Happy Birthday to Who? And What's With the Squid?
By Julie and Kiila the Spellsinger
Julie woke up and peeked at the calendar. It was two days until her birthday. She wondered if anyone knew, other than Kiila.
She looked around, and wondered why Kiila had left so early.
Kiila was at Maul's apartment with Maul and Obi.
"In two days time…"
"The world will end?" Maul was being a problem.
"Cheese curls won't be cheesy?" Obi was being a problem.
"SHUT UP! In two days time it's Julie's birthday! We need to plan a party for her."
The two guys looked at her blankly.
"Why don't we just buy her stuff and make food?"
"Well, we'll do that, but in an organized fashion, like planning what to make, and making sure we don't all give the same gift to her. Really, you need a better sense of life."
Obi knew what he would get her. He grinned.
Julie had gone over to Obi's place that day, and he let her in, as usual, but after a quick rearrangement of the contents of his apartment. She had no idea what was going on, but he'd hidden a bag of stuff he'd bought that day, before she'd come over.
They did what they usually did, which was talk until they couldn't stand each other any longer and start making out with each other.
Maul went to the department store, looking for something that was suitable, and he wouldn't look stupid buying. He gave up when Yoda started insisting that he would buy little porcelain figurines.
He went to the food stores to relieve his stress. He found a cake mix, and decided that instead of ordering the cake like Kiila had told him to, he would make it himself. He bought a whole bunch of tubes of icing, and all the different fancy icing spreaders. He picked up some paper and a pencil, too.
He was going to have fun.
Kiila walked back from the studio, peering into shops on the way back to see if she could find something for Julie. Mark dropped in front of her.
"What's up, Kii?"
"Julie's birthday is two days from now. Are you coming? Please? She'll love it."
"Yeah, I'll come. You can count on it." Mark jumped back into the shadows and left.
Kiila walked further on, and saw something in a shop. She went inside, and bought the item. Julie would love it.
Kiila hid the bag under the bed, straightened up a few things around the apartment, and went over to Maul's apartment to see what he was doing.
He let her in.
"Don't mind me, I'm just baking a cake."
"I thought I told you to order one." Kiila stormed into the kitchen after him, and gasped when she saw the design he had laid out on a piece of paper.
"It's not much but it's the best I could manage on short notice."
It was a layout of dark red flowers with a deep green stems and leaves. It had smaller dark purple flowers around the red ones. Fancy lettering read 'Happy Birthday Julie!' There was also something like a river that, when actually made, would seem to be flowing across the cake. There were places marked where candles would sit.
"Where did you learn to do this?" Kiila looked at Maul in astonishment.
"No where in particular. This gives me something to do while I sit around waiting for Sidious to bother me. Other than play video games, that is." He finished pouring the batter into the pans. "I'll make the actual cake today, and put the base icing on, but I'll do the decorating tomorrow, and keep it chilled between that. It actually does better then." He stuck the pans in the oven and set the timer.
"You are a genius."
He pulled her to him and kissed her.
Julie decided that she should go back and see what Kiila was up to. When she got back to her apartment, she looked around, and realized that Kiila would be at Maul's place. She didn't feel like going back to Obi yet, so she plopped on the couch and watched TV for a while.
Kiila got up the next day, before Julie, as habit had become, and left in a hurry.
She ran back to the shop, since she'd just remembered something else she'd seen, and even told Maul about, that would make a perfect topper to the cake he designed.
She got there, and it was just opening. She got inside, but she couldn't find it again. She talked to the proprietor.
"Oh, yes! We have one of those left. Here," he named a price. It was a little high, but not enough to worry anyone so. She bought it, and ran back to the apartment building with it. She rang Maul's doorbell. He'd been waiting for her.
"It was the last one," She panted. "I have to get out of here." She left in a hurry.
He ran into the kitchen and changed the design slightly to incorporate the figurine. Then he started putting the design on the cake.
The doorbell rang. He waited just a second to finish the part he was working on, and then answered the door. It was Obi.
"Kii said you were making a cake, can I see?"
He showed Obi the design, and got back to work.
"You are a master! How do you do these things?"
"I just do. Now go keep her out of here."
Obi left to do just that.
Julie got a call about a new species discovered on another planet. She took Obi with her, again, because she liked having the company. It was reptile from Yavin 4.
Or, at least it appeared to be a reptile. It was actually a mammal. She and the other scientists were having fun arguing over it.
Kiila got home from the studio and ran over to Maul's place after she dropped her stuff on the bed. He let her in and showed her the now completed cake. It was perfect, even the little figurine on top on the pile of red roses.
Julie woke up the next morning, ate her breakfast, and went over to see Obi, but no one was there. She tried Maul's door, but no one was there. Then she remembered Kiila had the day off. She went back to her apartment to look for Kiila but there was no one there.
"When is she going to open the elevator door?"
"I don't know."
"Be quiet."
The elevator lurched,
and started moving down.
"Uh-oh." Six
hands frantically pushed the buttons for their three owners' floor.
Julie looked at the door to the hall from her apartment. There was a note that said, 'Open the Right Elevator Door.'
She walked out into the hall and pushed the button for the right elevator.
"Oh, hi there, what were you three doing in the elevator?" The elderly lady pushed the button for a floor below theirs.
"Oh, nothing. We just like going up and down."
After the lady got off, they got ready. They were headed for their floor again.
Julie waited for the elevator to come.
"SURPRISE!!!!" Julie jumped when the three of them popped out of the elevator door. They were stuck while they waited for the door to open farther.
"Stupid old lady screwed everything up!" Kiila explained.
Julie picked Obi up and tried to drag him to her apartment, and he let her.
"Alright, Maul, time to set up for the main party." Kiila and Maul went into her apartment to set up the stuff. Obi knew what time to bring Julie back.
Julie came back with Obi to a gourmet dinner prepared by Maul and Kiila. They had cooked her favorite meal. Mark dropped onto the balcony and Kiila let him in.
After the meal, they sat around for Julie to open her presents. She opened Mark's gift first. It was a container of fluid for cleaning the lamp, and a book on how to redecorate your apartment. After that, he said he had to leave. He jumped off the balcony. Everyone stood out there and waved goodbye to him as he disappeared. She opened the gift from Kiila next. It was a tiny blue porcelain egg that opened to reveal an even tinier figure of a girl with dark red hair holding an armadillo. She stood and put it on the mantel above the TV. She opened the box that held a part of Obi's presents. There was a note that said 'More to Come', and a sketch of her sitting on her balcony in her robe, in a frame. It was signed with his initials.
"You drew this? It's so good!" She put that on the mantel as well. Then she looked around for a present from Maul. Then she looked around for Maul. "What…"
A cake was laid on the table. There was an interlacing design of deep red roses, with some smaller purple ones intertwined, fancy writing that said 'Happy Birthday Julie', and a small figurine of an armadillo and a kitten playing together.
There were candles as well, but rather than looking like an obstruction on the cake like they normally would, they had been incorporated into the design and amplified it. The candles were lit, a picture was taken, the lights turned down, the song sung, and the candles blown out. The cake was served with a round of fresh drinks for everyone. The cake and the drink selected by Kiila were the perfect after dinner combination. Everyone retired to the places they wanted to be; Julie and Obi going to his apartment for the rest of the gifts and some good beer, and Kiila and Maul cleaned up and relaxed on the couch, in Maul's apartment, drinking some more good beer.
Obi and Julie returned to his suite.
Cuddles scampered across Julie's shoulders as she stood on tiptoe to reach Obi's lips.
"You don't want to open your other gifts yet?"
Julie smirked, "I thought this was my other gift."
"Well, the other gifts are on the bed…just in case," he beamed back. With his arms tightly around her he picked her up and brought her into the bedroom, only to lie her in the middle of a small circle of brightly decorated gifts.
"Oh, my Gods! How many gifts did you buy me!" Julie's mouth dropped, "The picture was too much let alone all this, Obi."
Obi handed her one of the packages, laughing, and said, "Just open your gifts!"
Julie opened the small box and pulled out an impossibly thin, see-through baby doll and thong. "Oh, and this gift is supposed to be for me?" Obi nodded at her. "Well, it seems more of a gift for you."
Obi picked up another gift and threw it at her. Julie's eyebrow shot up, "Oh? So you don't want me to wear it at all then?"
"I didn't say that… we'll just save it for later." Obi grinned, "Here open this one next."
It was a rather large box, and Julie ripped the paper off in excitement. Two matching bath wraps with Obi Wan printed on the smaller one and Julie on the longer of the two. She brought the cotton up to her face and rubbed it against her cheek. "Who's apartment should we keep these in, though?" Julie asked reaching for Obi's hand.
Obi leaned forward and kissed her forehead and down to her nose. "You have to close your eyes for your next present, Ok? No peeking."
Julie closed her eyes tight. She could hear Obi moving to the living room. He had closed the door behind him so she didn't know what he was doing. Soon the door opened again. Obi moved behind her and sat down, she instinctively leaned back into his arms. "Hold out your hands," Obi whispered.
Julie followed the
command. Something wiggled in her hand. She opened her eyes.
A small golden hamster climbed uncertainly over her fingers. It wasn't
Fluffi Wan Jr. and didn't have the markings of Cuddles.
Cuddles crawled from
Obi's collar over his arms onto Julie's and down into her hands, to be
with the other hamster.
"Obi…" Julie stumbled for words.
"I saw her in the shop and she just reminded me so much of you. Sweet and darling. I have to say she has grown quite attached to Cuddles though. And Cuddles to her."
"Obi, darling, I have no place for her right now. Where will I keep her?" Julie looked forlornly up at him. She placed the hamsters on the bed and they began to roam, together.
"Well, she can stay with Cuddles and Fluffi in the Habitrail 3000. She really seems to like the Zen garden…" His voice trailed off. "But…there is a problem. Cuddles and her seem so attached. I'm afraid to break them up when we get a cage for… well you haven't even chosen a name for her yet!"
"Flower, that is if you like that name. It kind of goes with the name Cuddles and Fluffi don't you think?" Julie paused. "They can always visit right? And when I stay overnight…I'll bring her." Julie laughed as Obi rounded up the two hamsters and put them back in the cage. He came back into the room to find Julie smiling deeply at him.
He smiled back and sat close, running his hand through her hair. "Actually, I had a better idea."
"Oh?"
Obi pulled his fist out of his pocket. He took her hand and placed a key-chain in it. Julie looked at Obi and down at the key-chain. Her mouth opened in awe. The key-chain was enough, with its plastic reading 'Love my Jedi's lightsaber!' but the keys she instinctively knew were to the apartment and a small silver ring dangling from the key ring itself.
Obi unlocked the key ring and took off the small silver ring. When tilted up Julie saw a small emerald cut Corusca gem with two diamonds on either side. "I just thought…that this way you could take care of Flower whenever need be. And…take care of me." He paused to make sure he still had her attention
"I know it's not a large
diamond or expensive as most engagement rings are, but the allowance that
a Padawan receives…well you know. And I didn't have much saved…"
He stopped abruptly as she nuzzled up into the hole of his neck.
He could feel her tears and smile through the soft kisses.
The next few weeks went quickly, though they were very boring. Julie was called in to classify species only twice, though she was paid well for them. Kiila's weeks were filled with boring rehearsals and tapings. Obi (with Cuddles and Fluffi Wan Jr.) and Maul had to go back to their respective training facilities right after Julie's birthday. Julie was so mad not to be able to see Obi after he'd proposed to her. And she'd even accepted.
Same old stuff to do, with the exception of Julie going to Obi's apartment to care for Flower. Everyone was getting edgy for something interesting to happen.
Kiila was given two months
paid vacation while the studio found out how the show would go over with
the public.
"Now, tell me again how much I have in my account." Kiila looked straight at the teller-droid and challenged it to say what it had said a second ago.
It said it again. Kiila's mouth dropped open.
"Thank you! Close current access."
"Thank you, have a nice day!" The teller-droid changed to general access from private account access channels to wait for the next customer.
Kiila walked over to the display of worlds open to tourists. She was going on a little trip for a while.
"Hey Julie! I'm gonna take a little R & R all to myself for the next two months."
"Where are you going?" Julie walked out of the kitchen and looked at Kiila flipping through brochures.
"I'm not sure yet. There's a nice setup on Kashyyyk. I may go back there. It had such nice jungles."
"That is not rest and relaxation for you. That is swinging around trees and getting attacked by stuff."
"Oh, don't worry! There are areas setup where tourists can travel, and they have guards posted to make sure none of the dangerous stuff gets in there."
"And knowing you, that is exactly the place you will stay away from."
"Hey! I'm a good girl. I do what I'm told!" Kiila flipped to the next brochure.
"Oh! I could go to the Mon Calamari home world! You know how much I love to swim!" Kiila jumped up from the couch.
"I'll bet they have regulated areas for swimming too, which are what you'll avoid, as usual."
"I will not! I promise I won't! If I do, I'll cook for myself for a week when I get back!" Kiila held out both hands to her friend to show she wasn't lying.
"All right."
Kiila walked out of the spaceport on Calamari, and looked at all the wonders around her. She pulled out her map, but the top, where she'd figured out that her hotel was, was folded down by the red flipper-hand of a native.
"Please, as it seems that you are new to this world, allow one of the official guides, like myself, guide you to your hotel, rather than follow a piece of paper." He bowed to her, and when he looked up, Kii saw the tags that marked him as being genuine.
"All right." She gave him the address of her hotel, and as he led her to the vehicle that would take her to her destination, she saw a squadron of Old Republic guards standing at the entrance.
"Just once I would like to get away from somewhere with the uniforms." She said that to her Mon Calamari guide once they were both in the vehicle.
"Then you have come to the right planet, for this spaceport was the only place on the entire planet that has any Old Republic guards. It has to do with a deal made between the two governments." The Mon Calamari seemed ready to supply any information she wanted. "Everywhere else is guarded only by Mon Calamari guards, if at all."
"Do you know which places to rent water-skimmers and such have the fewest tourists?"
The Mon Calamari chortled at this. "You want to be around as few people as possible? Then you should go to the water port furthest to the southwest. Its far from all the others, relatively cheap, and has very few people that go there. There are also caves to explore, and they have a very good security system so that the large predators will not disturb you. You will have little to worry about, so that you have time to take in all the scenery. Though tell me, why do you want to be away from people?"
"Less chance I'll be recognized. I'm an actress." Kiila was staring out the windows to take in all of the beautiful architecture around her. The buildings seemed to be almost blown glass, though they were primarily opaque. There were mini-aquariums every where, and there didn't seem to be any glass holding the water together. She recalled that the Mon Calamari had a way to hold water together with a gravity producer.
"You like the water globes? We make miniature gravity fields for people who would like them. You can buy them at most of the tourist traps and some of the other stores as well. They make good gifts, and are not very expensive."
I'll bet that Maul and Obi would like one, and Julie would think it was great! I'll get a few later. Kiila thought to herself.
Her guide dropped her at the hotel, and gave her a print out of some of the things that he thought were good places to eat and visit.
Julie was having a great time, though it was slightly boring without Obi there to, forget that, she was still having a great time. There was no one to bother her for a meal, except when Flower was hungry. However, a letter had come for Kiila, and she was wondering if she should open it.
Ah, hell, she opened it anyway. It was from the studio. They'd had to cut her vacation short, and she was needed back there right away. Julie just about died. Now she had to call the studio and tell them Kiila was on another planet, and she had to call Kiila and get her back.
She called the studio first. They said that they would figure out how to do things without Kiila, like filming scenes she didn't have to do anything for. They said Kiila actually deserved the vacation because her character was a hit on the show, and she'd been doing a lot of work. They also said that it would still be a paid vacation, too.
Julie went back to enjoying her break from everyone.
Julie decided she'd get a job at a local store, so she could get some extra cash. She went down to the local Wal-Mart, where she was shown to the manager's office by Yoda.
"Take my job you will." Yoda looked her over sternly.
"Why would I do that, I'm not going to work full time."
"As am I, but look better you do."
"Hey!"
"Manager's office this is. In go you!" He left her at the door. The main reason he disappeared was that she had waited until she was at her destination to drop kick him across the store.
The manager hired her at once, since all he could ever get were full time workers, and he had enough trouble fitting the ones he had into the schedule. Part times were so much easier to schedule.
Julie got the stupid apron with the pin when she came in the next day. They'd made it up for her right away. She had her schedule, and she had her pay coming in for wandering around the kitchen department helping people. Her break from Kiila, and possible permanent part time job, was all set.
Kiila was having a great time. She'd gone to the water port the guide had suggested. The price she'd paid for the whole deal of equipment and a boat was less than she would have paid for just a boat at any of the other places. And what was more, she had it to herself. There were a couple of the company's guard floating around that were to keep their distance from the divers as not to disturb them, but close enough to be able to help the divers in case of trouble.
Kiila was performing all sorts of stunts in the water. She'd never quite felt this free in the water before. There had always been five solid walls around the water. This was a huge ocean! Even the guards were impressed with some of the tricks she'd performed. They'd have to try them later. She spiraled down into one of the caves, and felt the guards following at a distance. She didn't mind them. They were polite, and they kept their distance.
What was that shadow down at the end of the corridor? She got closer to it, but she backed away when she felt that the guards were getting closer than before. Something was wrong. She was too late in backing away. A tentacle zipped out and grabbed her arm. She wanted to scream, but she knew she couldn't let go of the respirator in her mouth. The last thing she saw were the guards coming to help free her and a tentacle reached in front of her eyes, and she couldn't see anything. She blacked out.
Obi was practicing his different calming techniques, when he sensed another presence in the room. It wasn't his master.
"Did you know Kiila's studio had asked for her to come back already, but changed their minds?" Mark walked in front of Obi.
"I hope Julie's not too worried."
"She's not. So how are you and she getting along now that you're engaged?"
"Just fine."
The Mon Calamari guards rushed Kiila to the nearby hospital after they freed her from the creature. They had never encountered a jilanaitat in this area before. Fortunately, her injuries had been minor, and she was released from the hospital in two days. The company she'd used to go diving said they would give her a free dive since she hadn't reached her time limit on that one. They also said they wanted to know where she'd learned some of the tricks she'd done.
She said she'd teach them later, when she was well enough to swim.
For now, she took surface boating trips to see the different life forms that were too large to be taken to zoos on other planets. Several types would even come right up to the boat to be petted. The guide explained why they would, and allowed her to pet them.
She'd also bought three of the gravitational globes for fishbowls without bowls. She'd give one to Maul, a larger one for Julie and Obi as an engagement present, and one for herself. She knew Julie would move into Obi's apartment, so she'd have to have her own water globe.
The Mon Calamari had great taste in clothing. She'd bought herself a couple outfits for going around the town at night in, since none of what she'd brought with her seemed appropriate. She'd bought one in a lovely teal, the color of the sea and another in a lavender shade, the way the sunset was at night.
Kiila did not want to leave.
Julie was having fun in the kitchen department, and earning extra cash as well. Occasionally she had to tell the manager she needed to leave work to go classify a new species. He didn't seem to mind at all.
Maul gripped the arms of his chair as he was forced to watch the horrible movies. He'd been chained into the chair fifteen minutes ago, to see how much of The Little Mermaid it would take before he either broke free or blew the TV set up. Maul was going for break free. It wasn't working. The stupid mermaids reminded him of Kiila. He wondered what she was doing. He focused his attention back on the little crab on the screen. The crab would do it. Crabs shouldn't sing. Maul blew the TV up. Oh well, he forced himself out of the bonds. He stood up, pulled his lightsaber out, lit only the one half, and poked the charred remains of the TV on the floor. What a shame, it was a good TV, too.
Julie stretched in the break room. This stuff was so easy. She could get used to this. A little hard on the feet, though. She finished her drink and went back over to the kitchen department to find someone else who needed help.
Kiila had a run in with her guide from the day she'd arrived.
"And how are you doing, Kiila?"
"Oh, just fine, considering that when I'd gone diving I was attacked by a giant squid thing. But, no worry, I wasn't hurt badly."
"That is good. Did the company do anything to make up for it?"
"Yes, they are giving me a free dive since I didn't use the first one up. They also want me to teach them some of the stunts I pulled while swimming."
"How much longer are you going to wait for the free dive? I have a day off coming up. I would love to see the tricks you can do, since they seem eager to learn them."
"Actually, I was thinking of taking it soon. I think I'm up to swimming again."
"My free day is in three days."
"How's noon for you?"
"I'll bring my family. I need to get back to the spaceport. See you then!" He drove off.
She marked down noon in her mental book for the dive.
Julie and Obi were tired out after everyday of work and training respectively. So, since Julie didn't have anyone to talk to in her apartment, she would go to Obi's place every night. They liked being able to talk to each other
Maul was lonely and miserable. Sidious told him to revel in it. Maul told him to go screw Yoda. Sidious did.
Qui Gon started screaming at his apprentice.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING YOU STUPID PADAWAN?"
"I'm going to get to get married, what does it look like?" Obi ignored the fact that his master was swearing. He continued with his exercises.
"And why are you doing this?"
"Because I truly love her. I'm busy, leave me in peace for the moment."
Qui Gon decided he would deal with his apprentice later.
"Julie? Is that you?"
Julie looked over to see another Wal-Mart employee with the nametag 'Hi! My Name is Laura!' written on it.
"It's me, Julie! Laura Foster! Satan, remember?"
"Mommy!"
"I'm so glad you remembered." Laura swished her brown hair around her ears. Something was strange about her ears.
"Laura, when did you get pointy ears?"
"Oh, I had that done a few years ago. How are you anyway?"
"Oh, I'm good and engaged!"
"Oh, good! Who is it?"
"A Jedi Padawan. He's so sweet, considering his hamster bit me once."
"How cute! Well, I have to go back to the children's toys section. I just love little kids now. Bye!" Laura left the aisle.
Julie realized how strange her life was getting. She realized it was because they hadn't moved for several months. Usually they were kicked out whenever Kiila had the nightmare. It didn't happen this time. She'd ask Obi about it later.
Kiila met with the guide and his family right in time. The diving company was more than happy to let them go together, and gave the family a discount.
Kiila was ready before the Mon Calamari, and just as they were coming out, she performed a spectacular running dive off the end of the pier. She did three flips on the pier, launched herself into the air doing a somersault, and came down into the water head first, with very little splash. She let herself go down as low as possible before starting back for the surface. She pushed herself as hard as she could, and burst totally up from the surface, spinning lazily, with her arms outstretched. The company was recording it for her. They were also going to keep a copy for themselves.
Kiila fell back into the water gently, and started the next maneuver. She arched her back and swam downward. The Mon Calamari guards joined her in this. They circled back upwards in a slow lazy circle. When they got to the surface, the guards left her, and she stayed for but a moment, to perform a quick spiral back down. She floated along the bottom, spinning slowly, and shot up to the surface again. The guide and his family joined her in the water.
She kept performing smaller tricks, to the enjoyment of the children, but she didn't go near the one cave, when she started exploring again. The guide pointed to all the caves and shrugged to say, 'Which one?" She pointed. The Mon Calamari set off in a hurry for the cave. She saw why. One of his children had gone in just a second before. She followed, even more hurriedly, since that thing would make just a single bite of the child. She caught up and passed the guide, who sped up more to see her urgency.
She managed to catch the child just before it was snagged by the tentacle. Another tentacle tried for her leg, but the guards had followed just as fast and were shooting at it. She swam quickly out of the cave, followed by the guide. The Mon Calamari mother took the shaking child from her arms, and made gestures to say, 'Thank you."
Kiila went back to exploring the other caves.
Julie was listening to Obi tell her about all the stuff that usually happens on their floor of the apartment.
"…So her screaming wasn't really as bad as some of the stuff that used to go on around here before you guys came." Obi was massaging her back.
Etc.
Maul crashed on his couch and flipped the channels on the TV. He found a news broadcast from the Mon Calamari, about one of the diving companies there. The company had been having a problem with a large squid creature with a name only pronounceable by the Mon Calamari. Maul watched as they showed footage of people who'd had encounters with the jilanaitat. There were five Mon Calamari guards, another male, a child clinging to the male's leg, and Kiila. They had a short clip of her. She was talking about one of two encounters with the creature.
"The first time, the thing just grabbed me, and the last thing I saw before it covered my eyes were the guards coming towards me. I wanted to scream, but I definitely would have drowned."
The broadcast cut back to the main reporter, who wrapped up the story. Maul turned the TV off. He jumped off the couch and ran to Obi's apartment.
"What do you want, Maul?" Obi looked at his neighbor as though he was nuts.
Maul told him what he'd seen. Obi nodded and said he'd tell Julie.
Julie spent her day off looking through wedding catalogs and other similar things.
Obi had no idea she was doing this.
She'd picked out three different dresses she'd liked. She'd found fifteen flower arrangements, thirteen good wedding parlors, and five patterns for invitations, two for reception nametags for tables, and eight for arranging tables at the reception.
She'd found a great club for the reception. Unfortunately, they only arranged the tables in one way, and she didn't like it. Maybe Kiila could convince them to change it. Kii was good at that.
Kiila was going around to some of the general novelty stores in the city. There was a specialty water-glassblower. She would go back there later, when she'd thought of something nice for him to create for Julie and Obi.
She walked past a store for renting underwater cameras to capture some of the more spectacular sights underwater. The company she'd used to dive had done that for her. And it was a vid, not still life.
Which reminded her, she wanted to go back there again, even though there was the creature the had taken a liking to her…
Julie wandered around the kitchen section of Wal-Mart, her mind not really on the job, but thinking of the stuff she'd picked out that she liked.
She jumped when a customer came up to her.
"Is this can-opener on sale?"
Julie looked at the item, and saw that it was. She told the customer this.
"Thank you."
"Thank you, have a nice day."
Julie went back to absent-mindedly wandering the aisles of her department.
Obi was trying to get his master to calm down. It wasn't working. He considered trying to change the subject, tried it, and failed miserably. Particularly since he'd changed the subject to that of Julie's roommate's trouble on Calamari. His master freaked out when he heard about it.
"She actually put herself in danger? How could Julie let her go somewhere like that? Both of them are obviously very irresponsible…"
"Which gives me a good reason to straighten her out!" Obi decided to play along with his master's delusions until he could get Qui Gon to accept it.
It worked, too.
Kiila flipped her head to push her hair out of her face. Hands didn't do too well underwater. She was watching the people from the company attack the monster. She swam off to another area when the jilanaitat started to lurch out of the cave. It grabbed one of the guards and started chewing at his leg. She reeled at the sight, and popped her head out of the water. The company was more than glad to let her come back another day to see more. She'd brought good business to them.
Julie came back home from a particularly hard day at Wal-Mart. She was having trouble focusing on the job, with all the preparations that had to be made and everything. She wondered if she was getting in over her head. She looked at the paycheck in her hand. She wasn't.
She grabbed a nice cold drink, plopped on the couch, and watched TV for a while before going to bed.
All across the galaxy, people slept well that night, for those that actually slept. Those that didn't sleep were another matter.
Obi discovered that sleep was not a good way to relieve stress. He decided to he would go early today, and find an exercise to ease his mind.
Julie hurried to Wal-Mart the next day. She wanted to log some extra time, in hopes of getting extra pay. She knew she'd need it.
She almost got her card in the slot, but Yoda stopped her.
"Get extra time you can't."
"Why not?"
"Work full time you don't."
Julie watched the clock on the machine. She clocked in exactly when she was supposed to, and was so mad that Yoda was right.
She got to her appointed position and immediately had to help group of people who were trying to decide which potato skinner was the best one to get.
It would be a long day.
Maul lazed around on his couch. He didn't feel like going to the Sith Academy today. If his master had something really important for him, Sidious would come here.
He didn't really care, though.
Kiila awoke the next morning, pulled on one of the Mon Calamari dresses she'd bought, and walked to one of the more widely popular restaurants for breakfast. She didn't care if anyone bothered her. No one did recognize her, anyway. She went back to her hotel, and just sat around for the day. She'd do more sight seeing tomorrow.
Julie hopped out of bed the next day, and looked at her work schedule. It was her day off.
She gleefully made herself breakfast and watched the morning news.
"The jilanaitat that was inhabiting the caves of the diving company on Mon Calamari has been successfully driven to a distant area of the ocean. The company, and the people who first encountered the creature, are eternally grateful to the people who have made this possible. Now for the weather."
It was raining; she could tell that without watching the news. She had a feeling it would rain all day. Obi had told her that he had outdoor exercises to do today, so she figured he'd come home cold and wet. That would mean he'd want a nice hot meal and nice hot bath.
Julie grinned, and started planning the meal. She knew almost exactly what he'd want.
She walked into the kitchen, made herself a gin and tonic, grabbed a couple more bottles of miscellaneous alcohol, snatched her cookbooks, and plopped down on the couch. She had herself plastered by lunchtime; kept herself that way until Obi came, and cooked in her favorite state of mind. None.
Obi liked the idea, plastered himself, and the two woozy people enjoyed the meal and hot bath as much as they could. They really didn't notice everything going on, like drunken Cuddles and Flower sliding into the sink, but they had a good time anyway.
Maul's day had not gone as well. When he'd got to the Sith Academy, his master had been furious. Sidious had made him do two days work to catch up, and some extra as well. He came home, flopped down on the couch, and fell asleep there. My Apprentice was not happy that he didn't give her dinner.
In the deep-sea valley of the Snorks, on the planet Snorkelustoday, Fred the Wonder Dog was having a hard time with the Snorks. The Snork-of-all-Snorks was holding him captive for being too tall.
Fred banged his head on the ceiling. Again.
One tequila, two tequila, three tequila, floor.
Kiila walked down the street to the glassblower's shop. She'd come up with the perfect design for Obi and Julie's wedding gift. She gave the drawing to the glassblower, with the dimensions. He told her it would be done by the time she had to leave. She thanked him, paid, and mentally marked the day it would be done. She left the store with a sense of satisfaction.
They had better like it. It had taken her a whole day to design.
Julie walked around the kitchen department in a daze. She wasn't feeling too good after the previous night. She had just barely made it into the store this morning, and Yoda had scolded her harshly for it.
She was having trouble remembering what was on sale, which items were where, and where the kitchen section ended and other sections began.
She really shouldn't have had that bottle of champagne all to herself last night.
As she walked out of the food store, Julie bought a couple lottery tickets. The jackpot was five billion credits. She figured that if she won, she'd definitely need the money. They were going to live in a house, not an apartment.
She walked home, put away the groceries, and plopped down on the couch to watch TV. She set the tickets in front of her, for when the numbers came on.
Obi was exhausted. He didn't bother going to Julie's place tonight. He was too tired tonight. He plopped down on the couch to sleep.
Maul was channel surfing. He was too tired to do anything else. He settled in to watch the news. The lottery numbers came on. He sighed and turned the TV off.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Maul jumped off the couch and tripped over his coffee table. Why was Julie screaming?
Obi launched himself out the door and down the hall to Julie's apartment and rang the doorbell just as she slammed out the door into him.
"Julie! What's wrong?"
"I won the lottery!" She waved the tickets in front of his face.
Maul, who had stuck his head out of the door, limped over to her, made a face at her, and limped back into his apartment.
"I wonder what that was about."
"I wonder why he was limping."
They shrugged at each other, and went into Julie's place to celebrate.
§ And you know what that means. §
@ Shut up, Kiila. @
Kiila was out shopping. She'd bought a few dresses she thought Julie might like, and some more for herself. She found a T-shirt Obi would like, and something for Maul.
She loved the cool rains, and the open-air shops here. She was thinking about moving here when Julie moved out. She knew where to find a job. The company she'd been diving at was starting to make commercials for the broadcasts, and they thought she might like to be in some of them. She would love it, if she lived there.
She walked over to a jewelry stall, picked out a couple necklaces, and bought them. She decided she'd spend the rest of the day doing this.
Julie was looking at better real estate on Coruscant. Since she only had a half-day today, and she was done with that, she had found, through the general information bureau, an agency with beautiful houses.
She knew that she would have to find something that was a good size, because Obi might insist on a few rooms to set up for his, and her, hamsters. She found a few that looked promising, but she wanted to have a certain amount left over when she was done. After all, there was the wedding to pay for and all that.
There was another problem.
All the houses for sale were on other planets. Houses were practically non-existent on Coruscant. She knew that wouldn't work.
Maybe she could find a larger apartment suite…
Obi was worried about what Julie might do. He could tell that she'd decided part of the money was for another way of living. He wasn't sure if he wanted to move, but then, Julie probably wouldn't stand for that.
He decided he'd talk to her about it later, and focused on the tasks at hand.
He looked at the wall in front of him. There was a lost technique for passing through walls. He'd researched enough to find part of the requirements for it, but he wasn't sure if he could do it.
His master had told him to make it over the wall, but Obi wanted to try this. If he couldn't get his fingers through, he wouldn't bother, and would levitate himself to the height that was required. It was a test of stamina, because, not only was he only allowed to go at a certain slow speed, but the air would get very thin up there. He would have to be able to pull the atmosphere toward him to make it easily, and that required concentration. Between that, and the long time it would take him, this was a hard exercise.
He focused on getting a finger to go through the wall. He concentrated on getting the atoms in his finger to separate to pass through the miniscule spaces in the wall. He would have preferred trying this with a wall more porous, but he had to make do. Then again, maybe he should wait.
He pushed his finger through the plas-steel of the wall. He pulled it back in surprise, before he stopped the separation and his finger went solid again.
Obi knew he should wait until he had a thinner surface for it. He decided he would experiment more later on, since it was rather draining.
He levitated himself upwards at the speed required, and hoped his master had not seen what just happened.
Maul looked at the wall in front of him. He was supposed to move it ten meters behind him.
His master had told him the bricks had to be in the same order from top to bottom. That made it a bit harder. Fortunately, the bricks were rather large, so he would not lose track of which were which.
He hoped.
Julie was just relaxing with a tequila and lemonade when the door opened and Obi walked in. He looked extremely tired, but also very excited.
"What's up, my dear Padawan fiancé?"
"The one exercise today. I had to get from one side of the wall to the other. I was supposed to levitate over the top…"
"Which is what I hope you did."
"In the end, yes. First, I made an amazing discovery." He picked a magazine off the table, closed his eyes to concentrate, and stuck his hand and forearm through the center of the magazine.
Julie looked at him in astonishment. He actually passed through the magazine. He walked to the wall, and stuck a finger through the outer layers of paint and plaster.
He then walked to the couch and flopped down, absolutely exhausted.
"It could kill me, if I lost my concentration halfway through a wall. Or I could lose my hand, or leg, or just a finger. If there was a way to push the actual atoms of what I was passing through out of the way or just further apart, it might be safer. I'll have to work on it with small stuff first."
Julie stared at him. She played with his braid. "Don't worry about it right now. Right now, you are going to eat."
She got up and pulled the dinner she'd prepared out of the oven. They ate, but not in silence, since Obi kept going on about this new skill. Julie shut him up by kissing him.
Kiila walked quickly back to the glassblower's shop. She had to pick the sculpture up today.
She rushed into the shop. The glassblower was just bringing it out of his workshop. She thanked him as he packed it away safely. She carried it away to the waiting car outside. Her guide rushed out of the car to help her carry it.
They made their way to the spaceport. The guide helped her load her stuff onto one of the luggage trolleys, and a porter helped her get the luggage to the appropriate place. Special care was taken with the water-glass figurine.
Kiila settled into her seat on the transport, and waited for the lift-off. She'd fall asleep after lift-off.
Kiila walked into the apartment, looking around for Julie. When her friend was no where to be found, she put her luggage on the floor, and hid the sculpture in her closet.
She relaxed on the bed. There was no where for her to be today. She fell asleep right away.
Julie walked into the apartment, and immediately knew someone was there. She knew something important was happening today, but couldn't place what it was. She sneaked into the bedroom, and was immediately relieved to see Kiila on her bed sleeping. She felt stupid that she'd forgotten Kii was coming home today.
She walked into the main room and plopped on the couch to rest until Kiila woke up.
Maul looked at his calendar, and jumped out of the kitchen towards the door. He ran to Julie and Kiila's apartment door and slammed his fist into the doorbell.
Julie answered the door and he burst inside looking around.
"Where is she? She is back, right?"
"She's asleep. You'll have to…"
"Maul, is that you?" Kiila walked blearily out of the bedroom.
Maul rushed over to her and picked her up. She suddenly had a very surprised look on her face as he carried her out of her apartment. Julie sighed and shut the door behind them.
Julie looked at Kiila as she walked back in.
"Can we all go out and get drunk? I think it sounds fun." She plopped down at the kitchen table after grabbing a bottle of Jack Daniel's. "I really need to do that. I have a headache because of Maul. I don't think I'll talk to him for a while."
"I think you're gonna stop babbling." Julie picked the bottle out of Kiila's hands and put it on the shelf. Kiila slid on the floor, temporarily unconscious from exhaustion. "See, I was right. Perhaps we will go out tonight. After you wake up of course." Julie dragged Kii into the living room and lifted her onto the couch. She sat down in a chair and turned the TV on.
She heard the doorbell ring. It was Obi.
"Hi, don't mind the mess on the couch. She's tired." Julie gestured at Kiila. "She had a great idea. Let's all go out tonight after she wakes up. We can even invite Qui Gon, if you think he'd like to go."
"Sure, why not? We all need a rest and some fun." Obi sighed as he thought of trying to invite his master. "I'll go invite him and Maul." He left.
Julie turned back to the TV.
"Come on Kii, wake up and put something else on, we're gonna go out."
Kiila could hear Julie okay, and she assumed that the big peach and red blur in front of her face was Julie, too. "Shup, go way."
"No, you said we'd all go out and get drunk, so we're going to go. Qui Gon is coming too."
Kiila felt her body lifted off the couch and shoved into the bathroom, straight into a bathtub full of cold water. The door closed behind her.
"YOU MISERABLE SOD! COULDN'T YOU JUST LET ME SLEEP?" Kiila grabbed a towel and the blow-drier, and tried to get the tangled mess on her head to dry and straighten out. She heard Julie's voice from outside the door.
"Need anything?"
A large blaster to shoot you with. "One of my two new dresses I brought back with me, if you would be so kind." Julie opened the door enough to throw the green dress in for her.
Kiila looked at the dress, grabbed a larger towel, wrapped it around herself, and walked out of the bathroom carrying the dress and into the bedroom. Julie was already dressed and sitting in the living room, oblivious to this.
Kiila finished getting dressed, and walked out of the bedroom just as the doorbell rang. The three guys piled into the room. Qui Gon stood at the back, wearing black dress slacks, and a tight, white polo shirt. Obi was wearing freshly ironed (she could smell the heat) khakis and a pressed white dress shirt. Maul was in (partially non-wrinkled) leather pants and black dress shirt. Julie was wearing a full-length black satin dress with a slit that went halfway up the middle.
Kiila managed to duck back into the bedroom without being seen. This was not what she'd thought it would be. Everyone else had dressed up more than her. She ran to her closet, and grabbed a higher level purple dress and changed quickly. She sighed as she inspected herself in the mirror and turned to see Julie coming in.
"I thought you were going to wear that green dress."
"It didn't seem right, since you guys dressed up more." Kiila quickly changed the accent pins in her hair from the green to a matching purple.
"How is it that you are so good with hair, and I'm better with clothes?" Julie fixed the shoulder poufs on the purple dress her friend now wore.
"Easy. I have more hair than you do, so I need to mess with it more. And besides, you've always loved clothes. Remember when you wanted to be a fashion designer?" They laughed at the memory of a time long past.
"Yeah, I remember. Now let's go out there and knock them dead."
"Didn't you do that when you opened the door?" They laughed again and walked out into the room.
They walked into Bobby Fisher's Nightclub, the newest nightclub in town. The owner, a deranged maniac who had made a profit by going on talk shows about a pack of cigarettes from Heaven, greeted them.
"Hi yo! Do you have a reservation?"
"Yes. Under Qui Gon Jinn." Qui Gon talked to the idiot.
"Flitter! Come here! Take these persons to the corner table. OVER THERE!"
"Yes now! I will do that sir! Come with me!" Flitter, a small man with a sore throat, led them off into the corner, away from the lights, but close to the bar.
The booth was a rounded corner booth with plush seats. Qui Gon sat in the middle of the back, with Julie and Kiila on either side of him, and Obi and Maul on the ends. Qui Gon looked very unhappy.
"I can't believe I let you talk me into this, Padawan. Tomorrow, you will have extra work to do."
"But tomorrow's Sunday."
"Alright, Monday."
Julie watched both of them as this dialogue went on. She sent Kiila a look that said, 'Help me.'
"Hello, how (hic) may I (hic) help you all?" The waiter, a senile idiot somewhat resembling Yoda, looked to be somewhat drunk. Kiila began to question the actual quality of this restaurant.
"Could we have menus and the wine lists first, before we order?" Maul looked a little impatient.
"Yes, of course, sir. (Hic) I will get them right (hic) away. The wine lists (hic) are very good." The waiter shuffled off, brought the menus and wine lists, did a funny little dance, and passed out.
Obi peered at the electronic menu/wine list he'd been given. It was blank.
"What the heck is this, Maul's laundry list?" Qui Gon looked at the blank pad.
"I resent that." Maul made a face at Qui Gon.
Another waiter shuffled up, plugged cords into their menus, and uploaded data before dragging the first waiter away.
They made decisions, selected them on the pads, and a third waiter shuffled up, took their menus, and quickly shuffled to the kitchen. They saw him drop the pads on a counter and trip on his robes before going into the staff room.
Kiila sighed and figured she'd had a bad idea earlier.
The drinks were brought. Obi had ordered Guinness, of course. Julie had ordered Tequila. Qui Gon had a large piná colada. Kiila looked at her bottle of Chianti very happily. Maul looked at the strange beer can in front of him. It was something imported from Naboo. He shrugged and poured it into the glass. It smelled like beer, so it should be okay.
Kiila sipped at her first glass and watched Maul carefully inspecting the empty can for anything that said poison. She giggled at him a little, and watched Julie practically launch herself into the glass of Tequila. Qui Gon eyed her with distaste and started his drink. Obi calmly drank his Guinness.
The tension was building over the table. Something had to be done.
"Hey everyone. What's up?" Mark walked over to them, holding a rum and coke.
"Hi Mark! What's up?" Kiila was the only one to notice him and say anything. Julie hadn't noticed him, and was well on her way to half her glass of Tequila.
"Not much, just felt like coming somewhere decent to eat for a change. Well, my waiter's at my table, guess I'd better go back. See you later." He started walking away, but turned around again. "Say hi to Julie when she stops drinking." He left.
Kiila sighed, and they all watched Julie finish her Tequila. She stopped, and started giggling. "Can I have another?"
The waiter walked up. "What did you have?"
"She does not get a tequila. She gets a gin and tonic." Kiila looked at the waiter squarely. He gulped and hurried off to get the drink.
"You're so mean, Kii. I don't like you anymore." Julie was whining like a little kid. "You know what, I don't like you either Obi. I like him." She snuggled against Qui Gon's side.
Qui Gon looked shocked. Obi was mad.
"You're just drunk. You don't really mean that." Qui Gon was pushing Julie away.
Obi grabbed her waist and pulled her over. She smacked him.
"I mean it! I changed my mind." She pulled the ring off and threw it at Obi. It hit him on the cheek. He picked it up and looked at it. Then he shoved it in his pocket and turned away as Julie started snuggling against Qui Gon again. Qui Gon looked stricken, and he started drinking his piná colada rather quickly.
Kiila sighed and looked at her watch. It was going to be a long night.
Julie was still against Qui Gon's side when the meal came. Qui Gon had given up struggling and ignored her instead, praying she would come back to her senses tomorrow. Kiila and Maul spoke only to each other, avoiding anything about any of the other occupants of the table completely. Obi stared off to the other side of the restaurant, refusing to hear his master when Qui Gon was trying to apologize.
The waiter stared at the group. They were hopeless.
He set their meals around at the appropriate places. Obi had ordered nerf soufflé. Julie ordered mozzarella sticks and eggplant Parmesan. Qui Gon had ordered nerf steak and a baked tuber. Kiila had garlic butter shrimp and onion rings. Maul looked at the chicken and angel hair pasta dish in front of him, smiled, raised his glass, and began eating.
Obi picked at his meal, but didn't eat much. Julie happily ate hers, and drank the gin and tonic. She also made Qui Gon eat; though if she hadn't, he might not have eaten anything. Maul was rather pleased with his meal, but he watched Obi worriedly. Kiila did the same.
Kii and Maul exchanged glances. He let her out of the booth, and she sat next to Obi.
"You have to eat something."
"Leave me alone."
"No. Eat, and I will. If you finish it, I'll leave you alone." She stubbornly remained where she was.
"I'll eat when I get home. I just don't want soufflé anymore."
"Wrong. You do want soufflé, and you are going to eat here." She gave him the look she'd given the waiter. Obi paled, and started eating. She smiled, and went back to her seat.
Julie had no idea that this happened, but Qui Gon had watched Kiila convince Obi to eat. He would have to have her tested for midi-chlorians someday. She must be strong with the Force. Or maybe she had some other power.
"Qui Gon, oh Qui Gon. Would you like to come over to my apartment tonight?" Julie stared up at him. He paled.
"Maul, can I come over to your place tonight?" Kiila looked at Maul, who nodded, understanding. She leaned over to him and whispered, "I don't want to be around her even if he doesn't go over." He choked on his beer, and she smacked him on the back. "Oops, sorry." He lifted his head off the table and glared at her.
Kiila was really getting bored with this, and was on her second bottle of Chianti. Maul was on his fourth beer. Obi was still on his first Guinness. Qui Gon had stopped drinking alcohol in hopes of staying sane. They had given up all hope of keeping Julie away from Tequila. She was on her third glass.
"Julie, you can have more to drink when we get home." Kiila and Maul stood up. Qui Gon quickly dragged himself, and Julie, out of the booth. Obi stood up and started heading out. Qui Gon paid, and reluctantly helped the stumbling Julie into her coat. Maul helped Kiila into her coat, and Obi stood, staring at the windows. Since he was the least drunk, he would drive back.
They reached the apartment. Obi went straight to the elevators, reaching them and going up in a separate one before the others got there. Kiila looked at Qui Gon with pity, but he was too busy trying to keep Julie standing to notice. Kiila knew Julie had to have drunk something before they left. It was the only explanation.
Kiila went into her apartment, got her PJ's, and went over to Maul's place. She didn't care where she slept, just as long as it wasn't in the same room as Julie.
Julie dragged Qui Gon into the bedroom.
"Stay with me a while." She reached her hand up the front of his shirt and stroked his chest.
"No, I have to go." He tried to pull away, but she had a firm grip on his arm. She pulled him closer, so there noses almost touched.
"Please?"
Kiila and Maul looked up when they heard Qui Gon scream. Kiila snuggled against Maul's side again.
"I hate noisy people. They have no respect for anyone else's sanity."
Maul wrapped his arms around her and kissed her forehead. "Let's go back to sleep."
Obi stared at the ceiling. It served Qui Gon right, that if he first objected to the marriage, he would wind up stuck in the middle of it. He rolled over and looked at Cuddles, who was cowering in the corner of the hamster cage as Flower glared at him. Apparently, Flower had reacted to Julie's drunkenness and sudden change of feeling. Fluffi Wan was absent-mindedly running in his hamster wheel, oblivious of the dealings between the other hamsters.
He stared at the ceiling again. He wouldn't be able to get Qui Gon back. He figured that he would have to find someone else.
Qui Gon reached for his glass when an armadillo leaped through the air and hit his hand. He stared at it, and it glared at him. There was a red collar around its neck with a tag that said Harold. He reached around it for the glass. It tried to stop him, but even half-drunk, he was faster. Julie walked in and curled her body around his.
"Don't you like me? Aren't I good enough for you?"
"I prefer men."
"I changed Obi's mind, didn't I?"
He bit his tongue and looked at her. "Let me get a little more drunk first."
She smiled and got him another bottle of Jack Daniel's.
Just kidding!
Kiila's notes: Wait for chapter 4. We have no idea how long it'll be, but it's coming! Anything that you have heard of from the outside of our imaginary 'world' (e.g.: brands of drinks, etc.) we did not come up with, they are not ours. Don't sue us. We're too weird.
Julie's notes: