Friends Part 2
This Story occurs approximately two months after the events in Karmacks Zealots Series.The show was bright and jovial…her mood was dim and sullen. As the final applause in the small room died down and the singer gestured to the band, she noted the breezy smiles on the women’s faces on the table beside her…so flighty and free…the true form of the part she had played on Lyran IV…
Taking on the role of the eye candy had annoyed Illian…he hadn’t said anything…but she felt it…a smudge in the memory of their last days together she couldn’t clean off….there had been no time to discuss it…to resolve it…before…
Before her world had fallen apart.
Again…
She went through the motions of heading out of the room back into the main bar…Koawan Tores had suggested she get out more and had recommended the band playing out of a mid-sized hotel in Sierra’s unofficial tourist sector.
She plonked down on one of the stools…she was thirsty…and the array of cocktails looked tempting…
But she knew…if she started trying to dull the pain that way…she wouldn’t be able to stop at just one…
Sighing she absently ordered a berry juice from the brightly painted serving droid.
She was so tired…not physically…just…emotionally…of losing…of being lost and used…first by the conmen who had lured her off her home, then by the Emperor who had dominated her mind and body….It had seemed so perfect…meeting Karmack and Arnor…meeting Illian…moving to M’Tzigon…yet like everything else in her life it was turning to garbage…
“So did he cheat or leave without a word in the morning?” came a sweet voice beside her,
She hadn’t even noticed the woman had taken the next stool she was so lost in her own thoughts.
“What…” she replied looking into the striking blue eyes of the woman beside her…she was a little taller than Talia, dark hair and cool white skin, a subtle citrus perfume he couldn’t quite pick.
“Man troubles…what did the bastard do to get you so down sweetie?”
Talia shook her head in slight confusion…but of course…this woman couldn’t possibly know…and Talia was a sad looking young woman alone at a bar…
“Nothing like that he…” it seemed to get harder each time she had to say it…as though each time the words came she took another step further from him,
“He passed away recently,”
She looked instantly apologetic,
“Oh…I’m sorry for your loss…I…” she tapped on the bar,
“Droid, whatever she wants is on me,” the yellow diodes blinked in acknowledgment
“Sorry if I upset you…I just assumed…”
“It’s fine” Talia replied in spite of her true feelings.
The droid brought over their drinks, and the woman ordered a small bowl of various spiced legumes as well after Talia declined anything larger to eat,
“Well…this is awkward…” she finally said, “My friends call me Vesi it’s nice to meet you…”
“Talia,” she replied indifferently staring into the deep purples of the juice
“Talia…what a beautiful name! Taleea…Talaayaa…” she sounded out for no reason other than perhaps to fill the silence.
“So I’m guessing someone told you to go out on the town to get over it…and it just isn’t working is it?” Vesi went on
She had to chuckle “True…”
“Well look…umm this place gets a bit rough later in the night…lots of Hutt spits looking to score…so I wouldn’t stick around much longer…anyway…like I said anything you want here is on me…but look I’ve had my share of loss…and one thing I hate is how everyone you know treats you differently, they try not to but they do…so if you want to get away from the folks for a bit…” she slid a small piece of flimsy across the bar with a room and comm number on it.
“I’m staying at the M’H’ron Ski Lodge with some girlfriends on a holiday…if you want to hang out for a few days…some skiing, ice skating…pillow fights…just call.”
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
She had never been to the Ski lodge before…whilst she’d hiked in the mountains a few times with Illian, Karm and Arnor they hadn’t visited the Ski lodges…perhaps a trip for anniversaries that would never come…
She had decided to take Vesi up on her offer…Arnor had recommended it to get her mind off things, meet new people and spend some time away from her usual haunts.
It was well laid out, tastefully high class in its furnishings, suited for the wealthy few, M’Tzigon didn’t exactly actively promote tourism, but it didn’t dissuade it either and it provided good jobs for younger adults in between study, and credits from outside helped the economy tick over.
The turbo lift slid open to the 38th floor to her surprise Vesi was waiting for her,
“Glad you came,” she beamed “Come on I’ll introduce you…do you have ski’s…no you don’t that’s ok we’ll buy you some…we love skiing…so much fun…too dangerous at home…not enough soft peaks…”
Talia was swept through the doors into a large lounge room behind, at the far end of the room was a stunning view of the ski slopes to the west and the trees that peaked along the mountains east side.
The chatter she had heard before suddenly stopped as she came in and the five other girls all turned to stare at her.
“Everyone this is Talia, Talia this is Sophi and Mari, Lysi, Kari and Yara,”
“All the good ones end with Isk!” Mari (?) blurted,
“Shut up! Aureks rule!” Yara replied playing on the fact everyone else’s name ended with Isk,
Following a memory tune Karm had taught her to always use when meeting new people she took note of the faces…Vesi, Sophi and Mari all had darker hair, blue grey eyes with more pointed features, the others brown with aqua eyes and more rounded…all exceptionally beautiful…their skin so clear and white…not even a freckle or spot...it was almost…supernatural…despite the slight differences between the two sets of three they still might all be sisters,
“Are you related?” she asked
“Ha she found out our secret! We have to kill her!” bounded the same one from before
“MARI!” Sophi, who had a more serious look about her than the rest scolded
“Don’t threaten our guests…You’re right, I’m the oldest then Vesi and Mari…our cousins Lysi, Kari and Yara are sisters.”
“Lots of kid’s small gene pool….” Mari mused “but it’s OK, incest is only bad if you get pregnant!”
“MARI!”
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The day passed so quickly, they headed up to the slopes and tackled all the runs, the cool early snows soft and white, the girls were all very nice and friendly, Mari the standout saying in appropriate things and teasing her sisters, although she noted Kari…or was it Yara…they were hard to tell apart…was just as bad if less obvious about it.
After a morning skiing they returned to the Lodge for lunch, she felt ravenous after so much physical activity…and the girls must’ve been as well…they demolished several main courses each then attacked the desserts like psychotic killers…it was actually quite frightening to watch.
She discovered they were all from a wealthy family from the core, destined to be in the family business, exactly which company they didn’t say, but Talia guessed it must be some conglomerate of some kind given they had studied all kinds of topics from Astrophysics to Xeno-biology.
“So what do you do?” Kari asked her between huge mouthfuls of cream cake
“I work…at the Mountain with the Men at Arms,”
“Rifle Polisher?” Yara interjected
“With her tongue!” Mari went on
“Mari…” Sophi warned,
“She started it…Sorry…are you in the military?” Mari apologised
“Yeah…on a…sabbatical at the moment,”
“Oh…do you like it?” Kari went on
“It’s…difficult at times…but worth it…” she only then realised she hadn’t really thought about Illian at all that day…was that a sign of betrayal…or just moving on?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The afternoon was spent on the ice rinks, all of the girls were exceptionally talented skaters, fast and fluid...almost too fast to track against the white of the ice. But they really took off once the early evening began and the coloured lights and DJ came on.
Vesi grabbed her hand and guided her through the dance for a few beats, but soon a rhythm developed between them, their movements in perfect unison as the danced like professional skaters…spinning and twirling in flurries of grace and passion, she felt so free and yet connected, her body relishing the movement.
Vesi’s hand pushed against the small of Talia’s back pulling her into a close embrace as they spun like lovers upon the ice, the cool of the mountain winds lost against the heat of their bodies…it was so cool…yet so warm…
She began to feel…things…she never imagined she would again…certainly never imagined she would feel for another woman…
Illian…
She stopped dead almost causing Vesi to tumble as their momentum was broken, but she steadied them both,
“You all right?” she said so close to her ear…the last person whose lips had blown such a cool breathe on her ear….
“Yeah…just…maybe we should head off to dinner,” Talia recovered,
“Good idea,” without a signal the other girls stopped and headed out with them.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“How long are you on holidays for,” she asked Vesi as they headed back,
“Another fortnight…then back home…but Sophi and Yara have some business around the place,”
“Perhaps I could show you the sights of Sierra,” Talia offered
“I’d love that!” she beamed, “Such rich history here,”
“Is that why you came here…M’Tzigon’s not exactly a huge tourist destination…”
Vesi shrugged,
“That’s what makes it appealing…not big crowds…and much nicer people here…no pushy trinket sellers or people trying to rip you off…all you Maker lovers are so honest and decent…”
Talia had to chuckle, thinking of Karm and Arnor…and how quickly the culture here had rubbed off on Julwynn and Balnard…
“I suppose they are like that aren’t they…”
“You’re not originally from here?” Vesi probed
“No I…moved here with my late husband…”
“Sorry…touchy subject?”
“Well…”
“It’s fine,” Vesi slid her arms around her shoulder and gave her a supportive squeeze
“Let’s just keep enjoying ourselves in the now!”
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Once more she and the others tore through all the food on offer…it must be costing them a fortune…Talia wondered if she should offer to pay for her share.
They talked about all kinds of things as they demolished everything on offer…the latest episodes of the Histo-holo-Drama The Daring and the Devious…”I’d snookle her” Sophi had quietly noted about the leading lady Nemi Solsar to Mari’s great amusement…
“Ha…Talia who would you snookle!”
She couldn’t help but blush…a small trickle of sweat down her back
“Talia doesn’t snookle and tell like you do,” Vesi intervened, her hand giving Talias a squeeze under the table.
They talked of what new dresses from Core Fashion Week they liked the most and would buy…Talia had blanched at the prices….It was so refreshingly normal and light…as much as she loved things at the Mountain…they were so preoccupied with the Civil War…chasing down dark siders, spying on abolitionists…
Here she could just be Talia…a young woman and not have to think about all that…gunk to worry about…
“Wow…what a day…Thank you so much for inviting me Vesi…it was just what I needed,” Talia said as the meal wound down, she check the clock in the corner
“I really have to head back though…”
“Oh please stay…it’s too dangerous to be flying at this hour…” Lysi replied,
“Yeah, we have the whole floor booked, more beds than we need,” Yara added,
“Yeah we just sleep naked on the floor after our debauchery,” Mari chimed in
Talia couldn’t tell if Mari was joking or being serious sometimes…but then that was the essence of her humour.
“I…thank you…but I really prefer my own bed…” they all looked so disappointed
“You don’t even want to stay to watch some vids, talk about girls – or boys or whatever you’re into getting hot with – do each other hair and nails?” Kari asked
“I…” she was tempted…these girls were just so…normal…just young women having a good time…cutting loose, cracking jokes that would probably be inappropriate back home…letting their hair down…
After everything she had been through she needed some more normal…
“I can’t tonight…but if you don’t mind me coming around tomorrow…” she offered,
“We’d love you to!” Vesi replied instantly, “Sophi have you got the…”
The elder girl…although they all looked around the same age pulled a small black box from her hand bag,
“This is for you!” Vesi said offering it to her,
“For our new Friend Talia!”
She was overwhelmed…surprised…but flattered…lifting the lid she peeked inside…
It was a small three pointed star made of a rich almost blood red stone attached to a golden necklace.
“I…I can’t accept this…it’s too much,”
“Of course you can we like to give our friends gifts!”
“No really this is too…”
“Not it isn’t you have to take it…it’s our tradition every guest has to be given a gift!”
She lifted the red star…it was unusually weighty,
“I guess I have to accept,” Talia replied to the beaming smiles of the six girls.
*************************************************************************************************************