Visiting Hours (Mallisi)

[Evard L'Rik]

(Took me forever, but this is only a couple of months after the last one, IC... I actually forgot >_<)​

​

Evard L'Rik was many things... Once a Sith, now a Republic privateer. Once lost, now found. Once an innocent child, now down an arm and a leg and shooting things up for a living. One of these things that could be used to describe him was... asleep? Yes, ladies and gentlemen... Our diminutive hero was crashed out on a chair in the lobby of the Jedi Shadow Temple on Ossus.

If the thought, what a stupid place to sleep, is going through your head... You're right. That was an astonishingly bad place to sleep, as proven by the gorilla-like Jedi Guardian standing over the little blonde man. The poor, hapless, Guardian poked Evard and raised his voice to a low shout.

"Ya' can't sit here, ya runt!"

Runt.

That was all Evard needed to wake him up... But the poor fool who woke him suddenly flew across the lobby, landing on a table that cracked under his weight. The little blonde man grinned evily at the Jedi, and sniggered.

"That's what you get. I'm not a runt, you gorilla."

[member='Mallisi Kyrgen']

 

[Ahe'Rain Sekairo]

The Jedi Temple was certainly an unwise location for one to take a nap in, all things considered. It was a place of activity above all else, and the chances of an out of place individual being noticed and swiftly escorted off the premises were high. On top of that, most of those that inhabited the building didn't appreciate visitors just waltzing in and out as they pleased as if they owned the grounds. It was a special place in their eyes, and not one to be undermined by someone such as this. And so most individuals were met with a quick retribution. One thing that didn't hurt was to have someone within the Temple that knew and could vouch for you.

In Evard's case, Mallisi was just that person.

Interrupted in her studies by faint tremorings in the Force that were somehow familiar and alien at the same time, those of the latter sort belonging to the Jedi that had just recently been thrown across the room, unbeknownst to her. If anything, it begged investigating, if not just due to her instant recognition of one of those responsible. It wasn't often anything terribly interesting or worth noting occurred at the Temple, besides the occasional lesson that took her either offworld or focused on methods that had been previously unexplored, her life had been relatively monotonous and uneventful. This was hopefully a change for the better.

Meandering her way slowly to the main floor, she paused in the doorway, slowly taking in the scene before her. When one considered just who had instigated the scuffle, it wasn't really surprising, and the grin on the blonde male's face spoke volumes about it with no words having to be exchanged. This was going to require some creative explaining later.

"I think there's a better way to go about making introductions, Evard."

[member="Evard L'Rik"]

 

[Evard L'Rik]

Evard's smile brightened as he turned to see Mallisi glaring at him. And then he totally ruined whatever apology he was about to make by laughing until his lungs were numb. He actually collapsed back onto the chair, and looked up to see the big Jedi's bewildered stare. That only made him laugh harder. When he finally caught his breath, he winked at Mallisi and futilely tried to salvage some kind of explanation.

"That's actually the guy who kicked me out when I tried to get in that time a couple months ago. Y'know that time I dyed my hair black and me and Jemmila were extremely stealthy, or whatever? I've been waiting to pay him back for that."

The blonde Hapan walked over to the big man, who simply waved him away and sighed at the broken remains of the table he'd landed on. Then he turned around and threw Evard back across the room, into the chair again, totally winding the small-ish blonde. He called out behind him as he walked away.

"Nobody calls me a gorilla, runt."

Evard slowly stood up from the chair, and took a bow towards Mallisi before walking up and squeezing her hand.

"Your Hapan, m'lady."

[member="Mallisi Kyrgen"]

 

[Ahe'Rain Sekairo]

Unable to stop a smile as Evard took her hand, Mallisi squeezed his gently in return, pulling him into a hug. Though she would be hard-pressed in admitting it to anyone other than him, she had missed the Hapan more than anything. It was a strange sort of bond they'd formed, and she had only just begun classifying it as a relationship mere months earlier. It was situations such as this she had little experience in. In fact, anything that didn't involve her studies in some form or another was alien to her in a certain way. It wasn't a good thing by any means, but a fact of life all the same.

Finally releasing him, the same smile stayed on her lips. "I missed you. You need to visit more often." Her voice was soft, inaudible to anyone not in the immediate area, and a warmth all but glowed in her amber feline eyes. This was one that held a special place in her heart, and it was obvious to any onlookers that it was so. Anything else could wait until later, because for the moment she wanted to focus on nothing more than spending time with him. And maybe this time they would finally get that chance.

"What have you been up to, these past few months?" Unlike herself, living a fairly isolated life within the Jedi Temple, focused on her studies, he was always about the galaxy, and likely had a tale or two to tell. If they were granted time, perhaps they would be able to travel off-planet for a few hours or more, just to get away from things. "I wouldn't doubt that my life has been boring in comparison."

[member="Evard L'Rik"]

 

[Evard L'Rik]

Evard smiled as Mallisi pulled him into the hug he'd been wanting to feel for weeks. Just having her close was enough for him to be ha.ppy the whole rest of the day. When he finally pulled back a little bit, the blonde Hapan just stared into her eyes.

"I missed you, too, Mally-cat. Don't worry about me visiting, though... I'll be coming to see you a lot more, now. I can take you out like a guy normally takes his girlfriend out."

He put an arm around her waist and jokingly spun them both around as if they were dancing to music nobody could hear. He was happy enough to be holding Mallisi like this, and the idea of spending the day with her made him feel like he was going to explode with happiness.

"Well, Your Furry Jedi-ness, I've been blowing things up in that silvery ship of mine... for freedom!"

[member="Mallisi Kyrgen"]

 

[Ahe'Rain Sekairo]

Laughing quietly when he spun them around, Mallisi rested her head on his chest, listening silently as he spoke, not quite putting the dots together for a moment, simply enjoying being near him. This was a rare moment when she felt truly at peace despite being in the Temple of all places, and one she wanted to take time to enjoy. Still, it was obvious to her with his last sentence that he'd likely joined the Republic, something that both surprised and amused her. After his dismissal of the group at their first meeting, she hadn't expected him to be showing sympathies anytime soon.

Slowly, almost unwillingly she raised her head to once more look him in the eyes, smiling slowly as she came to the revelation. "If you're implying what I think you are, then I have to say I'm surprised. I never thought you'd join the Republic. Least of all any time in the near future." Her smile widened, taking on something of a teasing edge. "Or maybe it's just so you could have an excuse to come around more often, not that I'm complaining. That just means you won't have to sneak around anymore, or have another scuffle with your friend."

With that same smile she pressed a kiss to his cheek. "What did you have in mind this time? Any particular escapades I should know about?"

[member="Evard L'Rik"]

 

[Evard L'Rik]

Evard grinned back, running his left hand through Mallisi's hair. Having her here, this close to him, was definitely more relaxing than anything he could have thought to try for himself. When he felt the kiss on his cheek, he laughed and kissed her on the nose.

"Oh, no... I'm just a freelance pilot, basically. Still gives me an excuse, which is all I was looking for. You're still the only Jedi I like, and my ship is still better than any of the junk they tried to push on me."

The blonde Hapan put his mouth near the Cathar girl's ear and lowered his voice to a whisper.

"Escapades, huh? Nothing specific, Mally-cat... Maybe we could just go to town for a bit."

[member="Mallisi Kyrgen"]

 

[Ahe'Rain Sekairo]

Scrunching her nose up at the kiss, Mallisi found no issue with anything Evard likely had planned. Of course, part of it was simply because the two hadn't been able to spend much time around each other, if at all, in the past weeks, and she'd missed just his company more than anything. Her mentors could say all they wished about the danger of attachments, but if they made her as happy as this, then there couldn't be much issue with them, in her eyes. This was far preferable to doting away on her studies with nothing else to concern herself with. It wasn't that it necessarily bored her, but having something to look forward to definitely brightened her days.

His suggestion about going into town did nothing but pique her interest. Being confined to the Temple was hardly her favorite part of her training, and some time away would be beneficial. "Freelance, yet it sounds like you've been fighting for the Republic more than anything." She raised an eyebrow with a half-smile. "I'm afraid I can't see you in any type of military uniform, but I'm sure you'd look great." That last statement was accompanied by more of a softer smile.

"I've not had a chance to venture much past the Temple grounds, so a little trip would be nice."

[member="Evard L'Rik"]

 

[Evard L'Rik]

"Ah, no... You'll never see me in any uniform, let alone a Republic one."

Evard smiled wider and squeezed Mallisi's hand. He knew that when he wasn't around, his lovely cat-lady just shut herself away with books and studied. But that wasn't the best thing, really, even for a Jedi. Their code warned against attachment, and shied away from emotion, but it really didn't account for what was good for the individual people following it. And one of those individual people happened to be the only person he still cared about.

"Well, my beautiful cat... Let's go get some coffee, and then maybe we can go dance a little. Everything's open, already."

[member="Mallisi Kyrgen"]

 

[Ahe'Rain Sekairo]

There was a moment of pause in which Mallisi tried her best to imagine Evard in anything close to a standard uniform. While she certainly didn't mind the idea, she knew that the chances of that ever occurring were very slim to none, if that. He was of the casual sort, not that it bothered her. The two were near complete opposites in a number of ways, something that came to light mostly in their philosophical sort of discussions, as they'd had at their first meeting. But in other ways, such as this, they were one in the same.

The idea of just talking with him was enough for her, as she had no real idea of what the two of them would do in town. It wasn't that she was entirely unaware of how life outside the Temple functioned, as she'd lived in your average society with her older sister for years before leaving for the Jedi, but this was something of a new experience now that she was older. "That sounds like a great idea to me. What is it you had in mind for our time together afterwards? I'm afraid I don't know much of what there is to do here outside of what everyday life has been."

With a slow smile, she continued, "And you'd look great in a uniform, whether you'll admit it or not."

[member="Evard L'Rik"]

 

[Evard L'Rik]

Evard closed his eyes and hugged Mallisi closer. He didn't really care what they did all that much. Coffee was an excuse to sit down and talk for a while, and dancing was an excuse to be close for even longer than that, without feeling like he was imposing on his girlfriend. So he took her hand, smiling, and gently led her towards the front door of the temple.

"Well, it doesn't matter to me what we do later. I just want to have some fun with you while neither of us have anything more important to do."

And then he muttered something under his breath about girly fantasy heroes.

[member="Mallisi Kyrgen"]

 

[Ahe'Rain Sekairo]

During the hug Mallisi closed her eyes as well, relaxing into his arms for as long as it lasted, smiling once they pulled apart. Tugging gently on his hand and moving them along just a bit faster out of the Temple, she slowed her pace once the doors slid smoothly shut behind them, a sound of finality for the moment. Now that they were officially out of the building, the chances of being caught and subsequently reprimanded for her activities were slim to none, unless someone was particularly keen on security, which she didn't anticipate. "There are some people that would rather I didn't leave unless it's with another Jedi. Of course, that rule doesn't obviously work out most times." She smiled at that.

Raising an eyebrow at the quiet mumblings, she shot him a quizzical look. "Something on your mind?" Again she squeezed his hand. "You know you can tell me anything. We can just go to your ship and talk for awhile, if you want. I'm just happy to be around you. It isn't like we have to do anything special for no reason. Talking like this is more than enough for me." It might have been nothing, but it was always better to be safe rather than sorry about it later.

"And you know that being with you always takes precedent."

[member="Evard L'Rik"]

 

[Evard L'Rik]

Evard laughed loudly and squeezed Mallisi's hand back. He could understand why she was walking on eggshells around him, and it made him want to hug her even more. She hadn't been around for the gradual change that had happened to him: The Sith Lord's retreat into further corners of the Hapan's consciousness, as well as a string of well-paying jobs that could very easily pay for the movement of Royale Station into Republic space. All in all, he was coming back to her in much better spirits than he had been in when they first met, and much more accepting of the fact that he couldn't do anything about his family's dissapearance.

"I was just joking with myself, Mally-cat. I'd appropriate a uniform if you wanted to see me in one so badly."

He intertwined his metal fingers with hers, and gave her arm a gentle tug.

"Well, then... Let's go get something, maybe sit down a while... You can tell me all about your glorious Master Kiar."

Evard stuck his tongue out and gently squeezed Mallisi's hand again.

[member="Mallisi Kyrgen"]

 

[Ahe'Rain Sekairo]

With a smile Mallisi gently nuzzled him, a sound reminiscent of a purr humming in the back of her throat. It was a bit new for her to have someone to talk to and confide in, besides her older sister. Her adopted sibling had been strangely quiet lately, not bothering to keep in touch and all but disappearing from the face of the galaxy as if she had never existed in the first place. So it was welcome, but at the same time strange, to have Evard there for her. "I'm sure you'd be absolutely delighted to hear all about my training and what I've learned from Master Karr. I can't imagine you'd want to know about anything different." Of course, she knew that was hardly the truth, given his disregard for the Jedi ways. Teasing him was a bit fun, though.

It didn't take long for his ship to come into sight, and once they boarded she visibly relaxed, not having to bother keeping up appearances around the others of the Temple now that they were alone. Sitting down in what she assumed to be the commons area she motioned to the open spot next to her. "I don't think I'd force you into a uniform if you didn't want to wear one. It's amusing enough to have the mental image, and besides, you look perfect just the way you are. Uniform or not, you know my opinion will never change." It was a bit of flattery, sure, but true nonetheless. He could deny it all she wanted, but she was a bit too stubborn to give in so easily.

Pausing for a moment, she decided then to bring to light all that she'd been pondering in the time since the two of them had been together. "Evard, I've been thinking about leaving the Jedi..."

[member="Evard L'Rik"]

 

[Evard L'Rik]

Evard sat down next to Mallisi, running a hand over her cheek as he did. But then he heard what had been bothering his girlfriend, and he leaned his head on her shoulder, able to completely relax now that they were here. It worried him a little that she was planning to leave the Order after arguing with him so fervently about it the first time they met.

"Mally-cat... Don't leave on my account. I'd love it if you came with me, but you have to make sure that that's what you were going to do, anyway. I only left my training 'cause that Sith in my head was going to kill me. Otherwise, I would've stayed out of their fights and simply tried to get trained when I could."

He put his arms around her and found himself feeling happy about the chance that Mallisi might come with him, but a little bit sad that she was thinking about giving her current life up to do it.

"I love you, but... what would you do with you life if you didn't have the Jedi?"

[member="Mallisi Kyrgen"]