[D2, ME, around the corner, open]

[Korvin Hikarrin]

The Pantoran laughs. "No kidding! I'm... working on something else, in that way," he says vaguely, then quickly moves on. "This is just me proving you wrong for not thinking I'm a serious racer," Korvin says happily, already striding toward his bike.

With a grin, he mounts up and says, "Ruby would be offended by your comments too, but she's very patient and doesn't hold onto bad feelings. So you'll be quite safe, although I don't recommend the drag from that hood. Fold and stow it in the left saddle case there?" he recommends.

[Tyllia Demici]

"Sure," she said, "whatever."

It was apparent she remained unconvinced. As for her hood; well, that was just part of the outfit. She *did* wear the robes on top of her regular clothing though, so it wasn't as if it was a no-go to stow them away for this. With a sigh, she did just that. Her clothes underneath seemed utilitarian; though they were a tad heavier than they looked. The well-concealed armor plates probably weren't heavy enough to affect the bike's balance, fortunately.

"So, is this an official race? Is there any money riding on this?" She asked as she sat down.

[Korvin Hikarrin]

"So, is this an official race? Is there any money riding on this?" She asked as she sat down.

Korvin looks over his shoulder with a grin. "You really want your first ride to be in a race with money on the line? I guess you have a lot more confidence in me than you showed."

Indulging her a bit, the young man calls out to another racer. Or whatever he is. "Hey Brodish, you got 15 credits that say I can't get this lady to Old Garden and back in 17 minutes?"

[Pending GM question]

[Tyllia Demici]

"Hardly," she said, "I just figured that if there was real money on the line, I might decide to swing the odds in your favor. But fifteen credits isn't real money."

[Flession]

The other man looks over at you, sizing you up for failure. A few moments go by and here he laughs. "You have got to be kidding me. Lest you go down the back roads, that would be at least 30 minutes. No driver is foolish enough to take the back roads "

He waves you off. "If you want to die to impress a woman, at least put more credits on the line."

[Korvin Hikarrin]

The other man looks over at you, sizing you up for failure. A few moments go by and here he laughs. "You have got to be kidding me. Lest you go down the back roads, that would be at least 30 minutes. No driver is foolish enough to take the back roads "

He waves you off. "If you want to die to impress a woman, at least put more credits on the line."

Korvin's eyes narrow at the other man's unhelpfulness.

"Look here, Brodish," the Pantoran snarls, "I damn sure could make that loop in less than 30. But if you're gonna try to milk what you say is a sure bet, forget it. I came to race tonight, and I'm not wasting time handicapping."

[Flession]

Brodish grins at the blue man and smiles a little. "Yeah, yeah, I know you can. Look, miss. I can get you wherever you want to go quick too. Maybe a quick stop somewhere along the way if it suits you." There's a small wink at his face and a playful nod over at Korvin. "He's good, but when he loses to me tonite, just consider me for a ride later." He smiles widely at Korvin and gives a loud laugh at his comment and goes back to work on his ride.

[Qar Offee]

"Spirit. Intensity. Excitement. It's one of those feelings that transcend working on a rod or being behind the wheel. Kind of a universal language. Admittedly, far safer too," she said with a glance around the scene. "I don't know how dangerous things around here without the fun police. I wonder if these things ever go through buildings, outside of the city, to the edge of a cliff. That sort of stuff. They say that adrenaline is kind of a drug to some people, after a bit of it you keep upping your dosage and some people follow in other people's lead. Sure lot of posturing that ends up to be pretty dangerous really fast."

"Heh," she said with a small laugh and bob of her head regarding the joke. Some species get the easy jokes it seemed. "They might be, scoping out the competition and all that, especially if you win it. Do you know much about your opponents, then?"

"This seems to be the place for the kids from good families. Not that I know much about them. The real thing is in the Lower Town." He smirked. "...Or so I've been told. So if you want to see how adrenaline condenses and rains, you should venture there at some point." He tapped his bike. "Unless there's some diamond in the rough around here, I think I should be fine both here and there. I've won in bigger places."

[Tyllia Demici]

She rolled her eyes at the two men. Or boys, more like. "So, basic timelapses and kiddie allowances on the line. I thought people came here to make credits and *race*. Guess I was wrong. Is everyone just here to try and look cool?"

[Soleene Stryss]

"This seems to be the place for the kids from good families. Not that I know much about them. The real thing is in the Lower Town." He smirked. "...Or so I've been told. So if you want to see how adrenaline condenses and rains, you should venture there at some point." He tapped his bike. "Unless there's some diamond in the rough around here, I think I should be fine both here and there. I've won in bigger places."

Soleene took a moment to look at the neighbourhood around them. Now that he mentioned it, it did look nicer than the lower city around here. She supposed as a tourist, it looked mostly like the city differences were lost on her for now. It was either an area with more or few panhandlers. "Right, I guess the sort that might have paid off any real trouble from happening down here unless they really wanted it. It looks really wicked to your friends and your parents when they haul you off to jail for the night to build baditude rep or something."

"Still, if the Lower side is as bad as they say, something like this would be a magnet for a raid by all of the gangs here. So it's more of a middle ground?" She shrugged at that rhetorical question. "I took a few walks there, yeah. It looks...not great. As it turns out, walking around there in armour is fashionable there."

She gave a few bobs of her head. "In bigger places, like in tracks then? So, you want to tell me about your ride then?"

[Korvin Hikarrin]

She rolled her eyes at the two men. Or boys, more like. "So, basic timelapses and kiddie allowances on the line. I thought people came here to make credits and *race*. Guess I was wrong. Is everyone just here to try and look cool?"

Korvin growls at Brodish and revs Ruby, zipping out of the parking lot at a safe but impressive speed before Tyllia has a chance to argue. After taking a sweeping curve just past the motel, he slows the bike and says over his shoulder, "I'm sorry about Brodish. Most of the community isn't like him. Well, ok, most probably are. But at least some of us are here to race, do a little gambling... not... Not just be an ass."

After he vents his frustration, he parks the bike on the street a few blocks away. Without warm air rushing past their ears, it's easier to talk at normal volume. "Sorry for jetting out without warning. You want to meet the big people in this scene? I'll go introduce you. And you want to see a big race? Gotta wait for second or third flight. I've been away a while, so I might go second flight tonight. I've won a third flight race before, but you've gotta be top of your game. Third flight is racers who've already proved they're legit, and the money the gamblers throw around gets serious."

[Tyllia Demici]

She definitely didn't have a chance to argue. But; the whole thing really had said it all to her.

"Listen," she started when the bike came to a stop again, "way it looked to me was you were the one afraid of losing real money. You put 15 credits down and lose, who cares? No big deal. This 'Brodish' guy knew that and called you out. And you proved him right by jetting out of there instead of putting down more money."

She hopped off the back. "Probably lost you a bit of reputation in the process. I don't know about any of this second or third flight stuff, but you can't just throw a challenge down like that and then back out when someone raises the stakes. It shows a lack of confidence, and it seems to me that a racer should not be lacking in that department. Certainly not if they want to make it in the big leagues."

She shrugged. "But hey, maybe I'm wrong. If you can introduce me to the big people, maybe that means you're already top tier and you just didn't want to waste your time with any small fry."

Tyllia didn't sound like she was mocking or insulting him; but she clearly wasn't sparing any feelings either as she gave what she thought was probably a needed push in the right direction.

[Qar Offee]

Soleene took a moment to look at the neighbourhood around them. Now that he mentioned it, it did look nicer than the lower city around here. She supposed as a tourist, it looked mostly like the city differences were lost on her for now. It was either an area with more or few panhandlers. "Right, I guess the sort that might have paid off any real trouble from happening down here unless they really wanted it. It looks really wicked to your friends and your parents when they haul you off to jail for the night to build baditude rep or something."

"Still, if the Lower side is as bad as they say, something like this would be a magnet for a raid by all of the gangs here. So it's more of a middle ground?" She shrugged at that rhetorical question. "I took a few walks there, yeah. It looks...not great. As it turns out, walking around there in armour is fashionable there."

She gave a few bobs of her head. "In bigger places, like in tracks then? So, you want to tell me about your ride then?"

"It's not a bad thing to have a place where you can feel like a star on a catwalk. Yours is the haute couture of armours after all." He chuckled with mirthful tease. "And as far as gear is talked about, this is Aratech's AvA "Dart", pretty standard. I haven't tuned the hell out of it. It's generally unwise to pimp your ride too much in this line of racing, accidents happen after all. It's fast and manoeuvrable enough for the racer's skill to matter. I'd rather lose against superior tech than turn myself into gadgeteer to win. Like you pointed out, spirit matters."

He gave the environs his own quiet appraisal. "Tracks, yeah. But also off-tracks. Like Sylvan Death Route on Malastare."

[Soleene Stryss]

"It's not a bad thing to have a place where you can feel like a star on a catwalk. Yours is the haute couture of armours after all." He chuckled with mirthful tease. "And as far as gear is talked about, this is Aratech's AvA "Dart", pretty standard. I haven't tuned the hell out of it. It's generally unwise to pimp your ride too much in this line of racing, accidents happen after all. It's fast and manoeuvrable enough for the racer's skill to matter. I'd rather lose against superior tech than turn myself into gadgeteer to win. Like you pointed out, spirit matters."

He gave the environs his own quiet appraisal. "Tracks, yeah. But also off-tracks. Like Sylvan Death Route on Malastare."

"That would explain the looks at least," she chuckled with a few nods.

"Well, racing has always been a risk and reward thing hasn't it? On the road and off the road?" She shrugged afterwards, she wasn't the expert here. "But yet, I can't knock it if you've done this well with it. That's likely a testament to skill and talent. Maybe if you do well enough and get some sponsors, a mechanic will find you. I ran into a droid who could be into that sort of stuff if you're thinking about it."

"The Sylvan Death Route? That's just a name, right?" she said with a snicker, guessing that wasn't actually the case.

[Qar Offee]

He nodded silently to the mention of sponsors but didn't comment.

"I don't want to overdramatise it, but deaths happen on it, yeah, particularly among those who think a shiny ride and bravado alone make them great racers. The forest and the terrain are rather unforgiving, especially the toxic bog part." He laughed with a tinge of viciousness. "And there's the wildlife."

[Soleene Stryss]

"Ahah," she said with a knowing nod. "I had a feeling, maybe it's something about the name. Good intuition and all that. It sounds like a place where a game of chicken can happen on any corner and any turn. Okay, what about the wildlife, then? You're kind of keeping me in suspense now."

[Qar Offee]

"Heard of zillo beasts?" He'd look at her to find eye contact for the dramatic effect but it wouldn't work with a visor, so he just half-smirked under his nose.

[Soleene Stryss]

"Zillo beasts...What? Like big, bulky, furry with a mane around their scruff? Grass grazers, right? Lays eggs?" She shook her head afterward. "Nah, I'm making stuff up. Never heard of them!"

[Qar Offee]

"Humongous, nearly indestructible lizards. Think giant wyrms or dragons. In a galactic contest for the most ridiculously overpowered apex predator, Malastare is quite a contender. But I am not surprised you haven't heard of them. Know why?"

[Soleene Stryss]

"I don't have a sure idea but I might have a few guesses." She chuckled. "I figured they don't end up in many zoos around the galaxy and/or there isn't much research done on them because the poor saps get eaten?"