Ask Event [Hearts In Stars] - Emryc and Vahliri

[Emryc Thorne]

18 year old Emryc was still largely convinced this was all part of a spice high. Nevertheless, he snorted a bit more just for good measure. He was in a good place, and he tossed on some comfortable attire accessorized with a cheap, old chrono on his wrist. Emryc also sported a Ryloth Rancors hat, but he wore a modest cologne mainly to cover up the obvious smell of spice on him. His long hair was at least combed instead of having loose strands everywhere.

The half Sephi arrived at the stables where he was to meet his ‘date’ before going on a horse ride up along the side of a volcano. Truth be told, he was already unimpressed based on the stench of being near a stable. Instead of looking around for his date, Emryc was staring down at his comm, trying to find a signal to access his usual hookup apps. There was a particular twi’lek that caught his attention, and he planned to meet up at some point. It had always been his fantasy to see what could be done with those lekku, mainly during-

He glanced up when he saw his partner arriving, gaze flicking right away to take in sight of the slanted ears. The sight was encouraging as he hoped it meant she would be just as low key as he tended to be.

Right?

@Altaris

 

[Darth Tempest]

Vahliri still hadn’t quite figured out how she had become a part of this season of Hearts in Stars. A dozen different possible scenarios ran through her mind, not a single one of them made sense, and she was at least seventy-percent sure she hadn’t taken anything offered by Cairo or Altair that would explain some kind of spice-trip.

By this point, she’d essentially given up on asking questions and simply decided to go along with it - preparing for the ‘date’ portion of the show that came before the races.

The half-Sephi arrived at the stables not long after Emryc - her face immediately crunching up a bit when the scent from inside hit her nostrils. It was abundantly clear from the moment that she stepped into the stables that the girl was out of her element.

Vahliri dressed up for the occasion - considering it was a date, after all. She wore a

black skirt and an crisscross crop-top, alongside a pair of pristine white sneakers. Her outfit was accessorized with the usual golden bracelets on her wrists, while her wavy dark hair was styled loosely to flow down her shoulders.

It didn’t take her long to spot Emryc already set up within the stables - taking a moment to look over her ‘date’. Her honeyed eyes drifted over his baggy attire before moving upwards, immediately fixating onto the fluted ears that were strikingly similar to her own.

She walked right up to him, reaching up to brush a loose strand of her dark hair. “Emryc, right?” Though they had been briefly introduced back at the gameshow set, this was their first real opportunity to actually get to know one another. “Vahliri,” She offered him a sideways smile, her eyes lingering on him for a moment before flicking to the pair of horses that had been stabled for their ride up the volcano - squinting ever-so-slightly.

“Ever done this before?”
@Sreeya

 

[Emryc Thorne]

By the time she arrived, he would lift his head enough to where she could properly see his face. As she greeted him, he said nothing in return. His silver gaze met hers briefly before it flicked down to take a cursory look at her outfit. He already knew that skirt would ride all the way up her thighs the moment they started this trek. Instead of pointing that out, he decided he would enjoy the show. Emryc’s gaze moved back to hers as he lifted a hand to bring his index finger and thumb together before flicking the index finger up against the bill of his hat in a mock version of tipping his hat in greeting.

The half Sephi turned away and stared at the horses being brought out. He watched the animals with mild curiosity as one of them shat profusely the entire walk from the stable over to them. Emryc stuffed his hands in his pockets, casually using his longer strides to take him closer to the horse that didn’t appear to have diarrhea. Once he arrived at his horse and clearly claimed his, he glanced over at Vahliri.

For a moment it appeared as if he would have a change of heart. Instead, he extended a hand over to help her onto the poop horse. His face remained largely expressionless, a distanced frost in his piercing eyes.

@Altaris

 

[Darth Tempest]

Vahliri stared back at Emryc as she approached, blinking a few times when the fellow half-Sephi said absolutely nothing in response to her greeting - instead merely flicking the bill of his hate. She didn’t miss the cursory glance at her attire, and the half-Sephi couldn’t help the wary her own gaze lingered on that striking, silvery gaze for a few additional seconds when he looked back up.

The half-Sephi’s gaze only lingered briefly before flicking towards the horses being brought out, immediately arching a brow at the sight. It was the Induparan-raised girl’s first time actually being on horseback, but how difficult could it possibly be?

The inquisitive look in her eyes immediately turned to horror when her eyes flicked over to the horse that was suffering from a terrible bout of diarrhea - her expression crunching up as the half-Sephi brought a hand to cover her face. She watched as the poop horse left a fresh, essentially non-stop trail out of the stalls - and the half-Sephi immediately turned to look at the stablehand who brought them - launching daggers at the person bringing the poop horse out for their ‘date’.

“..You have got to be fucking kidding me.” Vahliri hissed, her almond-shaped eyes narrowing harshly upon the poop horse and the trail it was leaving all the way from the stables. “Of all the horses, they bring out the one with the shits!?” Her fluted ears flattered towards her skull, and Vahliri briefly glanced over towards Emryc - just in time to see the other half-Sephi casually hauling ass towards the horse not suffering from stomach issues. Naturally, Vahliri immediately began to move in that direction - but Emryc had already definitively claimed his prize by the time Vahliri rejoined him - earning the fellow half-Sephi an unamused stare.

Emryc would see the brief hope that flashed in Vahliri’s eyes when it looked - for a moment - as if he’d had a change of heart, prepared to play the gentleman and take the shit-spewing horse instead of her.

Nope.

Vahliri’s expression immediately faded a bit when Emryc instead extended a hand to help her onto said shit-spewing horse.

“Absolutely not.” She shook her head defiantly, turning back towards the stablehand now tasked with trying to clean up the tail of mostly-liquid dropping that the horse had left behind. “Isn’t there another one we can take?” She asked, only to be met with a shaken head from the stablehand and a sort of shooing gesture - urging them to get a move on it.

Vahliri tightened her jaw before looking back to Emryc and his extended hand. With no other option of horse, her decision essentially boiled down to biting the bullet with the poop horse or calling off the date all together. Exhaling through her nostrils, Vahliri accepted the fellow half-Sephi’s help - using him as leverage to climb into the saddle of the horse. It was only at that moment that she considered that wearing a skirt wasn’t the wisest decision, and while one hand firmly grasped the reigns of her horse, the other went down to tug down the hem of her skirt - attempting to keep ot from hiking up any more than it already did by simply climbing onto the saddle. “Thanks,” She said towards Emryc, exceptionally irritated to have gotten the poop horse and yet still appreciative of the assistance getting on the damn thing.

With a bit of nudging, Vahliri and the poop horse began to move forward and out of the stables - approaching the head of the trail that gradually ascended towards the active volcano. The half-Sephi tried exceptionally hard to ignore the sounds and smells emanating from her own mount, keeping her eyes fixated straight ahead on the path.

"Some bullshit.." Vahliri grumbled.

@Sreeya

 

[Emryc Thorne]

Emryc saw Vahliri blow a gasket over the horse and her attempts at calling for a different one. An exceptionally observant man by nature, he quickly deduced two things: 1) There was no way she was a half Sephi like him and 2) She would continue her incessant bitching about her horse the entire way to where Emryc would feel compelled to throw her off the side of the volcano. Doing that to her would likely see him get arrested. As he assessed and calculated the situation rapidly, he arrived at a few conclusions.

When Vahliri reached out to grasp his hand, Emryc casually guided her around himself and towards the horse he chose. Without a word, he helped her onto the horse before turning towards the other one. Unlike the not-Sephi, he wasn’t the type to get his underwear in a twist over minor inconveniences. The half Sephi hoisted himself up and plopped on, getting comfortable. He gave a few taps with his heels to get his horse moving, reaching over to give Vahliri’s horse a slap on the rear to get it to start walking as he passed. His horse left a nice little trail as they went, but Emryc was entirely unfazed.

The path towards the mountains was stunning, a wide lake spanning out along the foot of the volcano. It would be a long climb, and he certainly didn’t have enough spice for this. In the meantime, he reached over to light a cigarra, putting it between his lips to have a smoke with one hand on the reins.

Emryc largely looked out towards the scenery, but he finally glanced over towards Vahliri to catch her absurd state of attire. Though he said nothing, hints of amusement danced in his eyes before he gazed forward again, blowing smoke out through his nostrils.

@Altaris

 

[Darth Tempest]

To say that Vahliri was surprised by Emryc’s sudden change of heart was a vast understatement. From the way he casually forged ahead to claim the healthy horse to the blank look on his face as he did so, the half-Sephi fully expected Emryc to stick her with the shitty - literally - horse and call it a day. It wasn’t like she had very many other options, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t about to vocalize her displeasure at every waking opportunity during the hike. A part of her was already considering purposefully riding ahead of him - just to stick him with the ass-end of the horse the entire journey.

As such, Vahliri couldn’t help the way her eyes widened when Emryc didn’t help her onto the diarrhea horse - but instead guided her onto the one he had gravitated towards himself. She plopped down into the saddle, glancing back down at the fellow half-Sephi - a faint smile brushing against her lips. “Thanks,” She said, reaching up to absent-mindedly tug at a strand of black hair. Her smile widened a bit more before she looked away. “I appreciate it.”

She was completely oblivious to his internal train of thought, and very calculation justification for making the last minute shift. Thus, Vahliri took the gesture as entirely genuinely and assumed that the fellow half-Sephi was being a gentleman the poor situation - and she couldn’t deny the way that made her expression brighten a bit.

A firm smack was all it took to get the healthy horse moving, and Vahliri quickly began to follow after Emryc - starting at the base of the trail they were meant to hike up. The path was still wide this close to the head, and it meant that the half-Sephi very quickly made an effort to ride parallel to the other half-Sephi, rather than behind - in what could only be hazardously labeled as ‘the splash zone’.

It took Vahliri a few moments to recall the gesture that Emryc had used on his own horse, but she finally gave the beast a light tap of her heels in order to get it to speed up and shift to the move just to Emryc’s right - riding side-by-side for this portion of the trail. Of course, this meant that Emryc would have a very clear view of the fact that Vahliri was already having quite the time of the activity.

The choice of wearing a skirt - while undeniably stylish and flattering - was perhaps her biggest mistake thus far. Not only because it required her to keep a hand tugged down on the hem of the garment to keep it from hiking up, but also because it meant that her bare legs already started to rub uncomfortably around the sides of the horse.

Despite her inexperience on horseback, Vahliri couldn’t help but take a moment to admire the scenery. As she breathed deeply of the fresh crisp air, her honeyed eyes cast out across the glittering lake and sprawling green valley at the base of the volcano. It was downright stunning, and the half-Sephi briefly considered taking out her datapad to snap a few pictures for her GalaxyGram.

She took in another breath of the alpine air, only this time picking up on the distinct scent of cigarra smoke. It was only then that Vahliri finally turned her eyes away from the scenery and back towards Emryc, catching sight of the cigarra between his lips - and more importantly - the hint of amusement that danced in his eyes. It was more than she’d seen from him thus far, and it didn’t take her long to figure out what the source of it was.

Vahliri huffed. “Cut a girl some slack,” She waved a hand, despite him not saying a single word thus far. “I’d say I’m doing pretty damn good for a first timer.” She wasn’t oblivious to her ridiculous state of attire, but she wasn’t going to take any snark about it.

The half-Sephi allowed her eyes to linger on those silvers for a few moments before turning back ahead, watching the scenic path. After just a few additional moments, Vahliri’s eyes were drawn towards another dirt trail that forked off from the main path - taking them down into the trees and closer towards the lake, before winding back up the volcano.

After a few moments, Vahliri tugged the reins of her horse and pulled it in that direction - glancing back over her shoulder towards Emryc. “Alternative route could be fun,” It was certainly less well-trekked. A smirk tugged at the corners of her lips. “Unless you’d prefer to stick to the plain, regular path.”

 

[Emryc Thorne]

Emryc continued pulling from his cigarra as they rode through the trail. He was looking around at the lake when he heard Vahliri speak, but he didn’t glance over. He assumed she was simply speaking to the horse and asking it for validation. He blew out smoke rings as they began to make their way towards the volcano trail that led up. Emryc heard her speak again, her voice slightly further away. He finally glanced over to spot that she was moving slightly off the main trail. For a moment, Emryc sat there in silence, drawing deeply from his cigarra and exhaling a cloud of smoke.

After a moment, he quietly took off his hat, clipping the back strap onto his hip to ensure it didn’t fall off. Emryc ran his fingers through his hair to fix up the strands before he finished up his cigarra. She would notice he didn’t litter the butt of the cigarra, instead pulling out a small stash of wipes he carried on him at all times. The cigarra was neatly folded in a wipe and put away.

Without another word, Emryc harshly slapped the back of his horse and kicked his heels at the same time. As a result, the horse began to bolt in the direction of the alternate trail. Vahliri would feel a rush of wind against her face as he zoomed past her, leaning forward on the horse and now grabbing the reins with both hands.

Emryc darted past her, his horse moving towards a gallop. She would see him glancing back at her over his shoulder, flashing her an arrogant smirk before he looked ahead again. There was a fire in his eyes despite the otherwise icy appearance. He quickly began making his way towards the lake, though the horse still left a nice trail behind it to mark the path.

@Altaris

 

[Darth Tempest]

Vahliri kept her eyes on Emryc for a few seconds more, watching as the half-Sephi exhaled clouds of smoke all while flashing him that sideways smirk. Her horse continued to move in the direction of the alternative path, and her head finally turned to face that way - a very clear challenge to follow in her words. The half-Sephi only made it a few more strides down the alternative path before her sensitive ears picked up on the heavy gallops behind her - turning back once again just in time to see Emryc zoom past her - the wind picking up to blow against her face and kick up a few strands of her hair as he passed. “HEY!” She cried out after him. “NOT FAIR!”

At once, Vahliri kicked her heels and snapped the reins of her horse - kicking the beast from a slow trot into a full-fledged gallop. One-handing the reins was no longer viable, and so Vahliri quickly grasped it with both hands leaned forward on the horse. She could feel her legs chafing uncomfortably as she was bucked and rocked by the galloping horse, but the half-Sephi tried her best to put that to the back of her mind - and instead focus on trying to dodge the landmines that Emryc’s own horse had left behind.

As she rode, Vahliri clearly noted the arrogant smirk on Emryc’s lips when he glanced back towards her - as well as the fire that burned behind those striking silver eyes. It was all the encouragement she needed to kick it into high gear. Within a few moments, Vahliri slowly but surely started to gain on Emryc - closing some of the distance between them as they began to approach the glistening, alpine lake. “You’re going to have to try harder than that to ditch me!” She said proudly, her lips tugging wide as she glanced up in his direction.

Unfortunately, it meant that Vahliri wasn’t paying nearly close enough attention to where her horse was taking her. It wasn’t until she had nearly run out of road ahead of her did Vahliri notice the way the path abruptly turned to the left - a few foot drop into the lake directly ahead. “FUCK! Fuck fuck fuck fuuu-” Vahliri hissed, immediately yanking back on the reins of the horse in an attempt to slow the beast down - but it was far too late. Emryc would have to act accordingly in order to avoid the same fate.

Her horse skid to a halt, and Vahliri went completely wide-eyed as she was thrown forward and right out of the saddle - sent soaring over the ledge and into the glistening water of the lake ahead. The half-Sephi made contact with the water with a loud splash, dipping beneath the surface for a few seconds. Vahliri resurfaced after only a few moments, gasping for breath - her face immediately twisting up with irritation. “FUCK! PIECE OF FUCKING SH—” The half-Sephi shamelessly began to screech out profanity after profanity, and assuming the gameshow had the cameras on during the date portion of the show, there would be some serious bleeping that would need to take place.

@Sreeya