The trees trick you 'cause they're always standing still

[masterofpuns]

WHO:  Jacen & Tenel Ka | closed
LOCATION: Outside the Ravenclaw Common Room
WEEK: 56
TIME: Afternoon
WHAT: A reunion and some Disney-style Star Wars derp
RATING: Probably G, Holmes.

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[heirtostay]

The Ravenclaw Common Room was not a place that Tenel Ka had often ventured during her stay at Hogwarts so far, but she had memorised the way during the night of the Ball, when she had explored the castle and grounds with Zekk. She walked that path now, and if her steps were perhaps a beat faster than usual, she was fairly certain no one had been monitering her footsteps in order to tell.

His presence was there in the Force, closer now that it had been in months and she couldn't help the way her pulse sped up with anticipation and nervousness and worry and - well. That was an issue she could focus on later; for now, she would jsut be glad to see him.

She rounded a corner, and then he was right there, where he hadn't been any of the other times she had walked past this corridor. She ducked her head slightly, hiding a smile as she slowed her steps. Now she could see him, she did not have quite so much reason to hurry. "Jacen, my friend," she said softly. "It has been a long time."

[masterofpuns]

His first instinct was to hug her, but he hesitated on the edge of it for a moment, jerking forward slightly before stopping himself.

But in the end, it was still his dear friend standing there, and it was so unexpected and satisfying that his hesitancy melted away immediately, and he crossed the space to embrace her.

"Yeah," he said finally, "I guess it really has." It felt as if so much of that time had just slipped away, in a tidal wave of events that had been difficult to stop.

It was nice to feel like he wasn't slipping off the edge of something anymore. Like they all weren't.

[heirtostay]

She was in the process of considering whether or not to hug him, or simply shake his hand when Jacen took the decision out of her hand by stepping forward and embracing her.

She was still for barely a moment, suprised and unused to the close contact after so many months of ensuring people didn't get close to her, for fear of assassination and everything else that came with ruling Hapes.

And then his presence, so achingly familiar, washed over her and she relaxed utterly, her arm coming up to return the hug as she rested her forehead against his shoulder for a moment, taking more comfort than she could say from the gesture. There had been many things she had worried about in relation to this meeting, but they all proved groundless now, inconsequential.

She didn't say anything for the moment, felt no need to. Words were, for now at least, unnecessary.

[masterofpuns]

Jacen's own silence echoed hers, as he just soaked in her presence. He finally drew back, the smiling etching its way back across his features.

"Which means we've got a lot of catching up to do," he continued, as if they hadn't missed a beat. "I'm glad you're here," he added quickly, in case there was any doubt about it. He couldn't remembered if he'd said this or not yet: he'd been too initially surprised to really know what he was saying.

"Was it uh... your idea to come?"

[heirtostay]

There was a certain amount of relief she felt at his smile, although it had likely been ridiculous of her to worry that things would change. Jacen was Jacen, and she was Tenel Ka, and before all else they were friends. She wouldn't - couldn't - let that change, for anything. Her own lips curled up the slightest bit once more, and this time she didn't try to hide it - the equivalent of a wide grin for someone so reticent as Tenel Ka

[masterofpuns]

Jacen felt a flood of warmth when he provoked an actual smile from her, as always. It was such a rare thing, and maybe that was why he'd always enjoyed it so much. He could never take one for granted.

"Probably not," he chuckled, trying to think of other places they could go. "Maybe a walk would be best." He knew she preferred being active, so sitting still was likely to not help either one of them be comfortable.

"Do you think she'll... be safe there?" Jacen asked hesitantly. He could understand why Tenel Ka would be afraid of leaving her mother alone- if she was only just recovering from her illness, it would be more difficult for her to be as aware as she might have to be of what was going on around her. And in the intricate web of Hapan politics... not being able to protect yourself could be a death sentence for any ruler. But he still didn't expect Tenel Ka would have come at all without some assurance of her mother's safety

[heirtostay]

"Ah. I would like to walk, if you have no objections," she agreed easily. It was true, she did prefer to remain active, and there was less of a chance of being interrupted if that were in motion. It wasn't that Tenel Ka was particularly insistent on being alone with him, and more that the topics she tended to discuss with Jacen were ones she did not see the need for anyone else to overhear.

"I believe so," she answered, after a moment's thought. "I am - concerned for her, of course, but not overly so. This illness, I believe, has taught her the dangers of complacency, and her health is such that she is able to defend herself." Another pause. "Master Skywalker has also seen fit to request two Jedi to stay in the palace."

She fell into step next to him, unsurprised at the easy way they returned to the norm. "This is also a fact. Although I am unused to asking permission to climb high towers, at the very least I do not have a cohort of guards preparing a net below me, should I fall."

[masterofpuns]

"No objections here," he said with a smile, glad to still have her pegged. His eyes scanned the ceilings and walls of the corridor as they walked, anywhere but right at her as he listened to her explanation.

It made sense really - that she would take some sort of strength from her experience, just like the warrior she was. And it also made sense that Uncle Luke would interfere. He ran a hand through his hair, and grinned sheepishly.

"He would, wouldn't he?" he laughed. "Well, I'm glad to hear he did. Not that she can't handle herself, but it can't hurt matters either."

Jacen laughed harder though, at the imagery of Tenel Ka scaling the tower with a net beneath her.

"What do they think you're asking to do? Some kind of circus act?"

[heirtostay]

Tenel Ka noted her friend's direct avoidance of her, but said nothing of it. If it was important, he would mention it. If it was not, he would not.

"I...appreciate his concern," she agreed solemnly. "And am grateful for it. There is the matter of a general distrust in some areas of Hapan society, but with Ta'a Chume here, that is less of a worry." She pursed her lips slightly at that. "My mother also suggested - and I agree - that perhaps it would be best if my grandmother was not left to wander the world entirely unsupervised."

Her lips twitched slightly as he laughed, and she ducked her head again. "I am uncertain. I would be hesitant to rely on such a safety measure regardless, considering that I am certain at least half of them would have separate orders to 'accidentally' drop the net."

[masterofpuns]

It was definitely not something he was willing to talk about, but he finally managed to glance back at her, as her own eyes dragged to the floor of the hallway.

"You know, that's probably a good idea. It'd be out of character for her to not be making trouble, wherever she ended up. At least you understand her and what she's capable of."

Someone else might have taken that last bit as a joke, but Jacen knew better. It was a hard reality of Tenel Ka's life that assassination attempts were real, and often came from within her own family. It was something he'd always had such a difficult time imagining, so different from the way family was constructed where he came from. But Tenel Ka had parents who loved her, and her friends were as much her family as anybody else was.

He was a part of that.

"I can't see you 'relying' on any kind of safety measures. Doesn't really strike me as your style."

[heirtostay]

"Fact," she said shortly, tone abrupt not out of rudeness or irritation, but rather just being her usual manner. "She is collecting young women, students and teachers. I would not be surprised to find that she is once again searching for a new husband for my father, with the failure of her plans surrounding Jaina

[masterofpuns]

'Collecting'. Just that word carried all the terrible sort of implications he'd learned were an intrinsic part of the woman.

"Yeah, well if she seems to land her eye on some one in particular, maybe we can do them a favor, and warn them of the fate she's got in store."

"Relatively simple," he chuckled, glad to hear her irrepressible stubbornness was still intact. It was one of his favorite things about her. Not that he could imagine her without it, even seated on the throne of Hapes.

There were a few students lining this corridor, and as she turned the questions back on to him, he found himself taking the few moments it took for them to pass by them to formulate a response, as if he wanted the conversation to be more or less private. Which made sense for her end of things, but it wasn't as if his own adventures were something he was attempting to conceal from the world. In reality, though, he knew that most people would simply not understand - not understand why he'd left in the wake of his brother's death, and his sister'

[heirtostay]

Tenel Ka's expression fell into its usual calm repose, belying the thoughts that lay underneath the surface. "There are those...who would not be entirely unreceptive to her ideas and ideals," she pointed out quietly. The main reason Ta'a Chume's plans on Hapes had not succeeded was due to Jaina's stubborn and unwilling nature. If her grandmother were able to find a willing accomplice, events would be much more difficult to predict - and prevent

[masterofpuns]

It was unfortunate but true - some students at Hogwarts were practically mini Ta'a Chumes in training, which was unsettling to think about. It was much more difficult to 'warn' somebody who might be glad to be involved in such elaborate scheming in the first place.

"I think when it comes to knowledge of surroundings and physical abilities, you've got most everyone here beat," Jacen professed. It wasn't flattery, by any stretch. He knew precisely what she was capable of, and to what levels she pushed herself.

He glanced over at her, as if judging whether she wanted to hear more or not. Though he knew she would be fine hearing whatever he was willing to talk about.

"I spent a lot of time ... thinking about what the Force itself actually is. And the Force in relation to magic. And the two are... intermingled, just like it's a part of everything. They aren't two separate entities. So to understand the Force, it only makes sense to continue my studies here."

[heirtostay]

Tenel Ka nodded gravely, acknowledging the compliment to her abilities even as she admitted an inner relief at the conversation moving away from her grandmother. "I have not yet had the opportunity to spar with each member of the school as of yet, but I believe this to be a fact, yes. Now that I have reinstated my training regime, at the least."

She felt the glance, weighted, measuring for a moment as he processed whatever information it was that he had garnered by looking at her. She walked alongside him easily, not bothered in the slightest by this. "Your conclusion is sound," she agreed, after considering his words. "You still seek a greater understanding of the Force, then?"

[masterofpuns]

Jacen grinned at the mental image of Tenel Ka lining up every student here for a sparring match.

"Well, if you need a training partner..." he offered, letting the statement drift.

"Yeah, it's still an important part of..." What I do? Who I am? My quest as a Jedi? It was all those things and more. He just shook his head, dark hair falling in his eyes. "It's still important to me. But I don't think being here will limit my ability to do that in any way."