Private The Need for Speed

[Aris Noble]

"You offered."

Aris shrugged. He had already said they could race once he at least knew the path. Which he did now. He settled down on the speeder, idly glancing it over. He knew how it ran. He'd studied it, made sure he knew the ins and outs of how to maintain and even drive it, mostly because he always wanted the chance to. He couldn't hide the little smile that formed as he kicked it on and took over the controls.

"One, two, three."

He didn't cheat or jump ahead, but the moment he said three he was off at full speed with a far too wide grin on his face. He certainly had been waiting for this moment, it seemed.

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Wedding Ring

"Mmhmm," Valery hummed while she got herself ready for the race. But before blasting off, she turned her eyes to her son one more time. He seemed like quite a natural on her bike already and she definitely noticed that little smile. This was exciting to him, and she was equally thrilled to spend her time racing him.

Now she just needed to beat him.

"One, two, three."

Valery blasted off alongside him down the rather narrow trail. The two of them could go side-by-side, but there was little wiggle room. On one side, they had the cliffs, and on the other side a drop down that even a Jedi would struggle with. That added risk and danger just made it even more exciting!

"First turn coming up!"

Aris Noble
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[Aris Noble]

"I know!"

He called back in return, grinning as he focused on the impromptu track they were on. He remembered the path pretty well, already having raced through it a couple times in his mind alone. That's how his memories worked, after all. He could cycle through it rather well, the different turns and twists that the path had to offer. He accelerated, eagerly making his way around the bend at a high speed.

He was having fun. A lot of fun.

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Wedding Ring

"That's my boy..." Valery muttered to herself while they approached the first turn. While not the sharpest on this track, they were high up in the mountains and the trail wasn't built for two Nobles to race on. The gravel and dirt trembled and moved underneath them in protest, but Valery pushed on and intentionally kept herself closest to the edge. That way, her son was closer to the rocks.

Even now, she would always take the greater risk for the well-being of her son.

"Zigzag!" Right after the first turn, there were two sharp turns back-to-back, and the more seasoned Noble knew exactly how to approach them. Afterwards, the path was straight for some time, and she was ready to accelerate far beyond the speed her son could reach.

Even on het bike.

Aris Noble
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[Aris Noble]

Aris had glanced ahead towards the zigzag. And didn't either zig or zag. There was a far too calm moment as he shot straight down the path, immediately going off road as he avoided the loss of momentum or even just the regular path. For anyone else, it was a foolish, dumb thing to do. Not so much for him. He was, ultimately, capable of weaving between the trees that should've been in his way.

Especially on mom's speeder. It controlled like a dream.

He emerged near immediately on the straight path as he broke through the last of the underbrush. grinning and laughing all the while. "Try and keep up, mom!"

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Wedding Ring

Especially on Mom's speeder, as he took it off-road and avoided the zig-zag part of the trail entirely. She was proud of him for it and she would have likely done the same, but it was still her speeder bike he was taking through rough terrain. His father had already destroyed one bike of hers by crashing it into an acidic lake, and now their son was getting close to annihilating her bike as well? Maybe Kahlil's genes had something gremlin to them as well.

Like father, like son.

"Careful with the bike!" Valery exclaimed but with an excited grin. If he was going to show off like that, Valery was going to have to do the same. So, right as another zig-zag turn came up along the edge of the cliffs, Valery crouched down and held the underside of the board against her feet. She jumped and not only avoided the road but performed a 360-degree spin just to show off for her son.

"Did you see that?! Bonus points!"

Aris Noble
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[Aris Noble]

"The only points in a race like this are first and second place, mom."

Aris chuckled just a little as he kept up on the speed, trying to keep ahead. By all accounts he should, mom's speeder was much faster than his board. It was indeed part of the reason he'd asked for the race, even if he wouldn't admit it. Or admit how cool mom looked using his board for such a trick. His mind was already rushing to figure out other such tricks he himself could do.

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Wedding Ring

Damnit.

Just like his father, he wasn't easily persuaded to change the rules of the game in her favor. Because as cool as his board was, it still wasn't quite as fast as her speeder bike, so she had no way to beat him without her little tricks. Perhaps the board would be just as fast as her bike, one day, after he had spent enough time refining and perfecting each component of his hoverboard.

Until then, her bike was unmatched and that meant she could not win this race, even with all the experience she had going down this path in the mountains, or just racing in general.

"Fine!" Valery grumbled as he drew closer to the finish line.

She was not going to hear the end of this one.

Aris Noble
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[Aris Noble]

Aris ended up easing on the throttle. He couldn't help himself, once it was clear he was going to win just because the speeder was faster. He frowned inwardly as they neared the actual finish line. He didn't want to win like this, just because of the speed. Not that he was going to let her win of course. No, he was fully planning to win with his own skill and blocking her off from passing, just at teh same max speed he knew the board had.

That would be much more fun.

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Wedding Ring

Valery squinted at him when he eased up on the throttle. Beating her at Mach Skywalker wasn't enough for him, huh? Valery shook her head but smirked all the same. He was just like her in that regard — winning a competition only meant something if it was about skill, and not handicaps that couldn't be overcome. He was on a very professionally built speeder bike, and she was on his first working prototype for a hoverboard.

Didn't mean she'd allow herself to lose.

With the speed difference gone, Valery crouched down low to minimize drag, and waited until she was starting to catch up just a little. Then, she rotated her hands so the palms faced backwards, and briefly ignited two bright flames. It gave her a burst of speed, and just like her trick before, she caught the underside of her board and made her attempt to jump over him.

That'll teach him to try and mess with his Mom.

Aris Noble
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[Aris Noble]

Aris blinked slowly as he caught sight of it. A flash of red. Fire. For a moment he thought something had gone wrong with his board. Much to his surprise though, it wasn't his board. It was her. She sped ahead of his bewildered expression before a calm smile took over as he instead looked ahead. He could throttle up, but that'd just put the machine before skill.

It was her win now.

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Wedding Ring

She had him now.

Competitive as ever, Valery channeled the Force to gain just a small burst of speed that allowed her to overtake him. It was a trick she'd never use in a more typical race, but she had to make up for lost ground a little, right? As she crossed the finish line and turned around, though, she couldn't help but feel a little bad for winning. She knew he'd hate it if he won only because she held back, but was it fun to lose when she used the Force in such a way?

She pouted a little in thought.

"That was a fun little race, huh?" She asked with a motherly smile. "If it wasn't for that little trick, I wouldn't have been able to catch up."

She paused and used the fact that she stood a little higher again to ruffle his hair.

"I'm very proud of you, Aris."

Aris Noble
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[Aris Noble]

"Proud?"

Aris tilted his head in mild confusion. He'd lost, so was it how he skipped the path that had her so proud? He tried to sort through the thoughts as he leaned back in the seat of the speeder. He didn't realize what specifically he'd done that deserved praise, especially since he actually lost the race. "It was a good trick, though, mom. Gives me ideas for what I can put on the board honestly."

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Wedding Ring

Well, at least he didn't get annoyed that she ruffled his hair.

Valery smiled and dipped her head, "Of course, I am. You built this board on your own and you did really well in a first race on a bike like that. You have that from me, of course." Valery smirked and hoped Kahlil picked up on that through their bond. A tease across the stars.

Then, he mentioned the trick and Valery blinked. She loved the idea of inspiring her son to try new things, but maybe she shouldn't have shown him a dangerous trick? Motherly protectiveness did not like the idea of him using his board to spin around through the air.

But then again, he was a Noble.

"I could always teach you some tricks. But if you try them on your own, just be careful, alright? Your Dad will kill me if you get hurt, trying to do tricks I showed you."

Aris Noble
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[Aris Noble]

"I won't be able to do the tricks like what you did."

He had his limits, always would. But he was still basically grinning. The thrill of speed was certainly something not lost on him. Spinning on the board? Other such tricks? He was already processing through his mind what he could do, and what he couldn't. He was excited, to say the least.

"When do we start?"

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Wedding Ring

"There will be plenty of tricks you can do. Like the spinning trick, I showed earlier." She grinned at her son and couldn't hide the excitement she felt. Not only were they going for rides together, but they were also going to practice tricks and participate in races. From what she read on the holonet, many kids around his age would distance themselves more and more from their parents and focus on spending time with friends their own age.

With the kind of Mom she was, the idea of that happening was practically a nightmare. But after today, she didn't feel so worried about it anymore.

They'd still have their time to bond and do things together.

"Well, we could first go home and maybe work on your board or a new bike? I can make you some cocoa, too. Or would you like to go practice some tricks first?"

Aris Noble
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[Aris Noble]

Oh, other tricks. Board tricks. Not Force tricks. Aris blinked in surprise at the thought before his smile returned. Yes, this was a good line of thought. The more tricks he could figure out, the better, honestly. They might not be truly useful in say, fighting, but he could see that board being very useful for other things. Mostly recreational. ".. That's a lot of good options. The tricks first, I think. Then hot cocoa. Then working on the board. .. With hot cocoa."

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Wedding Ring

Valery smiled excitedly at his choice. Not only did he want to work on tricks with her, he also wanted to work together to improve his board. With plenty of hot cocoa, of course, and she was more than happy to make it for him. This was a Mother and son day, and she was going to make the absolute most of it. Perhaps, they could even pick up tomorrow and some other times throughout the week.

Vera and Kahlil were going to be on Ossus for a little while, after all.

"Alright, let's swap again." Valery went to collect her bike and gave him his board back. "Spinning shouldn't be too hard for you, as long as you hold onto the board. But..." she paused and considered her next words carefully. Was it too much to tell her thirteen year old son how to-

"We could try a flip."

Valery blinked, then smiled sheepishly and looked at his board. "As long as you keep the board to your feet, it should be possible."

Aris Noble
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[Aris Noble]

"I'll try spinning, that's a neat trick."

It was as good a starting point as any. If he could keep himself on the board in a spin, it'd be a good way to make sure he didn't fall off during a flip. As Valery said, it should be possible. The board was fast enough as it was. He hopped onto his board, idly messing with the engine just to ensure everything was fastened correctly and tightly. Last thing he'd want was the engine to fly off, after all.

With a satisfied nod he kicked it on so it'd hover above the ground again and glanced to Valery with a rather excited grin.

"Okay."

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Wedding Ring

"It really is and it will make you more comfortable on your board to try other, more daring tricks." Valery smirked from experience. A long time ago, she had given her old Master several heart attacks by showing off tricks and skills she learned on ber bike or in other vehicles. Perhaps it had been an early sign that she was very different from other Jedi - not as traditional.

Old Master Dawn certainly knew.

Valery smiled at the thought and looked at her son. One of many things that would have never been possible in the old days, and she couldn't be happier that it had changed. To see him smile and excited meant more than just about anything else.

"Alright, let's not immediately jump off a cliff. Even I practice safely." She hummed in thought, then grinned even wider. "I could throw you up and give you momentum? Then you can use your body weight to transition into a spin."

Aris Noble
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