Take Off The Mask

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

Another kiss and she gave a chuckle.

"Where are your plates?" she would exclaim with notable humor, pulling away from the old Tetan to give a glance around. There was no missing the two large pizza ovens -- who actually uses two pizza ovens?!

Shaking her head in amused disbelief, she went on to investigate the nearest cupboards.

"So how is Lily doing?" Danger would ask, knowing that she was the one who was more apt to be... well...perturbed.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

"Fine." He said with genuine joy. "I think the medicine and counseling is doing her good."

His daughter had always been erratic, but as of late she had been doing better and better, so good that she had actually reacted somewhat favorably to the idea of meeting Danger. She wasn't ecstatic of course, but she had smiled and even said she looked forward to it. Progress was being made, and day by day Alric could see it. That was part of the happiness that he was feeling now, seeing that both of his daughters were both, and both of them were doing well.

"Plates? uhh...no idea." He hadn't been in this place for years.

For all he knew they were in the closet.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

Danger gave a burst of laughter. "Are you serious?" She could not help but laugh at how Alric had this lost expression on his face. Then again, she asked herself, am I really that surprised? Alric had his skills, but when it came to housekeeping… He wasn't exactly a homemaker.

Danger gave another chuckle, and kept looking through the cupboards. Finally on the third one, she found a couple of plates and a few caf mugs.

"I'm glad," she said, adding afterward that she was grateful that Lily was doing better. She knew that Alric had been concerned about Lillys where fai had been concerned about Lily's welfare. Taking two plates, she set them on the counter.

" how is she doing in the company? "

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

He mused for a second, trying to remember details.

"She's doing well, Koros is doing well, I think." She had told him a little of what her company was doing, given a few details, though not too much. It was clear that Lily was still just a tad self conscious in what she did, how her work reflected on her. "They're doing work with the...GUIDE? Yeah I think that's what it's called."

Alric would never judge his daughters for their decisions, but as far as he could tell the GUIDE was a rather successful operation, one that did good in the galaxy.

Truth was, Alric was proud of Lily, proud of Rose too. He was happy with the decisions they had made, happy with the state they were in now. There had been bumps in the road for both of them, but now they seemed to be perfectly in place.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

"GUIDE?" that bit was said with surprise. Yes, G.U.I.D.E. "Run by Magdalena Lethe, right?" thinking back on it, that was the first time that Danger had ever met Lily face to face. In might have been in a business context, but the first time none the less. A smile would crack her lips in remembrance.

Magdalena Lethe.

"Miz. Lethe." another nod, then a half chuckle. "Now that one reminds me of myself when I was young."

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

Alric Shrugged. "Dunno, never met her."

That was true.

"I've deigned to keep out of it." Alric moved the omelette again in the pan, letting it flip again before setting the heat even lower. "The last thing Lily needs is her own father overshadowing her in her own meetings. Besides, I figure she can handle it just fine."

She was doing it so far, anyway. In truth Alric had no idea what the GUIDE was or how it even applied, but apparently it was something that Lily was rather passionate about, and as such he had simply decided to support her. He didn't need to know everything about everything that she was doing, only the little parts.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

"I'm sure it will do her some good." Danger would add, moving to grab the caf cups and set them on the counter. Was there any caf here? Doubtful there was any tea. Danger spun on the balls of her feet, searching. Her eyes swept over a the rather large refrigerator. Then over to the rest of the cupboards.

"She did well." Danger told Alric, referencing that first meeting with the GUIDE owner. "Lily that is." Magdalena did as well, but that was for another conversation. "But she was very adamant at constructing quite a number of ships without any guarantee for results." that would likely be one of the choices that Danger didn't quite see eye to eye. The Queen of Trade was all about investing; but at the very least she wanted to ensure that the one with the big dream and the project had managed to make something of themselves first before asking for an investment.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

Alric let out a chuckle.

That was something he would do. "Well, she is her fathers daughter."

The results didn't always matter, at least not to Alric. Sometimes it had simply been the impression that he could push forward by doing something. Half of the products that Vanir Technologies produced were that way, things that could be useful but weren't quite economical to produce on a massive scale. Of course the company made up for it in other ways, but it was still more often then not a massive crap-shoot to see if something would actually end up working out.

"Sometimes we Kuhn's just like to throw things at the wall." He looked out the window for a moment, smiling. "See if anything sticks."

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

"You don't say?" the wry twist of her lips would relay her bout humor at that tidbit. Another chuckle would echo, and the slight drag of another cupboard sliding open.

"Ah, here we go." there were a few tins marked as quality caf. The place might have orange shag carpet, but the housekeeping certainly ensured the suite was stocked. There was Korribean, StarCaf, and a few luxury micro brands.

"Did you want caf or tea?" she could likely get him juice as well, but their options were open. The slight crumple and pop of the StarCaf package would crinkle.

"What will we do after?" the meeting with the girls and the botanical gardens that is.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

"Tea." Alric answered almost immediately. He could've had caf, but he was really trying to stay away from that sort of thing. Truth was that he was getting up there in age, and as time passed he felt more and more like his body was weighing him down.

It was unfortunate, but it was true.

"I dunno." He said, once again reverting back to near childish language. "I suppose we'll see how the day goes, and after that we can decide."

Empress Teta still had a lot to do. If the girls wanted to do something else with them they could go do other things with them, if they didn't, well he and Danger could have a good time elsewhere. The planet was after all considered the next in line to be Coruscant. There was plenty to do, plenty to see, and certainly enough to keep both he and Danger entertained for the next year and a half if they really wanted to.

In fact he was entirely sure there were things even he hadn't seen.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

"Alderaanian Chamomile or Nabooian mint?" Danger followed up, her hand brushing the tins back and forth. His preferences would change depending on his mood. He also strangely only liked his tea just a tad above lukewarm. It was amusing thinking back when she would serve it hot, and Alric would just drink it despite it burning his mouth. It took a while before he finally admitted that he preferred it at a cooler temperature.

"Okay, sounds like a plan." but just the barest edge of worry would cut through. She couldn't help herself, she was nervous. Keeping herself busy was helping, but as the hours would come to a end, she would likely continue to fret.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

Alric wandered over to her and kissed Danger on the cheek. "It'll go fine."

He reassured her, placing the omelette on the plate before serving up his own just a few seconds later. Alric of course had less reason to worry than Danger, but he sympathized with her. He genuinely wanted her to have a good time, more so, he wanted her to get along with his daughters. He had no real worries with that, though he was sure that it would be awkward at first. Eventually however he suspected that it would all go well.

Danger was surprisingly similar to his daughters in many ways, though obviously different in others.

They would have things to talk about, things to discuss. That was why he had picked the Botanical gardens, as a way to start conversations.

He was clever like that.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

A soft smile would shine in the wake of his kiss. He was right. It would be. No sense fretting over it right now. Whatever would happen will happen. Just had to take it a day at a time. If anything, she mused glancing over at the bare form of the old Tetan grabbing forks from a drawer, Alric will be there with me.

To think that, and believe it, was a rather monumental stepping stone for Danger. Her life had been a series of betrayals and departures from those she had trusted the most; one of which had been Alric himself.

It took over two decades and was a difficult road to walk, but she managed to come out of it all the better. Not perfect, but with a cognizant understanding that she was not an innocent party in it all.

It had taken time. Time to learn to love better when she was older, with distance to be introspective, and above all, when she could forgive.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

So they had breakfast.

They ate, they laughed, and a wobbly legged Danger eventually made it back to the bedroom to get dressed. It took them a bit more after that to get ready, Alric climbing into the refresher and getting dressed himself. In time however, both of them managed to find their way to the lobby of the building. Alric stopped by the desk, paying the man there a compliment and giving him a large stack of credits to doll out to the rest of the buildings staff, thankful for what they had done with the apartment. After that they wound their way to the shuttle that was waiting for them, the one that would take them to the botanical gardens.

It was a simple ship really, an old one but well maintained.

"Dear lord." Alric said as he lead Danger up the loading ramp. "I I think I remember this thing from when I was a kid."

If that was true the thing really was ancient, a scary thought since they were about to take it up into orbit and back down. He frowned slightly, ducking to look under one of the benches as if he were searching for something that might be hidden here.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

Danger had never really toured Empress Teta. Her time had been spent in meeting halls and hotel convention rooms. Her few excursions beyond that were dinner at some of the more lavish and haute restaurants with a three star rating. To be frank, likely the only other venue she ever visited was the Opera House she had reconstructed for Alric.

And those particular meetings had their own rhyme and reason.

This would be new for her.

The bulk of her life was an endless desert and sand that got everywhere. She was well used to the Twin Suns baking her sweat into her skin, at the way it would chap and dry with a good gust. The luxurious domes and ancient archways of Teta were a different breed on its own.

Alric grew up here, and as he mentioned in passing a scene of his past, it only drove that home.
Curious.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

He peeked under the bench, then frowned slightly.

"Nope, not the same one." That was a real shame. Alric had thought that perhaps it had been the same ship from his youth, one that both he and his friends had...well vandalized. Those had been good memories. When he found out it wasn't the same one a bit of nostalgia slipped away. "Oh Well."

Alric sat himself down on the bend, patting his lap and urging Danger to come over towards him.

He smiled at her.

The Tetan knew that this day meant a lot to Danger, that the results of it would hit her to the core. He wanted to calm her as much as he possibly could, wanted her to feel at ease. That was why he had made sure that they would be alone for most of the day, made sure that no one could see her or bug her. He wanted her to be herself, wanted her to be happy and relaxed. It was really the only way that she could properly meet the girls without completely unwinding.

Alric knew that, and he would do everything in his power to keep her calm.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

Danger's brow would slowly arch, half in humor and half in bemusement at his rather childish manner. For a man well into his fifties, he often reverted to this little boy state, full of mischief and charm. The very devil hung in his gaze, in the smirk that graced his lips, and in the bright cobalt of his eyes.

None the less, she would amble her way over. "You know, there are plenty of other seats for my choosin'" she'd drawl out, mirth in her eyes for the present time. He amused her. He brought a certain joy in her life, helping her not see and take things too seriously. Coming to a halt just shy from him, Danger gave a slight nudge of her knee against his.

"What makes yours so appealing?"

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

He raised an eyebrow, as if the very question affronted him.

"Well, Miss Arceneau." Alric began, his tone filled with mock indignation and hurt. "For starters, I happen to be the most handsome man in the galaxy."

His face remained completely passive, like it was chiseled from marble. There was no hint of joking in his feature, no tell of a lie. He simply looked up at her with that same look, as though he were telling the complete truth and she were mad for even beginning to question him. That was simply who he was, what he was capable of doing. It was a learned behavior, keeping his features so calm and still. Fifty years of practice really helped him out on that one.

"Second, I happen to provide warmth and comfort on a scale most heating companies couldn't even dream of." That time he cracked a small smile, though only a small one.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

"Based on whose opinion?" she would counter right back, hip cocking to the right as one hand went to perch at the curve of it. Oh there was a challenge in her eyes, a devilish gleam.

"That's a bold claim Mistah Kuhn, where is the evidence to confirm your claim." the shuttle gave a slight rumble, and Danger would brace her feet upon the floor to keep her balance. It would be a short right to the botanical gardens, but Danger didn't know the fine details of it. The corner of her mouth quirked, and she would lift her chin. Oh he wasn't the only one who could claim a sabaac face.

It had been, after all, their most favorite pass time. The game.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

"Opinion?" Alric said, as though confused by her words.

"Why Miss Arceneau, both of those things are a fact." His hands slowly curled at his side, his muscles stretching slightly as though he were about to strike. "If you want, you can call my office to co-"

Alric cut himself off mid sentence.

He struck like a man half of his age and with twice his dexterity. His hands reached out and grasped her hips, his momentum half lifting him up out of his chair as his arms went sliding around her and he plucked her from her feet. With a single, grand move Alric pulled Danger from her feet and wrapped around her, placing her in his lap and forcefully settling her there as though she had just been ensnared in the worlds most elaborate, and strongest Bantha trap.