trans_9 | at end of day, we find ourselves

The cave entrance was warm, slightly cinnamon scented, and rolled back into a long corridor lined with phosphorescent lichen clustered in groups that lit the murky surroundings with a soft blue illumination. The atmosphere was damp, but not uncomfortably so, and Arha had padded its winding corridors for the few minutes it took to find the warm swirl of mineral infused water. Water. And not cool water, either. She blinked as she crouched at the edge of the pool and tentatively dipped her fingertips into it.

It was hot.

Not hot enough to burn, but definitely hot enough to soak tension from a body. Her eyebrows arched slightly. Something like this was an interesting interpretation of the phrase I should like a place to ease sore muscles. She had been training hard recently and it showed, of that she was sure. Her calves and her back ached, but it was a pleasant thing that told her she was doing well and she reveled in each day's training session be they mind or body or both. And now, she regarded the pool with curiosity.

"And just how," she murmured, her voice echoing, "shall I go about this, hmm?"

Was she supposed to relax in the vapors or actually disrobe and soak within the water itself? Such things did not have directions, after all. The air was thick with the scent of minerals--she could pick them out if she cared to do so--so, it was always a possibility that one was supposed to inhale them. Truly, this was a curious thing and required thought.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Mara smiled, running her fingers over the surface of the water. They came from such different worlds, and saw everything through such different eyes.

"You don't think much about the little things when you're jumping from planet to planet every day. It's about the next shipment, the next delivery, the next customer. Where are the authorities, and how much will it cost to make them blind." She gave the water a flick, watching the ripples she caused. "The only time I even notice a sun rise or set is when I'm on Yavin 4. I never stay for long."

"Then this is a chance to notice what you missed," Arha said. "We might be trapped aboard this ship, but there is no sense in letting it confine us. There is a city below, Sensoriums here--both are resources that can be used. There are no customers, no deadlines, no shipments--but true enough, there is only time. Time and threats that we must yet face and too much thinking."

Arha leaned her head back against the lip of the pool.

"This, I think is why contact is important. Without it there is a path to madness." She opened her eyes to peer at Mara for a long moment. "Do you wish to explore the city, perhaps?"

"I should spend more time exploring and less beating my body to a useless wreck. Maybe the fight with the pirates made me more motivated to train what I have." Or she just didn't want to think anymore about the simple fact that there were so few things that she would truly miss about her home universe.

"I've found the Jedi Temple, but most of the city is still unexplored by me. Will your teacher let his student have some time off for good behavior to give a tour?"

"Too much training is as bad as too little, sadly. I do think Obi-Wan might let me do such a thing as this exploring," she said, her laughter soft. "It is good for one's health to do many different things, after all. I confess, I have done just enough exploring so that I know the layout decently, but there are places I am told I must not go. Sometimes I heed the warnings like a good little girl, other times I do not. I suppose even I have my moments of rebellion."

"The places they tell you not to go are usually the most interesting." Mara's smile was laser sharp as she leaned back to rest on the rocks, eyes gazing up at the ceiling. It sounded like a group of Jedi, trying to keep their precious students safe from any danger. "And where have they told you that you must not go?"

"There is a place that is now walled off by rubble, where something dark must certainly sleep. But there are corners of the city where the shadows crawl long and places that, too, make one's skin crawl. Back alleyways and strange buildings, too." Arha played with the Force, capturing drop after drop of water and suspending it in mid-air almost absently, the tug of a grin soft as it worked its way across her lips.

"If I should find a place that is usable, I might consider relocating. I would wish to be under a false sky if I cannot get anything else. I am unsure of what Obi-Wan wishes, but such is my own thought. I would wish for more space, just a little more. Sometimes it feels as if I cannot breathe in this place."

"The new quarters aren't bad, but I can see wanting to be in the city if you're not used to being inside. I'd be surprised if Obi-wan objected." Mara watched her practice idly, fairly certain she wouldn't be able to replicate the trick. Finesse had never been her strength. She was still rather battle oriented.

"Dark corners and strange buildings sound like an interesting way to pass time."

"It is better than philosophizing on this whole mess," Arha said a touch grimly. "I am a thinker by training and even I cannot tolerate examining this for any extended amount of time. It makes my insides wish to knot, though I left no one behind save the desert."

Arha sent two droplets to chasing each other and practiced holding the others still. They wobbled nonetheless and collapsed back into the pool a moment later. She still held the other two, which spun in complex patterns. Arha was not pleased with her lack of control.

"I should think Obi-Wan would enjoy the space as well," she murmured absently, her brow furrowing slightly. "It might be an interesting thing to try actually living in the city. For awhile, I was down there with my Shai-Hulud. I have a sandworm from my home that came with me, it was with him that I stayed for quite some time."

at end of day, we find ourselves

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject