A Drink and a Show Who: Amilyn and Isabella Where: The End Zone When: Sometime in April Rating: Low
Why am I here? was the question Amilyn Holdo kept wondering to herself. She sat in The End Zone, watching people mingle and laugh and obsess over sports... she'd never been a sports person, herself. Sure, she'd enjoyed the odd podrace or two in her day, but for the most part? She'd never really understood the appeal of sports.
But she couldn't help but check the place out after seeing some of the people associated with it on the network. Rachelle and Wichita were highly amusing, and along with Kenny, the three were very easy on the eyes. Maybe some distraction was what she needed, after all. Something other than her sudden lack of direction in life to think about.
Wearing sharp light purple slacks with matching shoes and a white button-down dress shirt highlighting her (currently) lilac-colored hair, she sat at a table near the bar, smirking as she listened to the bar's owner arguing with a customer in a very animated manner.
Isabella walked in to discover the same display from Rachelle. She'd arranged for Sin and Quinn to babysit for a few hours so she could visit her longtime friend. "Must you make an argument out of everything?" She asked, quirking an eyebrow at the younger women as she made her way over to the bar.
"Mm. Please, don't stop her." Amilyn said, in that hilariously sardonic tone of hers. "I haven't had this much fun people-watching in a long, long time." She looked hilariously out of place, between her dressy attire, statuesque build, and bright hair. "It's quite literally the only reason I came here."
"A drink and a show. I wouldn't be surprised if that was the reason most people were here," Isabella replied with a playful smile. She ordered a beer and took a seat by the bar, although she turned her body to face Amilyn as they talked. "You'll never be disappointed, though." And while Amilyn's attire made her look out of place, Isabella's screamed that she belonged there. Jeans, boots and a leather jacket. Bad ass babe.
As a woman who appreciated beauty in all it's forms, Amilyn saw less 'bad-ass', and more 'lovely'. That smile could stop wars. "Care to sit with me? I wouldn't say no to someone to talk to..."
Isabella looked over at Rachelle, who was still verbally spraying someone, and decided that that could probably go on for a while. "Thank you." She moved over to Amilyn's table and offered a hand to shake. "Isabella."
"Amilyn." The taller woman said, giving her a handshake that was dainty, yet somehow oozing confidence and power. "I've been here for a bit now... but places like this are why I never get bored for a moment."
Isabella sat down, setting her drink on the table in front of her. "This place is a little piece of home for me. So is that woman." Isabella nodded over at Rachelle. "So... while I'm on an alien planet at least I have this. Some family. Not all. And I feel like that's more than most people get."
"I'll drink to that." Amilyn said, briefly raising her glass to Isabella. "My childhood friend is here. In several forms, actually. But any family I ever had is in some other reality now. So, how do you know this.... interesting woman?" She asked, gesturing toward Rachelle.
Isabella looked at Amilyn for a moment, sensing strength and... something else. Sadness, maybe? "In a way I feel like we've always known each other. I was very high strung once upon a time. She taught me to be brave. Be myself. You wouldn't think it by looking at us. Chalk and cheese. But she's actually my dearest friend."
Amilyn couldn't help but chuckle there. Maybe it was fate that these two had met. "I understand. Completely, actually. My dear Leia... she was there for me when nobody else was. As children, when I was unfocused, random, and possibly a bit flighty at times... she was always there to look out for me. As I got older... wiser... she was there to make sure I had a place in her Resistance. She trusted me and respected me when nobody else would."
Isabella nodded. "Sometimes it takes us meeting the right people for us to realise who we actually are. What we're actually capable of," Isabella agreed. It wasn't just Rachelle who helped her see who she truly was, but her wife and children, as well as her colleagues and brother.
"You definitely seem like a very interesting person..." Amilyn told her, a brief twinkle in her eyes that showed the curious, random, odd little girl that still lived somewhere deep inside her. "I'd love to hear more about you."
"I'd rather hear more about you," Isabella replied. She may have been married, but hey, she still had game. She gave Amilyn a brief, cheeky smile before taking a sip of her beer. "You mentioned something about a Resistance?"
"Ah." Amilyn chuckled, nodding. "Yes... I was involved in an intergalactic civil war of sorts. An organization called The First Order had managed to overtake the republic, and I was a Vice Admiral in the Resistance against them. To say things weren't going well...." She sighed, yet nonetheless gave the other woman a smile. "Well, that would be a gross understatement."
Isabella's eyebrows shot up. "I can only imagine." She paused briefly, thinking on what she just heard. "It must be difficult for you to be here then," she decided. "Being so far away from the fight."
"I think the hardest thing about it is knowing I should be dead." Amilyn admitted, folding her hands atop the table. "When I was brought here... I was in the middle of flying a cruiser straight into an enemy Star Destroyer. To give our soldiers time to escape."
"That was... very noble of you." Isabella wasn't sure how else to say it. She wondered if she'd do the same thing, given the situation. Probably. Especially if it meant saving others. This planet seemed to attract that kind of person. "Are there... other people from your home here too?"
"There are. A lot, actually." Amilyn mused, realizing how many had just shown up recently. "Only a few from the time period I'm from, though. The friend I mention, Leia... she was our general, and she just arrived recently, along with her brother Luke."
"...Why do those names sound so familiar?" Isabella muttered, more to herself than to Amilyn. The answer was on the tip of her tongue, too! It was gonna bother her all night until she remembered. "You must be relieved to see a familiar face."
"Yes, you... are definitely right there." She said, feeling a grin spreading across her lips. "Right now though? I'm relieved to be seeing such an attractive face right in front of me."
Isabella let out a surprised laugh at that, a smile lighting up her entire face. She'd been married for so long that the idea of being complimented by anyone other than her wife was alien to her. "I'm... honestly at a loss for words."
"I hope I'm not being overly forward." Amilyn said, raising her glass to her. "I know customs can be different in other places. Plus, it's honestly been years since I had time to even think about things like that. But can still appreciate a beautiful being when I see one."
"Well... thank you. That's very flattering. Where I come from... compliments aren't always so elegant." Rachelle was a good indicator of that. She'd say something complimentary followed by something crude. It was a wonder how she had two wives, come to think of it. "And they're very rarely given to married women."
"Ah." She gave a slightly disappointed chuckle, shrugging to the other woman. "I suppose you can't blame me for trying. I should have guessed someone like you was very much taken. My apologies."
"No need to apologize," Isabella replied with a warm smile. "Even though she isn't here, my heart's still hers and always will be." She paused. "Do you think that there's such a thing as 'one person for everyone' or are you more... open to possibilities?"
"I'm open to any and all possibilities." Amilyn explained, taking a sip of her drink. "In all things, really. I just feel like possibilities are what make life exciting."
"Within the bounds of reason, surely," Isabella countered. She was enjoying this conversation. It had been a long time since she'd spoken to another adult like this.
"I believe all things are possible." She clarified, enjoying this as well. She'd been desperate for SOME kind of kinship with someone, it had been so long since anyone but Leia had treated her like a normal person. "If I didn't, I'd have never thought of the way to save my troops. You have to keep your mind open always to things you didn't think possible. Now, obviously... what you're talking about is a different thing. I've never had a true... romantic connection with anyone. So I can't truthfully speak on that."
Isabella nodded, listening attentively. "I wish that I could be that open minded." She'd grown a lot over the years, but she was still woefully set in her ways. If things weren't done her way? Then there'd be hell to pay. "But I think that I'm too old to change now."
"I'd like to test that theory." Amilyn replied, a look of both lonliness and interest on her face. "I don't know about you, but me? I could use more friends to spend time with here. So I'd like to help you try some new things, maybe even embrace some new ways. I want to prove to you that nobody is too old to change."
"You can try," Isabella replied, giving Amilyn a lopsided smile. Despite saying that she was too old to change, to be open to new things, that wasn't entirely true. If she hadn't loosened that stick from her ass then she wouldn't have the family that she has now. Isabella took a sip of her beer and let herself relax in the other woman's company.
"Have you ever been on a starship, Isabella?" She asked curiously, an idea already forming in her head.
"You know, I think that I'd remember that," Isabella replied, scrunching her nose cutely. Her world hadn't gone as far as to have commercial passenger starships, although that Musk guy certainly liked to dream.
"Ah. Sarcasm." Amilyn said, laughing softly. "I suppose it's not as common for people in your world. Well... would you like to? I'd be happy to show you around the Vindicator sometime. It's the cruiser I've been working off of recently."
Isabella's eyebrows shot up. She'd be lying if she said she wasn't interested. "That would be lovely." She gazed at Amilyn for a moment. "You'd really do that for a stranger?"
"Everyone is a stranger at one time." She said, offering a genuine, if slightly sad, smile. "And while I know Leia would say it's the will of The Force, I just have a gut feeling that we could be really good friends."
The Force. Isabella would have to ask more questions about that later. For now, she returned Amilyn's smile. "Me too," she murmured. There was something very natural about how they spoke to each other, as if they'd known each other for more than the fifteen minutes that they'd been talking.
A lot of that was due to Amilyn. While she'd grown a lot from the uncomfortably random, socially awkward girl who'd first met Leia Organa, she had never lost her straight-forward way of speaking to people. "Then it's settled. We'll meet up soon and head to the military base in Galactic City."
Military base. That reminded Isabella of an old nickname back home. She made a mental note to tell Amilyn about that once they knew each other better. She'd also have to ask Sin and Quinn to babysit again. "In case I forget to say it: thank you."
Amilyn tilted her head slightly to the left, as though a little stumped there. "For what, dear?" She asked, honestly just happy to have someone to talk to.
"I guess for... have you ever heard the phrase 'trying to teach an old dog new tricks'?" She wrinkled her nose. Where did her ability to speak go? "And also for being wonderful to talk to."
"Well, I have been told I'm quite the conversationalist..." Amilyn said with mock arrogance, before laughing. "You're very welcome. I suppose I should thank you as well then. It's hard to find interesting people my own age around here, much less one you'd genuinely like to befriend."
"Agreed," Isabella replied. Frankly the fact that the majority of the population was under thirty was both exhausting and annoying. Isabella looked over at Rachelle again and sighed heavily. "Suppose I'd better break that up before she punches him."
Amilyn felt an eyebrow go up there, as frankly, she'd rather break up a fight between two angry Nexu than get between Rachelle and a target. "Then I sincerely say, May The Force Be With You, my new friend."
Isabella smirked. "Oh, it's not all bad. She's a kitten. Really." Good lord. Had anyone described Rachelle as a kitten before? Isabella flashed Amilyn a wink before making her way over to her old friend.