Jedi or Joke?

Raasha kept her mouth closed during what Bekk was initially saying, and even looked away to the horizon again. As he continued talking though, she quickly found herself relieved. It was good to have her patience vindicated suitably, particularly because the Zabrak settled on the best reasons to not steal. Moral ones. Maybe he was right they wouldn't be followed, but she knew he was definitely right that most people wouldn't deserve that kind of thing. Something that could go up to the stars, that was valuable, losing it could ruin lives. Of course there was the sudden distraction as she turned back to look at him and noticed that he was... Right there.

Very near her face in fact.

Her previous questions about modesty and alien anatomy were now all resolved, as she had a very, very clear image of exactly what a Zabrak had below the beltline. Indeed there was nothing left to the imagination. Raasha immediately covered her mouth to suppress her giggling.

She stopped instantly though when he turned around. There was a spider perched on his rather appealing backside. Fortunately Raasha had lived on Shili her whole life and as such she'd learned how to recognize every dangerous animal, no matter how small. It was a simple reed spider, hardly dangerous to anything bigger than a thimiar, but on the other hand if it bit him he'd be opting to stand quite a lot for a few days. With rapid reflexes, Raasha sprang into action. Her hand darted out, and swatted away the offending arachnid, in the process making contact with Bekk's backside, the hand reverberating against the skin with a fleshy smack.

Raasha pointed at the spider rapidly scuttling away.

"Was on you. Didn't have stick," She offered as explanation, with a bit of a shrug.

Raasha wasn't prepared for what happened. Bekk shot forward, thrusting away and then proceeded to swagger his way over to his clothing trying to hide a very sudden erection. Raasha hadn't expected it. Oh she'd expected a bit of blushing, maybe a protestation. Not this. Of course she was used to being quiet, to being restrained. She didn't really ever feel prone to very strong emotions, but this was so utterly unexpected and so outside her frame of normal reference that she felt it erupting like a volcano.

Laughter.

Not giggling. Not a chuckle. But actual, real, solid guffawing. She bent over double and laughed until she cried, slapping the red dirt with mirth that only redoubled when he described how soft her hands were.

It was the most she'd laughed in a year at the least, probably more. It was so farcical, so outside of her normal references. But deep down amidst all that she grinned broadly because she had a friend now. This was what friends were like. This was what they were FOR. Slowly she sat up, and she got her laughter under control.

"You're very funny man Bekk," She said with admiration.

The laughter echoed throughout the pool, fading away into the trees finally. Raasha straightened herself up with happy tears in her eyes. When he returned her compliment from the ground, Raasha didn't blush this time. She smiled. He was good to have around. She liked him. Any residual ambivalence she had about his lightsaber incident back in Cover City trickled away in that moment, and the slate wasn't just clean. It was sparkling. He dusted himself off and started dressing properly, and Raasha did the same as well. The tunic and the vest both rejoined her, and the knife, or rather one of the numerous ones she carried.

Raasha took one last look out at the horizon, smiling vaguely, and turned back to the village.

It was several leisurely hours later that the sun finally crept down, and that was when the true sights came to bear. Shili had six moons. All of them were in alignment. From the largest, which was currently blood red, to the small white pearls, to the purple stone, they all hung there purposefully overhead as the stars twinkled brightly above in the velvet sky. What was more, the lights of torches and numerous small fires were all around the village. Bright geometric blankets were spread all over the ground, and in the center was a large pit. They were cooking in it, amidst numerous coals.

Everywhere was the quiet sound of laughter, voices talking softly, and the music of stringed instruments, drums, and flutes. Piled high near Bekk was a tray full of assorted greens. By him sat Raasha, cross-legged on the blanket, with her own plate of meat. Midway between them was yet another filled with delicious fruits and berries. And then, there was the alcohol. Jars and bottles of it. Wines, ice wines, beers, cordials. It flowed very freely, and Raasha grinned over to Bekk between courses. She was immensely curious to see how he enjoyed it.

She wasn't the only one. Grandmother was looking, despite being blind, and mother was watching with a certain degree of suspicion. Probably because she'd hunted one of the main courses. And there was Raasha's sister Alasri, who if anything managed to be more attractive. And there were her three brothers and her father, who were possibly the most intimidating part to the Zabrak. While Alasri had the kind of smolder that could replace kindling, Dar was a hulking man, shirtless most of the time, with a seemingly endless array of muscles and scars. And also a jaw that could carve granite. Her brothers were almost miniature versions of him. There was definitely a standard of masculinity in the family that was set very high.

Raasha didn't seem to notice any looks. Instead she was happily sampling the wine and the food, and reminiscing with old friends.

Raasha was happy, and what was more relieved, whenever she looked and saw Bekk was doing well. Togruti festivals hadn't been what she'd figured for the Zabrak's ease of mind. Slowly she started to enjoy herself more as a result, and check on him less often. Soon she had garlands of flowers around her neck, and had migrated away from her place, standing near a fire and laughing with her sister and another young woman. There was a steady flow of alcohol the whole time, and a great festive feeling to it all. As a matter of fact, she wound up dancing around happily.

Her mother quietly moved over and sat next to Bekk, in a stance that was half-crouching. She looked as though she was simply resting for a moment, though something about her was distinctly not restful. She looked as unyielding as a mountain. Her unflinching gaze was turned on him, two purple irises that looked more like moons than eyes. They were intensely focused, and not easy to look at. Particularly not when it was clear she was stalking prey.

"My daughter tells me you found a lightsaber. My mother tells me you may learn to use it. What do you tell me?"

Her tone managed to betray nothing. No negative feelings, no positive feelings. Simply a question with the expectation there was to be an answer, and with the message it had to be pretty good.

Adri looked looked at Bekk carefully, and by the end of his sentence she had shifted into a look that was very clearly and distinctly amusement. The lines around her eyes had softened, and her lips crept very slightly into the trace of a smile. There was no way around it, she may have been a stern and severe woman, but she was one who was quite amused at the moment. Her hands rested neatly in her lap when she finally replied.

"That sounded better in your head, didn't it?" She said evenly. "Be careful making promises though, I've dealt with enough aliens to know they don't always mean them. My daughter hasn't. She's very trusting. I'm not implying you'd do anything to harm that," Adri said, waving any negative implication aside with a graceful motion of the hand, "She clearly saw enough in you to bring you here. And I won't even object to you dancing. But I will expect you to be careful with Raasha. She is my youngest daughter, and she knows the least about the outside world."

The Togruta woman shifted her weight a little in her half-sit and decided to conclude her comments.

"I think perhaps when you leave Shili behind, she may be as useless as you feel now."

Adri nodded. She hadn't said anything, but never-the-less she accepted what Bekk had said, that much was clear. She also gave him a light push on the back over towards Raasha, which was another sign that couldn't have been too terrible. She slowly walked over to her husband, who watched the receding Zabrak as he headed to the dancefloor. He lightly placed an arm like a small tree around her shoulders.

"What do you think of him Adri?" He asked softly, planting a kiss on one of her montrals.

She smiled to him.

"I think he's a lot stronger than he looks. For once I'm not worrying about her." She reached out to his hand and gave it a familiar squeeze.

Over on the dance floor Raasha paused, and turned to watch Bekk walk over. She cocked her head, and lightly adjusted her flowers. She didn't know Bekk had ever danced. She didn't know he could dance. What was more, he probably didn't know any of the folk- But then again that had gone out the window an hour ago as increasing levels of alcohol consumption rendered it all moot. Raasha curtsied in overdramatic fashion, and smiled coquettishly.

"I was not knowing you danced," She said tentatively, taking his hand and moving out onto the floor again. "How are you liking this?"