then, what that meant. I still don't really get it, but, I get that love is important. That our parents are pretty great at."

Colette

 

[Colette]

Aris Noble

"Yeah…" Colette nodded to Aris' story. It almost kind of shamed her that she wasn't aware of this already, but she supposed they were both here because they weren't big talkers to begin with. "But we both survived, and we both overcame it. Thanks to our parents."

"And, just, don't get me wrong on all this. I am not sad about it anymore, I ran out of tears when I was very young. I'm not going to look at others without realizing that they have something I'll never have myself?"

It was phrased like a question because part of her wanted the answer to — somehow, somewhere — be a 'you will' even if she knew it wouldn't ever truly be true. Childhood only lasted so long and Colette was about three years too late to reclaim hers.

It just meant that she would work even harder to make her young adulthood all that much better. Other than fully dedicating herself to the duty and responsibility of being a force user, of course. That would always come first.

"So, hey, correct me if I'm wrong though…" She began to trail in an effort to lift the conversation out of the pit, just a little. "We both seem to take our duties at the Jedi Temple rather seriously."

"From what I've heard you're building a reputation for your skill with blades!"

 

[Aris Noble]

"It's hard to miss something you can't understand."

It's how he felt about it himself. His childhood years. Even watching the triplets and Eryx grow, he didn't feel a longing to have had that time with his family. Even with the Force, and how people could feel it and he couldn't. He didn't miss something he couldn't understand, pure and simple. And he wasn't going to waste his time trying to just so he could miss it.

Colette didn't want to seem to linger on those subjects though. He smiled briefly, proudly even, as he nodded. "I can't do much else, so, yeah. I've been focusing a lot on that. Have I really been building a reputation for it, though?"

Colette

 

[Colette]

Aris Noble

Colette nodded. Aris understood what she meant, and it kind of felt good that he did.

"I mean, you're my brother and I am your sister. I am always going to make things so much bigger than they are, and double that when I'm proud of you." She smiled at the kid and took a sip of her soft drink. "Even a small reputation is a reputation, you know?"

"Which speaking of small and mostly emotional things…" Her lips thinned into a knowing smirk. "You and Zaiya, huh?"

"Are you two together, or are you just really good friends? How did you meet? Tell me everything."

 

[Aris Noble]

"That's a good point, though I suppose that means it is a small reputation."

Aris hummed at that before taking another bite. Then settled down the burger. As good as it was to him, it was still a lot of grease. He couldn't eat it all quick or the like. He lifted his drink, about to take a sip but fully stopped himself as he heard the question. No sputtering his drink this time as he cleared his throat and then took a longer sip.

"We're really good friends." Together? He didn't get what that meant. It sounded honestly dangerous to him, given what Zaiya Ceti was. Family? Like her parents were? The confusion was clear on his face as he took another sip. Real confusion, not the subtle emotion he usually would show. When it came to Zaiya it seemed his emotions were true and honest.

"We met on Lialac, during an event there. A monkey lizard got in my hair while I was eating and Zaiya and I ended up litterally bumping into each other. We sort of just.. Hung out. It was nice, comfortable. Fast friends, for sure, but, she's my best friend without a doubt."

Colette

 

[Colette]

Aris Noble

Damn it, he didn't pick up on the— whatever.

Friends were good! Everyone needed friends, and Colette had hers. There weren't a lot of them, but she made the ones she had count. But then, perhaps her idea of friendship was a bit out of phase with the rest. The way that others treated a friend was how Colette would treat everyone. She would lay her life down for others if she had to, but for her friends she would lay down someone else's life if they hurt them enough.

"I met her once." Colette nodded at Aris. "I didn't quite understand which color meant what, but there's no denying she, uh… What's that saying? Wears her emotions on her arm?"

"So, is it fair to assume you are a big reason she decided to stay with the Jedi then?"

 

[Aris Noble]

"Yeah. It makes her uncomfortable at times. But I think she likes it when someone does understand. It's very pretty." Aris smiled warmly as he lifted his drink again, sipping it gently. Zaiya was in general just, pretty. He did blink though, glancing back to Colette. Was he the reason she joined the Jedi? ".. Sort of. We figured it out together that she can feel the Force, and I told her about the Jedi. But I also told her to look around at the other Force beliefs and ways for her to learn if that's what she wanted. I don't believe I'm why she's a Jedi, just, that I offered the option, you know?"

Colette

 

[Colette]

Aris Noble

"I don't believe I'm why she's a Jedi, just, that I offered the option, you know?"

"I wouldn't say that. If my best friend was part of something, I'd wanna be part of that too, y'know?" Her head bobbed from side to side. "Luckily Cora is already a Jedi, so I guess… I'm lucky like that."

It felt weird to call someone her best friend. Technically she felt like all of her friends were her best friend, but Cora stood out even if they hadn't interacted much lately. Perhaps because they were so different and yet not really.

Colette took another quarter-burger and devoured it whole. Her cheeks puffed up, but at least when eaten like this she got a chance to experience ALL THE FLAVORS AT ONCE. The grease run-off from the burger and the cheese, the cheese itself and the meat too. And was that onion? It tasted like it, but… Sweeter.

"You know, I think you might like burgers as much as I like sushi." She said and smiled. "I showed Zaiya a spot and made her swear not to spread it. Sort of like my hidden little spot on Coruscant."

"... It was blown up in the invasion."

 

[Aris Noble]

"If it was a summer camp or the like, maybe that'd be good. But being a Jedi isn't just to be around your friends." There was too much risk for it to be just wanting to be around him. It was a boon to be with friends, but this wasn't the path to choose for it. Such serious thoughts faded pretty quick as he watched Colette full on stuff her face with the burger, though.

He just blinked. As greasy and messy as the food was, he hadn't expected that display at all. He hummed, doing his best not to stare too much at his sister's ravenous way of eating.

".. Yeah. A lot was lost. There were about fifty three places that Zaiya and I still had to check out that were lost."

Colette

 

[Colette]

Aris Noble

"I don't understand this war." Colette frowned. "And don't think about your friends like that. If you have no-one to fight for, what reason would you have to fight?"

As for Colette's ravenous way of eating, well, this was just standard when she was back home on Ophus V.

"Being a Jedi isn't just about being around your friends, but it's still important to keep people around, and close. Like Zaiya, and… Other people you probably know that I don't."

 

[Aris Noble]

"I don't either. And- I didn't mean-" For a moment, Aris actually stumbled over his words. He frowned a little, leaning back as he hid his face some with his cup to take another long sip. Settle his mind, a little. "I didn't mean that I don't want friends or that they don't matter. Just, I don't want someone to be a Jedi because of their friends. There's so much risk, so much we have to face. I don't want Zaiya to have to face all this darkness just because I'm her friend."

Which was why he wanted her to decide on her own. And she had. Was he part of the reason? He couldn't deny that. But he really, really hoped he was neither the main or a big reason at all.

".. Oh, yeah. I've got a lot more friends now. Zaiya is my best friend by far, though. She learned I'm technically a prince, teases me on it. Now we're calling her my Knight protector and it's just, silly."

Colette

 

[Colette]

Aris Noble

"Oh right." Colette said and let out a small 'huh'. "Does that mean that I am technically a prince too? I mean, there's not a drop of Kahlil's blood in me, but I mean…"

"Eh, nah. Probably not. Besides, if I were a prince, I'd probably keep quiet about it. If Cora found out about it she would… I don't know, get court dresses or something. And do all… Royal stuff."

She laughed. "No thanks."

"It's good to hear you have friends though. I don't have many, but I keep the ones I have close."

 

[Aris Noble]

"There's some stock in blood, but the Epicanthix are all about the adoption of others and their cultures. You are very much royalty, technically." It was a relief to know Colette felt the same as he did on it, though. That she didn't want that sort of royal life or title or even influence. It was important to him, certainly, that he wasn't treated as a prince.

Zaiya Ceti was probably the one one who could get away with it outside their siblings.

"A lot more than one doesn't mean many, really. Ayhan is gruff and rude, but he's a good heart. He thinks we don't know how hard he tries to tend to his plants, but we know. Mahsa is quiet and reserved, but I think she's starting to come out of that shell. Braze is.. Well. Braze. It's been good talking to him again. Things were awkward for a bit, but I think it was a lot of miscommunication. I should talk to Loomi again, though."

Colette

 

[Colette]

Aris Noble

That smile faded fast. Only now, in this very moment, did it strike her that she hadn't just signed up to be a Noble but a Zambrano as well. A queasy sensation of dread began to flush through her body and she put the fry she had planned to eat down on her plate again just for a little while longer as she considered what this meant.

It meant… Well, nothing. A name was just a name and she cheered up again by the time that Aris mentioned Braze. An individual that she did know, and did agree with Aris' take on.

"Braze has a strong personality." She said and nodded. "And, I should call Loomi too. I haven't seen her in a while."

The fry that had been meant to get eaten was finally granted its moment. Colette grabbed it between her thumb and index finger and bit it in half with a quiet chew.

"I uh, guess if we're talking who our friends are… I have Corazona, and Loomi, and… Well, I mean Makko, I guess too. Shan, even if I haven't seen him in a while. For uh, obvious reasons. Related to you too in a sense, since he's Zaiya's mentor."