500 PARSECS ~

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

Kaile's laughter hitched an octave as she began to squirm against the scratch of his beard, the tickling sensation running down her neck and spine. Another writhe of her body, the arid hot air crashing against them as her heightened state of adrenaline rush made her ticklish.

"Woo-ahhaha!" she gave a slight jerk to avoid the finger, which didn't work well considering they were confined within the tiny space. Bits of floating dust came in to rain on them, only to get cast away by a gust of wind. She made a grab for his wrists, attempting to keep any plot to tickle her further in check.

It didn't halt her laughter thought. A pleasant mammaquatia would bob her curves, and she couldn't stop chuckling. Finally, when she seemed to capture a second to catch her breath, she tipped her head back to turn to face him.

"Worth every second." she beamed, mirth speckling gold in her brown eyes. A lift of her face and she gave him a kiss at the closet bit she could reach; his cheek in an off kilter kiss. Impish delight bled easy, and she attempted to shift herself to face him.

"I love it!" they had gone so fast!

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

The Messa was faster than his pod of course, but it wasn't exactly the same. With the pod one felt closer to the ground, one was closer to the ground. Not to mention that there was an element of danger that the Messa could never supply. No, the pod was most definitely a greater rush than the Messa could be, not that there was anything wrong with flying it, this was just..more personal. He could tell that Kaile thought exactly the same way, her lips turned up in a big smirk, her hand grasping his rather tightly in a mixture of excitement and everything else.

"Good." He grinned. "Now get out."

Kurt overpowered he grip and poked her again and again, causing a squirming wiggle that eventually ended up with Kaile half slipping and half falling out of the podracer.

Before she could hit the ground Kurt grasped onto her arm, gently pulling her up and against him as he too jumped out of the pod-racer. "Let's go see the sights."

There was something beautiful about The Wound that couldn't quite be described. It was something...unnatural that seemed to have formed in a natural landscape. Many people speculated that it had been carved long ago by some super weapon, a few said it was ancient rivers long passed, and a few even said it had been dug by the greater Krayt Dragons. Kurt didn't subscribe to any particular theory, but he still loved looking at it.

He forcibly hooked Kaile's arm in his own and tugged her along.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"] carted her off like a man with a mission.

To be fair, Kaile did go willingly. She just made it all the more silly by fighting him with a tug every now and then. Pebbles and dirt would crunch under her boots, the Twin suns baking onto them. A thin layer of dust began to cling to her skin, but she didn't mind, she was too busy trying to poke at Kurt's ribs as payback.

"The sights!? What --" that's when she saw it. It was hard to ignore. Slowing to a halt, she was awestruck at what beheld her, so much that Kurt had to give her another tug to drag her forward again. This time, she quickened her step.

"Oh..."

There, with just the faintest grey of what one could believe to be mist, was this massive, jagged trench that would split the desert in two. There was something surreal about it, and as the pilot led her to just sky of the edge, that feeling only grew. The hairs at the nape of her neck rose, hearing in the distance a sort of mournful wailing.

It was the wind. The way that it would howl through the wound of Tatooine's core. A peek over the edge would send a scattering of pebbles over, but it was enough. She couldn't even see the bottom, and that just struck at her. Never one to be afraid of heights, the sheer wonder of the Wound made her feel incredibly small.

"Stars..." came her awestruck murmur. With every inch that would bring the Twin Suns to set in the distant sky, it would paint the great fissure in hues that a painter would be jealous of.

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

Kurt had always liked the sight of this, just looking at it. There was something about The Wound that made him feel small, insignificant. There was something about it that he couldn't quite explain.

That was odd.

Especially given that he had seen quasars, black holes, and even entirely asteroid fields colliding with one another, but The Wound was simply the first...big thing that he had ever seen. The massive maw within the earth seemed to stretch forever and ever, reaching towards the Horizon and digging into Tatooine as though it were simply consuming it. There was a terror in that for Kurt, a fear that he could not quite put into words. He looked over at Kaile, seeing the expression on her face.

"Cool huh?" Kurt simply asked, the smile drawing on his face.

There was danger down there of course.

Tusken Tribes, Sand Demons, even the odd Krayt Dragon, they all lurked within the wound. Kurt had encountered them once or twice, had seen a few of them lurking about. He had even had a run in with a Krayt Dragon before. That thing had been meaner than he could have explained, though their parting had ended rather favorably, the Dragon eating a Sand Demon and Kurt skittering off back to his swoop bike.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

Kaile knew about the Wound. Her datasplint held a vast amount of information on planets, culture, languages, the works. However, knowing about a location was an altogether different experience than actually being there in the flesh.

"Just makes one feel so small." she'd say, the seemingly endless maw giving off the notion that it could swallow her up in an instant. Even standing still, her stomach felt as if it sank, and her hand would curl a little tighter upon Kurt's own. If she squinted a bit, she could see the dark brown darting bodies of Womprats against the cliff side, scattering bits of pebbles here and their as they jutted in and out of their holes.

They weren't the only critters though. Some were far larger; and had more teeth.

"It's beautiful." and it was. Most folk would not be able to see the way the sun would cast its light against the chasm, nor see the sort of ethereal resonance one felt from there. As if there was something more, requiring some sort of reverence for it.

Glancing up at Kurt, the brown in her eyes would brighten. This was special. It was a small thing, but it was special. Kurt had managed to make it the best day, and all he did was just be himself. Share a little bit about his world. It made Kaile feel all kinds of fuzzy in affection for him.


There he stood, with a wastrel grin, that little boy expression, and his mop of brown hair tousled by the wind. Lanky but toned, all Tibx and energy going beyond the speed of light. Kurt was a good guy. One day, just like his pa, he'll make a fine man.

Turning towards him, she tugged him over that last foot. "'Mere you," she'd grin with an impish smile. And like a cat nuzzling it close, she slipped her arms under his, past his ribcage and over to the small of his back in a big hug.

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

Kurt embraced Kaile, letting his fingers dribble slightly on the small of her back. There was a gust of wind as he did so, the signs of a storm to come. He could sense that sort of thing from a mile away, not some silly trick of the force or anything mystical, just a feel for the planet that he loved. He knew that they had to leave sooner rather than later, that eventually the storm he had seen from orbit would pass over this section of Tatooine. Luckily, they wouldn't have to go through it.

"Come on." Kurt whispered to her. "We gotta get back."

Sandstorms were not little thing on Tatooine. "There's a storm coming, and if we're out here for it...well, we'd have to get real used to breathing sand."

Unfortunately, Kurt's pod had little to no survival supplies. He had always figured that he would never get lost in the thing, furthermore he had always figured that if he crashed he'd likely be dead anyway. Both those thoughts were rather reckless, but they were also the truth. There was of course some water in the pod, but that was about it. He released Kaile, spinning her around on her heel slightly before taking her hand and beginning to lead her back towards the Pod-Racer.

Another press of wind prompted him to turn his head, eyes settling on the Horizon.

"Oh, look." Kurt pointed towards the east, a massive wall of sand climbing within the distance.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

"Hmm?" her head perked at his gesture, pulling back to squint at the horizon. She couldn't quite see, so she brought her hand up to shield the rays of the sun. That's when she saw it. A thick slash of dark brown int he horizon. What was that? she mused, giving a deepening frown, until she realized... it was growing in size.

Not to mention gaining speed.

"Is that..." her eyes grew wide. It was. Another new item to experience. However, the sandstorms were not the sort of culture experience she'd like to come up close and personal with.

That was one heck of an incoming storm, raising the veil of darkness as dust, sand, and debris were cast forward in an audible rumble. No, more like a draw.

"Kurt..." there was a faint sound of concern in her voice, barely a treble. " How long do we have?" finger would dribble again at her back nudge her back to the pod.

That whole mention of getting back to the homestead and the farm was starting to look more and more wonderful by the second. Her hands when reaching out to take into consider that this was all going to be about overcoming what they could.

Higher and Higher that dark wall of sand would grow, until it almost nearly shut out the sun. "Let's go." a step back, then another.

"Run!"

As if she had fire at her heels, she made a bolt for it, shoving at Kurt to go.

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

Kaile rushed off back to the pod-racer as fast as she could, Kurt simply strolled.

No reason to run.

Not yet anyway.

"Pff." Kurt said with a smirk on his face. "Look at you, running. We have at least fifteen minutes before it hits us, no problem."

Sandstorms moved quickly, that was mind of their MO, but Kurt knew well enough just how fast his own pod-racer could move and whether or not they had time to get away. Kaile of course didn't have that insider knowledge, but then again she likely knew a thing or two that Kurt didn't. His lips parted in a yawn, and slowly he moved back towards the Pod-racer, Kaile jumping up and down beside the cockpit and giving him a light punch in the arm to get him to hurry up. He smirked at her, then simply slipped inside.

Half a second later Kurt was sitting in the seat once again and Kaile found her way wiggling herself into place. Kurt waited until she was good and comfortable then flipped the same switch before. The cockpit closed, sealing the cabin for the moment. Kurt looked around for a moment, peering out the window and seeing that they still had a good thirteen minutes or so before the storm hit. "So what do you think? Time enough to..."

Kurt trailed off and waggled his eyebrows.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]


Sometimes, Kaile had the notion to give Kurt a good smack at the back of the head. However, it was rather difficult to follow through beyond the playful punches when he gave that little boy smile and had that rakish glint in his eyes. Ohhh, Kurt...

His suggestion tickled its way down the nape of her neck, in a heightened sense of awareness already kicked up several notches by the adrenaline pumping in her veins. His fingers dribbled right over her hip, and a slight press of pressure would indent the skin under her blouse. That tinder sparked and aroused through her like wildfire. Life was all a series of choices. Choices done at various times in one's life. Some were easy, others not so much.

Whatever path they lead could take one to the peaks of heaven or send them adrift into the black. Kaile was an optimist. She was also a woman of action, and what she did, she did with her entire being.

Outside, the massive wall of sand would inch higher into the sky, like a giant maw slowly opening to consume the desert whole. The small cockpit cage became a den of quickened breaths. Time enough?

".. plenty."

If not, well, as Kaile brushed her hair away from the right side of her face and neck, we'd think about it then. Hands free, she drew them over Kurt's, placing them up to press against softer flesh. Her breath hitched, and she lifted her hips to fiddle down below. His cheek would rasp against her own, but it only made it better.

Eyes locked through the viewport, she could only give a knowing grin. Rushed? Perhaps. Reckless? Definitely.

I wouldn't have it any other way.

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

Reckless didn't even begin to describe it, didn't even hold weight to it. Kaile seemed to have half collapsed on top of him, her body slumped slightly even as she squirmed and let out heavy breaths. Her chest seemed to rise and fall in unison with Kurt's own, his eyes closed as his head leaned back. His mouth opened to say something, though it was quickly silenced by the press of Kaile's lips. He grinned slightly, his hands slipping from her hips and down onto the cold durasteel of the pod-racer.

"Well that was ce-" He was interrupted by a powerful howl of wind, a cutting of air that seemed to surround them and then half push the pod to the side in the sand.

His head snapped to the side, his eyes opening wide.

Perhaps they had taken a bit too much time for their fun.

The massive wall of sand was now only a kilometer away, it's massive maw stretching across the horizon and reaching into the sky. The roaring how of the wind and the swaying of the sands seemed to press and scoop at the desert, tearing away the very floor of Tatooine and threatening to eject it into space. Kurt gaped at it for a moment, then felt Kaile wiggle atop him. He turned, then immediately lifted his hands from the floor and grasped the controls. "Hang on Kaile."

At least they'd die having fun.

 

[Kaile Vera]

Kaile's legs and arms felt like jello. Like strawberry jello, all quivery and without anything to support it. This had certainly expanded her idea of impromptu quickie excitement, having collapsed against Kurt half sweaty, exhausted, full, but extremely satisfied. But the glow of a fantastic romp would get abruptly cut off when the roar of the wind sent the pod dragging across the bank a few meters.

"Gos say!" wide eyes, hair mused, and rumpled clothing shifted as her hands snapped out to latch a hold onto the cage bars beside her. Her body swung and her shoulder took a crack. A soft wince, and a suck of her breath in pain. It would bruise, but that was fine.

His warning was all she had, and to be frank, haha, the edge of fear riding in the fall of pleasure made her give a half laugh, and for the pilot to feel every shudder.

"Go, go, go!!" She yelled out in a half laugh, but Kurt already had engines spring up to full blaze within half a second of him pressing the controls forward. They skidded, with a sudden shift and thrust of the throttle, to swing them around. It was enough for Kaile to watch as the the light of the Twin Suns was sucked away by the several kilometer high storm. It was so loud, with sand and grit smacking against the pod, billows of rust coloured clouds lancing through that last kilometer.

Ready to consume them.

A whine, and another shift, then the momentum of the pod-racer picked up almost instantly as the two powerful engines immediately accelerated to full speed. This time she was a bit more prepared for the jolt, Kurt's breath hot by her cheek, the devil on his lips, and Kaile's laughter propelling them forward.

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

Oh this was turning into a fine day.

Really.

Kurt was enjoying himself.

The massive wall of sand seemed to sweep forward without a care or thought of what was in it's way. It tore apart the earth, gobbled up Tatooine, and moved forward with reckless abandon. There was no sign of it stopping, no sign of it slowing down, no sign of it ever going away. If one stood before this storm they would half thought it was about to sweep away all of Tatooine. It stretched and reached to the heavens, grasping out and trying desperately to grab on to Kurt's pod-racer.

Not that that was going to happen.

Instead The Courier pushed his control sticks forward, he pressed the throttle of his pod, twisting the handle to kick in the additional thrusters. The wind howled at their backs, the sands swept towards them, the storm tried to consume them, but it was too slow. Kurt raced forward, grinning as he did so. There was something about this that reminded him of the Boonta Eve. The rush, the mix of emotion, the sensations crawling over his skin.

It was just like that. Just...utterly perfect.

Except this time he wasn't racing people, but nature itself.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

Kaile gave a glance back, seeing behind her the dark monolith tearing down at them. It was almost like a living entity, fluctuating to and fro. A gust of wind tore at them from the right, hitting the pod in a rush as if to knock it off course. Both of them would lurch, with Kaile giving a half grunt and wiggle, trying to stay settled but failing at it.

They were playing Rodian roulette with the very elements, and so far it could go either way. There was a thrill in that, riding that edge, feeling that shift, and the insane sense more.

Maybe they were a little bit crazy. But it was a heck of a lot of fun.

A shiver of anticipation ran through her as did trepidation and again, that intoxicating, adrenaline pumping rush. From the corner of her eyes she could see Kurt, with his scruffy beard and his hair ruffled by her hands. Behind her she felt the taunt spring of his body, how he drove the pod and felt the raw rush of emotions through him.

He was one with the pod racer, and this time, it was different than their first ride. This time, she felt him thrust forward and she jolted back, shifting up and down in the engines's powerful wake.

The pod shot forward, roaring with it's cerulean cone engines flaring bright. The couple shook, and Kaile glanced back to see the pilot start to stretch the distance between them and certain death.

They weren't out of the race yet. Nature was an unpredictable mistress, and all Kaile could do was hold on and enjoy her ride.

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

The storm howled and raged, it reached forward and grasped towards them, tearing up the deserts and trying desperately to swallow Kurt and Kaile whole. Kurt's heart raced in his chest, a constant thump thump thump that seemed to ring in his ears. His eyes had ceased blinking, his focus had been honed to a knife's edge. Everything seemed to be perfect, everything seemed to be absolutely and totally within focus. Kurt was in the zone, perhaps more than he had ever been before.

The Pod ducked and weaved, slashing through desert dunes and cutting between rock pillars. There were slight thuds, jumps of the pod as he rushed them up the side of a desert wall. The storm behind them kept chasing, its pursuit growing faster, more desperate with every second.

Kurt only pushed forward.

There was no stopping, no hesitation, nothing. Kurt simply flew.

There was a peace inside of him, one that wiped away all restlessness and pushed every thought away from his mind. There was a serene calm to that, his heart simply continuing it's steady thump thump thump. Then it came into view, the first of the farms moisture towers came into view. Kurt grinned, his hand tightening as he pulled back on the control and wrenched the pod-racer to the side. They bucked to the right, dodging the pillar and rushing forward. Half a dozen more appear behind it and Kurt did the same thing, over and over again he rushed between and besides the pillars, passing through them until eventually the garage.

His smile tightened, and his hands pulled back on the controls. The pod-racer slowed, then suddenly the engines cut off completely. With a powerful slide the pod rushed across the sanded ramp and reached it's place perfectly within the garage, the hatch shutting automatically as the storm swallowed the earth above them.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

It was her laughter that would surround them, a bubbling, shoulder shaking laugh. It was a laugh full of victory, of life. Of having survived and lived through what could have been a close call for the both. Anything could have gone wrong. Anything.

They could have been consumed by the sandstorm. They could have crashed. One of the engines could have sucked in a piece of FOD and blown up. With no seatbelts and squished as they had been in that tiny closed cage, they could have met their doom.

But it would have been a heck of a way to go.

Collapsing against him, she brought her hands up, looping them around his neck behind her. Her skin felt as if energy were crawling underneath it, and everything seemed to vibrate with intensity. A glow radiated from her, a culmination of one wild ride leading to another. A little voice inside her head said, this is living Kaile.

It was right.

Content, legs sore, and body blooming a few constellations of bruises under her rumpled clothes, Kaile went stretching like a Nexu against the pilot.

"You. Are. AMAZING!" She couldn't help but exclaim, saying with notable impish mirth in her eyes. The success at having escaped the storm that raged overhead drove her to impulsiveness,

Probably bad for his ego, but Kaile wasn't worried about that. She gave credit where it was due. Two hands would capture his cheeks and soundly give him a reward with a kiss.

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

His entire body felt like it was vibrating. His arms, his legs, his torso, his head, everything felt like it was spinning. He had never done that before, he had never even tried it before. When he had known there was a storm coming he had always made sure to be well clear of it. When he had known that danger was headed his way he would always leave, but this? This was something entirely different. They had fought nature, they had outran it. His hand's felt like a thousand needles were stabbing through them. There was a rush within him, his heart pressing at his chest as excitement welled within him and his head began to spin.

Kurt didn't even feel the press of her lips.

He couldn't.

The Courier was caught up in the grandeur of what had just happened, of what he had done. It felt like his entire world had come apart and been put back together. His hands dropped from the controls, his head leaning back, lips moving away from Kaile's. A sudden surge fell through him, a breath of oxygen entering his lungs as the rush simply began to ebb away. He had raced nature itself, the whirling winds of a Tatooine desert storm, and he had won.

He had won.

There was no greater feeling in the world, in the galaxy. All of the spice on Kessel couldn't have made him feel more alive, a room full of Danger Arceneau's couldn't have pleased him more. Kurt felt as though he ruled the galaxy.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

"I can't believe we just did that!" Kurt was gone, he was out in his own high of emotions and sense of victory. Kaile was right there with him, a buzzed with energy, trembling with an overabundance of adrenaline. Her heart hammered against her chest, and it was hard to breath. Just -- everything.

She gave another laugh, managing to wiggle enough to turn to face Kurt. He was feeling it too. She could see it. His blue eyes were dilated, face flushed and just radiating as if he were on top of the world -- no, on top of the universe.

Her thumbs would rub his cheeks, and Kaile gave him a cheeky grin that split her face in two. There she pet him, feeling him calm down from his high, the beat of his heart slowly start to steady. It was a sensation she was sure he'd want to enjoy for as long as he could.

Finally, the tousled haired young Lorrdian would give his right cheek another light rub, then spoke, "So, Mister Meyer," she would shift her trembling voice to mimic that of what one could expect from a holo newscaster.


"How do you feel about that run? What were you thinking as you crossed that finished line?"

She was being silly, yes, but it was a way to bond with him. To engage in what he felt.

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

"I feel..." Kurt began to say, trailing off slightly.

His eyes had fallen closed, his cheeks were flush red, and his heart was still slowly thumping away. There wasn't really any way to explain what he had felt, it was impossible to put into words, at least for him. Kurt was neither eloquent nor smart enough to really explain it. He didn't want to either, this was something...something that he would likely never repeated, something that was a story that no one would believe. His lips turned into a thin smile.

What was one to say about that?

"I feel." He started again. "I feel like I deserve a reward."

His lips pulled into a wide smirk, his hands slipped up from the bulkhead and grasped onto her hips. His eyes opened and his head moved forward to very gently press his lips against the nape of her neck. There was no stopping him now, no arguing. The high that still rushed through him pushed him forward, his lips parting to very gently bite at Kaile's neck. A loud burst of laughter echoed within the tiny pod, the windows quickly fogging.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

A single small hand went slamming against a steamy viewport, quivering limbs letting Kaile's fingers slide across to wipe at the condensation across it before it fell.

Heavy breathing would come out in short pants, sticky sweat slicked hair clinging to her cheeks, neck and now Kurt. One cheek lay against his right shoulder, and again, she felt as if her arms and legs had the consistency of red jello.

She was exhausted, her heartbeat thundering in her chest, much like the one under her. With a lethargic move, she brought the hand that had left its mark across the viewport by Kurt's collar. They should probably get up, stretch out, but right now, all she wanted to do was not move. With the crazy high that they had came the crash of being spent.

Every now and then she would give a slight shiver, a quiver of legs and shudder of twitches. I just need, I just...

"...a few minutes." came her out her breathy plea, cuddling close.

"Just a few more minutes."

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

Kurt laid back, his head was tipped onto the top of the seat, his eyes were closed, and his arms hung easily at his side. There was a heat in the cockpit, a heat that seemed to sit over the both of them. It wasn't the heat of Tatooine, no this heat was filled with a thick musk and the scent of sweat. It was overbearing, though both Kurt and Kaile seemed to thrive on it. Their chests rose and fell, their bodies oddly intertwined in the tiny space in which they were contained.

"We'll have to get out sometime." Kurt said finally, his eyes slowly sliding open. "At least it won't be cold."

That was often the issue on The Messa, the inside of one of their rooms got so hot and warm that the outside felt as though it were in the negatives, on Tatooine that was far from a problem. Even with the storm still raging above things were likely still rather hot outside. He smiled slightly, his hand coming up to pull through his sweat soaked hair.

The rush had fade, replaced with a deep flowing ecstasy.

The Courier knew that he would never have that again, that something like that was once in a life time if even that. There was a longing already, a powerful nostalgia to have that race again. Kurt could feel that ache in his very bones, that need.

He doubted it would ever go away.