Sun rises, night falls, sometimes the sky calls...

[demonicbeauty]

Who: Ariadne and various (hit me up if you want a starter!)
What: Ariadne keeping busy and being bad at processing her feelings
When: Throughout January
Where: Various, but mostly Serenity Garden

Content Warnings: Backstory trauma likely to come up, discussion of Jedi/Sith violence, will update as needed.

Comments

[demonicbeauty]

Returned to the ocean.

[Which is a little hard to accept, given everything that she and Dean and the others did to restore his soul.

She didn't even get to say goodbye. That really burns. But then again, when has she ever truly had the chance to say goodbye?

Sighing, she shakes her head.]

There's no excusing his behavior. But you can rest assured it won't happen again.

[Not from him. But Ariadne gives Anakin a curious look. The real question now is if he'll overreact again. And that's really not up to her or any promises she can make.]

[facultative]

[He takes a deep breath. And then another. And another again. With no immediate target for his anger he turns it to himself. What made him such an easy target for people like that? Was it truly like what Maul said? That there was such an obvious flaw to him that draws in those kinds of people?]

Thanks for telling me.

[He doesn't want to be here any more. He moves to brush past her and leave.]

[demonicbeauty]

[She reaches to catch him by the elbow. Not hard or unforgiving. Just in the hopes of stopping him. Keeping him there.

Because this conversation isn't over. And she's tired of being blown off.]

Anakin. Wait. Please, wait.

[facultative]

[Anakin does stop when she reaches out to him.]

What else do you want?

[demonicbeauty]

[She pulls her hand back, a little wounded. Of all the snarly males she's met in Deerington or Trench, he's the only one who's ever treated her like...

Well. Like he does.

It makes it very hard for her to find the right words. So she speaks slowly. Carefully.]

I don't want anyone else getting hurt over a misunderstanding. Especially one where I'm being used to bait you.

I want to settle how we prevent this from happening again.

[facultative]

[He turns back to her slowly then takes a step forward.]

You think I wanted this to happen? I would love it if people stopped assuming that I'd care what happens to you just because you look like her.

[He made the mistake at first because he hadn't realised it was possible, but now he could never confuse her for Padmé. Ariadne could never compare in Anakin's eyes.]

[demonicbeauty]

[She doesn't flinch. Ariadne can deal with Maul at his worst. She's not afraid of Anakin.]

I never said you wanted it to happen.

[Her voice is even and flat. No intonation. No accusation. Just matter-of-fact.]

And it's very clear to everyone that you don't care about me. That's not the point, Anakin.

You killed my brother. And you haven't even said that you were sorry for doing it.

[facultative]

Because I'm not.

[He knows better now, but with the information he had at the time he doesn't see anything else he should have done.]

I wouldn't do it now after what you've told me, but it was the right thing to do then.

[demonicbeauty]

The right thing to do?

[She reaches for a half-empty glass on the table. And is sorely tempted to throw it in Anakin's face again. But after a second of contemplation, she seems to change her mind. Instead, she takes a sip from the part of the glass that isn't lipstick stained. The drink is bitter and burns. Her face crumples in disgust.]

You know, I never understood the appeal of poisoning yourself for fun. But Dean once explained to me that drinking wasn't so much about the poison as about the people you're with.

[Ariadne sets the glass down, leaning against the table.]

Here's something you don't know about me.

[Because, really, he doesn't know anything about her. Just that she looks like someone he cares for.]

I had ten brothers. A big family. Sisters. Parents who were absolutely devoted to each other and to us. Alastrians are nomadic by nature. Pack animals. I grew up with such a big family. Until, one day, a very, very bad man who was very, very angry killed them all. My entire pack. Including the children. I only survived because of an accident of fate. And after that, I had to cobble together whatever little pieces of family I could. Which is really hard to do.

[Another pause. Although Ariadne's emotions are roiling beneath the surface, she's suppressing them all. Keeping her voice calm, her expression placid.]

Obi-Wan told me that the Jedi feel love and compassion for all living creatures. I would appreciate it, Anakin, if just maybe--for a second--that compassion could extend to Dean.

[Not to her. To him. To the only family she's really got.]

[facultative]

[I killed them all! Not just the men, but the women and children too. But he had a reason, even if it was still wrong and he doesn't know anything about what happened other than what she's just said. Devotion to only themselves while demanding the opposite from him.

She's a lot like the Tuskens.]

Love and compassion for all living creatures doesn't mean do nothing because we value everyone equally.

[Her emotions bleed into the Force so he feels it clearly even as she ensures none of it shows.]

But you would understand that. Devoted to your family, who cares about anyone else, right?

[demonicbeauty]

No. Not right. You're missing the point on purpose, Anakin. I'm talking about the fact that innocent people don't deserve to die!

[Well. No one deserves to die. Not even the worst of the worst. But that's too hard to put into words for him, especially when he's being evasive.]

Dean was innocent. My brothers were innocent. You just going off and killing him was no better than the warlord who slaughtered an entire race.

You're a Jedi. You're supposed to be better than that. A good person. And I think you want to be.

Or am I wrong?

[facultative]

Is he innocent? He's never hurt someone? Lived a perfect life without fault? None of us are innocent and none of this matters at all. You live, you die, you live again, you die again. There's no meaning here to what we do, it'll all be wiped clean eventually.

I could be the greatest person ever here and none of it will change what I am, what I become.

[He's still grappling with certain details that means it's not possible for him to yet understand the impact his actions had on others.]

So you'll just have to be happy when I say I have no reason to do it again.

[demonicbeauty]

And who the heck has lived a perfect life without fault? That's an impossible standard.

[Even Ariadne, the multiverse's sunniest optimist knows that.]

Innocent hardly means perfect. And accusations hardly mean the truth. You need to stop seeing things in absolutes. Because, no, that's not good enough, Anakin. The killing needs to stop. This isn't a war! And not everyone comes back.

[There's the slightest twinge of anger and regret beneath the surface of that one. She's lost people. It never gets easier.]

I don't care what you are or what you become back home. No, that's not true. Of course I care.

[Empathy is kind of built into her nature.]

But you're living here. And maybe for the rest of your life. So unless you just want to join the Sith and move in with Maul, you need to shape up! Actions have consequences and, right now, your actions are making you look like a real butthead!