Siri felt almost unbearably uncomfortable in the short shimmersilk dress she was wearing. She had almost forgotten that she had it, and hadn't expected to wear it. She and Adi had argued over it before they'd gone to dinner. Siri had chosen are more modest ensemble, but Adi had insisted she wear something more trendy, even if that meant leaving in what looked like a long tunic and no pants.

"Until we know for certain that we aren't suspected of being Jedi, we have to separate ourselves from any form of Jedi decency or principles," Adi had told her firmly. "We are going to be under far more scrutiny then Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon because of the difference in our appearance."

"I don't understand why the council sent us," Siri had grumbled, looking at the short dress in distaste. She knew Adi was right, but that didn't mean she had to be pleased about wandering around with her thighs on display. "Don't get me wrong, I'm happy to be on this mission, but there are plenty of Master/Padawan teams that look more alike then us. Or they could have sent you alone and had me as part of the Neeve family. I don't look much like them but at least I would be passable."

"The council have their reasons," Adi said serenely, then sighed a little. "But I do understand where you are coming from. Other then to have us in the same hallway as neighbours with the other duel family groups, there doesn't seem to be any reason to arrange it like this. It's a little bizarre. We just have to trust in the Force and focus on the mission. Now get dressed, we're running late!"

Siri was still thinking about this conversation as she and Adi crossed the dining hall. The idea of pretending to be Obi-Wan's sister was unsettling to say the least, so perhaps she should be grateful to the council. Her mouth twitched into a smirk, and after remembering where she was, she let it.

'It's all so bizarre,' she thought as she moved through the crowds with lazy confidence. 'Just dropping every piece of etiquette, every ounce of adherence to the code, not because we can but because we have to! Is it the best mission possible or the worst one?'

She caught sight of Obi-Wan across the room and grinned.

'This arrangement gives me an excuse to act as un-Jedi-like as possible. It might be difficult and unnatural, but at least it has its perks.'

She suddenly became aware of eyes on her all around the room. Men of all ages (and species) were looking her up and down appreciatively, especially at the large expanse of thigh she was flashing. Siri fought the urge to scowl and fold her arms. An mightn't mind getting attention for her good looks, but Siri hated it.

As they approached the table, Siri saw 'Kendren' get to his feet to greet them. He was practically bouncing with enthusiasm, and Siri couldn't help but grin. It was more then a little amusing to watch the stoic, austere Jedi Master flutter about as a slightly doddering middle aged man. If she wasn't mistaken, Siri thought that Qui-Gon seemed to be enjoying himself immensely.

"Ah! Ka'Teeka! An! So glad you could join us."

"Sorry we were late, there was a slight… clothing catastrophe."

Siri jumped in, easily filling her role, "Well, if you had just let me wear the dress I wanted to wear-"

"That wasn't a dress, An, it was a glorified tunic. I've seen more clothes on Twi'Lek dancing girls."

"What are you doing watching Twi'Lek dancing girls?"

"Oh, hush, you. I'm the mother, I'm right."

"Hmph."

"Allow me to introduce you around. Mr. Juli Moor, his daughter Miili, Healer Ron Andrae, and his son Anon. An, why don't you go sit next to Anon, there's a free seat. Ka'Teeka, make your self comfortable. How did you find your rooms?"

Siri smiled lazily at the assembled group, and then made her way down to sit with the other teens. Obi-Wan was staring at her, probably gob smacked to see her in a dress, and the other boy and girl were visibly sizing her up. She slipped into the empty seat next to the platinum haired boy. He looked at her, then at Obi-Wan, and muttered "damn!" under his breath.

While Siri tried to work out exactly what had happened, the girl next to Obi-Wan spoke up, "Hi! It's An, right? I'm Miili."

"Hi Miili, pleased to meet you," Siri smiled kindly, remembering what Adi had said about the girl's intellect. She certainly looked the part of the unintelligent teenage princess; trendy clothes in shocking pink and yellow, lots of make up and hair styled beyond recognition. She was a rather pretty girl, Siri noted idly. Much like the boy next to her was a rather pretty boy. Anon's shock of platinum blonde hair contrasted starkly with his tanned skin. Combined with the palest eyes Siri had seen, simple clothes and the blue paint on his nails, the overall effect was a startling appearance.

"I'm Anon," the teenage boy held out his hand to Siri, who shook it clumsily. She wasn't used to the gesture; Jedi generally bow. He didn't seem to notice, however. He was busy surreptitiously looking her up and down; not perversely, like most of the men in the room earlier, but thoughtfully, assessing her. Siri smirked at him, raising an eyebrow as though to ask for his conclusion. He smirked back.

"Have you met Cale? This is Cale," Miili chirped. Siri glanced back over at Obi-Wan. He was blushing, and he smiled shyly. She smiled lazily back, before turning to Miili.

"Yes, Cale and I met earlier. I like your dress Miili, where'd you get it?"

Miili beamed, smoothing a hand over the bright material, "Thank you! It's new. I got it from this adorable little store at – where did you live?"

"South-East of Central, Coruscant, Middle Level."

"Oh, you probably wouldn't know it then, I lived South-WEST of Central, Coruscant, in the Middle levels. But anyway, they had a sale and I saw this and I was like, I MUST have it!"

"And the dress cried out in horror," Anon muttered. Siri bit back a grin, and Obi-Wan looked torn between disapproval and amusement. Miili continued her tale, oblivious.

"And so I called my dad, and he sent me the money to my card and the sales girl told me she'd seen some shoes at a store down the street that would be just perfect-"

"Oh yes, PLEASE tell us about the shoes, we're DYING to know," Anon mumbled. He glanced at Siri and grumbled at her playfully. "I blame you for this."

Siri's voice trembled with contained laughter, "Sorry."

"- and the earrings DID match the shoes, so I bought them too, and I was just waiting for the perfect time to wear them all, and I like your dress too, An, is it new?"

Siri started at her sudden reintroduction into the conversation, "Oh, uh, yes, it is. Maman knew I was upset about moving, so she bought me a whole bunch of new clothes as a bribe."

"Did it work?" Anon looked curious. Siri grinned.

"Absolutely. Have you seen my shoes? A girl would have to be pretty hard hearted not to be bribed by these shoes."

"Ooh, let's see them," Anon glanced under the table and nodded. "Ah yes, I see what you mean. Those are fantastic shoes."

"Oh, let me see!" Miili ran around, and squealed when she saw Siri's feet. "They're so cute!"

"It's funny that your mother bribed you like that," Anon grinned a little sheepishly. "'Cause my father did the same thing. I was dead set against going until he offered me a new wardrobe, actually."

"I know my boy," Healer Andrae said mildly, looking over. "He'd rob a bank for a nice pair of pants."

"We're all about to grab some food, if you kids would like to join us," Qui-Gon added cheerfully. He got to his feet with a bounce, and sent Obi-Wan a pointed look. "Cale, please make sure you leave some for the rest of us, yes?"

"I don't eat that much!" Obi-Wan protested over the stifled laughter of the assembled group. Qui-Gon ignored him and turned to Healer Andrae.

"The only restaurants we can eat at are All-You-Can-Eat buffets, because I wouldn't be able to afford all the courses he goes through!"

"Hey!"

"But where do you put it?!" Anon looked at Obi-Wan's lithe frame with a thoughtful frown. "There isn't a scrap of fat on you. Do you stash it in your feet?"

"Fast metabolism," Obi-Wan laughed. "And I'm a growing boy! Leave me alone."

Miili was quiet while the group got their food (and Obi-Wan stacked his plate high, gaining him an amused look from both Anon and Siri). When she sat down, she turned to Obi-Wan seriously and asked, "How could you hide food in your feet?"

Obi-Wan's fork stopped half-way to his mouth. Siri and Anon's conversation snapped to a halt, and they looked at one another blankly as they tried to process her question. Obi-Wan looked up at her. She was frowning, and totally genuine. He stammered for a moment, and she elaborated.

"I mean, like, Anon said that you might be keeping food in your feet, but I don't get it because food goes in your stomach, so are you just a species that has its stomach in its feet? Or-"

"I think he was just joking," Obi-Wan interrupted. "My stomach is in my torso, like all humans."

"I don't think there are any humanoids with their stomachs in their feet," Siri added. "It would be an extremely impractical place for them, if you think about it."

"Oh, okay! I was just wandering, 'cause you do have big feet-"

"And you know what they say about human males with big feet," Anon muttered, and Siri stifled a laugh. Obi-Wan blushed brightly and glared over at them. The blush darkened as Miili spoke up.

"What do they say about males with big feet?"

Anon choked on his drink, dissolving into spluttering snickers as Obi-Wan cringed. Before he could spontaneously combust with sheer mortification, Siri took pity and answered her.

"They wear big shoes."

Anon collapsed in laughter and, after a moment, Miili joined in (though she didn't know what she was laughing at). Obi-Wan buried his head in his hands, and Siri smiled innocently at the parents.

It was going to be an entertaining two weeks.