Getting into the Groove

[Riamah]

Ailuros always looked for an opportunity to dance, play music or watch performances. It was that last that brought her to this little pub. The group was combination of dancers and musicians, both of which the cat enjoyed. Arriving early to get a good spot, she sat down near the stage and watched them set up.

Listening to them tune the instruments and practice a few of their songs, her tail swayed, her ears and whiskers twitched with the rhythm. While she knew she wouldn't hear any music of her people, she hoped these guys might provide her with an idea of the local sound to here.

As the drummer ran through her routine, the paw of Ailuros tapped on the floor and they shared a brief smile before the drummer's attention went back to what she was doing. The same happened as the rest of the band warmed up. By the time the show was ready to begin, there was quite a crowd at the pub.

Since Ailuros was off duty, she wasn't wearing anything, only her belt. It was a natural state, but had caused a stir among a few people within the Empire. Having agreed to wear a shirt while on duty, she wasn't now. Her only apparel was her belt that held her sword and a few tools for working on her ship.

An area was set up in front of the stage for the dancers and the cat watched their movements closely. If the chance came, she would like the opportunity to dance again.

As the show got ready to start, the crowd settled down and quieted. The band introduced themselves and began their performance. The audience was enraptured and the dancing was exquisite. This group as going to make a name for themselves, Ailuros just knew this somehow.

[member="Kal Visna"]

 

[Kal Visna]

Kal entered the entertainment-offering building that people usually call "Pub" suffice to say he's rarely going to such places and when he is, it's certainly not to have fun. Crowds, people, loud noises, these are not for him... Unless it's battle that is. He revealed his head letting the hood fall on his back, his usual leather armor was the kind of thing for such missions, as big bad looking always attracts attention. The problem was... Or rather wasn't.

"He said he'd be here, I am not late and I am not too soon." He moved out of the way as it would've been suspicious to just stay there, instead he walked around the place, his face stern and his eyes analytic, where was he? Not long after the thought, the man himself appeared. Jarod waved at him not far from [member="Ailuros"] herself although Kal himself did not notice the cat-folk. He made his way towards him completely oblivious to whatever happened in the pub "You got them?" he whispered to the man who in return nodded presenting him with a small device "The schematics are all here, plus information regarding patrols... Ummm... Credits?"

Kal did not hesitate to swiftly place the money in the man's free hand as he took the device and hid it "This will do, Jarod, I'd advise you to stay hidden for a while, though."

"For a while?" The man begun seeming a little scared "I'm out of this for good! I helped Blane, I helped you, but I can't go on anymore, I just want to find a remote planet away from all the insanity."

Kal merely nodded as Jarod left the pub, what could he say? Everything seems more twisted by day, to the point he can no longer keep track of what is happening, somehow he could relate to the man even if this was probably not what he meant.

 

[Riamah]

She was among the people watching the show and the dancers. Getting thirsty though, she left her spot to get a drink at the bar. Turning around, she saw a brief exchange between two men and one leave the building. What business they had wasn't any of hers, but the one remaining behind was on her route to the bar.

He seemed to not notice the show going on and that got her curious. The music and dance was loud enough and it should have at least caught his attention. Walking in the direction of the bar, when she got close to him, the music ended. Pausing to join in the applause, the lead started speaking.

"We now invite all of you to pick a partner and join us in dancing. Our dancers will show you the routine."

A few moments of mingling confusion and people had been paired off. Turning to look at Kal, Ailuros gave him a small smile.

"Would you care to join in the dancing and be my partner?"

Her future drink forgotten for the moment, she wanted the opportunity now to dance and he was right there.

"I am Ailuros."

[member="Kal Visna"]

 

[Kal Visna]

Kal took a deep breath as if leaving any kind of tension behind, there was this strange noise in the background of his head and after thinking back on it, it was one of the people on the scene telling everyone to dance. He pushed the thought aside for it didn't matter to him, all that mattered was the schematics, the time to leave was now... But right then someone addressed him. Turning his head to the side, he saw the face of a seemingly young girl... With cat ears?! He tried for a moment to reach a conclusion regarding what this person as he was about to answer "I do not-..." But brings himself to a halt, eyes widening. Immediately he looked away out of both politeness and embarrassment "Why are you naked?!"

A question he attempted to answer himself in his mind and several options came, this place is clearly not a place he'd want to be in, this girl is drunk or some sort of mix between the two. Whatever conscience he had would simply not allow him to leave before receiving an answer.

[member="Ailuros"]

 

[Riamah]

The man took a breath and still seemed distracted, but then his mind came into focus and it was as if he just figured out where he was. When she spoke and he turned to face her, he attempted to turn down her offer to dance. As his eyes connected with hers and he looked at her, he stopped. His eyes going wide for a moment and then he looked away. It seemed that even though it was normal for her people to not wear clothing, it was odd to him.

"I'm not naked though!"

One of her hands went to her belt and motioned to it. It was all the clothing Trianni wore on a regular basis and since she wasn't on duty, she didn't wear anything else.

"What is the fascination with clothing anyway? It only slows one down and gets in the way. You also can't read body language easily through the fabric. Only faces."

She hadn't looked away from him, nor made any move to shake her paw with his hand.

[member="Kal Visna"]

 

[Kal Visna]

Barely looked at the belt with the corner of his eye then moved them away once more. Was this girl serious? That is why she doesn't wear clothes? Did she ever meet a hutt before? Whatever, someone had to make things clear around here "That belt is NOT clothes and you DO need clothes to cover up your body for a lot of reasons and body language is one of those, the less body language the enemy sees the better." Which was perfectly true for him, his head was the only thing revealed after all and that just because he wasn't wearing his hood or helmet. "Clothes offer protection against the calamities of nature and helps warm up your body, just as armor helps protect your body against things that could harm it." He added speaking fast, whether it was mere embarrassment or it evolved into frustration he couldn't tell himself, but nonetheless he proceeded to the point that, in his eyes, made wearing clothes mandatory and a healthy habit "...Also, in most places of the galaxy people who do not wear clothes are considered amoral and others tend to treat them as such!"

All of these made for good points to him, all of these seemed perfect enough reasons to actually wear clothes when in such a place with so many people, yet he was puzzled as to why she was not, To Kal it was not a jedi's duty to debate such things and convince this girl of the benefits of wearing clothes... It was the duty of every person in the society before the countless negative effects he mentioned would actually happen... Not for a moment did he forget the fact she is some sort of cat-person, he hasn't seen nor heard of such a thing before. But then, it's a big galaxy out there, there are many things he's never seen before.

[member="Ailuros"]

 

[Riamah]

As he spoke, it was fast, but very clear. He felt clothes were basically mandatory for everybody to wear. Providing some very good an acceptable reasons for doing so. Ailuros nodded, but she looked at him slightly oddly when he said something about keeping body language hidden from the enemy. She didn't have any so it really didn't apply to her.

"Well, I have like light armor shirts to wear if I need to fight."

Making a small motion with her arms though, she indicated the pub and people around them.

"Here there is not a need for fighting though. So I didn't wear my armor."

When he mentioned the amoral aspect, it gave her pause. Her people weren't that way, but they were basically left to themselves and unknown to the rest of the galaxy. That was what she doing away from home. Learning about the other peoples.

[member="Kal Visna"]

 

[Kal Visna]

Kal expected opposition, changing someone's mind was no easy task, yet when you think you're right, it necessary. Kal closed his eyes and shook his head for a moment he grabbed the lightsaber at his waist showing it to her "I might've been your enemy, I might have been here for you. Or I might not even know you... But I might be a sith... A sith has no problem in killing, no matter who the person is." he pointed out placing his lightsaber back. The galaxy could be a terrible place if you are not careful, he needed to make sure others understood that. Kal was not one to forget a point and certainly not one to ignore it, the part regarding amorality was extremely valid to him "I don't know if you are aware, but there are terrible things going on in this galaxy, wars, massacres, slavery. If you will not wear your armor everywhere you should at least wear some clothes... In most places people will be shocked to see you naked, will attract attention of all kinds not to mention in some places there could be laws against it."

It was kind of awkward to discuss this in a pub with people dancing around, but then it didn't much matter to him, Kal did not seem to care for it as he continued to offer another advice to the girl "You don't want people to think of you as amoral when it comes to being naked, that is going to make life a hell for you."

[member="Ailuros"]

 

[Riamah]

His words and actions caught her off guard, but she certainly saw his point. Her upright ears and whiskers started drooping, but she remained silent. They perked up again when he mentioned the wars and slavery part though and she was about to say something when he continued on.

Placing a paw up under her chin, she tapped it with one of her fingers, the claw on it out to show she had them.

"I am only aware of a small bit of the galaxy. This is how my people are at home, guess I should take that into consideration and learn about other cultures."

Tilting her head to the side for a moment, "what is your culture?"

At the mention of laws, she looked around to see if anybody was approaching to place her under arrest. There wasn't and she turned her attention back to him. He hadn't provided his name in the shock of seeing her without clothes.

"So how do I get people to not think of me as amoral?"

Her short fur covered her flesh, so it wasn't like anything could be clearly seen by observation. Only way details would be seen was by close examination.

"I would rather avoid my life being hell."

[member="Kal Visna"]

 

[Kal Visna]

Kal let out a sigh of relief as he turned towards the girl only looking in her eyes only, he didn't seem tense anymore though "You can start by using some clothes... Not necessary armor, but something simple people usually wear when they go out in the world..." He said slowly realizing something terrible that could happen, in fact it has great chances to happen if this girl is new to the big galaxy "You should also be careful what clothes you choose... Some of them may contribute to you looking like an amoral person." He frowned slightly looking to the side, at this point it became hard to explain, how does one explain such things to someone who doesn't usually wear clothes. "Clothes close to armor." He pointed with a nod "As in, clothes that cover your torso."

This could actually clarify it, however it did not answer to many questions he had, nor could it tell him what she was "Where are you from anyway? I've seen Cathar before, but I am pretty sure they didn't look like this..." Or did they? Humans had differences in skin color, maybe something similar goes for them?

[member="Ailuros"]

 

[Riamah]

Ailuros listened as her new acquaintance spoke about wearing clothes. While he seemed uncomfortable talking about it before, he relaxed a bit now. Starting to sound more like they were having a normal conversation, he then confused her again.

Pulling her head back slightly, ears tipping forward, she looked like a confused, but curious cat. It was exactly what she was though and she didn't hide that. It wasn't in her nature to hide anything and one could pretty much read her like a book.

"I have light armor shirts only."

When she said that was all the clothing she had, it wasn't a lie. Her people wore no pants at all and getting her into them had been a fruitless endeavor.

He was looking into her eyes and then asked where she was from. Mentioned he had seen a Cathar before, she nodded.

"Many people think I am a Cathar, but they don't have this type of tail."

When she finished mentioning her tail, it moved forward and would attempt to curl around one of his wrists if he allowed it. If not, he would at least see it was prehensile and that was different than any other feline race in the galaxy.

"I'm a Trianni, from Trian."

[member="Kal Visna"]

 

[Kal Visna]

Kal almost flinched his hand as the tail curled around his wrist but he did not pull it away, he looked at the tail searchingly more curious than anything but he was not even going to ask about the ears, when he found out about lekku it haunted him for day. "Well, it's good you at least have shirts... Maybe you should get some pants too... There are the more 'free' type out there too, even short ones... Otherwise maybe a dress?" Kal's eyes then moved to see her face, calculated and well coordinated.

"Anyway... I suspected you are not Cathar so I suppose we can agree I'm not completely stupid." It now came to him, he never actually told her his name, nor properly presented himself for that matter, this wasn't exactly out of ordinary for him, interacting with others in such a poor manner was probably what made him be the loner he was, forcing him to ask himself whether he doesn't hate this loneliness because he got used to it or because he somehow liked it.

"My name is Kal Visna."

[member="Ailuros"]

 

[Riamah]

Ailuros let go of his wrist after he was done inspecting her tail that was wrapped around it. Frowning at the suggestion she put pants on, she swished her tail back and forth behind her. She shook her head before speaking.

"My people never wear pants. You see with how our tails work, normal clothes don't fit."

She let out a few hacks as this was starting to get embarrassing and coughed up a hairball. If her fur hadn't covered her skin, he would have seen the blush on it. As it was even coughing up the hairball just added to her growing discomfort.

Luckily he changed the topic and moved on. Finally he provided his name and she gave hers again, with her paw extended to give his hand a shake if he offered it.

"I'm Ailuros if you didn't catch it when I said it earlier. It is nice to know your name now."

Giving him a small smile, she wondered if he would agree to dancing with her now.

[member="Kal Visna"]

 

[Kal Visna]

He gave the thought a pause since he made her willing to wear something, he still thought about the hairball which was rather awkward not because it happened but because what it would mean. Do these cat people clean themselves as a normal cat would? What does that even mean... Did they evolve from cats? It was a funny but interesting thought although he did not believe in such things as ways for life to appear. His face kept its original composure at all times, this was both intentional and from instinct.

"I remember, Ailuros..." He said not sure what naturally comes after this, after so much time he was far beyond the point of wondering what a normal person would say but he could recall why she was here in the first place... He never did give her a proper answer

"I'm sorry, I didn't really come here to dance and have fun, I just had something to do. It's nothing against you... I just don't dance." He attempted to explain. Dancing... That brought back more annoying memories to add to the pile.

[member="Ailuros"]

 

[Riamah]

There was a few moments of silence between the time she coughed up her hairball and when he spoke again. He said he remembered her name and then answered her initial question about sharing in the dance.

He seemed like he wasn't sure to react, as if this type of situation was odd for him. It was a little odd for her as well, but she was a more social creature and open to meeting new people.

Kal did answer her about dancing, her face displayed a bit of disappointment, but perked up as a thought crossed her mind.

"If you were here to do something and have accomplished that, why not try and do the dance anyway?"

Ailuros wasn't going to ask what his purpose here had been it wasn't any of her business.

"C'mon. Listen to the music, feel the beat and rhythm. Close your eyes if you need to."

She waited to see if he would join her and looked at him hopefully.

[member="Kal Visna"]

 

[Kal Visna]

Kal blinked at her blankly, what she said was true, her logic and reasoning were sound but... He doesn't dance. Whatever might have been the case, right now the very idea of dancing was foreign to him and could barely imagine it. "I understand what you mean... Dancing is not really... My thing. How do I put this... It's not my kind of art." He said caressing his chin and frowning. He had a hard time explaining this, the situation was getting awkward. Surely she could find other people to dance with... There were many people in this strange, creepy place he barely knows... Although that doesn't really give it much credit.

"Maybe we can find an alternative?" he offered, but then he looked around seeing people here and there looking at them, staring, searching... inspecting. That's not good for what he's going to do especially after he took the schematics from Jarod. Zeva has an influence on this planet, his men could be anywhere.

"Nevermind, we stand out, let's dance."

[member="Ailuros"]

 

[Riamah]

Kal tried to explain that dancing wasn't his kind of art and Ailuros understood that perfectly. It was akin to how she couldn't draw and that wasn't her type of art. If that was what he meant at least.

"What is your art then?"

He started to suggest they find an alternative and she tilted her head curiously. Looking around them though, he changed his mind and agreed to dance. Not because he wanted to, but because they were standing out and drawing unwanted attention.

Giving him another smile, she pointed to one of her feet. Starting to tap it now to the rhythm of the music. She would also attempt to take a hold of both of his hands if he allowed it.

"Tap you foot like this."

The vibration of her movement went through her body and not just her foot was tapping. Her hip, shoulders and head also followed the simple motion of the tapping. If he had allowed her to hold his hands, her movement would also effect those and they would move with the simple rhythm she was projecting into the dance.

[member="Kal Visna"]

 

[Kal Visna]

Kal let he take his hands, unaware of what he should do, this felt strange and extremely embarrassing, although that may have been because he was dancing in a foreign place with a cat-girl and staring possible spies. He did not let this be shown on his face, not from distance, instead tried to follow Ailuros' lead the best he could, he had to be invested, it had to be real. Apparently it was working, even if he couldn't tell whether this is his doing or the girl's. He would not be able to reach perfection, but at least he looked like he tried.

"Is this alright?" he asked glancing sideways as if trying to see whether or not they are still being watched, after all it is most likely those were simple people that came to have fun and looked at them only because they were not dancing. he could not find them with his eyes, so he looked at Ailuros and what she did focusing on his attempts at proper dancing.

"And... How long does this take?"

[member="Ailuros"]

 

[Riamah]

Kal didn't answer her question, but it may be he had not heard her. Ailuros did not think he had ignored it on purpose though. This man certainly was not in his element and she could tell. He moved rather stiff, like he didn't know how to relax. After a few measures of the music though, he appeared to finally find the beat and started with simple motions. Not letting himself get carried away by the atmosphere, emotions or sounds around them. He focused on her instruction and did he best to follow it.

He asked if what he was doing was alright and Ailuros smiled knowing he was doing his best in what for him was an uncomfortable position. If he had been one of her race, then it was likely he would have hacked up a hair ball like she had a while ago.

"You're doing fine for a beginner."

Giving him a wink, her golden brown eyes met his for a moment. In asking how long the dance took, she tiled her head to the side slightly to give it a moment's thought before answering.

"Whatever the duration of the song is."

Moving with the music, Ailuros took a few more liberties with herself and now included both feet and her tail in the dancing.

[member="Kal Visna"]

 

[Kal Visna]

The man continued to move calculated rather than to try and feel... Or well truth be told he wasn't even listening to the music, all his focus was directed to trying and dance properly, but his eyes were more jumpy, continuing to look around from time to time as if to make sure nothing happens. "Then I suppose it can't be helped." He said in hushed tone, "You probably noticed, but I have no idea what I'm doing." This is a strange kind of honesty he'd adopt from time to time, one born more from the fact it made it easier for him, it was blunt, quick and people rarely expect it, the best way he could find to state facts. As time went on, his moves would begun to be a little more natural if only because he started to care less about doing it right.

Looking at Ailuros, this started to feel weird and embarrassing again, with his preoccupation for possible spies gone, his mind was free to wander around the idea of dancing with a strange cat person in an unknown location on music he has never heard nor tried to listen to before. He tried to find something to say, a conversation would help him keep all this away, but nothing came.

[member="Ailuros"]