deercountry | ( open ) I can't control withering wonders

[ not all memories are grand or tragic. some are little moments, caught in the web of time that leads to greater outcomes. something small that shapes the way the future is seen. for obi-wan and leia, it was a moment on a truck. despite the potential danger, their words were hushed and tender. for leia, obi-wan's knowledge of her past meant he could be her father. obi-wan feels the sting in his heart. their families were gone, and they made new ones. but it was always a moment of doubt, of wondering that never truly leaves.

but the love, too, is never forgotten. ]

[ fear. the fear cuts through him like a knife and all he can think of is running, running as far as he can because he cannot face this foe. he cannot. because he knew. he knew who was under that mask. he knew who it was. his lightsaber ignites in his hand, but obi-wan was weak. unmoored in the force.

and vader catches him. throws him into the fire. drags him through the burning coals. and all obi-wan can do is scream in pain. ]

[How is it that Ariadne always ends up in Obi-Wan's memories?

At least she knows it's a memory this time. And at least no one seems to be losing a body part. Although she has her hands clenched to either side, as if ready to leap forward and defend Obi-Wan and the little girl as they roll along the ugly terrain.

Of course, that's not how memories work, is it?

She crouches down in the bed of the truck, watching the little girl.]

You're the sister, aren't you?

[ his blood is like fire. the fight was violent, explosive, world-ending until alucard crashes into his childhood bedroom. dracula follows, close on his heels and simply . . . stops. time itself seems to stop as dracula looks over alucard's desk, his basket of toys, his bed and furniture. all things he had lovingly crafted for alucard himself. lisa's child. his child. and what a terrible thing it is, to be killing your child.

and such a terrible thing it is, that alucard, even in that moment, pulls a stake from his bed and prepares himself. that alucard pushes it in, listens to the bloody, soundless ache from his father's throat.

that he sees him turn to dust in front of his eyes. a hero. who saved lives. by killing his father. ]

[ leia's nose wrinkles as she glances at obi-wan momentarily and back at ariadne. ]

I'm not anyone's sister. I'm just me!

[ obi-wan seems startled, though he masks it quickly. ]

Quite.

Edited 2022-09-25 02:02 (UTC)

[ to say their relationship was tumultuous at the start would be an understatement. ahiru never liked him, bad-talked him and even pushed him, which is something she would never do. they both loved mytho in different ways and that made them unlikely companions later on. and finally partners in crime, working together to protect someone they loved. but it changed. for ahiru, fakir became the person she relied on the most, the person she wanted to be with the most, the person who changed her and upheld her while still never expecting her to be anyone but herself.

is it love? is this the story? she does not know. ]

[The memory can see her? Well, this is new. And a little startling.

Every time she thinks she's beginning to understand the rules, Ariadne finds herself surprised again.

Of course, it's a little hard to back-peddle from a comment like that.]

Oh, no. "Sister" means something different to my people.

[At least she's good at lying.]

It's an endearment. Like Humans use. Like "sweetie" or "dear one."

[ leia looks deeply skeptical, but seems to let it go. obi-wan looks uneasy, but relieved all the same. he glances at leia for a moment. ]

It's probably an Outer Rim cultural ritual.

[ leia nods slowly, absorbing that. he turns his gaze to ariadne. ]

Are you heading to the space port?

[More like outer-outer-outer, completely out-of-the-universe rim.

But Ariadne starts to slip into character as easily as slipping into a warm bath.]

Yes. I'm on a very long journey.

[Her eyes flick up to Obi-Wan, desperate for some kind of recognition.]

[ there seems to be a flicker for a moment before it subsides. ]

Where to?

[Well, this is good and confusing.

She reaches for the first planet name she can remember, from all of her conversations with all of the Jedi.]

Tatooine. I'm going to visit a friend.

[ obi-wan seems to tense. leia doesn't notice as she looks at ariadne. ]

The dusty planet?

The dusty planet.

[She's pretty sure, anyway. From what Luke's told her about it.]

I've never been to a desert before. I'm a little nervous.

[For a long moment, Ezra freezes, disoriented and confused, in the dark. Hadn't he just been looking at a book, finally getting back to poking around the Archives for the time in a while? What the kark is this?

He can feel Vader. Or course he can feel the ice-cold, overwhelming presence of Darth Vader; he's felt that literally from orbit before. He's always, while in Trench, taken comfort in the fact that Anakin Skywalker has often not behaved as the amazing man Ezra believes he has been before and can be, Anakin has not been so lost he radiates that.

It takes the young Jedi a few seconds, to register through that miasma in the Force, that that is Obi-wan's fear that he's feeling, and it remains hard to pinpoint exactly where it's coming from.

Still, Ezra keeps his hands on his 'saber hilt and creeps towards what he trusts is the right direction.

And then the fire and screaming starts, so Ezra breaks into a run, still keeping his saber off, in the hopes that might give him an element of surprise.

Ezra is beyond questioning how; he simply reacts, throwing himself even more open to the Force and gathering it to blow the flames beyond Obi-wan to a larger blaze, willing them to bend towards the Sith Lord.]

Edited 2022-09-25 02:49 (UTC)

[ In an instant, he's gone from standing a sidewalk in Cassandra to sitting on the back of a truck going down a dirt road. Anakin blinks at the bright sunlight before whispers in familiar voices bring him back to awareness.

Ben and Mom. He hears the pain and longing in his mother's voice and the grief and loneliness in Ben's. His heart aches for them a little, and he wishes he could just tell them it'll be okay. They'll get the answers someday.

But he's only an observer here. Just a ghost, unseen and unheard.

Or so he assumes. ]

[ at this point, she only has herself to blame. she's encountered one too many memories this month, strangers and friends alike, but she still grabs another book. she just wants to read a fucking book and lose herself in another world for a few hours. this one starts out interesting enough: a man and his companions are going after his father, a vampire. it quickly becomes a page-turner as the battle unfolds but then she feels herself slipping.

she feels herself slipping and she knows. she tries to throw the book away from herself, cursing her luck, but it's already too late.

she's in a child's bedroom, an observer of the tragedy unfolding in it. she feels sick watching as dracula wakes from his rage; as the realization of his actions catches him and holds him and breaks him down; as he mourns. she feels worse, however, watching alucard. she wants to look away as he snaps the bedpost, as he steps in close to his father; as he drives that wooden piece deep into the ancient man's chest.

she covers her mouth to quell a squeak of horror and grief that tries to escape it. alucard's grief is written on his features. written in the way he stands and shakes as his father falls, head struck off.

as the memory ends and she's ejected from the pages, she finds herself in tears, her breath catching in her throat, alucard's family portrait burned into her mind along with his grief and the way his father had spoken. she hates that she saw it. hates that she was a witness to something so personal.

it takes her an hour or so to recover from it and when she does, she grabs her omni and scrolls until she finds alucard's name in it. ]

Hey. You up? [ it's late, nearing midnight, but she can't erase the weight of guilt she feels. can't erase the memory of the memory. she knows he deserves to know what she saw. ]

[On the one hand, Jason loves watching Obi-wan interact with the little girl. But on the other, he feels guilty as hell for intruding on what is clearly a private moment between the two of them. Maybe he can make a quiet exit and ask Obi-wan about it later]

It's not a terrible place.

[ obi-wan sighs. ]

Though it can be a hard life.

[ obi-wan was making his rounds as usual. there's a more relaxed gait and stance to him, even though he's aged. ]

Ah, Jason.

[ leia seems to take notice of him, glancing his way. ]

Who're you?

[ darth vader looks at this nonchalantly. he, after all, has nothing to fear. the only person who could defeat him lays burning at his feet. the stormtroopers hang back, fearful, unable to cross the flames. darting just beside ezra is a woman who rushes towards obi-wan, tugging him away from the fire. ]

[ once, he slept like the dead with a wound that could not heal. a wound his father dealt him. it had been his plan after his father died, to return to that tomb and sleep his life away. a grave for the guilty. none of those plans came to pass, but sleep remains elusive. ]

I am. What is the matter?

[ Anakin startles. He glances at Obi-Wan for a moment-- will he be recognized?-- before looking back at his mom. ]

Jacen.

[ He hopes his brother doesn't mind that he's borrowing his name. His usual "Bail Lars" won't cut it this time. ]

[ leia shrugs. ]

You should sit down while the truck is moving.

[Ezra has no illusions about his ability to do much to Vader besides slow him down a little. But that's all he needs to do. He doesn't really want to kill Anakin, and getting Obi-wan away is the priority.

He starts backing up and call to the woman-]

I can help stabilize him.

[Outright heal all that damage? No. He doesn't have that kind of skill, nor the raw power to brute force it without harming himself. Keep death at day until real healers can help and ameliorate shock? That, he's been practicing.]

( open ) I can't control withering wonders

( obi-wan and leia )

( obi-wan and darth vader, cw: burning )

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( dracula's death, cw: death, staking, blood )

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( ahiru and fakir's relationship )

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( later then! )

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