deercountry | closed ★ hope is always the antidote

[ He hasn't been by in awhile. The events of July still hang over him, but the burden is lighter. Having Ezra and Luke back, plus his little big sister forcing him to look after himself, means that he looks better than he did before. Now he's just tired, but not corrupted.

Their last interaction had been heavy and full of one-sided personal angst. Anakin isn't going to apologize-- he knows it'll just be awkward and unnecessary in Obi-Wan's eyes-- but he is here with something else.

He visits one dreary afternoon and knocks lightly on the door. ]

[ Having his sister in the Trench with him has helped his mental state immensely. He and his siblings have been apart for long periods of time before, but he could still reach out to them if he tried either using the Force or more conventional means.

And even with the years between them, his sister is the same in all the ways that matter. She's not afraid to tell Anakin off for not taking care of himself, and he tries to be put-together so she doesn't have to worry so much.

To that end, he's started cooking again. Now that there's more than one person in the house, dirtying dishes for a meal doesn't feel wasteful. Plus, he's had time to hone his skills, so the food is actually pretty good. So they fall into a routine.

Anakin senses her enter the kitchen one morning just as he's finishing breakfast and, without turning, tells her: ] Almost finished. Caf's ready, though.

[ Unfortunately, he's used to living alone so the mugs are... a bit out of Jaina's reach. ]

[ Ezra coming back from the dead was surreal. For all the strange things in the Trench, this is the one that particularly throws him. And if it's messed with his mind, Anakin can only guess what it's done to Ezra.

So he's been careful to spend time with Ezra. He knows Ezra has Obi-Wan and his other friends, but he also suspects Era doesn't like being alone for too long. And if he can teach Ezra more about fighting with lightsabers, maybe it won't happen again.

When Ezra arrives at his house, Anakin wastes no time. ] The garden is set up.

[ He's cleared the area for sparring, as usual. ]

[ Once Jaina is properly on her feet, Anakin takes her to his house to get cleaned up and comfortable. Plus he has a lot of questions to answer. With all of that, it doesn't occur to him to give his uncle a heads-up, particularly when he doesn't see Luke when he gets home.

So he gets Jaina settled in. He has a spare room for her, though he does have to scrounge for bedding. Anakin fills her in on the basics-- the Pthumerians, the blood mechanics, the overall layout of the Trench, and which members of their family are there. Anakin doesn't have the chance to tell her everything, but at least he's covered the basics. It's been a long day for both of them.

Surely things will be calmer the next morning. Right? ]

[It's still strange not having Jacen at the back of her mind. But at least Anakin is here. THey've always had each other no matter what happened.

She's glad Anakin's gone for cooking, because he needs to eat right and it's not one of her skills.]

Thanks.

[Advantages to being the oldest: He's not trying to stop her from drinking caf by saying it'll stunt her growth. Speaking of which, the mugs get a sigh.]

Who let you get that tall?

[This would probably be frivolous use of the Force, so she opts to climb onto the counter instead.]

[ Anakin knows when to pick his battles. Jaina drinking caf is perfectly natural to him and, well, he doesn't even think about it stunting her growth since she doesn't grow much taller anyway.

He, of course, is smart enough not to mention that. Or talk very much about the future. There's no need to worry her about something she'll never encounter. At least, that's his justification.

He looks at her from over his shoulder. He also wouldn't chastise her for using the Force frivolously but he does make a note to move the most commonly-used dishes to the lower shelves.

Anakin gives her a slight, amused smile. ] I'm not that tall.

You're taller than me, which violates the natural order of things.

[LIttle brothers are meant to be shorter. And then weird time things happen.

At least she's really getting the hang of the whole legs thing as she hops back down with the mug. Which is probably also using some Jedi influence.]

[ Dryly: ] My deepest apologies, Jaina. I promise not to get any taller until you can catch up.

It's the least weird part of all of this. But it's still weird!

[And she's not going to stop being the big sister because of it]

[ As if reading her mind: ]

Would it help if I publicly announced that you're my big sister?

[ He turns off the stove and starts divvying up the food. Some eggs and toast with fruit preserves (courtesy Ezra's Paleblood compulsion to can fruit a few months ago). ]

[She rolls her eyes]

Just because every person I say "Solo" to assumes I'm younger doesn't mean we need a big announcement.

[Because she's younger but that doesn't matter]

[ He shrugs, though there's an amused smile on his face. ] Just thought I'd offer.

[ Anakin carries the plates out of the kitchen and sets them on a small table nearby. Most of the furniture in his house is mismatched: some of it was in the house when he chose it, but he found and fixed up everything else. It extends to his dishes too. He has a range of cups from a delicate teacup to a mug with the words 'Bless This Mess' in faded letters.

None of it is the tidy, put-together Coruscant apartment they live in that is carefully cared for by C3PO. But it's clean and homey, at least. ]

I reserve the right to change my mind.

[She doesn't think it'll be necessary, but it is pretty annoying.

Okay, so it's more their dad's workshop than the actual apartment. That's fine, she loves dad's workshop.

She follows him over and frowns.]

The caf doesn't smell very strong, does it?

Fair enough.

[ He's still getting used to it. Jaina is still herself in all of the ways that matter, but the idea of someone younger than him fussing over him is still weird. Even if it is Jaina. ]

Yeah, I can't find any good quality caf here. Tea is much easier to come by.

Usually even bad caf smells like something though...

[This is kinda weird]

[ Anakin frowns slightly, reaching for his own cup and sniffing it. Sure, it doesn't smell like high-quality caf, but it does have a smell. ]

What do you mean? I can smell it.

[ obi-wan opens the door with a smile. ]

Anakin.

[ Anakin smiles in return. ]

Hi, Ben. Hope I didn't interrupt anything.

Not at all. What can I do for you?

It's about something I mentioned on the beach awhile ago.

[ 'When I was about to throw myself into the ocean and let Mariana drown me' goes unspoken. ]

I see.

[ obi-wan doesn't say anything beyond that, leading anakin into the house. ]

What about it?

[ He steps into he house, giving it a cursory glance like usual. ]

I decided to do something I haven't done in awhile. An old hobby of mine. I wanted to show you.

Edited 2022-09-13 00:39 (UTC)

[ the corners of his eyes crinkle. ]

I'd love to see it.

[ He smiles in return. Anakin digs through the shoulder bag of infinite holding and pulls out a box. It's about the size of his hand and is suspiciously decorated like a gift.

Look, he's never been accused of being subtle.

He holds it out to Obi-Wan, the picture of complete innocence. ]

[ hmm. obi-wan takes it politely, eyebrow raised. ]

[ Anakin simply waits politely. Still the picture of innocence.

Should Obi-Wan open the box, he'll find a sculpture of the Jedi temple made out of quartz sandstone. Although he did it from memory, it's to scale and quite detailed. ]

[ oh. obi-wan's eyes goes soft, looking upon it with awe. ]

How . . . ?

[Ezra can spend days and day with little company. Sometimes even enjoys some peace and quiet.

But on the whole, yes, he's had enough being alone for one lifetime, or least feeling like he has little choice about it. And while he'd been spirit drifting, he had usually felt like he had very little control over the matter, indeed.

He's less sure how he feels about diving in lightsaber practice. No matter how much he practices, he suspect there will always be others in this town who could kill him easily. He cannot let that turn into controlling fear.

On the other hand, he'd wanted to do this more with his fellow Jedi, before...everything. He shouldn't flinch away now, should he?]

Um. Ok. Do you want to start with katas in a particular form, or what?

[ He shrugs lightly, though he seems just a bit shy. ]

I did it from memory. I don't have the tools I do back home, but I just took that as a challenge to solve.

That's not my first attempt, of course.

[ He has several broken stones and imperfect replicas of the Temple, but maybe he can repurpose those later. ]

It's impressive. And very thoughtful. Thank you, Anakin.

[ Well now he definitely seems shy. ]

You're welcome.

I don't have any . . . remnants of the Temple. This is very kindly and thoughtfully gifted.

[ If Anakin notices Ezra's hesitation, it doesn't show. He continues, unusually business-like instead of his usual low-key seriousness. ]

I've been working on Form V. Does that sound good to you?

[She sticks her nose into the mug and frowns after setting it back down]

Yeah, nothing.

[ He frowns in concern. ]

Are you getting a cold?

I don't feel stuffy.

[Not that she's any better than their parents about being sick]

There's just nothing.

[ Anakin suspects this could be some Trench nonsense, which sets him on edge a little. ]

Does anything else feel off?

I've barely figured out what normal feels like here.

[Bad timing that.]

It's just the smell, I think.

..I've only picked up bit from watching your namesakes.

So. That's fine, if you don't mind starting with the basics of the form.

Sure. I'm still learning, so I don't know advanced moves yet anyway.

[ His usual straightforwardness is tinged with a sort of restless anxiety. It's only heightened in that he hasn't smiled or made any attempt at friendly chatting. He's acting almost like his namesake, though it sits unnaturally on him.

Anakin takes position expectantly. ]

[He can tell Anakin is in serious business mode, but for right now he just figure Anakin is allowed to be serious about practice.

There's a beat of hesitation while Ezra tried to decide if he can do the set simply from watching Anakin the elder sometimes.

He's game and try and drops into the opening position.]

[ If he notices the hesitation, it doesn't show. He drops immediately into the stance with almost rigid perfection. He takes a deep breath, ignites his saber with a snap-hiss, and starts with the opening katas.

Anakin looks unsatisfied almost immediately, finding microscopic flaws in his own form that make him practically scowl. ]

[ Well that's a relief. For the moment. ]

If anything changes or it doesn't come back by the end of the month, let me know. I think it has something to do with the Trench.

So I just need to get used to weird things happening for a month before we worry?

[This is annoying, but it shouldn't stop her from doing anything at least]

[Ezra lets that be for a while - maybe Anakin just needs to get into the flow and let himself settle, mentally and emotionally?]

closed ★ hope is always the antidote

for obi-wan

for jaina

for ezra

for jaina & luke

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