About equal distances from the motel and Restaurant Alley, and not far from the affluent Old Garden neighborhood, a somewhat rundown park occupied a few blocks of the Middle City. Garden Park, though not what it had been in its heyday, remained pleasant at least in parts due to some effort by volunteers and some funding by wealthier citizens with a sense of both civic duty and local history.

The park was mostly empty on days, like today, when the heat crept too high. At least one person was there very noticeably: Korvin Hikarrin, dressed in a loose, short-sleeved shirt and nondescript brown pants, looked very much like he must work there. He was, in unhappy silence, planting a dozen miniature... shrub... things. He didn't even remember the name, but his mother had been most insistent that a hot, dry day was ideal to get them in the ground. It was far from the worst job he'd undertaken for her, although today's weather made it plenty unpleasant.

Korvin took a momentary break from his task to stand up and stretch his muscles differently than what they'd been working at. He took a drink of water from the bottle he'd brought and glanced around.

A woman was walking through the old park carrying a suitcase in tow behind her. In her other hand she held a small fan which she used to lap air at herself as she walked. There was a bit of sweat on her brow as she sighed internally.

Hope this heat doesn’t stay the whole time I’m here...

She looked over to the side of the path to see the young man stand from his work in the garden and offered him a slight nod of greeting as she continued to walk unless stopped.

Korvin's face showed a little surprise at the suitcase, especially wandering through the middle of town. And a little surprise at it following a fellow Pantoran.

"Welcome to Capitol City," he called to the woman happily, thoughtful enough to not lead with something like Guess you're not from around here. When the greeting slowed her steps, he walked closer, smiling widely. "My name's Korvin," he said, sunlight making his golden face paint sparkle.

She stopped and nodded a greeting with a cool smile.

“Nice to meet you Korvin. I see you’re doing a bit of greenificaiton here at the park. A noble pursuit on such a warm day.”

Korvin laughs off the recognition, though he smiles a little brighter because of it.

"Someone told me that they needed to be planted today -- hot and dry I was told -- and so here I am. Much better weather for a speeder bike ride than this, but it shouldn't take me much longer." Korvin's blue hands showed a noticeable amount of brown from the dirt. For some reason he'd foregone wearing gloves.

She smiled at the young... apparently quite young man and his youthful vigor.

"You from here originally? You seem to not mind the heat so much."

Korvin nodded with a smile. "Yeah, this is unpleasant but not oppressive, I'd say. Still rather have this air blowing in my hair than just curling around me," he chuckles.

"I take it you haven't been here long, judging by the fan, and the bag there," he says with a small wave toward the suitcase. "And your name was?" He raises an interested eyebrow and smiles in a rather cocky way.

“Lassa.” She said with the softest of smirks.

“And, no. It’s my first time. I’m originally from the Pantoran system. Much cooler.” She tilted her head.

“You ever been?”

Korvin's smile grows just a touch at her smirk.

"No," he concedes, after a moment of just looking at her. "Family's been here a while I think. My dad was even in politics for a while. Bellionas is definitely home. Haven't seen a lot of other places, but so far I'd rather be here than somewhere else." He's not really smiling now, but he doesn't look sad either.

“Father was in politics? So was mine.” She smiled a bit more.

“That explains the devotion to public service. Now tell me... what makes Bellionas a place one wouldn’t want to leave?”

"Well..." Korvin prepares to speak, but pauses first. "You know, it won't help the heat that much, but let's sit in the shade over there while we talk. Assuming I'm not keeping you from something?"

Although it's a question, he doesn't really wait for an answer. Korvin takes the water and leads the way to a patch of what could reasonably be called grass, sheltered by a row of fluffy... short trees? Tall bushes? Something organic and casting enough shadow to take the edge off the heat.

Once seated, Korvin shares, "Bellionas is going through a tough time. But it didn't used to be so grim. And it seems like things are pretty grim on other planets too, at least the couple Core Worlds I visited. So I'd rather stick here," he waves to the imperfect looking park. "If things used to be better, maybe we'll be the first place that things get better again."

She followed him the short distance and found a seat in the shade next to her belongings.

“What made it shift to ‘grim’ here?”

"My parents say it was bad under the Republic, and especially during the war against the Republic. We wanted to support the Separatists, but got occupied by clone troopers." The young man, so young he couldn't possibly remember the occupation, still looked bitter about it. But he didn't stay on the topic long.

"Things got worse under the Empire. Some people tried to resist or speak out, and who knows what happened to them. My dad resigned from the city council after the Empire was declared, or he'd probably have been taken too. Folks called him a fire breather for independence from the Republic," Korvin said, a small but prideful smile settling on his face.

“I see...” She said with a contemplative nod.

“You speak of him in the past tense... What happened after he left the council?”

"Well, he's still around," Korvin half jokes. "Just retired from politics. Said he's not the man to fix this. Some people didn't like that, but I think most of them..." He looks a little guilty as he realizes the rest of the sentence. He finishes a little quieter. "I think the people who said my father should keep speaking out are all dead or taken by the Empire."

“Speaking out against the Empire does often have the byproduct of a shortened life-span.” She said with a knowing tone in her voice.

“I’m glad he’s still around. Losing family can be a painful thing to go through.”

"Right," Korvin agrees. After a pause: "So, uh, your dad was in politics too? On Pantora?"

She smiled a bit to hide the feelings behind her eyes as he seemed to strike close to the root of where her last comment had originated in her subconscious.

“Yeah.” She said before a brief pause.

“The Tenro family was quite an influential group in the not so distant past. I too went to school studying politics. There was similar division concerning the war among some factions on Pantora as well. My family didn’t make it through the war unfortunately. Just an older sister, but I don’t know where she is now.”

She smiled again, “My sister used to tell me that it was a great sacrifice to die for one’s people, but an even greater sacrifice to live for them. I respect what you’re doing here... Small and insignificant as it may seem.”

Korvin's face falls as he listens to Lassa's story. At the end he says, "I'm not doing anything here. This park is a long way from how it looked, even during the war. But my mom and her friends insist on keeping it at least sorta cared for. Unrepentant, she called it once. But this isn't even like the charity events... money to help people in the Lower City..." He shakes his head as he seems to be trying to process something. "I guess small things matter, especially when there aren't any big things, right?"

“Small things always matter.” She said with a direct look.

“The big things never happen without them.”