driftfleet | Yadrolla System Mingle

[ Katara grins. ]

Amazing. Who would have thought it would be so easy.

[ She starts to move so that they can head out to find a good spot. ]

[Katie has always had a super fondness for the concept of aliens. Some of the history of the world in fae terms has been hysterically fun. She follows in Katara's footsteps, swinging her basket idly.]

I suppose we could also go alien spotting in all the local stores, too. But it's much prettier out here, isn't it?

And it's quieter. I'm not used to being around so many people. It's fun, but I could use a break. Plus, the teams are a little weird. [She glances at Katie.] Did you join a team?

I joined all the teams. I'm not much of a spectator. They'll work it out eventually, I'm sure.

[There's a bit of chill in the air out here, but that's why they brought blankets, isn't it? She slings hers over a shoulder.] Do you want to be near the town, or completely divorced from it?

[ So she... didn't join any of the teams and went to a few matches? At least, that was the best read Katara got on that. ]

I think the further out we can go, the better. But I don't want to go too far that getting back is a hassle. What do you think?

[She pauses for a moment, head tilted and considering.]

Are you afraid of heights?

[ Katara laughs. ]

Traveling on Appa would have been really difficult if I was. No, I'm not afraid of heights. Why?

I'll have to ask about that in a moment. [She grins.] But okay. Trust me?

Of course. [ Like Katie should even have to ask that, tbh.

Katara remembers flying, burning tree trunks. This should be fun!

She grins at Katie. Let's do this - whatever this is. ]

[You'll have to tell her about those one day, Katara. She will be so impressed with her kid self.]

All right! Close your eyes.

[But for her first time travelling with Katara, Katie's going to be gentle. Not soaring through the air in the longest jump, but rather a gentle displacement in space, flickering out of existence here and landing somewhere else. It feels like the slightest misstep.

...she's brought them to the top of an old, crumbled arena far out in the desert. Probably it was used a while ago but isn't entirely safe for large crowds, given one side of it has fallen inwards. But the upper edge makes for a nice seat, out here in the quiet, with a wall at their backs.]

[ Although Katara feels that she'd rather see what's happening, Katie'd asked her to trust her, so Katara closes her eyes.

It's a little disorienting, and she instinctively crouches, lowering her center of gravity at that bit of a misstep feeling.

...she keeps her eyes closed. ]

Are we there? Can I open my eyes?

No. [With great amusement.] You have to keep them shut forever.

[Open wide and enjoy the view.]

[ Heh. ]

That sounds like it will make for a very boring night. I can't see things through my feet.

[ She opens her eyes. ]

Wow. That's beautiful.

It will pass, I suppose. [She shakes her blanket out, folding it back on itself to make a comfy buffer from the cold stone beneath them.] I prefer it out where it's louder when I go star watching.

Is it all right?

Well, it's not very loud... [ Katara teases gently, taking out her own blanket. Let's make a sandwich! She sits down on Katie's blanket. ] But I think the stars are shining really brightly to make up for it. It's a great spot, Katie. Thanks for taking us here.

[She smiles brightly in response, settling onto the blanket as well and putting the hamper between them. She brought little savoury cheese snacks and the more chocolate goodies, depending on your taste.]

I wonder if the stars are ever considerate. You'd think they'd realise people are trying to sleep.

[Please don't ever realise, stars.]

I don't know. I sleep a lot better, I think, knowing that the stars are there, and that they're real.

[ The stars had not been, in Luceti. And the vast emptiness of space had been maddening. ]

The constellations look different here, but I guess they would be, since we're in a different spot.

[What an odd thing for her to say. Katie peers at her with faint concern.]

Do you have a lot of experience with stars not being real?

In Luceti. There was only the sun. They manufactured an illusion for the night sky to keep from going mad.

[ A wry twist of her lips. ] One time they had the stars spell out, "Praise the Great One." That was so wrong, on so many levels.

[Well, that's... uh. Creepy is the most understated word.]

Was there a reason you couldn't see stars where you were? Some kind of interference?

[ She shakes her head. ]

No, I mean... there were no stars. We were taken up into space once, and all there was out there was... darkness. If you looked into the emptiness for too long, it would start to do strange things to your mind. That's why they manufactured the fake stars for the planet. The empty sky and the lonely sun and moon were too much otherwise.

[Emptiness is a horrible thing, literal or metaphysical or imaginary.]

Did you ever find out why...?

[ She shakes her head. ]

No. [ ... ] So it's really nice to be able to look up and see stars.

Well, we should look at them as much as we can, then. [She tips her head back to peer upward, smiling contentedly.]

And this is a great spot to do it. [ She smiles as she glances back up at the stars, and, as so often happens when talking with Katie, just says what she's thinking. ] When we were traveling on Appa, we didn't usually go through the nigh. But when we did, the stars and the moon always felt so close... even so, view was nothing like this.

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