( The surge of Basic that greets his ears when they step off the Falcon is the first real stroke of good luck he's willing to admit that they've had. Their escape from the First Order, in that manner, doesn't count, considering the risk it had involved and the fact that they had - Rey had - escaped mostly by the skin of their teeth, some skill, and good timing. Had they strolled off the ship and into a world populated by people unwilling to speak anything other than their native language, their time on Hapes would have been unpleasant to say the least.
Kylo, for his part, keeps quiet unless directly addressed, offering a nod here or a shake of his head there when Rey looks at him for clarification or affirmation. He lingers mostly behind her, defaulting to her elevated status on the planet and not rushing to challenge the status quo in the interest of not causing further trouble for their ragtag trio of wayward, barely united souls, and falls into step next to Chewbacca, who joins them belatedly although not unexpectedly at the foot of the ramp, forcing Kylo to keep several paces worth of distance between himself and the wookiee for the sake of expedient propriety. At one point he has to sidestep a tall, breathtaking woman as she shoulders through the crowd, and he steps close enough to brush Chewbacca's arm, the both of them looking at one another before they break eye contact at the same time.
The city itself is remarkable, and it lives up to the expectation that he's had of it since he was a child. Ben had been told stories by both his mother and his father, though one had seemed more practical and politically minded, a soft fondness with gentle ribbing, where the other had boasted of adventure and the vocal equivalent of collected stardust, glittering and invincible, elevating the lead male in the fabrication to the role of hero, good guy but not too good. Kylo Ren sees none of that mysticism imparted here and now, viewing everything through an adult's washed out frame of vision, but he supposes that he can see where inspiration lies despite approaching the city and its inhabitants with the analytical mind of a general, rather than a tourist.
The battle dragons are impressive, and he can conceptualize how they might have aided the First Order had negotiations gone in a different direction, but it's an old line of thinking to fall back on and it exists without any real intent or Resistance-themed malice. Mobile landing pads boast ships - some of them Resistance affiliated, he can see - and still have ample room for more, as if beckoning the spaces to be filled: a sharp contrast with the Consortium's stance on outsiders in the past, to be sure. The city itself, he knows, isn't huge, but it seems insurmountable from the ground, and while the population and general distribution of bodies is nothing compared to Coruscant, which he tends to automatically compare everything in the galaxy to in terms of sprawling size, it seems large as they pick their way through it, some of the glances thrown his way undoubtedly sour on certain faces.
Faces which, Kylo must agree with Rey, are quite beautiful. He has never personally been concerned with his own appearance - from basically birth he's known that his nose is large even for his face and has learned to hide his ears underneath the dark brush of his hair, never mind the collection of freckles and moles that map galaxies across his skin from forehead to thigh - but Hapans are, almost obsessively, and anything else that might demonstrate beauty. His large nose and, more than anything, the garish, red to pink to white slash of an imperfection across his face makes him stand out like a sore thumb. Unease prickles along the back of his neck at the attention, prickling across his connection with Rey as a result, but he ignores it. )
Selective breeding, mostly. ( He answers her once he has the opportunity, bending down momentarily to speak low directly into her ear, unaware of how close he's managed to get to her in his interest of maintaining space between himself and her co-pilot. Kylo straightens up and catches the eye of a female palace guard, who watches him, all of them, with extreme unease, her hand tight on her blaster and the remarkable angles of her face watching them until they pass through a door, out of sight. He takes the opportunity to whisper to Rey again. ) Don't take the paranoia personally. Hapans are mistrustful of nearly everyone that isn't one of their own.
( Behind him, Chewbacca grumbles, and Kylo straightens back up. )
WOW DUDE WHAT. what is this guy doing teaching people
Kylo, for his part, keeps quiet unless directly addressed, offering a nod here or a shake of his head there when Rey looks at him for clarification or affirmation. He lingers mostly behind her, defaulting to her elevated status on the planet and not rushing to challenge the status quo in the interest of not causing further trouble for their ragtag trio of wayward, barely united souls, and falls into step next to Chewbacca, who joins them belatedly although not unexpectedly at the foot of the ramp, forcing Kylo to keep several paces worth of distance between himself and the wookiee for the sake of expedient propriety. At one point he has to sidestep a tall, breathtaking woman as she shoulders through the crowd, and he steps close enough to brush Chewbacca's arm, the both of them looking at one another before they break eye contact at the same time.
The city itself is remarkable, and it lives up to the expectation that he's had of it since he was a child. Ben had been told stories by both his mother and his father, though one had seemed more practical and politically minded, a soft fondness with gentle ribbing, where the other had boasted of adventure and the vocal equivalent of collected stardust, glittering and invincible, elevating the lead male in the fabrication to the role of hero, good guy but not too good. Kylo Ren sees none of that mysticism imparted here and now, viewing everything through an adult's washed out frame of vision, but he supposes that he can see where inspiration lies despite approaching the city and its inhabitants with the analytical mind of a general, rather than a tourist.
The battle dragons are impressive, and he can conceptualize how they might have aided the First Order had negotiations gone in a different direction, but it's an old line of thinking to fall back on and it exists without any real intent or Resistance-themed malice. Mobile landing pads boast ships - some of them Resistance affiliated, he can see - and still have ample room for more, as if beckoning the spaces to be filled: a sharp contrast with the Consortium's stance on outsiders in the past, to be sure. The city itself, he knows, isn't huge, but it seems insurmountable from the ground, and while the population and general distribution of bodies is nothing compared to Coruscant, which he tends to automatically compare everything in the galaxy to in terms of sprawling size, it seems large as they pick their way through it, some of the glances thrown his way undoubtedly sour on certain faces.
Faces which, Kylo must agree with Rey, are quite beautiful. He has never personally been concerned with his own appearance - from basically birth he's known that his nose is large even for his face and has learned to hide his ears underneath the dark brush of his hair, never mind the collection of freckles and moles that map galaxies across his skin from forehead to thigh - but Hapans are, almost obsessively, and anything else that might demonstrate beauty. His large nose and, more than anything, the garish, red to pink to white slash of an imperfection across his face makes him stand out like a sore thumb. Unease prickles along the back of his neck at the attention, prickling across his connection with Rey as a result, but he ignores it. )
Selective breeding, mostly. ( He answers her once he has the opportunity, bending down momentarily to speak low directly into her ear, unaware of how close he's managed to get to her in his interest of maintaining space between himself and her co-pilot. Kylo straightens up and catches the eye of a female palace guard, who watches him, all of them, with extreme unease, her hand tight on her blaster and the remarkable angles of her face watching them until they pass through a door, out of sight. He takes the opportunity to whisper to Rey again. ) Don't take the paranoia personally. Hapans are mistrustful of nearly everyone that isn't one of their own.
( Behind him, Chewbacca grumbles, and Kylo straightens back up. )