Private Green Bean Meets Mango

[Shan Pavond]

"It happened before the war even started. The Wookies had been attacked, and my Master and I went to aid in any way we could." Shan said, once again, rather matter of factly. "I am not talking about the Galactic Alliance. You said my judgement of the Mandalorians came from just stories. I am telling you, my judgement also came from what I saw, first hand." He linked his hands together, just raising an eyebrow at Jenn at her question. He wasn't trying to come off as combative. Far from it. He was just...taking a page out of Colette's book. Standing up for himself and his thoughts.

Though his eyes glanced over towards the tea as Jenn poured it out, and just wrinkled his nose at it ever so slightly. Tea wasn't something he would normally partake in, but he knew if he didn't try some of it, then Jenn would probably be somewhat suspicious of it. So he just glanced at the cup, picking it up and taking a quick sip...before spitting it on the floor and starting to blow at his tongue, waving his hands at his mouth. "Ah! Hot! Hot! It's hot."

Jenn Kryze

 

[Jenn Kryze]

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| Location | Tatooine
| Objective | Tea Time

"That is my point", answered the Nite Owl, reining in her frustration, although not without difficulty. "Because you do not partake in the conflict, all you can ever see is the aftermath left behind, Shan. You will never see the scars left on our worlds because of this, and the lives of my people taken by the Jedi. Thyrsus, Ryloth... we lost some good souls there. If you put your judgement in what you see, then you will never understand my people, because you will only ever see what we did. Not what we suffered." The more she spoke, the less frustrated she became. After all, she was here to educate the Mirialan, not to chastise him. If she answered his words with scorn, then he would never change his opinion on Mandalorians.

But, tea had a wonderful way to defuse tensions for her. Why, the way she held her cup betrayed just how familiar she was with how to properly enjoy the beverage! Perhaps that was why she let out such a chuckle at the sight of Shan spitting out his own sip of tea, having burned his tongue a little. "You need to blow on the tea first, Shan! It's best hot, mind." And with that, she took another sip... and another. The taste was unlike anything she ever had before - and that was without brewing it to perception! Not that she knew that, of course, or the effects that would soon be felt.

Rich and earthy, so very full of... well, she couldn't quite describe it. It somewhat reminded her of mango, or papaya, vaguely evoking those fruits she would eat by the shore on Scarif. The memory was pleasant to bask into, her lips slowly curling into a truly joyful smile.

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Shan Pavond ​

 

[Shan Pavond]

"Instead I see the scars that are left on planets that aren't part of this. I see the dead family members of people who didn't sign up for fighting. Who don't make it their culture." Shan could feel that Jenn was getting somewhat frustrated, and if this was anyone else, Shan might have backed down...but he trusted Jenn strangely enough. To anyone else, this might have been some kind of argument, but Shan was seeing it more as a debate. "I know your people have suffered, but like you said, I haven't seen it. Instead I've seen the suffering of others. I...don't care about other Jedi when it comes to this war." That was partially a lie but it was the truth. Shan was more concerned with the Sith and Jedi conflict than he was with Mandalorian and Jedi. "I care more about the people caught in the crossfire. The children that will lose parents. The parents that will lose children. All because the Jedi and Mandalorians are too egotistical to sit things down and talk. A large majority of both sides would rather talk with their fists, or blasters, or any kind of weapon, instead of sitting down and talking. Like this."

He just wrinkled his nose at the tea, and the laugh that came from Jenn at the response. "Drinks are meant to be cold! Who wants to drink something hot? That's like...wanting to eat something cold!" The Mirialan pouted at the laughter, folding his arrms along his front. It probably came as no surprise that the Mirialan wasn't a fan of things like ice cream either but that was neither here nor there. "I can't believe Cora is trying to poison me with...with...hot leaf juice!" That was his new name for tea. Just hot leaf juice...Wait until he sees coffee.

Jenn Kryze

 

[Jenn Kryze]

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| Location | Tatooine
| Objective | Tea Time

"You will never see the suffering of my people, Shan. We would sooner die by the thousands than let our homes be taken. But me... I am Kayatr'ade. A smith of my people. Grieving families bring me the armor of those they loved, taken from them in battle, and I have to watch all of those unique patterns, those colors and symbols... and realize that for each one I work on, I have one less sibling." Her tone was mournful now, rather than spiteful, and the Mandalorian looked as if she might fall into catatonic silence... a good thing, then, that the Padawan inadvertently shook her from her melancholy.

Shan's reaction claimed... oh, quite the response from Jenn. Her desire not to make him self-conscious took something of a backseat as she threw her head back and laughed so very earnestly! It was a beautiful thing to behold, in truth, almost melodious... and it turned the heads of quite a few patrons, a few of whom looked well and truly entranced. Shan might be, too, depending on how well he might hold up against the effects of mind control - unwitting as it may have been on Jenn's part.

"Hot leaf juice?" repeated the siren, managing to come back down from the sheer emotional high he had taken her on just then, a wide smile still pulling at her lips, the only part of her face she cared to expose. "Just- be sure to send my compliments to Corazona. This is the best tea I have ever had in all of my years! If you dislike it so much, would you be upset if I were to ask for the rest of it to take with me?"

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Shan Pavond ​

 

[Shan Pavond]

Shan sucked on the inside of his cheek for a moment, holding his words back. He wasn't that cruel. Even though in his minds, it was rich to talk about dying rather than letting your homes be taken, when he saw the state of the Wookie homeworld. The state of Ukatis. At least Ryloth made some sense. But Ukatis? Kashyyyk? Neither of those were part of the Mandalorians. But he just kept his mouth shut. This was meant to be a positive meeting. Not the pair of them just arguing with each other over again and again. So he let the topic fade at that. He was getting used to standing up by hismelf, but at this point, carrying it on wouldn't be defending himself. It would just be upsetting Jenn more and more, which wasn't his intention whatsoever.

If it wasn't for the fact that Shan nearly constantly always was reinforcing his mental defences, thanks to Valery's teaching, he might have fallen for Jenn's laughter. It did sound pretty after all, but when Shan thought about pretty things, his mind didn't focus on Jenn. No, it focused on...someone else. The Mirialan shook his head, trying not to focus on that someone, and instead looked around to notice some of the patrons that were looking off in his direction. Though in reality, they were looking over towards Jenn before he glanced back over towards Jenn trying to regain focus as she asked about the tea.

"Of course you can keep the tea. It's part of why I brought it along. I wasn't going to be getting much use out of it...and I didn't want to hurt Cora's feelings by just dumping it into some water. It's not like I'm going to host some Coruscant tea party." Shan rolled his eyes at that, leaning back in his chair, trying to wrap his head around the sudden change in Jenn. She seemed so much more...energetic. It was nice to see at the very least.

Jenn Kryze

 

[Jenn Kryze]

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| Location | Tatooine
| Objective | Tea Time

With the more serious topic of philosophy and war left behind them, the pair could well and truly relax, basking in a much less complicated social interaction. Jenn kept on drinking the divine beverage she had made, visibly overjoyed at the thought of getting to keep the tea for herself: Ukatian Tea Blend was something she would treasure for as long as possible, saving it for the most important of occasions... this was hardly the kind of product she could order by the bulk, after all, even without a war going on.

As if unaware of the subtle attempt at mind control on her part, Jenn kept on drinking, making no small effort not to down the whole thing in one go: it has to be savored, clearly. And yet, before long, that smile of hers vanished, her lips parting as her mouth dropped agape, her hand bringing that cup back down on the table as she reached out towards... something around the two, as if trying to grasp something in the air. In a matter of moments, everything around the pair shifted, if only from the siren's perspective.

The tea had been left to boil just a tad too little. And, while the side-effects were benign, by the standards of what the Necula Blend could achieve, there was no getting around the fact that Jenn was hallucinating. Pleasantly so, but hallucinating nonetheless. From her perspective, the two of them were now completely underwater, schools of fish swimming about the cantina, now made lively by coral, kelp, and sand. The expression of shock faded away into a smile, and the fiery-haired Mandalorian reclined into her seat, letting out a dreamy sigh.

"Oh, this is nice..."

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Shan Pavond ​

 

[Shan Pavond]

Shan watched in confusion as Jenn reached out between them, and tried to...grab something? Was this some Mandalorian ritual or something? She seemed to be relaxed, so it was possible that it wasn't something like that. Instead he rubbed his chin in thought. Mostly trying to deal with how he thought about the Mandalorians whilst Jenn was going through whatever...she was going through. It didn't seem too dangerous so he was content with letting her enjoy herself right now.

Everything was both confusing him but also making more and more sense with everything he learned. As much as he wanted to blame all the Mandalorians for a few people's actions, it was irresponsible and childish of him. After all, he had seen Jedi do things that he would have considered reprehensible but still saw the Jedi in a good light. Yet when it came to the Mandalorians, he was far on the other side of the field. There were Mandalorians who would do good, but he was mostly blind to them. It was a curious thought process that he was trying to get himself out of, before he shook his head, glancing back over towards Jenn.

"...Are you...doing well? You seem a bit out of it. At least, that's what it seems like to me." He had no clue what was going on in the Mandalorians head, and part of him wasn't sure if he'd even want to know. All Shan cared about was making sure she was alright, because if she wasn't, he didn't want to get the blame.

Jenn Kryze

 

[Jenn Kryze]

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| Location | Tatooine
| Objective | Tea time, and a little noctum-induced trip!

From an outsider's perspective, Jenn must have looked out of her mind - which, admittedly, she was. That dopey smile pulling at her lips was something of a dead giveaway, as was the fact that she lazily turned her head this way and that to admire the beauty of something that was nothing more than a product of her imagination. From her perspective, the entire cantina had become a lot more lively: seaweed swaying in the current, colorful reefs of coral laid out all around the establishment, schools of fish swimming by, tranquil waters enveloping her from every angle! It was all too pleasant, and the Mandalorian seemed more than happy to lose herself in that dream, if only for a time.

Shan's voice, however, brought her attention back to him, her smile vanishing. Tilting her head to the side, what little one could see of the Ersansyr betrayed some measure of confusion. With another lovely little sip of tea, Jenn brought her helmet back down, trying her best to focus on the Mirialan before her. "What was in that tea?" asked the Nite Owl conversationally - or at least, she would have, if not for the otherworldly echo to her voice. More glances given her way by the patrons, their eyes vacant and unfocused as the Mandalorian found herself inadvertently bending her to her will with every melodious word she spoke.

"Either I prepared it incorrect, or Ukatians have some strange habits..."

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Shan Pavond ​

 

[Shan Pavond]

Shan just kept his eyebrow raised, trying to figure out what in the Galaxy was going on with Jenn right now. The smile was most definitely a clue that something was up, and the way the people around them were reacting to her words was also...well...an obvious sign as well. Shan had to keep shaking his head to stay focused on Jenn instead of staring at her like everyone else appeared to be. Was this some kind of mind control? Did Mandalorians have that kind of skill? No. No. That couldn't be possible. Shan would know if something like that was being done...so what exactly was going on with Jenn?

"...Leaves? Water? I don't know. I don't drink tea." Shan answered the question about what was in the tea, rather literally. "I suppose you must have brewed it incorrectly? Corazona's people have always been a bit strange in how they do things. It makes sense that the way they make tea is probably different to how normal people make it. I presume." The Mirialan shrugged his shoulders. Like he had said previously, he wasn't too knowledgeable when it came to making tea or anything like that. "I'm sure whatever it is will go away in time. You don't seem...sick to me. Just a little bit out of it. Like you're daydreaming."

Jenn Kryze