Ask Everybody Talks

[Willa Kanz]

Taco Thursday had been a thing ever since she was a little kid. Not with her old man, though, that guy didn't know fun if it smacked him in the face and wiggled. Cheap, greasy, and awful for the skin, nobody would ever know how she smuggled them back to Yavin while they were still hot and steamy, but she did. Veg for her, the special for him, like old times.

She held onto the cheap plastic bag and balanced holding her drink and his, careful to hold the bag with two crooked fingers and the utensils as well. Between training with Haldir and beginning her own soul-searching that Max often teased her about and setting up concert gigs, she wasn't able to be by his side at a critical moment. This wasn't guilt, nor a Padawan giving respect to a Knight.

This was a best friend doing what little she could.

She wasn't sure what to expect. If he'd even wanna see her at all right this moment, but she was gonna do her best. Many others gave her weird looks, but at this point she was kinda used to it. Still dressed in G. Wiz's costume, she was mindless of the stares as she continued walking until she got to his location. She couldn't explain it; she could always just kinda feel where he was, and with half her sight gone, it was oddly all the more attenuated, and mildly annoying.

She paused, taking a deep breath... then knocked on the door.

"Room service!"

@Nefieslab

 

[Crix Aran]

Contrary to popular opinion, Crix didn't spend his time in his room within Yavin's Temple moping about Dantooine like some hormone-riddled teenager. There were more ways to process guilt and grief than crying - Crix had reached the stage where he was needing to deal with the anger now instead. Anger at himself, anger at Raze for killing Hans, anger at Hans for having the audacity to die and anger at everyone for treating him like there was something wrong with him.

Like he was going to break into a million tiny pieces if they also acknowledged that he had fucked up, that he hadn't been good enough on the day to make enough of a fucking difference to...

He stopped himself and took a breath.

Not so much because of the train of thought so much as because the heightened emotions had started to cause the tremor to return to his left hand and he needed it steady. Steady while he worked on his latest project, the droid he was tinkering away at atop his desk. If his hand shook much more he was going to blow the thing sky high the first time he powered it up due to crossed wires and he refused to let his work just blow up like that.

Crix frowned ever so slightly at the words, not really recognizing who had spoken as he stuffed both hands into the mechanical guts of the droid torso he was working on.

"Door's open." he grunted, "It's always open."

Jedi Temple policy on locked doors was weird and fluid at the best of times but Crix had adopted an "open door" policy from one of his professors at university.

@Killa Ree

 

[Willa Kanz]

She didn't have to be an empath to feel the tension as the door opened. But neither did she have to be an empath to sense he was focusing on something. There were such things as bad timings, but she wasn't gonna sit back and wait for a good time or a decent time. She had a mission, and she was gonna see it through.

"Hey Tricksy," she spoke up, mindful of her volume. She remembered the last time she was too loud when he was tinkering around things; she stepped lightly into view, cocking her head to take a quick peek, before finding a clear space on a close table to deposit his drink first, mindful of anything that wouldn't like a drink near it. "Brought tacos, 'cuz you probably haven't eaten yet. Fresh, too, so if ya can find a spot to pause and dig in."

She deliberately kept herself easy, calm. Through the Force, it almost felt like island beat music, something chill and slow. There was a time she would have been excited just to be in here and be close, but... that was a while ago. Since Dxun, she'd had more than enough time to think, and evaluate how she felt, and now... she was able to let go and relax.

Taking a sip of her own drink and finding a seat, she opened the bag a bit to let the smell waft. "I missed these, figured it was best to share." She didn't really wait for a reply before using her free hand to pull up her comm, and begin scrolling. She could wait, she had to reply to fan mail and chilling here was the best moment to pause until he could surface from droid guts.

@Nefieslab

 

[Crix Aran]

Crix blinked but focused back up on the droid connections before he could get himself a cut or something. Instead he raised an eye-ridge slightly and tilted his head slightly to see Willa enter his room. She knew him well enough to know that if he was in the middle of a droid (literally and figuratively in this case) then she was gonna come in second place in terms of attention. Thankfully she also knew him well enough not to take it personally.

"Wiz." he greeted her as he started trying to affix the wires currently in both hands without an actual line of sight, just by touch, "Be with you in a sec."

Tacos?

Smelled greasy as fuck and that was the only reason he wasn't about to turn the food away. He hadn't eaten much recently but it was because he was busy, not because of whatever bullshit shrink reason people wanted to assume. Gods but it was tiring being this angry all the time... he shook his head slightly and focused back up on the wiring. It took him a feel seconds longer than it usually would have done with the expecting gaze of an onlooker but he hooked it in and he was reasonably certain it wouldn't explode.

Pulling his hands out, he wiped his hands down with some alcohol-wipes he kept on hand because disinfectant tasted terrible but droid oil tasted worse. Turning in his chair to face her, Crix reached in and grabbed a taco.

"Alright spill." he demanded before stuffing his face with the taco while it was still hot, swallowing most of his mouthful before asking, "Who sent you on Crix babysitting duty? Alex? Mom?"

@Killa Ree

 

[Willa Kanz]

She paused in her scrolling just long enough to cock him a sassy look. Even from here, she could sense the simmering anger just beneath the surface... but she wasn't gonna fight that. Instead, she took a long, slow sip from her drink, wordlessly handing over his own tacos before putting the comm away, and swallowing.

"Since when did I listen to rules lawyers and salute to authority?" she replied back, rolling her eyes. Annoyance flared to life, but she swallowed it down with a bite of her own taco, scowling. "I'm not here to babysit you, bonehead, I'm here to chill with my best friend and some cheap tacos. But if you got a problem with that, tough shit. I'm eating." With that, she took another defiant bite, narrowing both eyes at him. For some reason, that question nettled far worse than she would care to admit. True, people asked her to check in, but she didn't owe them shit for explanations.

She didn't have to justify herself, so she wouldn't. Instead she took another bite, keeping her cool and glancing over at his droid. She was dying to ask, but now she didn't want to. Not out of spite, but because her mouth was full and sometimes greasy food was a balm to annoyance.

@Nefieslab

 

[Crix Aran]

Did she practice looking down her nose at people while noisily drinking through a straw? Because it seriously looked like this was the kind of look she had taken time out of her life to get down just right. Like he could imagine his friend sitting in front of a mirror to make sure she managed to get the look just right. It would be impressive if it wasn't quite so annoying that she seemed to think that he was in any mood to be looked down on.

Still, she was his best friend... she got a pass.

Not many given his current mood but she got a pass on this.

"Bullshit."

He snorted, with almost enough force to remove some of the filling from his taco but he rescued it by eating it quickly and messily. When it came to tacos there was no other way to eat them in his opinion, even if this was going to make his Jedi Knight quarters look like some college dorm room until he could get around to cleaning it all up.

Crix clicked his tongue.

"Wiz, the timing is right there and you don't have the skills to try and lie to me right. You're worried about me." he clapped his hands before spreading them wide, almost hiding the wince that came from his tender shoulder, "But ya shouldn't be. I'm fucking Fine, you know? Them out there need to stop thinking I'm about to breakdown just cus it's what they know how to deal with."

He grabbed some fries almost angrily.

"And you seriously need to find a better taco place - too much lettuce. Where's the heat, Wiz?"

@Killa Ree

 

[Willa Kanz]

She rolled her eyes, almost so hard she could almost see behind herself if she rolled them any harder. "Don't be so paranoid," she replied. "Yes. I'm worried because you look like shit. But I'm not here to throw you a fuckin' pity party, so if you're here to tell me how 'fine' you are, then fine. So what? You want me to wave some fuckin' flag to show you're not on the verge? I know you better than that. You're stronger than they think. I'm just here to share my shitty tacos after comin' from a damn concert. You're welcome." She punctuated the word with balling up the empty wrapper, gritting her jaw as she stuffed it back in the bag. Truth pulsed in every word, the annoyance morphing into irritation.

She knew she shouldn't take it personally, but dammit, it was hard when he was broadcasting so much. Instead, she took a deep breath, then looked away.

"I looked for that place, that one we used to go with Riyo and Enby. I'm not here to be your nurse, I'm here because I just missed being Wiz." She took a bite from her second taco, then sighed, setting down her drink to rub at her forehead, then let out a rueful laugh. "Yeah, these're shit. But sometimes it beats that holistic granola crap they serve in the kitchens."

@Nefieslab

 

[Crix Aran]

Paranoia wasn't too hard to come by considering everybody he met these days seemed intent to psychoanalyze him about how he was doing after Dantooine. It had started off as being endearing but it had quickly escalated to annoying. He was a Jedi Knight and a grown ass man - he knew what he needed and what he needed now was time.

Looked like shit eh?

"Well I ain't polished my horns in a few days." he joked back bluntly, "Forgive me for not looking like a million credits. Not all of us are in a position to spend credits on our look right now."

He took a deep breath and leaned back in his seat, exhaling through his nose as he thought back to the past. Thought back to when it was him, Wiz, Riyo and Enby... they felt like a lifetime ago at this point. Like the good times they had happened to someone else, not him.

"Thought they shut that shit down." he admitted with a small chuckle as he picked at a fry, "Remember the last time we were there with the whole gang? Riyo chucked up on Enby."

Crix smiled faintly.

"Lifetime ago, Wiz. Happened to different people you know?"

@Killa Ree

 

[Willa Kanz]

She flushed deep red when he remarked about spending credits on looks; shifting once, she knew what she looked like was a far cry from what she really was as a Jedi. The suit she wore was black, chased through with a brilliant gold and black tie and the mask she wore while on stage; she wanted to argue that this was a costume, but kept silently eating. She wasn't up for arguing or debate; she knew there wasn't a point to it. Not long ago, she would have, but now she just didn't feel like it.

He was right, after all. But yet also wrong.

She took a handful of her own fries next, but her lips twitched. "Better owners. This is a lot less lethal." Still...

"Yeah. Other people."

Her voice was quiet. For a moment, she felt a bit of grief; it wasn't that long ago that the four of them took off with that weird Rodian to Corellia, separating from there. And yet, much had happened to them from then to now. Hell, a lot had happened to Crix from there to now. But... the boy she had a crush on had grown up. And she'd grown out of it. Though a part of her always loved him, it wasn't that kind of thing anymore.

She didn't want to be a haven. She just wanted to be what she was; a friend.

For a minute, she focused just on eating. She'd forgotten how hungry she could get until she realized she'd almost inhaled both of her tacos and most of her fries until her drink let out a clatter of ice. Instead, she was trying to figure out the words, gaze off in another place as she allowed him his peace.

"I'm gonna finish the remainder of my trials soon," she spoke up. "Haldir plans on trainin' me, but it won't take me long. But after that... I don't think I'm gonna stay at the Temple." Both eyes regarded him as though both could see clearly; it had taken her some time and practice, but she could get flashes of glimpses from her blind eye, almost like sight. Almost. She could do it now, easily around him. "But I wanted to ask ya if you wanted a bit of a break from these galaxy-class worriers for a little bit, before all that. I'm sure they mean well, but..." she shrugged.

"I get how it feels to want some breathin' room."

@Nefieslab

 

[Crix Aran]

It was a cheap shot to make the comment about credits being used on looks but he was in a bad mood, an angry mood, and he wasn't really going to apologize for being a bit of a dick. Still, he noted the way she reacted and he hated the spike of bitter joy he got from making someone else flinch. It... was ugly and he didn't like it even a second after it happened so he swallowed it.

He took the feelings tightly in hand and stuffed them down deep inside of himself to be dealt with later. During a therapy session or some other method but not here and not using Willa as a target. Instead he just did what she had done and dropped the line of thought - they did what they were supposed to do.

They moved on.

"We grew up I guess."

He didn't eat anymore.

There was just something about the mood shifting that meant that Crix just wasn't in the mood to eat. Instead he let out a breath and listened as she spoke about what she was planning on doing as a Jedi. When she mentioned the trials he smiled a little bit.

"'bout time Wiz." he teased her lightly, "If you'd have taken any longer I'd have gone for Master rank by the time you made it to Knight. Can't have my rival slipping up now."

Leaving the Temple was something he could see Willa doing. She had interests outside of the Temple, outside of the Jedi, and a life connected to both of those things. Most Jedi simply didn't have that. Crix himself had his mother but she was, more and more, focusing on a desk job. He knew where she was and she wasn't going to be going anywhere anytime soon and he took some comfort in that.

She could be the rock that stayed constant for him... because he certainly wasn't going to be staying constant.

"Can't imagine I'll be leaving too much." he admitted, a touch bitterly, "Did you hear about it? I got 'promoted' to head of security for the Yavin Temple."

Like a gift you couldn't return and only got given because everyone else was dead or turned.

@Killa Ree

 

[Willa Kanz]

She gave a small smile, but didn't answer. His comment earlier still stung, but she refused to hold onto it. Seeing him this way... it made her chest ache. Not for the first time, he reminded her of his mom. She met Lt. Aran a couple times; very briefly, but she admired the woman. But there were times he got that same look she used to, and she wanted to erase it for a moment, be someone to take it off his shoulders and walk for a little while.

"Rival? I make for a poor one, but at least I get a decent costume," she shot back, but there was a warm smile that followed. No hard feelings lurked behind those words. She was taught by Max, after all. She could let go, even if it could be hard. Perhaps she ought to let him go too... but some instinct kept her rooted.

Hearing his words, she cocked her head slightly. "Does that mean you babysit the entire temple?" she asked, polishing off the last of her own fries. "They can spare you for two days. I bet you haven't even seen the sun for a while." She gave him a small, tired smile again, then rubbed a hand over her face. "To be frank... I haven't either," she admitted, but... she wouldn't slip into self-pity. There wasn't time.

"I'll even bring the beer," she grinned, perking a brow. She cocked her head subtly. "It won't be a Zeltros, but it can be a place for you to use if you can spare the time."

@Nefieslab

 

[Crix Aran]

There were a lot of jabs he could throw her way and all of them would land, hard. Of course the reason why they would all land was because they were all below the belt, all of them personal attacks he could launch. Had his temper not cooled he might have done so regardless but he wasn't out to make everyone else miserable just because he was feeling the loss of Hans so keenly in the moment so he didn't.

A part of him knew that when he had processed his grief, when he was able to look back on this, he would have to hold himself accountable for how he had lashed out. And even now he preferred not to add such a heavy black mark against himself if he could help it.

He scowled at the mention of his new title before sighing.

"Kinda, yeah." he admitted, "See to it's defenses and add to them kind of shrak. To be honest, I haven't had much chance to get onto it yet but I know it's coming you know? Like a uni deadline I know I haven't done all the work for."

Taking time away was a rather attractive idea, even if he couldn't see himself spending time with the Padawans and other Knights on a beach somewhere anytime soon. With his new duties and his current mood, he wouldn't have been much fun anyway. But the idea of sinking a few beers with Wiz?

"You bring the beer and I'll bring the snacks." he declared with a small smirk, "Not tacos this time. I'll see if I can grab some of the pizza from Ponchos back on Coruscant."

@Killa Ree

 

[Willa Kanz]

Old times. No... this was different. Old times would have implied things were like this once... this was different. She gave a happy hum, putting away the trash in the takeout bag, then tossing him a wink. "I'll go change. Meet at the hanger in fifteen, and bring some swim trunks."

He could spare a couple days... and for once, she was relieved to feel nothing. No longing, no wanting to hold on a little longer. Maybe... this was the best step forward. But she could get people doing the mindful watching. He didn't need his hand being held; she was just sharing a small slice of nowhere. If the shit hit the fan... it was a place to rebuild.

They both knew things could always just fall apart any day, and she wasn't gonna hold onto Yavin like others did Ajan Kloss. When they met up again, she pulled herself into a pair of black leggings and a sleeveless top, her hair still coiled in braids atop her head. But the costume was gone, and her lightsabers still hung at her hips.

"All cleared, Cap'n?" she teased, before lightly stepping up to one ship. A six-pack was threaded through her fingers, and she moved with a lightness she hadn't felt since she was young.

One way or another, she would see her bestie smile again.

@Nefieslab

 

[Crix Aran]

The fuck? Swim trunks?

Crix raised an eyeridge at Willa as he waited for her to explain what it was she was thinking but, as she sometimes did, Willa decided that the best way to avoid having to explain herself was to just straight up not try. He groaned a little bit as she headed out of his room without another word about just what it was they were going to be doing. Having some kind of vacation?

As much as his body almost immediately reacted positively to the idea of being able to finally relax fully, he didn't want to have to deal with the bother that would come from him taking time off. However, he was weak. So he gave in and packed a quick bag before wandering down to the hanger with a growing sense of apprehension about what it was they were apparently going to do.

He made sure to wash his face before coming down, get himself at least slightly more presentable than usual.

"You better not be taking me somewhere of ill-repute, Wiz..." he joked, "I'm supposed to be responsible now don't you know."

@Killa Ree

 

[Willa Kanz]

She gave him a cheeky wink, then jerked her head to the ship. "Aww now, don't start being all responsible on me now," she teased, chuckling. "And gimme some credit. I'm not that bad." She didn't wait for him to retort that; she knew him all too well he wouldn't resist immediately claiming she was, in fact, that bad.

But she had changed.

He seemed apprehensive, though. For a moment, her lips pursed, then she sighed, ascending up the walkway into the light courier. "Come on. I promise, only a little bit. A quiet place." Not too long ago, she wouldn't have considered quiet places to be fun, but he needed space and she needed sunshine.

Rishi was still pretty damn slow and quiet.

Touching down in one private cove, she made sure nobody had tailed her, nor that there were any followers. Banking towards the place took a long time, but caution was warranted in the galaxy. She didn't want a surprise Sith arrival just as she was getting to see her bestie smile again. But finally they did manage to land, immediately close to the strip of beach she promised. But upon leaving, she didn't head straight for the water, but towards the small jungle close by, then tossing him a grin over her shoulder.

"Coming or staying?"

@Nefieslab

 

[Crix Aran]

She could joke all she wanted to because they both knew that Crix was a lot more responsible than he had been even fairly recently. Being made a Master of a Padawan was like being given a child who enjoyed yeeting herself into the void for karks and larks. He was a damned single parent just like his mother!

“I feel like I gave you just enough credit.” He joked back with a small smirk even as he followed her anyway onto the ship, “Maybe overly generous even?”

Not even half as overly generous as he could have been, really.

When she calmed down a little bit and tried to appeal to his level-headed side as well, Crix knew that this probably meant a lot to the woman. His oldest friend was someone he understood on a different level to pretty much anyone else in the world. Mom was different and so was Clove but Wizz?

He knew her inside and out, back to front.

So he followed her lead.

Wandering out of the ship, he made sure to dress appropriately for the private beach cove she had brought the two of them to. Raising an eyebrow, he chuckled a little bit.

“Did I ever tell you my opinion on Sand?”

@Killa Ree

 

[Willa Kanz]

Her grin turned into a smirk, and she cocked a brow in return. "If you don't like it because it's rough, coarse, and gets everywhere, there's a jungle as well. Nothing, as far as I'm aware, that can try to kill you though." Even through her blind eye, there was a glint of mischievous humor. She'd give him his space for now, room to breathe and to settle, but... truth be told, she wasn't sure if he would have come or not.

Ducking back, she found the small footpath easily enough. Truth be told, she found something of a former Master's diary here; she hadn't bothered reading it too much because some of it was full of some really lovey-dovey mushy bullshit about some cat girl, but he did mention a place on Rishi that was secluded. Hopefully, he didn't mind her crashing here for a little while.

Finding the hut was easy enough; she grabbed two towels, and a blanket. She couldn't explain it, but this place felt... calm. A small haven in the Force. If she closed her eyes, she could feel it pulling her in, a soothing presence with the waves crashing not too far away... she was beginning to drift, eyes shut as she was pulled into this feeling, unaware she was standing still and clutching the towels to her chest.

@Nefieslab

 

[Crix Aran]

He grinned.

"Love it, actually, especially the way it feels between my toes." he joked back, "Now Jungles? Now I know you're just trying to get me injured."

Crix and Jungles did not mix and this was common knowledge to the entire Jedi Order, not even just Willa. Honestly, it was something of a meme at this point that he didn't come out of jungles without injuries, trauma or a mixture of the two. If it wasn't quite so true he would have made memes about it himself.

"You know that with my luck in jungles, something would magically be there to try anyway."

Or there'd be a secret Sith cult there or something.

He thought he recognized the planet on their way in (Rishi or something?) but he didn't really know so he kept his mouth shut lest he offend some locals. It was something he had learned during his time as a Jedi that he absolutely had not learned when he was younger. He had been a little shit of a child after all.

As relaxed as he was, Crix still caught it when Willa suddenly just... stopped moving.

"Wizz?" he asked her, his voice suddenly taking on a steel edge, "What do you sense?"

@Killa Ree

 

[Willa Kanz]

It was hard to explain.

She got a sensation like this on Chandrila, as Max's Padawan; out-of-body, like she was just slipping out of herself as a hand would out of a glove. Suddenly, she was pulled out, and watching with an outsider's perspective. She could see herself standing there, and vaguely hear Crix's voice, but it was distant, almost sounding like it was underwater. She opened her mouth to talk, but no sound came out; the last thing she saw was her body suddenly collapsing to the ground.

From Crix's perspective, he would hear her utter one word:

"Cold."

And suddenly--

She felt herself whisked away, trying vainly to reach out at her friend, to even yell out something, but maddeningly, nothing reached through, nothing physically. She couldn't speak, only watch as the space dimmed around them, morphed, and she was standing on an empty platform, alone.

There were no sounds, there were no other beings. She could stretch out her senses for miles, but... nothing.

She could do little else, but sit, and wait.

With her heart in her throat, she knelt down on her knees, closed her eyes, and began to meditate. Perhaps this way, she could reach Crix...

She had to try.

I haven't had guests here in a very long time.

@Nefieslab

 

[Crix Aran]

Cold?

They were on a tropical paradise of a planet and she was cold? Well if Crix had needed any further evidence that something had gone wrong, he got it when he was suddenly struck by a feeling of vertigo that he hadn't really ever experienced before. Staggering away from Willa a step, he groaned and closed his eyes.

His eyes could be deceived - could lie to him.

Instead he reached out with the Force and forced himself to calm down as he found himself seemingly alone in a space that was much larger, much emptier, than the jungle that he had been standing in not two seconds ago. He kept his eyes closed however, knowing that certain traps could be sprung that had the ability to separate him from his true physical form.

He breathed out and straightened up.

Instead of looking around to try and see Willa, he reached out with the Force instead as he stood firm in what seemed to be a void entirely devoid of sense.

Patience, he had been taught, so patience he would use.

@Killa Ree