etrayalogs | All Things Thrive

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All Things Thrive

WHO: Rosie and Mal Durrish
WHEN: Post-mission
WHERE: Rosie's place
WHAT: Nascent friends gather to discuss powers, true forms, and other related personal issues.
NOTES\WARNINGS: N/A

The place wasn't hard to find. But she'd taken the time beforehand to get a bottle of wine - because apparently that was a common Earth custom. The first time you were invited somewhere, you brought a greeting gift. It wasn't one she'd had any experience with but was happy to adopt. And it was real, actually probably decent wine! Not some Nar Shaddaa rotgut! Granted, it wasn't Corellian Ale, but what was?

Tastes of home, well missed.

But in any event, she took a deep breath outside the door. She'd been making a few friends since her arrival, but it was a new process, and this one seemed like it had...well, quite a lot of importance for Rosie. There were many traditions of demons in her universe, but they were so varied that she had no preconceptions, good or bad. Legends and lore were always changing - and a Jedi knew better than most that appearances were different from realities.

As for the idea of seeing Rosie's true form - she was definitely curious, and more than a little bit honoured - she just wanted to do things right.

As Master Skywalker's great dictum, passed on to her masters, went: Do or do not, there is no try.

And so, she knocked.

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Rosie isn't one to follow customs to being with, but she will enjoy the gift. Especially since it's alcohol! Finding a decent drink in this place has been a bit troubling. While there was a liquor store, well... Sometimes you just needed one made by someone else right to really hit.

"Coming!" she calls out, in response to the knock. When she opens the door, she greets Mal with a smile and Smokey greets her with a boop of his cold snoot against her hands near immediately. They don't get much company, actually, so he is always excited for guests.

"Head on in," she says, stepping back, "and hopefully it's not too much of a mess! I tried to clean up beforehand, but- My definition and some other people's don't always match up." Charlie, for example, kept things immaculate. When left to her own devices though, Rosie tended to trend towards 'slob.' Currently, her apartment is somewhat of a compromise of most things being tidy and neat, but the devil is in the details of dishes leftover in the sink or a lot of clutter just being relocated to somewhere unseen.

"Oh, and- Set that down wherever you want! And thanks for bringing it, actually, you didn't have to get me anything."

Never doubt the ability of someone born to certain planets to find good alcohol - Corellia, Corulag, Nar Shaddaa - the upraising you got there gave you a nose for scrounging.

But whatever thoughts might be in her head are banished by the sudden cold snoot, and Mal's down in a squat to say hello. "Hey there! What's your name? Are you friendly?"

And belatedly, she turns her head to reply to the ret.

"Oh, right, you got it."

And she does look around as she enters - she's not used to...well, things. An apartment, well lived in? Is a bit of a novelty for her. She set the bottle down on a table.

"Didn't want to come empty-handed," she replies. "Especially after you were so kind as to invite me."

"That's Smokey!" she answers, for the canine who can't. His tail wags a little more though at the mention of his own name as if to say 'yes, that's me, hello.' Lived in as her apartment is, it's still considerably bare. Only recently had she begun to decorate and make the space a bit more hers. There's a small saltwater aquarium set-up in the living room too but suspiciously the tank seems empty. Or whatever is in there is just that good at remaining unseen.

"Well, hey, I'm not gonna' say no- Just give me a minute to find a bottle opener." Corkscrew, depending on the type of alcohol. She's a twist-off kind of gal with how cheap she tends to be, but is usually prepared for the good stuff at least. "You can sit down, make yourself at home!" Smokey follows dutifully wherever Mal decides to go, used to Rosie's bouncing around the apartment and instead focusing on new company.

"Hiya Smokey," she replies, going instantly into dog-mode. Which is the same sort of semi-cooing voice she uses with her own furry companion. And she starts patting herself down.

"Gotta little dog treat on me somewhere...can Smokey have those?" she asks as she sits down on a nearby couch, idly stroking the dog's fur as she watches Rosie move about.

"Oh, definitely! I try not to spoil him too much, but- It is hard to say 'no' to those big eyes, I know." His large, brown eyes attached to that long snoot. While Rosie finds it incredibly cute, well- She knows he's a strange-looking creature to most.

After rummaging around a little, she gives a little 'aha'! and re-emerges with bottle opener in hand. "Should you do the honors, or me?"

She grins, giving that snoot a bit of a boop before fishing a doggy treat out of a pocket to hand over. And strange, maybe - but Rosie's talking to someone who has seen Hutts and Tauntauns close up; a long snoot is incredibly cute by comparison.

She takes the bottle opener, tapping it against her opposite hand for a moment.

"What was it my Jedi Masters always said...oh, right: 'if formal give heed, informal take lead.'"

She smiles, taking the bottle and working to get the top off.

"Since I'm not a guest at a formal occasion and this isn't unexpected diplomacy..."

She gives a tug, then another to finally pull it free with a pop, nodding in satisfaction before filling up two glasses.

"Going with generous portions," she says, with a wry smile. "Seems like that kind of night."

She has described him as a 'cuddly paralysis demon' to some. While not an inaccurate description, quite a few people seem to think that's the last thing someone would want in their home. They aren't entirely wrong, but- What can she say? From one demon to another, she gets the appeal.

"I can get behind that," the blond agrees, raising her glass to tap. "I also won't need to drink, really, to show off all of me but- A little liquid courage never hurt." And while that might have once easily been innuendo, so much time here without that being a central focus means she doesn't... actually realize it sounds. It's just what she means, showing that side of herself being all that there is to her.

Truth is, given the circumstances of the evening, she'd only interpret that the way Rosalina means it - because it makes all the sense in the world.

"Nope, it doesn't," she replied, raising her own glass and placing down the bottle. "Besides, pretty sure it's a good bottle. I'm a pretty good scrounger, all things said and done, heh."

She takes a sip, nodding.

"Ok, definitely good. Not rotgut at all, which is a good start."

"Oh, rotgut sounds pretty self-explanatory. But, I'm still a little curious." Probably the equivalent of 'two buck Chuck' as she's heard it called on her homeworld. Sometimes though, that was the best kind of wine to get if you were looking for a cheap, but good time.

"Just like I'm sure you're curious about what I look like! I realize it's probably not, y'know, as dramatic as it could be but... It's more just, well, what other people associate it with." Negatively, at least. Here, most people didn't even seem to blink an eye.

She laughs, shaking her head.

"That's one you might regret - I'm talking stuff brewed up out behind alleys in the dark corners of a city-moon...the line between it and fuel being thinner than one would want."

As for the rest, she smiles in an understanding manner, and nods.

"Look, there's a species where I'm from, called Devaronians. Red skin, sharp teeth. And the males have two horns?" She mimics their height with her hands.

"The ones I've met have been the nicest people - so I've seen a lot of forms and the only preconceived notion I've got is curiosity."

She pauses.

"And thankfulness, that you consider me worthy of sharing."

"They sound kind of like oni," she mentions. "Oni have lots of different skin colors, but- Two horns. Wield clubs. They aren't the smartest creatures, but they aren't awful or anything. Just kind of do their own thing." A lot of them also tried to find a stable living under the demon lords in one way or another, but... Getting into all of that isn't the point of this night.

"Yokai in general are pretty diverse since, well, we're all born from human fears or desires and magic. That's the basic explanation, like- My people came about because of the human fear of walking alone in mountain passes at night." And if they tripped, they'd devour those humans whole. Rosie never had but she'd never been forced to. Thankfully.

Anyway! "I know not everyone dislikes us. Even here, y'know, most people have been... pretty cool, but. It's just. Hard to shake the fear of that stigma?" As she speaks though, she'll allow her concentration to dip and the shift to happen. In a blink, she's more silver than gold. Her features are sharper - particularly the teeth - and tall ears stand on her head. A tail curls around from behind her to rest at her side where she sits.

She listens as the other explains, recognizing it as a time to just listen. And then...then the changes happen.

Her eyes widen in wonder as she watches, having never seen anything quite like it. A small, open mouthed smile remains on her face for just that reason - she's seen so much, and so much of it - so much, by the stars - had been dark. Moments like this make it all worth while.

Moments like this are what makes life truly wonderful.

"Wow, that's..." she shakes her head after a while, blinking slowly. "That's incredible! You're...wow!"

No fear, no apprehension. Just wonder at seeing the incredible made real.

It's always so anxiety-inducing. Or, at least, it used to be. After Gorgug's near non-reaction though, Mal's is welcome. Cute, even, for how pure it is. Most people back home would have been horrified by her, like any other supernatural, but she's glad that hasn't been the case often here. Instead, it's been... good.

"I don't know about all that," she says, an ear twitching and her tail flicking. "But I appreciate it! Honestly, this form is a lot more-" As she thinks of the word to use, her ears pull back briefly only to sproing back up straight once she's got it. "-expressive, ha. It can be kind of embarrassing?"

Everything is interesting in the moment, that little twitch and flick. She wonders how much body language features for Rosie, now. How heightened her senses above human norms. Questions, questions, questions.

"Embarrassing? How so? And I'm guessing are some pretty neat and powerful senses, too, right?"

"Well, just- Part of my job back home was to, like, not show emotion except for the ones that would get me information. So having them so easily read like this because of my ears and stuff just makes me feel- More exposed, maybe?" Vulnerable, is the actual word she's looking for but doesn't come to mind.

"But yeah, I can pick up scents like no one's business. Dark vision. Actually, even human-looking sometimes my eyes still have the animal shine. That part is really hard to hide for some reason?" Perhaps because her animal features were always there, just shrouded to most.

"I'm also stronger. Not, like, super strength or anything ridiculous. Just that most guys who would try to take me on in arm wrestling would, in fact, lose."

She listens and nods.

"So all in all...a pretty amazing set of characteristics. This being what I love about meeting new people from different planets...places, worlds - it's always different."

She smiles.

"Thank you. For sharing all this. I suppose in return you should know what I am, I guess," she adds, patting herself down. From a pocket, she pulls out an interesting, smoothed out rock she'd found earlier - being an odd sort of packrat in that regard.

She holds it in her palm, hand open - and then it floats into the air, gently turning.

"We're called Jedi Knights. Back home, I mean. We feel and interact with the energy field created by all living things. And we use that to defend those that need it. To push back against...cruelty, hate, exploitation. Wherever we can. There's been a Jedi Order as long as the galaxy can remember, and it's risen and fallen many times. Right now? We're rising again after being driven to near extinction. There's not many of us, and we're badly outnumbered in a galaxy that needs a lot of help, but that's the job."

She moves her hand, gently using the Force to push the rock towards Rosie.

"After that my story gets really complicated and probably uninteresting. But figured you deserved the basics. And since you answered my questions..."

While Rosie had always enjoyed the diversity of people, this definitely did tag it a step beyond! She does listen though - ears up and alert - and watches that rock float. Some kind of psychic power? Or something similar, perhaps. Feldspar could scan thoughts and things like that but even then... The 'mind reading' of media was mostly myth. Even he could only tell surface-level intentions and mood shifts, but not the deeper explanations for a lot.

"That's pretty noble of you," she says. "My work was... Well, we were also trying to help. I mean, I thought we were originally. I guess I just didn't realize my definition of 'help' and my bosses were... pretty different." Her end goal satisfied all - mortals and yokai alike - while his only satisfied their kind. A swing of the pendulum the other way.

"I appreciate you telling me, too. I get why it might be kind of scary too, if there's not a lot of you left."

"Wasn't always. My path to the good guys was...complicated, to say the least," she says, with just the slightest hint of a wince, and a bit of an embarrassed blush. She pushes back her fringe for a moment, unthinking, which should reveal at least part of the scar that runs nearly the length of her head from back to front.

"My original bosses..yeah, also pretty different. But here, this place? Not so scary since, well, it's the longest I've gone without somebody taking a shot at me."

Oh, that's... Huh. While she knows better than to judge a book by its cover, Mal had always seemed pretty 'good.' At least, objectively! She knew her alcohol and sleight of hand card tricks, but that was all fairly harmless.

Granted, if Rosie knew how to determine truly good from bad then maybe things in her world wouldn't have ended up as they did. Or maybe she was always fated to get washed away in the shades of grey.

"Same, actually. Well! I guess my last job still technically was, but it ended with an unfortunate bang." A shot straight through Charlie's head, at least. It was a knife that sunk into her chest thought instead of a bullet and then a long, dizzying fall. After, it was Etraya.

It was easier to be good having seen - having lived - the other side of things. It's easier, now, because she remembers what the wrong way to live had been.

"Ooof, I hear you. In my case it was kinda the same," she replies, looking off into the middle distance. "If you count a shoulder-launched missile detonating a fuel tanker as a bang, anyway."

But she manages a lopsided smile. "But we learn, and grow, right? It's better now. Much better. The Jedi...saved me. Gave me the chance to be better."

"Mine was a gunshot. Not at me, thankfully, though... I got my own injury to deal with I found out about when I arrived." She also hadn't been dropped into the hospital proper, but a spaceship instead covered in goo. It was all very bizarre.

"That's good though," she agrees. "That you were able to have that. I'm still learning and growing, I think, but being here has helped to. Getting to be me."

"Glad for that, too -" she replied with a smile. "You seem to be a pretty great you, and I'm glad you view it as a journey."

Because it absolutely is. It has been for her, too.

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All Things Thrive

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sorry about the delay! had some tough rl stuff come up, but no worries if this is too old

No worries, I'm a backtagger-into-infinity so long as we're both enjoying it :)

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