There Will Be Cake

[Eugen Aker]

Taking Quicksilver, left over from their Life Day celebration weeks before, Jyoti flew to the the edge of a giant forest under the guidance of Valae who was riding shotgun. Supposedly, her friend her built herself a treehouse somewhere within the forest, well secluded from the rest of the grounds considered part of the Silver Rest. It was a good idea, and Jyoti had wished she had thought of it first, resigning herself to a quiet corner on a lake on the southern end of the Silver Rest.

"Here we are," she reported as she landed the speeder from a slow descent. "I can hardly make anything out past the canopy. You really didn't want anyone to find this place."

After landing, she set the speeder on autopilot and hopped out. The sun was setting, but it was still quite muggy outside, so she slipped out of the top of robes, tying the sleeves around her waist. Already, her alabaster skin had become slick with a light sheen of sweat.

Why couldn't we pick a cooler planet?

Yutan, Yavin, Voss, and now Kashyyyk. One day she wished the Jedi would break their trend for basing their locations on jungle planets. However, the worst culprit had been the New Jedi Order, once based on Sullust, a literal lava planet. A new Sentinel compound had been built on top of its ruins, but she wasn't too keen to visit despite invitations from her Sentinel counterparts within the GA.

"It's not too far, is it?"

She had moved around to the trunk to grab her pack for their secret sleepover. Mostly filled with ingredients dinner for the night. It had been a long time since they could relax together away from their responsibilities to the order. Even then, Jyoti was still jacked into the network through her neural link, ready to drop everything at a moment's notice.

Jedi could never really say they were off the clock.

[member="Valae Kitra"]

 

[Valae Heavenshield]

Even though Life Day had come and gone, Valae had to admit that riding around in the Quicksilver was pretty fun. Enjoying her leisurely ride in the passenger seat, she placed her hands behind her head and relaxed. She also had to admit that it was nice to hang out with her friend again. It had been too long, and the two really hadn’t had much of a chance to re-connect.

Though things were very different now, in a small way, it almost felt like nothing had changed at all.

“That’s the best part about a secret hideaway!” Valae responded with a smile.

Hopping out of the speeder, she waited for Jyoti to gather her things. “Nah, it’s not far at all. C’mon, this way.”

With the Echani at her side, she walked deeper into the forest. The sun was dipping low now, but a bit of evening light still filtered through the branches. It was quite a nice sight; it was one of her favorite parts about living here on Kashyyyk. Before long, Valae paused at the foot of a large evergreen that had a rustic ladder that went up towards the sky.

“Here we are,” She said with a grin as she started up the ladder first.

There was a small porch waiting at the top, complete with two rocking chairs. “Alright, so it’s not a huge space… but it’s very cozy.” She said before opening the door. Inside there were wooden surfaces to match the woodsy exterior. There was a small but tidy kitchen and a dining space that spilled over into the living area. Tucked away towards the back there was a bedroom and small refresher.

Valae moved into the kitchen to start some tea, and glanced over at Jyoti. “This is nice, isn’t it? Just the two of us for a change.”

[member="Jyoti Nooran"]

 

[Eugen Aker]

"True enough, I should have made my own hidey hole when I was Grandmaster," she joked.

When Jyoti didn't want to be found Voss, she often liked to retreat to deep wilderness in her fighter. Now on Kashyyyk it was alone by the lake.

She nodded and followed Valae through the woods, while their air speeder lifted off and returned to the hangars in autopilot mode. Once they were finally set on the path to Valae's treehouse, Jyoti could start to work out a well-worn path through the foliage. She comes here a lot.

She would too, knowing how hard Valae had to work as Grandmaster.

It didn't take too long to reach the tree house, thankfully within an easy walking distance from the clearing. A good thing too, because she had broken out into a full-on sweat from the humidity. She began to use tapas in reverse, sapping the energy from the air molecules in her immediate vicinity to cool the skin.

Finally, Valae's treehouse was revealed to her with a small introduction. Jyoti smiled, finding the small rustic retreat the cutest thing.

"Oh no, this is perfect," she said as she set her pack down on one of the counters in the kitchen area. "It looks super duper cozy! I'm not going to lie, I might make this my new hangout. Well, when Mister Daniels isn't around."

She knew Valae wasn't always here alone, ribbing her a bit on the fact.

"I suppose it has been a while since it was just us on our own," she agreed as she thought about it.

Technically, it was the avatar's first time with Valae alone, but she would humor her friend. She had an easier time dealing with Valkren and Valae when they believed her to just be Arisa with a different skin. Anything to promote stability.

"Since it's been so long, that means you're long due for some of my cooking. Have you ever tried Seoulian cuisine?"

[member="Valae Kitra"]

 

[Valae Heavenshield]

Valae grinned as Jyoti made herself at home in the kitchen, she had secretly been hoping her friend would treat her to some kind of meal or baked good. But the mention of Mister Daniels made Valae blush hard, and she placed her hands on the sides of her face for a moment – an unconscious attempt to hide it.

“Oh, um, yeah.” She scratched the back of her head, and chuckled. “Well, he’s… You know.” Valae stammered, “He’s not here all the time.” Her voice came out a bit higher than she had been anticipating, and she laughed suddenly.

“Look at that, you got me all bashful.” The Jedi healer shook her head and smiled.

And when the topic changed to cooking, Valae came to stand next to the counter. She dabbled in the kitchen, but she wasn’t on the same level as her friend. Her brows lofted curiously.

“Seoulian?” She echoed, and searched her memories. “Nope, never tried it before.”

If she recalled correctly, it was a world way out in First Order territory. She’d only made her way out that way once, and that was a long time ago. As things were now, there’d be no chance for her to visit this world… but at least it seemed that she might get a taste of their cuisine.

“I’d love to have a taste. While you get started, I’ll make us some tea.”

As Valae turned her back to Jyoti to pour water into the kettle, she couldn’t help but think back to Klatooine. Arisa herself had treated her to a rather delicious cake there – the meeting that had sparked their friendship. There was a pang of sadness in her chest as she set the kettle to the heat, but she glanced over her shoulder at Jyoti. Even though the appearance was vastly different, Arisa was still there… she could feel it.

[member="Jyoti Nooran"]

 

[Eugen Aker]

Jyoti giggled as she made Valae blush.

"Oh, I'm sorry, not all of the time. Just most of the time," she teased.

The topic shifted to dinner for the night, Valae wasting no time joining Jyoti at the counter as she began to unpack her bag, cartons full of fresh ingredients mostly gathered from their own hydroponic facilities.

"Shame you've never had any before. Seoul is a nice little planet out in Wild Space. I came across it a few years back while I was on a mission within First Order space. Great entertainment and even better food. There's quite a few Seoulians living on Kiribi too. Have their own enclave they call Joseon"

Once she pulled out all the cartons, she pulled out her phone to show Valae some dishes with detailed recipes.

"So, I plan on fixing Haemul Pajeon and AnDong JjimDak for dinner, and for dessert, we're having Hotteok with some vanilla ice cream I made earlier today. How does that sound?"

[member="Valae Kitra"]

 

[Valae Heavenshield]

The kettle sat peacefully on the burner, and Valae turned back towards Jyoti. Gently taking her friend’s phone, she scrolled through the recipes she planned on making. Her chestnut eyes widened slightly as she gazed down at the pictures – two dishes seemed to be of the pancake variety. Taking a closer look, she saw that the one called Pajeon was usually a savory dish, while Hotteok was sometimes a sweet dessert. It was different, but interesting. She’d never met a dessert she didn’t like.

“Mmm,” She handed the phone back, “All of it looks great, I’m excited to try.”

Leaning over the counter, she lifted the package of noodles that would be used for their main dish.

“You’ll have to take me there someday – to Joseson, that is.” She smiled. As the kettle soon began to whistle, she turned to grab a couple of mugs. Valae placed a few tea bags inside the cups, a nice herbal blend that she’d discovered here on Kashyyyk. It wasn’t fancy loose-leaf stuff, but she knew that Jyoti wouldn’t mind.

“So, tell me… You been settling in alright here?” She tilted her head to the side, “Heard you’ve taken on quite a number of new apprentices.”

[member="Jyoti Nooran"]