[Zanebry Varliss]

"Dancing it is then." He agreed, with a flash of a grin, obviously pleased with her choice. "Would you prefer the dress in white, or do you think there might be some other color you might like?"

"If you recall, we are here to get to know each other. So it would make a poor host of I didn't take a passing interest in your social." Placing a hand behind him, he leaned back a bit. "To your answer though. It was on Nar Shaddaa, I was there during the peace talks between the Republic and the Empire. I had the chance to meet all kinds of interesting people while I was there."

[Tethys Carrack]

Tethy shrugs one shoulder. "White goes with everything and everyone, which is handy when you don't travel with much. But I gather that isn't a challenge you face often, Mr. Varliss," she says, glancing again around the comfortably-furnished compartment. If she didn't know already, it would be easy to forget she's even on a ship. "I'm also partial to blues, greens, reds... most colors found naturally in terrestrial biomes, to be honest. We are in a war zone, so it seems unfair to place too many constraints," she adds, lips quirking again.

"So you were at the peace talks? Rubbing elbows with the Empire's elite in Hutt cantinas? You make the whole affair sound more amicable than I'd have expected."

[Zanebry Varliss]

"A freighter offers a lot of space for a man and two droids,I think it's wise to be prepared when the credits allow." He didn't bother to follow her gaze, his eyes seemed to be for the lady alone this evening. "I'll keep your preferences in mind when I go shopping then." He mused thoughtfully. "Do you have a preferences for flats or heels?"

"As for being in a warzone, that just makes things more interesting, I certainly don't mind the challenge though." A light laugh rolled from his lips at her next comment. "It was far from amicable, Miss Carrack. I was beaten, blown up, gassed twice, and shot on multiple occasions. But I managed, and even got to go out dancing a few times. So all in and all it wasn't too bad."

[Tethys Carrack]

"I can walk in heels, though I don't look for excuses to do it. How do you feel about dancing with a partner who's taller than you?" Tethys cocks an eyebrow in gentle challenge. "Not all males from gender-dimorphic species care for it."

"...How did you find the time?" She looks genuinely somewhat surprised at his description of the talks. "I hope the people dancing with you weren't the same as the ones gassing you."

[Zanebry Varliss]

"I dont mind it, not that a couple of inches one way or another makes much difference." His own dress shoes added a bit to his height after all. "So heels it will be. Unless you have no interest in dancing with a man who is slightly shorter?" He asked, mirroring Tethys's own expression.

"Not as far as I could tell." Though in some cases it was hard to tell. "As for the time? I made it. If you truly enjoy something you make time to fit it in. Though I suppose few time I wore more bandages under my clothes then I'd like to admit."

[Tethys Carrack]

"Oh, it doesn't bother me." She shrugs slightly. It's happened before, after all, with or without heeled shoes.

"Hm. I expected there was more afoot in the background of those talks than made the general news, but even so, I think I must have underestimated. I'm glad you came through in one piece."

[Zanebry Varliss]

"Well, it seems we have a decision then." He looked her over for a moment. "I'll try t send it early, I think I have a fair idea of your sizes, but some alterations may be needed."

"I managed better then others." He offered with a wry smile. "Things were quite touch and go at some points though... Terrorist groups, assassination attempts, even some big sith battle at one point, among other things. If you don't mind me saying you should be happy you missed it."

[Tethys Carrack]

Tethys raises an eyebrow at the mention of Sith battles. "That is the Sith all over, as I understand--nothing is more important than getting the better of one another, even galactic war." She shakes her head slightly.

"I'm certainly not sorry to have missed out. I am not too proud to admit that much of diplomacy at that level still goes over my head. And I was still a padawan back then." She leans back against the sofa arm, casting her eyes upward. "Two standard years ago, less a couple of months... yes, that was the trade dispute on Sullust. Also a great deal of shouting, but blessedly lacking in assassinations." Her lips quirk again.

[Zanebry Varliss]

"They had a proper name for it... but I admit I forgot it. You have the right of it though, it paints a excellent picture of who they are." He shook his head. "I have to admit I enjoy the fact I don't have to spend much time around them."

Sliding off the coffee table, he took a seat on the couch beside her, though not to close to be inappropriate. "Sounds like a rather dull affair, if you don't mind me saying so." He lifted his glass to his lips. "But then, that's not really a bad thing, at least by most people's measure."

[Tethys Carrack]

"Dull to you, but to the mineral trading guilds of Fulluusub it was certainly exciting," Tethys points out with a certain cool amusement. "At the time, I wondered whether that was why they dragged it out so long. And it might have been more exciting still if Master M'ralo and I hadn't been around to help mediate."

[Zanebry Varliss]

"I suppose people find excitement in different things." Zane mused softly as he watched her, rather enjoying how her dress stretched across her skin as she leaned against the arm of the couch.

He moved closer to her on the couch, in mock interest.
Though he was much more interested in her reaction. "Care to tell me about it? I'm not had much experience with jedi, at least in the realm of politics."

[Tethys Carrack]

Her eyebrow flicks up again as he leans in. "Well, Fulluusub is one of the rare independent cities on the planet. Most are SoroSuub company towns. It sits over several deposits of valuable minerals, but most of the refineries and orbital transshipment facilities are the property of SoroSuub subcorps, so the company has always taken its bite of the goods all the same..." She lifts her glass, swirling the purple concoction a little before taking a sip. "Until the guilds found a Bith outfit willing to run direct pick-ups of the raw materials and process them off-planet. SoroSuub felt this violated an unwritten contract. Both sides were on the point of hiring mercenaries when a certain Bith government official asked my master to intervene quietly."

"...but I don't believe you're interested in the finer details of Sullustan corporate warfare, Mr. Varliss. Though please correct me if I am wrong," Tethys adds, smiling slightly. Regardless of their actual physical proximity, she still has a calm, self-contained quality that creates a kind of intangible distance about her.

[Zanebry Varliss]

"Mildly at best." He asserted as he brought his own cup to his lips. "As I believe I've told you before my interest tonight is you." His smile turned a bit mischievous, laughter dancing behind his eyes. "And after you relaxed so conspicuously as to forget your neckline, I had to wonder if we were dancing on the same floor."

His eyes flicked up towards hers, the pale grey orbs alive with curiosity. "I think we might be, though there are a few steps that still elude me." He let his hand rest in the space between them, as relaxed against the couch. "That or you are cautious about taking someones hand."

[Tethys Carrack]

He succeeds at making her straighten up slightly and glance down at her clothing, brows drawing together a bit. Finding nothing that would genuinely qualify as a wardrobe malfunction, she stops her left hand--the right one still holds her drink--from actually tugging at the draped collar of her dress, setting it back down to smooth her skirt over her knee instead. "What steps would those be?" Her sidelong glance at him is quizzical.

[Zanebry Varliss]

"Well, let's see if you can answer that." He offered a charming smile making it's way onto his lips. ""Can you tell me why you decided to join me tonight?"

Bringing his glass to his lips, he took a sip. "I dont mean because I asked you either. What about me piques your interest about me to accept?"

[Tethys Carrack]

"The simple answer?" Tethys leans back again and appears to consider her glass with some interest. "You strongly implied it was a condition for collaborating with you against Varad. And I would very much like to put a stop to her." She turns from the waist a little to look at him directly, brows arching upward again. "But I also admit the idea interested me. For a man who clearly puts considerable effort into appearances, you don't quite play to standard type. That's unusual."

[Zanebry Varliss]

Zane turned to face her, letting his grey eyes match hers of brown. "Curiosity then?" He mused thoughtfully, it's what he had figured, what had drawn her here.

"And now that we've been talking a while, and you've agreed to a second date. Has any of your curiosity been sated? Or do you have more questions then when you started?"

[Tethys Carrack]

"Is that what I've agreed to?" Her lips twitch. "If so, I am not as cautious a negotiator as I thought." Her eyes return the contact with his for a few beats before breaking away, her gaze becoming more distant.

"Some questions are answered, more or less. There are always more. Did you learn what you felt you needed to know about me?"

[Zanebry Varliss]

"A gentleman asks a lovely woman out to dancing, and you would think it's anything other then a date?" Amusement danced behind his eyes for a moment. "I'm tempted to say you knew what you were getting into all along, though you might not have admitted it to yourself, quite yet."

He studied her for a moment more as she looked away. "My questions about you? Somewhat. I'd say you're a lot of what I expected, though you did have a few surprises. But, right now I'm curious as to if you would like to come a bit closer." He gently pat the place on the couch next to him.

[Tethys Carrack]

The line of her mouth still quirks in a half-smile, but it is perhaps fortunate for Tethys that she doesn't have one of those inconvenient shades of human complexion that shows a blush easily. "I had assumed we were dining as... colleagues. Potential collaborators. It may be that one or both of us have been operating under false assumptions."

[Zanebry Varliss]

"That was part of it." He observed, a slight smile on his lips as he shifted closer to her. "Though I also admit I found you attractive, and that's one of the reasons I went though all this effort. I don't generally cook for just anyone, even if they are my colleagues."

"does that change the answer you gave me? About dancing that is?" His voice was low, a seductive quality slipping into it. "I won't hold it against you if ti does."

[Tethys Carrack]

If anything, as his his manner becomes more intimate, her air of abstract reserve deepens. "That depends," her brows draw together just slightly, and she leans forward a little to set her not-quite-empty glass on the coffee table, "on whether the difference in perspective between us changes your offer. I'm still curious whether you dance as well as you imply. But I don't want to create expectations I cannot fulfill... if that makes sense?" The question sounds a rare note of uncertainty.

"Either way, I have one more question now than I did before. Do you often ask Jedi out on dates?" The tone of her voice goes just a little beyond quizzical and toward plaintive, albeit with the faintest of teasing notes.

[Zanebry Varliss]

"Cannot fulfill and won't fulfill are too entirely different things, Miss Carrack. I know enough about your order to know it doesn't exclude intimate contact, that it instead warns against attachment." His hand reaches up two fingers touching her chin in a effort to pull her gaze in his direction. "But yes, my offer stands. Even if you can't or won't fulfill any of my expectations, whatever you think they might be."

"I ask women on dates, Miss Carrack. I'd never be so crass to hold the fact you're a Jedi against you." He offered his own tone a bit teasing. "Is it often that one of those ladies is a Jedi though? No."

"I hope that doesn't make you feel any less special."

[Tethys Carrack]

Gently but firmly, she puts her hand over his and moves his fingers away from her face. "Not at all. I..." She releases his hand, letting her own drop back into her lap. Only then does she turn her head to meet his eyes. Each movement is cool and deliberate.

"...Your interest is flattering. But the distinction between can't and won't is not as clear as you think. The Jedi Code asks us to know ourselves, not follow a dead set of rules. I do few things by half-measures. And knowing that..." one corner of her mouth quirks upward just slightly, "there are some decisions I cannot make lightly."

[Zanebry Varliss]

Zan didn't fight her as she moved her hand away, though there was a slight smile on his lips. "So you couldn't kiss a man without giving him at least part of your heart." He mused thoughtfully. "I think I've come across the answer to my unanswered question with that. Though perhaps I'm wrong about it."

Sliding back to where he was before he brought his glass to his lips to finish it. "I'll proceed then, Miss Carrack. Though I'll carry no expectations, other then having a night of dancing with a lovely lady."