Private Downtime

[Naamino Zuukamano]

​

When they weren't studiously cramming as much information into their minds as possible or out in the world doing various shades of life threatening field work, Naami and Micah tol Powl could often be found hanging out and passing the time like normal boys their age: playing video games and eating copious amounts of junk food.

One such evening played out as the pair took a break from rigorous schoolwork to rest their minds and bodies a while. With the help of Micah's stealth abilities and while Naami distracted a couple cafeteria staff, the pair had made off with an impressive pile of treats and snacks the likes of which would surely last at least the night. For a time, it seemed each was content to tap away at their handhelds- battling pocket monsters and snacking away.

Something had been nagging at the back of his mind for a few days though, perhaps longer than that if he was truthful, and Naami looked over his handheld to regard his friend. The zabrak had a tendency to crowd the kit's space a little when it was just them, he also had a habit of staying long hours in Micah's dorm because his own tended to be noisy when Gavin was around. So he nudged his friend with an elbow where he lounged very near the boy as they gamed.

"Hey- did you see that announcement about the dance?"

He tried to keep his voice impassive, tried not to think about Gavin's teasing on the subject. Naami had mulled this over one too many times and had yet to develop a proper way to broach the subject, so he decided to just go for it while he was feeling most at ease.

 

[Micah tol Powl]

Naamino Zuukamano

[ post theme ]​

He'd been trying to ask Naami to the dance for the better part of the last three days.

In fact, he had an entire white board dedicated to try and come up with the right way to do it. Testing different hypothesis and scenarios to try and come up with the mathematically correct formula for introducing the context and the question.

Yes, the same white board that had notes and equations and explanations to help Naami with his homework. The cat just flipped the board around as soon as the Iridonian came into the room. Usually before then. He usually only had Project Question on display when actively working on it.

Naami bringing up the topic was actually Scenario Number 17. The cat had considered the possibility, but assigned it a statistical low number only because he hadn't envisioned that it would come up in general conversation.

In fact, if it did, then it followed that would be only because it was something that Naami, himself, wanted to talk about. Which, if that theory was correct, then the cat calculated that he should try and encourage the boy to talk about it and see if doing so would present the ideal situation for asking Naami to the dance.

"Oh, uh..." the boy uttered, trying to not sound overly eager. But he didn't want to come off as disinterested. Just how did one be excited but not undersell it?

As coyly as he could manage, the cat tried to play it off with, "...there's a dance?"

 

[Naamino Zuukamano]

Chit, Naami nearly grumbled as the cat knocked out his second best fighter. He guessed it was time to bring in his brawniest monster- knowing full well that Micah tol Powl probably still had a nasty surprise up his sleeve for the battle to come.

He grunted in response to the kit’s nonchalance, resting back and raising the handheld overhead for a bit to stretch out his back.

“C’mon, is this like with the race you didn’t know was happening? It’s been posted everywhere.”

He was buying himself time, he knew it- why was it so hard to just get to the point? Micah was his best friend. He wouldn’t think it was weird he wanted to go with him, would he? Fething hells, he didn’t know… It was basically a school assignment, and they did a lot of their schoolwork together- the projects that they could anyway. The cathar was a genius of course so some of his work was way out of Naami’s league.

“Anyway, yeah it’s like- dunno they are saying it’s traditional and there are gonna be guests from a lot of other places. Good chance to make ourselves look good, right?”

Ugh… he was still hedging, but at least he’d gotten that much out. And maybe he’d finally knock out the pesky opponent in their battle too.

 

[Micah tol Powl]

Naamino Zuukamano

"Is this like with the race you didn't know was happening? It's been posted everywhere."

Bluffing Naami was a bit like playing Beskar Gear Solid. You could tell when the suspicion level was rising. They weren't at the exclamation point yet, but the boy tried to think of how to downplay it.

"Oh, they are? I guess I have my head in a book most of the time," the cat mewed, focusing on the game and purposefully not over at the Iridonian's suspicious gaze. He needed the verbal equivalent of a smoke bomb. But what could he throw out there?

Ask about Gavin?

Comment on Leshanna's haircut?

"Usually when I hear of stuff going on around the Academy, its from Professor Madrona A’Mia . She's very talkative for a tree," the boy remarked, pulling the statement entirely from his ass, but even as he heard himself it sounded good. So going with it. "Well, she's the first tree I've ever talked with so I suppose they could all be that way..."

"Anyway, yeah it's like-"

The cat gave a sigh of relief. The suspicion level seemed to be falling.

"...dunno they are saying it's traditional and there are gonna be guests from a lot of other places. Good chance to make ourselves look good, right?"

The cat pursed his lips. Not an unexpected observation. In fact, in analyzing the possible scenarios for discussion of the dance, the importance of presenting an image of strength factored into almost all of the equations that the cat had come up with. Honor was important to Naami after all. It stood to reason that the perfect question would be one that appealed to that sense of honor.

"Oh, right," the boy uttered, agreeing. But he needed to turn that back in a way that kept Naami talking. "It'd probably be really important to choose the right date. I mean, who would you even take to something like that?"

 

[Naamino Zuukamano]

The boy’s casual demeanor did put him somewhat at ease, even though he didn’t particularly buy that he’d missed all sign of the approaching event. He supposed it wasn’t too far fetched though, when Micah focused on something he really focused on it- to the exclusion of all else. Except snacks, there was always time for snacks.

“…the right date…”

Naami’s brain stalled out, the screen in front of his eyes went fuzzy. Why were his palms suddenly sweaty. Did any of the literature about the Dance outline the need for a date?! He realized suddenly that he’d been holding his breath and he huffed it out. Would it be so bad if Micah was more than his “lab partner” for this particular assignment? What would that even entail. Gods above and below, when had Academy become so confusing?

“I uh- well, I had thought- uhm, when it was announced I kinda thought it was like an important assignment so of course I wanted to tackle it with you.”

Why did his face feel so warm?

 

[Micah tol Powl]

The cat crashed out in the video game.

The boy seemed frozen stiff. From his neck up to his hair, he started glowing a very bright red.

"You..."

The words just sort of dried up, as the cat tried to come up with a way to even pose the question. Just what was he asking? Had he heard that correctly?

"Are you..."

Wait, no. Bad question already. Very accusatory tone. He needed to phrase it in such a way that it didn't seem like he was questioning Naami's judgement.

Putting the game controller down, the cat took a deep breath and then turn...

...no wait, needed another breath.

Okay, also a third.

Hands pressed together, the cat finally turned toward the other boy and offered, "What I'm hearing you say is... you want to go to the dance with me?"

It never hurt to get confirmation. But also, he was about to explode in excitement.

 

[Naamino Zuukamano]

Naami blinked at the screen, completely at a loss for why the device was in his hands and unsure of what exactly he’d been doing before this conversation. He powered the thing to sleep mode and set it somewhere soft beside him, working up the courage to make eye contact. Why in the hells did it suddenly take courage to look at his best friend? Maybe he’d caught that horrible porg flu going around, maybe that’s why he felt so weird.

“If- yeah, I’d like that,” he said as he rolled onto his side and braced his head on an elbow to finally look at the boy.
“Only if you’re interested though, seriously no pressure. I don’t think it’s required.”

The last thing he wanted was to ask Micah to do something he was uninterested in, particularly after the race fiasco. So he made sure it was clear his friend had an out. His hearts pounded in his chest but it felt like his face was back to normal. Hopefully.

 

[Micah tol Powl]

"Only if you're interes..."

"YES!"

Okay, that had been more forceful, energetic, and at a decibel level greater than what he'd intended. The Jutrand Academy may have heard that.

He couldn't believe what was happening right now! Wait, what was happening right now? "I need something to wear," the cat realized, jumping to his feet.

Then paused as he looked back at Naami and added, "Wait, you'll need something to wear."

Diving into drawers, baskets, and other assorted piles of materials, fabric, and thread, the cat started trying to gather ideas. "Zeyd cloth? Silk? Toumon wool..?" What was seasonal right now?

Erasing the Sith history homework that had been up on the board, the boy began hastily sketching up ideas. "Maybe a frock coat? No, something more Imperial would better show off your shoulders..."

 

[Naamino Zuukamano]

His words trailed off after the “YES” but he completed his sentence for good measure. A relieved smile pulled at the edges of his mouth and he watched his friend spring up. What had he been sound wound up about anyway? He should’ve known Micah would have his back. Naami listened, lounging on his side and far more relaxed than he’d been just moments earlier.

He let the kit chatter on uninterrupted for a while, half listening and half pushing away deeper thoughts about why the whole lead up to this conversation had been so strangely stressful. Eventually though he realized he needed to interject so that Micah was operating with all the information he needed.

“Oh hey,” Naami made sure to collect his gaze before continuing because sometimes the cat was too in his own headspace to notice.

“Darth Reign actually wants to take Gav and I shopping- but thank you for offering! Seriously, that’s cool I had no idea you worked with fabrics too. Reign did say that I needed to send him new measurements though, would you mind helping me with that?”

 

[Micah tol Powl]

The cat just blinked.

"You, Gavin, and Darth Reign..."

Immediately, images came to mind of a planet on fire. People screaming, running mad into the flames and streets as chaos rained down to a chorus of Gavin Vel laughing and singing bad, drunken limericks off-key.

But also, did he say shopping?

"...clothes shopping?" So, like, some kind of medieval pirate raid on the local mall? Pillaging the Alderaani Eagle Outfitters? Terrorizing the M&H?

As paradoxical as it was frightening and amusing, the cat just shook his head as he rummaged around for a tailoring scanner. Inputting some parameters into the device, he held it up and a pale light was cast over the Iridonian while the device did its thing.

He could have broken out the measuring tape and done this manually, of course. But it was 900 ABY. Come on people.

 

[Naamino Zuukamano]

Naami held as still as he could while the device worked, unsure if it could get all it needed with him lying prone. When last he was measured by his aunt it was done by hand, and when Reigns tailor made him his first set of clothes he'd been standing for the measurements. He was also realizing that perhaps he should've thought this through more thoroughly. Mentioning plans to someone else when they weren't already invited was sometimes considered rude- mostly he wouldn't care being rude to any of his peers, but Micah? No way.

"Uh- Yeah, Reign is a nice dresser actually. Gav mostly just rips the sleeves off his stuff though, you know how he is. Would you wanna join? I think there is definitely time to account for you, I can ask."

Big blue eyes gazed up at Micah. an earnest expression on his face. He felt rather trapped in place while the tailoring scanner worked and he imagined he looked rather silly frozen as he was.

 

[Micah tol Powl]

"I know how both Gavin and Reign are," the boy remarked. Not in an accusatory fashion, just an observational remark as he looked at the scanner results and then back at the Iridonian as he added, "That's why I'm having a hard time imagining them... shopping. As opposed to, you know, razing the mall to the ground, salting the earth.. maybe holding one of those funerals for somebody that involves telling stories while imbibing alcohol and watching the body burn in a fire."

A flimsiplast strip slid out of the side of the scanner. "Oh, you can move again," the boy remarked, handing the measurements over as he realized that Naami seemed to still be frozen in place.

"But I think I'll pass on pillaging the local mall," the boy added. Not that he didn't appreciate the invitation...

...okay, that wasn't true. He didn't. Nope. Not interested.

"I think I'll be of better use back here. You know, in case you need bail money?"

 

[Naamino Zuukamano]

The zabrak barked a laugh, his teeth flashing with true mirth as he was caught off guard by Micah's wit. He recovered his breath for a moment, shifting his legs slightly as he did. To the cathar's honed senses he could tell Naami meant to move, and quickly.

"Oh yeah?" He said in a low voice tinged with mischief, eyes narrowing.

The larger boy sprang up and lunged at Micah to envelop him playfully. He'd roughhoused with the kit before but never quite so energetically. In truth, Naami felt so confident after facing such an unknown that he might as well have been on top of the world. Long arms encircled the boy and yanked him into a much abbreviated grappling tackle, soft cushions catching their fall.

"You think I'd be so easily contained by mundane authorities huh?"

 

[Micah tol Powl]

"Mwwwwwreow!"

It was a cat-snatching!

Wrestled to the floor by the larger Iridonian, the cat found himself trapped as Naami seemed to assume the worst.

"You're powerful, not invulnerable," the amber-eyed boy pointed out, adding. "A strategist prepares for all eventualities."

 

[Naamino Zuukamano]

Holding the playful pin for just long enough to listen to the cat and his wisdom, Naami released his friend to roll onto his back. One palm resting on his stomach while he pumped an enthusiastic fist into the air above his head as he conceded.

"Yeah yeah-" the boy's tone was casual but tinged with contemplation.

"Maybe so- but one day I'll be invulnerable to most threats, definitely the mundane ones. That's the point of all this training after all."

He smirked with the confidence of youth and looked sidelong at Micah tol Powl , hand dropping to his side so he could nudge him playfully in the ribs.

"And you are going to be so smart that you're just a walking super computer at some point huh? Calculating all eventualities."