trans_9 | All work and no play [Open]

Current Location: Jedi Temple

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All work and no play [Open]

It wasn't her first choice for places to train, but Mara had the feeling she was welcome here. At least as welcome as she would be anywhere else. She wanted to be out and moving, not staring at walls and thinking. The Sensorium was too much of an escape right now. She needed to concentrate on things she could control, and that included her body and her skills.

Her lightsaber was in hand as she tried to run through the mental patterns that Luke had taught her, before she had even heard of a ship with a name and personality. It seemed a lifetime ago.

Movements slow and collected, the smuggler lifted her lightsaber with her eyes closed, fighting an enemy that only she could see. This was something she could concentrate on and lose herself in. The Jedi Temple made an appropriate backdrop, doors thrown wide open to keep her from feeling caulstrophrobic. She was already tired of being closed in. The humm of her weapon and the brush of her feet on the floor was the only sound as she continued to practice.

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Luke trailed his fingers along the walls of the buildings, following Mara's trail. It was an odd flavor of emotions she left in the Force; calm and in turmoil all at once, a kind of singleminded determination to continue forward with life. It was very distinctly Mara, and he found it easy to follow--though Luke knew he could find her anywhere they went. After twenty-two years of marriage, he could have picked her out in a heartbeat.

He found her at last. "Good choice of setting," he said softly when she came to a pause in her training, his plantsuited feet making no sound on the floor.

She'd known he was there, even if she had not really acknowledged his presence. At some point, Luke had been filed away in her mind as a complete non-threat, and having him walk into the room did not require her to turn and see what he was doing. Part of her mind had not even noticed, too caught up in her practice. That was somewhat alarming, when she really thought about it.

Mara looked back over her shoulder at him. No matter where she was, he always seemed to be just behind her. "I needed a change of scenery. I doubted the Jedi would mind if I borrowed some space, seeing that I was working with a light saber."

"I think it's very appropriate." Luke smiled at her, feeling that rush like he always did (and always would) just from being around her. It was just like he'd thought when soaking in the spring with Arha; Mara was home. "It's better here than in the Sensorium all the time. Sitting around in your own head all the time..."

He sighed, that smile fading a little--but only a little. "Want someone to spar against?"

Sitting in her own head was exactly what she was trying to avoid with her excessive training. Collapsing into an exhausted sleep tended to be prevent dreaming or staring at the ceiling and thinking.

"Is that an offer, farm boy?" Mara couldn't remember the last time Luke had offered to spar with her. He didn't have much down time with his Academy and all of his students. And occasional significant others, but that was clearly something she would not have to think about any more.

"Depends. Are you planning on accepting?" The grin was back, and his lightsaber flew into his hand from his belt. Mara was a skilled opponent, and it had been a long time since Luke had sparred with her too--though for different reasons.

"It doesn't look like you're in the mood to just walk away." Mara turned around to face him, the light saber he'd given her still ignited. A small smile tugged at her lips while she slowed her breathing and let her touch on the Force deepen. She was going to need all the help she could get.

"I'll go easy on you," he teased. Luke ignited his own lightsaber; the green-white blade hissed to life, humming and filling the air with the smell of ozone. With his eyes half-closed, Luke sank into a comfortable 'ready' pose, reaching out to the Force to let it guide him in this.

A breath, to steady himself, and then he sprang forward, lightsaber up over his head to bring it down in a vertical strike.

Mara blocked easily, stepping into him and locking eyes with him the same way they had locked blades.

"Go easy on me, Skywalker, and they'll get to see their precious Master beaten." She pushed hard on the crossed light sabers, looking to push him away from her. The Force whispered to her, louder now that she was in a combat situation even if it was practice.

He let her push him off, dropping into a backwards roll and using the Force to help him get easily to his feet. As athletic as he still was even in his sixties, that edge was needed in even a spar with a Force-sensitive opponent, and especially one trained like Mara was. And while the aggressive style of his father that Luke had adopted was tempered by his more defense-oriented moves, it still needed a lot of physical strength.

Now Luke crouched low, watching her with bright, intense blue eyes as well as in the Force. "A Jedi doesn't boast," he said, but there was still that little crooked grin on his face to tell her he was still teasing.

"Good thing I'm not a Jedi, then."

Words that seemed to be completely empty when she was so clearly using the Force to guide her movements, following his roll. She was more elegant than aggressive, looking for the maximum impact in any move. Patience was something she had honed throughout her life, and it showed when she stalked him across the floor. A sharp smile answered his. Blood pounding through her veins made her feel real again.

A lunge brought her back within range, aiming a jab for his midsection that would never connect, even if he didn't block. Mara had no intention of killing off or even hurting Luke. They were far, far past that.

Luckily for her, he did block it easily, their two blades crashing together before he spun aside and brought his lightsaber around in a diagonal slice, blazingly fast.

But it was distracting to see her stalk him like the hunter she was, and he had to let go of a stab of sadness at the thought of a crumpled note left for him. Gone hunting for a few days... at least the Ohm had done the job of destroying it for him. Luke couldn't bring himself to do it. And when he was concentrating like this it was easy not to let the wistful You were and can be again out when he had his whole mind focused on their spar. Such things couldn't be changed with anything but time and diligence, and instead of dwelling overlong on them and mourning, Luke had let them go for now.

Muscles burned when she moved to block. He was still so damn quick. The aggression was so much more controlled now, that faint taint of the dark side gone. Mara had to remind herself that this was not the same Luke that she had known. This one knew he couldn't single-handedly save the universe, and was stronger for it. A steady calm that she had been leaning on since she had arrived.

Her blade slid along his, trying to twist under his guard rather than force her way through. They were close again, she could almost count his eyelashes while she stared right into those bright, blue eyes. Husband. An odd thought that she forced herself to not dwell on, because she wanted to. So very much. She wanted to question and poke and prod.

Luke shifted his grip on his weapon, eyes locked on her jade-green ones, watching and feeling in the Force what she would do. He sensed much turmoil in her, many swirling emotions warring with her outward calm. And then he noticed too that there were shadows under her eyes--in fact her whole posture when he'd come in had been tired.

Pressing forward, trying to get her to yield under the pressure, Luke cast half his mind back over the intervening time between the end of the mission they'd gone out on together and now. How many times had he been awoken by her coming into the room and falling onto her bed without a word? How often had she been gone before he'd woken up, training in Stacy's halls?

"Concentrate," he murmured, half to himself and half to her. "Keep your focus now, Mara."

"I don't need a lecture, Skywalker." Mara refused to yield under the pressure. She stood her ground, even if it made her arms shake. Instead of stepping back, a foot flashed out, aiming to connect with him. If he dodged, it took the pressure off of her. If he didn't, kicking him sounded just fine.

She wasn't looking for one of his lessons.

He did dodge, spinning back to let her foot fly harmlessly behind him, and came back with a series of short, sharp jabs. "Hey, I'm a teacher!" he said. "I can't help it."

"Fine, teacher." Mara stepped to the side, feinting to let the jabs pass her and get her inside of his guard. The blades snapped when they hit again, frustration leaking into her emotions before she brought things back under control. This was just a spar, nothing more. If he wanted to lecture, let him.

Luke's brow furrowed just a bit. Mara letting her emotions leak like that wasn't normal, and it worried him. Either she was really frustrated with his accidental teaching, or something else was going on. And the only way he knew how to get at it was by asking directly.

Dropping back a few paces, Luke let the tip of his blade dip toward the ground. "Is something wrong?" he asked her.

It was a fairly universal signal to pause, and Mara was willing to take it. She backed up a few steps as well, blade held below the usual guard position.

Lying was pointless, he'd sense it before the words were even out. It would be easier to deflect it away with something that was equally true. "I'm just tired. I should probably call it quits for the day soon."

"You probably should." He couldn't help the worried tone that crept into his voice; Luke worried about everyone he cared for, but Mara had something of a special status. "You look tired. Are you sleeping all right?"

With a hiss, Mara turned her light saber off. Possibly one of the shortest spars she'd ever engaged in, but clearly it was over.

"I'm sleeping fine. I just over did it today." There was a pause before her senses brushed against him, so soft that it was barely noticeable. She'd taken to keep her senses pulled in and her presence minimal, but there was now a feather soft touch from her mind. "I don't like leaving my mind idle right now."

Luke did the same, returning his weapon to his belt. Come to look at her, Mara looked thinner, the bones of her face standing out more than usual. And that mental touch--that was surprising and reassuring all at once. "I know," he said gently, and his mental touch was just as light as hers was. The very last thing Luke wanted to do was scare her away with being too enthusiastic.

"It's difficult, but we have to keep up hope that we'll be able to get it all back," he said. "Without it... well, where are we, really?"

"You need that hope. I need a reason to hope."

And that was the real problem. While the passengers of the ship wailed for the things they had lost, Mara couldn't manage to feel that level of despair. The universe hadn't gotten along with her in a long time, and she had very few lasting connections. Her company, some co-workers that she would go out for drinks with, a few names from the Academy she would recognize. Her ship was lingering in her mind more than most of the beings she knew.

The only name that rose up as someone she would genuinely miss was here. There was something wrong about not truly mourning the passing of an entire universe, and it kept her awake more than missing things. She had cut so many ties in an attempt to keep herself safe that when it all disappeared . . .

"I don't have much to miss, Skywalker." And that was what kept her up at night.

"Mmm..." Luke absently brushed some sandy hair out of his eyes, thinking. "It's not about the people or the things we may have lost, I think--though that's got the biggest impact. It's that an entire universe that we called home--all the people we've only met in passing, all the places we never even went to--all that's gone now."

He looked up at her, thoughtful. "You don't have to be a Jedi Master to want to restore all that."

"Maybe. There are things I regret that I won't get to see. The moon rise on Torbit 5. That I miss, even if I only saw it once."

Her lightsaber went back to her belt while she rubbed at her temple. Everything had become such a tangled mess. She kept waiting for something to sink in, to make her mourn the way the others were. Shouldn't there be people she missed, rather than landscapes?

"It still seems wrong somehow. To want to save a universe because of a moon rise. There should be something else, with that many life forms wiped out."

"Maybe as you go along you'll find more reasons." Luke smiled at Mara, giving her as much support as she needed. He wouldn't impose on her--he knew better--but he gave what he could and hoped it was enough.

"But we can't spend all our time dwelling on the past or things we miss. We can take heart from knowing we'll see them again if we succeed in getting our home back." Luke paused, then ducked his head a little. "Sorry, I know you hate lectures like that. It slips out sometimes."

"It's not about dwelling on the past. I still feel like I'm supposed to care more. Like I don't care enough."

Mara crossed her arms, gaze shifting down to the ground. It was hard to explain to someone that was so connected to all living things. He revelled in the connections that she had brutally cut off. Even with him, she was cautious to build more. Tentative touches where the Jedi were so comfortable to connect with each other. She consciously eased some of the tight control she held over herself, letting him see her unease, confusion, feeling of being adrift.

He felt his chest constrict a little bit. No matter what she did or didn't remember or where she was from or when, Mara would always command the lion's share of Luke's heart. Feeling what she was keeping inside, locked away from everyone, made him want to take her in his arms and make it better. And after a moment, that was just what he did--still giving her the opportunity to get away if she wanted, but holding her close.

All the appropriately 'Jedi' things he could say would just have to wait.

There was a quiet sigh before she leaned into him, rather than trying to get away. Mara was far more tired than she had been letting on. Luke was a warm, comforting presence, and her arms wrapped around him almost out of reflex. Shock and stress had driven them together over and over throughout her stay. It was becoming normal to be this close to him, and from what she could understand and see, he was more than happy with that situation.

Her forehead was resting against his shoulder, her voice muffled against his robe. "Maybe I'll get a second chance. To figure out what I'm not missing."

That made him squeeze her tighter. "I hope you will," he replied. "Until then, I'll just have enough reasons to hope for the both of us."

Luke turned his head a bit, smiled into her hair. This he could do, now; and he would be there for her, back her up now. He'd failed her at home and now that they were together here, Luke promised himself that she wouldn't have to face any foe alone if she didn't want to.

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All work and no play [Open]

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