Aeris was glad that Jek didn’t seem the least bit disturbed by her slightly quirky behavior, instead seeming happy, grinning as she suddenly pulled him off to the stall she had been drawn to. The pastries were somewhat similar to those in the inn they’d come from, but these were larger and there was a greater variety to choose from, including the one she had chosen. Plus, these were still fresh and warm, where the others had been the leftovers from whatever had been put out earlier in the morning. She took note that he had bought extras, which she didn’t mind. She would probably be satisfied with this for now since the one she’d picked was a pretty good size—probably larger than a proper lady might be comfortable eating in front of him, but no one had ever accused her of being a proper lady—but there was nothing saying she wouldn’t be hungry again later.<br/><br/>She’d gotten used to eating less, as well as eating bland and boring food she might have refused to eat when they were children; however, she did recall that when they had been children, she’d gotten them into trouble a few times trying to sneak in some snack, hide extra snacks for later, or sneaking into the kitchen to find some form of sweets. “Good,” she replied when he said his was great, looking at him curiously when he’d taken her hand after glancing around. She chuckled nervously when he told her that it was almost as good as her and told her not to stop. It would have been bad enough if he’d been teasing her, but he was completely serious. She’d almost forgotten that he could say such embarrassing things so easily, and with such a straight face. That only made it more embarrassing. “Honestly,” she said with her hand on her chest. He was going to give her a heart attack one of these days. “You still say the most embarrassing things,” she added as she calmed herself and decided to distract herself by calling the shuttle.<br/><br/>She wouldn’t have called her response to the soldier berating. At best, it was a light rebuke, especially considering how most other Sith would have reacted to someone saying such a ridiculous thing. Then again, she doubted that many Sith would have ever been in that situation to begin with. In general, they did not inspire awe and loyalty. At any rate, she’d been blunt and matter of fact, but she hadn’t been mean or even angry. In fact, she’d been quite nice, all things considered. Then again, among the Sith, the bar for what was considered nice was very low, so it wasn’t surprising that it would seem a bit off-putting to someone who was not used to it.<br/><br/>She didn’t miss that he was curious about what she’d meant when she’d said An-Lok being right. He hadn’t asked, though, instead smiling at her and gently nudged her foot beneath the table like he’d often done when they were preteens. Unlike when they’d been younger, though, he was a lot better at keeping a straight face while he teased her. When they’d been preteens, his face would eventually give him away. Now, though, he didn’t even flinch under her gaze. She rolled her eyes and shook her head, but it was playful and the smile that tugged at her lips gave that away. She poked his foot back with her own as she took another bite of the pastry and had soon finished it.<br/><br/>He was still working on his own pastry, and they still had a few minutes, so she decided to answer the question he hadn’t asked. “When we first became Sith after the war, An-Lok told me that I was too nice, that the soldiers would never respect me like they did the others. At least not as I was,” she explained, “On the battlefield, it had never been an issue; I was confident and commanding, so they listened and respected me,” she explained, leaning her head back to look at the sky rather than at him, perhaps not wanting to see the disappointment she expected to find in his eyes as she spoke about such things.<br/><br/>“In the beginning, I was angry, hurt, emotionally charged, so I lashed out the same and everyone else—probably even more, I don’t know. But eventually, I just felt…” her voice trailed off and she shook her head a little, deciding that she didn’t want to dive into all of that right now. “It was easy for her to say when she wasn’t the one who had to deal with the emotional backlash that I did,” she mused, “Hell, I don’t know, maybe a better Sith would have reveled in those feelings and used them to make herself more powerful or something,” she shrugged, sighing a little.<br/><br/>“Anyways, I guess she was right,” she added with a small smile that did little to warm her features as she continued to look at the sky, watching various local birds flying by. “I don’t know any other Sith Lords who have to deal with soldiers worrying about them,” she sighed, placing an elbow on the table and resting her chin in her palm, “And worse, yesterday, I had a child tell me that I wasn’t scary at all. After I’d taken them captive,” she added, her voice low so that no one around them could hear her words. Of course, all of that said, she was probably not giving herself nearly enough credit, but that was to be expected, as she'd always been that way.<br/><br/>Noting that he’d finished and it was nearing time to leave for the hanger she gave another shrug, “Anyways,” she dismissed her personal rambling, stretching her arms above her head and then behind her, loosening her tense muscles, “We should probably get going,” she suggested, waiting for him to agree before she stood from the table and began to lead the way, tossing the wrapping from her pastry into a trash receptacle as she went. They still had a couple of extra minutes, but this way they could take their time walking to the hanger.<br/><br/>--<br/><br/>Jax chuckled a little when An told him that he looked too much like a Jedi before she caressed his cheek and then pulled his hood up, he guessed to hide his face and give him at least a slightly more menacing appearance. He took her hand on his cheek and lightly caressed the back of her hand with his thumb before stealing a quick kiss of his own before allowing her to step away to grab her own robe. “Sure,” Jax replied, having no real preference for where she started. She knew the ship better, so he was happy to go with whatever she thought was best.<br/><br/>He noted that her footsteps were heavy, her boots clicking in the hall as she walked. His own footsteps were heavy as well, although that was natural, given his larger stature, muscular build, and the fact that he did nothing to attempt to lighten his steps unless it was necessary for the situation. If he was tracking someone, for example, and wished to avoid alerting them to his presence, he would lighten his footsteps to take on a stealthier approach, or if he wished to avoid intimidating someone during a delegation, he might lighten them a bit. In many cases, though, his naturally heavy footsteps were a benefit, giving him a more commanding presence and adding to his already somewhat intimidating build. In this case, he opted for the latter.<br/><br/>He, too, was silent as they walked to the command deck, taking in their surroundings as they passed by, making note of anything that stood out in his mind that might help him to retrace his steps back here if he were coming from somewhere other than her cabin. When they neared the command deck, An-Lok pulled up her hood and he followed behind her as she marched into the room, charging towards the man who appeared to be in charge while sending lightning from her fingertips to fry the droid that had been repairing a console. He wasn’t sure what that was about, but the lightsaber score across the console gave away that she had visited the console before.<br/><br/>He turned his attention back to An-Lok and the commander as she informed him of the situation with a tone that was harsh and demanding and gave no room for questions. The way she stood gave away that she was ready to cut him down if he didn’t agree, but luckily for everyone, he did. Jax said nothing at all, even while she continued to speak with the commander, falling back into his usual demeanor, which involved few words in most cases. Instead, he looked around the command deck while also listening to the conversation she had with the commander about the mission and other planets.<br/><br/>When An-Lok turned her attention back to him, he gave a short nod and followed after her as she left the command deck, apparently intending to show him the mess hall and hanger bays, both of which would certainly be important to know the location of. She asked if there was anything else, he wished to know the location of as she led him to the lift, making a couple of suggestions as the doors closed. “I wouldn’t mind seeing the power control center,” he replied.<br/><br/>When the lift stopped at the top floor and An-Lok gave him a devious grin while telling him to come with her, he quirked a brow, wondering what trouble she was leading him into. Even so, as always, he followed her as she led him to the training center. He looked around, taking in the room—which was a pretty good size for a training room on a cruiser—as well as the equipment around the room. “Nice,” he replied simply, his face showing his interest in the room even if he did not express it extensively through his words. “Planning to duel with me, Princess?” he asked, a small teasing smirk on his face.<br/><br/>Despite the confidence with which he spoke, he had no idea what her fighting style was anymore. Based on his experience dueling her when they were children, he could guess that her style was likely far more varied than his own. Unlike the girls, he had not sought to learn all seven of the lightsaber forms. He had chosen to focus on only a few forms that he would master, rather than trying to be proficient at them all. Of course, he recognized that there were those who were gifted enough to learn and master all seven form, rather than simply settling for proficiency, but he hadn’t the pride to count himself among those, so he had chosen to focus his efforts on those that came naturally to him, that complemented his natural abilities, and that complemented one another. That had been enough for him, and it had served him well. That said, he was not sure, of the two of them, who would win in a duel. He had superior strength, sure, but she was fast, agile, and a smaller target, which he suspected would lead to her winning their duels, as she often had when they were children.