Ask The Bloom Festival

[Altair Din]

The wind felt cool against his sweat-lined skin. It took them a bit of time to make their way down the water tower. They were dressed again, though their hair was a bit disheveled. There was a satisfied look on his face, his tail swishing back and forth in contentment. Altair flashed her a grin as they walked back towards the festival, “You’re just as wild as I hoped,” He gave her a wink.

The night was still young, and he felt a renewed sense of energy. He could hear music in the distance and he perked up at that. Altair picked up the pace, walking towards the stage, “Come on!” He called out, “You up for some dancing?” The music was upbeat and it was a live band. Most of the people were drunk or spiced, all dancing and grooving to the music.

@LadyRen

 

[Kalique Baize]

With her body finally cooling down again, Kalique actually shivered a little as the cold night air hit her damp skin the first time once they were on the ground. She adjusted her dress before she combed through her hair with her fingers before she held on to his arm.

Knowing she'd not only feel the remains of their risky excursion now, but for a few days, she smirked up at him, replying, "So are you...I hope you're not too exhausted now". She was just teasing, although he had definitely been the one doing more work than her, but it didn't seem like he minded the little exercise at all.

After reaching the official festival grounds again, she found the music not only pleasantly upbeat but already making her hips move to the sounds while he asked whether she was down to join the partying crowd. "Absolutely". Still exhilarated and euphoric, she followed right behind, immediately starting to let loose.

She had seen him move on rollerblades and she expected nothing less of him now, so when he started joining the grooving she couldn't help but watch him every now and then. The atmosphere was magnificent with everyone just ecstaticly dancing but as one brave soul of a waiter danced his way through the crowd, offering shots inbetween the songs, she immediately stopped him and paid for two.

"Here" she offered one to Altair with a fully satisfied smile, "To this wonderful night". While dancing was just the right thing right now, there were still a few attractions that piqued her interest and so as soon as they'd both had enough for the moment after quite a while of dancing, she'd grab his hand to lead him onwards. "How do you feel about rides?". They had quite a few there and the queues were not long, so Kalique was thrilled to hop onto one.

@Sreeya

 

[Altair Din]

Altair scoffed as she remarked about him being exhausted, “It’ll take a few more times before I’m exhausted,” He gave her a wink. He was in optimal shape and was only enhanced by the Thorne routine.

The air felt nice and cool on his skin. Ideally he wanted a shower, but that was the downside of being out in public. The crowds were all moving and dancing, and he joined in with Kalique. He grabbed her by the hand, twirling her and moving with her. It would become very clear that despite his position, he knew how to relax and let loose when it came time to enjoy himself.

He threw back the shot and bought the next two, getting a nice buzz going. The night was young and he was in a great mood. She tugged his hand again and took him away from the dancing.

“You mean other than the one I just had?” He blurted out as a quip to her question about rides. Damn, that was a dirty joke, he mentally chastised himself. However, he couldn’t help but chuckle at it, realizing he was getting rather comfortable with her. Altair followed her and pointed to the tower of terror. Everyone was lined up in seats and they went high up and then abruptly dropped.

“Think you’re brave enough for that?”

@LadyRen

 

[Kalique Baize]

It didn't surprise her at all that their little adventure hadn't really left him drained, but she could imagine that he'd feel similarly about actually wanting more. They'd surely get their chance tonight, she was sure of it, but she found it amusing that they hadn't lasted longer than an hour before having ended up on that watchtower, shamelessly giving in to that attraction and desire.

In the middle of the dancing Kalique was hit by the realization that she hadn't been letting loose like that for ages. Dancing with him felt unbelievably lighthearted and somehow she had this feeling that she could get used to such fun, proper date nights. The smile on her lips was warm and genuine as she danced with him in the middle of the crowd, meeting his amethyst gaze in pure joy every now and then, before they were moving on for now, wanting to indulge that night in all possible ways.

Her eyes widened in excitement as he mentioned the tower of terror then, the slightest buzz adding to her great mood. His cheeky remark about the ride let her smirk while she added, "I'm pretty sure the ones offered here can't come any close to that", but the Tiefling was immediately finding his first target.

"Brave enough? I'm an absolute horror and adrenaline fan! Maybe it will be you screaming this time though..." she playfully teased with a wink as they joined the queue, patiently waiting in line until it was their turn. They wouldn't wait for though, but once it was their time, she glanced up at him again. "You need me to hold your hand?" she sweetly asked, a still playful smile tugging at her lips. It was also in this moment that she began to see patterns in the way his tail moved and she found interesting that you could also read him through that. He seemed to enjoy himself like she was doing it as well and she was finally beyond the point where she had still needed pinching about whether or not this was actually happening.

@Sreeya

 

[Altair Din]

Altair’s brows rose as she mentioned she was a horror fan, “No way, really? I love classic horror flicks. The Dead Evil series is my favorite,” He could talk about those movies all day every day. When she asked if she needed to hold his hand, he played along. He got a mock afraid look on his face, his tail coiling around her, “I think you may have to. Looks real scary,” He said with concern as he looked up at the ride.

He followed her to the ride, having been on similar ones like these before. He and his family went to cheap festivals. The thrill of the rides came from the rides being cheaply made, so you never knew if you were going to get stuck upside down. Altair had a dazed smile on his face from the memories and the complaining of all his siblings.

They were fastened in and the ride began to rise up into the sky. He glanced down on with mock concern, “Damn, this is real high,” He said nervously, “I don’t know if I’m brave enough for this,” He said dramatically to Kalique.

@LadyRen

 

[Kalique Baize]

"No waaay! They're dope" she was a little amazed that he shared that love with her and already had an idea for next time. "Next date calls for a movie night! I do love dark, psychological ones, but you cannot forget about classics like the virbro sword massacre either!".

They could continue sharing more about their beloved movie genre, however they were due to experience some actual 'terror' and Kalique was very amused by how he slipped into that role. Interlacing her fingers with his, she softly whispered, "Don't worry, I will keep you safe".

Excited about sharing yet another cool experience with him, she happily entered, however obviously playing along perfectly by making sure she kept him close by. She loved that they could even be goofy like that and that even if night was still young, they had witnessed countless facettes of the other that somehow just fitted for her.

As a festival and theme park enthusiast, she loved such rides, however it had been ages until she'd been on one and she constantly tried to stay serious as she tightly held his hand and soothingly stroked his arm. They went upwards and once there, she deeply looked into his eyes.

"It's okay...just look at me". As romantic as this was, she couldn't resist kissing him, however knowing they fall soon enough, she pulled back after a moment, wanting to prevent any injuries. Stretching her hands forward to feel an even more intense rush through the fall, she already began smirking...but the fall didn't come.

Another second passed, and another. There was some mechanical rumbling and concern watched over her face. "Uhm...is it supposed to sound like that?" she faced him rather skeptically. They had a great view, but the power was suddenly failing and all lights of and around the tower went off. While it was worrisome, it seemed like their had at least been an emergency system that would keep them up there..."Well...".

@Sreeya

 

[Altair Din]

“Oh, already planning a next date, eh?” He asked playfully, though he couldn’t deny how great a horror movie night sounded. He couldn’t even remember the last time he did something like that. In fact, the last time he had a genuine movie night…his smile faltered a bit. Altair remembered Celeste with a pang, memories of a starry night and a big movie screen flashing in his thoughts. He never said it aloud, but he grieved for her all the same.

Altair quickly brought himself back to the present thanks to Kalique grasping his hand. All of this was cozy and inviting, and he didn’t even realize how much he missed being with a girl like this. He turned to look at her, chuckling when she stole a kiss. The levels of sap were unreal, and he was all for it. Altair heard the mechanical rumbling and his tail began to flick nervously. He wasn’t just playing along now, “Uh….I…think this festival is well funded so we should be fine..”

He barely got the words out before the entire ride dropped. Altair yelled like everyone else, and he gripped Kalique’s hand tightly. However, the ride abruptly halted midway through, knocking the wind out of him. Without warning, the entire thing tilted to the side, threatening to fling Kalique out of her seat. Altair was still holding onto her and he stared with wide eyes, “What the fuck?!”

@LadyRen

 

[Kalique Baize]

Meeting his gaze with a confident smile she replied, "Yep...next time I'll ask you out", stating it as though it was obvious. It felt great and the night had been a blast so far...why shouldn't they try again? The night did however immediately take a rather unpleasant turn as the ride turned out to be not so well funded.

As the gondola suddenly fell, a shriek did escape her, not having expected that thing to move unbraked after all. Lucky for them it did stop, although comparatively uncushioned, so that she was painfully pushed into the makeshift belt before things escalated further.

The tower tilted and let Kalique slip out to a threatening extent, so it was good for them that Altair was holding onto her so tightly and that they were both capable force users. Panic erupted all around and shrieks filled the air while she stared at him in bewilderment.

"No...no no no" she muttered in panic, pulling herself back up with her heart suddenly racing and the adrenaline rushing through her veins. "Now I am frightened" she admitted, forcing herself to breathe before she frantically tried to think of a solution.

They had to be ready to braze themselves for a possible impact and potentially they could still save the rest, for now though there was was no announcement or anything with the power off and all she could see was how down below chaos erupted all around. The visitors began to flee from the tilted tower, not wanting to be crushed by it before suddenly, electricity flickered.

The lights went on and off again, but they'd rush down further and into the huge, rusty feathers, however due to the tilt the gondola broke from its mount after their descent and was only fastened at a relatively thin metal wire. "Out...we need to leave, all of you, out!" she loudly urged the others, knowing they'd all manange the jump and climbing out of the belt wasn't too difficult either, but time was running against them. This was not how she had imagined the Bloom Festival to continue and she briefly shot Altair a unsettled glance. Suddenly they weren't having such a great time anymore.

@Sreeya

 

[Altair Din]

Altair had been on many cheap rides, but this one definitely won out over the rest. He turned to Kalique, “Can you get down? I will help people down one by one, but I may need you to cushion them with the Force if they stumble.”

The tower was hanging precariously to one side and people were panicking. He would hold onto Kalique’s hand till she was able to jump down safely, leaving him still on the ride. Altair turned to the others, gesturing for them to unbuckle their restraints and to move towards him. He was able to help them one by one, easing them down to where they could jump the rest of the way.

However, the issue came with the folks clear on the other side where the tower was slanted upwards. He knew he would have to use the Force. It took a lot of coaxing, but one of them finally undid her restraints. Altair was able to coil the Force around her and ease her down. Already he could hear cheering and shouts of them being Jedi. He bristled internally, but he kept helping them down one by one.

At long last, he unbuckled himself and sprang down, landing easily next to Kalique. That was when he finally announced that they were actually Imperials, illustrating how vastly different from the Sith they were. While stunned at first, those that were rescued cheered all the same, Altair and Kalique both considered heroes of the moment.

At long last, Altair managed to squeeze them away from the crowds, finally heading towards that damn lake, “I have to say… my first dates normally don’t go like this,” He chuckled, shaking his head, “Then again, after how wild our first mission was, I can’t say I’m surprised.”

@LadyRen

 

[Kalique Baize]

Turning her head as far as she could, she adressed those in sight as calmly as possible. "It's okay. Don't panic, we all need to stay calm. We're getting you out". She surpressed her own panic as best as she could, knowing that keeping a cool head was vital.

She nodded at his suggestion, not liking the part about him being the one that stayed up but she knew she wasn't in a position to argue. Removing the remains of the restraints, she climbed out quickly but steadily, controlling all of her muscles to avoid further movement and held onto him before she dropped down, controlling her landing with the Force.

"Let's go" she called back up, panicked shrieks and fleeing visitors still rushing past her while those who were brave enough to stay closer stared at them in awe. Altair began helping the others to drop down and Kalique controlled their unplanned descents with the Force, keeping them all on their shaking legs until they could run out of the danger zone.

Everything went well until somehow this literal terror zoomed back up, hurling two passengers out, one of whom Altair fortunately caught and the other who would immediately find herself grasped by invisible tendrils that decelerate her fall enough so that she landed unharmed. Kalique grimaced under the sudden strain before she stared up at Altair wide-eyed, knowing that this would definitely end up on the holonet.

With heavier breaths and beads of sweat forming on her forehead she helped the others down from above, constantly keeping an eye on the unpredictable tower of terror before it was only Altair. Once he finally touched the ground, she exhaled in relief, however not getting the chance to take an actual breather as they were immediately surrounded by a cheering crowd.

They had to move away from the tower, but were engaged in several conversations before they could finally leave, being celebrated as the heroes of the day while the rest of the festival was immediately aborted and the authorities slowly streaming in to deal with the broken ride that had almost costed a decent amount of lives.

She was relieved after reaching the lake, finally on their own again, but she surely had never experienced a first date like that. "I was just about to say...maybe that's our style" she quipped as they approached the boats that casually hovered over the calm surface.

As most tourists had fled in horror, it seemed like it was mostly them. "I can't believe that just happened...you figure we can dare entering a boat or will a giant sea monster assault us?". If more incredible crap like that happened, she wouldn'tbe surprised any more"You know this will easily make it to the top of my first dates list...I'm sure we'll always remember".

@Sreeya

 

[Altair Din]

“Oh I’m not afraid of any sea monsters,” He said as he gave her a wink, “Not when I got you protecting me,” It sounded lighthearted, but she genuinely had saved his ass multiple times. He was used to doing all the rescuing, so this change of pace was curious.

Altair used the Force to tug a boat closer to the shore, holding Kalique’s hand to ease her into it. Thankfully, he also made it in without incident, pushing off from the edge and floating away. The sounds of the festival blurred away, and there was finally some peace. The stars were brilliant above them, the moon hanging low.

“I won’t forget this either,” He said as he briefly looked up at the sky, “You reminded me what it’s like to be just…me again,” Altair couldn’t remember the last time he had experienced that. He was always the Warmaster, many even started calling him Emperor. It was all far more than he ever expected from his humble upbringing.

He coiled his tail around her and tugged her close, “Thank you for bringing me out of my shell again,” He said quietly, not having realized how long he had locked himself up in his own mind.

@LadyRen