Post by Bobbi on Sept 17, 2018 8:02:09 GMT -5
Two days after The Duracrete Wall
Ava
The rain finally stopped. As the clouds cleared that afternoon to a blue sky, the Restless Gambit settled down on soppy wet ground once more. Now that the clouds were gone she was able to survey the land a bit better. The bright green and flowers that popped with bits of color began to perk up.
It wasn't long since her departure; perhaps a couple hours at most. The summit surely continuing at the palace. Maybe not long enough for the Tekals anger to calm and instinct whispered this was a better thought in theory than practice. Even still.
Her boots trudged through a still muddy lawn to the door she entered before. Her fist balled giving three solid knocks to the door.
Sol:
It was not Solomon who answered, and it was not right away. When the door did come open, Ava would find herself face to face with a Hapan woman of elder years with hair the color of milk, and eyes as blue as the skies above. Age had given the woman wrinkles at the corners of her eyes, and lines across her forehead where years of mothering and loving had blessed her with the beauty of her age. She wore simple clothing, something that would be seen on a medical facility attendant. Ava got a once over from the woman just before she asked "May I help you?"
On that patch of grass Ava had landed on, near the other ships, one more had been added. It was a small personal craft, more of a speeder than a ship, and on its side was the logo of one of the capital city's medical wards. It was a clean little thing, kept sharp in appearance despite the muddy surroundings, a newer model if Ava would recognize that.
Ava:
"Hello." She politely greeted. "I was wondering if I could speak with Solomon. Is he in?"
Sol:
"He's in disposed at the moment. You'll have to come back la--" From somewhere behind the woman Solomon's voice came, "Who is it?" And then his shadow was filling the doorway behind the woman. "Oh." He was wearing a loose fitting robe made of a silk looking material in a dark gray color with no shirt, only his pants were worn beneath. The Hapan woman took a look behind her his way before slipping back past him and disappearing into the house. As the nurse moved, Sol took a step forward into the doorway, his left hand braced against the frame, his right still held close and motionless against his body but now it was supported by a wide piece of fabric tied into a sling, " Did you forget something?" He asked Ava just then with a tight frown.
Ava:
"I wanted to speak with you." Ava said once the woman leaved. "I can give you a minute to get dressed if you'd like."
Sol:
"I have company," he didn't refuse, waving her in as he turned back into the house and left the door open. If she entered, she'd find that the woman she's first spoke with in the doorway was not alone. With her was a male doctor, and spread out across Solomon's caf table in front of the conform couch were a series of instruments. Discarded on one of the arm chairs was a black brace made of a tech weave that gave its fabric a soft sheen. Sol was heading back toward the sofa where the doctor was waiting for him.
Ava:
"I can come back." She spoke before he'd have the chance to turn back into the house. "If that's more convenient for you."
Sol:
He'd paused, still frowning, "If you've got anything to say to me, now is the time to say it. If you're going to come in, come in."
Ava:
"With your company here?"
Sol:
"You'd rather speak to me in private?"
Ava:
"I think it would be more appropriate, yes."
Sol:
A glance went over his shoulder back into the house before he was pulling the robe closed tighter with his left hand, stepping out onto the landing next to her, shutting the door behind him. "You have ten minutes, Ava."
Ava:
She stepped back to give room for the both of them outside; and perhaps some for his ire since it would be joining as well.
"I came to apologize." She spoke. "I didn't mean to insult you or upset you earlier."
Sol:
"It's fine, don't worry about it." They were the only ones out there. The next neighbor was quite some distance away. There was a wind, though, and it ruffled the fabric of Solomon's robe as it blew gently. A small reminder of the storms that had pushed through earlier.
Ava:
Ava nodded once. She could have left it at that. The bile that came from Solomon wasn’t hard to see. It was in the way he looked at her. In the frown across his face and laced in the sharpness of his words. It would have been easy to turn away and leave it at that.
Perhaps stupidly…
… she didn’t.
“I don’t really know how to talk to you anymore, Solomon.” She finally said. “Not since seeing Origin. Trying to have a conversation with you has been like walking through a minefield. I don’t know if what I’m going to say or how I’m going to say it will trigger something that causes your defenses to spike. And it makes it hard for me to talk to you.”
Sol:
"I don't know what you tell you, Ava. I've found very little room in being comfortable to speak with you, even since before Origin. Somewhere along the way you changed. Every time, -every time-, I've tried I feel like you are attempting to elevate yourself and talk down to me. I'm not a Padawan, I'm not a child. I've made mistakes, but who hasn't? If you want to talk to me, then talk to me. That's the easiest way to do it. Just, don't do it from a position above me."
Ava:
"I apologize if that's how I made you feel." She spoke. "It's clear that you're not comfortable with me, and haven't been for quite sometime, and after this I will keep my distance from you from now on if that's what you want. But... for right now, I'd like for us to find a way to work together to help The Mechanic."
Sol:
"Why would you think I'd want, " He was working on keeping his volume low enough that it wouldn't carry into the house from where they were standing, a hard glance going over his shoulder toward the door when she mentioned The Mechanic, "You to keep your distance? All I asked is that you talk to me like a peer, like a friend."
Ava:
His immediate reaction was the reason she asked for privacy. Again, Ava stepped back to give him more room as the door closed.
“Because you’re not comfortable talking to me.”
Sol:
His left shoulder shifted, his left hand moving to clasp at his right bicep. There was a little grunt, as he physically shifted his right arm in the sling, "Can you talk to me like a friend? Can you listen like a friend?"
Ava:
"If we are being honest, are we even really friends, Solomon? Have we actually treated one another as friends?"
Sol:
"What do you mean?"
Ava:
"I don't know if we're friends, Solomon. We say we are but the way we treat each other shows differently."
Sol:
"How do you think we treat each other?"
Ava:
"Not like friends should. Based on our track record, you and I can't even complete a conversation without one, if not both, of us walking away frustrated or angry. That's not how friendship should be. Maybe at one point we were friends but... it feels as though we've strayed far from that."
Sol:
"What are you measuring the quality of our friendship against, Ava? The fact that we don't see eye to eye on a lot of things? Friendships are more than conversations and arguments, are they not? Those are words, emotions. Did I not come when you've needed me in the past?"
Ava:
"Solomon," She spoke softer than her usual quiet tone. "Please. I don't want to argue."
Sol:
"Then don't!" He said with a laugh, "All I asked was if I was there for you when you've needed me? Not to ride guilt or whatever else you might think of it but to understand. If you don't see us as friends anymore, that's fine. I'd just like to know what I've done, or haven't done, to make you think I don't care enough to be a friend to you."
Ava:
She failed to see what was so funny about this conversation. She failed to see how Solomon could boil ‘friendship’ down to something as simple as what he described it. Perhaps because she’d experienced a truer sense of friendship beyond a generalized outlook.
“Maybe we could come back to this another time?” She quietly suggested. “Right now, I’m worried about The Mechanic and where his head is. I haven’t spent even a quarter of the time with him as you have. I don’t know him like you do. With the way we look at things, are moments where I don’t even think he and I are even the same species. You're the only one who can help me with this." She took a breath.
"I’m not saying we drop this subject completely but for now, please, could we focus on trying to help him instead of ourselves?”
Sol:
His left shoulder straightened as he pulled his right arm closer to his torso, "I'm not discussing Sadhric with you, Ava." He all but whispered, "Not here, and not now. Not without him present and aware that we are discussing him."
Ava:
"Considering how things went the last time, are you sure that's a good idea?"
Sol:
"Yes," he gave her a tight nod, "I am."
Ava:
"But... haven't we already been doing that? Discussing him without him being here?"
Sol:
"We had been," another nod, "And due to that conversation I think it's a good idea that he be present if you wish to continue."
Ava:
"Solomon, what is it that you feel the need to protect whenever we discuss The Mechanic? It's like... every time his name is brought up, something in you shuts down and goes rigid."
Sol:
"I suggest you stop there, Ava. I've already said I'm not discussing him with you further."
Ava:
Ava felt an exhaustion settle over her. It wasn't the kind created by fatigue or a lack of sleep. This form of malaise settled deep in her bones and weighed heavy on her spirit. It was like slamming her body into a steel wall over and over again and getting nowhere in return.
She recalled previous conversations with people such as The Mechanic and Master Cato, who associate a weariness when speaking with Solomon, and wondered if what she felt was the same.
"Fine." She relented, allowing the feeling to seep into her voice. "We only have a short time to see him before he leaves. When do you want to go?"
Sol:
He read the tiredness well. The way it seeped into her voice was echoed in the drop of her shoulders, and a subtle settling of Ava's expression. He remained unmoved by it. Whatever she thought about it, Solomon knew he had his reasons for holding out in this. "I only need two hours at the most. It really all depends on how long my current engagement takes."
Ava:
"I'll be on my ship heading back to the Fountain Palace. Comm me when you're ready."
Sol:
"I will." Solomon agreed to that with a small nod, some sense of him relaxing as Ava backed off of the topic for now.
Ava
The rain finally stopped. As the clouds cleared that afternoon to a blue sky, the Restless Gambit settled down on soppy wet ground once more. Now that the clouds were gone she was able to survey the land a bit better. The bright green and flowers that popped with bits of color began to perk up.
It wasn't long since her departure; perhaps a couple hours at most. The summit surely continuing at the palace. Maybe not long enough for the Tekals anger to calm and instinct whispered this was a better thought in theory than practice. Even still.
Her boots trudged through a still muddy lawn to the door she entered before. Her fist balled giving three solid knocks to the door.
Sol:
It was not Solomon who answered, and it was not right away. When the door did come open, Ava would find herself face to face with a Hapan woman of elder years with hair the color of milk, and eyes as blue as the skies above. Age had given the woman wrinkles at the corners of her eyes, and lines across her forehead where years of mothering and loving had blessed her with the beauty of her age. She wore simple clothing, something that would be seen on a medical facility attendant. Ava got a once over from the woman just before she asked "May I help you?"
On that patch of grass Ava had landed on, near the other ships, one more had been added. It was a small personal craft, more of a speeder than a ship, and on its side was the logo of one of the capital city's medical wards. It was a clean little thing, kept sharp in appearance despite the muddy surroundings, a newer model if Ava would recognize that.
Ava:
"Hello." She politely greeted. "I was wondering if I could speak with Solomon. Is he in?"
Sol:
"He's in disposed at the moment. You'll have to come back la--" From somewhere behind the woman Solomon's voice came, "Who is it?" And then his shadow was filling the doorway behind the woman. "Oh." He was wearing a loose fitting robe made of a silk looking material in a dark gray color with no shirt, only his pants were worn beneath. The Hapan woman took a look behind her his way before slipping back past him and disappearing into the house. As the nurse moved, Sol took a step forward into the doorway, his left hand braced against the frame, his right still held close and motionless against his body but now it was supported by a wide piece of fabric tied into a sling, " Did you forget something?" He asked Ava just then with a tight frown.
Ava:
"I wanted to speak with you." Ava said once the woman leaved. "I can give you a minute to get dressed if you'd like."
Sol:
"I have company," he didn't refuse, waving her in as he turned back into the house and left the door open. If she entered, she'd find that the woman she's first spoke with in the doorway was not alone. With her was a male doctor, and spread out across Solomon's caf table in front of the conform couch were a series of instruments. Discarded on one of the arm chairs was a black brace made of a tech weave that gave its fabric a soft sheen. Sol was heading back toward the sofa where the doctor was waiting for him.
Ava:
"I can come back." She spoke before he'd have the chance to turn back into the house. "If that's more convenient for you."
Sol:
He'd paused, still frowning, "If you've got anything to say to me, now is the time to say it. If you're going to come in, come in."
Ava:
"With your company here?"
Sol:
"You'd rather speak to me in private?"
Ava:
"I think it would be more appropriate, yes."
Sol:
A glance went over his shoulder back into the house before he was pulling the robe closed tighter with his left hand, stepping out onto the landing next to her, shutting the door behind him. "You have ten minutes, Ava."
Ava:
She stepped back to give room for the both of them outside; and perhaps some for his ire since it would be joining as well.
"I came to apologize." She spoke. "I didn't mean to insult you or upset you earlier."
Sol:
"It's fine, don't worry about it." They were the only ones out there. The next neighbor was quite some distance away. There was a wind, though, and it ruffled the fabric of Solomon's robe as it blew gently. A small reminder of the storms that had pushed through earlier.
Ava:
Ava nodded once. She could have left it at that. The bile that came from Solomon wasn’t hard to see. It was in the way he looked at her. In the frown across his face and laced in the sharpness of his words. It would have been easy to turn away and leave it at that.
Perhaps stupidly…
… she didn’t.
“I don’t really know how to talk to you anymore, Solomon.” She finally said. “Not since seeing Origin. Trying to have a conversation with you has been like walking through a minefield. I don’t know if what I’m going to say or how I’m going to say it will trigger something that causes your defenses to spike. And it makes it hard for me to talk to you.”
Sol:
"I don't know what you tell you, Ava. I've found very little room in being comfortable to speak with you, even since before Origin. Somewhere along the way you changed. Every time, -every time-, I've tried I feel like you are attempting to elevate yourself and talk down to me. I'm not a Padawan, I'm not a child. I've made mistakes, but who hasn't? If you want to talk to me, then talk to me. That's the easiest way to do it. Just, don't do it from a position above me."
Ava:
"I apologize if that's how I made you feel." She spoke. "It's clear that you're not comfortable with me, and haven't been for quite sometime, and after this I will keep my distance from you from now on if that's what you want. But... for right now, I'd like for us to find a way to work together to help The Mechanic."
Sol:
"Why would you think I'd want, " He was working on keeping his volume low enough that it wouldn't carry into the house from where they were standing, a hard glance going over his shoulder toward the door when she mentioned The Mechanic, "You to keep your distance? All I asked is that you talk to me like a peer, like a friend."
Ava:
His immediate reaction was the reason she asked for privacy. Again, Ava stepped back to give him more room as the door closed.
“Because you’re not comfortable talking to me.”
Sol:
His left shoulder shifted, his left hand moving to clasp at his right bicep. There was a little grunt, as he physically shifted his right arm in the sling, "Can you talk to me like a friend? Can you listen like a friend?"
Ava:
"If we are being honest, are we even really friends, Solomon? Have we actually treated one another as friends?"
Sol:
"What do you mean?"
Ava:
"I don't know if we're friends, Solomon. We say we are but the way we treat each other shows differently."
Sol:
"How do you think we treat each other?"
Ava:
"Not like friends should. Based on our track record, you and I can't even complete a conversation without one, if not both, of us walking away frustrated or angry. That's not how friendship should be. Maybe at one point we were friends but... it feels as though we've strayed far from that."
Sol:
"What are you measuring the quality of our friendship against, Ava? The fact that we don't see eye to eye on a lot of things? Friendships are more than conversations and arguments, are they not? Those are words, emotions. Did I not come when you've needed me in the past?"
Ava:
"Solomon," She spoke softer than her usual quiet tone. "Please. I don't want to argue."
Sol:
"Then don't!" He said with a laugh, "All I asked was if I was there for you when you've needed me? Not to ride guilt or whatever else you might think of it but to understand. If you don't see us as friends anymore, that's fine. I'd just like to know what I've done, or haven't done, to make you think I don't care enough to be a friend to you."
Ava:
She failed to see what was so funny about this conversation. She failed to see how Solomon could boil ‘friendship’ down to something as simple as what he described it. Perhaps because she’d experienced a truer sense of friendship beyond a generalized outlook.
“Maybe we could come back to this another time?” She quietly suggested. “Right now, I’m worried about The Mechanic and where his head is. I haven’t spent even a quarter of the time with him as you have. I don’t know him like you do. With the way we look at things, are moments where I don’t even think he and I are even the same species. You're the only one who can help me with this." She took a breath.
"I’m not saying we drop this subject completely but for now, please, could we focus on trying to help him instead of ourselves?”
Sol:
His left shoulder straightened as he pulled his right arm closer to his torso, "I'm not discussing Sadhric with you, Ava." He all but whispered, "Not here, and not now. Not without him present and aware that we are discussing him."
Ava:
"Considering how things went the last time, are you sure that's a good idea?"
Sol:
"Yes," he gave her a tight nod, "I am."
Ava:
"But... haven't we already been doing that? Discussing him without him being here?"
Sol:
"We had been," another nod, "And due to that conversation I think it's a good idea that he be present if you wish to continue."
Ava:
"Solomon, what is it that you feel the need to protect whenever we discuss The Mechanic? It's like... every time his name is brought up, something in you shuts down and goes rigid."
Sol:
"I suggest you stop there, Ava. I've already said I'm not discussing him with you further."
Ava:
Ava felt an exhaustion settle over her. It wasn't the kind created by fatigue or a lack of sleep. This form of malaise settled deep in her bones and weighed heavy on her spirit. It was like slamming her body into a steel wall over and over again and getting nowhere in return.
She recalled previous conversations with people such as The Mechanic and Master Cato, who associate a weariness when speaking with Solomon, and wondered if what she felt was the same.
"Fine." She relented, allowing the feeling to seep into her voice. "We only have a short time to see him before he leaves. When do you want to go?"
Sol:
He read the tiredness well. The way it seeped into her voice was echoed in the drop of her shoulders, and a subtle settling of Ava's expression. He remained unmoved by it. Whatever she thought about it, Solomon knew he had his reasons for holding out in this. "I only need two hours at the most. It really all depends on how long my current engagement takes."
Ava:
"I'll be on my ship heading back to the Fountain Palace. Comm me when you're ready."
Sol:
"I will." Solomon agreed to that with a small nod, some sense of him relaxing as Ava backed off of the topic for now.
