Private Tell Me About It

[Colette]

Colette ran her hand through her hair as she nervously looked at the set up. There were small favors leveraged for this hardware, a little bit of theft from the supply closets, and just a hint of milk thieving. The rooms luckily came with desks, although they were facing the walls most of the time, this time one of them had been placed right in the middle of the room. On top of that table stood: a pot of warm water, a very small assortment of teas kindly lent to Colette from one of the cafeterias when the barista wasn't watching, two cups from the very same place, and a small bundle of candles lit to make things a little more cozy than the harrowingly stark lights from the ceiling lamp above.

All that remained now was for Loomi to come back home, which given the state she had seen her in just a few hours ago was bound to be very soon. Where she had gone, Colette did not know, but she knew where she were going afterwards and when she did there would be all of this to have, just for her. Not because Colette knew this would actually make her happier, but because it was what one of the knights had told her made THEM happy. So, without a proper framework for these things, the kid had set herself to work on something for herself as opposed to doing her studies — just this once.

She could hear footsteps outside the door and as it slowly opened, Colette shot up from her bed and tried to figure out what was the best way to sort of break the surprise or whatever.

"I made this!" She exclaimed and pointed her arms at the table with tea. "For you!"

Loomi

 

[Loomi]

Coruscant, Jedi Temple
Tags: Colette

Loomi had had a rough day. Her council with Valery Noble had greatly helped, but a somber cloud still hung over the young teen's head. She was ready to just go lie down in her bed and melt probably, just sink into her mattress and dissolve. It was really the only assured thing in her day, and to that end it brought the Godoan a little comfort.

What she ended up getting upon stepping into her room was a little different.

"I made this!" She exclaimed and pointed her arms at the table with tea. "For you!"

Loomi stood there in a bit of a daze, but it didn't take long for everything to hit her. She smiled, larger than she had ever smiled in her life. Just as quickly as that had happened the tears followed, so much so that it was hard to tell if she was happy or in distress.

It was happy crying though. Very ugly happy crying. After the day she had it was the best thing she could've come home to.

"Thank you," she beamed through the tears. "It smells amazing."

 

[Colette]

Loomi

"W-woah, hey, uhh…" Colette panicked before she stepped up to wrap Loomi into a tight hug. "It's alright, I saw that you were looking kind of down when you came back to the temple before and I figured that maybe this could help."

She let the hug last for as long as Loomi felt comfortable with it. There was clearly something going on, but in all honesty this wasn't so much about how to handle that as much as maybe form some sort of sense of ease and stability in the moment.

"I overheard one of the knights a while ago say that tea helps them when they feel a little down, and while I prefer water, I figured… You know, maybe it would help you too." She led Loomi to the desk table to sit her down before she grabbed a bag from the unsorted pile of teabags. "We have some… Grey thing." She put it down and grabbed another. "Muja fruit, annnnd…" The last variety of the pile as indicated by their differently colored and stringed label was, "Cloudberry. Whatever that is."

Colette lit the candles and turned the ceiling light off and took a seat in front of Loomi.

"I figured with how busy we've both been, this would also be a good time to settle down and just catch up."

 

[Loomi]

Coruscant, Jedi Temple
Tags: Colette

Loomi let herself stay in the embrace for a moment. After everything that had occurred it was nice, in a way, knowing that she still had people who cared about her. Her tears dried, the smile on her face remaining.

"That's very sweet of you," Loomi noted warmly. "I... This really means a lot. Thank you."

She sat down at the desk table and reach for... the cloudberry one. The Godoan didn't really know what that was but she liked berries. It sounded tasty enough. Loomi placed it in a cup and poured hot water in, then scooting back to give the tea a moment to steep. She sighed, brushing the hair out of her face before looking back to her friend.

"You may want to start," she stated. "I've had a... strange last couple of weeks. It may take a while."

The Godoan needed a moment to collect herself anyways. If they were catching up than she was more than happy to let Colette share what she had been up to first.

 

[Colette]

Loomi

What the hell was a cloudberry anyway? Colette looked at the orange-gold berry on the teabag's string label with a curious look. It certainly didn't look like any cloud she had ever seen. Her eyes wandered up to meet with Loomi's for a moment with a small chuckle.

"Oh, it's nothing. I think the cantina will understand once I explain." Colette smiled and cleared her throat to move on. "Right, well,"

The girl motioned for her hair that was significantly shorter, but also surprisingly volumetric.

"I guess most obviously after the trip to Myrkr I came back with my hair a bit shorter." Colette shrugged. "I personally didn't mind the way it looked, but you should have seen Valery's face. Once she had settled down for a moment she practically ordered me to go see someone to 'fix it'."

"It seems cutting it with a knife's blade wasn't her idea of beauty standards or something." The kid then shook her head. "I mean, I respect my master immensely but just like everyone else around here they put such an emphasis on these superficial things like beauty or how it can affect the opinion of others."

"Anyway, I asked Corazona for help and, well, here we are…"

"I think she did a great job. She seems very well-versed in these things."

 

[Loomi]

Coruscant, Jedi Temple
Tags: Colette

"That sounds... interesting," Loomi noted with a slight chuckle. "I think your short hair looks great."

It was easy to compliment others when she thought rather low of herself. She had pretty much already accepted that she looked weird. Scarred face, mechanical legs, antennae, and now a pair of wings? One might joke it was something only a mother could love, but recent events had made such a statement... questionable.

"I've... had a long last few weeks," she sighed. "I grew wings, I guess. It's a... rare mutation caused by the air being funny on my home world? I don't really understand. I had only ever been there the one time..."

She'd turn a little to reveal more of the wings. They were small, rather moth-like, and a light shade of purple.

"They're too small to do anything," Loomi admitted awkwardly, "So they've really just been a source of stress. Which is... not the end of it."

Loomi shifted a little bit more nervously now. She was younger than Colette, maybe by a couple years or so, and was notably way more naïve. Especially considering how isolated her childhood had been, there was a lot of stuff that Loomi was just now figuring out.

"E-everything is a mess," the Godoan frowned. "My master got wounded and stepped away, s-some boy I know took me on a date, and I didn't know what that was until I was told by someone else and it's freaking me out, a-and to top it all off..." She slowed down, taking a deep breath. "I found out I have a mother... who I'm not allowed to see. Ever."

The girl sighed, laying her head down on the desk. She was just exhausted more than anything. It had all been so overwhelming.

"It's been a lot. I'm so tired."

 

[Colette]

Loomi

That was… Certainly a lot. Despite Loomi being younger, Colette was fairly naive herself when it came to many things out here in the grander galaxy, having grown up on a rather isolated planet in a group no bigger than two or three dozen people who wandered the desert to safeguard others.

"Thank you." Colette smiled and reached out to pat Loomi on her forearm. "That was a lot, so let's just start from the bottom."

"I know what it feels like to not be able to see your mother or your father. It… Differs a bit of course. Mine are either dead or missing, but… Well, that's either a shame or their loss, same as it is for your parents."

Although Colette was lucky enough to have had two very different mother figures in her life. First in the elder, and now with Valery. It proved more than anything, at least to her, that family wasn't such a sacred thing after all, and that those who brought you happiness were far more important than something so silly as paternal obligation.

"I've had a lot of time to think on it. At first I was angry and acted out, but eventually I mellowed out and understood that whose blood is in my veins matters very little when compared to ties that I have forged by myself, as in friends."

If Colette could have reached out to put her hand on Loomi's shoulder, she would have by now. Alas, there was a table in the way.

"That's you. You can count on me whenever things get rough and the world seems to be out to get you. Always, and no matter the size of your problem."

 

[Loomi]

Coruscant, Jedi Temple
Tags: Colette

"That's you. You can count on me whenever things get rough and the world seems to be out to get you. Always, and no matter the size of your problem."

"Thank you..." Loomi nodded with a weary smile. "I... I really appreciate that."

She took a sip of her tea, giving a surprised look towards it. It was quite good. That was nice. Another good sip soothed her exhausted throat, giving some level of rejuvenation to her small-statured body.

"This is very good," she noted. "Where did you get it?"

 

[Colette]

Loomi

Eh, tea was never really Colette's thing. Despite the time she had spent around the temple by now there was nothing that compared to a simple glass of water. But, for the sake of this little meeting, she imbibed for… Solidarity's sake.

"Of course," She smiled and took a sip of the warm diluted soup water. "I uh, borrowed it from the Knights' cantina."

Higher quality for the higher rank. It hadn't felt great to bold face lie to the knights and Colette imagined that she would apologize for it later, but that wasn't quite as important in this moment as caring for a friend. Merriment first, regret second.

"You know, the wings kinda suit you. Did you say they could be used to fly at home because of the thicker atmosphere?"