Whistles of the Bladed Grass

[The Red of Sinner]

Theed was both beautiful and yet terrifying in it's own rights to someone such as Tarion who had never ventured out past beyond the system of Kashi. This new culture, this whole new world made Tarion realize how small and insignificant Kashi was compared to the rest of the galaxy. The people here were nice, and greeted the new comer with excitement. Tarion opted it was probably best to not reveal that he was the prince of the Kashi Mer Dynasty, and better to just pretend to be another tourist of Naboo. It was also here that he realized that there were split cultures, the Gungans were very different from the people of Naboo. Tarion could only best describe from what he had heard as them being very mystical...or spiritual, one of the two.

It was not too long after site seeing most of the city of Theed that Tarion decided it was time for a break. Planting himself on a bench that found itself before a water fountain, the young man leaned back. So much information to take in at once was sometimes too much, even it was simple data. His long black hair was up in a ponytail, mirroring the common fashion of Kashi while his robes also mirrored that he was no local. Earring danced in the soft breeze that began to play with his ears. Shutting his blue eyes from the world, he embraced the common notion that this was nice, and relaxing.

[member="Aya Clarke"]

 

[Aya Clarke]

Spoiler

Soul searching was hard work, to say the least. As part of it she had opted not to sleep in the city proper, and her poor choice resulted in quite the pained back in the morning. Still, it was hard to deny that she felt far better for it, as she wandered through Theed's streets with her large pack. She'd spent a good several hours packing up her little campsite, putting out the little fire she'd made and ensuring her armor wouldn't be too loud in the large pack. Yet even so, it clanked softly in the large bag she carried, drawing more than a few eyes to her as she made her way.

That was fine, however. Eyes drawn to her bothered her none, as she fixed her dress's sleeves. She could deal with that just fine. Soon enough the well built woman found herself next to a fountain, and set her bag down next to a bench nearby. There was another individual already seated there, however it was plenty large enough for the both of them with some space to spare. The bag made a bit of a more obvious sound as she placed it down, and she ran her fingers through her hair with a sight before taking a seat..

She too obviously did not belong. Her dress was elegant enough, yes, but that in combination with her clearly muscular body underneath contrasted with what one might expect out of the locals..

[member="Tarion Daemora"]

 

[The Red of Sinner]

The sound of bustling people and running of water was interrupted by a blunt thud sound to which startled the young prince. With a flinch his eyes jarred open to the direction of the noise only to see a woman in a elegant dress to his side. As he took in the details of her dress, hair, and even the way she sat, Tarion could tell she was much like him, a foreigner of Naboo. It was interesting to see such a collection of cultures wishing to visit one place, though he had heard a planet called Coruscant had more for him than Naboo ever could hope to attract.

His silver blue eyes continued to observe his disturber of his break, not upset but curious as to whom she was and where she came from. More so, Tarion pondered as to what the thud sound could have been, obviously something in the bag beside her, but unknown as to the contents within.

"Beautiful is not, that such peace can be found with some much business all around?" His Kashi accent came out strong.

[member="Aya Clarke"]

 

[Aya Clarke]

Aya raised an eyebrow at first, turning her head slightly to look over the stranger speaking. It made sense of course, she'd disturbed his rest and he had all the right to converse with her. Still, it was his attire she was taking in more than anything. It was strange to her, but more so out of the fact she did not recognize from where he hailed. The robes didn't appear jedi, or sith for that matter, so she was at ease on that front. That would've been quite the difficult exchange, had she come to that particular conclusion.

No, he seemed to simply be a traveler, like herself perhaps. He looked well kept, so perhaps she was no different from him. So she offered a small nod, before speaking. Curiously, her accent sounded almost like that of a twi'lek, despite clearly being a human, if you could make out her soft-spoken words. "My mother always told me stories of places like this, small respites amid the galaxies busiest centers. She called them the second most beautiful things in the galaxy. She was absolutely right." She smiled lightly at him, before turning her gaze back to the fountain.

"You can hardly tell the galaxy is tearing itself apart, can you?"

[member="Tarion Daemora"]

 

[The Red of Sinner]

[member="Aya Clarke"]

Most certainly not from here, her accent was nothing he had heard before, though, he had only heard of little of the outside galaxy from being so..sheltered, though he wouldn't use that word strongly. He quite liked the way she spoke though, it was interesting and drew in his attention from her attire to her eyes, now feeling more like he was being spoken to by someone of noble birth rather than a commoner.

Tarion began to realize she had just let him in a little, a smudge but it was something. Speaking about one's parents was a background of one's life, and the young man could relate. His father had told him many stories of the outside worlds, many were beautiful, many were terrifying.

"Yes, I remember my father speaking of beautiful worlds outside Kashi, though I have never been anywhere else but home. You could say this is my first time leaving the nest."

The concept that war had existed, that major political parties had ravaged the galaxy just recently disturbed Tarion. He could not imagine it.

"A galaxy at war...I know very little to nothing about it, but the concept....is bewildering."

 

[Aya Clarke]

"Saddening more so than bewildering. The galaxy at war, it'll tear itself apart. Such heartache and pain, that it should become commonplace is heartbreaking to say the least." She sighed gently, shaking her head. To her people the news of the galaxy's many warring factions, and their many, many violent epidemics, had appalled them greatly. They themselves had only recently come to terms with their own violent past, under the tyrannical four hundred years of dark, yet even that paled compared to the atrocities of recent memory in the galaxy at large.

And the man beside her offered a peek into his own life. Kashi? It wasn't a name she recognized, sadly. Then again, until today she hadn't much concerned herself with the galaxy beyond her own home, that was a matter for lieges, for monarchs. Still, she could recognize that seemed as new to the galaxy as she was. It was almost comforting not to be alone in the strangeness of the galaxy...

How was it that most people introduced themselves again? Ah yes... she slowly turned around to the man, and somewhat awkwardly offered her hand to him, like a hand shake, that was how most people had introduced themselves to her, strange as it seemed at times. She was far more used to more formal introductions.. "Ser Clarke of Kalis..." she offered her name to [member="Tarion Daemora"].

 

[The Red of Sinner]

It would seem that the two had many things in common in the way they thought, the way they moved was similar too. Alien as to how to interact with those unfamiliar to them. Whatever had caused the galaxy to irrupt in such needless violence, Tarion knew that it had probably been childish desires that edged on to the needs of the carnal wants of living beings. Too much power did that to people, it twisted, and distorted their image till they were no longer recognizable.

The end brought to it, and a sudden peace, or what could be considered more peaceful compared to when the galaxy had more in it, now found these two meeting. A hand that didn't quite know what it was doing reached out to Tarion as [member="Aya Clarke"] introduced herself. He smiled back, ignorant of what the meant exactly, her title.

"Tarion Deamora, Prince of Kashi."

He knew well enough what this was, a shake, so he gripped her hand tenderly like a prince should any woman.

"Please, educate me, is Ser your first name, or title? What is Kalis?"

The young man was always eager to learn when he did not know things. This was one of those times.

 

[Aya Clarke]

There was much you could tell from a handshake, Aya had come to learn. She may not be used to the gesture, but in her time here she had come to understand why this particular ritual of sorts was commonplace. The way he held her hand to shake was tender, soft, it betrayed both his nobility (though his words as well worked to confirm) and his upbringing. It gave her the sense she was expected to be, perhaps not frail, but far more dainty, more akin to a noble in the eyes of the public at large. Similarly, the man would quickly realize much of her in the same instant. Her grip was firm, and strong. Confident. It betrayed her training, her muscular physique, it made her 'warrior' like nature far more clear, though she herself despised to be considered by such a simple word.

She bowed her head with a small smile, and retracted her arm. "A pleasure, Prince Daemora." Then of course, his questions. He was certainly eager to learn, and she would be one to indulge. She loved to teach those willing to listen, after all. "Ser is my title, my actual first name is Aya. My people defer to titles given their weight in our culture, we're heavily stratified. I worked hard to earn my title. As for Kalis, it is the name of the kingdom to which I belong. Kalis City is the capital, and it is the strongest, largest kingdom on my homeworld. And, forgive me for asking, but what is Kashi? I have not heard the name before."

[member="Tarion Daemora"]

 

[The Red of Sinner]

[member="Aya Clarke"]

It was nice to be around someone who found themselves in a similar situation like his own.As he felt her own worth in the shaking of their hands, Tarion began to listen as she answered his questions. Surely this place was a path on his journey to one day visit, to give his respect to his new found friend here. The young also knew, this woman was much older than him, having more experience then him as well. Maybe he could learn something from her one day. So many thoughts ran thru his head as she spoke, questions that rose with each revelation.

But he knew to keep silent, and let the woman speak. What bewildered him the most was the own interest in his planet.

"We are a small planet found in the Outer Rim. We colonized it to fit our needs as our original planet was destroyed many, many eons ago. Nu Kashi is the planet now, home of the Kashi Dynasty. We are a spiritual people, I born as the sole heir to my father's throne, have been tasked to "live life" before I can sit upon it with his approval. We are much like your people actually. Which surprises me."

His smile grew as he spoke, realizing the similarities seemed to continued to grow on the list. It was truly refreshing.

 

[Aya Clarke]

"More so than I would expect, yes. Though I would doubt you share most of our practices, many of which are centered around succession of power and our tradition of honor. For instance, while it is expected our good King to pass his throne along to his children, come his time to leave, it is not a certainty. The throne of Kalis respects our system of respect and power more so than a bloodline. The throne belongs to the one who holds the most respect and confidence in their ability to guide the people, not the prince or princess." She chuckled lightly, glancing off to the side, down at the bag containing her arms and armor.

"Why, even a low ranking noble such as myself could gain the throne, should enough of the other knights and laboring sarifs find me competent enough to lead. Though it would take many oaths, on my part and theirs, before the people could name me a liege, let alone the reigning monarch." She sighed quietly and rubbed her neck. "Sorry, I get distracted sometimes when I talk of home..." She offered a small, apologetic smile. Her thoughts were constantly returning to home, the more she thought of it the more she lost her train of thought. And today poor [member="Tarion Daemora"] was the recipient of her homesickness.

 

[The Red of Sinner]

[member="Aya Clarke"] had a lot to say, and Tarion was happy to listen to her words on it all. So much knowledge to consume at once, the prince was sure his brain would pop, but he enjoyed it too much to stop her. Finally with a big smile, he leaned back, letting his composure slack as he slid down in his seat some.

"And here you are, wishing to touch to soil of your home once more, if not for just a second. I completely understand. The government body of Nu Kashi works a bit different, so long as the Deamora bloodline has a heir, it is to continue ruling till it can no longer. My father was almost ready to give up and give it to one of the members of the Jar Dun Council...they are our highest ranking nobles, deemed honorable enough to rule our people should the need rise, otherwise they advise the king."

He stopped for a moment, taking in the view of it all. Then stood up.

"I wish to seem Naboo's more natural side...less commoners, more nature...care to join me?"

 

[Aya Clarke]

"Honor is scarce in this Galaxy, it's certainly refreshing to learn it blossoms in other gardens besides my own." She gave a small nod, and straightened her dress as she stood up. To spend more time out in the nature of Naboo? Well, she certainly wouldn't object. Reaching under the bench, she picked up the heavy bag, the little clanking of metal even more obvious as she slung it over her shoulder, hooking her arms through the bag's straps to keep it secure. She gave the man a smile, and offered a polite curtsy. "I would be honored, Prince Daemora. Would you care to lead the way?"

[member="Tarion Daemora"]