driftfleet | Yaugur System Mingle

[ How could anyone accuse Han of having shady contacts?! Really, if his alley skulking is interrupted he'll end up with no contacts at all. ]

We could rent you one of those giant birds, [ he offers, eternally helpful as he is. ]

[It's helpful, and admittedly Leia is intrigued, but there's one point in his suggestion that Leia's sticking on here.]

Will we be renting you one, as well?

I'm not sure that's my kind of flying.

[ Look, he's tried. He was even game for a few races in the last system, but the truth is he's way more comfortable riding in or in basically any kind of machine.

There's a shift in the conversation he wasn't entirely expecting, though, the way she picks up the we and just keeps it, like of course he hasn't got anywhere else to be. It would bother him more if it weren't kind of intriguing. So, teasing and testing but also one hundred percent out of his depths, he makes the decision to give up on getting hired, today.

There's always tomorrow. Smuggling is good like that. ]

But if you want some company, i'm sure we can find something.

[As much as she wants to know exactly what Han was up to before, him just going along with her invitation, if you could call it that, is a surprise. She'd expected a fight, or at least some sort of insistence that he's got other business and can't make it.

As surprised as she may be, there's a good part of her that's glad he's not being stubborn or argumentative. It's nice when they're not seriously fighting, she thinks.]

There's no reason to be worried. If they're anything like Thrantas, they won't be difficult to ride.

[even if thrantas are a bit larger still and more... lizard-fish-like in appearance. Look, they're both flying animals, and that's her main experience with riding one.]

I'm not worried!

[ Rolling his eyes, he makes a casual-seeming but well-calculated turn, taking them back toward the main streets. ]

I just like flying something that doesn't smell awful or try to argue with where I tell it to go.

[Well okay the Falcon might not be able to argue with him, but she's sure smelled some strange smells on board. Usually the smell of something sparking that shouldn't be, or, say, a fried hyperdrive. So that comment just earns Han A Look from Leia as they walk, a look that should say everything she wants to say without her actually saying it.]

Have you even tried riding on these birds?

[ Awful electrical smells don't count, Leia. But, well, he's pretty sure starting that argument isn't going to help his case. He catches her Look and just smirks back. ]

I rode enough things in the last system.

[awful electrical smells are almost worse than animal smells, okay. They're more alarming, at the very least.]

If you're patient enough with the animal, it won't be as stubborn with you.

It sounds like you really want to ride a big, awful-smelling bird.

[ That doesn't mean he has to, does it? Except she's weirdly compelling. The way she's trying not to look at him, familiar and fond, it's hard not to follow her lead on it even if he's got every reason not to and none of her memory to go on.

He's going to end up riding a stupid, stinking bird, isn't he. ]

[He is absolutely going to end up riding a stupid, stinking bird.

She tilts her head, an almost challenging look on her face as she responds.]

I think it could be fun. You're welcome to stay on the ground if you're too afraid of them.

Hey! I'm not afraid of anything.

[ He doesn't really want to let her win... but... but! ]

Then I'll see you in the skies, Flyboy.

[Either way she wins, as far as she sees it.

After walking as much as they had (or rather, after being successfully steered away from the shady alleyway), it's not too much further to one of the main bird rental docks. It's more likely the noise that gives it away, but if Han is particularly in the mood to complain, there's a very bird-like smell in the air as well. Not too heavy, but with so many birds, it's impossible to entirely get rid of the smell.]

[ Either way, she does win. On principle Han dislikes that, because he's very much a man who doesn't like to lose, but he doesn't see any way out of this. At least in the intervening years, she must keep getting on his nerves. Some things don't change.

Pretty much his best option, he decides, after stewing on it through their walk, is to go along with it and just hope he actually can manage a bird, preferably better than she does, which ought to at least leave them on equal footing. ]

Nothing like some fresh air, [ he grouses, a little too loud because one of the attendants glares daggers. Oops.

He's osmosed enough, from hanging around in bars and watching people watch races and make bets, to know vaguely what builds of bird are best for various tasks, but he's got less than a clue about actually choosing one. What looks healthy, what to avoid. ]

After you, your Majesty.

[At least Han has the benefit of giant birds, specifically, not being Leia's area of expertise. Thrantas, yes, but birds and thrantas are two entirely different creatures. One has significantly more feathers and is likely more easily spooked and needs more skill to control.

Not that this is stopping Leia.

She shoots Han an exasperated look at yet another of his nicknames adapted from some way of addressing royalty before she sets about picking a bird. She doesn't have as much of an idea of what to look for, but she picks one that looks fast. She doesn't get on its back yet, but she does turn to find Han, looking at him expectantly to see if he's picked a bird yet, or if he's backing down.]

[ She'd like that, wouldn't she? But no, he's not backing down. Han Solo rarely does, even when it'd be smart to go that route. Maybe especially then.

He briefly considers it when one of the birds lunges toward him with an awful squawk, but in the end it just fills him with resolve and he picks out a bird, then heads to the keeper to rent them both a couple of hours.

Yes, he's going to be gentlemanly out of sheer spite. He comes back and hands her a set of reins to clip onto the bird's simple bridle. ]

Ready?

[Han deciding to act gentlemanly catches Leia off-guard, given how obviously against the idea of riding the birds himself he seemed to be. Leia raises an eyebrow, looking between Han and the offered reins for just a moment before taking them and clipping them on to the bridle.]

Thank you.

[That said, Leia finally climbs up on to her bird. The bird is a bit unstable at first, rebalancing itself with the added weight of a person on it, but if Leia is bothered by that (she is, just slightly), it barely shows.

She tilts her head, the same hint of a smile on her face that Han might have gotten used to by now.]

Do you want me to wait on the ground, or meet you in the sky?

[ It's a lot harder to keep up what feels like normal sniping when she looks at him that way. Sooner or later, he thinks, she's going to have to tell him the rest of it-- even if he thinks he's figured some things out.

He's just not sure he's ready to hear it. ]

Go ahead, [ he says with a wave. ] Maybe I'll beat you up there.

[ But probably not. Maybe he's just trying to avoid an audience for clambering up and figuring out how to tell the thing to get going. ]

[Part of her does want to see Han figure out how to get on the bird and get it flying, and it's that part of her that has her waiting for just a moment after he tells her to go ahead. But eventually she decides to take the path of (just slightly) less difficulty.

She slowly guides the bird around, toward a more open area for takeoff. It's bumbling and clunky looking and far from poised or anything classy, but Leia does manage to get the bird to take to the air. It takes her a moment to gain her balance on the bird in the air, leaning closer in toward the bird as it takes a wobbly, uneven sort of flight path higher into the air.

But because she still wants to make sure that Han both gets up into the air safely and see if he's any better at getting on his bird than she was, Leia sticks close by the paddock, unevenly circling around. Really, though, despite her best efforts, she's more focused on not falling off herself than she is on Han on the ground and whatever he's doing down there.]

[ Mostly, he makes it on with minimal stumbling. A little fumbling. The bird makes a low grumbling caw as he evidently settles his weight wrong, but once he's settled he manages to get it moving, waddling toward a jumping point.

He looks distinctly uncomfortable, long legs folded into the saddle. The bird matches him in crankiness, but it's well-trained-- or maybe just old enough to know the sooner it cooperates, the sooner this ride will be over and someone will feed it.

With minor prodding it makes the leap into the air, and he manages to hang on as it circles its way up to her altitude.

Okay, he looks maybe a little green. ]

[For the moment, while they're up in the air, any slight green tint is something Leia isn't going to mention. They're too close to the stables making it too easy to turn back around for now.]

You're sure you're okay?

[...Well okay it's not entirely about the green tint she's asking about. He looks more than a little cramped into that saddle, and that's not something you need to be particularly perceptive to tell. That part, at least, Leia finds a bit more amusing than concerning.

Not wanting to harp on it, though, she tilts her head off at some building not too far off from them in the distance.]

That seems like a good target to fly toward.

[ Giant birds are not giant enough for his long legs. Han huffs, as if he could be any less than okay-- as if he'd admit it, if he was.

He's getting the hang of it, more or less. After all, these saddles strap you in, the bird's not going to lose you without taking a suicide dive, right?

Right? ]

Race you.

[ Predictable, yeah. He nudges the bird onward, gripping a little too tight as it swoops and veers and takes off in the direction she's indicated. ]

[It's not as if Leia is against racing. Far from it, in fact. What she is against is what she thinks is unfair. Han gets a good few seconds' head start on Leia toward the target before she can maneuver her bird around and get going.

She isn't sure whether Han can even hear her while flying like this, but that's not about to stop her from yelling anyway.]

You took a head start, Han!

So what?

[ he crows, swooping a little more dramatically than he needs to. Which she can use to her advantage, but who can resist some style?

He likes racing, even if it's on awful birds, and somehow a little healthy competition seems like the right thing for the strange tension between them. ]

[She absolutely does take advantage of Han's showiness, cutting a shorter, more direct turn as he swoops. He's still ahead, but she's close enough now that they shouldn't have to yell to be heard. Not that that's ever stopped them before, though.]

It's not called racing at that point. It's called cheating.

It can't be cheating, there weren't any rules.

[ Check and mate, your highness. He flashes her a smirk, the effect slightly ruined by a bitten-off yelp as the bird dives and swoops again.

But like hell is he going to let her win. As soon as he gets himself righted he leans forward, urging the bird on, trying to get back that lead. ]

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