Star Wars Roleplay: Chaos

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I Just Know

Terminus

She had gone back to the clinic, a week later, to have [member="Samson"] check out her wound and make sure it was healing properly. He'd also done a full scan of her head and run a number of other tests. They'd all come back with the same information- other than a locked data port nestled into her brain, she was fit as a fiddle. The clinic wasn't a full hospital however, and he'd cautioned her that these were only the most cursory of tests. Honestly, he seemed more worried about it than she was.

They had talked a couple of times after that, planned to meet but it just never seemed to work out.

Then Sortz went to Nar Shaddaa.

And when she came back, the apartment was empty. She didn't know where Daro was, or what he was up to, but she had hoped he'd be there. Not because she wanted to talk about it (she really, really didn't) but just so she didn't have to be alone. After sitting by herself for awhile, mulling it over, she had dropped Samson a line. It took too long to figure out what to say. In the end she'd kept it simple.

As it happened, he was free that night.

For a moment, she'd gone back and forth, looking over his reply.

"Kark it," she finally muttered. Grabbing her jacket back off of the hook, she closed the door carefully behind her and locked it. Shrugging it on, she headed back out into the night, shoulders hunched and face tired. She felt guilty, sending him a message because she was lonely. Mostly because she didn't know that was something friends did.
 
[member="Sortz"]

In truth Samson didn't have anything to do that night.

In truth? Most of his nights were filled with 'nothing' to do, besides studying, working and more studying. While most nights that was plenty for Samson because he actually liked learning and studying, sometimes variation was welcome. Once Sortz dropped him a line Sam realized he was actually eager to get out of the house for a bit and meet up with her.

She was nice and she seemed to be somewhat in the same boat as him.

Samson was a bit more familiar around these parts, so they had decided that he'd be the one to pick the avenue. The pool room had been the obvious pick, it was lowkey, usually not that crowded during these times and it seemed like a fun activity for the two of them.

By the time Sortz pulled up in front of the building she'd notice that Samson was already waiting there for her.

The people on the street made a large circle around him when they noticed him, which left a rather large area of space around him. "Oh hey Sortz!" Samson greeted once he noticed her, having to glance just a bit up at her. That was still new to him- usually his neck started to ache from all the down-looking he had to do just to talk to someone while looking them in the eye.

"How are you?"
 
Sortz had walked the several kilometers to the spot he'd picked, so she had made sure he knew it would be a bit. Hands deep in her pockets, she'd kept her head down. Someone Sortz's size could never really appear small, no matter how hard she tried, but she could minimize the attention brought to her.

A little.

She looked up when Samson's voice called out, shifting her angle of approach. She hadn't seen him, but then, she hadn't been looking just yet, mostly paying attention to her feet and the sidewalk right around her so she didn't walk into anyone accidentally.

He looked.... genuinely happy to see her, which was some relief, because she was still a bit worried that she shouldn't have bothered him. Relief flashed on her face as she threaded her way carefully toward him. Everything Sortz did was careful.

"Hey Samson," she responded, smile tugging at her tusks slightly.

"Uh, I didn't think of it till I was halfway here, but.... I don't have like, a swim suit or anything? So I'm not sure if this is the best place." She reached up, scratching the base of her horns beneath her hair self consciously.

[member="Samson"]
 
[member="Sortz"]

Swim suit?

Head cocked in confusion as she brought that bit up. Why would a swim suit be necessary for a pool- oh. OH. Okay, Samson's eyes suddenly widened as he got the confusion that appeared between the two of them. "No, no." Good force, going swimming for the first time they hung out? Well. On the other hand it was very healthy and good for your physical health.

Perhaps that was an idea for a different time.

"Pool, it's like..." Trying to find a different word for it, because he knew there was one. "Oh! Like... cue sport? You use a thin stick and need to hit balls, trying to get them into holes in the corners of a table."

Now that Samson said it outloud it seemed a little bit silly. He scratched his head, rubbing against his scars just an inch, absentmindedly.

"It does sound a bit silly, doesn't it? We could go do something else, if you'd prefer?"
 
Sortz flushed with embarrassment.

"Oh. OH. Okay." She ran her hand over her face and back through her hair, not for the first time wishing she was small enough to just melt into the duracrete and get forgotten.

She was most certainly relieved they weren't swimming (she didn't know how to anyway), but also sheepish that she had made that mistake. Basic was weird.

"No, no, it sounds fine," she assured him. Honestly, she didn't much care what they were doing. Out of the house, not alone. She liked Samson, he was easy to talk to. Well, as easy as it got. He understood some of her issues without them having to be explained and vice versa. Only a little bit smaller than she was, he had the same problems just existing in the galaxy. And while she had her green skin and tusks, he had his scars- things that people tended to look twice at, if they didn't outright stare.

They headed inside, both having to duck through the door, but fortunately the ceiling inside was tall enough to accommodate them. It was early enough that the usual evening crowd hadn't started to trickle in yet, so by and large they had the place to themselves.

Sortz looked around, peering at this and that, eyeing the tables, balls and cues a little dubiously.

They were.... very small. But then, she was used to that. She'd be careful.

"I, uh. Was glad you were free tonight," she said, trying to be casual about it. "So, uh, thanks. For coming to meet me."

[member="Samson"]
 
[member="Sortz"]

Samson noticed the flush on her cheeks and grew a bit concerned.

Was it too warm here? It didn't seem like it, but she didn't seem to be having a fever- none of the other symptoms were involved. But Samson resolved himself to keep a closer eye on Sortz either way. it would be best not to take too many chances, not after the first time they met. Sortz seemed to get into some sort of trouble on a regular basis and as her doctor (sorta, it's complicated) it was his duty.

No?

Yes.

"Alright then!" They entered the premises soon after, being forced to duck just a bit not to hit the doorpost and Samson sighed. "This building is one of the better ones, I tried visiting a bar in the neighborhood and their ceiling was at the same level as the doorpost."

That had been an awkward night. He studied the various tables, before pointing to the one at the far-edge of the room. It was slightly bigger and the cues on it were also a few sizes longer than the regular ones. "Oh, it's okay. That's what friends are for, right?" That was actually a genuine question. Samson wasn't entirely too sure what friends were supposed to do.

The book had been a bit vague on that note sadly.

"I am guessing you have never played before?"
 
Sortz snorted in agreement. "Too man-.... I mean, a lot of places like that, yeah."

Wasn't really fair to say 'too many', was it? Most people were a lot shorter than her and Samson, so it wasn't really fair to complain about it. Right? Still, it was really nice when places were tall enough and she didn't have to duck her head.

She nodded at his comment about friends, because..... probably? They were friends, she was sure of that, no matter what Daro had to say on the matter. And yeah, it felt like a thing friends did.

It felt nice all the same.

They paid the table fee, retrieving the balls, a weird triangle, and a pair of sticks. The sticks seemed ridiculously flimsy, so she carried hers gingerly.

"Uh, no." She said, shaking her head as she put the triangle thing on the table they'd been directed to. "Very, very no. I mean, you said it yourself, you hit the balls with the sticks into the holes? How hard can it be? Though, I'm a little worried that hitting the balls with these sticks will break them."

She paused, eyeing the table.

"And it seems like it would be really hard to swing one of them in a way that would get the balls into the holes?"

Sortz was clearly barking up the wrong tree.

[member="Samson"]
 
[member="Sortz"]

As far as it was concerned it was Samson who made sure that the table was ready.

"Oh." Sam wasn't really sure how to reply to that or make things obvious to her in the grand scheme of things. "I think I will start? So all the rules are obvious." Because if Samson was real? This entire wasn't exactly obvious or clear to him. That didn't exactly mean that the game wasn't clear? It just meant that in the grand scheme of things that things were as clear as they got.

A moment later Samson was leaning against the table and he was studying the way the table was situated.

This enabled him to show how one should be playing, as he leaned over the table and broke the game with his first play. Allowing the ball to break, but luck had it that no ball actually hit the goals.

So it would be her round next. "Ah well, your turn next!"
 
Shrugging out of her jacket, she draped it over one of the stools. Dressed in her usual tank and leggings, she tilted her head, watching. When he moved to bend over, lining up the shot, her eyebrows went up.

"Ohhhhhhh oh ok that makes a lot more sense than what I was picturing."

Stepping up to the table, she looked down at it with a small frown. She tilted her head from one side to the other, tried to position the cue, stood back up. Scratched her head.

"Show me how you held that? I'm afraid I'm going to break the stick. It seems....." she trailed off for a moment and then, "Really flimsy."

The table was too short and it made everything a bit more difficult to begin with.

"Real question- why not just hit the balls directly? Why hit the white ball into the other ones first? It seems.... inefficient."

[member="Samson"]
 
[member="Sortz"]

"I believe the inventors wanted to make it a bit more complicated than that. Give people something to work for and feel good about themselves when they succeed at the thing in question." After all, if it had been as easy as just hitting every ball separately than there wasn't much of an accomplishment there, was there? As much as an accomplishment it was to hit one ball with another and scoring a 'goal'.

"Oh. Yes, I could help, of course." He walked on over and then realized the best course of action here. "Hrm."

"I can help better if you take the cue in your hands? I will guide you?" If allowed he'd slowly wrap his arms around her from behind, slowly guiding her arms and somewhat her body into the right angle and direction.

During Samson realized that... she smelled very nice actually.

Also- they were really close to one another and that made him feel weird. Hot. Warm. Hrm.
 
"Uh, yeah okay."

Samson settled in behind her, showing her how to hold the cue.

Sortz was a focuser. When she was paying attention to something, in this case trying to line up the tip of the cue in order to hit the ridiculously small white ball, everything else fell away. Handling the cue gingerly, she frowned, then stuck her tongue slightly out of the corner of her mouth in concentration.

The table was absolutely too short for this to be reasonable, she thought as she bent over a little more. Pulling back slightly with his guidance, she tapped the cue forward a moment later.

Usually when Sortz was dealing with something too small, she was overly cautious and gentle. This time was no exception. The white ball rolled forward just a few centimeters.

"Oh. Hmm. Can.... is it okay if I try again?"

[member="Samson"]
 
[member="Sortz"]

Samson on the other hand had a difficult time... focusing.

At first he hadn't realized what was happening, because they were just friends, right? Just him trying to help her score. But the way they were standing and- good force, she had bend over harder. Sam would have stepped back a bit, except that would put more attention to it.

Right now she didn't seem to notice.

AGAIN? Oh, dear. "Yes, of course. Whatever you need, Sortz." A gulp swallowed away as they repositioned to accommodate the new angle.

Said angle was even firmer on him.

"Exactly, that hits the spot, for sure." Samson murmured softly not missing the irony of the wording. "Now, breathe in and tick against it." She was going through the same struggle. It had been difficult for him to figure out what would be the right amount of strength.

That was just a training thing sadly.
 
She bent over, focusing on the ball again.

Tap.

Tak tak TAK

"Hey I got it!"

She hadn't gotten a ball into one of the holes, but she'd gotten the white one to hit one of the others, which in turn had hit two more. She didn't stand up right away, instead watching from that particular view as stuff clacked, one thing after another, and frankly feeling rather pleased with herself.

"Uh. Samson?"

An awkward pause. They were still bent over and while sure she could stand back up if he didn't first it was a little more awkward that way.

"It's..... I didn't get any in so I think it's your turn?"

[member="Samson"]
 
[member="Sortz"]

"Yes?" The absent question came as she mentioned his name. Then. Explanation. Samson froze, eyes widening just a little bit and then quickly let go of her and took a step back. "I apologize, Sortz. I was distracted for a moment." It was in that moment that his own inclination towards speaking the truth was stretched farther than it had ever before. Yes, even more than when Irajah or his origins as a clone was somehow brought up in a casual conversation.

This was worse.

While not a lie... he still felt bad.

"You did well for your first time though." The not-lie kept itching at him as Samson accepted the cue from her. He didn't avoid eye-contact, but he did make sure it was eye-contact rather than anything else. This was rather... inconvenient to say the least.

Irajah had the talk with him, yes, and as a doctor he could fill in the rest of the blanks, buuuuuuuut.

Practical experience was a different beast.

To push that out of his mind for a moment, he bend over himself, letting the cue lean against his fingers while studying the balls. "Most of this game centers around trying to figure out where you need to place the ball for the best effect and then hitting it at such an angle that this happens." Brows furrowed in concentration, the tip of his own tongue stuck between his teeth in an echo of Sortz' process. Eyes moved slowly as they watched the trajectory.

Then he tapped as carefully as possible.

Otherwise there was a distinct chance either the cue would shatter or he'd punch a hole through the ball with the cue. The ball hit, causing a cascade of others to be launched all over the board as well. But... none hit the goals either way.

It did provide Sortz with several opportunities to try her luck though.

"...even with practice it is a challenge sometimes." Samson said apologetically with a rub against the side of his head. "Your turn?"
 
She gave him a bit of a worried look, then buried it again when he said he was distracted. Did wish he was somewhere else? Was something bothering him? She opted not to ask because she wasn't sure she wanted the answer.

Of course, that was probably what it was, after all.

She watched, nodding a little absently as he talked and took his turn. Having a better idea of it now, she could see better what he was talking about. Something shifted behind her eyes. Epiphany.

"Oh, it's trig," she said absently.

Angles. All of it was angles. Of course recognizing that didn't immediately impart an ability to make the cue do exactly what one wanted. But it meant that she wasn't working quite so blind as she had been before. Math and coding were interlinked, and once she saw the way the angles cascaded that part was easy.

She looked over the table, taking a walk around it to see it in all directions before picking up the cue again. Bending over, she squinted slightly, then adjusted her feet, shifting a bit. Carefully, she tapped.

Tak tak thunk.

Some of the insecurity melted away as she stood up, smiling as she turned to look over her shoulder at him.

"I got one!"

[member="Samson"]
 
[member="Sortz"]

His attention had again slipped a bit.

Luckily this time around the tak of the cue against the ball pulled him right back into the game. His eyes followed the ball's trajectory and Samson already started grinning. Then the thunk followed as it entered one of the holes and scored a point for Sortz. "Good one!" Sam said, giving her a nod and making eye-contact. It was difficult, but he about managed it though. Then Sortz returned her attention to the table and Samson softly sighed to himself.

How was this going to work?

Get yourself together, Sam. It isn't her fault you are an idiot. Don't make it her problem!

The clone stepped up next to her as she studied the board, his thoughts running from one thing to the next like a mouse being hunted by a cat. This wasn't easy and Sam wasn't really sure what to do about it. Maybe the truth would work here?

Good lord.

They barely knew each other. "What is trig by the way?" He had been kinda distracted by things when she had said that.
 
Sortz looked pleased with herself, which in fairness, was a fairly uncommon look.

"Thanks!" She replied happily, studying the lay out thoughtfully.

"Trig? Oh. Trigonometry. Uh. It's math," she said absently. She glanced over at him, to see if he knew now before she launched into explaining something, the expression on his face was one of interest at least, so she plowed on. "Hrmm... Geometry? But just for triangles." It was hideously simplified but that was okay.

As she talked, she lined up her next shot.

"This is all angles math. If the white ball hits at whatever angle, it'll send the other ball out at a predictable outside angle, if you are making a right triangle from the side of the table-"

She stopped, flushing a bit. Then, tongue between her teeth, tapped the cue ball. This time the shot did not go in.

"I think, anyway. It's not that easy.... I don't have the skill to actually make it all do what I think it should do. Which, would be ridiculous anyway. It probably takes a lot of practice."

[member="Samson"]
 
[member="Sortz"]

Samson looked thoughtful at that explanation.

Studying the way the balls went, noticing the angles... realizing that while he had never really thought about it the moment she mentioned it? Sam realized that there was a point behind it. He had played fairly often (it was fun and good for eye-hand coordination), so it became second-nature to him at a certain point. Most people assumed from the start that a giant like him was supposed to be clumsy.

Oafish.

Far from the truth. "Oh, I think you are doing rather well for your first time, Sortz. I am impressed!" Sam said with a smile, before accepting the cue from her and setting himself up for a shot too.

Tongue stuck between his teeth and for once he tried to see those triangles.

Tried to imagine the way the ball would go... and then, bend over deeply to get to a certain ball, he tapped. Sadly it didn't go as planned- the tip of the cue slipping off the glossy surface and skipping it up. The ball went high and flew through the air. "Oh no!" Samson exclaimed with a sad expression. Luckily no one was around except them, so that was something.

"I guess I need more practice."
 
"Thanks," she said quietly, pleased but a little self conscious of the praise.

She watched him as he leaned in. She could see the gears turning behind his eyes, the way he looked at the table differently than he had before. People tended to assume certain things about folks like them.... in this case, big and not particularly cuddly looking, maybe even kinda scary. Oafish. Mean. Stupid. Sometimes that was true, sure. But it was just as likely to be true of someone small as someone large, right? So far, Sortz had met a lot more deeply unpleasant smaller people than larger ones. She hadn't met a lot of people closer to her size, but the ones she had she liked. And Samson?

He was one of the best.

He popped the ball, and Sortz's hand came out.

She wasn't fast enough to catch it however, and it went sailing halfway across the pool hall. She gave him a sheepish shrug, then turned to retrieve it.

"No harm done," she said over her shoulder. She caught a dirty look cast their way from the attendant, and her shoulders hunched subconsciously just a little. Leaning over, she snatched up the ball before turning and coming back over.

"Wanna try again? Seems like it shouldn't count," she asked, putting the cue ball back down carefully. She smiled at him, ignoring the one jerk. Somewhere behind her, she heard him mutter something just out of range of understanding. It sounded rude. The stool scraped against the floor and a door opened and closed. She kept her attention staunchly on Samson. "More practice, right?"

[member="Samson"]
 
[member="Sortz"]

Samson looked past her towards the attendant.

Kept studying the door even when Jimson had already left back into the maintenance hall nearby. That one had been trouble and problem from the start, but usually kept it to huffed grumbling. That was something Samson could handle, people talked and talked, but words didn't truly hurt. "It's okay." Not about the offer, but about the wider context with the jerk.

He had noticed the way her shoulders hunched just a fraction in response.

"Some people feel big, when they hurt those that they feel threatened by." That was a truth that Sam didn't need a book for. Instead he had personal experience with it and then some.

Finally his attention returned to Sortz, offering a small smile to her.

"No, no, it is your turn, Sortz. I like watching you play as much as playing myself honestly. Lots to learn there with Trig-" Brows furrowed. "Trigulation, was it? Very fascinating stuff." He walked on over, offering the cue without hesitation, but as she took it Sam didn't actually hand it over. Instead holding onto it for a moment. The closeness made him notice her eyes even more.

And then the way her tusks gleamed.

"Hey-" Head tilted as he um'ed for a second. "You have really nice tusks, Sortz, but you probably get that a lot. I like them."
 

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