( Lacking in intensity or not, he knows that he's struck a nerve long before Rey says anything in retaliation. When she stops moving forward, the sound of her footsteps falling off abruptly behind him, Kylo turns to track her whereabouts while taking careful steps backward, surprised and yet not at all taken aback to find her stock-still with green and brown leaves crowding her boots around the ankles. He's pleased with himself, in a way, to have hit a sore spot, satisfaction blooming like a dark flower, but he can't call his observations clever or even informed by his abilities in navigating the alleys and avenues of her mind, in forcing open the locked doors with a heavily thrown shoulder or a battering ram.
She wears her history and experience in every angle of her body and every sharp line of her face, in every reaction to a hand up or some assistance offered, like a badge or medal earned, a product of a hard life lived alone. Her hands are as rough and strong because they need to be. It's plainly obvious why she might consider any kind of help a catcall to her own personal weaknesses and why she might instinctively be driven to rebuff his guidance as a result, and in a way, Kylo can understand where she's coming from, even if he can't completely empathize with it. He can perhaps blame her only a little less than he was able to when she'd rejected his offer to train her on Starkiller, which he still considers a viable option even though the conditions may have changed to a certain degree.
For a moment, he stares her down, as if waiting to see what she'll do next, but it's only a moment, and they admittedly don't have time for games of chicken in the forest, so he turns again to continue on the path back to camp, his steps and footfalls unnecessarily loud as he lumbers through the forest with heavy strides. When he walks with some amount of purpose beyond a casual stroll, he throws his weight into it, though it's more obvious when he isn't deliberately keeping his strides from reaching their maximum in order for her to keep pace with him once she decides that she doesn't want to be left behind in the woods.
It takes only a moment, and then she's at his side again, matching the length of his steps stride for stride. Kylo only looks down at her once she's finished talking, and he only replies to her once she's made the conscious decision to reach out toward him. )
It's not as much fun when you're on the other side of it, is it? ( She's analyzed him and been vocal about it in her own right enough times that he's managed to lose count. He's done the same to her, he knows, but it feels like it bears repeating now, despite the fact that he extends his elbow toward her so that she might wrap her hand around it in the same manner he had let his fingers span the back of her own arm. Her silent request, her stubborn pride acknowledging his proficiency and experience in this matter, does not go unnoticed. It contrasts sharply with the last time that he encouraged her to follow his lead, the taste of damp earth and fresh air replacing the bitter chill and copper tang of blood he associates with Starkiller. ) This is more effective when you're running, normally, or when you need to slow your perception of the world in a way that has higher stakes, but I don't think we need to be in that much of a hurry.
( He tries to show her, as best he can, what he's doing. Through thought and projected feeling, reaching out to flood her awareness and perception of his ability through the connection that they tentatively share. )
no subject
She wears her history and experience in every angle of her body and every sharp line of her face, in every reaction to a hand up or some assistance offered, like a badge or medal earned, a product of a hard life lived alone. Her hands are as rough and strong because they need to be. It's plainly obvious why she might consider any kind of help a catcall to her own personal weaknesses and why she might instinctively be driven to rebuff his guidance as a result, and in a way, Kylo can understand where she's coming from, even if he can't completely empathize with it. He can perhaps blame her only a little less than he was able to when she'd rejected his offer to train her on Starkiller, which he still considers a viable option even though the conditions may have changed to a certain degree.
For a moment, he stares her down, as if waiting to see what she'll do next, but it's only a moment, and they admittedly don't have time for games of chicken in the forest, so he turns again to continue on the path back to camp, his steps and footfalls unnecessarily loud as he lumbers through the forest with heavy strides. When he walks with some amount of purpose beyond a casual stroll, he throws his weight into it, though it's more obvious when he isn't deliberately keeping his strides from reaching their maximum in order for her to keep pace with him once she decides that she doesn't want to be left behind in the woods.
It takes only a moment, and then she's at his side again, matching the length of his steps stride for stride. Kylo only looks down at her once she's finished talking, and he only replies to her once she's made the conscious decision to reach out toward him. )
It's not as much fun when you're on the other side of it, is it? ( She's analyzed him and been vocal about it in her own right enough times that he's managed to lose count. He's done the same to her, he knows, but it feels like it bears repeating now, despite the fact that he extends his elbow toward her so that she might wrap her hand around it in the same manner he had let his fingers span the back of her own arm. Her silent request, her stubborn pride acknowledging his proficiency and experience in this matter, does not go unnoticed. It contrasts sharply with the last time that he encouraged her to follow his lead, the taste of damp earth and fresh air replacing the bitter chill and copper tang of blood he associates with Starkiller. ) This is more effective when you're running, normally, or when you need to slow your perception of the world in a way that has higher stakes, but I don't think we need to be in that much of a hurry.
( He tries to show her, as best he can, what he's doing. Through thought and projected feeling, reaching out to flood her awareness and perception of his ability through the connection that they tentatively share. )