Private Nice Day for Fishing Ain't It

[Reina Daival]

Location: Tython
Tags: Klar

"You're admirable as well Klar. You've been...through a lot yourself. You don't seem to let it get you down...You said how peaceful and beautiful I looked around water...but when I see you smile? It's blinding. Like a sun. I get jealous. I want to be able to smile like that...By the Spirit, it feels...weird to compliment you. I'm not used to it."

Reina could see and both hear that Klar seemed to be struggling with some of her own. Her own pain. So Reina just leaned forward, resting her spare hand on Klar's knee. To try and help steady her friend, as she lifted her gaze to look at Klar, her eyes narrowed for a moment.

"Hey...If you need to talk about something, go ahead. This is a moment for the both of us...but it wasn't conviction for me. It was stupid. Pettiness. I was ready to die in that moment...Too eager to rush into an early grave...and I'm glad I didn't die now. I wouldn't have gotten to meet Xuko. Or you. You're...pretty amazing y'know. You've knocked down all these walls around me."

She teased for a moment, nudging Klar with her side, mostly since both of Reina's arms were too occupied. The downside of only having two arms compared to two. As another arm moved over to pat Reina's shoulder, she just leaned into it, keeping her head leaned against Klar's. Reina felt...normal in this moment. She wasn't some girl abandoned by her family. She wasn't some hot-headed Jedi Padawan. She was just...someone with their friend right now. Being vulnerable.

"You can...call me whatever you want Klar. Reina. Raini. Any silly nicknames you want. I'm just...enjoying this. This is normally something I do alone...Well actually...I'm not even fishing. So I guess I've never done something like this. Just...hanging out with someone like this. Hugging...You make it comfortable...and yes, that's me...like giving permission for all of the hugging in case you're worried."
​

 

[Klar]

​

This time, it was Klar's turn to blush. She looked away slightly to hide her embarrassed smile, the flush showing in pink first at the tips of her ears and down her neck. Hugging, patting, compliments. She drank them up, she absorbed the moments, she squirreled away the good feelings for a rainy day and came back for seconds.

"Stupid is just the derogatory word for brave." Klar pointed out quietly, a little choked up. "I've known people who couldn't have ever cut off their own leg to save their life, let alone do it while under duress, okay? Don't sell yourself short." She pleaded, forcing herself to make eye contact with Reina again. "You're brilliant." Klar promised.

She cleared her throat and glanced down at the fishing rod, shifting her hips slightly to get more comfortable on the rock. "I don't talk about it much. Barely with Xuko, really." Klar began quietly. "But I get it, you know? Being abandoned." The blonde confided, her voice lowered as though they were in a crowded room and not sitting next to a beautiful river on an idyllic day. "My dad sold me when I as little, to cover a debt. To a zoo, basically. He didn't even need to." Klar explained.

"I grew up in a... I mean, we were pretty well off, you know?" The Codru-Ji explained. "I had a nanny to take me around. We had a garden around the house. On Coruscant. Father didn't get rid of any of those to settle his debts. Just me." Klar sighed, her expression darkening. "He still lives in that house. Has a family. His wife and her kids seem lovely. They seem... happy. I could go back and muck it all up for him. I don't want to, I guess. I don't want anything to do with him. Which means his family has nothing to do with me. I don't even know if they exist. I worry if I've got an obligation to tell his kids and his missus what sort of man he was, though."

"'There is no emotion, only peace', yeah?" Klar chuckled. "I'm... past it. Really. I've got good things happening for me. I've got friends, like you. Xuko. The start of a career doing good things for people. And that's all I really want, at the end of the day. People to hold on to and ways to help out."

The blonde heaved a ragged sigh and slumped her shoulders, centering herself with a moment of limp non-focus. She perked right back up, though, managing a smile. "That's MY baggage. Most of it, anyway." Klar promised sheepishly. "More than I've told anyone who wasn't a therapist, that's for sure."

"But like." She paused, her expression serious. "I get it, you know. Being abandoned. Winding up in the Order. Wondering if it's the place for you, or... if you even HAVE a place."

 

[Reina Daival]

Location: Tython
Tags: Klar

A cheeky grin came to Reina's face as she saw the same little flush crawling onto Klar's face as the one that had been on Reina's. Her eyes focused on Klar's for a moment as her fellow Padawan basically pleaded for Reina not to sell herself short...The redhead biting her lip for a moment as she fought the urge not to look away.

"...I'll try Klar. That's all I can promise you. I struggle...to see anything good about myself. But I'll try...Same way as I told someone else I'd promise to love myself."

Because that was something else Reina struggled with. Seeing the good in herself. Something for her to love. But that wasn't what her focus was on. Instead she listened to Klar once again. A visible look of frustration coming to her face as Klar explained the situation with her father. How he had basically sold her off to a zoo and it wasn't even needed. The arm around Klar's side slowly getting tighter. Both out of frustration but also as a sign that Reina wasn't letting Klar go.

"You've got no obligation to them Klar. You've only got an obligation to yourself. To...make sure you're happy. You're surrounded by people who care for you. Sure, he has his wife and kids. But does he have a Lightsaber? A Xuko? A Me? No. He doesn't. So I think you win out here Klar. You've got things he could never dream of. You've got Us. You've got me."

She gave a dismissive wave at the whole there is no emotion nonsense. To Reina, there was emotion. It was important that you embraced it. You acknowledged it. The same way as Reina was embracing Klar at her side. It was all important.

"I'm glad you shared it all Klar. To me. I don't think I'm much of a therapist. My kind of treatment would be to slap you across the face and tell you to get back into the fight...but I won't. I'll always be here for you Klar. You need to chat, you need to cry...you need to hug? I'm here."

At the last part, Reina closed her eyes, keeping her head rested against Klar. If she was honest, Reina completely forgot about the fact that they were meant to be fishing. For Reina, this was just her and Klar, sat in one of Reina's favourite place on this Spirit Damned Planet. And it wasn't her favourite just because Klar was here.

"You have a place here Klar. If you want it to be. And...even if this place isn't here anymore? You've got a place with me."
​

 

[Klar]

​

Reina Daival

Deep inhale. Slow exhale. Ugly bits over with. Klar managed to steady her breath, which had gotten a little ragged. It was a very emotionally fraught trip to the river, and they'd both put themselves out there quite a bit. She couldn't speak for Reina, but Klar herself felt a bit raw and exposed. Cathartic to be so, sure, but still tentative. She could assume a part of the redhead felt the same. "Thanks, Rei. I really do appreciate that a lot." Klar sighed quietly, carefully holding the rod between her knees so she could hug Reina with all four arms. As one might have expected, the openhearted Codru-Ji who spent half of her time wrangling six year olds gave top-notch, artisan-quality hugs.

Right. Okay. Ragged breath and she was okay. Klar wiped her cheeks and released her friend. "I've been crying so much this week, I swear..." She complained while laughing. "Ugh. Way too much crying." Her smile told an entirely different story - she was grinning almost ear-to-ear.

After fixing her hair, Klar picked the fishing pole back up, she settled back on her lower hands and relaxed a little. "After this, fancy a ride on the speeder?" She asked curiously, tilting her head to the side. "I've been spending a load of time on one recently, and I'd love to show off for somebody." The Codru-Ji explained amiably. "I don't have anywhere cool to take you, but it still has a chance to be fun depending on how much you like speed and hanging on for dear life."

"Not right now, obviously. I fully intend to catch at least one fish so we can cook and eat it." Klar added, resolute.

 

[Reina Daival]

Location: Tython
Tags: Klar

Reina reached her hand up almost, as if she was about to rub her thumb along Klar's cheeks to get rid of the tears...before she hesitated at the last moment and brought her hand back down to her side instead, letting Klar wrap all four arms around the redhead who was fighting the urge to tense up. This was meant to be a comforting thing. And so she wrapped both her arms around in kind, closing her eyes for a moment.

"Well...I appreciate you Klar. And this chat. It...It's been eye opening I think. You've been eye opening...but hey. At least you make crying look good."

A small attempt at a tease as she turned her head back over towards the river. Her eyebrow raising up at the suggestion of going for a ride on the speeder. There were two sides of her fighting to make a comment. The kind that wanted to tease some more and the more serious side of her...but Reina decided to be a bit teasing. It was rare for her to be in this kind of mood.

"...Do you honestly want to show off to me? Or do you just want me to hold on for dear life? Either way...Sure. Sounds fun. Anythin' sounds fun with you. You've made fishing more fun than it normally is...even if I'm not the one doing the fishing. But you've got this. You'll get a big catch."

She gently elbowed Klar in the side this time, since they weren't hugging each other before she rested her elbows on the ground behind herself so she could look at the sky.
​

 

[Klar]

​

Reina Daival

Klar giggled quietly and noted that Reina had been about to wipe her tear away. She decided to help the redhead be a little more cavalier with her personal space - gently grasping her wrist and pulling her hand to her cheek with a small smile.

"My nose is literally running. Don't compliment me, crazy woman." Klar laughed quietly. She took a moment to produce a cloth and blow her nose, though.

With a soft sigh, Klar settled back into fishing. Feet in the water, partner beside her, blue sky above. It was nice to have a moment of peace and beauty after all the soul-bearing they'd done. Not that Klar regretted it - far from it. She felt good. Healed, a little. Energized. And she hadn't even had to full-on ugly cry for that, either. A solid plus.

"Can't it be both?" Klar asked with a crooked grin, glancing over her shoulder at Reina. "I like to show off. I like being held on to. It's a solid win for me in both categories." She crooned. "Benefit of playing both sides - I always come out on top." Hardly a double entendre, that. Didn't even qualify as wordplay. But it was useful to let Reina know where she stood, vis-à-vis playful flirting.

Speaking of. Klar brushed her bangs away from her eyes and smirked. "Are you the big catch I've got?" She teased, before bursting into peals of laughter.

 

[Reina Daival]

Location: Tython
Tags: Klar

Well. If Klar was going to pull Reina's hand up to her cheek anyway...She just ran her thumb along the fellow padawan's cheek to get rid of the tears. A little hesitant but she was working on getting out of her comfort zone already.

"Too late. I've already complimented you."

She stuck her tongue out for a moment before turning her attention back to the river, watching her reflection in it. Reina looked...genuinely happy. She couldn't remember the last time she had smiled this much. It was honestly hurting her face but she turned her attention back towards Klar, opening her mouth to say something...before Klar made the comment about playing both sides, and Reina seemed to choke on air all of a sudden, coughing a few times as she slammed a fist against her chest.

"I-I...wasn't...expecting that...I..."

It was amusing in a way. Reina hadn't even realised she was flirting in the first place. Or that this counted as flirting. The flush coming to her cheeks for a moment...before Klar broke out into that laughter again, causing Reina to pout a little bit. Playfully of course, she wasn't actually mad.

"I can't be...your big catch. You haven't even caught me with a hook, a net, a harpoon or even your hands."

In her little embarrassed and flustered state, Reina held up her hand, counting off each method that she considered as a way to get a "catch".
​

 

[Klar]

​

Reina Daival

Klar snickered and glanced down at the arms she'd been holding Reina with before she'd leaned back. "Fair enough." She allowed warmly, reeling and casting her fishing line again. It was getting easier every time she did so. Or at least easier to not drive the hook into bush or branch or something. And that helped.

"I'm not big on catching things, anyway." She chirped. "At least, not to keep. Or-" The blonde paused thoughtfully, laughing a little. "I guess Catch and Release is a thing, isn't it?" She realized, brushing her hair back. "Metaphor rather falls apart, there. Or simile. Whichever."

Klar gave Reina an apologetic smile. "I don't know enough about fishing to make an allegory of it about relationships." She confessed. "Which has made this whole thing a bit rubbish. I'm sorry." The Codru-Ji laughed awkwardly and shrugged a shoulder, steadying herself with a small breath. She pantomimed forming a little box with her hands, visualized putting her anxiety in it, and set it aside. Focus.

"I think you're a lovely catch." Klar insisted. "And if you're amenable to the idea that I don't think I can ever be exclusive with one person, I'd love to talk about what our next date could be. Hopefully with less crying overall. Not... NONE crying, things happen. But less." She explained. "But if that's a dealbreaker or I'm totally misreading the situation, I'd still love to hang out with you again. Regularly. For basically forever - dead serious about not getting rid of me."

"Have you ever been to an arcade?" She asked curiously.

 

[Reina Daival]

Location: Tython
Tags: Klar

Reina's own gaze travelled over to look at Klar's arms...and she blinked to herself as Reina seemed to come to the realisation that Klar had done, breaking out into another splurt of coughs. She just tried to find her words as she watched Klar send out another cast. She was getting better which even with Reina's own embarrassment...She couldn't help but smile.

And then came the giggles at Klar's comments about catching and release, and the fact she didn't know enough about fishing to make a metaphor for relationships, causing Reina to just shake her head against Klar's shoulder.

"It's fine...I don't know enough about relationships. The first person I...knew I liked? She was in a relationship...and then the day I told her how I felt...I found out she had been engaged. So...I'm not that great at the relationship stuff."

The redhead blinked when Klar referred to another date. What did she mean another date?...Oh. Wait. Was...Was this a date? Reina hadn't expected it to be like that. It was meant to just be a day out with a friend. Of course, it's been pretty nice and Reina's enjoyed it, crying semi-ignored of course. Yet she had to think about it...before she let out a small sigh, nodding to herself.

"I don't...mind that...This can be...good experience for me? I didn't intend...for this to be a date...I don't even know how to date. But if you're okay with it...I suppose I am? Either way...We're still stuck with each other."

There was a small moment of silence as Reina took in what she had actually said. Had she basically agreed to date Klar? Even if it wasn't exclusive or anything...It was still a strange thought for Reina. She still had one question to answer though.

"Oh...No. I've never been to an Arcade. Never had the credits to splash on them."
​

 

[Klar]

​

Reina Daival

It was always a thrill to take a jump at something and be proven correct. Klar relaxed visibly, leaning back on her own lower arms to match Reina's reclined posture, idly bouncing the fishing pole in her hands. She was getting more comfortable with holding it, though she had no idea how effective it was when it came to actually catching fish. Because she hadn't caught any yet.

"Sorry you had a bad experience, Rei." Klar apologized genuinely. "That sounds horrid." Opening up, being vulnerable, opening a new door - only to find a wall on the other side of it? Horrifying stuff. Klar couldn't imagine being in that position, and she didn't want to. All she could do was empathize.

Lazily folding one leg over the other, Klar tapped her toes to a mild and inaudible beat. Lofi Naboo Beats to Catch Fish To. "We'll have to take a bounce over to Coruscant at one point, so I can show you one of my favorite places." She chirped. "There's this lovely little plaza in the district next to the one I grew up, it's got a little cafe, fountain, and my favorite arcade in the galaxy, Holodive." Klar explained. "My treat! It's a special place, and I'd love to share it."

"The least I can do in exchange for you showing me your world is to show mine, yeah?" The blonde pointed out brightly, glancing at Reina with a crooked grin. "Seems fair?"

 

[Reina Daival]

Location: Tython
Tags: Klar

"You'd be surprised by how many bad experiences I've had...but I'm still here. I'm still alive. I think at least. Unless this is what it's meant to be like when you die. I don't think this is that though."

Reina gave a dismissive wave through it all anyway. She was getting through all of those experiences one day at a time. It had been a struggle. It was still a struggle for her sometimes. Days where she felt like she didn't belong here. Days where she felt more like a monster than an actual person but she was getting through it.

"They're still my best friend though. The person who got engaged. Everest. Y'know, I nearly slapped her across the face when we first met though...She was pleading for her dad who wasn't there to help her...and I was going to smack her to her senses."

It was...strange to say the least on how much Reina had changed who she was. She was still a fighter. She doubt that part of her would ever go away, but she was starting to also become someone who cared about others. As Klar tapped away to a beat, Reina drummed her own fingers along her prosthesis, listening to the sound of nails against metal as she contemplated Klar's offer.

"It sounds good to me. Any place can be special though. It just depends on who you're with. Sometimes...It's the person. Not the place...Urgh. Listen to me. Sounding like some kind of expert"

She rolled her eyes ever so slightly...but at the same time she pushed herself up against Klar ever so slightly more, closing her eyes. Reina was just letting her walls fall for now, and open up. It was letting the weight fall from her shoulders and if this was what happiness felt like? Well...Reina was happy she was still here.
​

 

[Klar]

​

Reina Daival

"You DO sound a bit like a self-help." Klar teased lightly, draping an arm amiably around Reina as she leaned in. "Not that I'm complaining, mind. It sounds like you're working through ideas out loud, and I love that. Gives me insight to how you think." She explained brightly. "I always want to know how the sausage gets made, as it were. Live for it. Also it's cute."

Noting the little drum-beat of nails on metal, Klar gave a considering look at the tik-tik-tap before adding her own hand to the project. She matched Reina's drumming with her own nails, grinning sheepishly. Reina had seemed to be rather uncomfortable with or resentful of her prosthetic leg earlier, but Klar thought it was rather cool - and seeing Reina have a bit of fun with it or use it for something a little whimsical made her naturally want to jump in. Granted, Klar would have wanted to jump in to ANYTHING fun or a little whimsical, but that was besides the point.

The Codru-Ji kept decent time and had good rhythm. Why not put it to use?

After a moment, she gave the rod a small shake and then pouted playfully. "I don't think there's any fish in this river, Rei." The blonde complained mildly. "Or they're wise to us. What's our backup plan?"

 

[Reina Daival]

Location: Tython
Tags: Klar

"I guess I've had a lot of the whole self-help talk...I'm super self-destructive. Can't see the good in myself. All that. You haven't seen how I think. Not yet. Not until I've had a "bad" day."

Reina was able to at least shove this growing blush away as she watched Klar tap away at Reina's prosthesis, as the woman bit her lip for a moment. It was as if she was debating to say something. She wasn't moving her leg away, so it wasn't as if she was uncomfortable with the little impromptu music session.

"...It reminds me of one of the worst days of my life, y'know. The leg...I had tried to save a bunch of kids from some slavers...I killed the slavers. But then some...vigilante showed up. Said how it was "wrong"...and he ended up turning my lightsaber off with an EMP blast when someone went to attack me...I don't even know if those kids got saved."

Her voice was quiet. Reina was somewhat worried about ruining the mood. But...she felt like there was some kind of interest about the leg. So she wanted to explain why it happened. How it happened as she then glanced over towards the rod, raising an eyebrow.

"Well...You're the one who said you wanted to stay here until you caught something. Not me. I don't mind leaving. We can grab something from the Temple...after the speeder ride, at least."

The redhead's eyes focused on the water for a moment, having taken note of how the fish hadn't actually been biting. It had been a surprise...Though that's when Reina blinked for a moment, a look of...embarrassment crossing her face as she looked over towards the fishing rod.

"...Did we put any bait on the hook?"
​

 

[Klar]

​

Reina Daival

Klar continued quietly drumming, listening intently as Reina spoke. It was... horrible stuff, really. While Klar had been treated like a subhuman or property for most of her pre-Jedi life, there'd been bits of good and kindness in there. A ship on a stormy sea. Reina, however, seemed to have had a similar experience but with much more 'worst day of your life' events all piled up on top of each other. A genuine catastrophe. That same ship run aground on reefs, now trying to stay afloat. It made her heart ache.

"I'm sure you did all you could." Klar replied quietly, her tone carefully quiet and without judgement. "Having known you for a bit now, I'm confident of that. Moreover - you were a victim, too." She added, her brow furrowed as she met Reina's eyes. "Please. Be proud of yourself for trying to go above and beyond what most people would even attempt, not beat yourself down for not being superhuman. You're..." Klar paused, taking a small breath. "I know that the feelings don't come from a logical place, all the time. And you can't think your way out of a gut feeling. But please. Be kind to yourself. You're as worth your compassion and consideration as anyone else is. Including those children. Including me."

"And if somebody ever told me they couldn't see the good in you, I'd question their sanity and start preparing slides." Klar insisted firmly.

Still a bit heavy. Some speed would help. Kilometers zipping by, hands on hips, all the good things. "...I have no idea." Klar confessed. Her eyes widened in surprise. "I just picked up the rod and started casting, I-" Trailing off, her shocked expression gave way to an embarassed laugh. "Stupid to say out loud, but I had no idea you needed to bait them? Or I guess I thought you took care of that."

She reeled the line in. Sure enough, a pristine hook at the end of the string. Klar immediately burst into peals of embarrassed, delighted laughter.

 

[Reina Daival]

Location: Tython
Tags: Klar

"I get told I went too far. That I didn't need to kill them...but I don't get it. They were a threat. Those kids were in danger. If I didn't run in...Who knows what would have happened..."

Reina was slowly turning in on herself. Her voice growing quiet as she stared directly ahead of herself at the river, as if she felt herself getting drifted away by the gentle current.

"I keep saying I was right. That I don't regret it. And I don't...but I feel like I should. How can someone not regret killing an other person? It's meant to be wrong...but I don't see how it is. I get hurting someone who's innocent is wrong...but they weren't innocent. They were hurting the innocent."

She didn't even realise there were a few streams of tears running down her face. Why did she even bring this topic of conversation up? They had both been happy and laughing. And now Reina was bringing the mood down, like she had always done in the past. She had to stop that. She had to just cheer herself up but she couldn't bring herself to do any of that.

Luckily for her, Klar was at least able to cheer the redhead up slightly bursting out into a fit of giggles at the sight of the hook. No wonder they hadn't been catching anything. If anything though? Reina was happy. Because if they had been catching fish, they probably wouldn't have been able to open up. There would have been too much focus on the line instead of each other. And so...it wasn't like they had really lost out on anything.

"I'll be sure to bring some fish round to your dorm another day Klar...To make up for me forgetting to put the bait on. I'll make an entire buffet for you. Fish fingers, fish cakes, fish burgers."

There we go, that's how Reina was going to cheer herself up. Just focus on food. Because food made people happy more often than not.


​

 

[Klar]

​

Reina Daival


"Oh that sounds lovely but also I wanna help!" Klar complained, wiping tears away as she stood up and offered Reina a helping hand. While a part of her wanted to force the point to try and assert that Reina shouldn't blame herself, it wasn't a battle she wanted to fight today. The goal shouldn't be on correcting a perceived line of thought, she decided, but maximizing overall happiness. And right now, overall happiness meant redirection and fun. Once upright, Klar bounced back to try land and pulled her boots on. "Don't get me wrong, I am absolutely on board with you spoiling me with seafood!" She giggled. "But also, making fish fingers and cakes and croquettes with you sounds absolutely wonderful!"

The way to a man's heart was his stomach, Klar reflected. Even if she wasn't sure where she stood on that subject a the moment. But who DIDN'T like having somebody cook for them?

It only took a few minutes to pack everything up and load it onto Klar's rented speeder bike. While it wasn't a sleek racing model - more of a touring bike, with the comfortable seat and large saddlebags - it went plenty fast for Klar. "Have you ever rid pillion before?" She asked warmly, climbing onto the speeder bike with a bright smile. "It's pretty fun. Not as fun as driving, I think, but I'm sure you'll have a good time."

Klar warmed the engine up, offering Reina a hand up into the seat behind her. "Just hold onto whatever parts you fancy, and lean with me when I turn." Klar explained with a smirk. "Might need to raise your voice a little to talk, if you like."

 

[Reina Daival]

Location: Tython
Tags: Klar

"No. It doesn't count as spoiling you, if you help me out."

Reina said, rather matter of factly as she started to pack up all of the gear. Making sure the fishing rods and like were packed away so that they wouldn't just be leaving them out in the open. There was a part of Reina that doubted the flesh raiders would be able to even learn how to use something like the fishing rods and...well, Reina didn't want them going to waste. For now, she made her way back over towards Klar, raising an eyebrow at the sight of the speeder bike once more.

"I've never even heard the word before if I'm being honest. I've never been...interested in driving if I'm honest. Unless it's a boat, or a ship. I'm not super interested in."

Either way, Reina took Klar's hand to help herself up into the speeder before trying to find out where to hold onto, wrapping one arm around Klar carefully whilst the other reached out to grab a part of the speeder bike. This was going to be...weird to say the least for Reina. At the very least however, she was used to having to change her balance on the fly.

"Hopefully I don't make you go deaf when I try to yell to you then. Just...be a bit careful, please?"

As much as Reina wouldn't admit it...She was terrified of going fast. At least on land. When she was in the sea, or in the air, Reina had no issues with speed. There was just something about the ground that always made Reina nervous. She never felt at home when she had solid ground beneath her feet
​

 

[Klar]

​

Reina Daival

"Pillion's just a fancy word for 'riding the back of the seat'." Klar promised, re-tying her hair into a quick bun to keep it from drowning Reina when they were riding. "Usually on a bike, or like... a beast or something of that sort."

The easiest place to grab onto that wasn't connected to Klar was the bar on the back of the seat, provided one was a little flexible. It also had the benefit of putting one's center of gravity directly above the turning axis of the bike, which made it easier to turn the bike. With the engine fired up, Klar leaned forward and took a firm grip on the bars with her upper hands, her lower reaching back to help keep Reina stabilized. She held up two fingers, tapping on Reina's fleshy leg. "Poke with one if you need my attention. Tap with two if you want me to slow down." Klar explained, before grinning wickedly. "Squeeze if you want more wind in your hair."

The throaty speeder lifted off, sending a bit of sand away. Klar leaned into the controls, slowly taking the bike out over the river before accellerating. The engine revved up quickly, filling the forest with a low rumble as it got up to speed. Klar wasn't going too terribly fast by her own standards, and she was a fairly cautious pilot, but to somebody unused to speeder bikes and swoops it might've felt pretty breakneck at first. Following the river meant clear sightlines and gradual curves, rather than weaving through trees and around hills or rocks, and it gave Klar the opportunity to let the throttle out on long straightaways.

Once she'd had the opportunity to speed things up a little, the Codru-Ji got a little more adventurous - swerving onto the shore to dip into the treeline, or grabbing some air by jumping over larger rocks along the river.

 

[Reina Daival]

Location: Tython
Tags: Klar

"Fancy words fly over my head. I'm not exactly...a scholar at the end of the day. Just a hammer."

Reina debated to herself for a moment, looking from Klar and then towards the back bar of the speeder before they set off...before Reina leaned forward to wrap her arms around Klar, giving her fellow Padawan a small squeeze of a hug before Reina released, leaning back to hold onto the bar. That would probably be the best place for her to feel comfortable but that still didn't mean Reina didn't want to give Klar some affection now.

At first, Reina was enjoying the feeling of the wind through her hair. As much as she was terrified of how fast they were moving, she knew that as long as she held on, she would be fine. Yet that was when Klar seemed to speed up. Swerving over towards the show, with Reina trying to reach out to touch the water before whipping her hand back. Turns out trying to touch water whilst you're moving fast could be sore. Who'd have guessed? Reina definitely didn't. But once again, she wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed.

Then came the jumps. Each little landing causing a small jolt to go through Reina who finally decided that holding onto the bar wasn't good enough. So she waited for when it felt safe enough before she released her grip on the back bar and practically threw herself forward to wrap both of her arms around Klar this time. The more secure she felt, the better for Reina. Her own arms around Klar, and then the Codru-Ji's second pair of arms on Reina's legs helped her feel like she wasn't going to fall.

"Th-That's not....me asking...to go faster!"

She felt like some clarification was necessary as she yelled as loud as she could, fighting to be heard over the wind.​

 

[Klar]

​

Reina Daival

It was so sorely tempting to call back with 'oh, faster?' and really let loose, but that'd be more mean than funny. Klar figured that Reina was right about on the perfect verge between scared and having fun, what she personally liked to think of as the Roller Coaster Verge. Klar replied with a thumbs up from one hand as she laid the other over Reina's, trying to impart a sense of security. At the speed she was going, Klar would only hit something if it were cloaked or she had a seizure or something, but she knew Reina didn't know that. Maybe someday she would.

Klar had only recently discovered a love of speeder bikes. It'd be nice to have more people to share her nascent hobby with.

Leaning into an especially sharp bend in the river, Klar drifted out towards the middle of the waterway. The speeder bike struggled to remain very high above the waterline when it wasn't shallow, but that was kind of what she was going for. Klar reduced her speed by slaloming back and forth across the center of the river, the bike dipping slightly each time they crossed the deepest portion. The engines kicked up sprays of water as they went, raising great fins of sparkling river water behind them. Less speed, more spectacle.

Before long, they reached a small lake - fed by the river. Klar opened up the throttle again, racing along the shoreline at something much closer to full speed. With wide open lake to the right, the treeline far to the left, and wide open nothing ahead of them, there was nothing that could possibly threaten them. Klar whooped as the engine shifted up into the highest gear, the nose lifting in a barely perceptible way. The bike roared like a predatory cat descending upon a kill, sending ripples out over the water.