Private Lab Rats

[Resh]

Vonnuvi Jedi Enclave
Aris Noble - Zaiya Ceti - Mahsa​

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The longer Resh spent aboard the Vonnuvi, the more he began to realize just how little interaction he had with his peers outside of an educational setting. Back on Coruscant there was usually enough going on to keep him busy anyway, but out here, students like him were stuck in a waiting game. He had Master Harth around to train him now, but there were still moments like this, where there was nothing between Resh and his brooding.

Perhaps he ought to go outside of the Enclave for once. The herdship had a whole entire city to explore, and he had only spent time in this one little compound here. But going out on his own was a step he wasn't quite sure he was ready to take yet. So rather than make a meaningful decision, he was sitting on the stairs to the entrance of the Enclave, stuck in an eternal question of staying or going…

 

[Zaiya Ceti]

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"Have you been here before?" Zaiya asked in curiosity, walking hand in hand with Aris Noble as the quartet wandered from the hanger into the corridor that would lead them to the different areas of the Vonnuvi. They had decided to go on a trip to the ship to learn from other Masters in the area. With their Masters being focused on the situation on Coruscant, it was deemed that it would be safer and more prudent for the Padawans to focus on their training.

Mahsa and Ayhan were coming with them as well, since it made sense to go as a group. Either way, she was happy to spend time with them and Aris and see someplace new!

Besides, it was nice to be able to relax a bit before they got into training again. Zaiya had been extremely busy, not only trying to catch up on her studies but also building up her body's endurance and strength to be able to train with the Bokken for longer periods of time. Her willowy body as a Lovalla meant she didn't have the robust nature of a human, so she had to work extra hard at building up and toning what muscle she had. One could even see a bit of tone to her arm muscles in the bare shoulder grey training robe she wore.

After all, she had to make sure His Highness was well protected by his personal Knight, teehee.

Resh

 

[Mahsa]

It had escaped her attention at first, perhaps because the time she’d spent with them before had been in classes and the like, but Mahsa had come to learn that Zaiya was a very touch driven individual—especially when Aris was concerned. Her gaze was currently focused on the linked hands as the pair walked ahead, her own steps having fallen slightly behind the Epicanthix and Lovalla naturally as she followed their lead.

"N-not really," she answered back, her gaze finally tearing itself away from the hand holding pair to take in their surroundings. How they’d managed to rope Ayhan into coming she still wasn’t sure, but the Kazelrrian wasn’t about to look a gifted equus in the mouth… or anywhere really, unwilling to risk upsetting the Firronthix in some manner and bring their unexpected outing to an early end.

"W-What about you, Aris?" Despite the nervousness in her voice it was impossible to miss the sun kissed tips that colored the ends of her hair. The Kazelrrian was happy to be out and about with her roommates, and she had been curious to see what treasures were hidden within the Enclave.

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Aris Noble | Ayhan | Resh | Zaiya Ceti ​

 

[Aris Noble]

Handholding was normal as ever for Aris by now. He looked about curiously, his green eyes filled with that unspoken desire to eventually explore. He wanted to learn and know so much more of this galaxy the stronger he got. It'd be plenty obvious to Zaiya, at least, given the connection. He glanced back to Mahsa and Ayhan as the prior spoke, shrugging his shoulders. "No, I haven't. This is all new to me. We should find a local."

That'd be the smart thing to do, right?

Ayhan | Resh | Zaiya Ceti | Mahsa

 

[Ayhan]

Ayhan walked beside Mahsa, just behind Zaiya and Aris. The fact they'd managed to get him to come at all was impressive, but the fact that he hadn't sniped at Mahsa yet probably gave cause for celebration. Or despair as it might indicate imminent galactic annihilation. Whichever it was, it could wait until Ayhan got his promised food. Because why else would the hormonal meat slab come along to socialize, something he adamantly avoided at all costs.

Sadly his stomachs controlled him more than his brain did half the time.

Speaking of his brain, for once it was actually being used for the right thing, rubbing two of it's cells together to finally form a thought. "Are you two mated?" Ayhan asked Zaiya and Aris rather bluntly. Courting wasn't exactly a foreign concept to Firronthix, although their version was rarely...nice. Any significant amount of emotion was rare for his species, but the idea of physical touch being used to express both interest and affection had managed to find it's way to Ayhan via other padawans, holos and books.

Handholding = physical touch = possibly affection? = mated.

To be fair to the boy, it was a very reasonable conclusion to make given what little he knew and understood, don't judge him too harshly.

Resh | Zaiya Ceti | Mahsa | Aris Noble

 

[Zaiya Ceti]

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Outfit: x x x x x | Equipment: x x x x x | Weapons: x x x
Interacting with: Mahsa Ayhan Aris Noble

Their wandering seemed to start like any teenage group outing. Looking around and then asking if anyone else had been there before. Responses went round-robin until it came to Ayhan. Leave it to the tall, broody padawan to come out and ask a question that could potentially cause varying degrees of embarrassment.

In Zaiya's case, the question took her mildly by surprise. Honestly she was a bit uncertain if she heard Ayhan correctly until she turned to look at him, watching his pensive gaze bore down at Aris and her joined hands.

A brief flush darkened Zaiya's mottled spots into a coral hue in mild embarrassment, and she peeked over towards Aris, hoping he wouldn't be bothered by the question. Wait, would he? He told her before to not overthink it, but when it came to Aris, it was hard to not overthink when she was concerned about what he thought of her.

Deciding to nip the issue in the bud so that Aris wouldn't feel embarrassed, Zaiya shook her head, "Oh, no. We are best friends." She began to explain, suddenly feeling the slight flustered sensation the blunt question may have given Braze when Zaiya had asked Loomi and him about their unique and special bond.

"My kind are very social creatures, and we like to convey our affection by touching, grooming, or feeding one another. Aris said he was okay with it... so...." She gave a swing of their hands in emphasis and flashed a smile, "I'm taking advantage."

The empathic resonance and intimacy was something Zaiya desperately craved, being able to do this with Aris made her feel better. Closer. Happy. Safe.

"It takes my kind a while to find a mate though, and finding a mate is very rare. My parents said that it will be clear when I find a potential mate, but they didn't really go into the specifics and there isn't another Lovalla I can ask about it." A mild bit of annoyance replaced the pink with tinges of lavender, along with traces of longing. She really did want to find a mate one day though. To have a family. Be connected in the loving way she had felt her parents convey. See the shimmering resonance of the colorshifting.

"It's hard enough finding information on my species so I'm kinda learning as I go." She looked over at Ayhan then Mahsa, "Why? Do either of you have one?"

She wasn't sure how things worked with Ayhan or Mahsa. Aris briefly mentioned how Epicanthix generally had several mates, although his parents seemed to be the exception to the rule because they chose to be with each other only. How did it work with Mahsa and Ayhan if they were clones? What culture and process for finding a mate work for them?

Curiousity would spark in vibrant citrine hues over Zaiya's patterns, expectantly waiting for and answer from Ayhan.

 

[Mahsa]

It sounded like this was a first for everyone present, and the voice of logic chimed in through Aris as he suggested they should try to find a local. It made sense, someone already familiar with this place would be able to point them towards interesting places—or perhaps guide them if they had nothing more pressing in their schedule planned.

"Yeah, t-that’s probably a good idea—"
"Are you two mated?"

The question had come from so far into the left field that it had caught both girls by surprise, hues of apricot and pumpkin rippling through her hair as the Kazelrrian instinctively jerked her elbow right into that tender spot below the ribs of the Firronthix’s side. "A-Ayhan…!" She’d be a liar if Mahsa ever said the question didn’t pop into her mind often too, though at least the younger girl had the common sense of not voicing it out loud so far.

Whatever Aris and Zaiya were to one another didn’t change anything after all, they were the first true friends she’d made after joining the Order—and she’d always support them, and their happiness, whenever she could.

Zaiya was the first to give his question a proper answer, the colorful girl explaining how certain social aspects worked on their kind. Some of these things the Lovalla had mentioned before in passing, and Mahsa couldn’t help but nod in understanding. The want to touch and feel close to another, to care for someone that was important in her heart, wasn’t foreign to Mahsa—and if she hadn’t known any better the girl would’ve wondered if Glorii Te might’ve slipped some Lovalla DNA into her sample by mistake.

"I-It’d be nice if a manual for each species existed…" They were in a similar boat to the Lovalla after all, lacking the knowledge or the proper guidance than an older member of their species would have provided them as they continued to learn and grow… even if the circumstances behind it greatly deferred between the three of them—

"Why? Do either of you have one?" The reverse UNO by Zaiya had caught her by surprise, golden eyes finally noticing that Zaiya’s gaze had eventually drifted from Ayhan and into her own as the question lingered in the air unanswered.

"A-Ah…" Her eyes instinctively sought out the presence of the Firronthix for a split second, the colors on her hair shifting to deep amber and honey hues, before the Kazelrrian closed them as she shook her head from side to side. "N-No, of course n-not…!"

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Aris Noble | Ayhan | Resh | Zaiya Ceti ​

 

[Aris Noble]

Aris was quiet. The question wasn't something he expected at all, from Ayhan of all people. He stared at the other boy, but.. There wasn't much of an emotion to be seen. He didn't pull away from Zaiya, either. He just, didn't understand the question. He sort of did, on a factual level, but it certainly hadn't been a thought to cross his mind at all. He glanced to Zaiya herself.

She seemed to have. But not of him, just in general. For her species. He nodded once before looking back to Mahsa and Ayhan.

"You two.. Are not?"

Mahsa | Ayhan | Zaiya Ceti

 

[Ayhan]

Well, that question turned the Lovalla and Kazelrrian into bonafide light shows and contemporary art pieces. Who would have expected that to happen? The answer was everyone, except Ayhan. Despite the displays of color though, no one seemed too bothered question, and Zaiya managed a rather in-depth explanation, though Ayhan was about to say that it just sounded as if they were mated anyways. But he didn't understand Lovalla culture. Or Epicanthix culture, for that matter.

He nodded to the sentiment of wanting for a manual to his own species however. For all he and Mahsa knew, Glorii Te had tucked away some documents exactly like that, somewhere in his lab, now forgotten and abandoned.

As to whether or not he or Mahsa had mates, Ayhan replied the same as he would most yes-or-no questions. "No." Straightforward as ever. When Aris gave him a confused look, however, and asked if he and Mahsa were mates, Ayhan glowered at the boy. "No."

Mahsa | Aris Noble | Zaiya Ceti

 

[Zaiya Ceti]

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Outfit: x x x x x | Equipment: x x x x x | Weapons: x x x
Interacting with: Ayhan Aris Noble Mahsa

Zaiya felt like her eyes were grav balls bouncing back and forth between Ayhan and Mahsa. The tension in the air between them was impossible to ignore, and Mahsa's hair had begun to shift with her emotions -- something Zaiya had been trying to decipher for some time now. Every time Mahsa's hair changed color, Zaiya made mental notes, but she still hadn't cracked the code completely.

Aris was better at it than she.

Right now, Mahsa's hair had an ombre of deep amber to honey -- a beautiful gradient that had Zaiya staring a little too long before her focus snapped back to the conversation. Mahsa's gaze was sharp, aimed at Ayhan like she was searching for cues and clues, when she suddenly looked away, stammering as she stated that, no, they didn't have mates.

They weren't? Aris voiced the exact thought running through Zaiya's mind, and she wasn't surprised when Ayhan vehemently denied it, insisting neither he nor Mahsa had mates -- and that they weren't each other's.

Zaiya blinked rapidly, startled. "Oh."

She paused, unsure where to go from here. Then, unable to resist her own curiosity, she blurted out, "So how do you know when you find one, then?"

It wasn't the first time she'd asked this question. Zaiya had always been fascinated by relationships -- how people found each other, connected in ways she couldn't quite understand. Maybe because she didn't seem to feel things the same way others did. Or maybe because she was trying to figure out if she should feel them.

She knew it was a bold question, but Zaiya had never been one to shy away from asking. Besides, who knew what kind of interesting information she'd uncover this time?

Like, when would Aris know when he'd find one himself?

 

[Mahsa]

Lively highlights of coral and terracotta mixed into the existing rich amber shades as Aris turned to them, the confusion evident in his face as he’d dropped a question of his own. She’d felt the heat rush towards her face, the tip of her ears now keenly aware of the cool breeze that quietly fluttered around them, and it took a second before Mahsa finally found her voice.

"I d-don’t think s-so—"
"No."

His voice felt like a bucket of iced water being dumped over her, dulling the vibrant hues that had colored the bottom parts of her hair with muted grays. Her lips pressed into thin lines as a pressure pushed against her chest, one the Kazelrrian forced herself to ignore as her gaze sought refuge in the other two—specifically Zaiya as the Lovalla blurted a new question.

How would they know?

It was a question that had become more prominent in her mind as the Kazelrrian had grown older, especially after being introduced to so many holo dramas and shows by Zaiya and Vera Noble alike. In them the characters always seemed to gravitate to one another and, eventually, discovered they were meant to be together… though Mahsa still hadn’t come to understand how they came to know.

"We’d f-feel it…?" The uncertainty that coated her voice had also returned some color to the washed out shades, the deep ambers joined by coppery highlights as Mahsa tore her attention away from the dulled ache still nestled beside her heart.

"Our—my kind is able to feel emotions deeply too… kinda like Lovallas, I g-guess." She quickly corrected herself before a misunderstanding could arise, the last thing Mahsa wanted was for them—or Ayhan himself—to think she was speaking for both species instead of just her own. "I think—maybe—t-that’s how we find our m-mates…?"

In the end, deprived of a detailed manual or an adult member of their species, all any Kazelrrian like Mahsa could do was take a well-educated guess about how such things might work.

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Aris Noble | Ayhan | Zaiya Ceti ​

 

[Aris Noble]

Oh this was getting to a complicated topic. He glanced only briefly to Zaiya, frowning softly as he looked away. They'd feel it, huh? How would they know what it was, though? What were those feelings? Was that what he felt whenever he looked at Zaiya? It was all just.. confusing now. Too much so for the Padawan, who now just stared off at whatever he could to try and stop his mind from racing. While listening to the conversation, at least.

Ayhan | Zaiya Ceti | Mahsa