The best part of luck is that it will change ...

[twelve_not_fourteen]

'It's nice to have things going right for a change, isn't it?'

Fourtity came in peeks and waves for him.  Now and always.  Bad fortune was always sure to come.  Knocking him down, often, and dragging him under waters that seemed far to cold for any one man to withstand.  Tides so strong he had to wonder how he could possibly manage to find his footing again and stand; while the sea threatens to swallow him up.  The crash, again and again - eroding earth into sand.

As surely as the cruel tide of misfortune comes, however, so too does the gentle peace of fortune.  A time to sink his feet into the sand and catch his breath again.  Soaking up the light of the sun as it's rays reach all the way in.  When they finally get in, the beams stoke something inside of Han that is powerful.  Something that is easy for him forget about when he's been so busy trying to keep his head above angry water.

Your peace, Han Solo, comes in the form of a plan finally coming together.

It makes him smile in a way he just can't help.  The Captain walks through the Nexus and even the sounds of his boots striking the ground seem different, today than they did days ago.  The steps lengthened.  His footfalls lighter.

This morning, if you should find yourself out and about, you'll find Han in the parklands of all places.  He is nursing black coffee from a tall paper cup.

Comments

[twelve_not_fourteen]

"Magic." He murmurs, shaking his head. "I don't know if it's ever going to make sense to me, but I'm glad it serves you well."

[brave_heart_verity]

"The gates to demon-lands don't make sense to most people, don't worry about it. None of them have been seen around here in months."

Isn't that reassuring?

"Most of the magic he does doesn't make sense to me, either."

[twelve_not_fourteen]

Well that's a comfort. He thinks. Overall there's a little too much magic around here for him to comfortably ignore. It's one of the aspects of the Nexus he accepts as the norm, but is none too fond of.

"I didn't even know there were different kinds."

[brave_heart_verity]

Magic isn't something she's ever been able to ignore, so she's been trying to roll with it. It hasn't screwed her up too much. Yet.

"Yeah, in Tamriel there's... six or seven where he's from? And magic from different worlds sometimes works differently too. It's very confusing. So I just focus on the couple of things I can do and try not to worry about it."

[twelve_not_fourteen]

"Seems like the best course of action."

Though, beyond that, he's really not sure what else to add. Nor what he would do with a 'demon' beyond trying to blast it - which, to be fair, is his initial instinct for every hostile.

[brave_heart_verity]

She wouldn't mind seeing how a scamp does against a blaster either, should it come to that. Anything that's going to be shooting fire at her is not her friend.

Ver can tell it's time to change the subject. "So do you think I should do the culturally sensitive thing and go with just my bow, or should I take every advantage I can and get myself a blaster?"

[twelve_not_fourteen]

There is the vague impression that she's asking what he thinks knowing what he'll already say. That said, he wont hesitate to live up to those expectations.

"Bring the blaster." He says, as serious as he as ever been with her. "I've yet to come across a weapon that I would rather rely on."

Though, that does make him want to ask, "I take it you've got yourself one."

[brave_heart_verity]

She had a pretty good idea what he'd say, yeah, but that doesn't mean she doesn't still want and value his opinion. And she might have been wrong.

"You wouldn't worry about the implications of bringing foreign weapons into a culture that's never seen anything like them before?" It's a serious question, but there's a look in her eyes. It might be a mischievous sparkle, if she were capable of such things. But she couldn't possibly.

"Not yet. But if I'm going to keep practicing, I probably should get one of my own."

[twelve_not_fourteen]

"By that logic, bringing yourself to that place if they ain't familiar with our kind could be viewed as an affront to their culture." He says with a shrug. You could make yourself crazy trying to find every possible way you might offend someone and still inadvertently do it anyway, after all.

"Besides, you don't strike me as the type to start shooting at the drop of a hat. If they do something that makes you want to draw a blaster, I would want you to have one with you."

"If we can figure out a charging system for the pack, I'd happily give you one of mine."

[brave_heart_verity]

"That's a good point." Fingers brush over her hair as she considers some of the things she'll need to do before she goes. "'Our kind'? They have humans. Human-looking people. It's... complicated." And possibly extremely racist, she's not sure yet.

The idea of her with an itchy trigger finger gets a laugh. "Me? No. I'm more likely to want to make friends with the cute little whatever." What? She likes animals. She has to like something.

"Really? Thank you. That's very generous." She's surprised more than she's the recipient than that he's capable of it. She knows how very little she deserves from him right now and everything beyond treating her with basic respect is a gift in her mind.

[twelve_not_fourteen]

"I was trying to fix up the other blaster like mine for you." He murmurs. "Before I ... go."

It was going to be a surprise. She awfully good at figuring out his surprises before he has a chance to give them to her. He's going to possibly have to get sneakier about it.

[brave_heart_verity]

It's not like she's trying to, and she really didn't see this one coming. She'd been thinking maybe he'd come with her to help her pick one out. One more chance to see him.

"Thank you," she repeats quietly. "That's a lot of work to put in. I'm really grateful." She wonders if he decided this before or after. Probably before. There's no way of asking now. "You realize you don't get to complain about my wanting to treat you to breakfast now, right?"

[twelve_not_fourteen]

"For this, I'll let you."

It was admittedly quite a project, but he decided some time ago with all those hours he lady around the Falcon not sleeping ... he figured might as well channel that energy into something useful. The fact that was something they bonded over made the idea of it seem a little special. Something protective and so distinctly him

[brave_heart_verity]

"I think I'm still getting the better end of the bargain." And there she goes grinning again. She's briefly tempted to push, to try and get him to agree to coming over so she can make breakfast, but no. He'll let her know if he's ready for that sort of thing again. Or, more likely, not.

If he's got the silly idea that she's not going to treasure the gift just because she found out about it a little early, boy, has he got another thing coming. She will take such care of it, people might start thinking it's a holy relic or some extremely odd version of Caliburn. "I'm sure I can find someone to rig up some way to recharge the power packs. Or somewhere to take them to get them recharged. I'll just have to ask around."

Her Gather Information skill would have so many bonuses.

Autocorrect fails me. Laid around the Falcon. Lol. Not Lady. xD

[twelve_not_fourteen]

Han is handy with a lot of things, but being able to come up with a solution to adapting power outlets of his world to Nexus ones is not something he could crack quickly. There's likely someone smarter than him that could solve that problem faster or maybe already has. Who knows.

"I want you to ... practice." That's the word he settles on that's not a lie. "And my favorite day that I was here was the day you spent with me on the ship. So."

Well, the Falcon /is/ his lady... ;)

[brave_heart_verity]

Not necessarily smarter. Different smart. Or more inclined to tinker with something for thirty years. Who knows. She hopes it won't take thirty years to find them.

"I will," she promises. "That's one of my favorite days too." She realizes a second too late that maybe she shouldn't have told him that, and looks away while her cheeks flush.

Han + Blaster + Ship = True SW OT3

[twelve_not_fourteen]

Someday those admissions wont feel like a punch to the gut, but they still do. Heck, on some level he knew that day must have meant something to her too, but the words still catch him like a surprise blow anyway.

And as he draws that cup to his lips to create his own separation from the moment, he finds himself wondering about the color coming to her cheeks. Was she embarrassed to feel something for him? She talks occasionally about the heroes of her world and it's obvious that she holds them in high esteem. Maybe that's why you didn't ever have a real chance, Han ...

A part of him wants to give into that romantic side of him that people so rarely see, but it's that very side of him that makes everything so awkward now, isn't it? Best to keep that away. It only gives people a way to hurt you.

"Good." He says finally. "I'm glad I gave you something nice to hang on to."

[brave_heart_verity]

Don't hang around a human lie detector if you don't want the truth, Han. Not that she isn't trying to be gentle, but. It's hard to act against her own nature.

She's embarrassed and upset to have hurt him. He doesn't deserve that. However much she admires the heroes of her world and others and even loves a few of them, her first and truest relationship was with the semi-reformed god of mischief and lies. She really isn't the good girl some people have mistaken her for. Fear and apathy have made her obedient, to a point. It doesn't take much more than a willing partner in crime to spark her own mischievous side.

The ways that people can hurt you are usually the ways in which people can help you, too. That's what makes life such a gamble.

"It helps," she admits quietly, "to have nice memories to keep me company."

[twelve_not_fourteen]

Her alignment with mischief is somewhat lost on Han. It could be that he doesn't know her all that well and her past hardly at all. It's not the first thing he thinks of when Verity comes to mind though, that's for sure.

"That's about all you can ask for from someone else." He murmurs, taking a sip of his coffee and steeling his emotions the best he can. 'Just a few good memories to hang on to', he thinks the rest of the sentiment without saying it out loud.

[brave_heart_verity]

Boy is he in for a surprise someday. Possibly right around when he takes her out for the con job.

"Yeah." Well, this is awkward now. He'd been in a good mood, and she's determined to not ruin that entirely by doing something selfish like crying right now. Better to summon up a smile and try desperately to convince herself, just this once, that everything's okay.

"So... when would you like to go make more? At the cliffs?"

[twelve_not_fourteen]

"Day after tomorrow?" He says after a moment of thought. "Does that work out for you because I'm sure we could figure out another day, if it doesn't."

[brave_heart_verity]

"Perfect." She'll make it work. No chances for him to back out that way. "Day after tomorrow is perfect. I'll meet you in the Forum?"

[twelve_not_fourteen]

Han knows that he always has the upper hand in terms of arranging plans with Verity.

Though their acquaintanceship seems perpetually in a state of trying to get something back that was lost ... he knows that his pink haired friend hates the thought of him not being around at all and is willing to go to significant lengths to accommodate that.

Sometimes he even tries not to take advantage of that.

"What time were you thinking?"

[brave_heart_verity]

'Hate' is a very strong word and entirely appropriate. Yes, she hates the idea of his leaving, and she knows he'll always have the upper hand in that regard. It's a familiar situation for her, and there's a kind of comfort in that.

It's even better when he doesn't try to take advantage.

"Early afternoon? That way you can sleep but we'll still have plenty of time to enjoy ourselves."

[twelve_not_fourteen]

"Sure." He says with a nod. That seems like it will work out well enough for him.