To The Mountains

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

Oh This is going to be fun. Alric thought to himself as he watched the powdery white snow flurry along outside the ship in which he sat.

He wore a heavy coat, snowpants, and a thick scarf as well as gloves were scattered on the table before him. There was a collection of snow sports gear sitting in a rack behind him. Ski's, snowboard, and even a simple sled. It seemed like Alric had purchased half of a store, and perhaps he had. This little trip had been a surprise, and truthfully he hadn't known Danger's exact sizes or preferences when it came to ski's and snowboards.

Though he imagined that preference was...well none.

A smile crept on his face as he remembered the face that she had made for him when he had surprised her with this trip, the vicious look that she had given him, the stare that could have bitten his head off. A slight chuckle passed through his lips, and his head shook from side to side as he let his hand smooth through his hair.

"Ready yet?" Alric called out to the back of the ship. "It can't take that long to get changed."

Danger had elected to wait to the last minute to put on her snow suit, though Alric had no idea why.

She was probably stalling.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

She was.

Danger heard him practically sing his inquiry, giving an unladylike snort as she finger-combed her hair up by the nape of her neck. A slight glower was set over her face, a small wrinkle to her nose with a pursing of her lips. While she wasn't quiet ready, she did have a snug white thermal that tucked into dark gray pair of snow pants, two pairs of socks, and her boots loosely tied. The slender digits of her fingers would deftly move through the plait of her auburn hair, braiding it into a singular thick rope that would end to mid back.

Working the length of hair with her fingers over her chest, she glanced at the mirror beside her. She hated being cold. She disliked the snow, she had no desire to feel ice go down her back or for her feet to get cold and wet due to the melting white stuff. Throughout her career, even starting back when she was a smuggler Captain for Arceneau Trade, she normally would avoid jobs that would take her to Csilla, Hoth, or Arkania.

So why did she catch herself with the faintest ghost of a smile now and then? She couldn't let Alric know that, he'd eat it up and hold it over her head.

Besides, she was interested in seeing just what he had up his sleeve. If anything, he did look rather excited for the whole excursion when he had first revealed the nature of the location. So, aware she was here more for his company than the actual - shudders - snow, she begrudgingly continued to braid her hair. All she had to do was finish tying her boots and slip on the jacket.

And if he so even had the thought of putting anything freezing cold down her shirt, she was going to make him rue the day!

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

Oh yes. They were here for the company, most definitely, this was all research, none of it was intended to be fun or in any way enjoyable. That was just an unfortunate by product.

Like a small child who was sick of waiting Alric jumped from his seat. The ship had been set down at the top of an inclined hill, mostly because he figured Danger wouldn't want to start on top of an actual mountain, and it would be far safer this way. He also had a length of rope as well as a repulsor sled that they could use to travel back up the hill once they were at the bottom.

The former Titan had really thought this true.

He smiled slightly, and wandered over towards the door that Danger. He tried to be as quiet as possible, though with heavy boots and thick winter pants that was actually rather difficult. Without knocking, Alric slowly slid the door open, bearing a smile on his face.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]


He really wasn't a master of stealth in those pants.

It amused her, hearing him slide open the door behind her. Her back was to him, her head slightly bent forward as she would finish the braid. Yet her eyes watched him, catching sight of his reflection through the mirror, regarding him as he would enter the room, bold as you please. His eyes were a bright azure and he had a crooked smile on his face, and for a moment, green eyes would focus on that.

"Brazen, arn't we?," she finally said, saying in a wry twist of her lips, tying the end of her braid with a hairband. Her lids lowered, "What if I was still changin', Alric Kuhn?" she'd ask, flicking her gaze back up thereafter, the slightest arch of her brow rising in a teasing challenge.

"You risk much by enterin' a lady's boudoir uninvited..." her hand would flick the braid over her shoulder, her image shining him a mock expression of aghast. She may not be happy about being surrounded by snow, but that didn't mean it killed her sarcasm streak.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

"Well." Alric began as he slid the door open all the way. "I'm sure I would've found a way to make it up to you."

In truth, he really hadn't wanted to catch her mid-clothing. He was eager to get outside, to do what he had come here to do. This was perhaps the first time he was actually experiencing something close to a vacation in months, and he was more than happy about it. Especially because he had dragged Danger along.

A smile crept onto his lips. "Perhaps returned the favor."

Or something along those lines anyway. He grinned at her, his fingers tapping against the side of the door as his eyes cast up and down her body. Perhaps he had been right in his assumption of her stalling, she did look more than ready.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]


"I don't know..." she'd say, drawing over away from the mirror and his reflection to reach for the jacket. A faint grimace came over her face as she took it in hand, the heavy weight reminding her that they would have to eventually go outside.

"A favor may end up being a very expensive dinner!" she shot back, shaking the jacket once with a loud snap. Then, setting it aside, she sat down. Time to tie the boots.

"... or a camping trip," she added slyly, glancing up at him when she bent forward to tie the left boot. "Or worse, be my escort to a ballroom gala." back then, years ago, that would have been enough to have Alric Kuhn shift into panic mode at the mere suggestion. So when she added that, it was with the faintest upward quirk of her lips in a smirk at that.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

He smirked at her.

Time changed things, and it had certainly changed him. Marriage, kids, experiences that he once would have thought impossible. Now they seemed like every day things. He could only smile at Danger when she threatened him, then slowly moved towards her, taking two steps. The former Titan placed no arms around her, but instead leaned down and rested his chin on her shoulder, lightly setting himself in place.

"I own several restaurants." He began. "One of my daughters happened to love camping when she was younger."

Rose had always enjoyed camping out in the gardens, and several times they had taken small trips to the woods. He wasn't all that experienced, but he could manage a few days in the wild for a chance at bringing one of his loved ones happiness. "And I look damn good in a Tux."

She would have to find new weapons if she wanted to threaten him.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

The press of his chin sank into her shoulder, the warmth of his breath brushing by her cheek. A slight shiver ran down her spine, his nearness distracting her for a moment. At least, until his smug tone brought her back to reality.

She rolled her eyes, her hand reaching up to bop him lightly on the cheek.

"Whatever happened to the virtue of humbleness in your old age?" she shot back, finishing tying her other boot. Danger was aware that during his time away, he had lived his life and grown and matured in ways she'd yet to find out. To be honest, it was exciting as it was bittersweet. To a degree, it was as if they were getting to know each other again, not only as the best friends that they used to be before, but in discovering new facets in each other. There were new likes, dislikes... pet peeves and joys.

His arrogance was still there, as evident by the cocksure assurance he had.

"I take it that is Rose?" she asked him, getting more and more of a mental picture on Lily's and Rose's personalities. The more he elaborated on Rose, the more she noticed similarities to her core self. In Lily, the commonalities were in the realm of business. Danger enjoyed listening to Alric's stories, an indulgence she discovered when they had lain together on the couch, hearing him relay their adventures through the lenses of a father telling a story to his daughters. She hoped he would continue telling her more.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

He nodded slightly. "Yeah, Lily was never much one for camping...even in the living room."

Alric's daughters were surprisingly different in personality. Rose had always worked for things she wanted, had studied, learned, and pushed towards what she wanted. Lily? Lily had always taken what came to her, she had natural talent and a like for luxury. He couldn't fault her, truthfully he was far more like Lily then he was Rose.

Rose for instance would likely enjoy Tatooine.

"Both of them liked the snow though." He changed the subject back to the matter at hand. "If I recall correctly they used to build castles."

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

Stalling was starting to fail.

While it wasn't stalling in the true sense - she did enjoy discussing his daughters - the fact of the matter was, there was white fluff out there so unlike the sand of Tatooine it was just so strange. And cold.

"Castles? With snow?" that brought a furrow through her brow. Why would anyone want to do that? The though of it was rather peculiar. Then again, for those that knew Danger, knew that she was a product of a world of two suns that baked their heat into the desert. Sand did not create abodes. An igloo, was a foreign concept for her.

"Now you are weaving tall tales," she tossed back at him, setting her foot back down. She stood still for a moment, turning her head slightly towards him, the bristle of his beard tickling her cheek.

"Next thing you'll say is that you can live in them."

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

He raised his eyebrows. "Of course they do."

Well, not exactly castles, but buildings. The Talz were known for doing it, several human species,he was pretty sure that at one point the Chiss had done it too. Igloos weren't exactly the most comfortable or the warmest things, but they kept one safe from wild life and the cold. They were humble abodes, and in fact Alric had learned to make one when he had tried to impress his Daughters. A trick that had worked quite well, albeit he had cheated and used a laser saw in carving the ice blocks.

"Igloos." Alric said quite plainly. "More than a few species use them."

There was an odd bewilderement in his voice, as if he couldn't quite believe that Danger wouldn't know that bit of information.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

"Snow castles, Alric," now she bristled under the scrutiny. It was that image that made her question it, and hearing the bewilderment in his voice at her admission made her feel as if she was being silly. Again, her avoidance of the colder worlds left her not particularly apt to be overly concerned about living conditions. The last time she was at Hoth, she was nice and warm in the bridge of a mining ship with Ardik. On Csilla? A gala within the confines of structurally sound gala location of one of the Houses of the Ascendancy.

Setting down camp and being involved about how an igloo works or staying in one was the least important thing in her mind. Her lips gave a slight purse and she moved to step away, standing up to go get her jacket.

"...not igloos." her right hand went curling around the jacket, picking the heavy weight up. One arm went sliding into a sleeve, followed shortly by the other.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

Alric grabbed Danger, his hand gently pulling at her clothes and tugging her close until she was right up against him.

"Some might argue, that an igloo could become a castle." He said it with a smile on his face, his arms now wrapped around her to give a gentle squeeze. "I can build one, if you like."

That would be interesting. There were such things in the galaxy as Ice Hotels. Most of the time they were simply an experience, something that someone visited just because they existed, not necessarily because it was a great idea. On a planet like this, where there was perpetual snow, ice, and cold, it would be easy to maintain and run. A small smile tugged at his lips, a caring one that showed he wasn't just trying to sweet talk her.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

It was that little boy smile that did it.

She was half in a mood, but when he tugged her towards him, held her close like then, she couldn't help but be caught in it. Her irritation melted away under the genuine care that shone down in his eyes, in the suggestion he made to share that experience with her, silly as it may be, to build an igloo.

Warmth rose in her that went beyond the insulation of the jacket; a content joy she hadn't imagined she'd feel again, ever to be honest. Nibbling on her lower lip, Danger searched his face, visibly mulling the suggestion. So it was without a bribery of fancy dinners, of favors, or anything gimmicky that Danger Arceneau found herself mirroring that gentle smile.

Her hands came up, arms sliding to return his embrace. Turning up her face towards him, she gave a small shake of her head, as if she couldn't believe what she would say.

"Okay," I'd like that.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

He smiled. It wouldn't be too hard, in fact it would likely be easier than what he had previously planned. It would take time. He would have to find experts, engineers, half a dozen different things just to make sure that it all ended up okay, but he could do it. When he set his mind to something, when he rolled it all together, he could do anything he felt like.

"Then." Alric leaned down and kissed the top of her head. "That's what I'll do."

It hadn't been what he planned, it wasn't even close, but perhaps it was something better. A smile tugged at his lips as he thought of the end result, as he thought of what he could create here on this world. Then he thought of Danger's face when it was done, his smile widening.

His arms would tighten around Danger, and he would lift her. "Now lets go find a good spot for it."

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

Danger gave a slight gasp of surprise as she rose in his arms, her feet now off the floor and dangling, the sudden action prompting her to tighten her grip around him. The gasped turned into a chuckle, leaning in against him as she said, "Put me down! You'll hurt yourself."

Her laughter grew, believing that this was just going to be the search for a small igloo. Unbeknownst to her, Alric was considering something far larger than that. When the Tetan had an idea, he went big and above expectations. In hindsight, Danger should have expected that. But for now, she was just enjoying herself being with Alric.

Snow and all.

Mirth danced in her eyes and her laughter would wane, until only a smile lingered. Leaning forward, she pressed a light kiss on his cheek.

"Okay, let's go." she exhaled out, mentally bracing herself for the cold.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

It would be cold, there was no arguing that. Alric placed Danger on the ground before the door to the ramp, scooping up some of the equipment that he had purchased for them so that they could actually put it to good use. It wasn't very hard to carry it all. Most of it was actually rather compact, and as long as he had both arms to carry it with there wasn't really a problem to what he was doing.

With a gentle nudge, he urged Danger to open the door.

Almost immediately after the ramp slid open, a wave of cold struck him. It sent a shiver down his spine, though the warmth of his jacket kept him almost entirely insulated. Still, the former Titan seemed to shake slightly, as if his entire body was focusing on trying to keep his core temperature up. He shot Danger a smile, then stepped out onto the ice world.

The mountain around them was windy, though the sun touched down onto the snow and created its own kind of warmth. A flurry of loose powder seemed to carry over the hill, and as Alric dumped the equipment onto the ground a swirl of snow erupted just behind him. He let out a hot breath, fog forming in front of his face.

"Not so bad." He said to himself with a smile.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

It was freezing.

She should have snatched a hat prior to leaving, or at least tucked it into her jacket. But in the wake of it all, she forgot. The jacket was zipped up as high as it could go, just under her chin, but a good gust would send her shivering despite the insulation. Puffs of condensation from her hot breath would swirl in front of her, her hands already searching for the gloves she'd tucked into her jacket.

Gorram cold!

What was wrong with a nice, hot desert? She saw nothing wrong with it, in fact, she personally enjoyed it immensely. And while she favored extremes, she had yet to find appreciation for frozen worlds like this one. Her boots gave a slight crunch as she slowly made her way over to the Tetan, half making sure she wasn't stepping in the wrong place that would make her slip and fall. Despite the padding her momma gave her, Danger wasn't so keen on experiencing that.

Meanwhile, Alric was as happy as a clam. Yes, this was the distinct switch of roles from Vortex. A soft gust of wind prompted Danger to hide her mouth right under the zipper of her jacket, feeling the cold send shivers down her spine.

"It's great," her muffled wry response would say, having barely heard his quiet observation. The cold was not helping her recently broken fingers, so she struggled a bit as a tightness in her hands would make it slightly difficult to slip her gloves on.

"So what's the plan?" she asked, eyeing the items Alric brought over. She didn't snowboard. She didn't skii. Asking her to do either was going to be.. interesting...

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

"Well that all depends." Alric said quietly as he trudged his way over to her.

"What do you want to try first?" His voice was laced with honey again. "Skiing? Snowboarding?"

He would start with the difficult options, like in any good negotiation. Oh he was entirely sure that Danger would choose neither of those options, that would take too much time and effort to learn. He doubted very much that Danger would be willing to put in the work to learn to do those things, no one did unless they wanted to, and she certainly didn't want to. So like the smart man that he was, Alric would negotiate her down to the one thing he knew she would be willing to do.

"I think snowboarding is a bit harder, I did it when I was young. I was never really great, but it did look great for all the girls I was trying to meet." He would recall his youth at the snow resorts on Empress Teta, smiling like a nostalgic old man.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

Each suggestion would make Danger’s eye narrow further, until they were glittering green slits of growing agitation. Skiing? Never done it, and she was far too old to be attempting the splits with two pieces of plexiglass on her feet. Snowboarding? If she couldn’t imagine doing it with two, what makes [member="Alric Kuhn"] think she could even attempt it on one?

And ohhh, he was enjoying himself. It was there in the sugary sweetness of his voice. Her lips pursed under the slight shelter of the collar of her jacket, a small huff of warm air fogging in front of her.

“Great because you kept fallin’ on your ass?” she shot back, finally slipping her right glove on. Her fingers would wiggle, trying to get the sensation in them again. On to the left.

“How long you reckon we are stayin’ out here?” she began to ask, mentally already preparing her plan of attack on how to avoid either options. Danger gave a glance at the snowboard as if it was a Tusken with a gaffi stick.
Whatever happened to snowspeeders?!

“I mean, I’m sure you want to make the most of your time... “ she said just as sweetly; if one could ignore the slight shiver in her voice at the cold.