Nexus Spring Market Fair

[varnished_truths]

Seemingly overnight, one of the grassy areas edging the Forum has been taken over by a spring market and fair. Part state fair, part craft fair, part Renaissance faire, there are attractions for all comers. Tents and booths of every size, shape, and color are lined up more or less tidily, sometimes with wide avenues between them and sometimes with paths skinny enough to crowd a single person. Goods and treats from the far-flung corners of infinity are on display. The general organization has magic and alchemical goods grouped together and slightly separated from the other tents; arts and crafts fill the area around it. Goods such as clothes and jewelry, plants, and vintage and antique items are in the back. Food is front and center, between the entrance and the rides. This is perhaps not an ideal placement.

To one side is a brightly-lit collection of rides and games familiar to anyone who's been to a state fair. A ferris wheel, flying swings, and all manner of reasons to regret that last funnel cake are blaring tinny music and sporting blinking lights. Remember: rides first, then eat. Classic games that test strength, agility, and luck offer plush prizes sure to delight anyone until the fur rubs off. There are also some animal rides near the exit.

In the back of the roughly-fenced-in area are the exhibits. There's a petting zoo with creatures mundane and more exotic, all promised to be tame; practical demonstrations of new magical and technological wonders; a juried art show; and a stage hosting a variety of performers changing on the hour.

((This is an open event. If your character wants to have a booth selling wares or food, set one up. If your character wants to perform or provide other services, go for it! Please note what sort of service you're providing, if any, in the subject line of your top-level comment. Basically, just run with it and have fun!

I offer pictoral inspiration and ask that any pictures used in comments not be more than 300 px tall (and it looks better if you can keep it about the same height as your text). Code to have your text wrap around your picture below.))

<img src="blah.png" height="300" style="border: 0pt none; float:left; padding-right:10px; padding-bottom:10px">

Comments

[caelum_ignis_draconigena]

He gives Han a small smile, not wanting to upset him, but also being firm.

"No, no bad experiences, but I'm not one to allow others to try and control me either." Chuckling a little Skyfire adds "Besides, as a pilot... would you allow someone that you don't know anything about to try and run your craft?" Ok, it's not a perfect comparison, but he thinks it should get the point across.

It's a matter of trust, well, that and the fact that Skyfire has been flying longer than humans had existed on the earth he'd come from... "I do however take directional and height requests."

[twelve_not_fourteen]

It would be one thing if flying was simply flying to Han Solo, but it's far more than that. For him it's been a life long infatuation with the idea of being a pilot, but also, it's symbolic of freedom. Escape from what might be holding you down.

He's lost count of how many times he's saved himself by knowing how to fly.

Anyway, he can understand easily enough that the dragon wouldn't want to surrender that freedom to someone else.

"I'm surprised you'd be able to hear anything up there."

[caelum_ignis_draconigena]

Skyfire is glad that he seemed to get his point across without insulting him. It was really rather surprising to him how something as simple as a polite refusal could make some people so angry sometimes.

"Hearing someone speaking at that height is actually fairly easy for me... Replying to them vocally is another matter entirely."

[twelve_not_fourteen]

Hey, if Han was a dragon, he probably wouldn't want some good looking and obviously talented young Corellian trying to assume command over him either. He's just glad the big guy didn't take offense at him needing to ask the question.

"Yeah, I imagine that would be quite a challenge."

[caelum_ignis_draconigena]

"It is... well, at least it is if I don't want to be yelling my head off..." A chuckle "And I can tell you the locals generally don't care for the noise."

Generally Skyfire is an easygoing sort, and a question like that would hardly offend him... Trying to force him into something on the other hand, that was a whole other matter.

"You want to go up for a flight over the grounds, even if you don't get to steer?" It won't bother him if Han doesn't want to go up, but he still wanted to ask.

[twelve_not_fourteen]

"I have to admit something of the enjoyment gets lost for me when I'm not in control."

When you know him, it seems pretty obvious that would be the case. At best, he'd spend spend the whole time thinking about he would be doing things differently and at worst, he sees people pulling off slick maneuvers and then he gets a little ... judgmental and jealous.

[caelum_ignis_draconigena]

"Well, you can't blame me for trying." Skyfire chuckles and doesn't try to push his services much. He was trying to let people have a fun experience and an aerial view of the fair, if Han doesn't think he'll enjoy it much, Skyfire won't pester him.

"Have you done a lot of flying in the Nexus?" He's curious and wondering just how far the place stretches in any direction.

[twelve_not_fourteen]

It could definitely be fun for some people. The human before him is just ... a bit particular about nearly everything.

On the other hand, he's never met a dragon before and he likes meeting sentients that he's never had the chance of getting to know. It's part of the fun of being able to travel across many star systems. You see all kinds of things.

"No, actually. I dropped out of hyperspace in the orbit of this ... well, it's not exactly a planet here, plane of existence? This place anyway. Didn't have enough fuel for another jump so I had to land."

And to his dismay, he's been marooned here since. He's been working on purchasing the parts he needs for some overdue maintenance and more fuel, but it's not been going as quickly as he would like.

"What about you?"

[caelum_ignis_draconigena]

"Well, at least you got to land without crashing into something..." Skyfire gave him a wry smile. "I was coming in for a landing and suddenly there was a big sign in my way... It took a little while to get my horns out of that thing..."

Pausing he realizes how that sounds, chuckles, and adds "It would seem the place likes you better than me, it didn't give me a chance to land. You also might be able to get out of here the same way you got here by the sounds of it, I'm still trying to figure out if there's a 'door' here somewhere that will get me back to where I was."

[twelve_not_fourteen]

"Get out. You got your horns stuck in that thing?"

Physics - even with the nonsense that happens here - demands that a dragon going at full speed would be a tremendous force. That sign was awfully sturdy though, as far as he could tell.

"My friend and I were taking shots with my blaster and it. It just absorbed each one of them. We didn't make a single mark on it."

The dragon's talk of leaving sours Han's mood, if only a touch. Not enough to read it on the practiced gamblers face, but the idea of being stuck somewhere makes him quite uncomfortable.

"Where do you hail from? Are you worried you wont get back?"

[caelum_ignis_draconigena]

"...yes..." Clearly Skyfire felt rather undignified about the whole thing, it had been very embarrassing. Especially needing help to get out of being stuck. Though at the mention of Han taking shots at the sign, that gives Skyfire pause a moment.

"I wonder...There's supposed to be some kind of field preventing violence here correct?" Not that he had any idea how such a thing could work. "I wonder if I managed to damage it because it was an accident and not intentional." Or at least that was his best guess at the moment.

Sighing a little at the last two questions, Skyfire shrugs a bit. "It's a bit of a long story, but in the er, universe I'm originally from, I was already stranded alone on another world. Later, I somehow ended up transported to a world with a lot of colorful ponies, and I'll admit I started to think of that place as home." As odd as that might sound to Han.

The look on his face is a strange mix of loss and hope, which somehow seems to echo in his voice. "I don't know what happened, only that I wound up back where I started, back in my own universe, with no idea how to get back... This place might be my best chance to get home..." The unspoken idea of it still better than being stranded alone was left unsaid.

[twelve_not_fourteen]

"The field isn't infallible." Han supplies. Not having been in the Nexus all that long, Han really doesn't have the most concrete idea of what the AV actually is and how it works. As a man who frequently has people trying to shoot at him, though, he really ought to figure that out.

"In the most densely populated areas of the Nexus, I haven't seen it fail myself."

He has met a colorful pony here, so, in a sense Skyfire answer is only so odd. Having said that, it's still hard to imagine a planet full of creatures like Trixie. Even for Captain Solo. Who has seen all kinds of planets.

"As someone who is still trying to get home himself ..." and really missing his life as it was there, "... you have my word I'll pass along anything useful that I figure out."

Which, brings him to a logical point of introducing himself.

"I'm Captain Solo. Or Han if you prefer."

[caelum_ignis_draconigena]

Skyfire nods and looks thoughtful for a moment. "Hmm... that will be something for me to look into later perhaps..." He was curious, but at the same time not that curious. Getting himself sorted out and situated would have to come first.

"I'll be sure to pass on anything I learn here as well that may help you..." A sigh "Granted, I don't think I'll be much help for a while. At least you came with your ship." Skyfire was all but starting from scratch again, but he was hopeful that this time he'd found a spot that he'd be able to stay this time.

"I go by Skyfire..." A pause "Which would you prefer? I'm afraid I'm not wholly sure what is appropriate." He really did have no idea what is 'proper' anymore, there were so many differences in cultures that it got highly confusing.

[twelve_not_fourteen]

Oh, he's the type that will announce a preference if he has one. The only thing he tends to hang on to are personal details.

"Most people on friendly terms go by first names." He says with a shrug. "Since I can't see why we shouldn't be friends, you can just call me Han."

"So when does the urge to spread those wings and fly for the first time kick in for a dragon? I'd have to imagine it's there from birth."

[caelum_ignis_draconigena]

"Well then, it's nice to meet you Han. It's always nice to make another friend." Skyfire found that he had precious few of those, and they were worth more to him than any material possession.

"Ah... I wouldn't know. I wasn't er 'born' as a dragon. This shape was a total accident..." One he was stuck with now, but at the same time he couldn't complain too much since it had allowed him to survive being stranded on earth.

[twelve_not_fourteen]

"Really." He says with a thoughtful crease across his brow. "Now that's a story I'd love to hear sometime."

If Skyfire is anything like him, it's probably not a story he wants to get into, so he's not gonna pry. Just ... he feels like he needs to let it be known that he'd be fascinated to hear how one becomes a dragon.

[caelum_ignis_draconigena]

Skyfire would indulge his curiosity a bit, but only so far.

"I was exploring a planet, carrying experimental projects, while also collecting samples and crashed. Things got mixed up, wires got crossed and my formatting got messed up while the scans were trying to find something to model me after so I could survive... At least that's the short version."

He shrugs a bit "I'm not going to get into the long version..." That was a touch personal for having just met someone after all... but Skyfire's explanation may catch Han's attention in that it does sort of hint that Skyfire is likely not as... organic as he seems.

[twelve_not_fourteen]

"Huh."

Not the deepest response the Captain has ever given, but it's all he can think to say. It sounds like the kind of 'accident' that would just kill you in his galaxy, but ... the multiverse, the rules that apply to one zone don't always carry over into the next.

"Did your size remain constant or is this a lot ... bigger than you used to be?"

[caelum_ignis_draconigena]

The accident probably should have killed him too, but then again, Skyfire was learning that sometimes the 'impossible' happened... and more frequently than he'd ever thought possible lately.

He can't help but look over at himself and frown. "You know, I'm not entirely sure... longer possibly?" Stretching a wing in consideration, and then settling it back on his back he adds "I'm positive I've lost mass at least. How much, I couldn't really say. I have no frame of reference on which to judge scale from before and after."

[twelve_not_fourteen]

Not that Han was trying to be sneaky in obtaining information, but that tells him his new friend probably wasn't an everyday human to start with. He hasn't ever met any that started off so big that they can't tell weither they gained or lost mass when they became a dragon.

"Still." He says with his lips pursed into a thoughtful line. "I can't imagine what it would be like to wake up as something else entirely. I imagine it'd be hard on the ... psyche."

[caelum_ignis_draconigena]

Skyfire nods a bit, not really wanting to get into that part of what happened. He then chuckles lightly.

"You clearly want to ask something, go ahead. I won't get offended or angry... I may choose not to answer however."

[twelve_not_fourteen]

"Guess I mostly just wondered if you were human to start with." He says with a shrug. You can't fault someone for that. At least he doesn't think you can. When you hear a story it's somewhat natural for you to fill your own experience into the blanks.

[caelum_ignis_draconigena]

Oh, Skyfire most certainly couldn't fault him for it, but he was rather amused by it.

"Not even close." Well, what was the harm in telling him? "I was Cybertronian." It wasn't as if Skyfire was ashamed of what he is... was? Whatever, he really didn't know what he was considered anymore himself.

[twelve_not_fourteen]

"I'm not familiar with the race."

He assumes it's a race. At any rate, it's not all that uncommon to find things in the Nexus that he's unaccustomed to, despite the vastness of his galaxy. The prefix 'cyber' seems to suggest something a bit ... mechanical.

"Then again, this place has me realizing I don't know everything after all." He says with a smirk and a shrug. "There probably just aren't any where I come from."

[caelum_ignis_draconigena]

"I'm honestly not surprised. As far as I know, up until I left on my exploration we had never made contact with any organic humanoids. If that has changed since, aside from my own experiences, I do not know."

A sad shake of the head, and then a smirk "To know it all, must truly be the most horrible fate in assistance. To never find the joy of experiencing something new and have everything become a boring, bland, existence of tedium... I am glad you found a way to discover something new once more." He's joking around, but the words still do true in his mind.

At the mention of there possibly not being any where Han is from, Skyfire lets out an honest and amused laugh. "Don't discount it. Even a single universe is infinite, you would be surprised at what could be hiding out there."