moreofaponchoguy | Kashyyyk, Wednesday

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Kashyyyk, Wednesday

Once Cal realized he could get back to his world (with no apologies from Portalocity, of course), the first thought that came to mind, after making sure his friends were all right, was bringing Arden to Kashyyyk. His descriptions and BD's visuals could never truly describe the lush wildlife and amazing forests that Wookiees fought so hard to keep out of the Empire's hands. Plus, he knew exactly what he wanted to give her as a belated holiday present.

"It's going to be a bit of a climb to get to the top of the path, but I promise it'll be worth it," he said. "If you're still recovering from the party last night, I can give you a lift."

Was he teasing? Was he encouraging? Why not both!

[For the girlfriend! NFB due to distance.]

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"Okay, I see how it is. You don't believe I can handle it, do you?" Cal asked, putting on a dramatic expression of offense before sweeping her up into his arms. "I guess me and my arms will just have to show you."

Arden laughed, wrapping her arms around his neck. "I'm just saying!" she protested. "You sounded real excited about me turning into a giant windstorm! I didn't know that was what you were into! No wonder you came to check up on me on the beach that first day. You saw the dust devils and got all turnt!"

"Aww, I was hoping to keep my secret for longer. I heard the dust and thought, 'I bet that cloud's really fun to kiss. Better say hi,'" Cal said with a laugh as he carried her up the path. "All those silly romance books with bruising kisses steered me in the complete wrong direction."

"So long as you don't mind kissing me even when I'm not a windstorm," Arden said, deciding to enact a, uhhh...practice...something...by kissing him as he hiked.

You know. For practice. And training. Can he walk through the underbrush while getting kissed silly by his girlfriend! Super-important Jedi skill!

Cal could protest, or he could keep kissing Arden, and was there really even a choice there? He held her closer and kissed her back, choosing not to navigate through bushes because she deserved all of his focus.

By the time she pulled back, she was dreamy-eyed and smiling. "I think we've gotten so good at that," she drawled, biting at her lip.

"We really have. We're fast learners," Cal said with a grin. "I hope that fast learning includes riding a really big bird."

"How big a bird are we talking about, anyway?" Arden asked. "Are we close?"

Cal hoisted Arden a little deeper into his arms and nodded. "Yeah, we're close," he said, bringing her to the peak of the path. As they moved past the last bit of underbrush, the shyyyo bird waiting could finally be seen, and heard as it squawked at Cal. "Is that big enough?"

"That's not a bird," she informed him as she gawked at it. "That's a whole-ass dinosaur.

"No, it's a shyyyo bird," Cal said with glee as he carefully set Arden down. "It's friendly, I promise."

He walked up to the bird, doing his best to give off nice vibes, and BD-1 trilled as a backup. "Hello again. This is Arden, she's with me and also safe." The bird fluttered its wings softly and leaned its head down for petting, which Cal was happy to provide. "You can get in on this too, if you'd like."

Arden stepped forward, a little tentative. "Hi there, nice dinosaur," she said, her hand gently extended. "I'm a sylph. I don't know if that means I feel like family to you like it does to birds on Earth - you know, your distant descendants - but hopefully yes?"

She was feeling a little intimidated, but was an urban fantasy heroine, so that meant sass.

Luckily, galaxies far, far away were perfect for sassy sylphs, and the bird sniffed at her for a moment before shifting its head towards her to accept more petting.

"See? It's all going well," Cal said. "Do dinosaurs fly? Because this is how we're going to fly."

"Some did," Arden said, because she didn't know the whole 'pterodons weren't properly dinosaurs' because you know what? Neither do I and also it's bullshit. She placed a careful hand on the bird's head to begin gently petting.

"Hi there," she said, voice softer, with a deep drawl Cal was familiar with. "I'm Arden. Nice to meet you. You gonna let us fly on you? It'd real nice. I don't get to fly myself, so it'd be nice to get up in the sky on something as beautiful as you."

"Hey now, no flirting with the bird, it's not needed," Cal said, snickering and slipping his arm around her. "You don't know how not to be charming, it's one of the things I like about you."

The bird--who was perfectly happy being crooned to and petted, thank you very much--fluttered at Cal and made a happy noise at Arden before crouching down a little to make it easier for them to climb onto its' back.

"May I use my strong arms to help you up?" he asked.

"You know I can't say no to your arms, so that's cheating!" Arden said with a laugh. "And awww. Jealous of the bird? I was just being friendly."

See? You get some drawl, too, Cal!

"That voice is unfair and you know it," Cal said, countering with a low tone. He hoisted her onto the bird's back and bounced up behind her, slipping one arm around her middle to hold her against him. "You can hold on if you want to, but you don't have to. I'll keep us safe."

"Says you with that voice and the arms to go along with it," she countered. "Especially since I had to wear pants for this trip."

Though with as closely as she was snuggling back against him, maybe a skirt wasn't needed.

"Are we gonna go fast?" No fear, only excitement.

"I mean, we can cruise slowly if you really want to," Cal said, but the nudge he gave the bird with the heels of his boots suggested anything but that. The bird leaned up and took off with a sharp ascent, flapping its broad wings to cruise them into the air. The ride was smooth and steady, but definitely fast, and Cal made sure to hold Arden tight as the natural force pushed her into him.

"This is amaaaaaaaaziiiiiiiiiiiing!" Arden said, grinning at the world fell away and they began zooming upwards. With absolutely no concern for her personal safety (or, perhaps, with nothing but absolute faith in Cal's ability to keep ahold of her), she craned to look over the sides of the shyyyo bird, marveling at the landscape that was unfurling below. "So fuckin' goooooorgeoooous!"

This was exactly the reaction Cal was hoping for. Arden deserved the world, as far as he was concerned, and to give her the sensation of flying and show her his world at the same time... he couldn't ask for a better combination. "It is beautiful, isn't it? There are places the Empire still hasn't touched. I want everything to look this wonderful again."

They flew over giant trees, and waterfalls, and towering cliff faces, and Arden's face was alight with joy and wonder as they passed them all. She kept clutching Cal's arm - again, not in fear, there was no fear in her at all - but to point at something else as she noticed it. The rainbow hanging over the top of the falls as the sun refracted through the water vapour. That tree, huge even at this distance, which meant that it must be the size of an actual city if they were to get close enough to it. A lake that glimmered in the sunshine as they arced overhead.

"How can anyone look at this place and think of anything other than how beautiful it is?" she asked. "And want to protect it?"

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Kashyyyk, Wednesday

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