acertainpov | OOM: Everybody's dancing and the band's top volume

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OOM: Everybody's dancing and the band's top volume

It should have been a simple intel gathering exercise. Slip unannounced into the shipping traffic surrounding Scipio, use stolen codes to land, get to the dropbox, get the datachip, leave.

The first problem is that it isn't Obi-Wan's contact, it's Depa Billaba's contact, and she arranged the meeting. But Depa Billaba then went into battle against General Grievous, andd is now in a coma, so Obi-Wan has been dispatched instead. He has the negotiating skills, he could make the connection.

The second problem is that the dropbox doesn't contain the datachip, but an invitation to a ball, and a flimsi that says I'll meet you there.

And the third problem is the name on the invitation is Jynna Lora.

"You're good at undercover work," Cody says to Obi-Wan, "but I don't think you could pass as a 'Jynna Lora.'"

"I suspect you're right there."

"So do we turn around, signal for a female Jedi?"

Obi-Wan considers this, and shakes his head. "No, I think I shall go to the ball. Wait there, Cody."

And on that, he heads through the door to Milliways.

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"You think so?"

Among the assorted people to be found in the bar today, one of them is a red-haired baker discussing experimental recipe ideas with the Bar herself, via a small but growing pile of napkin notes. Bar has some strong opinions about food and a lot of experience to pull from, so Sunshine values her input when she's brainstorming.

"A savory version might be too much for folks, but it's worth investigating," she remarks. "Thinking, lemon-garlic to start with, as a kind of flavor-bridge? If I roast the garlic beforehand, it should mellow out nicely and not be too sharp."

Another napkin appears. "Oh, definitely, the texture is likely going to be an issue."

"Lemon-garlic sounds fascinating," Obi-Wan says from behind her. He's wearing his armour, of course, but is already peeling off his gauntlets and gloves as he comes over to join her at the bar.

"Hello, my dear. Inventing more delicious delicacies?"

"That's the hope," Sunshine admits, grinning over her shoulder at Obi-Wan. Her sunflower-dotted apron is hanging from the hook by the kitchen door, so she is just in a bright blue t-shirt (upon which a cartoony marbled loaf beams cheerfully and proclaims, Ryes and shine!) and orange jean shorts, at the moment. "Some traditionally-sweet dishes manage really well reimagined as savory dishes, but there's always the risk that they won't."

Experiments may require taste-testers. Oh no.

"How have you been? Things going okay on your side of the door?"

"Oh you know," Obi-Wan says cheerfully, "sometimes there are problems that can be solved with a lightsaber, sometimes there aren't."

He reaches around to her, picks up a couple of napkins and realises he doesn't understand a word of it. "Actually you're just the person to help me with something. Are you busy, or do you have buns in the oven?"

"I've nothing going on in the kitchens at the moment, no," Sunshine chuckles, turning to lean on the edge of the bar counter. "Just brainstorming ideas. What do you need?"

Because of course she's on-board for a friend who has come to her for help.

He sighs heavily at the great weight of the favour he's tasked with asking of her.

"I'm afraid I find myself in dire need of a date to a party. You don't know anyone who can help?"

She raises her eyebrows, looking speculatively at Obi-Wan. Needless to say, Rae hadn't been expecting his answer. "A date? And here I was, thinking I was going to get to cater peace negotiations."

"Tell me more about this party."

"It's a formal ball actually," Obi-Wan explains, leaning on the bar as he does so. "On the Separatist planet of Scipio. I shoudl be meeting a friend's contact there, but all I have is an invitation with the name 'Jynna Lora.' Cody doesn't think I could effectively pass as a Jynna, which I'm taking as a personal slight."

Okay, color her intrigued, even as he smile fades a little into a more pensive look. There's a lot to take in there. A formal ball on a Separatist planet - not the vacation from the war she would wish for her friends, but just another form galactic war can take. Meaning undercover. Dangerous, yes, but important enough that he's coming to her.

("...we need you. We need you in the field. Dear frigging gods and angels, do we ever need you in the field. We need anything we can get because, frankly, we're losing. You didn't know that, did you?")

"You could absolutely pass as a Jynna," Rae agrees with a light scoff. What does she know about other planets' naming conventions, anyway? "But if you think it'd be more convincing, I will be the best Jynna Lora I can be."

"Wonderful," he says. "There's always an allowance made for plus ones, and it's Imarrin culture for men to go masked, so I don't think anyone will recognise me."

He draes back to give her a slow look up and down. "But I don't think you're dressed like a member of the prestigious Lora family."

Jynna Lora. Scipio. Imarrin.

"What, not even a Lora in her down-time?" she remarks, mock-wounded. "Though it's true, I don't really own anything that'd pass at a formal ball, even a formal ball on my own world."

Well, she has one very fine dress, but... that's complicated.

"What's Imarrin ballroom attire like?" she asks, echoing his pronunciation so she has it down.

Obi-Wan considers for a second, and then turns to Bar. "Can you help us out with some suggestions, my love?"

Bar has two printed napkins for Rae to choose from: a gold fanned-out dress and a brighter tangerine coloured pantsed outfit, which he passes to Rae for her consideration.

"You would look ravishing in either."

"Oh gods, that's so sparkly," The gold dress makes Sunshine chuckle - it's so over-the-top, she loves it, but how would she move around in that, even at a ball? She would likely rustle the entire time.

The bright and bold tangerine outfit, however... that one makes her beam.

"Ohhh, that one. That's..." An unusual design for a ball, an asymmetrical blend of textures and eye-catchingly bright color, with such fine beadwork across the shoulders and along the arms. She can't pretend the idea of her collection of scars being at least partially hidden doesn't also strengthen the appeal. "That one's amazing. Would it work as ball-attire, you think?"

Her only experience with ballrooms is from balls featured in fairy tales, after all - plus one ruined and derelict ballroom that doesn't apply in this context.

"Oh most definitely," Obi-Wan says. "Eye-catching, easy to move in - for dancing."

Look, every ball he ever goes to devolves into fighting. He's sure that's just a coincidence but it helps to be prepared.

"And it helps me pick something that will coordinate without taking the attention away from you."

"Ah, Jynna Lora likes the spotlight, does she?" Rae chuckles, seeking to know more of the character she needs to be.

(You play your part. From the feet up, baby.)

"But I imagine she's used to receiving such attention, expects it, being from a prestigious family and all."

"She does if you do," he replies. "I trust Depa's contact wouldn't have left her an invitation in the name of someone who actually existed, else she would face questions about it."

And the fact that Rae looks nothing like Depa Billaba would affect that. "But it's a ball for the wealthy and influential among the banking clans. I'd expect any one whose name is on the invitation to prefer attention be lavished on then rather than their masked 'Plus One.'

"Although I rather think you'll shine brightly no matter what I'm wearing."

"I'll manage," Rae chuckles slightly. "One doesn't make it in the small restaurant business without learning to manage people."

The only way Rae Seddon would attend a ball as herself would be as one of the caterers, but perhaps balls for the wealthy and influential would be normal occurrences for Raven Blaise.

So she'll go as Raven Blaise - or as she imagines Raven Blaise would - under the name Jynna Lora.

"Wonderful."

He dismounts from his barstool, just as bar provides a package of clothes for himself, and takes her hand to kiss it, with all the grace and deference of a knight greeting his lady.

"Shall I meet you down here, then?"

"Yes." Rae accepts the kiss to her hand with only a faint moment of unease that is quickly dismissed, not enough to dim her smile. Her own package of clothing appears in short order (with matching shoes which look somehow both appropriately fancy and comfortable to wear, thank goodness for magic). "I'm sure I'll think of any number of questions to ask in the meantime, so we have our story straight."

He'll keep at it despite her unease as long as it's only faint, only enough to prove that his hands are as soiled as hers and that she still shines bright as twin suns.

Bowing to her again, he disappears and returns to the bar a short while later, in a short tunic and pants in muted gold with a red and black sash draped from one shoulder, and a cape hanging from one shoulder, outwardly a bronze colour, but lined in a satin to match Rae's suit, hanging past his wide belt long enough to disguise the lightsaber strapped to the back.

His beard is on full display, but the top half of his face is completely hidden in a half mask that completely fails to hide the amused grin on his face.

Edited 2021-04-10 20:06 (UTC)

Sunshine retreats upstairs to her room to change, and figure out who this Jynna Lora should be. She delights in the feel of the smooth, shining fabric, bright as citrus, and feels herself relax as the asymetrical scarf/cape (scarf-cape?) and the joyous tumult of beadwork across the shoulders and along the arms of the outfit do much to obscure her scars.

The shoes - a muted gold - are even comfortable.

There are a couple of issues to work through while getting dressed. For one, the amber-centered sun ring on the silk cord around her neck will not lay flat and hidden under the neckline formed by the scarf and beadwork. Though as a baker Rae habitually wears no jewelry on her hands, she sets aside the cord and fits the large ring upon the index finger of her right hand. It fits well enough and the amber goes well with the brightness of the outfit, even if the ring's weight is unfamiliar to her. The other issue is her knife, the little folding pocketknife that has lived in the pocket of whatever she's wearing for the past forever. She would be distracted by the lack of it if she were not to take it, and the bright, beaded outfit, as stellar as it is, doesn't have pockets. So, not for the first time, Rae finds herself tucking the little knife into her bra. Like the ring, its presence is a comfort.

That leaves the question of what to do with her hair. It is still somewhat short to manage anything elaborate, but a plain, unadorned 'do probably wouldn't do. Not for a ball of interplanetary wealthy elites. But Bar has come through again. In the parcel with the shoes is a small box containing a pair of understated earrings and matching hair comb crafted to look like a spray of jeweled berries in gold and black. She sweeps her hair back and up along one side, feeling her hair should match the asymmetry of her outfit, and finds she likes the look of the comb set there. The faceted black berries stand out against her red hair, and the gold of the comb and earrings matches the gold of her shoes.

She hardly recognizes herself when she is done, turning this way and that to get a good look in the mirror. She certainly doesn't look like Rae Seddon, coffeehouse baker. Maybe Raven Blaise would have worn something like this while representing the Blaise family at some event for all the ancient, influential magic handling families. Raven Blaise would know she belongs at balls and formal events, and not as a would-be caterer. She would meet other party-goers as equals. She would smile, and mingle comfortably. Raven Blaise and Jynna Lora would have a lot in common.

When Rae comes down the stairs into the bar rooms again, she hardly looks like herself. She stands a bit taller, and not just from the shoes, and her steps are unhurried and sure. The delight bubbling behind the self-assured smile, though, is all her.

Edited 2021-04-16 13:56 (UTC)

As she descends to the bar floor, Obi-Wan is there to greet her, bowing deep and low with all the respect and dignity of a knight greeting his lady.

The mask continues to fail at hiding the delighted twinkle in his eye as he offers a hand: turned out, palm up, towards her, doing nothing near as crass as taking her hand, just making his own available to help her down the last few steps.

"My lady Lora," he says, his voice smooth and adoring, "I did not think it possible for you to look even more beautiful than I already knew you to be."

There's no disguising those eyes and that smile, even with a mask.

"Flatterer," she replies with easy good humor and familiarity, smiling lightly at him as she sets her hand in his for the last few stairs.

Jynna Lora smiles easily, Rae has decided. She knows herself; she knows her place in the galaxy, and it is a good one. She is personable, charming, self-assured...

("When you carry a baking tray that is just a little too heavy for you, does it hurt? No. It is just a little pressure on the understood boundaries of yourself.")

She gestures at Obi-Wan's own outfit with her hand, the ring catching the light. "Though I could just as easily say the same about you, Sir Knight. You seem like a prince straight out of a story."

"And what a story," Obi-Wan says, "although somewhat untold, I'm afraid, as the invitation had no other name on it. What name would you give your knight, my lady? I was thinking Gido Karaay? Or Dash Cardon?"

"Oh, a knight so dashing simply must be Dash Cardon," she replies, because of course he's Dash Cardon. "I'm so sorry Gido Karaay wasn't able to join us today, but duty calls."

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