Private Of all the restaurants in the galaxy 860 years later, you have to walk into this one.

[Caltin Vanagor]

REDEMPTION IS NEVER OUT OF REACH...​

Location: Moonlight's Eye restaurant, Corellia's Golden Beaches​

Equipment: Conservator(Lightsaber)​

Companion: Astromech R01R - "Roller"​

Tag: Chrysa Vanagor​

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The “Moonlight’s eye” restaurant was not the original building on these grounds when Caltin had last visited the Gold Beaches of Corellia, but it was interesting that it was a restaurant. It was the home to a memory that he did not ever want to forget, one special night he shared with a person who turned out to be “the one that got away”. It was a funny thing to say for a Jedi, or think in this case, but having finished that duel this morning at the Temple, he wanted to go somewhere that he simply did not need a lightsaber.

Walking in, the big guy checked in with the hostess and then into the bar. He did not want anything more than a seltzer as he stood against the woodgrain and looked around. The decor was stylish and curio at the same time, in short, it was a nice place. The menu was not something he was looking for, as while it made sense, the massive Jedi Master was not interested in seafood tonight. That was okay so, there was something about the evening that he was going to truly enjoy. So with a deep breath and a sigh, he took a sip of his seltzer and acknowledged the seater as she called out his name.

Sure, his walk and suit (which hung masterfully) caught several eyes, but Caltin kept walking.

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[Chrysa Vanagor]

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Tag: Caltin Vanagor
Muse: Imagine Dragons "Bleeding Out"​

The Golden Beaches of Corellia.

One of the last places that held any memories worth remembering, and those were over eight centuries old. She'd begun to come back almost immediately upon emerging from stasis, clinging to that one day and night as an anchor amidst the chaos.

Over eight centuries lost to the ravages of an imperfect stasis that had been forced upon her. Betrayed by those whom she trusted...she really shouldn't have been surprised, in the end. Those who called themselves Dark Jedi and kept to the shadows of Ruusan had held themselves above both Jedi and Sith. But in what had become her end, the Penumbra had been the worst of them all.

At least they'd all had the decency to die in the ensuing decades. She would have liked to have been awake to watch them fall apart, but contented herself with the fact that no one remembered them anymore.

A faint smile curled her lips at the thought, bringing a few moments of order to her normally scattered mind. Slender fingers smoothed out the champagne vine silk of her evening dress. A garment of simple construction but luxurious fabric that enveloped her frame and hugged each curve as it deserved. Ebon curls were gathered up loosely and held in place with two long bejeweled hair sticks, a few tendrils loose to brush against her shoulders. Pausing for a moment before she entered the waiting taxi, she plucked a jasmine blossom from the nearby vine and tucked it behind her ear.

It kept the smile on her features, adding true warmth to them instead of just what was added with the touch of cosmetics she had deigned to use. Kohl to line her eyes and a brush of crimson for her lips...simply to highlight her features, as her still-flawless skin needed no more artifice. She slipped into the taxi and gave a simple command to the driver. "The Moonlight's Eye, please."​

The drive from the small, secluded cottage she called her own was pleasant in the comfortable evening air. Everything in the seaside resort community was in bloom, filling the air with a heady floral scent atop the sea air. Eyes slipped half closed as she savored those twenty minutes with her senses. Before they arrived, however, she pulled back her senses and muted her shattered aura as best she could...it tended to be jarring at best for those not gifted with the Force, and all she wanted that evening was a quiet meal.

There was, after all, little enough to take pleasure in that risking upsetting the staff and patrons at her favorite establishment did not seem worth the risk. It was not the same as the original building that had stood there centuries prior on her first visit, but it still held the spirit of it, and sauntering through it's doors to the warm greeting of the maître d'.

"Radiant as ever, my Lady...we are so pleased you've chosen to visit us again."

"You are too kind, Renauld. Might I be seated at my usual terrace table?" she asked softly, accepting the kiss placed on the back of her hand with a smile.

"It has been waiting for you. May I escort you there?"

Taking the gentleman's proffered arm, she allowed him to lead the way through the dining room and by the bar, to the small, secluded terrace just beyond the glass doors. A small table, sumptuously set for two in case she chose to ask someone to join her, was adorned with additional jasmine blossoms. Plucking the one from her hair, she tucked it into Renauld's lapel and discreetly pressed a cred chit into his palm as he seated her. "Perfect as ever, Renauld. If the sommelier is available, I would appreciate a bottle of Antivan red this evening."

With his bow and subsequent departure, she was free to dwell on the sensation that had torn across her senses like knives to the flesh when she'd stepped inside. A presence she'd not sensed or felt in any way since the last time they'd met in this same place. But it could not have been him, not after so many centuries gone, and she briefly dipped her head to regain her composure. A few of her shattered pieces quivered in the depths of their internment in what remained of her mind, trying desperately to drag themselves up to the surface.

"Perhaps this was a mistake..." she breathed faintly, unaware she'd spoken aloud as she lost herself to the broken pathways of some of the few happy memories she had left.

 

[Caltin Vanagor]

REDEMPTION IS NEVER OUT OF REACH...​

Location: Moonlight's Eye Restaurant, Corellia's Gold Beaches​

Equipment: Conservator(Lightsaber)​

Companion: Astromech R01R - "Roller"​

Tag: Chrysa Vanagor​

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“I am like a fish, in love with a bird, wishing I could fly.”

As he sat down on the other side of the restaurant, Caltin was quiet in his thoughts as he looked over the menu. He felt strange being here alone, not for lack of a date, but that the last time he was sitting on these grounds, she was here too. He did not know of her background, and he did not press, he did not know of her affiliations, and one time in his life he did not really care. This was a night, one of very few that he was able to be just, him and not his title before or behind. Flipping his head towards where he felt this pull, this familiar aura that just seemed to be too strong for him to ignore, the big guy had foregone the remainder of his salad and rose from the table.

If asked, Caltin was headed toward the restroom, in fact, he informed his server so that they would not feel that they were about to be “stiffed.” However, he was headed that way to investigate and either confirm or deny his… “aggressive curiosity.” Alright, he was headed towards a resolution, but what would happen if he had not found what he was looking for? Would he be alright and simply go back to his meal? Maybe that was all it would take, to make sure that he was wrong, he was somewhat convinced that this was the case, but Caltin was not going to allow that to go without a confirmation.

Yet what would he do if what he felt was indeed what his instincts were telling him? Would he simply fall to pieces? That was over eight hundred years ago, could it be possible? Would he see her and simply try to relive “that night”? After so long? Did she feel the same way? That was a night without labels, what about now? It was when he was close enough to hear the words “Perhaps this was a mistake... “ that his heart sank. If it was not her, the sentient could have indeed passed for her, as an ancestor.

Yes, that’s it. An ancestor. That would explain.

Turning the corner, he wanted to make some quip about correcting the error, but the words remained in his lungs, like rocks almost choking him. His throat expanded and no matter how hard he tried, the big guy could not get anything out. The memories came rushing back, and if this was not her…

… she was damn close.

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[Chrysa Vanagor]

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Tag: Caltin Vanagor
Muse: Linkin Park "Papercut"​

There were so many words. Broken, shattered letters quivering on the ground as if they were birds shot out of the air. There was pain welling up from the depths to which she'd pushed it to; pulsing, insistent, demanding.​

It craved the recognition she refused to give it, and as if in response, the footsteps behind her echoed loudly as they bore their creator forward. The riptide swept over her senses and threatened to drown her as the presence drew close.​

It was agony. It was divine.​

She felt him standing there, staring at her, and it was all she could do to raise her crimson gaze to meet his. Chrysa inhaled sharply as eight centuries melted away and she felt as if she'd been thrown back into a duracrete wall. Her breath left her in a rush and she rose from her seat, stumbling back a step until the railing stopped her. The sweetest lance of pain drove itself into her heart as she remembered that fateful night, the one that had seen her through the darkest of times that had followed.​

The one that had the promise of tomorrows to come that had never been realized.​

She had been a Dark Jedi, he had been a Jedi Master. Her order had survived in secrecy, and she would not have been permitted to bring him into her confidence without the threat of death looming over her. It hadn't been meant to be...but...​

There he was. Or at least, it looked like the Caltin she remembered. The broad shoulders that offered strength and shelter, the features that bore character and could break into a smile that melted even her heart. But it couldn't be. She'd heard he was lost before she herself was betrayed, and carried that pain with her still. She'd slept for centuries with that broken segment of her heart festering and giving rise to the darkness that had swallowed her soul upon her awakening.​

It was a fragmented, excruciating eternity that swallowed them both whole before she could form a thought, and a second one before they coalesced into words that fell haltingly past her lips.​

"Are...are you real? You...you look real. I...I remember...you...or someone like you. It...it's been so long..." she breathed, the whisper painful to produce, a shaking hand rising to touch her throat.​

Chrysa shook her head, blinking rapidly, but the sight at the center of her vision remained the same. Her fingers gestured briefly, closing the doors behind Caltin to prevent anyone interrupting them.​

"It's been eight...eight hundred years, Caltin...I thought...I thought you were dead...I was dead...s-stasis. I dreamed...I was lost. Nothing was right when I woke up...it was a new nightmare...I..." Her voice faltered, her shattered mind losing ground as she struggled to think...and to feel.​

She reached toward him with a hand, hesitant, shaking, and unable to breathe.​

Praying that this wasn't just another one of her hallucinations.​

 

[Caltin Vanagor]

REDEMPTION IS NEVER OUT OF REACH...​

Location: Moonlight's eye Restaurant​

Equipment: Conservator(Lightsaber)​

Companion: Astromech R01R - "Roller"​

Tag: Chrysa Vanagor​

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“We parted ways in order to find each other all over again.”

Oh, it is Chrysa…

Over eight hundred years, eight… hundred… years it took for this to happen. They met under strange circumstances, never really expecting anything, but everything happened. He was a Jedi, he is a Jedi and believed in the old ways, but she was his exception. He was not a Jedi right now, just a man who had found “the one who got away”. The big guy could never stop thinking about her, which is why he did not regret what had happened that fateful day over Rhen Var when it was her that he been told was in trouble. It was not though, it was a trap, a trap for him specifically.

No, he did not blame her, the thought that she might have been behind this did not even cross his mind, and if it had, he would have shut it down immediately. Caltin had only known the woman a day, maybe technically two, but he knew her, and he knew that she would not have, could not have done that. Here she was providing proof of that. As she closed the doors, he reached out and pulled the curtains so no passers-by would take a gander.

He practically pulled her hand to his face.

The past does not matter. Your heart, my heart, they are very old friends. That means I do not care about the past, about your past, about my past. All that matters now is the now, and the future. I care about your future…

He took a deep breath… feeling the pain in his own heart from having been away so long. He was just beginning to cope with having lost everyone in his life. Yet here was one, ironically one of the most important, standing here.

… I care about your future, and somehow, someway, hope I can be in it.

He did not press her feelings, it would hurt to push, hurt both of them, but he wanted to kiss her. So he took the next best thing. He gently kissed her hand. He could feel her connection to the Force, this may complicate things, but it would be worked out. She was worth the effort, he lost her once, he did not want to lose her again.

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[Chrysa Vanagor]

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Tag: Caltin Vanagor
Muse: Shinedown "How Did You Love"​

Her breath caught in her throat as he gently took up her hand and pressed it to his face. The fragments of her heart that had lain dormant within her chest shuddered as they pulsed erratically back to life, giving rise to a warmth that flooded her cheeks and warmed her to her core.​

It was him...she'd know the sensation of him anywhere, the touch of his hand upon hers, the feel of his skin pressed to her palm. The feel of his aura against her senses was enough to draw tears to her eyes. "It's really you..." she whispered, tone brimming with wonder and so many emotions she couldn't make sense of them.​

That wasn't a surprise however, Chrysa couldn't make sense of much anymore. This was the first moment of true clarity she'd had since she'd awoken over twenty years ago. She finally found a breath but still could not produce any more words, instead taking the time to savor the feel of him beneath her fingertips. They shook as he pressed his mouth to her palm, and her free hand rose to rest upon his chest, taking solace in the solid warmth of his chest and the rapid thumping of his heart within his chest.​

She moved as he spoke, pressing herself close to him the way she had that night so many centuries ago when they'd danced under the moonlight in this very same spot. Her eyes slipped closed for a moment as she found the wave of emotion overwhelming, words slipping past his lips that she'd longed to hear from him for so very long. She rested her head against him until she was able to breathe again, and for several moments longer just to savor the comfort inherent in his embrace.​

Blinking slowly, Chrysa tilted her head back to meet his gaze, a soft, slightly dazed smile curling her lips as her gaze flickered from crimson to the natural shade of chestnut he would remember. "After so long, Caltin, I can not...I will not let you go again. Things beyond out control kept us apart once before. Never again." she whispered, allowing herself the desire of her heart as she kissed him deeply.​

 

[Caltin Vanagor]

REDEMPTION IS NEVER OUT OF REACH...​

Location: Moonlight's Eye Restaurant​

Equipment: Conservator(Lightsaber)​

Companion: Astromech R01R - "Roller"​

Tag: Chrysa Vanagor​

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It felt like that night under the Corellian moon all over again. It was amazing. Caltin had long resigned himself to never let anyone get too close again. Not after Alyksandra, Alyscia’s mother had all but set him up for arrest by Corsec (a theory that was debunked later, but still) did he allow himself to truly care for, to love another. Sure, he dated but there was no one like Chrysa, and she had gotten away from him. The big guy tried to track her down, but to no avail, she was in the wind and she would not get out of it. That was so long ago.

Here she was, over eight hundred years later, standing in front of him with one hand on his cheek, the other on his chest and moving ever so close. The feelings, oh those feelings came rushing back. The adrenaline pumping through his system, the heartbeat that was racing, the weak knees, he could hardly speak, but he did. The kiss was more than that, it was rapture, he lost himself for a moment, a moment that seemed like the eternity it was while they were apart.

Those eyes, those amazing crimson eyes. He had almost forgotten what it was like to have her in his arms, but he would never forget what those eyes had done, and would do to his very being, his soul. She did not just have a place in it, she took over and he did not fight the sensation, he welcomed it. This went against everything that made him a Jedi, but it was “her” and he would not be bothered by it in the slightest. As their lips separated, he could but only catch his breath before reuniting them again, one hand sliding to her lower back, the other sliding to the middle. He did not care about how long they were there or would be there, time had already stopped, he had her, and life was good again.

I’m not going anywhere. The Force itself will not pull me away.

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