Secluded section of beach [Friday after classes]

[momslilassassin]

Yesterday had been a very, very long day (no doubt made longer by how he hadn't gotten any sleep last night): lightsaber dueling and conversations he'd not wanted to have were exhausting, and even watching Face Loran make an absolute idiot of himself in old propaganda films hadn't been enough to restore his good mood.

Which was why after his class with Minsc, Ben had fled for the ice cream shop, and then some solitude.

He stirred his pint of vanilla into soup and watched the waves crash on the shore.

[OOC: He is totally bug-able, though!]

Comments

[momslilassassin]

"Neither did most of the people flailing around to the music," Ben replied.

[endsthegame]

"Are you trying to deprive me of an advantage, Skywalker?"

[momslilassassin]

"Always," Ben said, smiling.

[endsthegame]

"Try not to fall asleep on my raft," Ender said, after a few moments had passed. He had a paddle on 'board', of course, in case they had to move back towards the beach, but for the moment he was content to drift.

He left that contentment to float to the surface above all else, mostly for Ben's sake.

[momslilassassin]

Ben appreciated the effort Ender was making. "I'm not tired," he replied after a few more beats of silence. "And rolling off the raft and being eaten would be embarrassing."

[endsthegame]

"No special Jedi techniques?" Ender guessed. "You'll disappoint Karla."

[momslilassassin]

"I suppose I could try negotiating with the sharks," Ben said. "I talked with a pig in class today, after all."

[endsthegame]

Ender raised an eyebrow. "Did it talk back?" he asked, unaware of the potential future irony.

[momslilassassin]

"Not the way we do, but she got her point across. Well, I think it was a she. She had a purse."

As pigs do.

[endsthegame]

"I wish I could respond to that with an surprise at all," Ender said, sincerely. He glanced at Ben's prone body.

[momslilassassin]

"She didn't spit goldfish out of her mouth," Ben replied, cracking open an eyelid to glance back at Ender, "so it wasn't that strange. For here."

[endsthegame]

"Did she at least go a funny colour?"

[momslilassassin]

"No, but she spent a loooot of time licking me."

[endsthegame]

"One of these days, I am going to have to call Tahiri on you," he said, solemnly, and shifted his posture to match Ben's, back down on the raft.

[momslilassassin]

"For getting assaulted by animals?" Ben asked lazily. "Because that's not my fault. Dad got almost eaten for years."

Ben completely missed any kind of euphemism in that.

[endsthegame]

"For being licked by animals," Ender clarified, "Although I'm sure your family wasn't too happy about that."

[momslilassassin]

Ben smiled. "It's a family tradition to be almost eaten by rancors, too. Maybe that's why the gremlins like us so much."

Babble, Ben, babble.

[endsthegame]

Ender paused slightly for effect. "Well," he said, "I don't want to know what that says about our trip to Dathomir."

[momslilassassin]

Ben burst out laughing. It only sounded a little forced. "Nothing good, I'm sure. I should go back again. Time away would be nice."

[endsthegame]

Running away was an impulse Ender understood all too readily. "Maybe not Dathomir," he said, "But you have a vast galaxy at your disposal."

[momslilassassin]

Ben nodded. "Maybe something without things on it that want to chew me up and spit me out."

Pause.

"Which means I should probably avoid relatives too."

[endsthegame]

"In that case, if your stories are anything to go by," Ender noted, "Another part of the multiverse might be a better idea."

[momslilassassin]

Ben's hand slid into the water. "Maybe Aravis will let me crash with her for a bit."