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sith_happened

Office hours [all day]

Apr 13, 2007 07:48

Anakin hadn't slept in a couple of days.

Not that this was so terribly unusual for him since coming back from his galaxy, but today the shadows under his eyes were particularly noticeable.

He was flipping absently through a magazine that was six months old and fighting to stay awake.

The door was open.

rikku, soooo over you omg, dean, office hours, ethics class, aeryn, rory

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Afternoon sith_happened April 13 2007, 14:50:32 UTC

Now Anakin was engaged in the fascinating game of "Stare at the Wall."

Re: Afternoon the_merriest April 13 2007, 17:37:22 UTC

"No Jedi," she said, smiling slightly. "I haven't heard of this Force thing, either, but Luke was trying to explain. It's ... the religion thing. There are people here who say that they're gods. Yevon said that. And we killed Yevon."

She flailed a bit. "I mean, we had to. He was evil and all that. But he had this whole religion thing set up, and just 'cause we didn't believe it? They were awful to us. We weren't even human, to them. And nobody questioned anything for a thousand years. Why should they? They had a book of teachings to do all the thinking for them."

Re: Afternoon sith_happened April 13 2007, 17:45:50 UTC

Anakin nodded quietly. "All beings crave answers. Most want power. The combination can be cataclysmic. In my galaxy there were thousands of planets, trillions of beings and more religions than I could count. To Jedi, they were all an interpretation of the Force--the power that surrounds us, binds us, and holds the universe together."

He waved a lazy finger and a pen on his desk lifted up and began to spin. "Jedi can use the power of the Force, but we don't understand it much more fully than other beings. It's just something that is."

Re: Afternoon the_merriest April 13 2007, 17:52:13 UTC

Rikku watched the pen spin, fascinated. "Okay, that's ... really cool. So this Force ... it's energy? Life-energy? Can it connect people, things like that?"

She watched in silence for a few more seconds. "But ... how is that religion? You're moving the energy. Lulu taught me magic. It didn't make me believe anything of Yevon, even though she did."

Re: Afternoon sith_happened April 13 2007, 18:08:07 UTC

"The Jedi were devoted entirely to the study of the Force," Anakin said, "to understanding it and doing what it guided us towards. We were the negotiators, the peacekeepers, for thousands of worlds. We stood outside of the workings of the rest of the galaxy--beyond the call of planetary allegiances or family--answering only to the Force, the greater call of justice, and each other. It was a tradition that stretched back for 10,000 generations."

He continued spinning the pen. "We called it religion because it was a simple explanation."

Re: Afternoon the_merriest April 13 2007, 18:18:43 UTC

Rikku considered his answer for a minute. "That's ... that's awesome. I mean. The peacekeeper thing. That's ... I wish we had had Jedi. It ... might have helped."

"So it's not really a religion? And -" She fidgeted a bit. "Does that stuff really even exist? There are people here who say they're gods and they do parlor tricks, and then they want to barter for your souuuuuul or whatever and ... isn't that just more of the same lies?"

Re: Afternoon sith_happened April 13 2007, 18:39:19 UTC

Anakin's eyes flashed. "There are incredibly powerful beings at this school," he said. "I certainly don't worship them, but I don't underestimate their power, either." He looked into Rikku's eyes. "Or their ability to hold you to a bargain."

He folded his hands and looked at them. "And even the Jedi fell," he said softly. "For a group who could see the future, we were blindsided by what happened."

Re: Afternoon the_merriest April 13 2007, 19:05:07 UTC

Rikku blinked. "Okay, so ... it's a bad idea? I mean. He was saying it was just a contract, some labor or something, and he said he could ... he could fix something that. That I can't." She swallowed hard at that last bit.

Re: Afternoon sith_happened April 13 2007, 19:13:32 UTC

"Did it sound too easy?" Anakin asked. "Are you getting something you really, really want at no apparent cost?"

Re: Afternoon the_merriest April 13 2007, 19:17:01 UTC

Rikku sighed a bit. "Yes and no. It sounded like it would cost a lot, probably more than he was letting on, probably something terrible and awful. And ... that might still be worth it, if he really can ... do what he said."

Re: Afternoon sith_happened April 13 2007, 19:20:05 UTC

Anakin leaned closer, eyes sympathetic. "What would he do?" he asked softly.

Re: Afternoon the_merriest April 13 2007, 19:25:08 UTC

Rikku squeezed her eyes shut, that knot in her stomach twisting again.

She had to wait a moment before she trusted her voice. "Bring him back."

Re: Afternoon sith_happened April 13 2007, 19:38:43 UTC

Anakin's stomach dropped. "Bring him back from where?" he asked, moving around the desk and crouching down in front of Rikku.

Re: Afternoon the_merriest April 13 2007, 19:45:32 UTC

Rikku was so sick of being weak and crying and ... she dabbed at her eyes and tried to take a shaky breath.

"I don't know. He's not ... dead. He wasn't ever alive. He was a ... a dream. When the f-fayth were set free ... he just ... vanished. Like he'd never been there at all."

Re: Afternoon sith_happened April 13 2007, 19:56:22 UTC

Anakin floated the box of tissues over for Rikku to reach more easily and stared up at her.

"And you miss him," he said. It wasn't a question.

Similar pain stared out of his own eyes.

Re: Afternoon the_merriest April 13 2007, 20:05:42 UTC

It was almost stupid, how little she'd let herself think about that. How much she'd enjoyed goofing off with him there, just as energetic as she was, and just as likely to get into trouble. And then Auron would glare and ... Auron. Another stupid heartstab.

She nodded, fumbling for the tissues. "I m-miss all of them. So much. I'm so tired of ... of losing people. But she ... she needs him. She lost everything and she ... I think she gave up and ..."

She hiccuped. "I'm supposed to protect her. I said I would. I'm her Guardian. I promised."

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