Chapter Text
Rivannah had moved into the tall living complex first. She learned that the more she kept to herself in the busy building, the more trouble she could avoid. At least the hallways were well lit, unlike some of the other places people had to walk through to get to their quarters. Rivannah had a somewhat peaceful life at the expense of friends, and for now, that was just fine with her.
Xiardha moved into the same complex not too much longer. It was the same floor of the complex as Rivannah, but still seemed so far away from her room due to the vastness of the skyscraper. It was countless stories tall, but even then, they could barely see the sky from their level between the endless sea of the other artificial structures.
Rivannah and Xiardha did not take long to notice each other despite how far away their personal living quarters were. Among all the races that lived in the building, it was easy for one Chiss to spot another. Xiardha also kept to herself, but was slightly more social and the first to initiate contact. It started with a neighborly wave to each other across the empty hall, then it came with a smile, and then verbal greetings whenever they saw each other.
One day, Xiardha saw Rivannah slowly make her way down the hallway with her hands full of groceries and ran up to help.
"Wow," Xiardha exclaimed, "I can't remember the last time I was able to bring home this much food at once," she said while alleviating some of Rivannah's burden.
"Yeah, I was lucky enough to have a few extra credits saved up this week. I decided to splurge a little," Rivannah replied while unlocking her door. It slid open and she let Xiardha in with her.
They set the groceries down on a small island table in the kitchen (that had some seats so it could double as a dining table) and Xiardha looked around Rivannah's apartment before realizing her curiosity was turning into snooping. She quickly re-focused on helping Rivannah take the groceries out of their bags. Xiardha frowned at most of the food being instant-cooked and felt bad that Rivannah didn't have a lot of options for a true home cooked meal. Though, in their level of the Cityplanet, there was not an abundance of fresh ingredients. Still, some actual food was available in the shops and sales stands. Xiardha thought of a way to help Rivannah without insulting.
"I was planning on having stew tonight but I didn't have all of the spices I wanted. If you don't mind lending some that you got today, I'd be happy to share the stew," Xiardha offered.
Rivannah accepted the offer, not that she would have minded her usual dinner, but liked the idea of enjoying a meal with someone she could call a friend. "I don't mind at all. It won't take me long to finish putting this stuff away, but make yourself comfortable."
Xiardha took a seat on a small couch in the living area. Rivannah's apartment was one big room with a kitchen/dining area, living area, and sleeping area. The apartment wasn't too messy or too tidy, just well lived in. The couch was in the middle of the apartment, facing one of the side walls with shelves on it. The shelves mostly held datapads and holonovels, and even some printed stories. The wall across from the entrance to the apartment had a large window with a medium-sized bed up against it, and small tables on either side of the bed. Looking out the window, they could tell that the sun was setting due to the orange colors reflecting off the buildings and air speeders.
Rivannah closed a cupboard after putting away the last of her groceries and Xiardha stood up and walked over to the kitchen to help grab some of the spices they would use that night. Rivannah locked the door behind them and they made the walk down the hall to Xiardha's. They made what conversation they could, as the hallway was busy with other residents moving about for their own dinner plans, or just getting home from their busy days. Xiardha opened the door to her apartment and its layout was the same as Rivanna's, even the furniture placement was the same, though the size of their living spaces did not allow for much variation. The biggest differences were the plants around in small pots, or hanging from a hook on the ceiling that helped provide a fresh atmosphere without overcrowding the apartment.
Xiardha started on dinner right away since she knew the stew would need to simmer for a while, then offered a glass of wine to Rivannah.
"It was listed as a wine from some green planet, but I have my doubts," she said with a chuckle.
Rivannah joined in the joke by adding, "Well it fooled me. With a label like that, I took it for wine straight from Naboo."
From Xiardha's window, they could both see that the sun had gone completely down due to how many other lights had turned on. Large screens flashed their advertisements in between reports of the Empire's progress against the Rebellion, and speakers played their announcements in various languages. At night, the city around them did not get busier or slower, the hectic life on these levels remained constant, only the glow from electric light had changed.
A timer had gone off, interrupting their conversation. Xiardha and Rivannah both went to check on the stew. Rivannah wanted to help however she coud, she did not want to let Xiardha do all of the work. They gathered their bowls and utensils, Xiardha served the stew, and they both returned to the couch since the island/dining table was full from everything needed to make dinner.
A screen that Xiardha's couch was facing was showing some enterntainment program, mostly for background noise. Rivannah did not have any screens to watch programs like that, she usually preffered to read, but welcomed the sound as it provided some atmosphere for the night with her new friend without drowning out their conversations. In between enjoying their dinner, they continued their discussion about how they liked living in this part of Coruscant.
Xiardha shared how she missed having fresher food and thanked Rivannah again for sharing some of her groceries. Rivannah lamented about how many people she had to pass just to get from one block to another, and even living in a city that covered the whole planet, she did not think she would get used to it, but at least everyone mostly left her alone.
When they finished their dinner and wine, they agreed that it was getting late, since the night was kind of spontaneous. Rivannah helped clean up even though Xiardha said it was not necessary, but again, she wanted to show her appreciation for her new friend.
"Next time, we'll have dinner at my place," Rivannah offered, already planning on what she would make and what she would need from the food shops on their levels.
"I can't wait!" Xiardha exclaimed. She did not know what Rivannah would make, but even if it was instant-food, Xiardha genuinely looked forward to having another night getting to know Rivannah.
They walked to the door, but before leaving, they exchanged contact information so they could reach each other any time. They agreed that even though they see each other every day, it was a good idea to have other means of communication besides waving to each other across the hall, or catching up on the elevator ride to their level of the living complex.
Rivannah and Xiardha wished each other a good night, then Rivannah walked back to her apartment for the night. Rivannah closed her door behind her and grabbed a printed copy of a book. Rivannah didn't care what medium was used to write a story, but felt that print was a bit of a special occasion. She settled into her bed, curtains closed to block out the outside world, and left a small light on next to her bed to allow her to read until sleep took her.
Xiardah's routine to get ready to sleep began with watering her plants, and ended with her underneath her blankets while entertainment programs played softly in her apartment. The programs were preferrrably something she had already seen before, or something soothing to help her sleep.
One last 'good night' was shared between them via typed message in their communicators.