[Day 1 - Mid Evening] That Happened

[Aurilie Alde]

Aurilie had perhaps lost track of the time if that could be said for a moment lasting for a minute or so. She did let things linger and that was perhaps unbecoming of her, especially as a prince. Once Riss dropped her hands from her, she would let out a short laugh that was likely more anxious than happy. It must have been a little awkward. That wasn't to say that she was embarrassed by the moment, just probably that she allowed herself to ease into far longer than she thought was necessary. It was nice, admittedly.

She recomposed herself once more and nodded back, though the small smile remained on her lips. "Thank you...And yes, it feels like it's been another lifetime ago but still very familiar."

"Anyway..." She chuckled as she brushed some hair back. "That's, me, I guess."

[Riss]

"That's you," she intones, a brief but warm smile playing across her lips. Holding her gaze for a moment as she thinks she looks around the nearby area and finds them a bench. With an outstretched hand she gives Aurilie's sleeve a tug before glancing over toward it. Going so far as to offer her hand as they walked, "I've been around the galaxy a lot myself. Not.. sure, what really happened to everyone here beyond," she glances away, shaking her head. A dim in her voice rising again as she avoids the topic with a bright smile. "Been through a lot! Seen a lot of the galaxy, it's been.. amazing, awful, and just exciting all around."

"Came back here cause.. well business, but yea! We're here, you're here, what are you doing here anyway? And not here as in Alderaan but here as in this particular part of Alderaan? Sights set on a prince or something?" she suggests with a chuckle.

[Aurilie Alde]

With Riss's tug on her sleeve, Aurilie did easily take her hand and walked toward the bench.

"As much as it can be just being out there by yourself," she said ruefully on the matter. Riss had been through far more than she had, despite Aurilie's loss. She paused for a moment to narrow her eyes, as she wasn't entirely sure about her circumstances now. "...Are you by yourself? Do you have a crew with you now?"

She bit her lower lip, perhaps stopping herself from asking the next question on whether or not anyone else left Alderaan with her. Part of her felt there might not be a good answer to that question.

"Yes...here," she nodded once with a faint smile. "I originally just came here for the Festival. It's been ages since I've been at the domain of House Panteer. Obviously, everyone is after the prince and the princess. How could they not be? As for me, I'm not quite sure. Maybe I'm looking for inspiration. Part of me didn't want to get swept up with the romantic spirit until I knew for sure. Maybe I'll consider my own marriage here, or just let my parents handle it in the same way. Admittedly, I might not be a fan of the latter."

[Riss]

"No crew," she shakes her head. As they sit Riss doesn't so much let go of Aurilie's hand and instead holds it nearer her own lap. Resting the hand just above one of her thighs she passively starts looking it over as they chat. Both of her own hands gently moving, and turning it over as she seems half lost in whatever information she's gleaming from this act, "Just me and my ship," she says, half-distracted by her task. Looking up to Aurilie she offers a brief smile, one with that common warmth around her friend, "I'm not usually by myself, almost always have someone I'm ferrying about. Used to have a partner for years but.." she puffs up her cheeks and blows out the air. "Not talking about that one," she chuckles awkwardly.

"Now.. I'm here, dealing with a little bit of the fallout from my home falling apart. Thul who wants the Lanar dead and gone," she brushes a thumb along Aurilie's index, feeling out the roughness of the finger, "And, maybe a handsome prince? I- I dunno. Feel.. complicated about him already. With all the attention going every which way it's given me a lot of time to think on it and I'm only more confused by it all," she says with a light albeit laugh.

[Aurilie Alde]

As part of her fanciful appearance, Aurilie did have gloves on her hands. She often did favour gloved considering the did hunting and lived in an area where the wind could hurt your face. When they were seated, it didn't seem like Aurilie minded so much that Riss held on to her hand and her attention was intently on her. Riss's words said a few things but her expression did fill in the blanks, if just a little. "And I thought I've been through some adventures, you've been living through it with whatever company you pick up. I don't know if it ever gets lonely there."

She narrowed her eyes on Riss for a moment, wondering what sort of company could she get with random people, especially without family to fall back on.

"It might have been easier if you were a suitor. Then again, I haven't really figured out much about him to make an opinion either, which is why I'm staying out of it, at least initially." She gave a shrug. "I could also understand wanting to keep a low profile."

She leaned in slightly half-whisper. "I'd be careful around here. There are a lot of them around..."

[Riss]

Instead of checking out her hands more directly, she actually just started checking out the gloves on the hands. When it came to Aurilie, things were usually nice enough to check out. By about this time it was likely fairly clear that Riss was mostly just fidgeting with something cause she never did manage to sit still for long, but she this was important to her too, "I am.. mostly," she says, her voice only a touch softer with the distraction of the glove. "They.. have house Uros," she raises one hand off for a moment to wave it about flippantly, "lesser house, but like Rist. Uros is contracted to hunt and kill.. well, the rest of the Lanar blood. I'm.. gonna figure a way out of it, somehow," she says with a soft sigh.

"Let's not focus on that now though.. mm?" she glances back up to Aurilie with a passive smile. "So.. the prince," she furrows her brow a moment, "not as fun a topic starting point but.. I'm not really the sign up to woo someone kinda gal. I kinda.. just woo them?" she says with a brief chuckle shaking her head. "Never talked to you before I left but.." she speaks, guilt works into her tone a bit, "That was one of the reasons I did. All this.." she glances around the hedge a bit, "structure around people's hearts. Who you're allowed to do what with.. it's stifling," she sighs. "Things get lonely out in the galaxy but even being alone out there it's never as lonely as it was being here. Having to be.. well, you know," she looks to Aurilie with a brief smile.

[Aurilie Alde]

Aurilie wore blue leather gloves to match with her nice tailored coat, the sort with subtle decorative trims on the back of the hand and future a small stylized A for 'Alde'.

She couldn't help but narrow her eyes and glance around. "I can see why you haven't been back for a while...but was it so wise to come back now? You're taking a bit of a risk," she said in a hushed tone out of concern.

"Of course," she said before leaning away, looking serious with an obvious frown on her lips. Her eyes looked at her, perhaps looking a bit stern as she hoped that Riss was going to fulfill her next thoughts. "You must have very good reasons and I'm going to assume that you're going to be very careful."

Her expression would soften as she looked over her once more. "I really haven't known...then again, it's not something we would be willing to share so openly out of the risk of potentially getting in trouble. I think all of us do find life in the Houses a bit rigid at some point in our lives, even if we are born in it. I will agree that it can be bothersome, even if I don't know if I would be so quick to give it up. That decision could be made by you, depending on yourself and circumstances. In this case, it's a bit of both. I can see why you can't be so sure about the princes, it would feel like purposely marching back into your room after getting in trouble, so to speak."

[Riss]

"Something like that," she chuckles, brushing a thumb along Aurilie's hand a moment but then just letting her own settle there. Not wanting to seem like she was gaining sudden distance she just let her hand lay in her lap but loosened the hold on it. "I've always just been a bit more willing to get into trouble.. Bo too, I think. Kinda wonder if there's something to why he seems to be so.." she shakes her head, discarding the thought as she focuses back on Aurilie.

"I'm.. gonna try," she says, glancing toward the space they were in. It wasn't incredibly private and so she just gives Aurilie a brief smile, "Bo's here.. he's kinda reminding me of me so, half wondering if I really was his favorite sister growing up," she chuckles shaking her head. "We're in a mess but I'm figuring it out, somehow. Promise. "

[Aurilie Alde]

"So not everything is lost..." Aurilie gave a few small nods on the matter. Her hand did curl and catch Riss's own hand for a moment before Aurilie would relax her hold on her own. She looked at her carefully, the concern clear in her eyes.

After a moment, she gave a shake of her head, catching herself fuss harder than she needed to. It was perhaps why they've dwelled on the issue of her safety for so long and it seemed silly if Riss was confident about herself. She got this far, right? Aurilie would muster a smile as she attempted to change gears. "Right. So, now...Yes, let's focus on the now. Other than the princes, is there anything else fun that you were thinking?"

[Riss]

"Not everything no, he's a twerp but.. I'm glad he's okay," she says with a softness she tended to show rarely, in moments like these. A soft smile shifting into a brighter one she corrects her posture a bit and gains a bit more of a rise of confidence in her shoulders. More pep in her step as she shifts on the bench but hesitates when she realizes she's still wearing the dress from before.

"Original plan.. was hopefully to just enjoy the festival. Something like a nice vacation from having to go fly around the republic to keep up with the bills and Kriff like that. Maybe kiss a pretty girl, or a boy or two," she gives a non-comittal shrug to either of these ideas.

[Aurilie Alde]

"It's not a bad plan and I don't foresee you needing to move mountains to make that happen. I trust House Panteer to throw a good festival at the very least and I don't know think there's a better place you could go, albeit some inconveniences and extraneous circumstances..." she murmured off at first and quickly changed topics before they could dwell on that again. "On the latter, that might take some charm and luck...maybe some timing. Are there some who've caught your eye already? As a friend, I know my honourable duty is to ensure certain ideas are planted on people's heads at the very least. Unless you wish to keep that to yourself, which I respect but I can only do so much."

[Riss]

Riss gives a playful nudge at Aurilie's shoulder on that offer, "I missed you," she says with that endearing tone, a brief and warm chuckle as she shakes her head a little to settle from the slight teasing nature of it. Inhaling a moment she takes a moment to think, "Prince Joran seems.. interesting, charming. Met him just now at the thing," she points vaguely in the direction of the hall they were just previously in.

"No one else though.. not yet, keep you updated?" she suggests with a smirk. "Though.. I'm usually pretty good at handling myself there, can't hurt to have Aurie hyping me up," she chuckles. "Though.. what about you? Anyone catching your eye?"

[Aurilie Alde]

The nudge caught her off-guard enough that it might have knocked a short giggle out of her. She bobbed her head a few times in agreement, brushing some of her purple hair aside. "Me too. I missed this." She smiled back and she did feel younger around her.

"Hm, Prince Joran..." She said with a considering tone. "Sounds like I did miss a lot in there after all. So he does honour his reputation, that's good to know. It's going to be difficult to get his attention with everyone vying for it but not impossible, especially if he's going to be out and about throughout the festival. I'm sure you'll be able to catch more of his fancy in the next few days. Perhaps I can butt in helpfully wherever I can."

"I did run into a Lady Cynella of House Andrim at the maze earlier," she admitted, trying to sound casual about it. "While we've both agreed to keep our prospects here open, I think we've at least agreed to meet again for a date at the fairgrounds. I wouldn't be surprised if she found herself overwhelmed with date offers in the next few days as amicable as she is."

[Riss]

"Not sure it was too much to miss," she half-giggles, half chuckles with a soft shake of her head. "We'll see how it goes. Not like I'm.." she furrows her brow, "Well, guess it's been a while. Not.. the commit myself to an idea type," she offers a quick shrug. "But, I'll always appreciate the little nudge of help if you see a chance," she says with a brief smile. Raising a brow after that she leans in a little, giving another nudge, "Cynella though, mmm? She's pretty. I'm actually the one who ferried her to this little thing we got going on," she raises a lone finger and gives it a twirl to suggest attention toward the palace grounds.

"She's.. also here for Joran? Sorta, she's.. open to the idea of pretty much anyone taking her hand if they're a noble and they help the cause. From what I've heard," she offers a brief shrug," she's good people though, I like her."

[Aurilie Alde]

Aurilie was more prepared for the next nudge but that still brought a short chuckle out of her. "Quite the coincidence, then. I thought she would have flown in from one of those massive Kuati ships to make a statement. But yes, her. We did float the idea that she should have as many suitors as the same prince everyone is trying to woo at the moment. We'll see where this goes? I'm hoping that her interests are a little more than political and polite, at least."

She looked up in thought before offering a shrug and looking at Riss. "Much like your situation with Prince Joran, better than try and see what comes out of it rather than to just hope, right? Have some direction of where you could go? Sometimes situations and ideas can evolve or can only evolve once you involve yourself in them. At the moment, I'm not juggling between several suitors at once but that in itself is a bit of a relief. I don't envy Prince Joran or Princess Jameela."

[Riss]

"Now that's the sentiment I know and love," she smirks, as she is scooting a bit closer to Aurilie on the bench. Turning to look out toward the statue as they talked she casually lowers her head down onto Aurilie's shoulder, a soft sigh, "I don't either. Remember what that kinda stuff is like and," she chuckles, there's an added brightness to it, "I do not miss that part at all. I don't miss a lot of it at all, really but.." she shrugs, and through her closeness it can be felt in the touch of their shoulders.

[Aurilie Alde]

Aurilie raised her brows when she found herself with a headful of pink on her shoulder. "Now that you're out of it, I can't imagine how you can get back into it so easily. Courting a prince and potentially marrying him would put you in just that. Unless...But, I don't know if it could be so easy to pluck a prince from his place and take him with you on that ship of yours. Especially, with the queen's attention and everyone's hopeful eyes on him. Don't tell me that's going to be a part of your plan." She chuckled as she stroked Riss's hair neatly into place as best she could.

[Riss]

"I.." she holds for a moment, a humor infecting her tone, "haven't thought that far ahead," she laughs warmly as they sit together. Closing her eyes as Aurilie fixes her hair, enjoying the sensation of the touch. "I just.. ya know? Prince charming comes, you flirt, he kisses your hand and then.." she brings a hand up and gives it a fluttering motion without opening her eyes.

"Flutters away.." there's a slightly dreamy tone to her words. "I mean.. if that became my plan," she furrows her brow a bit, though it's a softer expression than it normally is. "The worst part was people telling me who I should marry, and what I should do for fun.. might not be that bad if I'm already married, mmm?" she teases the idea but it's noticeable in her tone how she's not really as enthused with that prospect as she claims.

[Aurilie Alde]

"It seems that you might have been afflicted with romance, or something similar at least." She said as she was careful in brushing Riss's hair and keeping away from her face. There was the temptation to braid her hair but stopped herself. "Just seems to fit that he would have an effect like that. However, I don't know if you'd be so free as you might think if you were to get married. Let's not forget the other responsibilities like children, your would-be rule, and everything else with become royalty again. Of course, there would be fewer people above you...and you would have good company in the prince, potentially, to help you get through it all."

[Riss]

Riss giggles softly, calmed by the gentle ministrations, "Gonna be honest.. and don't tell anyone, okay Aurie? But I haven't thought that far ahead. I just think he's real charming," she chuckles again, a soft shaking of her head.

"Maybe that'd be a life I was okay with but.. I don't really know. Kinda just flying by my seat of the pants since the moment I left Alderaan. Only time I ever started thinking about the future it.. it blew up in my face, almost literally," she chuckles, there's a mix of truth and untruth. However, briefly there's an old wounds worth of strain hiding underneath her tone.