Ask Ziost Bumpy Bumpy

[Celeste Stythani]

After one training session, was before the next one. After lightsaber combat training came physical exercising and so even though she wasn't fulfilling degrading tasks here, Celeste was busy with her retraining. Time went by quickly and when she finished the last of today's sessions, she was rather exhausted.

Not that she hadn't been in shape before, but she was getting pushed to her limits again, which was still a thrilling feeling, but whenever she finally finished, her muscles kept trembling from the strain for some more time. She was done with today's training and was still wearing her short, bottomless top and her black leggins, hair still up in a sporty braid.

She had lost track of time, and so she wasn't sure whether it was late afternoon or early evening, but the sun already stood low on the horizon when she left the training room. She was busy untangling her hair from the braid and not paying too much attention to where exactly she was going, and that was when she accidentally bumped into somehow right in the corridor. "Oh...I'm sorry! That was my bad" she immediately apologized politely, her light blue gaze flicking up towards the stranger she had just bumped into. She stopped where she was, her assigned security droid stopping right after her.

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Atrix]

Varyn's days at Ziost were filled with a mix of training recruits and doing his own review work of ISB intelligence. That latter part sounded interesting but was actually quite boring. Scrolling through endless bits of information day after day was mind-numbing, but it was "necessary work" he'd been told.

His face was in his datapad as he walked down the hall. His eyes darted up to make sure his path was clear and then flicked back to the report in his hand. He missed the woman who appeared out of nowhere and promptly walked right straight into her.

Ohoof, he said, snorting and taking a step back. Sorry, I was looking at my... he said, but looked up before he finished the sentence.

Oh, hey Celeste! he said.

@LadyRen

 

[Celeste Stythani]

She was half-expecting to have walked into a rather grumpy Officer or whatever again and was already assuming to be either yelled at or insulted, but no, her little random bump turned out to be something or rather someone far more pleasant.

"Varyn!" she remarked, obviously positively suprised. A warm smile immediately crossed her lips as she glanced up at him, slightly amused over the fact that he, too, had been a bit distracted.

But then another thought crossed her mind: Damn was he expecting her to adress him formally? With Altair she had to do that as long as someone else was around, but right now there was luckily no one else in that corridor anywhere.

It was not like she hadn't recently seen him, but she was still really happy to see a friendly face. "You look busy...are you still working or do you have the night of, too?" she curiosly asking him, her initial exhaustion immediately forgotten somehow.

 

[Varyn Atrix]

Varyn was glad to see a familiar face even if she was under serious suspicion. Honestly, though, was that anything new to him? He knew a thing or two about being under suspicion. Or at least in his head.

He tried to keep his eyes up and off of the rather... attractive clothing she wore, even if that wasn't really the intention they had. Hadn't she had a husband or boyfriend when he'd last seen her on Rattatak? There was someone there she was living with because he'd had to time his entrance with when the man wasn't home. He hadn't seen anyone like that around her since she'd gotten here.

Meeh, I'm always busy, he said, closing his datapad and sliding it away. You know Sith: we don't really keep business hours, he said. He wondered to himself how her training was going and if she actually managed to find any spare time to do... anything.

Just getting done? Busy day, then? he asked.

@LadyRen

 

[Celeste Stythani]

She couldn't ignore his gaze that quickly flicked over to the droid that was always in tow wherever she went there, but after all that had happened within the last few months or even years, she couldn't blame them for being extra careful.

Despite doing well, she obviously hadn't gained their full tryst and so she had a metal companion with her, who, however, didn't even bother her in most cases. She was still actively ignoring its presence because being followed was weird enough, regardless of the fact that it was just a droid though.

The smile that was on her face slowly turned into a smirk when she briefly watched his eyes wander downwards. She herself hadn't even noticed that she well...hadn't changed yet, but at least bed attire wasn't uncomfortable or anything.

What he said about the business hours made her chuckle because she often appreciated such a dry humor. "True..." she amusedly remarked, however she knew damn well how it felt to work day and night...She couldn't actually help but to wonder whether he was not at least managing to get some free time in the evenings.

"Oh yes, I've just finished the last session of today, so now I'm actually more or less done for today", she then replied, "the days are indeed rather packed and I'm often relatively exhausted, but today I'm rather fine". She didn't quite know how, but she really felt her energy returning.

A sudden thought crossed her mind and after knowing that he was indeed...different and much warmer than most, she didn't bother just speaking it out a loud. "Despite you being busy, is there any chance you'll have at least some free time tonight?". Her tone wasn't necessarily flirtatious, but she was indeed happy about the idea of just hanging out for a bit...They had gotten along rather well in training in so some actual socializing wouldn't hurt, she thought. Considering her position and the way many treated her, that was a rather bold attempt, but it somehow felt right...

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Atrix]

Varyn could imagine how busy her days were. Time in the academy was typically packed with classes during the acolyte period... though she was in kind of an ambiguous point before even truly being an acolyte... maybe? Varyn wasn't really sure and it wasn't really his problem to figure it out to be honest.

Anything interesting you learned today? he asked. He had no idea what her days were like other than saber practice and he was terrible at small talk...

Free time to do what? he asked, eyebrow quirking up and answering in that shifty way he did when he wasn't really sure he wanted to commit to anything. He already had so much on his plate he wasn't sure about adding on more saber training sessions or something.

@LadyRen

 

[Celeste Stythani]

He seemed a bit contemplative and she was really curious about what was on his mind. She also not asking though, as she was unfortunately not in the position to do so. In general, she would have acted much more like herself as she hadn't been stuck in this admittedly difficult situation, but there was nothing she could do to change that now anyway.

His question made her smirk, because it somehow seemed like he felt almost obligated to ask that or that he couldn't actually come up with a better small talk question. "I wouldn't say I learnt anything new today. My muscles are definitely sore, I had some good exercising and I refreshed my weaponless, close combat skills". True, that was something she had definitely practices today. "Did you manage to beat up more acolytes today?" This time, a rather cheeky question just slipped out, because the lightened mood between them made it easier for her to act much more natural somehow. She wasn't sure whether this had been a smart move though, but was hoping his dry humor would match again.

From his next reaction reaction she assumed that he was either not interested in casually socializing or that his right schedule didn't actually allow it. "Oh I was thinking about doing something fun...as you can see, my possibilities are rather limited" she jutted her chin towards the droid that towered behind her, "but if you're too busy, that's obviously fine anyway. I was just thinking that maybe we could do something that is not training related" Doing something different would not only give her the chance to take her mind and body off things, but she also needed some sort of a break anyway.

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Atrix]

Varyn frowned slightly as she said that she didn't learn anything today. That sounded... productive. No, useless. The word he was looking for was "useless." Oh, well she clarified that she brushed up on some old skills so maybe not totally useless.

Yeah, a little in the morning. Afternoon's been... less interesting stuff, he said, his voice sounding ever bit as thrilled as one might imagine based on his answer.

He listened as she talked about doing something fun, and frankly, he wasn't really sure what that would be, but it didn't sound like the worst thing in the world.

Sure, I could probably take a break for a bit, he said. After all, what else was he going to do? Keep working?

He glanced over at the security droid who looked like he was just a barrel of fun and then back at Celeste.

I see you've got a chaperone. Nice, he said jokingly, but quite deadpan. I need to get food. Cafs just around the corner, he said, jutting a hand out at the small food-court type area available to the academy.

@LadyRen

 

[Celeste Stythani]

He didn't overly enthusiastic about the things he did himself, but the first part of his answer was indeed a bit amusing. It still wasn't hard to tell that his afternoon had obviously been rather uneventful, but his dry pessimism was definitely obvious.

She was positively surpised by him agreeing with her and her smile immediately widened, although the conversation immediately shifted to her friendly companion. "Yeah, we're getting along great!" she replied jokingly, which the droid didn't comment at all because he usually wasn't very talkative anyway.

"Yes, sounds good. Let's start there" she then agreed, turning and starting to walk without even reconsidering her current attire again. Maybe a shower and a change of clothes wouldn't have been too bad, but when he wanted food first, she wouldn't complain."So are you just training the older acolytes? Or the young ones, too?" she asked him out of curiosity. It wasn't her plants keep sticking to the subject of work, but the thought of him instructing the young ones slightly amused her.

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Atrix]

Varyn was not exactly overflowing with excitement after his day, but no one really wanted to be around a downer, so he tried to perk up a bit as they started heading off in the direction of the caf. Of course, this probably required small talk, which was probably part of the issue he was having.

Well, on the bright side, he did like fencing, so talking about fencing wasn't so bad.

I mostly teach upper level courses, he said with a shake of his head. Most anyone could teach the initiates. 'This is the point end, don't stab yourself with it,' he said, clearly unamused by that prospect.

I mostly teach advanced techniques, upper level acolytes and new graduated champions, he said. And he was glad for it. The initial acolytes he had taught who died on Korriban didn't even know the most rudimentary things about a lightsaber, it was no surprise they had died.

He wondered when exactly he had become so callous about their deaths? Sometimes I get stuck teaching new people, though, he admitted.

 

[Celeste Stythani]

She couldn't shake the feeling that she had just 'invited' someone who wasn't 100% sociable and someone who lost himself in pessimism rather often. His remark about the initiates was rather comical though and so it actually made her chuckle once again.

"Well yeah, but I bet it's not just that. I bet once they figure that out, I bet boisterous behavior isn't uncommon". Oh it wasn't hard to imagine how the young acolytes recklessly started burning each other with their first training sabers with absolute amusement.

It didn't surpise her that he was responsible for advanced training though, as he had already proven to her how capable he was. She still actively ignored the droid that followed her like a shadow, but it clearly was as if someone was constantly eavesdropping. "That actually sounds like fun" she admitted with a genuine smile, wondering whether - despite his rather unthrilled demeanor - did usually enjoy his work. In their first session he had proven that to some extent, but he still seemed to be someone who rather rarely smiled.

Was that last comment regarding to their situation though? She couldn't help but to wonder. "Is that a complaint?" she asked with a smirk, playfully tilting hed head to the side, obviously referring to the fact that he was stuck with her for a bit, too. Was it possible to bring out a truly fun side in him? Challenge accepted.

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Atrix]

Varyn's cringed slightly at the thought of the children's "boisterous behavior." That's why they have training blades, he said. He could just imagine how many of them would end up impaling one another or otherwise removing limbs.

Yeah, I enjoy doing the more advanced saber work, he said with a nod. So most of it isn't so bad. Work's work, but it's work that I enjoy at least, he said.

Varyn continued walking on as they reached caf area, snorting slightly as she asked if he was complaining. Not about you, don't worry, he said. Yes because saying "about these other students I had who got killed" would really keep the mood up.

Anyway, he said, waving a hand through the air. It's pretty good work most of the time, he said.

So what's your average day look like then? I haven't been on probation before, he said, mentally adding a "yet" after that sentence. Other than being stalked by droids, he said, jutting a finger back behind them both.

@LadyRen

 

[Celeste Stythani]

"Yeah...even theh can hurt and I don't want to know how many try that out" she replied, slightly rolling her eyes at the fact that she could literally see them doing that. On Raxus, she had once dropped stuff off in a younger class of acolytes and there constant bantering against one another had definitely been...an experience.

They soon reached the outskirts of the food-court and despite saying he was happy with his work, he didn't sound too enthusiastic about it. "That's what matters" she replied, however she was wondering whether this was just his personality or whether he was holding back true emotions.

The way he responded to a possible complaint let her raise a brow in curiosity, because it somehow sounded like there was just way more to that sentence. He didn't bother speaking it out though and so she didn't ask, focusing on his next question instead. "The days on Ziost look different. Here it's basically like a bootcamp for everything concerning physical fitness and combat", which was obviously a very pleasant change.

"I was stationed on Eriadu and Eiattu for a few days to fulfill some tasks there, but I've mainly been on Raxus, starting with tasks like tidying up, doin simple deliveries or folding clothes..." It was almost embarrassing to admit all that, but she was staying honest. Before they allowed actual training, she had been forced to do penance. "I usually have living chaperones who have me tag along, but since I'm just here for training, the droid was assigned to me. Whenever I'm done with my tasks and classes I usually just end up in bed..." Not exactly eventful, but busy indeed. "You can be glad not to be on...probation. It sounds like you can go wherever you want to. Are you mostly staying on Ziost though?" she curiosly replied, asking him a question as well.

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Atrix]

Varyn grabbed some food and then moved over to a table while listening to what she said about what her day was like. His eyebrow arched slightly as she mentioned daily chores, but he supposed it made some amount of sense.

Sounds... exciting, he said. Maybe he shouldn't have been complaining about his work, at least he wasn't someone's maid. I guess you really did have to start over again, he added with a shake of his head to the side. No, he didn't envy that.

I guess physical and combat training is a step up. And it makes sense why you were sent to Ziost, he said. Across the board, it had one of the finest combat-oriented academies and the graduate level military program was impeccable and elite.

It's where I stay most of the time when I'm not off on assignment or jobs, he said with a nod. In truth, he spent a lot of time traveling, but that was mostly work-related travel.

The training facilities are here which is what I do most of the time if I'm not out on direct assignment. It's not a bad place. I prefer the cold to the Korriban heat, so that's a plus, he said.

@LadyRen

 

[Celeste Stythani]

After Varyn had picked up some food, she did the same. The selection was quite decent and she went for something more exotic today instead of sticking to her usual go to meals.

The sarcasm in his voice was hard to miss, but it somehow made her chuckle. "Yeah, fun times. I'm not complaining though" she hadn't even acted out once, which was extremely unusual for her. Her usual stubborn traits were non existent because she knew she couldn't afford any mistakes or missteps. She also knew that sooner or later that exhausting period would be over again and that she could fully start anew. Still, she had delivered her answer with a sigh.

"Yes, absolutely. I've recently done more interesting stuff again...I still can't wait for the time when my rank will be restituted. It's funny how after all those years, I've finally learnt to follow rules and orders and I learnt much about myself". As painful as it had been at first, she was here to serve and to work her way up. She would also never repeat the mistakes of the past again...She was changed in many ways, but those were good changes from her point of view.

She curiosly listener to what he explained, however she realized one particular thing quite quickly: How the hell had they even managed to only discuss work-related stuff again, when they had actually wanted to have a night off to do some...well fun stuff. Was he even able to enjoy himself? "Oh I absolutely believe you" she still replied with a smirk, before she started poking around in her food with a fork."We've gotten back to the subject of work...not that I don't find those conversations boring - don't get me wrong, buuut I think you really deserve a night off. Tell me: If you're not working, what do you do in your free time?" she amusedly asked, wondering if he even ever had actual free time and well, hobbies. In her senator days, there had been definitely a huge shortcoming in that area. This was no empty small talk though: She was actually curious, especially because he seemed to hold back a lot of stuff.

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Atrix]

Varyn listened to her and while he listened to what she said, that was only part of it. His mind wandered to what she said about her goals and her past, and he couldn't help but wonder to himself if it was true. Not that he had a reason to doubt it per se, but he was reminded that she had been a politician, and for politicians lying was like breathing. Oh yes, because he was one to judge.

He actually laughed when she pointed out they'd gotten back to work and she asked about his hobbies. That's because all I do is work, he said. What did he do in his spare time anyway? Went on dates with Vahl, but that was kind of... out at the moment. Work out and sparring before he'd started being an instructor.

I guess I read a lot. I like to hike, there's some good hiking around here if you can tolerate the ice. The saber stuff was a hobby before I turned it into a job, he said with a shrug.

I guess I'm kind of a workaholic, he said, frowning as if having a bit of an epiphany about himself.

Anywho, I'm sure your story from start to finish is far more interesting than my work and hobbies, he said. Walk me through it all... if you, you know, don't mind, he said, as if realizing he was asking a very personal question that she may not have wanted to talk about.

@LadyRen

 

[Celeste Stythani]

The change was actually welcome and it seemed like he wasn't fully averse, even though he obviously admitted that he was an actual workaholic. She recognized herself in those comment and she was also well aware of the fact that, ambitious as she was, she would probably get right back into right once she was back to normal work and so she was definitely not the best person to talk to when it came to such things...And especially giving adivce was slightly hypocrit because she had literally worked off her ass for most of her life..."I know how that feels..." a bittersweat smile followed..it wasn't healthy, but who was she to judge.

What he said about the hobbies was relatable, too, because she herself pursued the same hobbies at the rare occasions in which she got some time off. The last good hike had been with President Thorne himself and while the scenery and the trail had been wonderful, the end had been fatal...Since she didn't want to dive back into those memories again, she focused on what he said next, her smirk actually widened as she replied, "It's hard to stop...I know. But even if I'm not sticking to that advice, I'll still say it: Getting some time off every now and then is indeed a good idea". She sarcastically scoffed, knowing damn well that this wasn't easy at all.

"My story?" she immediately replied, raising an amused eyebrow. "Do you mean my whole life or the much more interesting last years?". She really needed a clarification as there was a lot to tell. The most drastic turns and developments had obviously taken place in the last years...It had all started back on Rattatak.

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Atrix]

Varyn snickered when she said that she knew how that felt. Yes, he imagined she did. She was probably just like him in order to get to where she had gotten in her life. She'd been a Sith, become a Senator, and was now returning to the Sith all at her age. It didn't leave a lot of time for pursuing other things.

Ah, classic do as I say, not as I do, he snickered as she admitted that she did the same but he shouldn't. He could relate to that well enough. He did plenty of things that he wished he didn't. In another life things might have been different, but this wasn't another life.

Either, or? Both, and? he said as she asked about which years. He was sure there were boring times, but there was enough interesting things in there that he wanted to hear the whole thing. After all, that insatiable curiosity hadn't really gone anywhere over the years.

@LadyRen

 

[Celeste Stythani]

Even though he wasn't using plenty of words, he absolutely nailed it with his statement and she amusedly chuckled along while nodding. "Yeah exactly...You might know how bad that is...but from one workaholic to the other: Try to slow down a bit whenever you can".

It was a genuinely well-intentioned advice, even though she would never ever be able to promise anyone she was trying to pay heed to it. Also, it was just ironic that she was trying to give him some advice anyway, but she knew how it felt to be completely burnt out and she was really hoping that he might be able to avoid that.

"well aren't you curious..." she amusedly remarked, but she was absolutely fine with sharing her story and it seemed like they had at least a bit of time. About the location she had some concerns though as this was still a rather private manner and they were quite in the middle of a busy food court, so she wasn't fully sure whether others wouldn't try to eavesdrop. "I can definitely tell you everything, but maybe we should move this to a more private place" she suggested with a soft smile. Yes, her droid friend would be there anyway, but they wouldn't be surrounded by the rest.

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Atrix]

When she mentioned how curious he was he snickered again. He got the sense that she was teasing him a lot of the time, but it didn't really seem to bother him.

Yeah, it's one of my negative character traits: endless questions, he said before taking another bite and proceeding to motion toward her while he chewed to indicate he still had something else to say.

But you know, it's really your fault. You brought this on yourself by inviting me along. You've gotta know the hazards of doing anything with me, and that's among them, he said. He'd even turned a lightsaber dueling session into questions about philosophy, outlooks, and goals. It was his nature, and if it weren't for the fact that he didn't see much use for the role, maybe he'd go on to be a philosopher. He supposed it was a byproduct of the reading that he did as a hobby.

@LadyRen