Ep: Birthday (Millitimed to March 20th)

[last_kallig]

Ibani is very surprised when Bar gives her six very large cupcakes with candles in them. "I suppose it is my birthday, I'd forgotten," she tells Bar. "But why six of them?" She reads the response on a napkin. "It's been six YEARS by the local calendar, not the one it's been for me?!"

Comments

[moonandstar]

A hooded figure with strange resin goggles enters the bar. He has something of an irritated expression on his face as he removes them, as he mutters endless curses under his breath.

His mood visibly brightens as he sees Ibani.

"How time flies."

Among other things. Other winged, horrible things.

[last_kallig]

"Garyn!" Ibani calls, sensing his presence as he comes in. "It does indeed," she agrees.

"Trouble?" She can sense the irritation.

[moonandstar]

"Just a pest problem," Garyn says.

"An invasive bird called the cliff racer. Scavengers that like to pick on wounded or weary travelers. I had been wanting to sleep outside. Eventually I gave up and decided to sleep here."

[last_kallig]

"They sound deeply unpleasant," Ibani replies. "While I have no objection to you sleeping here, I'd be more than happy to help with your pest problem."

[moonandstar]

"Practical and comfortable as it may be to sleep here," Garyn says, "I feel quite strongly that these things ought to die."

Beat.

"It's become personal."

[last_kallig]

"I quite understand," Ibani replies, smiling. "Bar dear, could you hold these cupcakes for me for a bit? "

Bar obliges. "Shall we?" she asks, playfully offering an arm to Garyn.

[moonandstar]

Garyn takes her by the hand and smiles wickedly.

"You know, the Ashlands are...an interesting sight to see at sunset. Once the sky is cleared of obstructions, of course."

[last_kallig]

"I'm looking forward to it," Ibani replies, answering his wicked smile with one of her own. "You take me to such interesting places."

"And I have a little trick in mind for your pests, a taste of lightning and storm."

[moonandstar]

"Just what I had in mind for them," Garyn says. "Quick, but NOT painless."

He opens the door and steps through.

They find themselves at the edge of a desolate ashen plain. To the east are grey rolling dunes, punctuated by twisted roots and barren red trees. To their west is a wall of huge basaltic columns, as even and regular as pillars, rising into a plateau above them.

And in front of them are at least a dozen swarming cliff racers, hissing and whistling as they descend upon them from on high.

[last_kallig]

"Don't worry, this won't hurt you, it is an extension of my will," Ibani explains.

She calls, and the Force answers, wind lifting her up off the ground, as lightning lashes forth around her in a 360 degree sphere of purplish death. Garyn might smell the ozone, but neither the wind nor the lightning will touch him.

[moonandstar]

Garyn nods, and simply stands back to look at the wondrous spectacle of a pack of dwarf pterodactyls being electrocuted to death.

It feels good.

Really, the only point against it is the whistling, moaning noise they make when they all die.

[last_kallig]

"They don't look terribly well adapted to this environment, are they an invasive species?" Ibani asks after the last of them stops twitching.

[moonandstar]

"The problem is that they're a little too well-adapted," Garyn says.

"Swooping down from the cliffs and mountains to pick at things that lie down to sleep or die in the ash. You'd think they'd always lived here, but apparently they came all the way from Akavir, of all places."

[last_kallig]

"How does anyone travel out here if those things swarm like that?"

She looks around. "Not that this appears to be a particularly busy area, but the point stands." Not everyone can throw lightning at their problems.

[moonandstar]

"I suppose I'll have to ask someone," Garyn says.

[last_kallig]

Ibani nods, then leans over to kiss Garyn. "Want to help me out with all of those cupcakes the Bar decided to give me?"

[moonandstar]

Garyn leans into the kiss and nods.

"This is already shaping up to be a better evening than I'd planned."

He looks to the horizon at the sun setting over the basaltic cliffs.

"You know, last time I was trekking through here I thought it was rather pretty in an odd sort of way."

[last_kallig]

"There is a kind of harsh beauty to it," Ibani agrees. She wraps her arms around Garyn, because she can.

"It reminds me of Korriban, a little, though it's much warmer here."

[moonandstar]

"I may yet get used to it," Garyn says. "If I can figure how to deal with the wildlife."

[last_kallig]

"More thermal detonators, perhaps?" Ibani muses aloud. "Dangerous at close range of course, but you have strong arms."

[moonandstar]

"It'd be hard to keep the racers from flying away from them," Garyn says.

"But I'm not about to turn down more of them."

[last_kallig]

"Would be tricky timing to have it arrive at them as it explodes," Ibani agrees. "Well, I have a few more in our rooms at Milliways, along with that mask for filtering out the ash."

"But cupcakes first, perhaps? I wouldn't want Bar to feel offended."

[moonandstar]

"Yes. Cupcakes first."

[last_kallig]

Ibani grins and keeps one arm around him as they head back into Milliways.

"Thank you, Bar," she says, as the six cupcakes re-appear, candles still lit.

Ibani blows out all six candles at once with the Force. "This one is chocolate, I think. No idea what kind the others are."

[moonandstar]

Garyn picks up one of them and examines it more closely.

"Well, about half of them have...something on them."

Alas, there is no word for "sprinkles" in Tamrielic.

[last_kallig]

Basic surely has a word for sprinkles, but Ibani has never seen them, so she's not much help.

"Possibly they're bits of sugar?" Ibani guesses.

[moonandstar]

"Probably sugar," Garyn says. "One way to find out."

He opens wide and takes a bite. This being his first cupcake, naturally some of the frosting ends up on his nose.

"Mmmmf. Definitely sugar."

[last_kallig]

Ibani chuckles at the sight Garyn makes with frosting on his nose. "You got a bit on your nose," she points out, then proffers a napkin.

She fares no better when she tries her cupcake, ending up with blue frosting on her nose along with decidedly sparkly sprinkles.

[moonandstar]

Garyn chuckles and hands her a napkin of her own.

"Seems I'm not the only one."

[last_kallig]

Ibani crosses her eyes trying to see the frosting and dabs at it with the napkin. She gets most of it off, at least?

"I think the rest of these may need to get saved for later, or we may both regret it."

[moonandstar]

"Forget the cliff racers, I want to know how people on Earth manage these things."

Beat.

"Perhaps they're sweet enough that they feel it's worth it?"

[last_kallig]

"Could be," Ibani admits after a moment's thought. "Or there's some other step to the process of eating them correctly that we're missing."

She shrugs, then leans in to kiss him. "I don't mind a little mess."

"Oh, and speaking of mess, I'm back on Dromund Kaas. If you'd like to assist with teaching my new apprentices a lesson, we're at a good point for that."

[moonandstar]

He's taken another bite before she kisses him, so hopefully she doesn't mind that she's just gotten a little more on her nose.

"Certainly, love. I could go right now if you'd like."

[last_kallig]

She doesn't mind at all.

"That would be lovely. Though I think we should both make sure the frosting is all gone, first."

"Impressions and reputations and all that."

[moonandstar]

"Indeed, a Sith Lord mustn't look undignified," Garyn says.

"Nor her instructor, for that matter."

[last_kallig]

"Definitely not," Ibani agrees, eyes twinkling. After they've cleaned up, they'll be heading through the door somewhere else.