and now the hands move

[ladyofthesands.livejournal.com]

It was a small space and the stone surfaces were polished to glittering. A long wormtooth was laid out, cut in thick sections, milk white gleaming as sun dappled the table through the carved skylights that send just enough streaming through at just the right angle to illuminate the table itself. Arha had been frowning at the sections for quite some time, but had finally decided to begin hollowing out a section for her practice lightsaber. She began this process carefully, like any craftsman would a piece of fine art. This was no crysknife, after all. It mattered little what sort of tool she had in her hand to do the actual carving, for she had asked for something that would allow her to carve and etch wormtooth and the Sensorium provided.

Her hand was steady as she used the grinding portion to expose the milky sheen of the mineral, but left darker swirls, leaving it patterned. Her lightsaber would have no switches or buttons for any but a Jed-Eye to flip--this she had determined. If she did not have enough finesse to switch the blade on herself, she would not be worthy of the weapon. She had spent the morning carving away and scowled as she hollowed out the space to the proper depth before working on the finer details.

She had no idea what time it was and had no intention of stopping until she was satisfied.

This was not something she would do quickly. In truth, she had been working on the design since Obi-Wan had mentioned building her own. The carefully detailed drawing she had done shimmered in the air in front of her. The finished product would be slightly curved with a knife curving from the butt of the weapon. It would be elegant, both crysknife and lightsaber in one. It was the knife blade that she turned her attention to, now. The painstaking process of laying a fuller into the blade seemed to take forever, but it came out beautifully, both stiffening the blade and giving it proper support. She tested it out before moving back to work on the blade itself until its point glinted wickedly. Arha came back to the hilt of the lightsaber itself, then. She did not know how long she said there, her fingers cramping as she etched ornately detailed lines to form a gust of wind to wind around the body of the lightsaber.

Time had no meaning and working thusly was her day's meditation.

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[ladyofthesands.livejournal.com]

"Mmmm?" She half pulled away from her work, frowning slightly as she finished the last stroke of the line she'd bee putting in. Arha blinked and then set down her tool before rubbing at her eyes. "Ah, yes. Very silly of you."

Her lips pursed and she scooted away from the work table, laying the milk white lightsaber handle down on the polished stone before rolling her shoulders to work the kinks out of them. She let out a half yawn and absently bit down on her forefinger, her brows drawn as she studied the near finished handle. It needed a little more etching around the top perhaps, something to emphasis the part where the emitter went.

She shifted slightly to glance at Obi-Wan.

"Is it so late that I have forgotten a meal?" Her blue-within-blue eyes finally settled on the tray and she looked a touch amused.

[jedimacguyver.livejournal.com]

"You've forgotten two," He informed her briskly, looking up from the half-carved hilt lying on the bench. It was beautiful, milk-white and polished as smooth as a clamshell, whorling, half-finished carving and— he looked up.

"And...I..." He petered off— what had he meant to say? Something admonitory, no doubt, and it had probably been a little clever, but he couldn't quite remember what. Bother, why did she have to be so intense all the time? Nevermind, he pressed the tray of spice-goo at her. He'd take his meals without, thank you, and she needed it more that Ben, "Eat. It'll do you no good to work until your strength runs out."

[ladyofthesands.livejournal.com]

"Two?" she murmured, taking the tray and scooting up onto the edge of the table. The good became spice cakes and a bit of desert fowl in a sweet Spice sauce. A simple fare, but tastier than glop. "Truly? This place does strange things with time. It does not feel as if I have missed two meals."

Well, it did not feel like it until she worked a piece of fowl from her tray and took a bite--then she was quite suddenly famished. She ate neatly and quickly, though it was impossible to be perfectly neat about the sauce part. She took great pleasure in slowly and quite happily licking her fingers clean after she was finished. A small earthenware bowl materialized with a bit of water in it. This she used to wash her hands before sitting cross-legged and immediately reached for the tool she had been using to work patterns into the wormtooth.

[jedimacguyver.livejournal.com]

Obi-Wan caught her hand, gently in his, and with a gaze and soft voice that would brook no argument told her, "You've been at this for nearly twelve hours. It's time to rest, Padawan."

He could be intense too, and the Jedi had their own version of the Command Voice, though he wouldn't use it on her without further provocation. But he would, if pressed. Obi-Wan did not know Arha's limits as intimately as she did, and intended to keep it that way.

[ladyofthesands.livejournal.com]

Arha actually let out a wordless grumble as she caught his eyes and stared for a long moment. Perhaps he was right, but still. It only needed a bit of etching. Another fifteen minutes. Then again, it did not look so bad as it was. She leaned forward slightly, tilting her chin slightly.

"I do not think I know the meaning of the word," she said, but let the tool go. "Will you teach me that, too, mm?"

[jedimacguyver.livejournal.com]

"I've been stubborn in perfecting technique, in my time," he smiled; a dearly-won victory. He drew her away from the low table, and if that was closer to himself then that was not his fault, was it?

Obi-Wan smiled, though, at the clear challenge in her gaze. He loved that in her, that Arha would challenge him in such things, "Come, we'll learn together."

[ladyofthesands.livejournal.com]

"I cannot object to such a thing," Arha said in mock-serious tone, the edge of teasing subtle. Behind her, with a half thought, her lightsaber handle rose as she neatly directed it into the sheath on her makeshift belt that had once housed her crysknife. It was not too heavy and sat low and firm against her hip.

Her smile was slow as she leaned into him.

"And I do enjoy each and every one of my lessons," Arha said, bright laughter lurking in her words as she brushed her knuckles against his cheek. Such a statement was true as any, which made it all the more amusing.