You couldn't buy the smile off of Korvin's face when he was walking around with Dhel. He was as well dressed tonight as she was most nights, and with hair aggressively managed via product, looked a lot like the spoiled rich kids that he'd grown up with and so disliked. But this was an opportunity to show off -- maybe live the kind of life that other people already thought he did.

With a deep breath, and a reassuring look at Dhel on his arm, he banished that swirl of thoughts from his head.

Dhel's got her fanciest on tonight, the long gown is silky and tinted a rich violet that drinks in the light, and is matched by a choker of the same fabric. The chains on her ear are at least gold-colored, though a discerning eye can tell that's as close to an actual precious metal as they'll ever come. The single sparkling 'gemstone' along one chain is silvered glass. Her black boots don't exactly match the dress, but they're freshly cleaned and mostly hidden anyway.

Her arm rests lightly on his, nails freshly painted a pearlescent white gently tinted with lavender. If she's nervous, a performer's practice keeps it under wraps as she presents an appropriately dainty and delicate picture on the arm of the important, and more human-looking, man she's accompanying. "Anything I should know to absolutely not say? I've never been in here," she murmurs as they approach.

Korvin keeps the 100,000-credit smile on his face as he mutters, "The imperials and their wannabes like to hang out here, so for tonight, everything is right with the galaxy. Bellionas is great, the Empire is great -- basically, I'm just pretending that everything else is as great as being with you." He keeps his chin up and eyes forward, but his free hand comes over to cover hers and give a gentle squeeze.

Dhel nods, remaining cool, sleek hair swaying with her walk. "Ok then...'

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ooc: you making that check to see if your family credentials are good enough?

Korvin thought he was presenting nothing but confidence and cool as he smiled at the bouncer.

"Nice to see you tonight my friend. Korvin Hikarrin is me, son and favored child of Dozay Hikarrin, owner of the Hikarrin Group -- that's right, the Hikarrin Group -- just trying to show off one of Capitol City's most prestigious places to my lady friend, here. We'll just head on in, right?"

The response was not as favorable as Korvin had expected.

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OOC:
Crap.
D4 ME: entrance to Sapphire Lounge. 3D. Cunning 3, Deception 1: 2eA+1eP+3eD 0 successes, 2 threat

Met at the entrance by a woman stationed to receive guests, her uniform an appealing ensemble that distracted little. There was a frown as Korvin approached but the woman quickly looked through a few of her records and her expression returned to neutral. Looking back to the two she smiled broad, "Of course, there was a message left for you here. A reminder of the future, from Tybalt of SFI," she taps away and closes the message. "You've got quite the association Mr. Hikarrin," she said with a smile.

"Please, feel free to enjoy the Sapphire Lounge and if you need anything it will be picked up by SFI's tab."

Dhel winced a bit inwardly at the spiel, thinking it sounds a bit like trying to hard. But...apparently, what did she know. Apparently that's how you were supposed to sound talking your way into Upper City fancy establishments. Sure was a good thing that she hadn't tried batting her eyes at the very competent gatekeeper lady.

Still, she does smile charmingly, pretending to be very impressed by all this talk of SFI and someone named Tybalt. "Ohh, you're going to have to tell me about this Tybalt, Korvin." She offers a polite nod to the uniformed woman.

"Ah... Very good then," Korvin replies to the employee, his manner hinting at an anxiety that Dhel can sense but that is mostly lost on anyone else within hearing. "Uh, was that a private room that was suggested for me? I mean, obviously it's a busy evening, and it would be a shame if my friend and I couldn't have a quiet conversation when we want..." Korvin's voice would still sound a little off to Dhel, but with confidence returning as he seemed to decide what he was doing.

As Dhel spoke, a smile finally returned to his face. "Absolutely, my dear."

"If you would like, Mr. Hikarrin," the woman said, and gave a quick look through a terminal installed within the podium at the front door. A few swipes and she gave him a nod, "Second floor, second room to the left," she says with a smile and hands him a small round orb shaped object, one that fit in the palm of the hand. Something he could surmise served as a key for the access to the private rooms.

Dhel's eyes brighten at the talk of a private room in a place like this. A little less pressure to keep up a full performance with fewer eyes on them. She pats his arm as she leans in. "good idea! Shall we then?"

"Thank you for your help," he says politely, smiling at the employee as he takes the access device.

Flashing a smile at Dhel, he gives a bit of a tug as he says, "Here we go" and leads her inside.

The awe-inspiring interior of the Sapphire slows his progress as he sees it, almost overwhelmed to see it in real life. It's very impressive to a young person, but he resists the distraction. With plenty of imperial officials and others in the large lounge spaces, Korvin is reminded of the lavish parties some of his school "friends" would throw -- those were also places not to feel too comfortable.

Without looking too eager about it, Korvin leads Dhel to an elevator and the identified room on the second floor. He doesn't even really see the interior until the door is closed behind them and he sighs in relief.

Dhel's boots make hardly a sound on the cushioned carpets as they make their way to the private room, trying very hard not to stare at the officials and other highbrow types. She lets her gaze travel, pretending she's on stage and just doing a quick survey of the room, despite feeling her skin prickle as soon as she's through the door. She's a bit surprised at the sudden sharp pinch of hunger and anticipation of the meal ahead, but also the surge of other appetites. Her thumb strokes slowly along Korvin's arm, as the only real outlet available for that just now.

As he sighs in relief, Dhel's arm slips from his to come around his back, the singer curling against him, allowing touch to somewhat slake confusingly sudden desires. "Hmmm, you know...I've heard things about the parties here," she murmurs. "If this Tybalt and his private room and you have plans in that vein, you might have warned me." The singer's voice is warm, smooth, without an actual hint of reproach.

The energy of the place -- not only this room, but the entire building -- had curled around Korvin heavier and tighter as they entered. He'd felt it even at the door: that push to quicker action than would be normal for him.

Between the usual effect of Dhel's closeness and the extra surge of passion from the environment, his focus is very much away from Tybalt. Korvin's arms envelop Dhel, but for a few moments it seems he might keep his cool.

"Ah, wild hopes," he says, trying to keep clear thoughts amid a swirl of passions in his mind. "No, uh, no real plans. But, now that the opportunity has presented..."

One of Korvin's arms holds Dhel tightly, maximizing their contact, while the other hand traces, torturously slowly, down from the nape of her neck.

Dhel shivers, breath quickening and arms tightening around Korvin. "Ah...hmm, nice use of the opportunity," she breathes, looking up to nuzzle against his throat, her nose a cool contrast to the brush of soft fur. Her hands tighten, blunt nails digging in hard enough to be felt beneath his jacket. For a long moment, she's aware of nothing but the two of them, and the desire between them. It's a very nice moment.

But eventually, she loosens her own hold with a deep breath. "Think the rumors are true? The servers would just calmly take an order whatever they find walking in and pretend there was nothing strange about it?" She doesn't pull back yet, Korvin's hold is strong enough, and she doesn't entirely want to leave it.

In that long, enjoyable moment, Korvin seems to hardly breathe. His eyes are closed, fully lost in the moment. But h the draw of Dhel's voice is powerful enough to pull him out of it.

"Er, uh... assuming this is like the rich kid parties I've been to, only worse? Yes. They'll seem to politely ignore anything and just make mental note of what needs cleaning."

The answer comes out like a reflex, as the Pantoran is still trying to shake off the effects of this place. He blinks his eyes very purposefully twice, trying to clear both his physical and mind's eyes. His hands stay around Dhel, but they've shifted to just lightly sitting around her waist, his connection to her a powerful anchor against the tides of passion in the wilds of Sapphire.

Thinking to what she knows of less wealthy folks celebrating, there's not a ton of difference between the adults and the teens, so that seems legit. She finally looks around the room. There's a view, but...her spatial sense says they can't be near an actual window, so...a screen? The moonlight seems about right for an actual feed of the darkened city and its lights.

Everything looks blandly pleasant. Enlarge the small table, add another half dozen chairs, and you'd have a meeting space. Not that Dhel really reads it that way. Corporate meeting spaces are even farther out of her experience than fancy restaurants. The table is sturdy and looks like a wealth of actual wood, flanked by elegant floating seats that no doubt adjust height and everything else. Slim datapads rest on the table...no doubt containing menus and lists of drinks, and possibly every other service the lounge could provide.

She means to offer a small peck at the edge of his jaw, finds it becoming something longer, a series of small kisses along his jaw before she pulls back with a nervous laugh. "Phew...letting nerves push me. Not entirely bad, but I'm not sure how much we want to scandalize the staff before we've had something to eat."

With noticeable effort, Korvin takes a deep breath and chuckles. "I was ready to be scandalous as soon as you nuzzled my neck," he says, everything making clear that isn't actually a joke. "That's a, ah, hard thing to hold back from," he admits.

With another shake of his head, the young man unlocks his hands, giving Dhel room to step back if she wishes. He does reach for one of her hands, hoping to give a gentle, reassuring squeeze.

With a sigh, Korvin tries to think of what he'd do on a normal date. That space freighter seems to have jumped to hyperspace, but he makes an effort. Seemingly pout of the blue he concludes, "We should eat. And talk. About something less... passionate..." He smiles, trying to convince her that his brain is capable of less passionate thoughts at the moment.

"Been a while, but I recall math being a very unpassionate subject in school, for everyone except the teacher at least. So...have any opinions on, um...binomial functions?" Dhel grins as she steps back a bit, lacing her fingers through his. "Don't think I'm forgetting that bit about how to bring you to scandal, though...definitely filing that away."

"Food is essential though," her stomach makes a small growl of agreement as she leads toward the table. Looking curiously at the little seat pods, she just picks one, letting go of Korvin's hand to experimentally push it down a bit, to a comfortable height for her to sit on. With a shrug, she smooths her skirts and sits.

For a moment, nothing happens. Just as she's about to hop off and pull it closer to the table, the little pod starts moving slowly, rising to an appropriate height for eating and hovering into place beside the table. Dhel looks down at her feet, inches above the floor and sighs, resigning herself to the usual night of fidgeting to avoid feeling her toes fall asleep. Then a small drawer opens, allowing a small, padded, footrest to slide out on hinged arms that settle at a comfortable height.

Laughing, she looks up at Korvin. "Oh that's clever! Wonde what they'd do if two people tried to pile on one seat?"

Dhelih Dotaivi wrote: ↑

Mon May 17, 2021 2:07 am

Laughing, she looks up at Korvin. "Oh that's clever! Wonder what they'd do if two people tried to pile on one seat?"

Korvin grins at her. "I was just going to say that I'm sure you know more than one way to scandalize me, and there you go: sharing that chair sounds like one of them."

Still grinning, he grudgingly takes his attention from the beautiful Bothan and pokes at one of the sleek datapads. Predictably, the Sapphire's menu of food and services is the default screen, and he starts to scroll. Although he's not saying anything, if Dhel looks to his eyes, she'll see that she isn't the only source of scandal in the room.

Korvin Hikarrin wrote: ↑

Mon May 17, 2021 2:20 am

Korvin grins at her. "I was just going to say that I'm sure you know more than one way to scandalize me, and there you go: sharing that chair sounds like one of them."

"Oh come on, those parties you mention sound like that's got to be a ...um, a form of scandal, that you've seen before?" Brushing her hair back, she reaches for the datapad. "Upper level parties sound kinda wild."

Flipping on the screen, Dhel's eyebrows lift. "Obviously the Corellian was lowballing their dishes to lure folks in to gamble." Aiming for casual, she asks, "Sooo, who's this Tybalt that's springing for your tab, and I guess mine? Hmm...and what am I gonna owe him for that favor?"