Private Paradise Found

[Arcturus Dinn]

"Mhm, way too many marshmallows for ones so little," he chided playfully, reaching out to poke Marcus' nose when he mentioned how he'd thrown up as a result of it. "I'm surprised your tummy's even fit so many of them."​

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It was no secret of course that Arcturus wasn't really one for sweet things, he'd not been raised with access to such after all and certainly his time as a slave hadn't permitted him such. It was a double edged sword then, to hear that his children had such luxuries afforded to them. A reminder of how lucky they were, how free... But also, at the same time, he didn't necessarily want sugar to form as some sort of addiction. He'd done his reading, he knew how easily that could happen.​

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"Maybe you'll just have the one marshmallow, if you ever finish your hunt," he said, with a chuckle, glancing across to Ishani once the mushroom creature was far behind them.​

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Her next words had him shaking his head some with mock hurt.​

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"Consort?" He lifted a hand and lay it over his chest, "You wound me, M'Lady, for I always promised to be your loyal Knight did I not?"​

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Promises made so long ago now... Another lifetime indeed.​

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Ishani Dinn ​

 

[Ishani Dinn]

“Can’t you be both Consort and a Knight?” Her brow furrowed. “Most kings doubled as warriors. Or at least, they were like generals of the army, I think…”

No matter how long ago those promises had been made, they could still be fulfilled, couldn’t they? She’d thought not, once upon a time, before he had returned to her. Now, though…

“My fair and perfect Knight,” she said softly. Pausing, she reached over and pulled him to her, her arms encircling his waist as she leaned toward him…

“Mommy, Daddy, look!” Eloise called out. “It’s a little village with people in it.”

The would-be kiss foiled, Ishani kept her face close to Arc's for a moment longer. Every blink made her eyelashes flutter like wings, her gaze wandering over his features with a faint smile before she turned toward the children. "A village, you say?..."

Arcturus Dinn​

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

"King now, is it? Wouldn't that make you the Consort?"​

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This whole thing was getting particularly silly, was it not? After all it wasn't as though they could simply lay claim over this place. What if there were people here already, or--​

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Oh. She pulled him close, and he wrapped his arms around her. Leaned in, but before he could steal a kiss Eloise drew their attention away from one another to their surroundings.​

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"A village?" Arcturus echoed. Yeah, people here already. No Queen or King necessary, right?​

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Detangling himself from Ishani's arms, he watched as she headed toward the kids before approaching for himself and peering through the trees toward the village in question. "Stay back" he mumbled to the kids, "Just in case..."​

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Ishani Dinn ​

 

[Ishani Dinn]

“It makes you a King, and me a Queen, and we ride out as equals and conquer the planet,” Ishani clarified.

Upon seeing the village, she sat for a little while, studying the layout and structures. The buildings were primitive, most of them little more than huts. There were some humanoid-looking figures walking around, but they were too far away to make out any details or defining features. They certainly weren’t of the same species as the blue centaurs from earlier.

They would be easy to conquer, she realized. The idea was… weirdly tempting, even though she’d hated politics, and that was surely what would follow if they succeeded. Only the adventure of it attracted her—the thought of surviving and thriving on a hostile alien planet, beating the odds and defying nature.

But Arc didn’t want to be a conqueror, she knew, and it was too dangerous with the twins around. Ishani wouldn’t know what to do with the planet if she had it anyway.

“Maybe we should leave them alone,” she suggested, thinking of how the centaur had reacted to their presence. These villagers might not be so cautious, especially since they outnumbered the family. “Observe from afar, but don’t make contact.” Glancing at Arc, she was struck with an idea. “Do you think we might find any non-sentient Force Sensitive creatures on this planet? Like… something for you to eat?”

Arcturus Dinn​

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

"Conquerors now, are we?"​

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A planet off on the edge of the Galaxy, far from the turmoil of everything else. It was almost... Tempting. A slice of utopia just for the four of them, and whoever else they encountered along the way.​

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"Could be we could simply help them. Earn their favour that way..." No forcing required. Still Ishani suggested caution, so as she sat down he joined her though his attention was more drawn to the twins who had found sticks to play fight with than anything else. Feisty little warriors at heart...​

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"That might be safest" he replied, "Until we know if there's any other sentient lifeforms on the world, it's best we don't approach any of them. The last thing we need is come across as hostile, or to start a war between nations." If they were the only ones though?​

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Or if they were all so primitive and lacking in technology?​

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Well, it would be wrong not to help them right? Medicine, technology, infrastructure... But what did they know of any of that?​

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"Worth checking" he replied to talks of non-sentient species, "If not, well... I have methods. Don't worry."​

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Rising up, he left Ishani to her observing and approached the kids. As the day drifted on, he carefully began to explain to them the basic zones used with Shii-Cho while making sure they never actually struck one another with the sticks. A careful hand, an observant eye, and a gentle yet schooling tone. If they were going to pass the day away, and if they were already going to be playfighting, he may as well help teach them a thing or two.​

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Right?​

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Provided Ishani didn't balk at the idea...​

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Ishani Dinn ​

 

[Ishani Dinn]

“I remember what you told me after Folende, how you wished we hadn’t taken over,” she said softly. To her surprise, Arcturus didn’t immediately shoot down the idea. He seemed just as tempted as she was, taken with the allure of having their own private paradise.

He countered with another suggestion: helping the natives. “How? Just by introducing them to modern technology and conveniences? Or are we going to teach them about democracy and liberty, too?” she asked, half-joking. A strange thought occurred to her then. “Arc, did you ever live in a democracy?”

She didn’t know that much about how the Sith ran their governments. Maybe they had voting, even if only as a meaningless formality or a tool to keep the populace in line. Unlike Arc, she hadn’t lived under one for long enough to learn about their systems of government. Hell, maybe Arc didn’t even know—he seemed pretty apolitical. But surely he knew the basics of how things worked?

"Worth checking. If not, well... I have methods. Don't worry."

“Hey, I never doubted you had things under control,” she said, smiling up at him as he rose. “I wouldn’t be casually hanging around with the kids if I thought there was any chance you might try to eat us. I just thought maybe it could be… fun.” Why did her cheeks flame on the word fun? “The kids can stay on the ship, if you’re afraid they might be traumatized by you killing a wild animal. We just won’t venture too far from them.”

She watched as he interrupted the twins’ sparring match to teach them the basics of Shii-Cho. Ishani had never properly learned any of the lightsaber forms. The Academy’s instructors taught the basics, but students who couldn’t catch on quickly were allowed to fall behind in favor of honing the exceptional. Grabbing a stick of her own, she stood up and imitated the moves he showed them, her attitude rather serious.

The twins had other ideas, however. Exchanging glances, they both suddenly charged at Arc, yelling and shrieking, doing their best to tackle him to the ground. Ishani burst out laughing at the sight. Conquerors of the planet? Their family couldn’t go more than five minutes without goofing off.

Arcturus Dinn​