If you want to read more 25+ chapters ahead from here you can visit my Patre-on.
[P] [A] [T] [R] [E] [O] [N]
https://patreon.com/kelly_over
____________
The 'eyeball incident' was what Clan Saa called it when the locals tried to take the Mickey, as Lily put it, out of visitors. They had run into it a few times during their time on the Explorer. The first time had involved an eyeball from a kind of octopus-like creature that the locals had tried to trick them into eating by saying it was a local delicacy.
Harry shook his head quietly. "I don't think so, at least not like the eyeball we had way back then." Kass and Mak chuckled, and Aayla laughed, showing off her sharp pointed teeth for a moment. As a Twi'lek she could probably handle anything the Wookies could throw at her. But the others would not be able to.
"Are you going to do something about that?" Padme asked, having overheard them, and now looking worried at the amount of meat and strange vegetables that were being prepared for dinner. She had no wish to offend, but neither did she want to make a fool of herself for the amusement of others, no matter that she doubted it would be done maliciously.
"I'll see what I can do to save your sensitive palate," Harry said with a chuckle, though everyone understood that he would also be doing so to save himself and the others. With that he stood up, moving over to the cooks.
"I'll help," Aayla said, hopping to her own feet and moving after Harry. The two of them joined the crowd of Wookie cooks. The two of them joined the group easily almost seamlessly, with Aayla taking over chopping up some of the meat, which two of the locals pointed out as being for their off-world guests. A few whispered conversations occurred, and Harry realized that it actually wasn't going to be anything truly nasty looking or weird, it was simply going to be stuff that would light their mouths on fire.
Aayla was looking forward to trying the food raw, as it were, but Harry realized that he and the others would probably not benefit from the experience. So he prepared a few delicacies of their own, which would serve to both cool down and cleanse their palates. This calls for some panna cotta, I think, with a splash of lemon, milk, and vanilla…
The meal that evening swiftly took on a carnival-like atmosphere. The entire clan did indeed show up, and Padme realized that Chewbacca was greatly respected both inside his clan and by his people as a whole. She heard a term that didn't seem to translate very well even with the padawans' Force powers translating, and resolved to ask him later what it was. It sounded something like explorer to her mind, or trailblazer, but there seemed to be added weight to it that they couldn't quite grasp.
However, at this point Padme had no wish to take up any more of his time. Seeing her bodyguard who she had come to rely on and see as a friend among his family was too important to her. Instead, Padme found herself surrounded by her maids, a few other younger locals, who were eager to hear of Naboo and the other planets she had been on, and the padawans.
At one point Padme absentmindedly took a bite out of one of the local delicacies, then swiftly had to take a bite from one of the Harry's concoctions, a gelatin-like substance that he called panna cotta. The heat from the first bite was quickly deadened by the soothing feeling of the second, and she laughed gaily at the sight of the Wookies who had served it up to her. No one could do astonishment quite like a Wookie, and the Wookies were all astonished that she wasn't screaming for water.
Several of them looked at Harry, who wiggled his fingers. "The Force isn't the only magic I can do," he said smugly, causing Chewbacca who was nearby to howl in laughter and smack him on the shoulder with a blow that nearly sent him flying.
A second later music began to one side of the large balcony, and Aayla was suddenly in front of Harry, her eyes shining and holding out her hands. Harry smiled a smile that set Padme's heart to racing even though she wasn't the recipient of it as she watched the two of them move off.
She watched the two dancing through what was obviously a couple's dance, with Malla and Chewie nearby. The two of them had their arms around one another's waists as they danced, their foreheads pressing into one another, gently kissing and simply holding one another.
A few songs later the music changed to a wilder sort. Several songs into this type of music, Harry was back, bowing grandly to Padme and holding out his hand. "May I have the honor of this dance, milady?"
After glancing over to a smiling Aayla, Padme nodded, hopping to her feet excitedly. "You may indeed, good sir!"
These dances were quite unlike any of the formal dancing Padme had had to learn during her school years to prepare herself for her election as Queen. They were far more primal, the locals howling and whooping, almost as much challenging the encroaching darkness of the night as they were enjoying a party. The offworlders couldn't quite match the locals in some of their dances, but they made up for it with enthusiasm.
Padme enjoyed it immensely, rarely leaving the dance area. At one point she took a gulp of some kind of local brew, wetting her throat before being whirled around by Mak into a group with him, Kass, Sabe, and a few local youngsters. It made her feel a heat throughout her entire body, an almost heady sort, though it wasn't quite alcoholic.
At one point Padme found her back to Harry's front, feeling his hard, muscled chest and waist practically grinding against her rear and back, causing her to feel flushed for an entirely different reason. Yet she didn't move away, grinding back in turn, one hand reaching up behind her to wrap around Harry's neck. Moments later she moved into Aayla's arms, and the two of them danced around, laughing and joking.
_____________
If you want to read more 25+ chapters ahead from here you can visit my Patre-on.
[P] [A] [T] [R] [E] [O] [N]
https://patreon.com/kelly_over