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Fandom Star Wars: Demesne [Closed]

They didn’t have to wait too long before they got the approved time off to visit Cora’s parents, much to her chagrin.

She was secretly hoping to either be denied, or to have to wait a few more months before having time off.

And soon enough, she and Eli were on a ship headed for Anaxes, with Cora doing everything she could to not pace a hole into the floor of their ship. “How are you feeling?” she asked Eli, who had the biggest reason to feel nervous about that day.

And the night before, her mother decided to tell her that all of her siblings, minus Baline, the younger of her two brothers, were also visiting home for a few weeks.

What a happy coincidence.

Cora was excited to see her siblings again, though, even if the circumstances weren’t the most ideal. Being the youngest in the family, she could imagine how they may analyze Eli, on top of his already being from Wild Space.

~~~

Even if Doron’s comment was a bit rude, Skye bit back a grin and shook her head. “No, there’s no food restrictions.” But even if she did have one, there was quite a variety to choose from, she couldn’t help but notice.

If she didn’t know any better, Skye would have assumed it was a winter holiday they were celebrating and not the visit of Adlai.

With Doron’s question directed at her, Skye smiled. “From what I’ve seen so far, Serenno is a very beautiful planet, and I really enjoyed spending time at the zoo.” The planet made it obvious it was not located in the Core, which she loved.

That connection to nature was appreciated.

“I really love it so far.”

~~~

Thrawn almost wanted to retaliate and ask if they actually are deaf underneath those helmets.

Almost.

But it was best to not agitate the Inquisitors even further.

“Maybe he truly learned nothing and is just wasting our time again,” Fourth Brother said, plopping down into the empty seat near Third Brother.

Instead of entertaining Fourth Brother’s comment, Thrawn went on to explain the information he did ascertain from Niima. “The Zeval Syndicate hired Niima to kidnap Queen Breha.” And, unfortunately, that was all the information he received.

But he could surmise by Niima’s tone and wording that they themselves were hired by someone else. Another clue in a long trail of the investigation. “And what is next on the agenda is to find out who exactly in the Syndicate hired Niima, and if they are working with someone else.”
 
Eli wasn’t keen to stay around the Inquisitors, and he was also somewhat keen to show Cora’s parents that he could, in fact, get the time off at the drop of a hat. Thrawn was thankfully willing enough to give them the time, although Eli almost wondered if he should accept it. Thrawn hadn’t quite seemed all okay when he gave it, but Eli nonetheless accepted it, and off they went to Anaxes.

He had dressed well, and seemed to be calmer than Cora, as he remained seated and observed her anxiety throughout the trip. He probably should be as worried as she was, but he also knew he couldn’t be – or else he’d be in trouble.

Her family would smell the blood in the water.

“I’m all right,” he said, before chuckling, “Although I don’t think I have all the names memorized,” he knew he’d get a proper introduction once he got there, but he was still trying to recall all of them, and the faces they went to.

She had a lot of siblings…and all of their names seemed to sound the same. It was no wonder they went by shortened versions of it.

~***~

Doron allowed some wry relief to touch his expression as Skye answered that she was not restricted by the way of food. He gestured for them all to take a seat as she added on that she had enjoyed the planet so far, and had gone to the zoo. Of course it was the zoo. Doron had known that, but he still couldn’t help but shoot Eitana a look as Adlai was sitting down.

Were they really going to let their son continue with this charade?

Eitana just took her seat, “We do try to preserve some nature. We don’t need to spend as much on pollution clean-up, that way,” Eitana noted, though there were plenty more reasons beyond that – as if pollution wasn’t enough. “Try some of the food – it’s all mostly Serenno staples.”

“Not all of it,” Adlai said, “well, I mean, it’s a staple…but it didn’t originate here.” The wonders of galactic travel.

Eitana went on, “How did you get involved in this lifestyle, Skye? Did you always want to be a guard to politicians and famous people?”

~***~

Third Brother knew nothing of Zeval Syndicate, which wasn’t a surprise to him. He didn’t get out much, but he assumed some information could easily be gleaned on the HoloNet. No doubt, their usual places of activity, and perhaps some of their leading figures. That point might be debatable. Some groups were good at hiding.

Like Thrawn’s rebels.

Did they even have a group name? He thought all the notable ones had group names.

So, Third Brother grunted, “Sounds like you just need to figure out where they operate out of, and track them from there.” As if it could be so simple. It would have been…for him. “I suppose you’ll have some of your little minions go traipsing about in those areas and bring you back the information, though.

How easy would it be for Ae’lia?

How would she even go about it?

He felt like he should know. “Why do you think they’re working with someone else?”
 
Cora allowed herself to chuckle and shook her head. “I wouldn’t worry too much about all the names. It will come in time, and it will also be easier once you can actually meet them.” Really, he only had to memorize two of her siblings’ names, and then address her parents formally, like he may with anyone else he wasn’t close to.

“All of them won’t even be there,” she added. “My other brother, Baline, works for the Empire as well, and he wasn’t able to get time away to visit for a few days. Apparently he’s been very buddy with some special project the Empire assigned him to.” And Cora didn’t know anything about the project.

He wasn’t allowed to say anything, which didn’t surprise her. If the Empire just spilled all its secrets, then the enemy would easily get a hold on that information.

“Also I forgot to mention,” she added with a grin, “you look nice today.”

~~~

Skye took a seat when they were gestured to do so, and she would wait to help herself to some food until someone else took the first bit. She wasn’t sure if there were some unspoken manners Adlai hadn’t told her about, but it was better to wait and see what others did first.

And once directed by Eitana, Skye would be eager to try some of the Serenno staples.

Then came another question. Skye anticipated that she would be asked questions, as she was the new one there, and she almost felt bad for lying to them. “I just happened to fall into this lifestyle.” Well, she would try to not lie when she could help it.

“Growing up, I’ve always wanted to help people. Then life happened, I ended up working odd jobs until I started working as a bodyguard.” Again, not all entirely false, but a lot was definitely left out of her story.

~~~

Thrawn easily agreed with Third Brother’s thoughts, “Yes, indeed I do.” Tracking them down may be the difficult part, but Thrawn had allies in many places. He had no worries about finding out where they are or getting a meeting with the leader.

So yes, he supposed his ‘little minion’ would indeed go traipsing about to bring back relevant information for Thrawn.

“Niima mentioned how she didn’t know where they received the money to hire her to kidnap the Queen,” he answered. “To me, that implies that they don’t normally have that kind of money, and maybe someone else hired them to do their dirty work, if you will.”

“Or Niima just doesn’t know this Zeval Syndicate very well,” Fourth Brother scoffed.

Thrawn frowned. “That is highly unlikely.”
 
Eli was curious what her brother Baline was working on. He wondered if Thrawn might be able to pull the details, but he knew better than to ask. He shouldn’t be looking into Imperial things that were above his clearance…until Thrawn wanted to, for something that was inevitably going to get them court marshalled. It’d be better to avoid that with this Baline.

“Hopefully, his project’s going smoothly, for all our sakes,” Eli noted, before brightening at Cora’s compliment. He had obviously tried to look more put-together than usual, not that he felt he was ever too rundown. The Empire had its standards for its employees, after all.

“Thanks – hopefully good enough to offset some of your family’s bias,” though he wasn’t holding his breath as he felt the shuttle they were in start to slow down. He let out a sigh and got up to go look at Anaxes from the viewport. Having never visited, he was curious about how it would look, how it would compare to Coruscant, and other worlds of the Core.

He was also hoping to catch a look at Cora’s home before he was walking out onto it.

~***~

Adlai was the one to reach out first to start adding food to his plate, since it was, technically, prepared for him. He was excited to eat so much again – and probably fall into a food coma shortly afterwards. It would be well worth it, of course. Even if waking up for breakfast might be a touch more difficult.

The breakfast would also be worth it. The caf on Serenno was still better than anywhere else, in his not at all humble opinion. His dad thought it was something about the mountains that made it better.

Doron snorted a bit at Skye’s explanation, “Helping people by beating them up?”

Eitana put a hand on his arm, “You thought being in a war was helping people – that’s a touch more violent, dear.”

Doron didn’t deny it, or explain. He knew how both jobs did help people, though the logic – when looked at in just blunt words – always seemed lacking somehow. He chuckled at it al the same. “True – were you involved in the war at all, Skye?” He didn’t assume ‘the war’ needed clarifying.

She was certainly old enough to have played some role, and if she was interested in helping people, perhaps that’s where she learned to fight.

“Do we really need to talk about that now?” Adlai asked with a sigh.

Doron shrugged, “It’s not every day you bring home a new girl, Addie – we like to know where they stand,” Eitana was the one to say it.

~***~

If Fourth Brother hadn’t said it, Third Brother would have echoed the doubt that Niima didn’t know as much as she professed. People rarely did. They just liked to appear as if they knew everything. So, he scoffed at Thrawn’s doubt, “If Niima knew everything about this group, I’m sure she could have told you how to meet them, and who leads them.”

Assuming Thrawn bothered to get the more useful information. From the way he spoke, Third Brother doubted he knew much more than he’d already said. “Well, I trust you’ll let us know when things get moving again,” Third Brother pulled himself out of his seat, using the desk to rise up, and straighten up so he was once again looking down at Thrawn.

“Or else I suppose we’ll just take the information from whoever you bring along next time if you fail to.”

Even if that was only Thrawn himself. Third Brother had no qualms digging into the head of a Grand Admiral. Rank really didn’t mean anything to him, and as far as he was concerned, Tarkin had given them the go-ahead to do what was necessary if Thrawn kept stepping out of line.
 
Anaxes wasn’t quite the ecumenopolis like the rest of the Core World planets. It had jungles and valleys untouched by skyscrapers, with tall, red and purple trees that dominated much of the landscape outside of the cities.

They were heading to its capital, where Cora’s family lived in a well-off area. Cora looked out the viewport as they descended, and she smiled at the familiar sight of her home, a large place with a courtyard situated in the middle - an area she remembered fondly for all the times she and her siblings spent playing there.

She didn’t know if anyone would meet them in the hangar, but as the ship landed and the ramp descended, she saw that her older sister was there, waiting for her with a big grin on her face.

“Rosa!” Cora threw her arms around her sister, who just as eaglery returned the gesture.

“It’s so great to see you again, Cora. It’s been far too long.”

“It has been. Oh, and I would like for you to meet Eli Vanto.” She gestured behind her to Eli, and encouraged him to come forward.

~~~

Skye’s smile faltered at the mention of the war - a war she knew all too well. A war that caused her to lose everything and everyone she even knew.

But she didn’t have the opportunity to respond immediately, not with the statement Adlai’s mother brought up. It caused her to pause and to furrow her brows at the wording.

Did they somehow know? Or was Skye reading too much into the statement?

She decided to ignore it for now, in hopes that she truly was just reading too much into it. “I was involved in the war, yes.” But she would leave it at that. They didn’t need to know the details, and Skye didn’t wish to give out any more information about it.

Talking about the Clone Wars still brought up a lot of memories for her.

~~~

Thrawn heavily doubted that Niima would have told him everything at once. Not the way she demanded more money if he wanted more information. But he decided to keep that information to himself for now. “Perhaps you are right.”

The Inquisitors didn’t need to know that he could have gotten more information, if he was willing to shill out more credits for it.

And the sooner they were gone from his office, the better. He could already feel the beginning of a headache forming.

“Indeed, I will,” Thrawn said as he watched both Inquisitors stand up from their chairs. Now that he knew they were becoming more involved in his side missions, he would do what he could to protect his crew from any unnecessary violence on the Inquisitors’ side.

“So we trust you to not leave us in the dark again, alright?” The Fourth Brother finished, before he would make his way out of the office.
 
Cora’s home was large, with a courtyard, and its own hangar. Eli could observe it with some interest before they landed, and once they did, he stepped out behind Cora and smiled as he saw her rush to her sibling – Rosa. ‘Rosaline?’ He wasn’t sure if her parents were traditional, or sadists, for the names.

He wouldn’t be making that comment to anyone, either.

Maybe Cora, in private, later.

Eli did not stay far behind Cora, though he gave her the space she needed for her sister, and came forward as she gestured to him, “It’s a pleasure to meet you,” he greeted, offering his hand, “I was glad to hear I’d be getting to meet most of you on this trip when Cora told me, I’ve been interested in making the acquaintance of everyone.”

Which was true – some part of him hoped the siblings might be a bit of help, in their own ways. He’d come to see, eventually. He had this idea that some siblings did stick together, whether or not it was true, would be seen soon.

~***~

It was obvious that Skye had indeed been a part of it based on her reaction. The shift was immediate and obvious, and not positive. No matter what side she’d been on, there had been no winners for her, either. Doron wouldn’t ask for details, the way she slid over Eitana’s easy comment, and Adlai’s silence, gave an easier opening, anyways.

Skye may have been able to disregard it, but Adlai knew how his family talked. “Well, we can reminiscence about that another time,” Doron said, “What’s more important is how long you and Adlai planned to try and pass off that you were just business partners of a sort?” His smile was a bit coy.

“Until it felt like a decent amount of time had passed since leaving Eira,” Adlai answered, that flush touching his cheeks once again, “How did you figure it out?”

“You took her to the zoo,” Doron stated, though in a tone that suggested that wasn’t it at all. “You also would usually take a guard you intend to show around Serenno, with another guard so they didn’t feel obligated to be on alert – you obviously wanted time alone with Skye.”

“It was also just obvious with your behavior, Addie,” Eitana added, a light chuckle, “We could tell you really liked her, and you were anxious. You know you don’t have to hide around us – we’re not going to go spilling things to the press.”

“Although if you did cheat on Eira—”

“—no!” Adlai was quick to interrupt his father, “I didn’t. I…meeting Skye did change things, I’ll admit.” That was it. He couldn’t really hide that, “She did join me first as a bodyguard, and then I got to know her….”

~***~

Eira Nevan had kept putting Thrawn off whenever he messaged her. She answered, of course – but whenever he suggested something, she indicated how busy she was, as the production of Cora Vessora was nearing completion, and the shows would begin for the public soon. It wasn’t entirely false, though she had more time than she let on.

Some of it was spent trying to look into the group Niima mentioned, though Shay was handling that, and arranging things through her own means.

And Shay was the one to remind Eira that being too absent would become suspicious.

Regardless of her feelings or thoughts, she still had a role to play – and Eira had given Thrawn no reason to suspect anything was amiss with their friendship.

So, when an art gallery was brought up she finally relented and suggested a day that wasn’t too busy (although, she left it open, and privately suggested to Lin she might need him to create an emergency if he hadn’t heard from her by late afternoon).

The day had finally arrived, and with no backing out, Eira found herself sitting outside of the gallery on one of their memorial benches, waiting for Thrawn – loose dress, and light colors, of course. She wasn’t going to be caught in black around him anytime soon, or anything that fit her too well, like the Inquisitor outfit.

He was too smart for that.
 
As Rosa took Eli’s hand to shake, she allowed her gaze to drift over his form, inspecting him for anything that she could critique or scrutinize. But he looked well put together and eloquent enough, and even if he was from Wild Space, she would allow first impressions to dictate how she perceived him, and not where he was born.

Or, she would try not to.

“Pleasure to meet you as well,” she said with a smile, silently noting how he was a little shorter than herself. Certainly different from the other men Cora has dated.

She turned back to her sister, “Mom and Dad are waiting in the family room. They’re excited to finally see you again.”

“I am too, it’s been far too long. Is Leo here yet?”

Rosa shook her head as she led them from the hangar. “He’s in a meeting, but he’ll be joining us for dinner later.”

~~~

Skye felt her cheeks uncharastically flush with embarrassment as Adlai’s parents did seemingly figure out the truth behind their little charade. Of course they did. At least they didn’t seem upset or disappointed, from what Skye could see.

She didn’t want them to have any bad impression of her.

Aww, you really like me, she wanted to tease to Adlai, but she refrained herself. Maybe later. Skye still didn’t know how to quite act in front of parents.

“And things just naturally fell into place,” she finished Adlai’s sentence. She wasn’t sure if she should add that Eira knows about them as well. Would that seem odd? Maybe not if she and Adlai were to ‘remain on good terms,’ and if she and Skye were friends.

Still, Skye opted to remain silent to take a bite out of the delectable food. She was really out of her comfort zone for the moment.

~~~

Several times had Thrawn attempted to reach out to Eira Nevan, and several times she appeared too busy for anything more than a simple message back. Her show was nearing completion, which apparently meant less free time and more time spent in rehearsals.

But Thrawn wasn’t completely buying that. Something still felt off.

But eventually she did agree to meet with him, at an art gallery, on a day she had off from anything. Although he didn’t show it, Thrawn was thrilled at the chance to get away from the ship and from the Inquisitors and spend the day in what he perceived as good company.

Thrawn opted for a more casual form of his Imperial uniform, but still decked out in white that contrasted against his blue skin. Eira didn’t have to wait long for him to arrive, as he was right on time per their arrangement.

“You look lovely, as always,” Thrawn greeted. “Shall we proceed inside?”
 
Eli noted the look, but he saw no disapproval flash through Rosa’s gaze as she looked him over and shook his hand. She gave no complaint, no disgust, not even a real comment – just the cursory greeting of goodwill, and he was willing to accept that, releasing her hand and stepping back alongside Cora to allow their natural sibling banter to continue.
Leo wasn’t there yet – the one he’d met.

Her parents were waiting, though. Completely expected, and Eli wouldn’t interject about his own eagerness to meet them. He was not here to seem overeager. That would be another, too-obvious sign of anxiety, so as they walked back to her home, he let his attention drift a bit to the house, and the designs.

The art.

‘Thrawn would have known you all inside and out by now.’

He wouldn’t say anything about Thrawn, though he tried to use what little knowledge he’d gleaned from him to try and make sense of the stylizing of their home. “How long has it been since you’ve all been together?” Eli ventured to ask, curious about how rare an occasion a reunion with most of the family was.

~***~

It was true, what Skye added, and Adlai nodded along as his parents assessed the story. He knew, no matter how ‘on the rocks’ his relationship was with Eira, neither would approve of him cheating on her. They didn’t know it was entirely fake, either. He did add, “Eira does know about this, and she’s okay with it, too,” unaware Skye had a thought to include it.

“Is she now?” Eitana wondered, “Or maybe she’s just feigning it.”

Adlai chuckled, “Maybe,” he knew she wasn’t, “but she and Skye are still friends, so I don’t think she’s that upset, if so. We were both realizing we had different wants.” They couldn’t carry it on endlessly.

“I believe you,” Doron said, to keep Adlai from continuing to babble on about it. “It’s good to meet you more properly, Skye,” he added, “I don’t suppose you’d be willing to actually enlighten me as to your plans here, hm?” He knew it was certainly to see and tour Serenno. To get a taste of Adlai’s life, and his desires.

He was curious about hers, of course.

They obviously involved his son right now, but he wondered more on where she came from, what it was she was seeking. All, too deep of questions to ask right now, and he knew his son had grown enough to start looking for something serious, so he wouldn’t harass them now. This was the first meeting, after all.

And clearly meant to be more light-hearted.

~***~
Eira could only chuckle as she rose to her feet at Mitth’raw’nuruodo’s greeting, resisting an urge to make a comment on his own appearance. There was still a slyness to her smile as she gave her agreement, “Of course,” to his query of proceeding inside. He still looked the same to her, even if he was dressed in a somewhat different uniform.

It was still all-white.

She supposed that meant he was also lovely, as always. Physical appearances were terribly deceptive. How well she knew that for herself, and certainly others. She just didn’t enjoy recalling it with Mitth’raw’nuruodo.

Stepping in revealed nothing terribly unusual. Eira knew this was a gallery for xidelphiad’s – an alien race that changed sex with every chrysalis they underwent, which could be several. Their art was thus rather fluid, one artist’s style changing dramatically as they awoke from their sleep, prepared for new experiences.

Of course, as they got used to the changes, by perhaps their fourth or fifth round, some of the art did begin to reflect an actual fluidity, and not just a dramatic, sharp change. The first arts in the entry area were more of that, recognition of the sandwork that many of xidelphiad’s partook in, that flowed and shifted with the movement of the sand and it’s containers.

Eira knew very little of the xidelphiad’s art, or even of xidelphiad’s, so it was admittedly a curiosity. There weren’t any visible xidelphiad’s in the entry area, though. Mostly curious humans. “How did you hear about this gallery, Mitth’raw’nuruodo?” Eira asked, simply for conversation.

She had to remind herself that was all this should be. Small talk, a couple of hours wasted, and then leaving.

She hated the heaviness that she felt in her heart for that, though.
 
At Eli’s question, Cora looked over at her sibling. “How long has it been?”

Her sister hummed in thought. “I don’t think all six of us have been home all at once since Baline left, so around six years.”

“He always seems to be the busiest out of all of us.” Undoubtedly because of whatever project he was working on for the Empire, but Cora knew it would be worth it in the end. She hoped. “When did he last visit mom and dad?”

“I think sometime last year,” Rosa said, leading them through the home and eventually into the family room. The walls, a deep rich purple, were decorated in family portraits spanning generations. Sitting on a pristine white chaise lounge were their parents, who stood when the three of them entered the room.

“Coraline!” greeted her mother, a tall, thin woman whose dark hair had streaks of grey throughout, and Cora stepped forward to give her a hug, before doing the same to her father.

“It’s so good to see you again,” she said, before she looked over her shoulder at Eli. “And this is Eli Vanto.” Please be nice, mom and dad.

~~~

Skye was relieved that Adlai’s parents seemed to easily accept their explanation, which would make things easier from there on out. She hoped. They didn’t seem upset or angry that Adlai seemingly moved on from a long term relationship pretty quickly.

She knew other people could take months to get over such relationships, even if this one just so happened to have been fake.

Skye politely smiled at Doron, agreeing that it was nice to meet him more properly as well. As Adlai’s girlfriend and bodyguard, rather than just the latter. “Really, my plans are to see and experience more of Serenno, and learn more about Adlai’s homeworld.” And now that their truth was in the open, she could more freely state why she was there.

“And to meet you two,” she added. So far, she liked them, she had decided.

~~~

Thrawn led them inside to the gallery of art he did not know what to expect. The xidelphiad was a culture Thrawn was not as familiar with, a fact he would not hide from Eira. Of course, after spending time within the gallery, he would know enough of the culture to feel acquainted with them.

And indeed, stepping into the gallery, Thrawn could immediately make educated guesses about the culture of the xidelphiads.

Thrawn turned his head away from the art and in the direction of Eira when she asked him about the gallery. “I was simply curious as to what galleries were currently active on Coruscant, and I stumbled across this one - admittedly I know very little about the xidelphiads.” But their sandwork was remarkable, he couldn’t help but notice.

“Do you know anything of them?” He wondered, before he would begin to partake in a little game of analyzing the work with her, and see how her mind could work.
 
Six years. It seemed a long time to not have everyone gathered, but Eli had a much smaller family than Cora and Rosa had. ‘When was the last time you saw Baline?’ Eli wondered, but imagined he could ask Cora that later as they moved through the house, and made it to where her parents were waiting.

Naturally, her mother was the one to call out first, using the full name and embracing her daughter. Her father didn’t speak, but accepted an embrace, as well. Eli smiled a bit at the display of family reunion, and when he was introduced he looked over both of them as he stepped forward.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you both,” Eli made sure not to exclude either as he spoke, his attention easily shifting between them, though he would offer his hand first to Cora’s father. Cora hadn’t mentioned anything about honoring the mother more highly in their discussions, so he assumed her family was still a touch on the patriarchal side, even if no one would blatantly say it. “I have been looking forward to getting to know Cora’s family.”

There was no eagerness or impatience, just that steadiness. He wasn’t afraid, and he wasn’t lying. Meeting them was a big step, but it was a necessary one – and making the step had indeed been something to look forward to, no matter the biases they might hold against him.

He would prove them wrong.

~***~

Skye’s answer likely wouldn’t have differed too much from the truth before. Adlai had arrived with intention to show her around – rather than intention to go around Serenno and be with his friends, something not unnoticed by Doron either. His son might be a decent enough lobbyist, but hiding a girlfriend was not a skill he’d picked up.

Eitana smiled, “Well, we’re glad you came along to meet us, even so early in everything,” reputations were a bitch to deal with, Eitana knew that only too well. She wasn’t a countess and ignorant of politics and media, after all. “Don’t worry, we’re not going to bite.” She added, “We trust we’ve raised Adlai with some good sense about things.”

“And if you break his heart, he deserved it.”

“Ouch,” Adlai couldn’t help but laugh a little at his father’s lack of concern, though it was expected.

“But really, we’re glad you can deal with this awkward in-between phase,” Eitana said, “I can’t imagine how it must be to hide this, and go around like you are just a body guard all the time in public. We appreciate that discretion, overall.” Even if they didn’t appreciate the discretion in front of them.

~***~

“I’ve never met one,” that much was true, although Eira had seen them, and likely at least exchanged a few words with one. She knew there had been a Jedi Master that was one, but they had been in a chrysalis state since she was a youngling. They were likely killed in that state, as well, something Eira didn’t want to think too long about.

“I do know a bit about them – they have a long lifespan, though that’s punctuated by up to twenty years in a chrysalis state at a time, and multiple chrysalis states,” she had wondered what it would be like to sleep for twenty years when she was young, and then wake up as someone entirely new.

Well, she’d thought shifting sex would make one entirely new. She knew now that wasn’t completely true, from observing others who made the choice, rather than had it forced on them like the xidelphiad’s. “When they come out of that chrysalis, they usually wake up as a different sex than before.”

A gesture at the sand art, many of which had been turned and were creating entirely new designs, slowly, “It may have something to do with why they’re drawn to art that changes, though uses all the same materials,” there was a fluidity to their own life, a theme that Master Yoda had waxed on about when explaining why Master Rassan would not be serving as their instructor for, amusingly, art.

They had all expected him, but apparently he had gone into sleep just a week before.
 
Cora’s father, Silas, reached out to firmly grasp Eli’s hand in a handshake, but it was Cora’s mother who spoke first.

Please play nice, she desperately hoped.

“He’s shorter than I would have thought,” her mother said nonchalantly, as if she was discussing the weather.

“Alma.” “Mom!” Silas and Cora said at the same time, while Rosa bit her lip to swallow a chuckle. It was true, even if it was impolite to point that out.

Cora covered her face with one hand with a groan. She supposed it wasn’t the worst thing her mother could say, but still, she should know better than to comment on someone’s height

Alma shrugged. “Well, normally the men she brings home are much taller.”

“I’m so sorry about this,” she whispered to Eli. But they both had prepared for the worst, and so she hoped that Eli wouldn’t get too offended, even though she did not blame him in the least if he did.

“So, Eli, what is it that you do exactly?” Her father was the one to speak this time, much to Cora’s satisfaction.

~~~

Skye chuckled at the light banter between Adlai and his parents. Was this typical banter between parents and child? Concerned, protective, yet also playful. It nearly reminded her of her relationship with Parsa, the closest to family she ever had.

“I admit that I’m not an actress,” not like Eira was, but Skye had experience in pretending to be someone she wasn’t, “but I figured refraining from anything that may suggest a relationship beyond colleagues shouldn’t be too hard.” Although they figured it out.

But they were his parents. They knew him and his mannerisms. They could pick up on anything out of the ordinary. She and Adlai would still need to tiptoe around the press, but clearly not as much as they would have had around his parents and actually be successful.

~~~

Eira did know of them, but had never met one before. Thrawn listened intently to what she had to say about the species, as he looked at a nearby sand painting, comparing what she said to what he observed in the artwork.

Fluidity was definitely a big theme of the species. Fluidity through their sleep cycles and subsequent sex changes.

“Fascinating,” Thrawn commented. “Fluidity in the art to symbolize their ever-changing life,” he began, “but every piece utilizes the same material to create that fluidity, indicating that they are still the same, deep down, even if their biology had changed.” Different body, same person.

“Tell me,” he continued, “since you already know of the xidelphiads, what do you see in this piece?” He stopped before one of the sandpaintings, grains of sand slowly floating to the bottom of the turned piece suspended in liquid.
 
Cora’s father wasn’t reticent in shaking his hand, and Eli could feel the testing nature of the shake up to the end. It was not her father that spoke during that, but Cora’s mother. He resisted the urge to shoot a sidelong glance, but he turned slightly instead to actually be somewhat facing her as she made the comment.

‘Can you stoop any lower?’

He resisted sending the question towards her, of trying to start an antagonistic game on height already. Instead, as she clarified that all the men Cora brought before were taller, and Cora whispered an apology towards him, he just added, “I guess Cora’s learned there are other ways to measure a man’s quality, Mrs. Suvan.” Admittedly, he did hope the ‘mrs.’ made her feel a little old.

As Mr. Suvan asked him what he did, he again made sure he was able to look at him directly, “I am acting Commander of the Chimaera, flagship of the Seventh Fleet.” What that actually meant depended on Thrawn. He was beholden to Thrawn’s commands. “Outside of combat, the majority of my job involves making sure the Chimaera has everything it needs to run, overseeing the operations of the Chimaera and the other ships in the fleet, and assisting the Grand Admiral with anything he needs. Within combat situations, it involves overseeing the situation, commanding TIEs and larger starships, and adhering to the strategies of the Grand Admiral or making sure they can be pulled off.” As in, that they had the supplies, and everyone knew their role. But it wasn’t an Admiral, or a Captain that he answered to.

Eli didn’t have to give them any real attention – he was the right-hand of Thrawn, and while admirals were technically above him in the hierarchy, they couldn’t actually command him due to that.

“Cora has told me you’re involved in real estate,” he opened, “I can see why, you present your own home well,” not a lie. It wasn’t his style, but it was clean, and traced the family history back rather obviously in this room. He could imagine how the man would have an eye for managing real estate and getting properties sold.

The tradition of real estate was also in his blood; tradition, he knew, was important to many in the Core, but it was on full display here. “How did your family get involved in this business and carry it on for so long?”

~***~

So far, neither Eitana nor Doron had seen much that suggested Skye and Adlai were in a relationship. That was good news. Unlike Eira – there were headlines about her and the Grand Admiral, although Adlai didn’t seem to mention that as one of the reasons. Eitana did wonder if it had been the reverse.

It was hard to imagine Eira cheating, though.

“Hopefully not,” Eitana said, “and I suppose bodyguard does keep you close,” Eitana mused. “Though, I hope you don’t mind me asking – how are you qualified?” Adlai nearly choked on his drink at the question. “I know better than to underestimate anyone, but you don’t look the type who could even throw Adlai.”

Okay, now Adlai coughed, and Doron arched a brow. There was some hint of mischief in it, and Adlai just shook his head, even as his cheeks flamed. There were some things he learned about Skye that his parents really didn’t need to know.

“She is a capable fighter, mom,” Adlai defended, “You know I don’t look like much of one either, when I’m all dressed for the senate.” And she’d already mentioned she took part in the war, though he supposed his mom would still want an answer. She still wanted her son in good hands for his safety.

That meant someone who could kick his ass.

Which, Skye could. Even if it was with the Force, and cheating.

~***~

Mitth’raw’nuruodo didn’t know them and seemed fascinated by what was said. Moreso, how it related to their art, at present. Eira wasn’t sure what else she could contribute as she watched the sand flow into new shapes. “It seems to be a landscape design,” that was what it appeared to be building.

It was also influenced by every other bit of art in this area, as it all seemed to be landscapes. She wondered if anything else was possible. Could a sunset, or a sunrise, be possible? A horizon image that included light play? That seemed like it might be asking too much of sand, but perhaps it was possible.

Not that Mitth’raw’nuruodo was interested in what was possible, only what was done. “I’m not sure if that’s because of the limits of sand art, or because it is intentional,” she would at least add she wasn’t certain on that, not familiar with sand art. He might know more himself, he might be able to recognize intention amidst happy coincidences.

“The sand doesn’t appear to have any unnatural hues,” she mused. Not that things like pink and vibrant sands didn’t exist in nature, on some planets, but all of these seemed to use more common beiges, browns, blacks, whites, “Neutral tones.” Intention certainly played a role in material selection.

Was it the color that was important?

The natural element?

The places where the sand came from?

Eira couldn’t say, “I assume the choice of material means something, though I’m not sure if it means something for the color, or for the location of where it was gathered.” Again, it was something she could speculate on – something she knew that Mitth’raw’nuruodo would speculate on, and find answers to the xidelphiad’s ways in the answer.
 
Eli’s response silenced Alma, but the expression on her face indicated she wanted to do otherwise. Cora shot her mother a look, who swallowed any response that she actually wanted to make. Instead, Alma would let the boy talk.

Regardless of what her parents were thinking in the moment, Cora felt proud of Eli as he listed off his achievements and duties serving as acting Commander of the Seventh Fleet and directly under Grand Admiral Thrawn. She only hoped her parents could see the same man she did, but for now, she’ll settle for anything that passed off as politeness.

Alma didn’t allow any emotion to betray her thoughts as Eli spoke, and Silas spoke up, “All that sounds very impressive. I’m glad Coraline found someone so accomplished.” Despite having two kids serving in the Empire, he admittedly knew very little of what they actually did. He just knew he was proud of them.

Eli asked about the family business, which Silas could easily discuss. Unlike anything related to the Empire. “Real estate is a long tradition on my side of the family,” he answered. “I inherited the company from my father, who in turn inherited it from his mother.” And now his oldest child was learning the ropes to take over one day after Silas retired.

“How exactly did you and Coraline meet? She’s never told us,” this time Alma spoke up, her tone neutral so as to not betray any immediate thoughts she had about the Wild Space boy.

~~~

Skye shot Adlai a smirk at his own reaction to his mother’s seemingly innocent question.

Oh, if she could only know the whole truth.

“Did you hear of what happened at the National Gallery on Coruscant? The attempted kidnapping of Queen Organa. I managed to take out four of the mercenaries who directly threatened her, without so much a scratch on myself.” Not that Skye intended to brag, but it was the truth. There was footage of what happened and how she responded.

“Though,” she continued,” I am more than happy to give you a demonstration.” Whether she was sparring against Adlai or someone else of their guard - her mind went back to that one guard who commented on his doubt and her size - she would do what was needed to put their minds at ease that Adlai was indeed safe with her.

~~~

Thrawn studied the sand painting more closely as he listened to Eira give her few thoughts on the matter. Indeed, neutral tones were utilized by all of the sand pieces he could see in the gallery from his vantage point. “One could easily make the assumption that all of the sand was gathered from the same location. Perhaps their homeworld only has brown and beige and white colored sand.”

Which could also lean into figuring out the chemical makeup of the planet, and what elements were in their soil, and their oceans.

“Let’s assume that the landscape design is intentional,” he began, shifting his sight from the painting onto Eira. “The painting can be turned, and thus a new landscape, but with the same material, can be created. Though is it technically the same landscape, since the material is the same?”

He allowed the question to linger for a second before continuing, “No matter how many times the painting is turned, one is guaranteed to see a landscape, correct? Maybe it’s a sunrise, maybe a sunset, or maybe it’s both, as both are guaranteed daily phenomenons.”

“And as the horizon is guaranteed, so is their transformation unique to the xidelphiads.” He allowed himself a pause, turning his head back towards the painting. To observe every little detail, even one that may have eluded him the first time.
 
Eli knew all about family traditions. He was going against his own, even if he held out hope to one day return to shipping. There was still so much guilt associated with leaving it behind with barely a word other than what he’d been ordered. He could leave, and he knew there was a process for it, but he also didn’t want to disappoint Thrawn. It was a frustrating situation.

At least Cora’s father hadn’t needed to worry about it; there was no Empire to compete with, back in the day, though Eli wondered if he’d ever thought to do something else. If Leoline considered anything else.

For now, he’d just nod, and keep answering their questions, as well, “We met at the celebration of Grand Admiral Thrawn’s promotion to his current position. He invited a few of his officers along, and that included myself and your daughter,” Eli answered. He didn’t imagine there was reason to hide that.

The alternative would have been meeting in passing on the ship, which wasn’t as exciting. He’d probably seen Cora in passing on the Chimaera, but they’d had little reason to interact, even with her activities in the Survey Corps. Eli hadn’t been a huge part of that any longer, thanks, again, to Thrawn. “We didn’t begin to date until a little while later,” so they knew Cora had time to get to know him, and vice-versa.

He probably shouldn’t mention the sharing a bed incident in all of that, though.

~***~

“Mmm,” Eitana sounded off agreement that she’d heard about the gallery fiasco. Adlai had been there – and so, apparently, Eira and this Thrawn. Not to mention Queen Breha and little Leia. They’d all been in that mess. Thankfully, it hadn’t escalated further, and from the sounds of it, they had Skye to thank for some of that.

Doron cast a look towards Adlai and his son nodded confirmation.

Doron chuckled at her enthusiasm. It seemed she did enjoy some bit of combat, “We’ll have to see, I know my guard is getting a bit lax with no new challenges of late. You can only program droids so much,” he shook his head, “the problem is they follow that programming, not nearly as unpredictable as a living, thinking being.”

“Don’t let the droids rights activists hear that,” Adlai commented.

Doron scoffed.

Needless to say, he wasn’t the greatest fan of the droids’ rights activists.

~***~

It was easy to make that assumption. There was likely plenty that could be gathered from knowing what their home world was like, and Eira could see Thrawn’s mind thinking through it. It was too easy to feel his intrigue, his thoughts, even if she didn’t know them. The fact he was thinking so deeply was still obvious.

He mused further, looking out upon the rest of this small part of the gallery. ‘I believe that the xidelphiads would say so.’ And Eira supposed, so would she, although she supposed all nature was really the same at its core. All of it came from the Force, and all of it returned to the Force. Every star, every planet, all went back to the same.

“I believe, as the xidelphiad change forms, they would agree it’s the same landscape,” Eira said, as Thrawn continued to look to each one, “It has the same memory, from all of the same pieces. It could one day become the same as the first time the sand was poured, too. Or as any other time.”

But Eira would gently grab Thrawn’s wrist, “You might find more out by looking at their other art, though. And then return here to decide.” Though she wouldn’t force him to move along, she would give a light pull at his wrist, without stepping away.

Evidence he didn’t need to give in, if he preferred – but insistent enough all the same, with the thought that he didn’t yet have all the pieces to his puzzle. When he moved, she would let go of his wrist, not even thinking much of the brief contact. It was friendly enough - certainly just that.
 
Cora remembered how awkward she felt at the promotion celebration. Not for the reason of the party, but because of all the high-ranking officers that had been in attendance, and then meeting Eli, actually meeting him instead of passing him in the corridors on the ship, had made the evening much better.

“Meeting at the celebration had actually been quite serendipitous, as we were assigned on missions together after that.” Of course, Cora wouldn’t go into detail of those missions. The sharing a bed incident still made her blush when she reminisced on it too much.

Silas silently assessed Eli, and the brief story they told, before he deemed to himself that the story was appropriate. Cora was his youngest daughter, after all, and despite having three other children, he still felt the most protective over her, even though she could protect herself quite well.

The Empire did wonders for her confidence.

“When is Leo getting here?” Rosa asked from behind Cora and Eli. That was when they would begin dinner, and that was what she was focused on.

Alma turned to her eldest daughter. “You know him, he’s always running behind,” she said with a roll of her eyes. “He should arrive in about thirty minutes.”

~~~

Skye withheld a smile at the light comment Doron made about his own guard. Surely, she could easily take them out, with or without help of the Force.

The gallery incident had been proof that she could fight without the Force.

Skye didn’t know what to say next, or what would be appropriate. What was one supposed to talk about with someone else’s parents? She had half a mind to ask if there were any embarrassing stories of Adlai when he was a young boy.

Almost.

But she could certainly see the similarities between Adlai and his father as they lightly bantered. Did Skye have any of those similarities with her own parents? Something not worth thinking about, as she would never know.

“If you don’t mind my asking, how did you two meet?” she asked Eitana and Doron, curious to learn more about Adlai’s parents.

~~~

As innocent as the touch may be, Thrawn became all too hyper-aware of the skin contact between himself and Eira, even though it was a simple grasp of his wrist.

He found himself willing to follow Eira anywhere she may take him.

“Indeed, the natural transformations are ultimately still composed of the same material, and the same memory, much like these sand paintings,” he agreed, moving with that brief touch. “But perhaps you are right. Looking at the other works will allow me to better figure out the meaning and cultural understanding of the xidelphiads.”

He never finished his analysis of a culture just based on one or two pieces of art, even though he could gather much information with that little. But to do a thorough job, he needed a wider selection to look at, and there Thrawn was, in a gallery dedicated to the art of xidelphiads. He was surrounded by clues to the culture.
 
It seemed Leoline was late, which somehow gave Eli a confidence boost. Even if it was well known in the family, he doubted it was a trait they were proud to acknowledge in the son that was going to take everything over. Was he so often late for business, too? Eli wouldn’t ask, he knew he shouldn’t pursue their flaws to make himself seem better.

He was good enough on his own without taking them down any notches, and they might be his own family, one day. He should want success for them, too.

And he would.

Once he got through this adjustment period.

With the mention of dinner, though, Eli allowed himself the consideration of questioning the meal. He assumed it wouldn’t be to different from anywhere else in the Core, but didn’t every place have its specialties that they liked to show off? ‘If you ask something like that, it’s going to call attention to where you’re from.’ He chastised himself.

Instead, he asked in a more innocent way, “Are we having Cora’s favorite meal?” Families across the galaxy usually liked to celebrate a return of family members with their favorite foods, and as he understood it, Cora was not around as often as some of the others in the family. “Or Rosaline’s?” He didn’t feel comfortable enough to call Rosa, Rosa, just yet.

He should be formal with her name, until given permission otherwise.

~***~

The question caused Eitana and Doron to exchange a look, reminiscing silently for a moment on how it was they met. They broke gaze to look back at Skye, “We don’t mind,” Eitana said, “though it’s not a thrilling story,” she chuckled.

“We simply met through a gala one night that House Serenno was hosting,” he answered. There was no scandal – Eitana came from another noble family, and they had connected well that night, before he moved through the protocols to begin courting her. “I spent most of the night with her after we met, and then came calling for several months after that.”

“And then he finally proposed after a year,” perhaps ‘finally’ seemed odd for only a year, but Serenno nobles tended to get engaged after six months, if not a little sooner, when it was between families and they saw no disadvantages to the match. Some arrangements still happened, and they had considered it for Adlai, but he’d been against the idea.

He was more open to dating outside of his sphere of influence, which made him a fairly popular man in the galaxy, as women dreamed up dating nobility, and saw him as an option. “It was otherwise fairly, well…traditional, for Serenno.”

“Unlike our son,” Eitana chuckled, “not that we’re upset with his decisions,” she said quickly, not wanting to worry Skye about that, “he’s always been more open to opportunities off-world, and we’re not here to stifle where or how he finds love.”

~***~

The next area was devoted not to sand, but to crystals. Fast-growing crystals, in a myriad of colors – but almost always monotone in the sculpture they were in, rather than a blend. Translucent, solid, and milky hues dominated, though milky was as rare as mixed hues, of the towering sculptures. They seemed to have more height than they did width, and few had a discernible structure.

They were not designed off of people or known objects – for the majority.

There were, scattered among them, outliers of multiple colors, or those sculpted into actual designs, more often than not bodies with arms stretched upwards – not always xidelphiad designs, but more often than not, xidelphiad sculptures. Where they weren’t xidelphiad, they seemed to be insectoid or bug designs, albeit larger than most living bugs.

It was also in a room with more windows, whether intentional or not, allowing the light to play on the crystals, sending the colors across the room.

Eira gestured out to the room as she let go of Mitth’raw’nuruodo’s wrist, somewhat pleased to see the chaotic difference in color and design, and curious how the Grand Admiral would take it, “Now what does this say to you, Mitth’raw’nuruodo?” The question was playful, though she was genuinely curious how he might start going over.

A part of her, still looking for his own curiosity, his own wonder, despite what he was.
 
Rosa could see the look her mother made, and so she stepped in before Alma could make any snide comment. Sure, the boy was from Wild Space, but they could at least try and get to learn more about the guy dating Cora.

“Oh no, not mine,” Rosa spoke up first. “I live on Anaxes, so I’m here way too often,” she said with a small laugh.

“Since we hardly see little Coraline anymore, we’ll be serving some of her favorite foods,” Silas added.

“She certainly needs to come visit her aging parents more often,” Alma sniffed, to which Cora just rolled her eyes.

“I visit as often as I am capable of,” Cora insisted, but her mother just waved her off.

“Yes, yes, I know, but you can’t blame your mother for trying.” She turned her attention back on their guest. “And how often do you visit your parents back on your planet?”

~~~

They had met at a gala, which Skye imagined how many nobles, or wealthier couples, tend to meet. It seemed romantic, really, in its own way, and she couldn’t help but compare the meeting and courtship to something from one of those cheesy holobooks with the ridiculous covers.

“So it was love at first sight?” she commented, glancing between them. “That seems pretty thrilling to me, in its own way.” Certainly like those cheesy holobooks. “Definitely romantic.”

Skye didn’t know if she could describe her first meeting with Adlai in the same manner, but there was certainly attraction at first sight back at the nightclub. And the truth, hiding behind a fake relationship, could be described as thrilling to some.

And then there was the small scandal of her being his bodyguard first, then becoming his girlfriend that some would also call thrilling. And not to mention their comment on how Adlai tended to stray away from the traditions of Serenno.

~~~

Monotone hues dominated the room in the sculptures they were presented with. Thrawn wasn’t the least bit surprised with the presentation of the sculptures, based on what he had already seen.

The monotone hues suggested the expected, nothing random in life. Just like the life of a standard xidelphiad was expected and typical.

The actual design of the sculptures were what interested Thrawn. Xidelphiad and other insectoid designs were common, which Thrawn figured that it meant they weren’t closed off as a species. They were open to other worlds, cultures, and ideas - to an extent.

In the end, they kept to what was familiar, like so many others did.

Though he didn’t know if the light bouncing off the crystals from the windows were intentional or not, it made for a very different scene than the previous room.

“Very interesting,” he murmured, the first thing he said once stepping into the room. “What I see is uniformed chaos.”

“The difference in colors is intriguing, yet each sculpture doesn’t contain more than one color,” with a few exceptions, which Thrawn would ignore for now. “It appears organized, but the natural light coming in from the windows allow for a rainbow of colors in the sculptures, thus, organized chaos.” He paused for a second, gathering a few more thoughts in the process.

“I suppose a xidelphiad could almost compare their own life to this. Their transformations can be seen as chaotic, for there is a drastic end result after they are done, but yet it is expected in their lives to undergo these transformations. What do you think?”
 
Eli made a mental note of that about Rosaline, that she lived on Anaxes, so he wouldn’t make an error like that again. That did mean it was Cora’s food that would be served, and Eli was far more eager to see what that would be – and wonder if it had changed since her time away from Anaxes.

This would always likely be a source of good comfort food, but he wondered if she’d found new favorites. He let a smile bloom on his face, “I’m excited to see what kinds of foods were your favorite here,” he told Cora, more directly, since it was her, and her interests, that were the more appealing part.

Not weird food from a weird planet. Or a Wild Space boy who never had Core food. He’d had plenty by now. At Alma’s query, he answered, “I usually visit them once a year; I use most of my time all at once to go see them,” he’d have to get things on the books again soon with Thrawn, now that he thought of it.

The promotion had fallen in line with the renewal of their leave, given Eli had moved along things at the same pacing as Thrawn. He did want to try and get out to them when it wouldn’t be so busy. He made a mental note to put in a call later to find out when that would be; he knew it had been a little over a year now, anyways, thanks to the situation with Batonn and Nightswan.

“The Empire can be a bit stingy with time off, but it does cover all of our needs,” housing, food, and then gave them extra to use as they saw fit, along with time off. It really was a good deal.

~***~

Both Eitana and Doron exchanged another look, before Eitana laughed and shook her head, “Oh – dear, no Skye, no, nothing like that,” not for her, at any rate, “He was interesting, and we got along well, but it was hardly love at first sight,” perhaps lust, but they hadn’t indulged in that for a bit. “We kept in touch after the gala, courted, and then married. It’s fairly typical here, and full of arduous traditions.”

“I can’t blame Adlai for wanting to forgo those.”

“Well, at least he makes sure we still meet the girl,” Eitana chuckled, “though I suppose that’s normal anywhere.” The rest of it, the agreements between noble houses, dowries, and things of that nature would be forgone outside the noble houses, of course.

Eitana wasn’t sad to not have to draw up tedious agreements like contracts and have them sign their lives away in the hopes it worked out. “Addie, this wasn’t love at first sight, was it, dear?” she lightly teased.

“Only interest, mom,” he answered, a polite way to cover that there had been a mix of lust and honest interest in her as a person. Well, it’d be a lie to say interest wasn’t an immediate part, no matter. There should be interest to move forward, but he had inherited his parents’ opinions on love.

It was something worked for, and never, never, immediate.

~***~

There was still something quite magical about seeing Mitth’raw’nuruodo in his element. Eira watched as he stepped further in, white uniform painted with the chaos of the lights, and talked about what he saw in the sculptures, the colors. He thought it continued to fit with what was known, and what was seen of the sand art. Of course, the two styles were significantly different – but even humans utilized many different forms of art.

“I think you’ve missed the ones that have multiple colors,” Eira answered, though she knew he hadn’t. How did outliers fit in to his views of cultures, though? It had to matter. It had to say something that it would even be shown as a way to introduce people to xidelphiad art, didn’t it? “You may also be wrong in considering the lighting is how the xidelphiad themselves would show it. This could have simply been a human decision to make things prettier.”

Which, it was pretty, there was no denying that.

But was it xidelphiad pretty, or human pretty?

“This could have just been the only room that was the right size for their art, this is a rotating gallery.”

Certainly, he was factoring these things in, “Do you think you’ll be able to determine if this is the right way to display things?” Eira wondered, “As we continue through the gallery?” Would the rest of the art, give him the answer he needed about this?

His mind did still work in an interesting way.
 
Cora smiled and nodded at Eli’s enthusiasm. “And I can’t wait for you to try them.” She was certain that he would enjoy them, since they were standard Core fare, just with more of an Anaxes flair.

Alma seemed pleased enough with Eli’s answer. It was similar enough to what she expected from Cora in how often to visit home, so at least now she knew that Cora wasn’t withholding any extra vacation time in order to avoid visiting home for whatever reason.

“And I’m sure your family appreciates any time you are able to take off,” Silas said. “We know we look forward to the time when Coraline is able to visit.”

“Which is still not often enough, in my opinion. All a mother wants is for all of her children to be able to visit at the same time,” Alma added, a bit too melodramatically in Cora’s opinion, as she rolled her eyes while her mother wasn’t looking.

Really, she loved her mother, but she could be a bit too much at times.

Ignoring his wife, Silas continued, “Where are you from, exactly? I don’t think Coraline has mentioned it.” But he knew from his eldest son that Eli was from Wild Space. He just never mentioned the planet name before.

~~~

Well, not having their encounter as love at first sight was certainly less thrilling, but more realistic, which Skye could understand. She nodded in her understanding as Eitana continued to explain.

Was love at first sight even truly a thing outside of those cheesy holobooks? She certainly didn’t quite believe it herself, but she could pretend for others. Many of the Jedi teachings still held strong in her head, and love was a very funny thing.

“Traditional or not, I think it still sounds rather sweet,” she commented with a smile. But to someone who grew up with expectations of courtships and what they entailed, she could see how it may seem rather monotonous or nothing special.

Skye wasn’t of Serenno though, and she knew next to nothing of what was traditions, especially to the nobility.

~~~

Thrawn considered Eira’s questions for a moment. They were all valid points, and ones that he had already begun to consider before she even asked them. “Oh no, I have considered the multiple colors as well, and much like life, it presents a lovely surprise, don’t you think?”

The chaos and uncertainty of life, just like the colors and patterns spilling in the room in no discernable manner.

“And you may be correct in the assumption that this was a human decision for the placement in the room, and not the xidelphiad’s.” During these times of increased xenophobia, even with an art gallery celebrating other cultures, Thrawn wouldn’t be surprised if something a seemingly simple as coordination and consideration was overlooked.

Would he be able to tell if that was the correct placement for their art? “I think further inspection would be necessary to consider if this is a proper display for the art. But what do you think? What do you think of the crystals in this room?”
 
Eli knew the question was going to come up eventually. He had expected it soon, so he wasn’t surprised that they didn’t wait until Leoline showed up. He wasn’t sure if he ought to be relieved by it or not. He did find Alma’s dramatizations over Cora’s lack of visiting to be a touch amusing, though he imagined that would fade quickly. Cora probably got frustrated with it; he would if it were his own mother.

Thankfully, his parents were more forgiving, more understanding, of Imperial work schedules. They might not understand it, but they were both familiar with not-quite setting their own schedules, since they had to work deadlines to get things where they needed to be, and their clients weren’t the most forgiving.

“I’m from Lysatra,” Eli answered, with all the ease someone from Chandrila would answer. He wasn’t ashamed and he wouldn’t be made to feel ashamed, either. Though, so far, Silas actually didn’t seem to be suggesting he ought to be. Alma was – heavily – but he was a bit surprised by Silas. Then again, Leoline had a good approach until he mentioned where he was from, too. These two at least had that much warning to know he wasn’t from the Core.

“It’s a bit far from here, so I wouldn’t be surprised if you haven’t had the opportunity to visit it yet.” Yet would at least imply it was a place worthy of seeing.

Imply enough that Eli wasn’t going to take any shit about it, either.

~***~

Eitana could only chuckle at how it sounded to Skye, “I forget how places differ,” she admitted, “I hear things are quite a bit more…casual in Coruscant,” she didn’t know how common that was across the galaxy, most of their dealings were still with people in their own class and social situation.

Despite royalty falling out of favor, there were still plenty of nobles – even if their blood didn’t afford them the same powers as before. Elected officials and all that were taking over more and more. Even Queen Breha was more a fixture than anything else, and the Naboo elected their Queens, which was still strange to Eitana and Doron.

“How is romance these days in the galaxy?” Eitana asked, to a groan from Adlai, “Oh, hush, it’s not every day I get to pretend to be young again, and you’ve been out exploring non-traditional meetings and loves. You don’t gush enough.”

Adlai could only offer a wry smile, and eat his food. His mom didn’t need to know Skye might not be the best source, since as far as he knew, she hadn’t really been seeking a relationship, given she was on the run.

~***~

‘Well, Mitth’raw’nuruodo, I think the crystal hermodium is a fast growing crystal, but not a living crystal which is why it isn’t used for energy and likely why it’s been used for art.’

Naturally, that was not an answer Eira could give him. For one, knowing the crystals had life – or calling it life – was very much a Jedi thing. People looking into kyber now for energy and other things, didn’t call them living.

Second, she shouldn’t be able to recognize crystals on sight. She didn’t recognize all on sight, but she did know this one.

Would it be enough to have commissioned pieces in it, to know it? Probably not. She’d commissioned small things, not this. She shouldn’t know how easily molds were used for it, because it would grow inside them and take form.

“Well, it’s interesting they’ve chosen crystal at all as a medium,” Eira noted, “from what I’ve seen, most crystals aren’t terribly predictable with their growth, so finding one, or a group of several, to combine into a sculpture seems like it would be a difficult task. I’m more familiar with jutting and pointed spires that spike and branch off each other – they’ve never looked like something that would be good to take a chisel to, but there doesn’t appear to be too many cracks in these, so the artists must know what they’re doing. Or maybe crystal isn’t as fragile as I think,” she chuckled, “I can’t get over how close it looks to glass.” And she knew how fragile kyber could be. She’d known of people who cracked their kyber or broken it completely. She’d never had that trouble, but it happened.
 
“No, we hardly have any reason to visit Wild Space,” Silas said, to which Cora wanted to groan. Again. There was that passive aggressive tone she had expected her father to eventually use. At least he tried better than her mother. Silas could be a bit more...tactful, than Alma.

“Leo is arriving. I’ll go get him,” Rosa said suddenly, putting back her holopad into her pocket after pulling it out to read her message. She left without further word, avoiding the likely awkward conversation that was going to happen.

“I still don’t understand why Coraline couldn’t have brought home a nice boy from the Core,” Alma sighed.

“Come now, Alma, he seems like a good enough boy, despite his shortcomings.”

Cora sighed, heavily. There it was. The issues she knew would be brought up, despite Eli doing everything right. He’s nicer than anyone from the Core I’ve dated.

~~~

Skye snickered at Adlai’s reaction to his mother. She just wished she had more she could say to Eitana besides the fact that she didn’t really know much about romance in the galaxy. Her last foray with romance was a forbidden love during the Clone Wars. Since then, she’d been too busy running to know anyone long enough to consider such a thing.

And even though she did have a lover in the past, the old Jedi teachings liked to whisper in her head on occasion. Even now.

“Admittedly, I wouldn’t know much about that. Before Aldai, I really didn't have the time or the chance for much romance.” It wasn’t far from the truth. Running constantly and doing a new job every few weeks didn’t provide much opportunity or time for anything

“I wish I could give you something more exciting,” she said with a shrug.

~~~

Staring at the crystals in question, Thrawn hummed as he listened to Eira give her own impression of the crystals as artwork. He could agree with her opinion. Crystals indeed weren’t terribly predictable in their growth, and many forms were incredibly fragile, while others could be as hard as durasteel.

Somehow, he didn’t think these were that hard, but rather on the softer, more fragile end of the spectrum.

“You are correct. Crystals indeed aren’t predictable in their growth. In a way, they are simultaneously chaotic and predictable. We don’t know the exact pattern they will grow into, but we do know each pattern will be different.” The theme of chaos again. Organized chaos, which was life.

“I can’t presume to know too much about crystals myself,” he chuckled, “but they’re fragile, and each one is unique, almost like life itself.” Fragile, unique, and chaotic, were the words Thrawn was beginning to associate with the gallery, and the species as a whole. He could only begin to inquire of the xidelphiads based on this information.
 
Silas was more tactful, and no doubt he considered that honest. Silas knew of nothing in Wild Space, and sold no real estate there, so of course he had no reason. Yet. Eli would not take offense at that, though he was going to make a suggestion of one thing, before Rosa interrupted, and then the parents spoke about Eli as if he wasn’t there.

‘Really?’

“Perhaps you’d like to enlighten me as to my shortcomings?” Eli spoke up, no insult in his tone, but it was terribly firm as he looked not Silas in the eyes, but Alma. There wasn’t burning anger, there wasn’t even outrage, but there was plenty of durasteel, “Since I’m here,” he gave an easy smile.

It wasn’t forced.

It had encouragement to it, actually, and a gleam in his eyes that dared them to say what they actually meant for once. “I know I’m not as tall as you would like, and I know I am from Wild Space, a place that neither of you apparently have any real reference for understanding, as you’ve proven by never visiting,” an easy point to make, though whether or not they’d care for it, was to be determined.

They could wave it off as a place that never needed visiting to understand, but he had to believe in Cora – and that they were responsible for raising Cora, so that meant they had to have some reasoning to them.

“If there is something else that I’ve failed to take note of, and can improve, I would like to hear it. Or perhaps, you can ask Cora herself what it that makes me stand above these short-comings?" They would value her opinion more than his. And they were literally talking about her choice, right in front of her, too.

~***~

Eitana couldn’t help but mock-pout as it seemed Skye had no more stories to offer her about dating in the galaxy abroad. “Well, I suppose there’s some romance in finding someone to settle down with after so long,” Eitana said, adding, “and if you do end up joining this family, I’m sure you’ll find plenty of scandalous gossip to share in these circles,” she rolled her eyes a bit, “It all gets rather too indulgent and speculative even for my tastes, but sometimes it’s interesting.”

“Hardly,” Doron grumbled. Of course, he was of the opinion that many of the traditions really were outdated, which was certainly why he and Eitana both were more lax with Adlai’s decisions and chosen life path for his romance, and much else besides.

“Well, what else are you two planning on doing while you’re here?” Eitana asked.

Adlai gave a bit of a shrug, “I plan to show her to a few of my favorite places,” he answered, “definitely try to get up the mountain,” since she was interested in that, “and perhaps show her some of the waterspeeders and sports.” It was easy enough to rent a craft or two, “but I’ll let her decide some things, too,” they’d discussed plenty – but there was never enough time, in his opinion.

~***~

Mitth’raw’nuruodo seemed to find nothing amiss with the answer, and Eira was willing to leave it at that as she let her eyes go over the art, catching the themes as he said them, tying them back to what they had seen before, “But static,” the crystals weren’t going to be changing any further, unlike the sand, which would continue to change.

“I thought you’d know more about crystals,” she teased, just a little, “they’re used so much for energy and weapons in the Empire.” Perhaps it really wasn’t his concern to understand what the Empire used, so much as just using it.

Still, she’d gesture to another room, “Shall we?” More art awaited them, for him to get a better idea of the xidelphiad’s – may they never become his enemy. Perhaps, it was one advantage of the Jedi Purge.

There was no art he could use to learn of them.

“How do outliers figure into your considerations of art?” Eira would ask on the way, “They must tell you something about the culture as a whole, if they would be wiling to present art that goes against the norm, right?” Some form of acceptance for the message given by it, even if they themselves didn’t fully understand that message because it was already deeply ingrained.

They were too close to it.
 
Eli was quick to defend himself, and didn’t hold back anything. A bubble of laughter threatened to burst, and Cora bit it back, but she did smile as she looked over at Eli, pride swelling in her chest as he didn’t hesitate to defend against her parents’ unfair words.

She wasn’t going to help her parents when they were the ones in the wrong here.

Alma looked taken aback by Eli’s words, surprised that he actually stood up for himself against them, in their house. She wasn’t angry though, just more shocked. She looked away for a second, actually deigning to appear shameful for one millisecond, before meeting his gaze once again.

Even Silas had the decency to look a little ashamed. “Wild Space just holds a certain reputation here,” but he didn’t have the chance to say anything more, not that he wanted to, before Rosaline returned to the room with Leoline following behind her.

“Did we miss something?” Leo spoke, sensing some tension in the room.

“Oh, just mom and dad being...mom and dad,” Cora said, before greeting her brother with a hug.

~~~

The topic easily changed to one Skye was more comfortable with - rather than letting thoughts linger on traditions and maybe one day joining the family. It was much too soon, in her opinion, to be talking about such things.

“I think I’m most excited about the mountain. I love nature, and I always do what I can to get into nature.” It may have seemed odd as someone who grew up on Coruscant, or maybe it was because of that that it didn’t seem odd.

Of course, she and Adlai knew that the truth behind the love was not due to her upbringing, but rather her connection with everything in nature and the songs the Force can sing.

She was very excited to explore what Serenno had to offer.

“Waterspeeders is also something I would enjoy a lot. Really, anything active and in nature.”

~~~

“I understand crystals enough,” Thrawn admitted, “but beyond the scope of the Empire’s use, I admit that my understanding of them is lacking, something which I hope tor rectify in the future.” Which meant learning more about kyber crystals, and the culture of the Jedi. Somehow.

Obviously the Empire is against anything concerning the Jedi, and learning more about their kyber crystals and how they were perceived would be near impossible. Unless you manage to capture a Jedi.

Thrawn nodded as Eira gestured to another room, “Yes, we shall.” Without much thought, he gently set one hand at the small of her back to guide Eira into the next room. As soon as he realized what he did, after a few seconds, Thrawn dropped his hand from her.

“Depending on the culture, I tend to not think much of outliers, as outliers seem to be common in nearly every culture I stumble upon. Though sometimes, it helps me understand how open and accepting a culture can be to those that are different or to change.” Of course, he has also encountered many cultures that had uniformed art with nothing out of the ordinary.
 
Alma looked shamed, for a moment. It was gratifying, but not nearly enough, and Eli shifted his gaze to Silas when he began to talk, that firm earnestness clearly hearing, and clearly judging with each word that left his mouth. His brows lifted, wanting Silas to go on – and wanting to tell him the reputation the Core had, to see if he liked it any better.

He didn’t get to, Leoline joined with Rosa, and Eli was able to greet their return with a cheered smile. He took some pleasure in making them both look ashamed. At least it meant they knew what they were saying was wrong. Now they could start to think about why they felt that way for a few moments, and perhaps learn.

He’d see whether or not they did.

Eli did laugh a little at Cora’s statement, “The norms of getting to know someone new dating your child, I think,” Eli added, “It’s good to see you again, Leoline,” he wasn’t sure how good it actually was, but it was good in the moment, as Leoline’s arrival did break up some of that tension. He wouldn’t hold onto it.

There was still more of the evening to get through.

If they wanted to make more problems, they would.

~***~

Skye was right to assume they thought it natural because of her Core life. From what Adlai had to say, and what they’d seen, few of those planets had real nature. It was usually terribly artificial and well kept, no wildness left to it, unlike the Outer Rim and other planets outside the Core. If she liked nature, she was sure to enjoy it.

“Well, then I’m sure you’ll have a good time with Adlai. He’s certainly not idle,” Eitana said.

“Never was,” Doron added easily, “Just can’t keep up with him as well as I used to,” one problem of age, though it didn’t bother him most days. He wasn’t in the field of battle anymore, that kind of haste was no longer necessary.

Not to mention he had plenty of guards.

“I’m sure you’ll love the mountains,” Eitana added, “It’s peaceful; oh there’s always a few people climbing up them or hanging around, but it’s never so loud as in the cities, and the mood is vastly different. Even from city parks and gardens. Even our parks and gardens,” she allowed. There was just something different.

“I think it’s the thin air.” Doron stated.

“I can talk plenty in mountains.”

“No one said you were normal, Addie.”

~***~

Mitth’raw’nuruodo’s touch was well on the brink of decency, and Eira had an urge to slap it away, or move up ahead quicker. She didn’t; part of her didn’t want a scene. Another part she hated to acknowledged, wished it could be a touch more normal between them. She was intent to ignore that part, and so she focused on the part that didn’t want to make a scene.

She wouldn’t point it out to him.

And would be notably more reserved with reaching out to him again, or even stepping too close, to avoid that. She could excuse it easily enough with concerns of the press, if pressed to answer, but it seemed he remained far more fascinated by the art…and she was still able to admire that fascination as they moved through the gallery.

As they returned, eventually, to the beginning with the sand, still moving, still forming new pictures.

“Well, Mitth’raw’nuruodo,” Eira began, at the end, “what do you have to say for the xidelphiad culture, now that you’ve seen this gallery? Were the crystals placed correctly in the light?” It was one of those things they had wondered if it was human decision or not – among many other things.

And while Ae’lia was aware that this was the end of the evening, and she’d soon be free to drop this mask – there was a part of her that almost wished that she was, in fact, Eira Nevan.
 
Cora made a silent vow to herself to make up to Eli the mess that was meeting her family. He was doing much better than she thought he would, but also, he shouldn't have had to stand up for himself so much. He certainly wouldn’t be if he had been from the Core.

Somehow, she’ll make it up to him.

Leoline greeted Eli politely enough, like he did at the amusement park. “Good to see you as well, Eli.” He stuck out one hand to shake, a polite enough greeting.

“Now, I believe dinner is nearly ready. Come, let’s head to the dining room,” Alma announced, and she would begin to lead them out of the family room, and down the hallway.

“Are they behaving?” Leo whispered to Cora.

“Only as well as you might expect.”

Upon entrance to the dining room, Silas gestured for everyone to take their seat at the table, where a servant just placed the last dish. On the table was an array of standard Core food, with an Anaxes flair.

~~~

With the last comment, Skye did laugh. The relationship was easy to see in their banter, and she could enjoy watching them interact all day. It was endearing and almost amusing.

Familial relationships were still foreign for Skye. The closest thing she ever had to one was with Master Parsa, who was the only paternal figure she ever truly knew. But it was nothing like this. Would she eventually learn what it was like having parents, if she stayed with Adlai?

Going off the topic of nature, Skye asked, “Where would you recommend that a visitor should go and see?” Maybe Eitana or Doron would have ideas that Adlai hadn’t mentioned before, and if there was time, they could see these hidden gems and experience more of the wonders of Serenno.

But she also wanted to make sure that Adlai had time to visit his friends. “I imagine there’s just too much to try and pack into one trip.”

~~~

Thrawn thought nothing more of the accidental touch, as they continued to move throughout the art gallery and lingered on discussions of the xidelphiad culture, or what he could garner from it.

And he gathered these thoughts as they returned to the beginning, in the room with the sand paintings. With the question brought up of the crystals, and their correct placement, Thrawn answered, “I think the crystals were unintentionally placed correctly in the light. While I think the humans who set up the gallery did not do so in its correct form, the xidelphiads play upon nature in their art mediums quite well.”

They truly utilized the landscape around them in many ways. “The crystals refract light so easily, and after looking over the sand paintings once more, I do believe that they intended for part of the art in the crystal sculptures was to play upon what was natural.” In this case, the sunlight.

In the end, Thrawn was fascinated by their art, and he had intention to research more into them in his freetime just to learn what he could about the link between their culture, their society, their history, and their art. “Do you agree with this?”
 
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