Quiet time. [ open ]

[goodofthegalaxy]

Jacen hadn't known about the courtyard he was currently seated in. He had explored the city and most of the other parts of the ship he was allowed in, but he had only recently discovered this courtyard. When he first saw it, he had stood at the entrance, eyes glazed over and mouth hanging open. He had caught himself, then shook his head and shut

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[restoresbalance]

Luke stood quietly in a shaded area of the courtyard, watching his nephew meditate. He could sense there was turmoil there, just below the surface. Jacen at this age had been like that though. And perhaps, since he was here and still himself--the seeds of the dark man hadn't yet taken root--he would remain Jacen. Maybe not the youngster who had run around bringing home completely inappropriate pets and telling really bad jokes, but at least not the man who had hurt Ben and tried to kidnap his own daughter under the guise of keeping her safe.

It wouldn't do to lurk in the shadows like this, though. Luke took a deep breath and stepped out, his cloak hanging comfortably off his shoulders and swishing around his booted ankles. "Hello, Jacen," he called out.

[goodofthegalaxy]

He snapped out of his trance instantly, turning his head to the right and pressing his chin against his shoulder. His eyes followed and landed on his Uncle -- Master Skywalker. Jacen's lips upturned slightly.

"Hey, Uncle Luke."

He was about to pull himself to his feet and give a proper bow in greeting, but his Uncle wasn't really one for formalities when it came to his family and Jacen knew this from experience. He shifted though, pulling himself up off of the greenery of the courtyard and onto a simple steel bench where he stared up to the Jedi Master. "How're you?"

[restoresbalance]

Uncle Luke. He liked the sound of that a lot, and had to smile and walk the rest of the way over, sternly reminding himself of what he'd just been thinking of. This is Jacen, your nephew, not some Sith.

"I'm all right," he said. "I'd be better if my nephew gave me a hug."

[goodofthegalaxy]

With the grin still apparent on his face, Jacen stood from the bench and wrapped his Uncle into a hug, feeling somewhat comfortable for the first time in days. Of course, it made Jacen feel better too. Luke appearing made him stop the somewhat morose train of thoughts that his mind had been traveling on.

"So what brings you out here anyways?"

[sin_and_misery]

Unfortunately for Jacen, if Vader had his way then things were going to get...out of hand.

He'd keep his promise to Luke, of course, and behave himself...but that didn't mean he couldn't search for the various Jedi scattered across the ship. Attracted by Jacen's presence, Vader lurked just outside the walls.

After all, it couldn't be considered his fault if he didn't start a confrontation.

[goodofthegalaxy]

The whole time Jacen was speaking with his Uncle, he could feel something - someone - lurking around the exterior of the courtyard. It was making him squirm slightly. It was familiar, yet so foreign to him. The other conflicting thoughts in his mind concerning the presence? He was frightened, yet curious.

As he talked to Master Skywalker, he let his senses open just a little wider and stretched out, feeling the surrounding area with his mind. There was something there and Jacen, as much as he wanted to find out what it was, continuously told himself to stop. He didn't.

[sin_and_misery]

So, you are a very young padawan, Vader thought aloud, the smirk evident in his 'voice', young enough to be enamored by the power of the Sith without any...reservations

Finally, a mind open to real power. Perhaps his search for an ally on the Dark Side wouldn't be so fruitless after all

Don't do it Jasa :C

[goodofthegalaxy]

Something about that voice in his head made him want to shudder. But he knew if he did so, his Uncle would catch it. He was masking his curiosity about it and that was a hard enough thing to do in the presence of Luke Skywalker.

The voice scared him but also tickled some odd, dormant feeling in his system. Why was it so familiar? Why was he reacting to it like this?

And why was this voice talking to him about The Dark Side? Jacen would never, ever stoop to such a level.

This feeling though, the one that was shifting and waking up inside of him, made him want to ask his Uncle about the future. His future. He knew that Uncle Luke had been holding something back concerning him... Jacen just never bothered to ask about it because he never thought he should know. Now he was tempted though.

All because of this presence hovering around the courtyard.

[hatngartersnake]

Jacen wasn't the only one who was having difficulties opening up to the crew. While Jeka had made a few attempts and involved herself in the magic and security departments, she had yet to reach her pre-transformation level of ease in the company of others. But that didn't make her any less lonely, especially since her friends that she'd feel most at ease around hadn't been woken up yet. Brainy and Superboy were wonderful of course, but she hadn't been particularly close to either of them before they'd all woken up here.

So off-duty, lonely, nostalgic, and a little hopeful, she followed her mental sense in the direction of a mind in a similar state of her own. She'd made her best friend that way once, maybe it could work again.

[goodofthegalaxy]

He sensed someone else near the courtyard and through the Force he could feel that this newcomer was in a similar state he was. He shifted slightly, while still seated in his spot on the grass and waited, wondering if the person would actually approach or pass by.

Jacen had a slight hope that they would stop. He figured chatting with someone might get his mind off of everything. It would probably be difficult for him, but he would attempt to manage.

Focusing on the sounds around him, Jacen waited.

[hatngartersnake]

Jeka approached quietly, but settled back on her coils when she realized that he was meditating. Val had been blase about people interrupting his meditation, but that hardly made it a polite thing to do. And anyway, this was a lovely courtyard. She could wait until he was finished.

[goodofthegalaxy]

Jacen turned his head and looked at the newcomer finally, a slight smile on his face. He was pleasantly surprised by how polite this person was (some of the people here he had met weren't as nice) and looked forward to speaking with them. Looking forward to something felt odd after not having that urge for so long.

For a moment he couldn't even remember how long he had been here.

"Hello there."

[favoredfire]

The peacefulness her son exuded even during times of anxiety made Leia's heart swell with bittersweet pride. There was so much of him, in his stature and expression, that reminded her of the small glimpses into Luke's Jedi training she'd only been able to witness for less than a year.

Sometimes, things like that -- being able to sense Jacen's feelings in the quiet way she could sense Luke's before either of them knew about their relation -- filled her with awe. And fear for how this grown man was raised; despite the intuitive drive to think of Jacen as nothing but absolute perfection, there was a muted pain in his eyes that troubled her.

"Hello," she smiled softly. "Would you mind some company?"

[goodofthegalaxy]

The voice that hit his ears made a grin spread across his face. Jacen was happy to see that his mother was accepting him as her son, instead of writing him off like he never really existed (which he was afraid of her doing when she first arrived). He looked up to her from his patch of green on the ground and beamed, just like a student at the Academy again.

"Wouldn't mind at all." He patted the spot beside him, but then realized she might not want to sit on the ground. Jacen's hand moved to motion to a bench closeby as his cheeks reddened slightly.

[favoredfire]

Leia chose the ground, acting as if she hadn't seen the motion. She didn't want to seem patronizing.

"I'm glad," she looked all around. "This is a very beautiful place."

[goodofthegalaxy]

He nodded. "It is." As his eyes moved with hers, all around the courtyard, he opened his mouth to continue, not really thinking of the words before they fell out. "It reminds me of home."

It was a silly thing to say. The Solo family had many homes over the years, all of which Jacen had a sort of attachment to - but this kind of reminded him of the place he spent most of his time as a kid. Yavin IV. The leaves that hung overhead were large enough to hide in, the grass and brush was soft... the smell was the best though. The smell was life.

Jacen brought a hand up to his mouth and absently began to gnaw on his knuckles. He found himself doing that more often now, since he arrived here. It was something he had done as a child, when he was nervous or slightly uncomfortable. He wasn't sure why he was doing it now though.

"How're you doing?"