( He would have expected nothing less from her than absolute resistance, despite his own curiosities and inclinations toward potential exposure as he rooted around the confines of their bond from his own side like testing the boundaries and limitations of a bruise. A gradual prod at the outskirts before brushing fingertips fully over the ring of blue-purple and yellowing outliers, testing the give of the skin and where the pain was the greatest, how much pressure it could take before snapping some vessel, some threshold beneath. The differences stacked between them topple the similarities, no matter how eager he is to draw them down to smaller numbers, reduce them in favor of - what, exactly? As Kylo follows her on their journey out of the shadow of the trees and into outcropping of rock an stone, just as he has since he followed her down, down, down on Corellia, through mud and rainwater and the internal circulatory system of the Falcon's shoddy wiring, the motive has become less and less clear. Just as his reasons for hiding his connection tracing back to her from Leader Snoke had been unclear to start with, although those motivations became more solid over time, whereas his involvement now seems more about momentum than it does about direction.
Rey, as always, moves ever upward, hoisting herself with little fanfare or perceived difficulty, leaving Kylo searching for an alternate path below. Having the advantage of a longer reach and more strength physically - though she would probably argue that to be debatable; he might let her - but the hindrance of a bum leg should prove a challenge in and of itself, but he grits his teeth against the discomfort in the end and takes the task for what it is: a necessity, a point to push beyond and emerge stronger for it on the other side. Her question, though, catches him somewhat off-guard, and he looks up at her before continuing with a pointed, perplexed look. )
They were kind to you because you're a woman and an attractive one, at that. ( Were he capable of addressing it like he were doing anything other than assessing the specs of a battle cruiser or the atmospheric conditions of some planet, such a comment could be considered a compliment, but his tone remains devoid of context as a precaution as much as it does objectivity. The tension between them is as thick as oil as it stands; regardless of what he thinks about her, letting something like that creep between them when they need to rely on one another in some capacity isn't something he's interested in catering to. Maybe later, on the other side of all of this, though Kylo can't and won't and doesn't want to imagine a world in which Rey is at all receptive to the notion that he finds her something more than tolerable in terms of appearance, and after a moment, his bemused expression turns back into his normal frown. He starts climbing up after her in the following gap his natural pause provides. ) That's why I suggested you talk to them over me. I can't imagine it would have gone over well had such an odd-looking man with a facial scar attempted to negotiate with the Queen Mother. ( To say nothing of his overall disposition and opinion on negotiations. Most of his tactics are more aggressive than discourse, and the addition of their lightsabers would not have gone over alarmingly well. )
More to the point, they forced our hand in retreat. Their suspicion scattered your forces, including the General and your master, and drove us here, directly into this mess. Why wouldn't I think poorly of them?
please don't die i will have to do some black magic to bring you back and i am just not prepared
Rey, as always, moves ever upward, hoisting herself with little fanfare or perceived difficulty, leaving Kylo searching for an alternate path below. Having the advantage of a longer reach and more strength physically - though she would probably argue that to be debatable; he might let her - but the hindrance of a bum leg should prove a challenge in and of itself, but he grits his teeth against the discomfort in the end and takes the task for what it is: a necessity, a point to push beyond and emerge stronger for it on the other side. Her question, though, catches him somewhat off-guard, and he looks up at her before continuing with a pointed, perplexed look. )
They were kind to you because you're a woman and an attractive one, at that. ( Were he capable of addressing it like he were doing anything other than assessing the specs of a battle cruiser or the atmospheric conditions of some planet, such a comment could be considered a compliment, but his tone remains devoid of context as a precaution as much as it does objectivity. The tension between them is as thick as oil as it stands; regardless of what he thinks about her, letting something like that creep between them when they need to rely on one another in some capacity isn't something he's interested in catering to. Maybe later, on the other side of all of this, though Kylo can't and won't and doesn't want to imagine a world in which Rey is at all receptive to the notion that he finds her something more than tolerable in terms of appearance, and after a moment, his bemused expression turns back into his normal frown. He starts climbing up after her in the following gap his natural pause provides. ) That's why I suggested you talk to them over me. I can't imagine it would have gone over well had such an odd-looking man with a facial scar attempted to negotiate with the Queen Mother. ( To say nothing of his overall disposition and opinion on negotiations. Most of his tactics are more aggressive than discourse, and the addition of their lightsabers would not have gone over alarmingly well. )
More to the point, they forced our hand in retreat. Their suspicion scattered your forces, including the General and your master, and drove us here, directly into this mess. Why wouldn't I think poorly of them?