Ask Trip Machine

[Soleil Altan]

Sol was back on Taris not too long after the party. The local academy, a newer one, had a completely different library than Drommund Kaas. Lots of military theory, war and political philosophy, stuff like that. He still had Korriban's on his list to visit- he was this close to getting a permit- but he also wasn't looking to the dry, hot planet all that much. Why they didn't just take all the important stuff off-world to somewhere less grey was beyond him.

'Course he wouldn't express that out loud even if he could. He liked to remain un-defenestrated, thank you very much. After picking up book and datapad copies, though, Sol had nothing 'official' left to do and went off a-wandering with his personal. And that's how he found himself at a gigantic arcade in the lower levels. Low illumination was punctuated by neon signs, blinking lights, game displays, and a million different console themes. People yelled in several languages all around, winning and losing their various games.

Sweet. Sol floated his hoverboard right on through, stepping off and kicking it up into his hands. He still looked kinda put-together from having to visit a pretty strict academy without getting yelled yet, his beanie shoved over his thick hair so some of it still curled sideways out the front. Yet another reason to thank Aadya for taking him shopping. He converted some spare credits into game tokens and shoved them into his pocket, worming his way through the crowd and haze of cigarra smoke to look for a free game.

And happened to spot a familiarly frecked face and half-bleached hair. Sol brightened a little and marched over behind Ailis, peeking around her to see what she was playing. He didn't otherwise indicate his presence, but his reflection was on the game screen next to hers.

@Arcangel

 

[Ailis Drast]

Ailis was always looking for a good time, and what better time was there than a low light arcade filled with high adrenaline games and plenty of people to talk to. Not much that was for sure. She had been there for hours already, dumping credits into games, it wasn't like she couldn't get more. Dressed in a pair of baggy black pants, a white crop top and a leather jacket, she fit right in with the crowd there as she focused intensely on a game of Mando Strike

She whooped as she landed a jetpack assassination, slamming down on her opponents back and slitting his throat with a vibroknife. Quick-drawing her blaster she gunned down three more players in quick succession before another enemy popped out of a side door and headshot her with a PIPE rocket. Whoever the other guy was he had clearly misjudged the distance and sent himself tumbling out of the room, dead.

ROUND OVER

The words flashed across the screen before it went dark. There was a face there and it spooked Ailis for a moment, but it looked very familiar and she felt like she should recognize it. Turning away from the game she looked at him, trying to remember.

"Hey!" She said with a falsified familiarity. She knew she knew him from somewhere but that happened all the time and she felt like she recognized him from a dream. "I know you from somewhere," she started as her voice took on an inquisitive tone as a flash of memory rose in her brain, beer pong. A lingering kiss. "I've kissed you recently haven't I?" She asked him unfazed by the idea that that might be a weird question to ask a random dude in an arcade. For all she knew he was just some guy waiting for his turn on Mando Strike

@Mr. Teatime

 

[Soleil Altan]

Sol watched with interest while the on-screen Mandalorian completely fucking destroyed all the other plays in rapid succession. He bounced on his feet a little, drawn in by the spectacle and getting a bit closer. So by the time Ailis turned around Sol was actually only a solid step away.

He blinked at her and adjusted his skimboard's position in his hands, leaning one end on the floor. That 'hey' sounded kinda weird but Sol moved right past it, brows raising as she went down a train about knowing the silent acolyte. His expression was caught somewhere between amused and bemusement, right brow raising. In her defense, it'd been kind of a wild night. The question actually caught him by surprise, a grin that almost looked it'd turn into a laugh splitting his features.

His right hand came up off the board and signed, <Sure did>, before flicking a finger across one of his paired earrings and flashing her a tongue-out wink. Sol still had that same basic silver tongue stud and everything. Casually he rotated a finger to indicate 'around them' and signed, <Never been here before.> a pause, fingerspelling <A L I C E?> then pointed at Ailis. He'd heard it through heavy-bass techno and alcohol, unsure if he'd actually gotten it right.

@Arcangel

 

[Ailis Drast]

It wasn't the first time she had asked a guy that question and she rated his reaction as a solid eight. A little surprised, and amused. That was good. Some guys got really defensive or just made things weird. She smiled at his little facial expressions and her eyes went wide when he started to sign.

"Wait wait wait..." She mumbled before snapping a finger at him. She remembered bits and pieces, but the dude signing with her at the beer pong table... She'd been crashing then and the memory cut through. <Hey! I remember you! What's up dude?> She signed back to him, a happy grin on her face. This sort of thing didn't happen every day.

<This place is pretty great.> She replied before giving two thumbs up. She watched him spell his name and shook her head "No." She said before signing <A I L I S.> She fingerspelled before saying it out loud "Ailis".

<That was some party huh?> She asked before giggling. She wondered if he remembered the finer details, or if she had ended up giving him some crude. <Hows your memory of that night? Mine's a bit hazy.> She probed for answers on the matter gently before pointing a finger all around the room and signing <Wanna hang out?>

@Mr. Teatime

 

[Soleil Altan]

It was somewhere north of odd for Sol to actually have a live conversation with someone that wasn't over text. Mostly only droids bothered learning sign and he didn't try very hard with new people anymore, perfectly content to go with his kinetic communication. Being invited by someone to dance who *also* knew GSS had just about been the night's highlight.

That and the uh, other stuff, too. Sol's head tilted a bit as he looked at her. Did she not remember much from that night? Must've been going hard, Sol figured. All the same he beamed at Ailis when her face lit up and she signed back. <Stopped by T.I.A library.> he explained, adjusting his backpack with a hand before going on. <Wandering around bored until I saw you here.>

Sol watched Ailis spell her name and nodded, giving an 'OK' sign. Much clearer this time. Now, her asking about how well he remembered the night was kind of a funny question, at least to Sol. Bits were slightly fuzzy from substances, but there was a reason he did so well on written tests back on Drommund Kaas. <Totally!> A moment's pause. <Remember everything.> Something he seemed slightly smug about based on his expression.

With a sunny grin he answered, <Yeah. Show me around?> and added a shaken shaka sign at the end. This crazy place had like four stories of arcade and Sol had no idea how to start from here.

@Arcangel

 

[Ailis Drast]

Ailis watched intently as her new friend communicated with her. She was eager to pick his brain to fill in the blanks and plus, he seemed like a nice guy. <T.I.A? Wait a minute do we go to the same school?> She signed. That would be cool and her expression showed that she found the concept exciting. Her eyes drifted down to the board in his hand and they went wide <No way! Is that a hoverboard? That's so cool.>

He signed back about the night before, bragging that he remembered everything. Ailis lip turned up into a small sly grin at his smug expression. Yep, she had definitely kissed him. <Mind filling me in? I might have went a bit too hard and don't have a good memory of the night.> A bit of a stretch to the truth but overall an accurate statement.

<Sure!> She said, smiling as she agreed to give him the grand tour. She wasn't super familiar with the place but she could act like she was, and she only got turned around a few times as she showed him some of her favorite games. Mando Strike of course, she even watched a few holonet streamers play that one. She showed him a few dancing games, some interactive racing games that moved with the action, and of course, the VR suite. She would let him pick and play any of the games he wanted to try out and would play them with him if they were multiplayer.

@Mr. Teatime

 

[Soleil Altan]

He shook his head at Ailis' question of school, pulling open his jacket to show the inside pocket. Aside from the fact there was clearly something in said pocket, there was a little "Drommund Kaas Academy" ID-sigil patched onto it. <Just visiting for books> he rapidly signed back. Sol lifted up the board for Ailis to look at, clearly proud. He'd saved up money to get it when he was a little younger and took very good care of it. <Yeah! I ride it everywhere.>

Sol shifted his weight from one foot to the other, forming a grin just as sly as the other acolyte's. <Sure. Hoping for a reenactment?> He playfully signed, hand movement casually languid. Clearly, he'd taken it as an overall positive experience and was pleased to see her again, conversational flirting or not.

The silent acolyte followed Ailis around the arcade, looking at all the different games. There were old-school manual games and more recent digital ones mixed in all over the place. One of the floors was almost entirely gambling-style games of chance with an abundance of flashing lights and music to people and their credits in. Whenever they paused to look or play something he'd throw in an anecdote from the party, starting with Ailis' asking to dance and the fact they had the same taste in pants.

A couple things drew some extra attention from him, though.

A really, really old sidescroller called Silkworm that involved a combat airspeeder and a tread tank working together to blow up enemies in the way. The other was the VR suite, which he looked pretty excited about. He played some Mando Strike but only out at arcades since he didn't have a console himself. Most of his games were handhelds or really old. VR was way above his budget and not all arcades even had one, much less a whole suite!

<Co-op Rhythm Saber?> he signed, <Or Arch Angel: Chaos Fire?>

@Arcangel

 

[Ailis Drast]

Ailis eyed the student I.D. badge that Sol showed off, clearly different than hers. <That's too bad.> She signed when she found out they didn't go to the same school. It would be nice to have someone around at school who actually acted glad to see her.

Ailis flashed a shy smile as he suggested a reenactment, looking down briefly as she brushed a strand of hair out of her face and behind her ear. <I'm not gonna kiss a guy I just met.> She said, a little embarrassed.

Especially since that was exactly what she had done.

Ailis pursed her lip at the contradiction. <Parties don't count.> She finished after a moment, satisfied that her little logic conundrum was solved, ignoring the fact that she knew exactly what she had signed up for walking into that party.

She took a glance at the hoverboard in his hands and gave a little lopsided smile. <I wouldn't mind if you took me for a ride on your board later though.> The instinct to chase that adrenaline kicked in a little bit as she looked back at him.

Ailis gave him the tour and he signed little bits and pieces of the adventure they had shared. Her phone came out as they walked and she took a few brief notes on it after each little tidbit of detail that came out of Sol.

The tour came to a close and Sol suggested two games. Ailis had played a looot of Arch Angel: Chaos Fire since she'd moved to Taris. She had been paying attention to him during their tour and he didn't seem like that much of the gamer type.

<I've never played Rhythm Saber. Can you teach me?> She said before walking over to the game. She had never really been into saber combat type games and hadn't picked this one up. She grabbed the saber wand and inserted a few credits into the game.

@Mr. Teatime

 

[Soleil Altan]

Sol accepted Ailis' assertion with a nod and foxish grin, signing <Parties don't count.> The human's shyer attitude was quickly becoming apparent compared to her straightforwardness at the party. Even Sol himself had been more upfront than usual owing to alcohol and other things. Teasing aside, he wasn't expecting anything. It was just nice to have a real back-and-forth sometimes.

<Hovereboard it is!> he added, hefting it to carry off. Sol glanced at her while they walked around, noticing her notation, but made no comment. He avoided going into great detail about the kissing parts, nor did he mention the Wildfire he'd lifted from her pocket and tossed away. The rest was fair and honest game, though, including the fact he'd had a lot of fun.

Sol made a thoughtful face. He'd only played Rhythm Saber at a friend's place or the rare arcade, not in person. Usually, he stuck to reading or drawing by himself as a default. With a shrug, he signed <Yeah. I'm not amazing or anything though.> Rather than a headset, this VR Suite created a hologram around the players and their controls. It activated and surrounded them in the waiting area of the game, calm music playing through the speakers. Sol could look over and see Ailis in her own 'lane' formed by the hologram.

He poked her to get her attention and signed, letting the controlled swing from their wrist straps. <You have two sabers. Hit the colored blocks according to their arrow with the same color sword.> Sol emphasised by throwing a dramatic chopping motion forward as the game loaded to the start point with a random song. Cartoony lightsabers ignited in their hands.

The Music Started!
​

As advertised, Sol was mediocre at the game, face scrunched up in concentration. When he did well on one side he neglected the other, or when he did well with both he sped up too much. At least his feet moved properly to the beat, right? Still, he clearly looked like he was having fun, looking over to see how Ailis' score was doing during a brief interlude.

@Arcangel

 

[Ailis Drast]

Ailis was relieved when he said he wasn't amazing at Rythm Saber or anything. She hadn't wanted to stomp his ass at Arch Angel: Chaos Fire, but she also didn't want to get wiped either. <I think I've got it.> She signed back after he explained the game. It seemed easy enough.

It wasn't.

Her coordination was a mess. She hit the wrong colors with the wrong sabers half the time, and probably would have ended up minus a hand a few times if they had been real. She didn't like this game. But Sol seemed to be having fun. They walked around for a bit, playing more games for a while until Ailis decided she was tired of games.

<You wanna get out of here? I've been staring at screens for hours and I think my eyes are gonna start bleeding soon." She signed before laughing a little. It was mostly a joke but her eyes were starting to get irritated. Mostly the games just weren't doing it for her anymore. She needed something a little more intense. Even the VR stuff didn't feel real enough. Or too real.

<What's it like at Dromund Kass Academy?> She asked him as she stepped out of the arcade and into the open... Well street. It was all street because it was all just one giant city. Just like home. It grated on her and turned her back to old habits as she started looking around for something for them to do.

@Mr. Teatime

 

[Soleil Altan]

A few games and some time later they'd run the gamut. Sol'd broken out a bag of jerky he was munching on while they wandered to the next, offering some to Ailis in case she wanted any. He also had his prized dried squid but most didn't like it. His eyes glanced over at Ailis when he hands moved.

Sol shrugged, smirking slightly at her joke. The bright lights were getting to him, too. <Hell yeah, let's go.> Back on the street his eyes wandered over the meandering people. Neither Drommund Kaas nor his home were a giant endless city from top to bottom, so the novelty hadn't worn off for Sol just yet. He pulled his skimboard off his bag and unfolded it, two halves snapping into place to its full useable length.

Sol leaned it against his left shoulder, wearing a thoughtful and slightly wry expression, brows a little furrowed. <Wet> was the first thing he said, then perhaps realized that wasn't a very good answer. <From the rain, it's constant. Really old traditional place. Pretty competitive.> Sol paused a sec to get on top of his board, starting it up beneath him. <Bigass library. Half the teachers have a standard-issue rod up their asses, though. Always on me for my damn hair.> His signing was just as emotive as his face, reflecting his mood clearly.

His fingers combed through the thick, dark curls. <What's T.I.A like? You can just talk, you know. My ears work.> Sol lazily grinned, showing he was just teasing, and jerked his head toward himself. <Watcha like to do? Can jet us somewhere.> His fingers tippity-tapped atop the board. He'd agreed to fly, right?

<Fly-through?>

@Arcangel

 

[Ailis Drast]

They walked and talked silently until Sol unsnapped his flyboard, getting an excited look out of Ailis. <Wet? Rain? I wonder what thats like.> She thought about it for a moment before continuing <I will have to come check it out some time.> She grinned. She regretted it a moment later when he explained what the school was like. It sounded like the Taris Academy but ten times worse.

Ailis eyes went wide as he reminded her that his ears worked and she froze for a second. She felt horrible. <I'm sorry.> She signed before exhaling. "When I was in grade school, a bunch of kids in our class got sick and lost their hearing. We were told it was something in the water pipes." She said, a little sad.

A smile returned to her face at the offer to fly however."What do I like to do? Well I've always wanted to fly." She grinned at him as he tapped on the board. Her smile faded as he asked what kinda things she liked to do. "Oh. Umm..." Most of her recreational habits tended to be a little, self destructive. "Well, parties obviously," She laughed, a little joke at how they had met, I'm kinda a live fast kinda girl, anything that gets the adrenaline pumping." She grinned before her stomach dropped out in anxiety. She also tended to enjoy those things more when she couldn't feel the fear that came with it.

@Mr. Teatime

 

[Soleil Altan]

<I like it> he signed about the rain, nodding when Ailis mentioned visiting. It'd be a nice change of pace, he thought. Sol liked the weather on Drommund Kaas, but many seemed to only tolerate it.

The silent acolyte actually looked a little awkward, hesitating mid-sign for a second as Ailis froze up. <Oh, so that's...> his hands stopped and he went for something else. <Don't apologize. Sorry that happened.> Sol rubbed a hand against his neck over the cloth covering before dropping again. <Not mad or whatever. Just used to hearing the words.> It was nice to have someone understand him and speak back.

Sol perked up again when attention returned to flying, letting the board slip from his shoulder so he could set it on the ground. His head tilted a little, noting the girl's smile fading with a slight dip of his eyebrows. <My board's pretty fast> he signed smugly, activating it with a foot and hopping on. It didn't lift off yet. <I like adventure. Wanna go on one?> Sol offered Ailis a pair of strap-on goggles and a hand to get her positioned on the board close behind him, arms around his waist.

The mischievous glint in his eyes said he had something at least resembling a plan.

@Arcangel

 

[Ailis Drast]

Ailis was glad Sol didn't get upset about her little mistake. She was also glad to be able to talk again. "I like fast." She grinned about his board. She hadn't planned to go on an adventure today, but she wasn't about to say no. She took the goggles from him and strapped them over her eyes.

She looked at him while he helped her onto the board and his face held a light in it that promised excitement. She'd hold him to that promise. Getting up onto the hovering board behind him she felt a feeling of weightlessness as they hovered there in the air. A shot of fear crawled through her skin and she grabbed onto Sol. She could die on this thing.

Why did she always love doing this kind of stuff.

"So, where are we going?" Ailis spoke in Sol's ear as she held onto him. It was more of a rhetorical question than one she expected an answer to and figured there was only a fifty percent chance that she would get an answer to as she waited for the takeoff.

@Mr. Teatime

 

[Soleil Altan]

Sol lowered his stance a bit, trying to get the balance right. It wasn't his first time with a passenger but everyone had different weights and whatever. After Ailis grabbed on he leaned slightly, floating the board left and then right, stopping again with a satisfied nod. His head turned slightly when she spoke directly into his ear, hairs on his neck standing up.

He grinned, closed his eyes, pointed forward, and slowly spun the board a bit. After he opened his eyes again he was pointing toward- an open window into the lower levels, northeast-ish. Making sure Ailis had a good grip on his waist he bent his knees and fired the repulsors.

The skimboard floated forward at a quick-walk speed, slipped through the opening, and then rapidly began to speed up. Wind whipped around them as he angled, coasting down the diagonal side of a building toward a different street, dirty windows rapidly passing them by. They lifted off the surface, surfing through the air toward a tower still mid-construction. Abruptly his head turned like a hawk's, spotting a really fancy limo-speeder sitting at a fly-through window.

Sol reached down to grab Ailis' arms and pull them tight to communicate she should hold on, and then dipped his board down toward the limo. Activating the stick assist for their feet, he started to throw them into a corkscrewing loop, one hand gripping Ailis' hands and the other at the ready, momentum and the board itself keeping their feet in place. Just as a to-go bag was being passed out from the window, Sol rotated the board upside-down and reached his arm out. He snatched the bag out of the richie rich's hand and zoomed off, turning the board back to a normal rotation, and made a turn behind an adjacent building.

From behind it'd feel like he was silently laughing. They turned around the building and ascended toward the construction, surfing around it in lazy circles, floating above the roof like a leaf, and steadily alighting on the flat, empty rooftop. Sol turned to check on Ailis once they stopped moving, eyes sparkling and grinning widely.

@Arcangel

 

[Ailis Drast]

Ailis grinned behind Sol as he seemingly picked a direction in random. She held on to him loosely at first as they picked up speed, sliding through the open air before diving and picking up speed.

She held on a little tighter as her heart started beating faster, the telltale feeling of adrenaline starting to kick in as her vision narrowed and her body tensed. She gripped a little tighter as the board rose up from ground level and they were soaring.

The city was something else from up in the air and she felt like she could see for miles. Of course all there was to see was durasteel structures, neon lights, and the bustle of Taris traffic.

Ailis was confused for about half a second as Sol clutched her hands to him but then they were dropping like a rock. She held on tight, fingers wrapping themselves in the folds of his shirt as the wind whistled through her ears and her heart raced a mile a minute. If only she couldn't feel the fear.

"Whooooooooooooooo!" She screamed half terrified and half thrilled as they did a couple corkscrews and she could almost feel herself lifting off the board each time they went upside down, the feeling of weightlessness threatening to send her spiralling into the depths below. They threaded between a take out window and a repulsor limo as Sol snagged them some lunch before settling down on the top of an under construction building.

Ailis hopped off the hoverboard and settled there with her hands on her knees, bent over slightly as she breathed and pushed down the terror that threatened to overtake her. Her heart pounded and her mind raced as it tried to comprehend why it enjoyed doing such dangerous things while also screaming with the desire to do it again, but with a little chemical aid to make the time even more of a blast.

"Whoo. That was fun!" She laughed as she spun around to grab their freshly snatched goods from Sol. "What did you grab?" She asked as she sat down on the ledge of the building, the terrifying chasm of a drop hanging just in front of her as she opened the takeout bag.

"Woah score." She exclaimed as she looked in the bag. There, nestled in top of a few boxes of food was a small container, the likes of which were often used to discreetly move drugs. "I think you stole someone's 'happy' meal" She giggled as she looked at Sol with a dangerous glimmer in her eyes.

@Mr. Teatime

 

[Soleil Altan]

Ailis screaming behind him almost broke Sol's concentration, his shoulders shaking like he was laughing, a broad grin lighting up his face. By the time they got up to the roof his hair was wind-tousled to hell atop his head, although he didn't seem to mind right away. He lowered the board to the ground and hopped off to pat the human's shoulder cheerily while she caught her breath.

Sol let go of the bag easily enough when she snatched it, plopping himself down on the edge next to Ailis. He leaned over to look into the bag and gave what he saw a wry look. Lucky! Green eyes looked up at Ailis with a bent smile, hands moving to sign <Us one, them nowt.> before plucking the little tubular plastic container out of the bag. Casually he popped the tube's top so they could peer inside.

He had to keep a hand over the top to keep the wind from stealing away the piled grains of sand-like spice. It was a matte blue-pink with little flecks of green mixed in. Sol's brows shot up, not expecting to find Neutron Pixie of all things in a to-go bag. It was kinda fucking strong, expensive, and usually mildly fruit-flavored. <Holy fuck, actual pixie dust.> Lightly kicking his legs back and forth off the roof's edge he snapped it closed again and lifted up his jacket to shove the container into a little belt pack, his 'goody bag'.

<Wanna try after?> he asked, leaning toward her with a devilish grin and flicking down a lock of her hair that'd coiled itself into a ridiculous loop from the wind. Assuming she'd answer verbally, he reached over to pull a french fry box from the bag. The wind blew strong way up here they were, mixing the smells of fast food with Sol's ever-present sea salt, cypress, and sunscreen. Didn't help he wasn't shy about sitting close by, nearly touching side to side.

Out in front of them were the vast sights of Taris city illuminated by the sunlight, tall towers twinkling from uncountable glass panes. Afternoon was steadily approaching evening, judging from the sun, and Sol felt no desire to wander home any time soon. It was the weekend, right? Sol glanced over at Ailis, lip curling for a moment. She'd seemed kinda tense from the start, although he'd attributed that to the sudden appearance of the boy she'd kissed at a party.

<Still damn cute when you're excited.> he signed with a free hand, grinning and intentionally flashing his fangs. <Could carry you for the next flight, if you like.> It was meant as a half-joke, but he'd totally do it. Sometimes he dropped off drunk people at their dorms by skimboard so they didn't get caught.

@Arcangel

 

[Ailis Drast]

Ailis eyes went wide at the sight of the blue pink and green spice. It looked nothing like the yellow dust her parents had used, that she had occasionally stolen from them. Her eyes mirrored the sparkle of the spice and she frowned just a little bit as it disappeared into Sol's belt pack.

"Yeah!" she said at first when Sol asked if she wanted to try the stuff later. Probably when they were somewhere safer than the edge of a Taris highrise. She paused for half a moment as he reached out to brush her lock, eyes glancing down at his hand. She didn't comment on it, instead looking out over the Taris skyline.

"It is pretty up here." She said after a moment of looking out over the skyline. From up here the planet looked like a glittering jewel of glass an neon. A shiny veneer over the surface of another rotten world. She looked over the city with slightly pursed lips, a contemplative look on her face. It would look prettier with a hit of that neutron pixie dust.

She flashed a smile at him at his comment, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear that had tried to blow away with the wind. "Thanks." She said, noticing that he had fangs for the first time. That was pretty cool. "Maybe." She said as she looked down at him. Would he be able to carry her the whole way.

"How long have you been riding for?" She asked before taking the takeout bag from him and fishing around in it with a hand for a moment before pulling out a box of fried porg strips. "Ooooh porg." she put the bag behind them and popped open the box, steaming fresh porg strips revealed. She grabbed one and took a small bite before offering the box towards Sol.

@Mr. Teatime

 

[Soleil Altan]

Sol's thoughts were much the same as Ailis', not much a fan of getting real high while literally real high. He sniffed the air, catching the pollution that wasn't nearly as strong on Drommund Kaas, wafting on the wind. It bothered him, but there wasn't much to do about it. It was still nice in its own way. A hand raised, lazily shaken with thumb and pinky out.

He glanced at Ailis, catching the odd look on her face. Her 'maybe' got a smirk out of Sol and he gave a smug sort of shrug, all easy expressions and languidness. Sol was stronger than he looked, a detail he figured would be more fun for Ailis to find out without saying it outright. It's no fun if he spoils the surprise.

Ailis' question made him notice he'd defaulted to his silent shorthand, not actually signing back so much as making faces, gestures, and little poses. It felt naturally comfortable for him when he was being spoken to aloud, but worthless for certain specific answers. He bit into a fry before raising his hands to sign <Years. Started with surfing. Not enough oceans around to keep it up.> Another shrug, this time wistful. <Nothing's like soaring, though. Don't 'cha think?>

Sol took a Porg strip and bit into it, clearly pleased with what'd been snatched on the way up here. He reached into his jacket, pulling a small sketchpad from an inner pocket and setting it in his lap. Another moment and a short pencil was scraping away at the pencil, quickly working out a rough Taris skyline before putting it back in his jacket. Sol lightly tapped Ailis' arm and signed <Wanna play twenty-one questions?> he asked, brows raised inquisitively as he took another bite.

She seemed a little evasive, or shy, or maybe both. It was curious, and it drew out Sol's innate curiosity. Plus it'd pass the time while they ate. <What's a place you want to fly to?> He'd ask whether or not she said yes to playing the game while they ate. Sol didn't know Taris all that well, only coming up here because it was tall and obvious.

@Arcangel

 

[Ailis Drast]

Ailis nibbled on her porg strip as she watched Sol sign. Her eyes grew curious at the mention of surfing and she didn't stay quiet long. "The ocean... I've never seen an ocean." She said with a bit of sadness and amazement. She had of course read about oceans, seen pictures and videos of the massive bodies of water on the net. The closes she'd ever seen in her life was Water Treatment Facility 2783, the plant that had treated the water for her block level.

"Yeah, flyings fun!" She said with a nod. She watched curiously as Sol brought out a sketchpad and started to trace a rough of the Taris skyline, a serious look on his face as he concentrated. Ailis watched him while munching on a few fries, raising an eyebrow as he put the sketchpad away and asked if she wanted to play a question game.

"Sure." She said after a moment of thought. There were questions she would prefer not to answer, but she could always lie if she needed to. She watched him sign out his first question and stopped to think about it for a moment.

"I always wanted to fly right up to the upper level on Coruscant, to see the sun and the sky... " She looked around at where they were, the Taris skyline glittering in the distance and bustling below their hanging feet. "I guess kinda like this... My life has changed so much since then though... I guess it's not the same anymore." She stared out a across the skyline thoughtfully for a moment before snapping to and looking at Sol. "Oh, sorry. Hmm... If you could only eat one kind of food for a year what would it be?" She asked after a moment of consideration, then popped a French fry in her mouth and gave Sol a small smile as she let her legs swing back and forth over the ledge.

@Mr. Teatime