Private The Need for Speed

[Aris Noble]

"Darts, that aren't rigged."

He could.. Listen, to what Vera might say. But they were still children. He could only do so much to actually help her. Thinking about it wasn't going to make anything happen, though. If she did, he'd figure out what to do then. Right now, though? He wanted to make sure he could soundly beat Zaiya and Vera at darts in a game that wasn't rigged from the start. Sheer determination took over his otherwise calm expression.

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Wedding Ring

Valery blinked.

"That's awfully specific. Did Vera manage to cheat in a game of darts?" If Aris brought this up, it could have only ever been Vera. Nobody else was quite that gifted in it, and if she actually had rigged the game... well, that would be quite impressive. Darts was a straightforward game, so cheating was incredibly difficult.

"Or are you just feeling competitive because she won a game against you?" Valery looked at him with quite the smirk. Aris was a Noble as well, so he wanted to win games played within the family. Losing meant getting teased, so every Noble had quite the competitive attitude to prevent that.

Even the little ones were already getting upset when they lost a silly game.

"We can have darts, though. We'll probably have a lot of games to play, especially for kids. They're usually not that interested in anything else. Not for long, anyway." She paused and walked back over into the living room, now with a cup of hot cocoa in her hands to offer him.

"Maybe I'll arrange a cool show for in the evening, when it's getting darker outside. Dancing, fire and pyrotechnics." She was grinning like she had a plan.

Aris Noble
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[Aris Noble]

"She didn't cheat, the game was rigged."

Her advantage versus his were very different, and certainly gave her the edge in handling rigged games. It was his loss, there was no doubt about it, but it wasn't going to be this time around. He nodded at Valery's affirmation regardless though, smiled even. No rigged games would be a plus. And, well. Hot cocoa. He took that up immediately to start sipping at, sitting on the couch as he hummed his delight.

It was rare for him to do that, but with hot cocoa he couldn't help himself.

"Will the fire dancers be there?"

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Wedding Ring

"Rigged, huh?" Valery decided not to say more about it and just smirked. It was nice to see that the two had their sibling rivalry over games and silly things. It was normal for kids and a little bit of competitiveness never hurt. Aris was also much like his father, and Vera was still quite like her mother with these things, so it felt like a small victory for the girlies of the house.

She'd tease Kahlil about it later.

"Fire dancers?" Valery sat down and watched him enjoy his cup of cocoa with a smile. "Well, if you'd like them to be there, I can arrange it. Maybe I should join them and do a fire dance myself?" The Epicanthix couldn't quite make or even be the fire as she could, and Valery was a mesmerizing dancer if she wanted to be.

"I'm also trying to organize a little market of sorts. Where people can buy, trade, or sell classic Epicanthix-made items."

Aris Noble
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[Aris Noble]

"For the festival there should be fire dancers. It's a festival of flame." To him there should be, anyway. He was already debating on if he should learn Epicanthic fire dancing himself as it was. He might, eventually. Not yet though. He sipped his drink more, smiling as he enjoyed it. He nodded a couple times though, at the mention of selling things. That'd be a good way to show people the value of Epicanthic craft.

"I'm looking forward to it."

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Wedding Ring

"I'll arrange the fire dancers." While he didn't say anything about her fire dancing or not, Valery felt like giving it a try. Kahlil had been very supportive of her learning more about the Epicanthix culture and showed a lot of appreciation for the steps she had made already. One of her new favorite dresses, Epicanthix styled, was one example of it.

She was certain he'd love to see her perform a fire dance with a little Noble touch.

Valery relaxed on the couch and briefly closed her eyes. It felt nice to be home with her kids around, especially now that the Galaxy was at war once again. To see her son enjoying something as simple and silly as a cup of hot cocoa — that was the best feeling in the world.

"Hey, Aris?" Valery asked after a moment. "Is there anything you'd really like to do today? It doesn't matter what it is. Just... you and I."

Aris Noble
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[Aris Noble]

Aris was comfortably sitting and sipping his hot cocoa with a warm smile on his face. He hadn't said anything about Valery fire dancing because, in his mind, she was already going to. There were no Epicanthix that were more attuned to fire than his mom, after all. If anything, he was just saying that she needed to be on stage for it. He paused his sipping though, glanced up to his mother at her question and.. Looked confused.

"Weren't we going to fix up the board more once we're done with enjoying hot cocoa?"

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Wedding Ring

"...right!" Valery blinked and smiled sheepishly. Her mind was a little scrambled, both because of how much fun she was having, and because of everything going on in her life. The kids and their needs, the war, the Jedi as a whole, and still wanting to spend some alone time with Kahlil as well...

It was a busy life.

"We'll work on the board, but don't rush the cocoa." She loved watching him enjoy it. No matter how old he got, there was always that little smile when she made it for him. Hopefully, it'd last for many more years to come.

"I just want to spend a day having fun with you. I don't want you to ever feel like I don't have the time for that."

Aris Noble
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[Aris Noble]

Aris blinked in surprise before a softer smile formed. He reached out to pat her shoulder. Gently before he took another sip of his drink. "I've never felt like that mom." Even now they were spending time together, as they always did. He might not have as much time now himself because of his path as a Padawan, but they were still spending a lot of time together. And it made him happy.

"I never rush cocoa."

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Wedding Ring

If he wasn't holding a cup of hot cocoa in his hands, Valery would have pulled him into a hug. Instead, she offered a genuinely happy smile and dipped her head, "Good, I'm glad to hear it." She shifted over to sit beside him and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. For his age, he was already putting on quite a bit of muscle, so where she once had a little kid in her arms, she was now starting to feel a little small herself.

In a few years, she'd be the one disappearing in hugs.

"You know, if we improve your board, I'm sure your sister is going to want one as well. To race you and join in on the fun." Valery snaked her way off the couch and back to her feet, before looking at her son again.

"Maybe we should help her build one too."

Aris Noble
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[Aris Noble]

"If she actually wants to, I think that'd be great. She's been.. Distant, yeah. .. I really want her to make friends, but a lot of the time she just- Fades, you know?" Aris blinked as he spoke. Perhaps it was the hug from his mother that had him opening up more about just what he felt. His expression saddened as he sipped his mug. "I don't want to be the reason she makes friends. I want to help, but.. I don't want to be the only thing that helps her meet others our age. Do you think making a board will help her to find her friends?"

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Wedding Ring

"I'm not sure if making the board will help her make friends. But... it might be a fun distraction." She noticed his expression saddening and tightened her hug just a little. "You know what she's always been like. Even if she's having a hard time now, she'll get through and make friends in no time." It simply was in Vera's nature, though Valery was concerned as well. More about what it was that bothered her, rather than the lack of friends.

But it was all connected.

"She might like it if you offer her to come along when you do things with your friends. Even if she's not ready or has something on her mind, it'll feel good to know she's welcome," Valery added before placing a kiss against the side of his head. "But you don't always have to do that either, of course. Do what feels right to you, and I'm sure it'll be alright."

Aris Noble
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[Aris Noble]

Aris nodded his head in silent agreement. Regardless of what happened, he did want to help Vera. Just.. Didn't want to be the main reason. He smiled after a moment, looking back up to his mom as he took another sip of his cocoa. "Okay. I'll keep that in mind. I don't want her to feel lonely, that much is true."

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Wedding Ring

"I know you don't and I'm sure she doesn't feel that way." Between her family, Fuzzy and the friends she did have, Vera wasn't really alone. She just wanted to be alone as of late, which wasn't necessarily an issue. In this case it was, only because the isolation was so against what she was usually like.

Something difficult in her life caused it.

"For now, let's work on that board of yours?" She looked at his cup of cocoa to make sure he had finished it first. He never rushed his cocoa, and she wasn't going to rush him either.

Aris Noble
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[Aris Noble]

Aris had finally finished his hot cocoa and nodded his head with quite the happy smile. Finish the board was going to be a lot of fun. And, well, he wanted to make sure it was ready for his eventual race with Zaiya Ceti . Mom was right. Vera was never alone. "What's first? Setting up the system for a boost? Or cleaning it up so it doesn't look like junk? It does sort of look like junk." He hummed as he put the mug in the sink, cleaned it. He wasn't going to leave it to leave a mess.

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Wedding Ring

"It's not junk, sweetie." Valery smiled warmly and watched him take his cup to the sink. She would have cleaned it for him without complaining, but it was quite nice to see him handle his own dishes. He scored some brownie points, for sure

"Let's work on a booster system first. Once it's done, we'll make it look exactly how you want it." She grinned and walked over to the door. She pushed it open, waited for her son, and headed back out to the garage.

They had to make sure he would be able to beat all his opposition.

"For the boost, I was thinking we could find a way to reroute power to just the engine but at an accelerated rate. It'll burn fuel faster, but you'd be way quicker than anybody else."

Aris Noble

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[Aris Noble]

"I took most of the parts from junk worlds so I didn't have to ask for any money. It is junk."

Aris nodded once. Factually, he was correct, and he knew that much. Factual was what mattered to him. He glanced back to Valery before he set down the much and then followed her back to the garage. Faster, but at the cost of more fuel? Wasn't a bad idea, so long as he kept track and didn't burn out. He looked to the engine, humming in thought. "Do you think it might overheat it? Is that a worry?"

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Wedding Ring

"You might have made it using scrap, but nothing you make is ever junk, sweetie." Valery smiled at him with quite the motherly pride. She knew what he meant, of course, but she stood by her point. He had turned parts and materials that were useless to others into something that functional that let him keep up quite well with a professionally built speeder bike.

Damn right, she was proud.

"That's a good point. When you make upgrades to one system, others often need upgrades, too. We'll need better cooling when you go to that fast, but also the frame needs to withstand the higher stress it causes. Cooling has one advantage though — going faster means you've got an increase in air flow that you can use for cooling." Valery was no engineer, but when it came to things going fast, she did know a few things.

Aris Noble

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[Aris Noble]

Aris paused as he glanced to his mother. He didn't have anything to argue on that. If anything, he smiled, just a little. That made sense. He liked it, not having what he made be junk. Who'd of thought? He nodded to her as he listened. They could use the speed itself to help cool? That wasn't a bad idea at all. There was more he had to learn on that end, but, it only served to make him smile more. He couldn't use the Force, but, he could learn this stuff.

"We should start with reinforcing the frame. It'll make it look better. And help keep it together at faster speeds, like you said. Do we have parts for it?"

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Wedding Ring

Valery chuckled when he decided that handling the frame was their first task, "You're the boss. I'm sure your Dad still has a lot of material. He used it to build me a speeder after he crashed my first one into an acidic lake." Yeah, she was still salty about that. Even if she got the speeder he built her destroyed not long after that...

At least her current one was still fine!

"Come on." she guided him into the garage, to a section that was locked just to make sure the little ones couldn't get inside. It had power tools and other dangerous equipment not meant for triplets. It also had a storage section with more durable materials — the kind one used to build strong, yet lightweight speeder bikes and other vehicles.

"Well, what do you think?"

Aris Noble

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