Private Even A Jedi Needs A Vacation Once In Awhile, Right?

[Iris Arani]

Attention?

Iris blinked, glancing to her master. Then to herself. Ah, right.

Her scars.

The Padawan nodded, frowning a little as she looked over her marred flesh. It'd smoothed out, some. Her ability to heal through the Force had been useful in repairing what she could, but her allergies to Synthskin only meant she'd never look like she used to.

"Yeah, lets get changed."

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Appearance: Link
Tag: Iris Arani

"Wait Iris, no," she frowned herself after she noticed her Padawan's eyes shifting down to her scars. "I didn't mean because of your scars. Bathing suits just don't leave much to the imagination, and I'd rather not lose my shopping partner because some boys or girls start swarming around you for attention."

She flashed her Padawan a smirk and hoped it would help keep the mood bright. But she did get up, retrieve her towel and make her way back to the rock where she had left her clothing. She pulled it on over her bathing suit, shook out her hair, and tried her best to fix it up, which... was never an easy thing with low long, and wavy it was.

"Alright, art shop first or do you want to grab some lunch before we go there?"

 

[Iris Arani]

Her attention? Iris, blissfully unaware of the implication, just tilted her head in confusion. It wasn't her scars that'd catch their attention? Then what? She hummed in thought before closing her eyes and.. Shrugged it off. She'd figure it out sooner or later. For now, she wandered over to her own clothing, pulling some layers on so whatever Valery was suggesting would happen wouldn't.

"Lunch sounds nice?"

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Appearance: Link
Tag: Iris Arani

Ah, she didn't catch on to it — that didn't really bother Valery at all, so she just chuckled and let it slide for now. There was a chance that they'd get exposed to it anyway, given they were on a vacation on a fairly luxurious planet. But at least they'd be clothed, and Valery was confident enough to easily deal with anything.

"I know a great place for it nearby. I went wedding dress shopping with a friend and we got lunch after — they have really nice sandwiches or even some local foods." She smiled happily and guided Iris away from the beach, and into the streets of Alderaan. As expected, it was quite busy everywhere. People were enjoying the great weather, shopping opportunities, and restaurants that were lined up along the streets.

It reminded her of the shopping day with Kalie Alverez again, which put her in quite a happy bubble for a few seconds.

"Alright, just one problem... what to put on the sandwich..." she entered the shop and looked at all the toppings and extras they could get.

"Can I help you, ladies?" the voice of a man behind the counter drew Valery's attention, and for a brief moment, she narrowed her gaze at him. Finally, it settled on Iris and she smiled again, "What are you thinking, Iris?"

 

[Iris Arani]

Wedding dress and lunch? Iris blinked, watching her Master in silence for a moment. Not even looking at the food, just.. Watching. It was one thing to talk about having a life outside of being a Jedi. Iris knew that Valery had a husband, a daughter, but just hearing those things never put things into perspective. Thinking about Valery going shopping for a wedding gown though?

She blinked. ".. Huh? Oh. Uh. I'm not sure. .. Whatever's um.. Good? Oh, actually, do you have anything spicy?"

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Appearance: Link
Tag: Iris Arani

When Valery looked away from the menu and all the food options, she noticed Iris staring at her and blinked in response. She wasn't sure what was going through her Padawan's mind, but it quickly faded when Iris asked for something spicy, "Let's go with a spicy chicken sandwich then, and I'll take one too."

She nodded at the guy behind the counter, and he quickly got started on preparing them.

"Let's find a place to sit, Iris," Valery said as they walked through the rather busy shop. A lot of people came here from the beach or shopping streets to get lunch, so groups had gathered around various tables already. Valery found a table for two, and when she plopped down with Iris, she remembered something.

"Uh hold on, forgot drinks. Be right back!" and with that, she got up and left Iris on her own for just a second. But without missing a beat, people were looking in their direction already. On a place like Alderaan, they stood out.

 

[Iris Arani]

Iris took her own seat, half in her own world still. Wondering what it was like to go shopping for a wedding dress, mostly. It seemed normal, all things considered. She hummed, closing her eyes for a moment. Then blinked. Oh? Drinks? She nodded once and flashed a smile. "Okay. I'll wait here, then."

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Appearance: Link
Tag: Iris Arani

While Valery stepped away to get them something to drink, Iris was left alone at the table so they wouldn't lose it. The shop was quite busy at this hour, after all. But she wasn't entirely alone — a group around her own age had spotted her all by herself and were talking among themselves. There was some chuckling, some grins, and some more exchanged glances.

Then one of the guys got up and made his way over.

"You here all by yourself?" he asked while he looked her up and down, a bit of a smirk on his face. "No need to eat all alone, why don't you come to join us?"

At the counter, Valery was about to order drinks when she noticed that someone had stepped up to Iris. Her eyes narrowed, but she figured Iris would be just fine handling it on her own.

 

[Iris Arani]

Iris was still very much in her own world when the guy came over. She barely even noticed him, half taking a bite of her sandwich before the spice alone brought her out of her own head. The Padawan blinked, glancing to him. Then tilted her head. "I'm not alone. Thank you though!" She smiled, then turned back to her meal. More curious where Valery was than even paying attention to the guy beside her.

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Appearance: Link
Tag: Iris Arani

Whatever it was the guy was expecting, Iris' reaction wasn't it, and so he turned and left with a somewhat defeated look. Iris happily turned back to her food and after a minute or two, Valery returned with some fruity drinks for them, "What was that all about?" Valery asked while she glanced in the direction of the group.

If looks could kill...

"Anyway, local fruity drink. It's pretty good." Valery sat down and looked at Iris, "Oh and before I forget, there is supposed to be a music event in the evening and overnight here. Do you want to go with me? There's music, dancing, and a lot more."

 

[Iris Arani]

"He thought I was alone and wanted me to join them. .. Why are you angry?" Iris tilted her head, scanning through the colors around Valery. Something was off about them. Not really anger, protectiveness? The Padawan didn't entirely get it though, and pretty quickly shrugged it off as she was introduced to the drink.

And pretty happily started to sip at it.

"Oh, dancing? That could be fun!" Then nodded and immediately quoted Kai Bamarri 's signature line.

"Okay good, okay fine."

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Appearance: Link
Tag: Iris Arani

Valery blinked at the question — she should have known that Iris would be able to pick up on it, but she forgot in the moment, "Oh I'm not angry, just... being careful," she smiled faintly, and glanced over at the other table one last time before she sat down and shrugged it off too. She needed to stop being so unnecessarily protective towards her family and Padawans.

The topic of dancing at the music event was a good distraction though, and she nodded when Iris seemed excited about it, "Have you done much dancing before? I'm not sure what kind of music they'll play, but it might come in handy," she chuckled and was about to sip from her drink when Iris made a comment that confused her.

She blinked, tilted her head briefly but shrugged it off as something the kids just say these days, "Or does your Master have to show you all the right moves?" she then continued with a slight smirk before she did take a sip of the fruity drink.

 

[Iris Arani]

"Mmnope. Can't say I ever actually danced. Why? Is it bad if I haven't?" Iris tilted her head, glancing to Valery curiously. Worriedly? Naw, no worry in her eyes. That was just how Iris was. Unaware that being unaware could actually be a problem for some things. She took another bite of her sandwich, smiling and nomming happy as ever.

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Appearance: Link
Tag: Iris Arani

"Not at all, I'll show you a few things but it's just about moving along to the music and having fun," she chuckled, not wanting Iris to believe it was going to be all too serious. It wasn't a competition and even if it looked a little silly without dancing experience, it was still just a fun thing to do with friends. Or in this case, a Master and her Padawan.

Valery then turned to her sandwich but as she took a bite, her eyes shifted to Iris and a smile tugged at the corner of her lips, "You know, it's good to see you happy and smiling like this. I don't know if the vacation and relaxing has helped you feel refreshed, but I do really hope it helps."

 

[Iris Arani]

Was Iris smiling more than normal?

The Padawan blinked, still chewing another bite of her sandwich as she really did think about that. Getting Domxite back, helping Thalia Senn , both had made it easier for her to smile. But was she too focused on the Jedi stuff? After a moment Iris laughed. Nodded. "Yeah, I think it really has helped."

Yeah. She'd been focused so much on seeing through her world of colors and being a Jedi she hadn't just.. Been. Not for a while. This was a good change of pace.

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Appearance: Link
Tag: Iris Arani

"Good, then I think once we go back to training and missions, it'll all feel a lot easier," she smiled and finally finished up her sandwich, which had disappeared rather quickly from her hands. Around Iris, she didn't feel embarrassed about how much and how fast she went through her meals — her Padawan had definitely seen it before.

But it was still a little odd, maybe.

"Hmm, why don't we go shopping and get something for the music event? We want to be at our best when we show them some Jedi moves," she grinned and reached over to nudge her Padawan just lightly.

 

[Iris Arani]

Was this going to make it easier? Iris blinked. Was that the purpose of vacations? To make the fight easier? All at once she was thinking about that, instead of just relaxing. And caught herself with a frown.

No, that's not it at all. The smile returned as she looked back to her Master. To Valery.

"I don't remember my mom, but I bet she'd be happy to know you were the one to help me grow."

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Appearance: Link
Tag: Iris Arani

Her words had gotten Iris to think about something, or maybe she just didn't like the idea of shopping? Either way, she watched her Padawan closely for a moment, noticing the frown that quickly shifted back into a smile when her Keshian eyes turned back to her Master. Valery smiled in return as well but what Iris said after caught her by surprise a little.

"Iris..." Valery's smile became even brighter and without saying anything else, she stepped closer and pulled her Padawan into a hug. A fairly tight one at that, but she couldn't help it. People around them looked over, somewhat surprised, but Valery didn't care about what anybody thought either, and kept her Padawan close for a moment.

"It has been my pleasure to watch you grow," she said after a moment, when she pulled back. "And I'm sure your mother would have been very proud of you. Just like I am."

 

[Iris Arani]

Iris had the biggest smile ever as Valery pulled back. Not the usually distant one she always seemed to have when she was lost to her colors. But something pure. Genuine. Without another word she leaned back in for one last hug, then took off in a run. Snatching Valery's hand in the process as she started to drag the Jedi Master.. Somewhere. She wasn't sure.

She just couldn't stand still. She was too happy.

"C'mon! Lets gooo!"

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Appearance: Link
Tag: Iris Arani

After pulling back from the hug, she noticed the big smile on Iris' face and knew instantly something was different about it. She knew Iris and understood the warmth that came with the second hug that quickly followed. Iris was excited and genuinely happy as a person, not just as a Jedi Padawan on their path of learning. That was the reason why they were here, and so Valery could only smile and laugh along when Iris grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the shop.

People looked at them with surprise again, even out on the street as they ran past a bunch of folks, but Valery didn't care. Iris was happy, and that's all that mattered to her right now.

"Woah, easy there!" she chuckled and dodged a few kids along the way, but they were currently heading into the big shopping district. Beyond it is where the music event would start later, so they were on the right path. "Hey Iris, hold up for a moment!"

Valery stopped and gestured at a shop, which displayed a few dresses, "What do you think of these? They seem pretty colorful, so maybe your style?"