Private Secret Tunnel!

[Klar]

A ring of stones to arrest the flame! Sand was basically just little stones. It made sense when you said it out lout, but Klar had spent her whole life in the city or in space. Basic survival skills were still new and exciting to her. She studied intently as Xuko demonstrated the proper way to make a small fire pit, helped gather fire wood and stack it in a useful spot, and kept their provisions secured in the trunk of the speeder bike. It was honestly pretty exciting - making a little home away from home out of nothing! She sincerely hoped that getting to teach her a thing for once was as fun for Xuko as it was to learn from him,.

Putting up her little tent took some doing. All the collapsible rods and catches and holes and such. Klar eventually figured it out, but it wasn't the easiest thing she'd ever done.

As she settled in on the grass with a thermos of iced tea and a bottle of antiseptic, Klar considered Xuko's question. "I kind of want to swim? But I have no idea how." She laughed, dabbing antiseptic gel on the small cuts and abrasions she'd gotten all over her legs and arms down in the cave. "I think it could be fun to walk around the lake, check the area out. We might even be able to get back by nightfall if we go right now, but I'm noooot sure. I guess it depends on how many interesting things there are to look at or talk about."

The Codru-Ji glanced up from her work with a grin. "Sunbathing must sound like the dumbest thing on the planet to you, huh?" She laughed. "I just realized. "Do you think there's any good things nearby we could forage up for an authentic 'roughin' it' experience? Mushrooms or whatever?"

 

[Xuko Pagoi]

Xuko considered the options that Klar laid out, glancing out at the lake and trying to estimate it's circumference. She was right, he realized; a walk around the lake would most likely take up the rest of their sunlight, and then some. That didn't rule out the possibility of a shorter walk, but it did knock it down the list for Xuko.

As interesting as foraging sounded, Xuko was hesitant to commit to that as well. "Were this Iridonia I could tell you what was safe to eat and what was not, but I am not confident in my knowledge of Tython's plants" he replied. "Better to eat what we have brought with us this time." If her survival book had a guide they could use that, but he'd wait for her to confirm or deny.

That left swimming or sunbathing. The ghost of a smile appeared on Xuko's face as he recognized the irony behind Klar's statement, but in truth he didn't feel strongly one way or another; this was Klar's expedition, and whichever she preferred he would be fine with. "Sunbathing or swimming" he suggested, leaving the final decision to her. "The feeling of sun on one's skin is pleasant and I would enjoy that" he said, "Or I could also show you what I have learned about swimming" Although open water- especially open water not immediately used for drinking- was exceedingly rare on Iridonia, his father had made sure to give him lessons when the opportunity arose. Xuko decided that he wouldn't emulate his father's method of throwing him into the deep end and yelling, "Varr Shak!"

Probably.

"Which would you prefer?"

Klar

 

[Klar]

Klar considered her options, weighing her desire to learn how to swim against the fact that her arms and legs were covered in tiny cuts she'd just treated, and that her shoulder was still a bit sore from being squeezed between some rocks. Going down that 45 meter climb hadn't been too hard, but coming back up in a hurry had been. "I think we've faced down enough elemental forces for one day." Klar decided with a sheepish laugh. "Tomorrow we can look into swimming or a hike. I think I'd like to relax for a little."

Embarrassing herself might be fun, though. "Moonlight swim might be fun, too." She added slyly. "In the shallow bits."

Klar stood, stretched, then offered Xuko a warm smile. "I'm glad we're out here." She promised earnestly, patting his shoulder. "Thanks for trusting me back there, too."

And with that said, Klar departed towards her tent. "Gonna get changed! Find us a good spot to lay out and relax!" The blonde requested cheerfully as she bounced off.

 

[Xuko Pagoi]

"Sunbathing it is" Xuko nodded in acceptance of the choice. Given their earlier experiences in the cave system, time spent either prone or supine on the ground sounded just fine with him. The sun on Tython was much less harsh than on Iridonia, making the pastime something to be enjoyed instead of endured. "If you wish to go swimming later, just let me know." Although the Codru-Ji had expressed interest in learning to swim, given his own experience earlier today Xuko wasn't about to force her to do something that could potentially be outside of her comfort zone.

Even if a moonlit swim with Klar sounded nice.

"Thank you for helping me" Xuko found himself replying to the Codru-Ji as she walked towards her tent. "You might have saved both of our lives." It wasn't an exaggeration, he realized; he'd been mere seconds from pulling out his lightsaber and hacking away at the rock, which could've caused all number of consequences; none of them good.

Giving Klar all the privacy she needed, Xuko headed down onto the short beach with a pair of towels and laid them out neatly. He then did a thorough inspection of the beach, water, and the nearby jungle before returning to his own tent to change; content that they could relax in safety. Once there he changed into a pair of black swim trunks. Boring? Perhaps. But Xuko rarely troubled himself with making a fashion statement.

The feeling of sand beneath his feet made Xuko think of his homeworld as he emerged from his tent and headed to the beach. Had it really been only a few months since he'd left Iridonia for the Jedi Order? Xuko decided that despite the distance, the lessons he'd learned on Iridonia would stay with him throughout his life; for example, always having a weapon close by. Fortunately for Xuko, a lightsaber was an easy thing to bring to the beach.


Klar

 

[Klar]

"Literally whenever, Xuko." Klar promised earnestly, smiling as she put a hand on his shoulder in passing. "I know you'd do the same for me."

It didn't take Klar long to change into a swimsuit. Plain black seemed to be the order of the day - Klar was a little pleased that they matched. While she ALSO would have preferred to wear trunks, this desire lost out to the aversion to looking like a dope with an uneven tan.

Klar fetched a pair off water bottles, lotion, and small radio with a bright smile, bouncing down to the towels that Xuko had oh-so-thoughtfully laid out. "Back on Coruscant, they have places you go to sit in a tube of light and get a tan." She explained cheerfully. "They're pretty nice! It's usually too cloudy to sunbathe, and you're too likely to give somebody crazy an eyeful." The blonde explained. "Also I just don't like an audience."

Howevermuch she was concerned with washing away the antiseptic gel she'd put on her arms and legs, Klar didn't seem bothered enough to not smear sun protection over it. Four hands and flexibility made relatively quick work of it, since Klar was in a hurry to get to the good part.

The good part was, of course, when she laid back on the towel with her arms behind her head and some pleasant background music playing on the radio. Let the heat soak in, listen to the modest freshwater waves, and just relax. Let the cave fade into memory. It was less important than roasting things over the fire later.

After a moment, Klar glanced over towards her companion curiously. "Do you have sisters?" She inquired. "Just asking."

 

[Xuko Pagoi]

Xuko glanced up as the sound of a small radio- borne by Klar- approached, noting with some surprise that they'd unknowingly matched swimwear. The Zabrak surmised that this must be what was known as "unintentional twinning." Xuko wondered momentarily if this counted as making a fashion statement, then remembered that he didn't care enough about fashion to be bothered one way or another.

Xuko listened as Klar described tanning beds on Coruscant, as well as the privacy hazards that came with not using them. They had been raised in two very different environments; her without hardly any nature, and him with way too much. All the same, Xuko knew which he preferred. "That sounds..." -he amended his words mid-sentence as Klar expressed a positive- "...interesting."

A few minutes passed in silence as Xuko eased into the flow of not doing anything. Unlike Klar he didn't bother with sunscreen; his people had evolved to withstand much harsher sun than the one on Tython. That didn't mean that he didn't enjoy the sensation on sunbathing, however- as he'd mentioned earlier, the sun on his skin was a pleasant warmth, and one he had missed.

The silence was broken by a question from Klar, and Xuko momentarily debated whether or not to launch into an explanation of Iridonian familial structures. "That depends on how you define a sister" he responded. "Why do you ask?"

Klar

 

[Klar]

'Interesting' was, Klar suspected, Xuko's way of not saying anything at all when he couldn't come up with something nice to say. And that was fine - she certainly wasn't about to come up swinging on behalf of tanning salons or anything. His dry commentary on such things continued to be funny. The rare instances when he didn't speak his mind as plainly and bluntly as usual stood out as remarkable, unusual events worth noting. She couldn't help at his motives. Stoic as he was, Xuko gave little away.

Rather than answer a question with a question, Klar rolled over on her belly so she could look in his direction without having the sun in her eyes. She wanted an even coat, anyway. "I can't think of another guy I'd have come up here with who'd have kept his eyes and hands to himself like you do. Like right now, and the whole ride up here on the speeder." Klar stated plainly, propping her head up on her chin. "I don't wanna make you think I'm criticizing you or questioning you or anything - I'm not. Promise. You're probably one of my closer friends in the Order, and that means I put a lot of thought into trying to figure out how you tick and what's going on in your brain. I like to know where we stand."

The Codru-Ji propped her head up on one hand, looking thoughtful. "I've seen you hang out with other guys, and I don't THINK you're into guys." She explained plainly. "And I apologize if I'm incorrect about that. Or correct about something you wanted to keep to yourself."

A bit embarrassed, the blonde shrugged a shoulder and smiled. "Dunno. I figured maybe you grew up with a bunch of sisters or something, so you were just comfortable around women in a way most guys usually aren't. If that makes sense? I don't think it's a BAD thing, obviously. I wouldn't have come up here alone with a guy I wasn't completely comfortable being isolated with, Jedi or no. You get that, right?" She'd chosen and invited carefully, after all. Reality had a way of sucker-punching you when you got too complacent and started making assumptions. Xuko might've just realized that Klar was his friend, but she'd made up her mind on that subject shortly after they'd been partnered for the big project - and Xuko had spent the time since entirely deserving her faith in his character.