The Unknown Path

[Arekk]

LITHIOS​

Ar'ekk Daesharacor's Apartment, Financial District ​

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INTERACTING WITH: [member="Alexandra Feanor"] ​

The bed was right next to the glassed window and so was the couch, so the trip she'd have to make was only a few steps away. He had already set foot on the kitchen and heard the silent crying coming from Alexandra, looking up to her to see what was going on. He never liked to see people cry, specially when they were as strong as she was.

Returning to where she was, Ar'ekk saw the glass crack on her hand and leaving a small amount of blood behind once he grabbed it from her to put it away. His eyes lingered on the liquor bottle resting by the coffee table nearby, thinking if it was a good idea to stop now. Maybe it wasn't, who knew?

"Hey, come on. Perhaps it wasn't meant to ---"

His advice was cut off once Alexandra decided to stand up and simply flop on his bed and remain motionless, not uttering a single word and possibly crying herself to sleep. To offer some comfort, Ar'ekk set the bloody glass aside to sit down on the edge of the bed and pat Alexandra's foot.

"You don't have to deal with this alone."

And that's the last thing he said, not wanting to drag the matter further and make it worse. He grabbed the blankets and covered the Zorren girl with them as the weather got worse by the minute and the temperature dropped to become almost unbearable.

Sitting down on the couch, Ar'ekk held a glass of Corellian ale and drank in silence. Sleeping was not something he was able to pull off for a while now and if Alexandra decided to talk, he'd be there for her.

The silence was enjoyable for a moment as the rain droplets clashed against the window.

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[Alexandra Feanor]

[member="Arekk"]

Alexandra woke up, with a familiar but all too wanted feeling after so long. It wouldn't be hard to quiet the pounding in her head, but she let it stay there, a reminder that she could actually get drunk for once.

The light bleeding in wasn't too bad, but her eyes itched and felt wet, having cried through the night in the state that she had fallen into. Her breath left her with a long sigh as she reached up and rubbed at the still red eyes, trying to clear away anything that was left and trying to remember the last bit that happened last night. She remembered Arekk's words and shook her head, smiling at how foolish he could be sometimes. But to be fair, she was just as foolish, if not more.

Her body pulled itself up and she started walking towards the other room. She used her hand to help guide her there, grabbing onto things to keep her balance and she yawned, looking around and trying to figure out what was going on. She soon found what she was looking for and moved to grab a chair and lift it, placing it down and staring out of a window as her hands rested on the back of the chair, arms crossed, and chin buried into them as she looked out the window.

She didn't wake up Arekk, choosing to let him wake up on his own as she sat there and smiled, thinking about how she could have this sort of thing again one day. An actual home.

 

[Arekk]

LITHIOS​

Ar'ekk Daesharacor's Apartment, Financial District ​

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INTERACTING WITH: [member="Alexandra Feanor"] ​

Waking up wasn't so rough for Ar'ekk as it was for Alexandra, rubbing his eyes violently as the sunlight bleeded through the window. The sheets covering half his body while his left foot was outside were warm and comfy, making it more difficult to get out of bed.

His bare feet touched the wooden floor as his elbows rested on his knees, palms caressing his head and gaze moving towards the girl.

She was enjoying the simple things in life, staring out the window and contemplating the nothingness. That was a much familiar feeling he had lost but recovered once he settled down here on Lithios to actually enjoy a life away from doctrines, wars, conflicts. She could have that and more if she wanted just like he achieved such, it was just a matter of asking. Of conviction.

He silently walked over to Alexandra as she sat on the chair, resting his palm on her shoulder but not saying anything. Words were not needed to explain the magnificent sunrise outside as the window was big enough for both of them to appreciate such view.

It was beautiful.

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[Alexandra Feanor]

Alexandra said nothing as she sat there and stared out at the sight, smiling and burying her chin into her arms. Her eyes were still only half open and she started to speak in a soft tone, one that seemed to be quiet only because she did not want to disrupt the picture before her. The scene was something she no longer got the chance to appreciate and she couldn't help but smile as she spoke.

"Thank you [member="Arekk"], things have been rough for a long time and you helped me alot by being here yesterday and this morning."

She closed her eyes and rested again, not asleep but simply resting as her chin remained in her arms, sitting backwards on the chair and leaning against the back of the chair. She was content and happy, able to finally think clearly and letting Hel fall into the back of her mind as she rested. The woman that had tormented her for more than thirty years having finally vanished from her mind for once and she hoped this would be normal from now on.

It was liberating for the dark spirit that lived within her to be silenced and to not speak, unknown to her that the spirit itself had chosen to let Alexandra have her peace.

 

[Arekk]

LITHIOS​

Ar'ekk Daesharacor's Apartment, Financial District ​

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INTERACTING WITH: [member="Alexandra Feanor"] ​

"No need to thank me. I'm just happy everything's going in the right path."

The soft touch of his palm on Alexandra's shoulder lasted a moment before it reached her hair, stroking delicately until he pulled away. Words were not necessary in that moment, the sun shinning its strong light towards them had a deeper meaning than they could ever understand.

Probably the beginning of a new life, a fresh start to do things the right away and stop worrying about past occurances.

Seating right next to the red-haired girl with two coffee mugs and seeking the warmth by wrapping his palms around his own, Ar'ekk enjoyed the sunrise even further with her. The silence was comfortable and waking up couldn't have been more perfect than that morning.

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[Alexandra Feanor]

[member="Arekk"]

Alexandra's eyes closed as she was given the cup, holding it in her hands and just breathing in, letting the smell flow into her nose and fill her senses with something that actually kept her relaxed and focused on nothing at all. She was actually happy for once and that meant she could ignore the world around her and just focus on that feeling of relief and joy with no strings attached. This wasn't an illusion, or a simulation. It wasn't some memory conjured up by Hel to keep her locked into the back of her mind and instead it was the chance to relax and smile, to just Live.

She had heard Arekk's words but had chosen to remain silent and not think on an answer quite yet, interested in simply living for the moment and thinking on nothing. Was everything going in the right path though? She hoped that was the case, hoped that things would become fixed and hoped that things would correct themselves but Alexandra honestly did not know if that would be the case. No right now she was lost, but things were better, that much she could be certain of.

"Hey, Arekk." She looked at him from the corner of her eyes. "This coffee smells terrible..." She cracked a small grin, watching him for a few more seconds before returning her eyes back to the sunrise.

 

[Arekk]

LITHIOS​

Ar'ekk Daesharacor's Apartment, Financial District ​

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INTERACTING WITH: [member="Alexandra Feanor"] ​

"So does your breath."

He cracked another grin as he countered Alexandra's joke with another one, sipping from his hot steaming cup of coffee. The sunrise was marvelous but the clouds quickly gathered in the sky and hid the shinning lights to give way to Lithios' usual weather: Rain and grey skies.

It looked like things would be a little more relaxing today, a drizzling rain would be covering Ethos City for the day to give way to a rainstorm during the evenining.

"Water's hot if you want to take a shower."

That's a great way to start your day. Take a hot and relaxing shower to wake yourself up after some good caffeine kicking into your system, get out of your jammies to dress up properly for the day and probably go out to do something. Visit the local market, perhaps? Go check out what the Merchants' District offered? Nightclubs and other bars were a big no-no, at least for the time being.

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[Alexandra Feanor]

[member="Arekk"]

She was silent for a long while but when he finally offered the shower did she stir and look at him. Her eyes traveled down to her clothing and she sighed as she brought her head back down to look out at the city. She wasn't sure how to approach what was on her mind, not sure how to approach the situation and preferred letting herself drift back into the memory she was having. After all, this felt normal for once and the thing on her mind would disrupt that considering the unlikelihood of him being able to help.

But after a few moments she couldn't be rude to him like she was by staying silent. Her lips parted as she began to answer him, letting her voice carry to him and trying to address the issue with some tact.

"As much as I appreciate the offer, I don't exactly have clean clothes... So unless you want me running around a bit exposed with nothing to change into..."

She waited for his response, looking away as she said that, her brain causing her to color a bit against her wishes, not able to stop the young body from reacting as one would.

 

[Arekk]

LITHIOS​

Ar'ekk Daesharacor's Apartment, Financial District ​

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INTERACTING WITH: [member="Alexandra Feanor"] ​

There was that.

His offer would stand regardless of what she brought over or didn't, a hot steaming shower wouldn't hurt anyone. Nothing about what she said or did rubbed him off the wrong way, let alone rude. Alexandra was important for Ar'ekk and he definitely appreciated her blunt sincerity more than anything, it was really one of her greatest traits.

"You know? That's not a bad idea at all. You'd look good wearing one of my shirts."

Did he just say that?

Certainly saying something like such would take a lot of courage and confidence with the other person to blurt out like that, but he didn't mind at all. Nothing but smiles, Ar'ekk's eyes trailed Alexandra's and focused on the sunrise beyond the billboards and neon lights getting brighter as the clouds began to take away all the sunlight.

"I'm not someone who likes to waste the water away, too."

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[Alexandra Feanor]

[member="Arekk"]

"Well if you think so, then that is enough for me, go and get one if you are being serious." She smiled at him as she turned in the chair, half joking, but honestly not that against the idea if it meant she could clean up herself and wash her clothing. It was his next set of words that caused her eyes to blink and her face to turn progressively more red until she had to clear her throat and return to how she was before, hiding her face as best she could once more.

She would only shake her head in answering, not trusting her voice at the moment and keeping her eyes focused on the streets. She was ashamed of herself for a moment, reacting that way and actually finding a bit of excitement at the words. The words themselves were not the issue, it was who had said them and her mind was reprimanding her already for reacting that way to someone else. Someone other than Vulpesen.

She would only turn back when her face had calmed down or the man brought her the change of clothing, making way for his shower and doing as she needed to. It would not take her long to, especially when she did not want to be a bother to the man, but the sooner she handled that the better. Especially so that they could move on from the moment and she could try and get past it.

 

[Arekk]

LITHIOS​

Ar'ekk Daesharacor's Apartment, Financial District ​

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INTERACTING WITH: [member="Alexandra Feanor"] ​

"Hold on."

The armoire was right next to his bed and it opened as soon as Ar'ekk stood in front of it, making way for him to grab the cleanest shirt of them all. Alexandra was blushing, as expect from such response, and did not blame her when she turned away although he sort of liked that.

It made him chuckle a bit as he walked back to her and handed her one of his shirts.

"No compromises, by the way. Doesn't have to be any."

That was the truth. He was well aware of her intentions and entanglement with another person but that didn't seem to come to mind when he blurted out such offer. It was a one time thing and nothing more, there were no need to get attached to each other unless it was meant to be that way.

No matter the outcome, Ar'ekk would continue being the same way with Alexandra because they were good friends and that mattered the most.

"Take this, it might be a bit too big."

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[Alexandra Feanor]

[member="Arekk"] would not be left to wait for long, considering the situation and she quickly took the clothing into her hands and gave him a quick warning glance before disappearing into the side room. At which point it would only take her a dozen minutes at most to return, he hair dripping and hanging loose, along side the wet tail that she had no idea how to really deal with.

With a quick smile though, she carried out her old clothing, carefully bundled up and under her arm as she held it to her body. For now she was in clothing that was obviously the wrong size in several respects, which made her move a bit awkwardly. She sighed and looked at Arekk again after looking herself over and offered another smile before holding up the bundle.

"Where can I deposit this, or start it through a run if you have an open system? I thank you for the temporary ones but... well I like my clothes fitting right. Especially when they were tailored to my new body so that the tail didn't feel as uncomfortable..." She sighed and looked down, a bit red again by the fact of her tail getting in the way of the clothing he provided.

 

[Arekk]

LITHIOS​

Ar'ekk Daesharacor's Apartment, Financial District ​

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INTERACTING WITH: [member="Alexandra Feanor"] ​

"The washer's on the kitchen. Put your clothes there, they'll be clean in an hour."

Yeah, he wasn't going to keep talking about that anymore. They were simply friends and he was aware of Vulpesen, trying to break their friendship over something so trivial and carnal wouldn't be worth anything. Leaving that there and watching Alexandra wearing his clothes and leaving her aroma on them, Ar'ekk couldn't help but grin.

"You don't look so bad at all. I told you, right?"

A plate with pancakes and toasts were on the table ready for her to devour as she pleased, breakfast was one of his fortes to prepare. He'd wait for a moment before eating, instead walking around the apartment with the coffee mug pressed against his chest. Ar'ekk pondered heavily about the future and other things.

It seemed that was a constant nowadays.

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[Alexandra Feanor]

[member="Arekk"] told her where she could put her clothing and without waiting she did so, dumping them in and sighing. A good shower was certainly what she had needed after the talk last night. Her hands moved to adjust the shirt and eventually she just bundled up a bit in the back and tied it off so it fit a small bit more appropriately. It was only after that that Arekk had said his comment and like before she was taken aback for a moment.

She glanced at him from the side and smiled, a bit more happily now. She didn't know how else to really respond considering things, and the words she had come to choose were not much better either.

"Flattery is a bit below you Arekk... not that it isn't appreciated. It is almost enough for me to think about giving you a kiss... almost." She moved to sit down and looked at him once more, grinning. "Also, thank you for the breakfast Arekk."

 

[Arekk]

LITHIOS​

Ar'ekk Daesharacor's Apartment, Financial District ​

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INTERACTING WITH: [member="Alexandra Feanor"] ​

"You love teasing me, don't you?"

He laughed about her comment, taking a sip from his coffee mug afterwards. Alexandra's breakfast looked and smelled tasty, almost mouth drooling. Ar'ekk wasn't that hungry, specially after last night, where he raided the cupboard for whatever snacks were available and ate until he couldn't take it any more.

Eyes ran down Alexandra's figure as she adjusted herself in his clothes, their large size made her look extremely beautiful. Sure, he wasn't one that flattered many people at once but one in a while wouldn't hurt anyone. Just to lift someone's spirits and nothing concealed behind.

"You're fine. Please, enjoy!"

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[Alexandra Feanor]

[member="Arekk"]

"Maybe a little bit, but I think you took my comments a bit wrong." Her eyes caught his and was rather amused by his looks, choosing to lean forward and grin up at him, waiting for him to react to her grin. After all, he had become very interesting to her, very different than the student she remembered from back when the Order of the Grey was her home.

"IS there something you see that is of your liking? I wonder what it is?" She looked up at him for a few more seconds, purposely grinning a bit wider as she tapped her cheek with the fork and then pushing it into the food below and getting onto eating. There wasn't much more for her to say, not much more for her to do. After all, she had had her fun.

Now was his turn to react.

 

[Arekk]

LITHIOS​

Ar'ekk Daesharacor's Apartment, Financial District ​

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INTERACTING WITH: [member="Alexandra Feanor"] ​

"I know what you meant. Don't worry about it."

Ar'ekk stood his ground when Alexandra leaned in and grinned to him, returning the gesture with an even warmer smirk. Things were vastly different a year forward, the past was already so deeply buried that it couldn't come back to haunt him. Everything was different in his life and hers compared to long ago.

"You have a very natural beauty about you, if you ask me. I don't know what it is."

Sizing her up and down once more while sipping from his mug, he released a short laugh after. He meant what he said, whatever it was, and definitely wouldn't lie in her face about such thing. At this rate, it was more than friendly compliments than anything else.

His eyes were on someone else anyways.

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[Alexandra Feanor]

[member="Arekk"]

She smiled to herself and reached down to readjust the shirt after setting the fork down and nodding.

"Thank you Arekk... Though I think your flattery really is too much. You are going to have me blowing my top at this rate. And I am certain that you would not want to deal with that mess..." She said, trying to hide her reddening face as she tried to figure out some way to turn the conversation away from herself.

"And stop doing that." She said, meaning the way he sized her up and down again and her eyes unable to meet his now.

Yes, they were friends but even that fact did not stop Alexandra from feeling a bit awkward when all of this was pushed onto her mind considering the fact that he was giving her compliments she expected to hear from someone who was far more intimate. Not a former student and good friend.

 

[Arekk]

LITHIOS​

Ar'ekk Daesharacor's Apartment, Financial District ​

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INTERACTING WITH: [member="Alexandra Feanor"] ​

"Your loss, sweetheart."

Since when did Ar'ekk have this type of outgoing personality that just screamed smoothness all over the place? Flourishing like nothing she had seen before, perhaps things change for better when you're not looking or paying enough attention. It was all in good health, though, he loved teasing and mock (in the friendlist of ways!) Alexandra when he had the chance.

"I will stop, alright? You win."

The student-master relationship wasn't even there anymore and even if it did, it was a very short one to even look at each other weirdly. Nevertheless, the conversation and teasing would cease unless Alexandra brough it up again. He just laughed and concealed his smile behind the coffee mug, looking out the window for a brief moment and appreciating the sunrise.

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