Playing Hooky

Playing Hooky
Date of Scene:	02 March 2025
Location:
Synopsis:	Syra ditches her colonial duties to spend some time with one particular Disciple of the Whill.
Cast of Characters:	159, Syralana

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Athena (159) has posed:
Another day, another shift of the same old, same old. The progress on the comms center located on a bit of an aggressive embankment not too far from the colony site itself is slow, but steady. They'd run into a few hiccups with the equipment malfunctioning and Weniscio showing up late for his shifts on several occasions, but there's been no further incidencts since the first day. Construction is going smoothly, thankfully, and Syra will likely be grateful for that.

This morning, she may be approaching the work site when her commlink pings. If she glances down at it, she'll notice that Mondrian and Veena have finally returned from their excursion into the valley beyond the site, and apparently want to talk like... now.

Syralana has posed:
There is a long, and drawn out, sigh as she sees that it's from Mondrian. Of all the people she likes dealing with, that is one of the people that she likes the least. With all the problems he's caused and unprofessional behaviour - she figured he's one of the ones that's most likely to get us killed if -anyone- is. With a throw back of her head, and a groan that's reminiscent of some sea creatures - or an Ithorian with a head cold - she starts off in the direction of one of their usual meeting sites.

And while she's walking, she starts tapping out some of the orders that she expects the workers to follow... ya know, Don't get killed I hate paperwork, if you work till you're dehydrated your pay is getting docked, don't be an idiot. Have fun, I'll be there when I can. Before sending off a reply to the one with the charisma of a damaged speeder - the only one that loves it is the one that remembers the fond times when it ran correctly - Mondrian. OMW to Meeting Site B.

Athena (159) has posed:
Thankfully, the work site isn't that far away from where Mondrian and Veena are requesting to meet.

And when she arrive, she'll find the whole gang gathered - Vons, the Zeltron PI, the derisive Nautolan Veena, and then the king of all scruffy nerfherders, Mondrian himself.

They don't look happy to see her, although Vons seems amused rather than angry.

"You're late," Mondrian seethes, glancing at his chrono.

Syralana has posed:
I think that's Vons, the perpetually madly in love with Navi; Veena, chucklehead 2; and Mondrian, most likely to get everyone killed while sneering with his last breath that he clearly knows what he's doing.

And then Sira, the one most likely to trip over something while typing up the headlines for her latest article. She's tapping away on her datapad of course, though still looking up to make sure she won't trip over anything. Her mouth pulling a bit to the side as she addresses some of the concerns that are cropping up during the building process. As Mondrian says something, Sira says back automatically, "Don't worry, I'm on the pill and you're not the father."

Sira glances up then, looking over the three of them and blinks in a rather slow way, looking more toward Vons than the other two. "I hope you got that life size Bantha plushy. I'm sure it'll go stunning with your austere room."

Athena (159) has posed:
"I definitely didn't want to know that," Veena grumbles when Syra says she's 'on the pill.'

Vons arches a brow at Syra. "Who the hell are you talking to? Me?"

But Mondrian quickly diverts the topic, his expression defaulting to that typical sneer he usually wears whenever he's around Syra. "Okay, we're not here for small talk," he grumbles.

"We have coordinates for the marauder ship that we were given a lead for." He glances over at Syra. "I want surveillance," he says, "can you get leadership to pull some of the probes off of their usual probe routes so they can investigate our new target?"

Syralana has posed:
Syra glances at Veena, "You might want to consider it, ya know. It can help keep it a bit light, ya know, even you out. I would say make you less bitchy, but I think that would be a call for antidepressants." Then back toward Mondrian as he starts talking about... something. She kinda skips the first few sentences as if it's a stream of white noise and instead just slow blinks at him with the expression that could be described as "bored of hearing a voice that sounds like a teenager whining" if that particular expression could be summed up in facial expressions.

"And?" Another slow blink.

Athena (159) has posed:
Veena shows Syra her teeth and clenches a fist like she's about the punch the Echani woman out, but doesn't.

Mondrian glares at her. "Are you going to do it, or not? Do you even kriffing care? Or am I just going to have to ask for forgiveness from leadership after everything's said and done?" he asks derisively, folding his arms.

Syralana has posed:
Syra keeps staring at Mondrian, another slow blink, "You ever hear that expression that this meeting could've been a holomail? Because you have encapsulated the entire experience so perfectly, it should be your tag line." She looks back down at her datapad as she turns away from him and starts making her way off toward the Administration building as she starts tapping away again.

"Send the coordinates to my datapad." Syra says without looking back to them, "Vons, I'll be sure to send along some outfits for the Bantha. You know, hats and jackets, so you can dress him up and cuddle at night. It did have the collar that said 'Navi' on the tag, right?" That does net Syra a look back toward Vons though, her eyebrow arching up in a concerned way as if her present might truly have been ruined otherwise!

Athena (159) has posed:
"And then you'd ignore it, or forget about it," Mondrian says, "until I track you down, and force you to acknowledge my request," he sneers. "Veena already did," he growls, then gestures obscenely at her before exiting the small tent they'd been meeting in, rolling his eyes.

Vons follows her out, groaning. "You're not actually serious about that are you? Because it's going in the garbage as soon as it arrives," the PI says.

Syralana has posed:
"Yeah, clearly, because I have done that /every other time/. Tell you what Mondrian, when you -actually- have a point, open your kriffing mouth. Otherwise, your mouth moving like that just makes you look like a goober fish out of water." She's back to looking at her datapad as she says that, hearing Vons coming up behind her. She's not exactly moving at a fast pace. Looking up, she looking over toward Vons, bewildered.

"But... That way you can cuddle with Navi every night!" Her eyebrows go up, looking concerned at him, "Oh no... Have you come down with the Alderaan Mumps? I hear it can cause pretty severe depression when you're not in an artistically beautiful landscape. Do we need to find Navi? Would that help? The Bantha or the person?"

Athena (159) has posed:
Mondrian ignores her. Both he and Veena head in the opposite direction, but Syra will see the coordinates that Veena had sent her pop up in her recent text transmissions.

Vons lips press into a thin line. "Can you stop?" he says frankly. "I know you think it's funny, but I'm serious. I'm actually trying to move on, and forget about her, and you're -not- helping."

He frowns. "Anyway, I think you should head back to the worksite. I don't feel that good about leaving everyone there... unsupervised. Harrah's really the only responsible one."

Syralana has posed:
     Syra looks back down on her datapad as she keeps moving off toward the Administration building... area... whatever. She turns it a bit toward Vons as she's walking, "Wanna play by the way? Whenever Mondrian starts talking, I pull up this game called Flappy Mynock. You tap the buttons to avoid obstacles and get power converters. It's a better use of my time rather than listening to him ramble on and fail at insults." She turns the game back and keeps tapping away on her datapad, tilting her head a bit as she's walking.

"But, to answer your question, /No/. I mean, I like you kid, but - by the stars - a life size Bantha? Personalized? Shipped here? Do you have any idea the amount of credits that would cost? Woof. I'd probably have to pay Navi less just to go drop by your room." More tapping and she tilts her head the other way while looking down at her datapad.

Syra gives a pause and glances back at Mondrian, "Yes, I was planning on heading that way, just going to drop off a request for the change to a couple drones real quick in person, in case I need to smooth any ruffled feathers for the drone requisition. Do you wanna keep an eye on it till I get back?"

Athena (159) has posed:
Vons smirks. "Maybe. I've never heard of it. You get enough signal to download a game like that on your datapad? Well, shit. I guess it pays to be Primary Comms officer." He folds his arms. "Well good. And unless Navi's life is in danger, I don't want to hear you mention her again. Please. I'm not trying to add relational trauma to the list of things I'd rather not have out here."

Vons frowns. "Uh. Sure. But you have the commanding word. You know whatever I say or do doesn't mean shit to them, right?"

Syralana has posed:
"Yeah, I just meant literally keep an eye on them." Syra says as she keeps walking away, "And I'll just forward over the app to your datapad. I downloaded it a while ago, it was a good way to kill time when in a dropship." She keeps tapping away at the keys for a bit longer, then her mouth pulls to the side as the mynock runs into something. I mean, if anyone has watched her while she was 'working' on her datapad, they probably would see those exact expressions often enough... who knows how often she plays that game.

"I'll be there in like, I dunno, what? Ten minutes?" She tucks the datapad back away for the moment, "Just comm me if you need something big, Harrah will probably be able to handle it." She does walk a little faster, like snails pace to normal walking pace now though.

Athena (159) has posed:
Vons scoffs. "So what percent of the time you're looking at that thing are you actually -working-?" he asks, though the question is clearly rhetorical, as he starts walking away back towards the work site.

"Sure, sure, fine, whatever. I'm just working off of a gut feeling that you shouldn't let these guys know you're not around for too long." And then he's gone, and Syra's likely heading for the tent that's temporarily their administrative headquarters.

Syralana has posed:
Syra makes her way toward the tent and waits till she's just outside of it to pull her datapad up, and - yes - close the game, as she pulls up the text message of the coordinates that she was given. Looking at the pad as she walks in, she makes her way toward the section she knows handles the drones. She's pretty sure that's the section that handles the drones... Maybe. Yes?

Looking around she spots someone that looks tech-y, and calls out, "Hey, I had to put in a request to change the area of operation on a couple drones. Is that you or some one else?"

Athena (159) has posed:
The technician doesn't even look up when Syra walks over and asks about the drone patrol area. "Mmhmm," he says, "We'll review all the requests before dinner," he says absently, intertwining two loose wires from the sparking motherboard of a droid whose back panel is open. "So you should receive approval or denial by the end of today."

And then someone else is shouting at him, so he hurries off. Syra might be about to either follow him or starting heading back to the worksite when she'll see someone familiar out of the corner of her eye.

Oh, it's the pretty Tholothian man she'd seen the other day, one of the Disciple of the Whills. He looks lost.

Syralana has posed:
"Great I need to-" And he's off, Syra's eye twitches as she puts the datapad back away. "Really? Put in a request you say? Oh-hoh, you're getting more than a request now my friend. I swear, I'm going to hotwire four droids on my way back to-" And she turns her head, one foot hits the back of the other mid-step and she stumbles her way toward the Tholothian man as she tries to recover with the same grace that a loth-cat will have that 'Meant to do that' expression.

"Oh, hey. Fancy seeing you here." She reaches out to put a hand to casually lean on a desk, then decides against it when she remembers the last time she did that move, so the hand swoops back and she crosses her arms, giving him a smile, "You, uh, looking for someone or something?" Her eyebrows come up.

Athena (159) has posed:
Instantaneously, he reaches out in a flash, grabbing her hand and pulling up gently to help her recover, quicker.

"Yes," he answers immediately. "I was looking to see if Navi was back yet."

Syralana has posed:
Why is everyone so obsessed with Navi?! Her smile twitches a bit at the corner of her mouth and her eyebrows come up, "Oh... You don't say?" Her voice is a bit higher pitched, her head nodding a bit a few times as she looks left and then right, "Well, uh, I don't see her here. I'm not really sure if she got back yet or not?" Her head tilts a bit to the side, "But, ya know, if you're looking for someone, well - I'm someone. Right?"

Athena (159) has posed:
He doesn't say anything for a moment, but then turns his intense, indigo eyed gaze onto Syra.

"Yes," he says, though his tone is difficult to read.

"I suppose you're right."

"I... was hoping to take a trip out to the Tenooian countryside, to the zellia flower fields. I heard they're in bloom, and tomorrow I'll have to return to Jedha for a while. I had hoped that Navi might come with me." He pauses. "You see, I don't have many friends. But Navi has been a good one to me. I have to admit it's been rather lonely without her."

Syralana has posed:
"Oh, really?" Well that makes Syra brighten up a bit, her eyebrows coming up, her hand too as she reaches to touch his elbow lightly. A bit of a curve to her spine as she turns to look over her shoulder toward the door of the tent. Weighing her options, then back to the man with those indigo eyes. "Say... I need to do a bit of work, but um, after? I'd love to go see those flowers with you? You can absolutely take me on a date to go see them."

Syra flashes a smile, the eyebrows arching up again as she makes sure to look up through her eyelashes to him. Nope, she's totally not hitting on him. Nope. Nope. Yep. Nope, wait what?

Athena (159) has posed:
"You'd... go with me?" he arches a brow, seeming surprised.

And then he smiles, a mild, pearly white grin that lasts less than a second but had the power to ingrain itself into the memory of anyone who appreciated beauty.

"I'm flattered." He bows. "Thank you. I would appreciate your company. However.." He pauses. "I'm going now. Tonight I must pack for my trip to Jedha. If you can't leave now ..." he looks away. "I would pity the fact that you cannot accompany me, but I will by no means be offended."

He then waits, his expression clearly searching hers, expectant, hopeful.

Syralana has posed:
Sira reaches up and starts sweeping back her hair behind her ear, even though she doesn't have any loose strands that seem to be free. She does it a few times while chewing at her lip, she couldn't do that to Vons, could she? Like... That... That wouldn't be fair, right? "Uh, uh... Let- let me see if I can get my companion to watch over the site, it would just be for one day, right?" She flashes him a smile of her own and pulls out her datapad, almost fumbling it in her haste.

Text to Vons:
"HEY! Everything cool? Can you like... watch the site? I have some thing to attend to. You totally can, right?" She's hoping the answer is yes, so she can go on a date, not like Vons needs to really know the reason, RIGHT?!

Athena (159) has posed:
"Not even," the Tholothian man says. "A few hours," he says. "We can watch the sunset, and then ride the ferry back to Kublop Springs once it gets dark." Romantic, right?!

Vons doesn't respond. And the Tholothian man, he's waiting. And he looks slightly impatient. He's glancing up at the sky, seeming to be mentally calculating how much daylight they have left.

Eventually, he finally says, "We could start heading in that direction," he says. "It will take us at least ten minutes to leave the vicinity of the colony. That should be plenty of time for your companion to respond." And then he starts walking, only glancing back briefly at Syra once to make sure she's following?

It's reasonable enough, right? And if Vons didn't respond in ten minutes, well, that's on him, isn't it?

Syralana has posed:
Syra looks at her datapad, she squints at the datapad, squints MORE at the datapad. Then she taps back out, "Cool, sounds like you got it under control. TTYL! Have fun! Don't be late, Baaaiiiiiiiii~" And then she's tucking the datapad back away, looking back to the Tholothian man and giving him a wide smile. "Oh, looks like he's probably got it all under control." Syra moves around and tries to swoop an arm into his.

     "~I'm all yours~!" Her voice taking a bit of a musical note and tone to it as she flashes another smile. Vons totally has got this, and when they get on the speeder, she can send in that requisition form. It's all good. It'll be fine! It'll absolutely be fine! Right Syra? HELLS YES!

Athena (159) has posed:
The Echani woman might be surprised to find that he just... lets her hook her arm in his. He doesn't seem to mind at all. Maybe he'd finally forget about Navi. Maybe he already has.

As soon as they get onto the speeder, Syra might find herself shocked, exhilarated and perhaps afraid, of the way he drives. He drives really, really fast - even through the densely wooded areas where the trees barely stand a skinny being's width apart. And yet, somehow, she'll never end up with any leaves or branches whipping her face. They'll come damn near close to crashing into a tree at several points, but he always manages to effortlessly and skillfully avoid them at the last second.

Syralana has posed:
Syra thankfully has had more than a few moments of terror that its not too harrowing for her. Though she definitely does grab a bit tighter to him from behind half way through, and only /partly/ because the trees whip by so fast that she can't tell if it's bark or just brown paint on the scenery.

Like a quarter of the reason is that. The rest is... well... Hot guy much? YES. Syra is /in/ for this ride on a speeder bike. "Wow! You really know how to handle it." Because she can't think of how else to put it, and only after realizing that she also just made a horribly clumsy pick-up line that she would be kicking herself for, for at least two days. Maybe three. Hard to say. Depends on if it works! Then maybe not.

LOOK IT'S AN EVOLVING SITUATION!

Though once the ride smooths out, she does /reluctantly/ peel herself off his back and pull out her datapad to send in that requisition. Blah-blah-blah, the Comm center needs to reallocate a couple drones to check on how terrain might impact the signal azmuth over this part. Input coordinates from Chucklehead 2. That should work, right?

Athena (159) has posed:
When she offers the Tholothian man a clumsy pick up line thinly veiled as a compliment, he just looks her dead in the eyes with those indigo irises and offers her another brief, charming smile. Then he doubles down on the thrusters, and the speeder puts on a new burst of speed.

Just as she's finished sending that message, the speeder comes to sudden halt. If she doesn't hold onto that datapad tight, it might just fly out of her hands.

But then the Tholothian man is hopping off the bike, and offering her his hand as he makes his way down a somewhat steep embankment that leads down towards the zeilla flower field. And man it is beautiful. It's not quite the field she may have expected -- the flowers grow on the trees. But the massive tree trunks are completely covered in the gorgeous, bright pink blooms. It's stunning, and not like any other flower 'field' she might have seen in her life.

Syralana has posed:
Oh it was in a death grip because she wanted to finish was little she had to do, and once it was finishes, she clings back to him for that last burst of speed. Barely holding onto the datapad until finally with a bit of a jerk - the speeder comes to a sudden stop with Sira shifting closer as she does. While the world might feel like it's still moving, he steps off the speeder and she of course takes his hand to step off.

Datapad tucked away, and now forgotten, she tucks in close to his arm and stays close as they head down the steep hill. She 'stumbles' a bit just to edge in a bit closer as she looks around. Her eyes glued to the trees and the flowers growing off of them. Looking at each trunk near by to see the bright pink blooms as she sighs in delight.

That time only partly because she's still clinging to him, the rest are the flowers. HONEST. "Wow... You sure know how to take a girl on a date."

Athena (159) has posed:
For a moment, the Tholothian man looks confused. Then, he says. "I've never been on a date before." His brows furrow, and he suddenly peels himself away from her, strolling into the 'field', where some of the zeilla blossoms have actually detached from the vines that twist up and around the trees and are now softly raining down on Syra.

He keeps walking until they reach a clearing, and then he stops in the middle of it and turns to face her. "Do you like it?"

Syralana has posed:
Syra's eyes move to the trees, and it takes her a moment to realize that he's pulled away as she starts to turn a bit in place to look around at the trees and the pink floral pattern running up them. Her eyes moving up into the trees until she registers that he said something else. Her brain catching up in fairly short order as she looks back at him. "Yeah, I like y- it. Them. The flowers. They're amazing."

Syra starts off after him, tucking her arms behind herself as she keeps looking around but more frequently looks back to him to keep an eye on where he is and what he's up to. "And well, this is ~kinda~ like a date. Boy picks up girl. Boy takes girl to some place romantic. Boy puts the moves on girl. Ya know, date." She flashes him another smile and her eyes look around to the flowers, moving closer to one of the trees so she can lightly touch one.

Athena (159) has posed:
The Tholothian man stares at Syra in ... utter confusion. Perhaps Syra will even find it kind of...cute? Apparently her mention of a date has bamboozled him, or he hasn't thought about the concept of date much until now.

"Right," he says, after a moment. "Well, I'm glad you like it."

Once Syra has moved over to one of the trees to touch a flower, the Tholothian man immediately starts to scale it with... shocking grace and ease. It's almost... supernatural, the way he moves so smoothly. He suddenly stops on a branch a few meters from the ground, and looks down at her. "Would you like to join me?" he asks.

Syralana has posed:
She did, she /does/, find it cute as he has that look and she smiles a bit wider for a moment. She looks away for a brief moment and suddenly, he's scaling a tree?! She takes a half step back, and BLINKS at that. Watching him as he goes up, her mouth pulling to the side and her head canting the opposite direction. Syra seems to consider, then the eyebrow goes up as she seems to consider more.

"Hells yes I do. Do I have to try and climb up there or got more tricks up your sleeves?" Another grin, "Ya know, besides pretty spots to take cute girls on dates."

Athena (159) has posed:
He seems embarrassed by her comment about him knowing pretty spots to take cute girls on dates, but doesn't comment. Instead, he drops down a bit, boots digging into the textured bark of the tree while his left arm hangs onto the branch he'd been crouching a moment ago. He then offers his right hand to her, to pull her up.

"I... enjoy nature," He finally says. "Life is beautiful. The way the Force seeks to keep everything in harmony -- it is something to be admired."

Syralana has posed:
One boot on the tree, one arm up to reach for his, she uses it to boost herself and grab up onto his arm versus just grabbing his hand. Giving him a better hold as well for that matter as Syra lets out a bit of a chuckle.

"Well, if you think all of life is beautiful, then I suppose that covers me too, hm?" A crinkle of her nose as she turns his comment about the nature and beauty of the force into one about her as well, "Does that mean I get to be ~admired~ too?"

Athena (159) has posed:
"Of course," he says, hoisting her up, his tone and demeanor serious.

Then he looks up at the rest of the tree. "Come," he says. "The view from the top is amazing -- if you can make up there."

And then he starts leaping from branch to branch, smoother than an Ardennian swinging from scaffolding.

Eventually, he stops a few branches up, gazing down at Syra. He flashes another brief and charming smile at her. "Are you alright?" he asks. "Do you need help?"

Syralana has posed:
Syra lets out a /sigh/ as he's already moving away from her. She looks at the branches and then squints a bit before... Why not. She'll give it a shot. She's not exactly uncoordinated after all, and so she's trying to follow after him as she jumps and grabs to one branch and then the next, "I mean, I might very well be like a loth-cat in a tree, so maybe not on the way up, but probably on the way down."

Athena (159) has posed:
"It's alright," he tells her. "You can let that be a problem for the future, yes? Besides, I'll help you."

He waits for her to catch up, and from that point on, makes a point to climb much slower just so she can keep up. He doesn't seem to mind, though.

And eventually, they'll reach the top of the tree. He's right, the view is utterly astounding. She'll be able to see for miles and miles, the foggy peaks in the distance as well as the massive flat topped trees that are so distinctive of Tenoo. And it's so serene up here, too. Nothing, no one, except the pretty Tholothian man and herself.

Syralana has posed:
Syra doesn't mind height, at all, which is exactly why she's holding onto the Tholothian man that's next to her. And avoiding looking down. Well, okay, so she's not exactly - completely - unafraid of heights. She would be much happier with a harness on, or something that would stop her fall aside from the ground. And that's why she's clinging a bit closer, yep. Totally innocent because of the heights.

Syra swears it.

Syra also doesn't know what she would be swearing to, and whatever it was it would be scoffing at her. Or maybe giving her a high-five, since - ya know - hot Tholothian guy. "Uh, so-" She looks around, taking in the serene view as she inches closer as if attempting to become one with him. Again, totally innocent. One with the Living force, right? INNOCENT! (She's good at lying to herself)

And then Syra looks up to him through her eyelashes, "I like the view."

Athena (159) has posed:
He nods. "Good," he says. Then he picks one of the zeilla flowers and puts it in her hair.

"I realize that I don't even know your name," he says softly. "Tell me about yourself, stranger."

Syralana has posed:
Syra tilts her head a little so that he's able to tuck the flower into her hair before she looks back up at the Tholothian man, "I could've sworn I told you last time." She smiles up at him, giving a playful crinkle of her nose. "You can call me Syra." She leaves off the bad pick-up line, she's not THAT bad. Honest. She's uh, just trying to become one with the Force. Ya know, the Force can be ~with~ her.

"And I run the Communications here on uh-" She forgets for a moment what the name of this planet even is. Look! THOSE EYES ARE DISTRACTING FOR HER! She opens and closes her mouth a few times, and after an almost uncomfortable about of time, says in a rush, "On-Tenoo, Tenoo. That's-where-we-are."

Athena (159) has posed:
Speaking of those eyes, they are watching her with intense curiosity. He really did seem to want to know about her.

"You run communications?" he says. "Sounds like a lot of bureaucratic power. You must have quite a bit of privilege, then?"

"Are you enjoying being part of the Republic colony on Tenoo?" he asks.

Syralana has posed:
"I.. suppose I do?" Syra tilts her head, a bit, still looking up at those eyes. She's staring with that sort of look that says she will /totally/ get lost in them. A little shift so she can move a bit closer. "It's also a bit of a headache, and trying to work out a lot of details, keep people safe, et cetera, et cetera." She shifts a little.

"So, uh, /you know/, we're up here. It feels like we almost have the world ~all to ourselves~. And you were the one to mention about appreciating the /beauty/ of me - err - the Living Force. So?" Syra's eyebrows raise up again, as if posing the question to say that Where do we go now?

Athena (159) has posed:
"How valiant," he says, "I'm sure it's worth all the effort."

His brows raise gently. "It may, but the galaxy does not belong to us. It belongs to the Force," he says, "for the Force is what sustains it." He picks up a handful of stray zeilla flower petals from the branch below them and lets the float away on the breeze. He seems lost in the moment, watching the leaves disappear from view, carried by the wind. "What else about yourself?" he says. "Tell me. What makes you happy? What do you fear?" He reaches for her hand, placing his gently over hers, his indigo gaze still on her.

Syralana has posed:
"Yeah. I mean, I guess it is." Syra says with another half-smile, watching looking away for a moment and watching him pick the flowers and let them go. "I mean, that's not really-" Syra lets out a sigh, and just about goes back to her normal self when she catches those eyes again and she again is leaning toward him, "I was just meaning, I guess it doesn't matter."

She's just about to try again with he speaks once more and she feels his hand over hers and she gives a sort of lop-sided smile. "What-uh... What makes me happy? I suppose being hit on by hot people. That's definitely up there. Not like hit, hit on, I had enough of that you know?" Syra lets out a laugh that's a little bit too nervous, "Uh, I, mean like, ya know! Uh, complimented and, uh... Sorry what were you asking?"

DAMN THOSE DISTRACTING EYES!

Athena (159) has posed:
His brows furrow and he suddenly seems concerned. "Is everything alright," he says, suddenly looking her over in a worried manner.

"You seem to be having difficulty focusing. Are you hungry? Tired? Cold?" he asks. Whatever she'd been saying about hot people hitting on her seems to have gone completely over his head.

Syralana has posed:
"Uh." Syra manages as she stares up at him and then looks away again at the area around them, her eyes sort of trying to find something else to latch onto. But they are inevitably drawn back toward his eyes and she instead gives a little sigh and a bit of a smile. "Yeah, sure, whatever you want me to be." Beat.

DERP!

SYRA!

"Oh.. I mean, like I have /no/ trouble at all focusing on you." Beat, "Err." If she could eat her shoe instead of inserting her foot into her mouth, Syra would gladly take this tradeoff right now. Anything to make herself shut up as she says in a voice that is clearly unsure what the right answer is.

"N-n-no-o-o-o?"

Athena (159) has posed:
"Oh," he says, and that confused look returns. He doesn't seem to know what to say when she says she has no trouble focusing on him. He still seems worried, though. "Perhaps we should descend. The sun will set soon, and the view is much better from the lake. I also brought food, it's in the storage unit on the speeder. It may also benefit you to have something to eat."

He gets up, and, with the same grace and ease he'd utilized while climbing up, he spans the length of the branch and uses a small dagger from his pocket to free one of the zeilla flower vines from the tree trunk. Then he secures it tightly to a particularly thick branch and gripping the vine with his left hand, reaches out to Syra with his right.

Syralana has posed:
It's a funny thing, really. The sort of way that your mind will play tricks on you, the dichotomy between what you see in your head and what you actually are doing and look like. And so as Syra takes his hand, and clings to him, she has this image of what she must look like. A Princess, being carried down by a Prince like out of some holovid. Her hair wafting lightly in the breeze as she looks serenely and happily up at him. The single arm looped about her waist as her arms loop about his shoulders and neck.

But what she really looks like is a Tooka that's about clinging on for dear life as it hangs from the top of its cat-tree. The knowledge that any second the claws will give out and it'll fall backward to INEVITABLE DOOM! which is probably like 6 inches to a padded floor. In Syra's case, it's this Thelothian man that's holding her, so there's probably very little chance of that. As her arms tighten in what, she is sure, is some sort of whimsical parody of that holvid scene...

But in actuality is probably more like she's trying to put him in a headlock.

Athena (159) has posed:
He chokes slightly. "...is this ... necessary?" he asks, as he begins to descend using the zeilla flower vine.

By the time they reach the bottom of the tree, he seems winded. Either because she weighs too much, she'd restricted his breathing greatly, or both.

He glances over at her. "Are you feeling better now?" he asks.

Syralana has posed:
"What?!" She says, a bit sharper than she intended, and looks back up at him a bit more quickly than necessary. There was part of her mind saying she was about to be let go and fall, which is why - if she had claws - they would've been sunk into him. Like little hooks. If you own a Tooka... YOU KNOW. Her eyes look to the ground, then back up and at him, then she feels that the ground is there and she finally lets go to stand on her own two feet.

"I mean, uh... Well, sure? I /suppose/ but you know you could've held me a bit closer." Beat, "I mean, to uh, keep me safe." She turns and starts heading back to the Speeder. "Do you have sandwiches? I like sandwiches. Sandwiches are the best! Did you know you could make them with just about anything? Because, let me tell you! Nerf with some mustard, a bit of mayo, some fresh veggies! CHEF'S KISS! Absolutely amazing."

Athena (159) has posed:
He bows politely. "My apologies," he says, "I wasn't aware you were feeling unsafe. Perhaps if you'd told me earlier, I would have."

He then climbs onto the speeder and gestures for her get on behind him. "I don't, I'm sorry. Most of the time, sandwiches contain meat, which I don't eat," he says. "Once we get to the lake, I can show you what I've brought. Hopefully it is to your taste."

Syralana has posed:
"What? No, I mean, that's-" She blinks and she just kinda stares at him for a moment and she opens and closes her mouth a few times as she struggles to find the words. She tries, and then she looks back to his eyes and then sighs, "Oh kriff, you're too cute for me to make sense." She smiles and climbs onto the speeder behind him, her arms looping about him as she leans in and uh...

Prepares to go fast. Yeah. That's the excuse, and she's sticking to it.

Because... Wind and trees, so she needs to scoot closer and lean into him. "~Yeah~ that sounds great. Just so long as they aren't leaves and flowers, I think I can make do."

Athena (159) has posed:
He seems embarrassed by her compliment, and doesn't comment. Instead, he kicks the speeder into gear and away they go, into the woods and towards the lake.

And it's a good thing she's prepared to go fast, he drives just as fast as the previous time.

Not only this, but this time around they'll navigate over some hills and valleys, which might cause the butterflies in Syra's stomach to flutter aggressively (if they hadn't been already!!)

Syralana has posed:
Syra felt butterflies alright! Though that started when she climbed back aboard and was clinging close to him, in what she was /sure/ would be as close as she could manage. Sticking to him all the way there until they got to the spot where they might eat something. Assuming she could actually do that and not make a bigger idiot of herself. Probably would wind up missing her mouth and smearing sauce all along her cheek. She was sure of it.

Or maybe like... dump half of her food in her lap. Maybe drop some of it on her shirt and end up biting down on the untensil.

Oh! Maybe she would just wind up grabbing for like the mustard and instead hitting him in the eye with the sauce through some twisted act of the Force. That sounds like a distinct possibility!

But putting that all out of her mind, so it could linger in her subconscious and become a self-fulfilling prophecy, she instead focused on the scenery.

Athena (159) has posed:
It doesn't take long to get to the lake. The sun is just starting to set, as they disembark from the speeder and make their way to the white sanded beach.

The Tholothian man lays out a blanket and hauls a small cooler out from underneath the seat of the speeder, placing it on the blanket before opening it.

He retrieves a small jar filled with dried fruit and a small loaf of bread, both of which he offers to Syra.

However, before she can dig in, she'll feel her datapad vibrating in the bag she'd stowed it away in.

Oh, no. Did Vons, light forbid, -need- something?

Syralana has posed:
Pat... Pat-pat... Pat... Reach, pat... "Where did I..." Pat-pat-pat... PAT! She reaches in and pulls out the datapad, as she looks at the loaf of bread and dried... fruit? Kriff, I should've grabbed an MRE. He's going to starve me, if only I could sustain off his looks. That would absolutely be a feast! "Oh it's so good you're cute." She sighs happily, forgetting about the datapad as she smiles to him.

"One second." She says with that same sort of musical note to her voice as she does start to salivate looking at the bread and fruit and Tholo-

DOWN SYRA!

DATAPAD!

Another sigh and she looks down at her datapad, getting ready to type something back like, "Krshh, oh no, I'm-krssh-tunnel. I guess-krshh-so-krshhh. I believe in you Vons!" When she decides to actually read what the message is first before fully getting her hopes up at how easy a message she can reply with.

Athena (159) has posed:
The Tholothian man looks away again, clearly embarrassed again by her flattery. "You're welcome..."

However, Syra may be rather dismayed to find that she's missed fifteen calls from Vons, and several urgent text transmissions from Jac.

What did they need...?

If she opens the messages from Jac, she'll find the first one reads as follows:

|Gods, where are you, Syra? Vons has been trying to reach you for the past hour. There's been a really, really bad accident.I don't exactly know what happened, but somehow, there was a cave in. Dresda, Harrah, Weniscio are all trapped down there. Kriff...I'm so scared. Harrah has claustrophobia, dammit. Someone's got to get her out. I don't even know if any of them are alive. Please...come back asap...|