Ask Winds of Change.

[Dante]

Like so many other worlds, Dante had never been to Eshan. As his "borrowed" shuttle came out of hyperspace and into orbit over the planet. He was not surprised by it's beauty. After all it had been the birth place of his friend Liana. If someone like her could come from here, it had to be something amazing. Lia was like a care bear from the old holovids he remembered watching as a youngling. The girl never seemed to have a bad moment, let alone a bad day.

However it had been some time since Dante had seen her. Not since Berchest when he fell behind in their little adventure with Maura. Another gift of the force. He wondered then, not for the first time, if he could ever return. There would be time for those thoughts later. He made his choice, and for now at least. It the path he was on. But, he still wanted to check on his friend.

He had heard the rumors. A mission on Jakku had gone wrong somehow, and Lia had been captured by the same shitbag who had his father. Callo. He would have gladly joined the rescue party. But by the time word had gotten to him, she was already home. Which was why he was now landing outside the city. He wanted to check on his friend, and perhaps get some information on a certain gunslinger.

@LadyRen

 

[Liana Mason]

After having been back at the temple and having celebrated the newly knighted Dash, Lia had been granted to return to her family for a few days. She had a lot to tell and obviously her parents had been worried sick, so coming home had been a relief on both sides.

As Dante had announced himself after two days, she was happy and excited and had started to tell her parents the story of how she had solved the case on Berchest with him and Maura and that even back in the discotheque they have had great fun. Dante was rather easy going, however as she awaited his arrival she was already aware of the fact that this meeting wouldn't be as lightheaded as before as he did not seem to come just to catch up with her...

After having been kidnapped on Jakku and taken into custody by Preef, Lia herself had changed and it hadn't taken a minute for her family to notice. She was doing much better, yet after having been confronted with the world of crime, the padawan had been hit with the brutal call of reality. Now Dante, too, had apparently grown up a lot and it had clearly been a while since the two had seen each other last, so she was filled with both, positive excitement and anticipation as she was driving her mom's speeder to pick him up from where he had landed.

The drive wasn't very long and she didn't know whether he wanted to stay near the ship or drive home with her, but her parents had already prepared a guest room 'just in case'. Obviously, they had excitedly received the news about how Lia would possibly bring a boy back home which had made her roll her eyes and explain that it was 'not like that', but then grandma had said, 'don't worry, if this is a Jedi friend we don't have to be worried anyway'.

The conversation had still left her a little blushed before she had left with a "Bye, Mom, bye Dad, I'll text you" and now she was already pulling over next to his ship in perfect timing after his landing. She alighted with a warm smile as she waited for her friend to lower the ramp and she'd great him with a "Dante! Oh wow...you've grown! I feel like we've seen each other in ages!". He was much taller than her now...but well, most people were.

@Taz

 

[Dante]

He had seen the dust cloud of Lia's speeder as she approached and he came into the land on the grass field. The sight of a friend, and not just a boy's childhood memory, was warming. And he allowed himself a little smile. Then sighed.

Finally the ship landed. Dante powered down the craft and then looked to his only other companion. "Stay here and keep an eye on the ship Iz." He told the little droid. Who gave out a little warble of disappointment. As the ramp lowered, the young man would suddenly emerge and make his way down. Dressed casual, blue jeans, utility boots and a warm shirt and warn leather jacket.

"Lia." He said warmly. "Wow yourself. I did, a little. You...I like hair." He didn't want to point out how tiny she still was. It was cute to him, but he wasn't sure if it might be a sore subject. Still the colorful hair DID look amazing. It was good to see some parts of her had not changed. He came in for a hug then. It wasn't awkward but Liana would likely feel it a little forced. A shadow rippled from his emotions, and the other Jedi would likely feel it.

"So, how are you. I heard about Jakku. Well, rumors about Jakku. Are you ok?" He asked, truthfully wanting to know how she was. Much as he would like details on the thug he was after. He wanted to know his friend was ok. That she wasn't the mess he was. But if she wasn't, well it would just be more fuel to add to the fire slowly burning within him.

@LadyRen

 

[Liana Mason]

Liana's smile immediately widened as the other Jedi stepped down the ramp, approaching her well dressed and his clothes alone even making him look much older than before. She herself wasn't as colorfully dressed as before either and was clad in a rose colored leather jacket paired with a white crop top and black jeans.

As Dante embraced her, she hugged him back tightly, simply enjoying meeting her good friend after everything terrible that had happened not so long ago before she pulled back with a wide smile. "Thank you...I like your new style and yeah...the tips stayed colorful after all", she warmly replied with a little chuckle.

It was a pleasantly mild day and the skies were clear, the field around them vibrantly green and she wondered whether the other Jedi had been here before. Before managing go ask though, she kept picking up those little ripples within the Force that simply told her that something wasn't right and was obviously bothering him, but she wanted to give him a little time to get settled first.

It didn't surprise her that he knew about what happened and it was a good thing that she had processed most of the events already as this allowed her to talk about it rather openly. "Yes...Jakku. Things got out of hand quickly. I am okay, though, thank you for asking. You don't have to worry, the time at the temple helped me reflect and get over it", she replied truthfully, but he would notice the slightest hints of change in her voice of some memories were still a little painful, regardless of how stable she was.

Before her smile could fade thoiugh, she added, "it just...made me realize some things. It is time to grow up". Some parts of the galaxy were simply not beautiful and the realization had hit her after all this mess, but it slowly began to seem as she wasn't the only one that had recently been a little troubled. "How have you been? It's been quite a while since Berchest...what have you been up to?", she curiosly asked him, carefully beginning to ask whether he was doing okay. In fact, she was not just happy to see him again but also grateful for him checking in on her. She usually did much better when not alone and it seemed like they would get to spend some time with one another.

@Taz

 

[Dante]

Dante took notice more of her smile long before taking notice of her pale pink jacket. He was surprised by it. It was as warm and wide as when he first met her. If the was putting on for him she was a better actor then he was. Still as he took notice of the rest of her, he had to admit she had grown up, and filled out well.

"Thanks. The jacket was my dad's." He admitted. Leaving out the part where he cut a path to his family's things as Blackwell repossessed his childhood. To his credit, the repo men were droids as well. Only one real living person in command and after seeing what Dante had done, she simple ran. Still it had felt good to unleash his pain on something.

Dante had pulled away after the hug and still gave her a half smile as he brush her hair with his off hand. "They look good. It's nice to see that part of you." He said, looking at her. Giving a sigh at her little chuckle. When the moment passed he continued to look around and take in Echan. The lush greens and cool water looked amazing, But then, he was a space kid. So everything was pretty compared to cold black void of space.

"That's amazing." He commented pessimistically. He had not found peace of mind on Ithor. Although most in the Jedi would likely say he hadn't really tried. Until he could find and free his father, he wouldn't know real peace again. "But, I'm glad you're ok. It's good to see that you're recovering." He said, and started walking toward the speeder with Lia. "I know the feeling." It was perhaps the most truthful he had been to that point.

He gave a feigned a smile, "Not a lot. It's been.....well it's not been what I expected. I was ready to become a Knight. But now I don't know. Some things have changed." He was dodging the issue. Lia, was not as wounded as he had expected. She was not filled with the rage he was at the feeling of powerlessness. He was not in any hurry to change that. He would not spread his pain to reopen hers.

The two of them would climb into the speeder then. He sat back then and took a breath, trying to relax a bit. He needed time, if he rushed into this he would likely loose a friend. If he rushed to confront the Rodian now, he would likely loose his life. No, he needed time.

"So, where to?"

@LadyRen

 

[Liana Mason]

As cool as his outfit looked, she couldn't help but notice that he was using past tense and how that possibly implied that he's dad was no longer amongst them and thus regardless of how lighthearted the mood was, a hint of worry and empathy crossed her face. She had no details about his family, but she already tried to connect certain dots. Was he troubled by something family related?

She didn't ask just yet, but empathetic as she was, it began to pain her that something wasn't right. For now, the subject quickly changed again and she let it as she noticed that he didn't seem to ready to start such a conversation just then. The compliment that followed made her blush, just like the way he brushed off her hair, but she mananged to play it off with a chuckled "thank you" that sounded like she was just appreciating the genuine compliment instead of getting a little nervous.

As the conversation continued, she noticed more obvious hints and signals about how he had apparently been through a lot as well. While they turned around, her smile faded and she glanced up to him rather seriously as a worried frown began to form. Since she had been in this mess, she hadn't been there for him for quite some time and the more details shone through, the worse it began to sound. "I'm sorry, Dante. I feel like we've both been through a lot recently, but it sounds like you're still troubled", she stated as the two made their way back to the speeder, the blonde padawan still glancing up to the young man next to her.

Liana unlocked the vehicle and climbed onto the driver's seat while she waited for Dante to take a seat next to her. She bit the inside of her lip as she expected that this was something bigger because he had even mentioned how he wasn't sure about getting knighted anymore. However, he had raised another important question as this wasn't the most comfortable place for longer conversations. "Actually...I'll leave that to you. Are you planning to stay a while? I could offer you a room to stay in at our home, but if you're just passing through and we'll just hang for the day, I'd know the perfect place".

Regardless of his answer, she was adding, "Are you hungry? We could stop by a cool place not far off". They could grab a meal and enjoy the food while talking about whatever bothered him - and yes, Lia was convinced there was something he was tiptoes going around. As Lia would never let a friend down, she was not going to let this issue slide, but she would give him some time to wind down from the journey first before asking more definite questions.

@Taz

 

[Dante]

He feigned another half smile. Forgetting, and then realizing yet again that his friend was a bit more in touch with emphatic nature of the force. Dante attempted to push a feeling of confidence into the force. However the damage was likely done. Lia seemed to buy none of it. "It's fine. For now, lets just say we a few things in common." He foreshadowed.

Dante then slide into the passenger seat as Lia unlocked it. Catching he small biting of her lip and expression of anticipation on the her pale features, answering her question with one of her own. "I..." He paused, unsure of what to say. He didn't want to impose on Liana's family. But he also hadn't had a real shower or bed since leaving his childhood home. He had cleaning wipes in his kit on the shuttle, but that wasn't a hot shower. "If it's not imposing, a couple days with a friend would be great." He finally relented.

"I'm starving." He answered. The thought of a warm meal forcing his stomach to make a groan of agreement. He could resist dropping his problems in Lia's lap. He could reluctantly agree to crash at her family's home. But he was not about to turn down food.

@LadyRen

 

[Liana Mason]

Was she getting closer? Actually, Lia didn't even know how quickly he usually opened up, but she wasn't planning on relenting. She'd be there for him and she was also assuming that his presence would help her further, so the situation would probably help both. Whether he needed someone to be reasonable, to cheer him up, just to talk or to listen, she was there, hence she nodded with a soft, warm smile before she started the engines.

He didn't seem super happy about accepting her offer, but she couldn't blame him. She was convinced they'd have a blast together, yet the prospect of crashing at her childhood home was obviously not too exciting. She didn't quite know how to feel about it either because regardless of how much she loved her family, they could be a lot. However, they were also very understanding and would give them space if she'd ask them.

"You'd never impose. My family will be happy to host you and so am I. Quality time with friends is always great!", months ago, she would have said that much more enthusiastically, but times had changed. It was still in a rather happy, positively excited tone, but her worries about him were nagging at her. "I'll drive us to the diner. We can then head to a cool location to eat or drive him in case you wanna freshen up first. That's your choice as you're my guest now". While she set the car in motion, her gaze flicked over with a smirk before she pushed down the gas pedal a little faster than he would have probably assumed. After food, she thought, she'd ask. Her curiosity was steadily increasing and so was the apprehension.

@Taz

 

[Dante]

Dante could see the look of approval. She was holding back a bit, but he could sense a bit of her more positive nature. The bounce in her step he'd witnessed as a child. It was nice. He needed a shelter in his storm of emotions at the moment. In any case it would be nice to catch up and just as important, that shower.

"Ok ok, I surrender." He playfully remarked. After already accepting her offer to stay. "Freshen up ? are you implying that a couple of days on a tiny ship has made me less fresh." He tried to joke. "If you would food or shower, I'll let you choose for me. I'm at your whim Lia." Suddenly trying to sound more broody and romantic, again trying to be playful. Anything to mask his own troubles. However it wasn't a mask at all. Being around her seemed to ease his loss a bit. Perhaps it was just her nature, or maybe she was unwittingly putting it out in the force. But he was genuinely happy just being around her.

He did let out a bit of a worrying look as she hit the throttle a bit harder than expected. But noticed her smirk and knew she was just trying to get a rise out of him. So he offered one, "Just try not the kill us on my first day, ok."

@LadyRen

 

[Liana Mason]

Even though Lia noticed that something was wrong, the scar on his hard seemed to fade for a moment. Dante was suddenly changing to his rather joyful, humorous, lighthearted self and immediately got infected by it.

In most recent times, she was attracted to such exchanges as she had experienced quite some terrible things, but her worries about him were obviously not entirely forgotten. She simply decided to socialize first as it seemed to be much needed for both young adults.

She couldn't help but to start laughing at his remark. "I...uh...well...how do I phrase this cautiously?", she began, obviously teasing, before she broke into laughter again. "Okay okay I think you're fine for now. Let's grab food, enjoy a view and then head home", she finally suggested on a more serious note.

They started racing across the field and into the direction of the city as he suddenly confronted her with his concerns. "Heeeey. I'm okay with ships, but quite decent with speeders, so don't worry", she tried to soothe him, eyes mainly on the road but glancing over every now and then. "No need to dig your nails in the seat, jeeez" she added while chuckling again but actually slowing down as they were about to enter the normal, rather busy road again.

@Taz

 

[Dante]

Despite his poor attempt to mask his emotions. His attempt at being playful WAS working, at least for the moment. He would gladly take the reprieve. Dante knew it was going to come up again. But for the moment, he would simply enjoy the this.

"Cautiously? That hurts." He playfully shot back. Before joining Lia in the laughter. "Food, yes food sounds good. The view is already pretty good from here though" He remarked. Looking back to Liana with a half smile. They continued to race across the open rage as she then brought up her expert piloting skill.

"Didn't you once put crash your speeder bike into the meditation pools back the the temple?" He would retort. Remembering a rumor of her and a fellow Padawan racing across the training grounds, and missing a turn. Not that he had any room to talk. As he crashed and burned nearly ever starfighter he trained in. When Lia made the comment about digging his nails into the seat, He reached over and took her hand in his, entwining their fingers. "There, is that better?"

@LadyRen

 

[Liana Mason]

Despite fooling around with Dante, she was focused on the road and on the driving as she absolutely did not intent to do something risky or dangerous. However, she enjoyed this conversation so much that she lost herself in the laughter a little.

The lighthearted vibe felt great, but as she glanced back the road she had to correct the course a little in order to avoid running over the sidewalk. "Whoopsie", she let out with an apologetic smirk before she internally cautioned herself to actually stay focused now, but little did she know Dante was about to make this impossible.

The thing he said about the view already made her blush severely as she was realizing he was looking at her in this exact rooming. She chuckled along with him, nervously trying to laugh it off, but there was suddenly an immense heat spreading through her body. So Dante had not only grown...but he was flirty now?

Lia absolutely couldn't handle it and didn't know what to do. 'Stay cool, stay cool' she internally reminded herself, hoping that her cheeks would just turn normal, assuming that Danta was just being playful, but as he even reached over and interlaced their fingers her mouth flapped open as she glanced over.

Fortunately, she managed to close it quick enough and not shy away from the touch, but her heart was suddenly racing like crazy. 'Kriff...what is happening?!'. She couldn't even describe this feeling completely, but it felt like everything inside her was turned upside down. The heat intensified and her throat went dry. "Nooo...that wasn't me", she answered truthfully in terms of the crash, however her voice was higher than intended from that sudden nervousity and she was still fighting against seeming flustered, even if she was.

"And yes...actually it is". She still managed to say those last words and they came out relatively cool, but his touch was beginning to feel like pure electricity as her smile just widened further. Interlacing her fingers with his felt surprisingly great and after a moment it actually began to soothe her. It was still increasingly hard to concentrate, but she managed to drive them to the restaurant and was soon pulling the speeder over into the parking lot. "This is the place...", she turned off the engines before she glanced over to him with a happy smirk. "Dante...I'm glad you came here". This was something she still wanted him to know, especially because he seemed much better now.

@Taz

 

[Dante]

Dante was indeed flirting, however it was anything but natural or even on purpose. He wanted to put the focus on her. After all he had come here to see Lia. True, he wanted to get some information if he could. But at the heart of it all. He wanted to be here for his friend if even for a day or a weekend.

He had not expected her to be, all grown up. She was still the kind girl he knew from the temple, all be it a bit scared from her experience. But she had filled out and was just somehow different. So, in hiding from his own issues he put the focus on her. How pretty she had become. How nice it felt not to be alone, or how easy it was to just be around it. Like they were kids once again.

Except the weren't kids, and she was speeding into a sidewalk. "Hey...um.." He mumbled before Lia corrected with a "whoops". From that point he wasn't sure if she was blushing because she was embarrassed from nearly running up the sidewalk or because he kept looking at her. So he took his eyes away for a moment and watched as the went further into town. Thus missing her jaw nearly hitting the floor of the speeder.

He looked back then as she denied the crash, and he smiled warmly. "You nearly crashed just now." He trolled. Squeezing her had a bit as if to playfully say just kidding. As she admitted that she enjoyed the moment. He smiled again. "Good."

Just as they were getting somewhere, they were at the place she had been driving to. It wasn't beach side, rather a hole in the wall place, but cut back and recessed from the surrounding area. Dante got out and came around the speeder. Putting out his elbow of Lia to take before leading them inside. Then looked into her soft eyes, "I'm glad I did to."

@LadyRen

 

[Liana Mason]

She was obviously embarrassed about having been distracted enough to scrape the sidewalk by an inch, but after being back on track, her tensed muscles started relaxing as well. "Omg...yeah I'm so sorry! I swear I'm decent with speeders and it won't happen again", she promised, throwing him another apologetic smile while being absolutely relieved about not having caused an actual accident.

The thing still was that she was absolutely not capable of processing all of the flirtatious, all grown up and yeah, admittedly super attractive version of Dante. She still saw that good friend in him, but it was also different. They both had grown, thus the vibe was also completely different from what had been back then and there was an electric tension in the aid that flustered her.

He still seemed to take it lightly, so another chuckle followed before they finally reached the place and after she was done with turning off the vehicle, she was already received by her friend. "Ohh look at you being all gentleman-y" she remarked playfully, trying to swallow down the nervousity and not having him notice that her little heart was racing like crazy, but she soon realized that the elbow she accepted helped her by supporting her stability.

As they started walking in, she reciprocated his soft smile with a warm smile of hers, not adding another word and simply enjoying the beautiful moment while following him inside. "After receiving our order, we'll walk to a spot nearby and eat there, I hope you'll survive not eating for a few more minutes", she playfully teased as they reached the counter, now letting go of his elbow. "Oh, welcome, welcome, sweethearts! Let me guess, the lunch-date lover's box for two?", the elderly lady immediately asked them, greeting them with a wide, warm smile and a little wink as she prepared to scribble down their order and just like that, those butterflies inside her stomach were set loose again while all that nervousity was back.

@Taz

 

[Dante]

"Don't sweat it." Dante told her. Then with the force, he attempted to express a feeling a calm. Not a mind trick or anything of the sort. Simply allowing his calming emotion to resonate toward her own. Truthfully he had no idea if it would work. But it was better than nothing.

Accident averted, the had continued. When they got of the speeder to enter the restaurant, Lia had commented on his attempt at chivalry. He gave her a knowing if not mischievous grin. "Is it working?" He asked, again being flirtatious. The two then shared a warm smile, and though he could literally feel her shaking from nervousness. She was still with it enough to make a demand for a walk.

"Sure" He answered quickly, "I'm sure it will be worth the wait." Dante then lead them to the counter where the older woman greeted them to take their order. "Umm" He mumbled, pausing the look at Liana to see if the cared. Lost in the chaos he seemed to be releasing on her. She said nothing but seemed to play with her hair while thinking of something. So Dante answered. "Yes ma'am. The special sounds great." Dante was not a picky eater, so it made little difference to him either way.

@LadyRen

 

[Liana Mason]

She wasn't sure whether Dante was noticing her nervousity from the outside or how strongly he sensed it through the Force. He wasn't commenting on it just yet, but continued his flirtatious game which brought more color to her face on the one hand, but drew a wider smile from her on the other. "Well...I'd lie if I tried to deny that".

The woman seemed to strike the fact that the duo box was for lovers specifically and Lia couldn't help but to realize that this seemed to turn into an actual date indeed. It wasn't planned, but developed naturally and she was even starting to become more confident and what they were doing and how to handle that situation.

The nervousity was dying down a little and as she stepped forward, she walked rather confidently. "That sounds lovely, thanks. I'll pay with card", she explained, giving her a warm smile which she answered with a nod. "Of course dear. One moment". The woman handed the note through the tiny kitchen window before grabbing the scanning device and transferring the credits of the card.

"Why don't you take a seat? Your meal will be prepared in a few minutes". Lia had nothing to say against it either and so she grabbed Dante's hand again and leading him to the nearest table before she collected her courage to keep the nervousity at bay again before she asked, "Have you come from Ilthor directly?". She still wasn't planning to dig in right now or destroy the mood, yet there were plenty of questions in her head.

@Taz

 

[Dante]

He wasn't really sure how it happened. But looked Lia's eyes as she admitted his little act was indeed working, he realized he had stumbled into a date. It wasn't forced, or even planned. It just, happened. Even more surprising to him was the fact he really didn't feel like correcting it. It was nice.

In fact the only part he didn't like about this sudden situation was Liana paying. But he was hardly in a place to argue. What the Hutt's didn't take of his family's wealth, Blackwell did for back payments. His mother was still likely flush with credits, but he would not go crying to mommie for money. As for the Jedi, well you didn't join the Jedi for the pay.

So Dante held his tongue and let Lia pay, then took her by the hand and let her lead them to a nearby table away from the rest of the patrons but still in sight of the server when the food was ready. Then came the interrogation. Gentle, for the moment. But he knew the questions were coming.

"I haven't been to Ithor in a couple of months."

@LadyRen

 

[Liana Mason]

The moment they took their seat, her eyes immediately flicked back to Dante, the smile on her lips was still warm and happy. Dante hadn't argued with the bill which was also great, so that all they had to do now was to quickly wait for the food before following the prospect of a wonderful afternoon. However, the answer to the question she posed took away a part of the lightheartedness as it raised many more questions actually.

If not on Ilthor, wellllll..where else had he been? It seemed like they were now approaching the area he had tried to avoid earlier, especially because he kept his latest statement particularly vague. "Where have you been, if you don't mind me asking?", she asked politely, but still rather directly.

She had planned to start this conversation at the field, but the opportunity was now offered and so she intended to take it. "Your box is ready", the warm voice of the elderly woman chimed in and as Lia let her gaze wander over to her, she noticed how she was already having the package that was in a paper bag dangling from her arm. "Shall we?", she didn't mean to cut him off, but they could move the conversation to their little walk as they'd leave the speeder here anyway and move cross-country towards the lake at the fields.

@Taz