Rainstorm

The Players: Lincoln, Sarna

Setting: The mountains outside Tier City on Valentine's World

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The ride up to the Mountains was relatively uneventful. Lincoln spent the time pointing out a few landmarks to Sarna, letting her know about the various villages they passed and the sorts of families that lived there. It would seem he knows quite a few folks as they made their way.

It was approaching evening when he began to slow the speeder, about halfway up one of the mountain pass roads where the treeline still exists and the chill of altitude was beginning to settle in. From the point it offers a view of Tier City just at the outset of vision and the beaches into the ocean disappearing on the horizon. "This pass can be a little tricky to navigate when it is raining," he explains softly. Turning, he glances over his shoulder at Sarna, then nods towards the horizon that is darkening, "And it is definitely going to be raining soon, probably thirty minutes or so. I know a family that keeps a cabin just off the road here, I am sure they'll let us stay there until the weather passes."

Sarna has never been out this far from the city before, and seeing the smaller settlements and homes that he points out as they travel is a new experience. She comments cheerfully on the scenery and waves to the Nahrahm children playing in the road who scamper out of the way as they pass by, but for the most part she just absorbs it all as she holds onto Lincoln from behind. As they come to a stop at last, she notes the change in the air and suppresses a shiver. "Oh, rain?" she asks, her voice muffled a bit. She looks over toward the looming clouds and pulls off her helmet, properly taking in the view of the sparkling city in the distance and the Great Western Sea moody beneath the storm. "Sure, whatever you think." She nods her agreement and returns the helmet back into position, then slips her arms tighter around his waist.

Lincoln nods and sets their course, veering off the main path and leading instead down a side road deeper into the woods that climbs up the mountains some. It is only a couple of miles but in that time the storm builds up speed and the outer clouds begin dropping a small sprinkle upon them as they reach the cabin. Powering down the speeder, he motions for Sarna to get off as he begins grabbing the supply bags. The rain, for him is nothing new. But this small sprinkle is only a hint of the heavier rain threatening behind it.

Hopping off, Sarna follows his lead, unlashing her own bag and tucking it under her arm. The raindrops patter against her helmet as she starts for the cabin, and she pauses to look up at the sky. The rain falling from above looks like stars streaking past a ship, a view she knows all too well. It had been raining on Telmaria, but that had been an angry gale that seemed eager to blow them all into the roiling sea. Here the raindrops are falling gently and she can appreciate the beauty of the approaching clouds against the bright blue of Valentine's sky. She stops and pulls the helmet off, her urgency lost as she lifts up her gaze to feel the cold drops on her face. "It really is raining!" she gasps, excited. She laughs and looks back at Lincoln as he gathers up their supplies.

"Yeah... you, you never have seen rain like this before have you..." Lincoln comments as he pauses to look at Sarna, smiling. With the packs over his shoulders he slows down, instead of rushing, looking up to the sky. "Something taken for granted by most of us. Is it what you thought it would be like?" he asks, watching the girl as the rain falls over her. There's a look in his eyes, a soft appreciation.

She blinks as the raindrops hit her eyes and laughs, wiping her sleeve across her face. "Sort of. I mean, on Telmaria it felt like the ocean was just... everywhere, trying to blow us away, but up here... it's beautiful. I love it!" Raking her hand back through her hair, Sarna closes her eyes and feels the rain on her face, falling faster and harder now, before she looks over and smiles at the look on his face. "What is it?" she asks curiously. "You okay?"

"I'm great," he responds, still staring and actually blushing just slightly. "You just look really beautiful standing there in the rain is all. Like I said, some of those little things we take for granted." He says this as his own hair is getting wet from the rain, as is his clothes, but the bags he carries are waterproofed over.

Catching the blush, Sarna lowers her lashes and doesn't seem to mind that she's getting wet, as well. "So it's kinda like re-discovering stuff, huh?" She thinks this is very profound for her and has to laugh. "I don't know how I could ever take any of this for granted. I dreamed of what worlds must be like all my life but I was never even close." Despite the growing downpour, she sidles closer to him and meets Lincoln's gaze, her voice taking on a teasing tone. "You just said I was beautiful."

"Yeah, I did..." Lincoln says quietly back, "Would you rather I lie and say you weren't?" His own tone matches the teasing of hers as he shifts the pack on his shoulder, letting the increasing rain fall drip down his face more. "Seeing things through your eyes definitely creates a fresh, new perspective. That is for certain. Whether it's the first rainfall, or first kiss..."

Sarna tucks the helmet under her arm and draws close enough to see the raindrops dripping down his face. "I wasn't complaining," she informs him lightly. "In fact, I liked it." Reaching up she wipes the water off of Lincoln's brow and smiles at him. "Or first kiss in the rainfall?" she finishes the suggestion for him and wrinkles her nose before standing up on tiptoe to press warm lips against his.

The temperature difference between the cool rain and her lips causes Lincoln to lean into her even closer, following the warmth until he finally pulls away; but it does take some time. His arms having found their way around her slide with the moisture of the rain, "You know the reason people don't stand in the rain is because there's this fear that it'll result in getting sick." He mentions softly, "How was the first kiss in the rainfall though?"

A little shiver goes through Sarna's body, but not just from the cold, and she presses closer as they kiss. She sighs when he pulls away and blinks her eyes open. "I guess it is getting kind of chilly out here," she admits. "And we don't want to get sick. But it was totally worth the risk." She winks at him playfullly and pivots, darting the rest of the way to the entrance to the cabin and giggling as she huddles close to the door. "Is there anyone at home?"

It takes Lincoln a bit more time to make it to the cabin door since he's serving as a pack mule, but when he arrives he glances around and shakes his head, "I actually don't think so. No lights are on... they'd usually have a fire going by now if they were." He raps his knuckles on the door but doesn't hear anything, so reaches up to the top of the frame and pulls out a small old fashioned key he uses to open the door and steps inside. Even though it isn't truly cold, with the rain water and mountain altitude the threat of a chill does begin to grow. Setting the bags down to the side of the door, Lincoln sets off to start seeing about getting a fire.

The Cabin is very simple, a large bed in one corner, a sofa across from the fire place and a cooking station with some prepared heating areas. It isn't truly primitive but it's a humble place that is pretty fitting for the location. "In case you haven't noticed... we live pretty simple, humble lives around here."

As she follows him inside, Sarna glances around the dim room and drops her bag next to the bed, smiling at the snug, intimate space. "That's okay. It's different. I like it." She watches as Lincoln goes to the fireplace and starts peeling off the wet outer layer of her clothing. "There's something cozy about it." Hanging her jacket by the door, she rubs her arms vigorously to try and warm up, glancing out the window at the rain coming down now in sheets. "That's amazing," she sighs wistfully.

"It's amazing for now, fortunately it's still warm enough to not change into snow, although I suppose you probably wouldn't mind seeing it," Lincoln's words come as the sparks of flame start to catch and it ignites up into a slowly building blaze. He adds some logs from the stack nearby and soon it is a growing warmth in the space. Moving over towards his pack he starts pulling out a change of clothes, looking over as Sarna is doing the same, grinning some. "I'll face this way so you can change, then we can grab some blankets and warm by the fire?"

"I've seen snow on the mountaintops from the city, but not up close. Certainly never seen it falling," Sarna says as she turns and then chuckles at his suggestion. "Oh, sure. That... uh, that works." Fighting off her sense of awkwardness, she does the same, turning her back to Lincoln and briefly glancing over to make sure he's really not watching. Or perhaps at least pretending to care whether he is or not. "I'll be able to tell if you're peeking!" Sarna warns to that effect, even though she's laughing. She's quick about changing though, pulling off the damp articles and draping them over a chair and then sliding her arms into a loose and comfortable robe she ties around her waist. Carefully keeping her back to him, she giggles to herself and approaches the fire, reaching out her hands to warm them.

Lincoln conducts his changing as well, he doesn't even peek, although he's less worried about Sarna peeking considering he has strolled out of the shower a couple of times now. He finishes changing, getting some dry clothes on and fetching a large blanket from a storage area. Bringing it over to Sarna, he wraps it around the both of them and guides to a sitting in front of the fire. "So... tell me about your home galaxy, at least things you were told."

Settling close beside Lincoln, Sarna pulls the blanket around her and looks into the fire as it dances. "Well," she starts, a bit surprised at the question, and she glances at him from the corner of her eye. "It's... bigger. Very different than Cresh, I think. For thousands of years there was peace -- there was a Galactic Republic that united the worlds under democracy, guarded over by the Jedi Knights. But then it all fell apart... I guess two or three generations ago? An Emperor took over the Republic, the Jedi were all but extinct. Ever since then it's been one war after another, with the Sithlords manipulating everything behind the scenes, corrupting even the New Republic and the new Order of Jedi Knights." She states this brief history as if it's been ingrained in her, something she knows well and even motivates her own sense of destiny. She bites her lip and looks at him again. "Or was there something else you were wondering?"

"I'm not really sure what I was wondering," Lincoln admits, pulling the blanket around him some, using a corner of it to try and dry his hair some. "A lot of what you said... Most of those terms I've never heard of before, like... Knights and Lords and the like. It sounds like you did need to escape from it though if it's been nothing but wars for years upon years now."

Sarna leans forward and runs her fingers through her hair, letting the warmth from the fire dry it faster. "It's... sort of like the Enclave. Imagine if the Force Users like Delphine split into two warring factions, one trying to stop the other from using their powers to dominate the galaxy. It hasn't been pretty. The Sith killed my father and betrayed my mother." She stares at the fire, her lighthearted expression gone for once. "I've accepted that this is where I belong, though. So I hope that's okay." Managing a smile, she rocks against him and chuckles.

Lincoln's arm slips around Sarna to hold her when she rocks against him, the gentle squeeze given when she speaks of her father and mother, "I think, as well, this is where you belong. I mean... like here, in our galaxy. Not right at this exact place, although right at this place is good too." He pauses then chuckles softly, "It is completely okay. I just... I don't think things here are all perfect y'know."

"Right at this moment is pretty good. Definitely making it to the top of my favorite places list." Shifting closer, enjoying his strong arm around her, Sarna nods thoughtfully. "No, I know, it's not perfect. I've heard things myself. Valentine's World is luckier than a lot of other places, it seems." She thinks of Trina, selling her loyalty to have her broken body fixed by the Regency, and Malideus, whose entire culture believes those with the Force are cursed. "No, I don't expect perfection, even if right now is pretty darn close."

"It is pretty lucky, I'm hoping the luck holds out but with that... Zealot guy coming here and bringing the eyes of the Regency here, I don't know," Lincoln says softly with a sigh, pulling her closer, moving some so he is now sitting behind Sarna and letting his arms envelope her. "This is close to perfect?" Lincoln asks as the sound of the rain batters the windows outside, the storm picking up. "I would have said it actually made it."

She closes her eyes and smiles to herself as he shifts and draws a deep breath. "Maybe that's another reason I should stay. Not to run from him, but to protect everyone else here from him." Wanting to focus on pleasanter thoughts, Sarna looks toward the windows and grins, amazement in her expression still. But then Lincoln's pronouncement takes her aback and she blushes in spite of herself. "Oh, you would, huh? No regrets yet at least?" she asks coyly. "I could probably be convinced to agree with you."

"What would it take to attain such convincing?" he asks with a chuckle softly, "A fine dinner? Music?" His tone is soft, it doesn't have to be too loud considering the only ambient noises are the rain pelting outside and the crackling fire. Those and the two of them speaking, breathing. "And what do you mean another reason to stay? What's the main reason to?"

Sarna's eyes light up at the mention of music and food, two of her favorite discoveries when she first came to Tier City. "Oh, maybe," she says with a small shrug of one shoulder as she leans back against him. "But just finally getting to be alone with you is perfect enough." It takes her a moment to respond to his question, gathering up her courage to find the right words, and finding a small amount of refuge in her sense of humor. "Why should I want to stay? Well, I don't know if you noticed this, but I've kind of got a crush on the local marshal. I mean, I think everyone else does, too, but... there it is."

"I hear he's kind of a flirt you know," Lincoln comments quietly with a chuckle. "Not on purpose, just part of his personality. You sure you want to get involved with someone like that? Where everyone keeps looking at him? Not worried about jealousy or the like?" The last part actually sounds mildly serious, he even reaches up to touch Sarna's cheek. "Even if you have nothing to worry about?"

"Yes, I noticed that, too." Sarna drops her gaze for a moment and shrugs her shoulders. "I mean, I get it. I know what it's like here. I'm not selfish enough to think you should change for me. Especially when it's something about you that I find so charming." When he touches her cheek she looks back up at him and rests her fingers against his hand. "Nothing to worry about? Well, I like the sound of that..."

"Yeah, well he's into mysteries and like I told you... you're the greatest mystery of all," Lincoln says softly and then sighs a bit. "Truth is, probably should get some food and then some sleep. It'll be an early morning tomorrow and..." Lightning crashes outside, "and that's assuming it isn't so noisy sleep doesn't happen."

The sudden flash of lightning and thunder makes Sarna jump and she looks toward the window, instinctively curling up closer against Lincoln. "Silly me," she chuckles. "Afraid of a little thunder." She isn't very successful in hiding her disappointment and arches her brows at him playfully as she lifts her chin. "You thought it was going to be the storm keeping you awake all night?" She shakes her head and tsks softly. "Such a shame."

"Oh you do not want to stay awake all night before mountain hiking," Lincoln comments with that teasing expression and shaking his head he adds, "Why, what was the alternative? I mean, a thunder storm, an abandoned cabin in the woods, the two of us, stranded here. It sounds like a pretty poorly written holo novel by some guy sitting at his terminal, munching away on sweet treats daydreaming about what he wishes could happen."

Her shoulders start to shake from suppressed laughter, and Sarna sighs and rolls her eyes in mock disappointment. "Oh, sure, a moment ago it was perfection, and now it's a badly written holo novel. One that you're writing, by the way!" Reaching for his hand, she twines her fingers through his and squeezes, her voice dropping lower. "I know you're probably concerned about me, and it's very sweet. I'm sort of tired of driving you out of your bed, you know."

"I do worry about you, someone has to..." Lincoln squeezes her hand when she claims it. "And I really don't mind you staying with me. It's nice honestly having people around, a bit uncertain of course at times about what to expect and with mom coming in." His free hand reaches up to touch her cheek, "So no being tired of driving me out of my bed, cause I know you sleep there when I'm out."

"Well, I know you know. I'm glad you don't mind, but...," she trails off, sounding somewhat frustrated, and then lifts her gaze to search Lincoln's eyes as the reflection of the fire flickers across her features. "Do you know why I sleep there? So I can be reminded of you all night?" She exhales a very long and dramatic sigh as her hand tightens in his. "We're both writing bad holos, I guess, since I'm more concerned with where to sleep when you actually are around."

In a soft voice, Lincoln affirms gently, "Sarna... I think bad holos have an element of truth to them probably? It's ok though. I've told you before, whatever you need, whatever you ask, that's what I'll do. If you need me to sleep out in the rain, well... I can do that. I'd prefer not to." He grins at her then before adding, "You tell me what you want. And if you don't know, then we'll figure it out together."

Sarna's eyes go wide and she shakes her head, wondering how their wires could possibly have gotten so badly crossed. She struggles for a moment to speak, then finally blurts out, "Are you seriously being that dense right now, Lincoln? I mean, come on. That's not what I meant! And I think you know... that is not... what I want!" Reaching up, she grasps his collar, tugging him down to her level so she can kiss him.

It was relatively obvious what she wanted, and Lincoln grasps Sarna back as he returns the kiss. Between the falling rain outside, the bark of the logs in the fire and the long periods kissing the girl, all sense of time for him fades away. His next thought it pulling away some, breathing heavily from the exchange and still seeking to brush his lips over hers yet again. "That... is what you want?" He blinks his eyes some, finally pulling them away from her own big eyes to look at the window, the complete darkness outside from the storm and the late hour.

By the time he draws away, however much later she couldn't even say, her heart is pounding in her ears and she has trouble catching her breath. Sarna chuckles at his question as she slowly opens her heavy eyelids to look back at him, then toward the dark window streaked with rain. "I think we've established that, Marshal Abrams," she confirms, enjoying the way the syllables roll off her tongue. Her fingers stroke the hair at the nape of his neck. "So what about you?"

"I think... this night could go on forever. But I was also thinking I'd like to talk all night as well..." He looks from her to the bed and then back to Sarna, "How about it? Tell me more about things, I tell you more about this galaxy until we fall asleep?"

"Okay," Sarna murmurs, nodding thoughtfully. She stands up, keeping hold of Lincoln's hand and leading him over to the bed by taking a few backwards steps. "We do have a lot left to tell each other." In fact, simply lying in his arms, hearing his voice and feeling the warmth of his body brings her to such a state of contentment that it's not that long before she falls asleep.