We Leave At Dusk [Yula]

[Coci Heavenshield]

"I don't have one", he smirked at her teasing about telling the time of day. "I suppose it doesn't living in a place like this, but I must say I do like the idea of the close of a day, so one can wake to the dawn of a new one", the idea of perpetual day seemed like it would grow tiresome after a while, and what of the seasons? Did Coruscant even have any? Probably but who could tell. There was nothing better than the heart of winter, the cold biting air against your skin seeping into your bones a delight to this young man. Strange how even the Valkyri would hide away against it, but he supposed they had to or Midvinter would claim them and return them to the dust.

Vik was not afraid of it.

"It seems your mother deserved all that she has gained, her hard work to provide you with everything is truly noble", Vik admired people that could do this, to take care of those they loved especially their children. His mother had done the same, yet not a level such as this, but possessions of wealth takes on a different form on Midvinter and wealth is seen through position and providence.

A few more minutes, he would give her a life time.

"Good", he simply said as Yula mentioned her packing, although he knew it would never be enough but he would provide for her once home. He laughed, "You have a thing about walking around naked, or is it that you want to see me do it again?", he turned his face to her with a grin. "And no, at least not for long. Walking around naked in the cold has .. effects .. it can be .. belittling. Which is not desirable when trying to impress a girl".



[member="Yula Perl"]

 

[Yula Perl]

Yula chuckled softly at the thought of her mother. “Aye, she’s a good mom. I’m lucky to have her.” In truth, as much as she loved her mother, Yula wished that she’d been a little more present in her life. Joza was constantly busy and though she made sure that her children were always loved and cared for by trusted family and friends, there were times when she missed her dearly. Mostly when she was younger, for as she grew older she was able to understand her mother’s life more. As someone who’d grown up poor, she worked hard to ensure that her children would never live that life—and consequently overcompensated by spending too much time away from them at work.

Her face broke into a grin as he answered her question. “Oh, you do that often? Try to impress girls, I mean?” Teasing him felt natural. There wasn’t really any point in denying the spark between them, not that Yula had tried to. It was both exciting and nerve wracking, but she couldn’t seem to smother her desire to be near him.

“We should probably get ready to leave.” Echoing his earlier statement, she glanced at the chrono on her wrist. It was getting late, not that they could tell from the city lights. “I think my stomach is feeling better as well.” It had stopped turning a while ago and she thanked whatever entities existed that she hadn’t drank too much. “Do you have a place to stay here? I’ve got my ship, it’s a bit cramped but it’ll do. Unless we’re scheduled to leave tonight?”

She rose slowly, holding onto him gently for support. Not that she needed it at this point, but she got the feeling that he wouldn’t mind. “If you don’t mind, could you…tell me about your mother?” She was curious now, especially after telling him about her own. Her tone was cautious though, knowing that sometimes family matters could be tender.

[member="Vik Velkarson"]

 

[Coci Heavenshield]

Yula's question about impressing the girls, had a different effect on Vik than she supposed it might entice. "No", he simply said, "Just the one", meaning her of course, but he went into deep thought and his brow pulled together. Vik is not a shy person, but in his youth when he had the ability to look into the eyes of anyone and see their secrets, he had chosen to remove himself of Aelvar society. The burden of it became paralysing to him, to know everyone's secrets whether trivial or dark he never wished for. No Aelvar possess this ability, nor Valkyri either for none of them are the son of a god. He had lost all his friends because of this, preferring to seek the company of the forest and creatures, the only one that really understood him was his mother. There is a darkness in Vik, which he tries to control and keep well within himself, and that, as he found out when meeting his father for the first time, was it source.

He pushed the thoughts away, realising he was not speaking, and he smiled at her awkwardly.

"No .. I will take up the offer of your ship for the night", he stuff was already in a locker in the star port. "I am pleased you are feeling better, and you should probably try and eat something .. bland". He removed his arm from around her waist and stood only to turn and offer her his hand, not that she needed help but she is a person his admires and likes very much.

"I shall tell you of my mother as we walk", he noticed the sparkle in her green eyes returning as the night air had done it's job, to help her. As they set off down the fire escape, and finding solid ground once more, he would let her guide the way.

"My mother is a forest ranger, like myself. Or rather what I used to be. A ranger attends to the forest, and creatures that live within it. Also, to protect the Aelvar from and dangers. She is strong of heart and will, very beautiful and kind. And patient". more with him than others. He would not tell her too much about his people, preferring for her to see them first hand, and Yula will get a surprise in the fact that they all look young for their age. As Aelvar live for hundreds of years, Vik on the other hand ... an eternity.



[member="Yula Perl"]

 

[Yula Perl]

His far off look in response to her teasing was unexpected and Yula felt her stomach drop a little in response—was she about to get sick again or did she just feel bad for shorting out the good mood between them? The beginnings of worry creased her brow but Vik spoke again before she could voice any concerns.

“Alright.” She smiled softly in response, fatigue creeping into the edges of her bright expression. “Fair warning, I don’t have a bed. But I’ve got some decent sleeping bags. I’m a transport pilot so I need the space, but it shouldn’t be any worse than sleeping on the beach.” The sand did have some give to it, unlike the cold durasteel flooring of her cargo freighter. But hey, sleeping bags and pillows made it slightly better.

Yula laced her fingers around Vik’s own as they walked, listening with a curious ear as he described his mother and the rangers of the forests surrounding his home. “Sounds like you have quite the mother yourself.” Her smile widened to a brief toothy grin. “Are you going to see her again when we go to Midvinter?” While she was curious about Vik’s parentage and it seemed he had a good relationship with his mother, she did not want to intervene where family matters were concerned.

The starport wasn’t far from the club they’d left, once they stopped to receive Vik’s things they’d head for the hangar. The Mariposa wasn’t the prettiest, or was it the sleekest or the most modern ship. The interior, while relatively clean, was cramped and lacking in some safety protocols. Aside from the cockpit, most of the unnecessary hardware had been removed to make space for cargo overflow. It did however have a lived-in feel, decorated with pictures and knick-knacks from abroad.

“Feel free to set your stuff down anywhere there’s room. Sorry about the mess, aheheh…” Smiling sheepishly, she hurriedly grabbed an armful of magazines and stuffed them atop a crate. “You can use the refresher if you’d like, I’ll go grab the sleeping bags.”

[member="Vik Velkarson"]

 

[Coci Heavenshield]

It did not take them long to meander through the streets of Coruscant and arrive at the star port. It was going to be nice to travel this way to Midvinter, rather than take public transport, and although Yula's ship did not have luxury accommodation on board, that was fine, Vik was used to that. In fact, it would be far more comfortable and certainly better than trying to sleep sitting up. "I hope to, I have not seen my mother since I left". And he was excited about introducing this mother to Yula, as well as introducing her to Midvinter.

Entering the docking bay, for the first time he saw the Mariposa. To Vik it was a fine looking ship, not that he would know. "Interesting name, what does it mean?".

Vik placed his bags down in a corner of the room and watched as she left to go gather the sleeping bags, he did feel grimy from the night, and the air of this planet seemed to cling to the skin, probably all the fumes and toxic spew from all manner of industry. So he made his way to the refresher, by now he had used one, and although they cleaned the body, nothing would beat running water. He did not spend too much time in it, and exited with a towel wrapped around his waist, fatigue of the day and night showing on his face, as his eyes felt heavy.

He shoved his suit into his backpack before sitting down on a crate to wait for her to return, his body still damp from the refresher. Vik looked around the room, there was not much here to take his attention, yet regardless it still amazed him that such things could fly. Big heavy metal ships that not only get off the ground and into atmosphere, but can transport people through space, from system to system. Everything seemed smaller to him now, everywhere was in reach. His attention returned to the door, he could hear Yula's foot falls approaching and he sat up, straightened his back and smiled as she entered.

"Here let me give you some help", he bounced off the crate and reached for one of the sleeping bags.

[member="Yula Perl"]

 

[Yula Perl]

Vaguely she wondered how long he’d been gone from home for, but that wasn’t a question she needed to ask. Not now, anyhow. Once they’d get to Midvinter she’d have plenty of inquiries.

“Butterfly.” She responded simply as the ship’s ramp lowered. “In another language. Can’t remember which one exactly.” She’d heard the word somewhere on some far away world and thought it sounded pretty. The ship needed all the help it could get in the aesthetics department, even if it was just a name.

As the pair got ready for bed, Yula returned with a sleeping bag and pillows under each arm. “Sure.” She smiled softly at him, noting the towel with an arched brow but said nothing about it. She’d changed from her tight evening wear to a baggy shirt and a pair of sweatpants. Rolling out her own sleeping bag onto the floor, she settled against the fabric and sighed.

“Sorry about cutting our time at the club short. And…about throwing up on you.” Laying on her back, she tilted her head towards and grinned sheepishly. “For what it’s worth, I had a nice night with you. And I’m glad we’re going to Midvinter together.”

[member="Vik Velkarson"]

 

[Coci Heavenshield]

Yula appeared in her glory of baggy shirt and baggy pants, much to Vik's delight which showed on his face with a growing smile. He took his sleeping bag from her and set about laying it out and placing his pillow next to her's. Although not too close. "Don't apologise, there is nothing to apologise for". He turned his back to her to give himself some sense of modesty as his towel dropped to the floor before he climbed into his sleeping bag. Best way to sleep in such a thing is to do so naked, helps with the warmth of the bag.

As he laid down and rested his head on the pillow he tuck his hands under his head and stared at the ceiling of the ship. "I had a nice night too, very much enjoyed the dance", he turned to look at her now, far more pleasing to look at than the ceiling. "And your company. I am looking forward to going home, it has been too long". He could not tell exactly how long he had been away, Vik had let time pass without any record of it, it was not a habit of his to do so, nor for most of the people of Midvinter, time just happened and they lived their lives from moment to moment. He much preferred it that way.

"Good night Yula", he finally said with a smile, had he been closer he would have kissed her on the cheek, but he settled in to get comfortable and closing his eyes to let sleep claim him.

[member="Yula Perl"]

fin