Veloz posted:OCC: solojones, ur killing me... first Obi is a drunk and now he's a romancer? Ben will definetly think ur Faux-Obi if u continue to behave like this
Humming tunelessly, Tarfang wandered about the ship occassionally sticking his head inside a room. There were far too many of them on this confounded ship. He'd gotten rather tired of thinking like an ewok, and decided to use the terms that his captors had forced into his head. Ewoks weren't stupid... they just lacked a way to describe lots of things. Thanks to his having learned to comprehend basic, that had been relatively fixed. Irksomely there was little interesting through most of the doors, mainly just bunks for the crew and refreshers. Sometimes a storage closet, but those tended to have things fall out. The angry Ewok figured those out very quickly. The hum was lost in a scent that came wafting from around a corner. It was another Ewok, but not from his tribe. Not that Tarfang really had a tribe, that had kind of been wiped out before he'd ended up off of Endor. Great, now life gets more interesting. Tarfang had no desire to heart another of the tree people, but odds were this would come to blows of some sort. It was the one violent act that he found distasteful. Sure, his violence had gotten him kicked out of his tribe, but that was because they wouldn't leave him the feth alone. Hearing the other Ewok speak, any chance of blows being averted seemed gone. With what he'd learned, there was little chance for the other Ewok to win any kind of fight. ["How am I a threat? I have left all of the tribes, and want nothing to do with them. Returning to Endor isn't even something I am considering."] Right about then allies seemed more useful than anything else, what with all the tall one's getting killed and all. ["Work with me to settle this situation, and we can part ways forever."] It was the sensible thing. It was the wise thing. It was likely one of the only ways to survive. Still, Tarfang readied his blaster in preperation of the offer being declined. He would NOT be killed.
Somehow, despite the sheer improbablity of it at this point, Junior managed to surpise Han yet again. For the first time he listened to what the older mann had to say. It was the wrong part though. He took Han's advice to think and then shut up. Could he be anymore hard headed? Pop's almost banged his head on the wall yet again. It didn't end there. Junior thought he should have kept the vow of distance he'd made. That was a mistake in general, but the only real thing Han could have done at that point in his life. Seeing as it was the only way he knew how to react to anything. Hide from it. Pretend it didn't exist. Scowling up at the younger man, "No, you'd have just hurt her when she hadn't done anything. Not that it made any difference." There was bitterness literally dripping from his voice. "You finally listen and hear the least important part. Then again, it's the part that you can be selfish about so what'd I expect?" Muttering to himself Pop's shook his head and considered just walking away. Getting anything through his younger self's this head was worse than trying to beat through star destroyer armor with your head. Almost. He almost walked away. But what'd be worse than having yourself walk away in disgust? Answer: Probably very little. Sighing to himself, Pop's looked Junior in the eyes again. "Kid, it ain't letting people close that's the problem. It's that you can't see how anything about the situation effects anyone other than you. Until you manage to get past that, you're screwed. It's really that simple." Deciding to rely on something Junior wouldn't know about yet, "Live in your time for one more day and things change." It really is amazing the difference a single day can make. "Hope you get to go live that day." It wasn't much, and considering it was Junior likely wouldn't make any kinda dent in his pigheadedness, but Pop's at least felt better for having said it.
Despair. It had flooded through her before she'd started talking, and to her horror she realized that he could hear her thoughts just as clearly as she could his. It was not something she'd been expecting, and seeing as it was something she was so new to she hadn't even bothered to try and blunt the harshness of them or anything. Not that she knew how to, but it was the thought that counted. Literally, in this case. As she spoke Obi-Wan's spirits lifted drastically. Evidently he could tell that she still cared for him, and her words had just reinforced it. Why would she try to work around what he stood for if she didn't care? Quite simply, she wouldn't have. From his thoughts about what she said, it seemed like she had him. That it was over save for the proof. Obi-Wan seemed to be digesting that statement, trying to figure out the in's and outs of it. Bria could feel his need as well, and how it responded to her own. It was almost like a feedback loop, making each other's feelings just that much stronger each time the other realized it was there. Disconcerting was something of an understatement. Need almost poisoned the whole situation though, because it went against what the Jedi stood for. It went against everything Obi-Wan had been taught his whole life. Those are hard things to get past. It normally takes far more than two days to get past, but everyone had been through so much since getting there that it wasn't even funny. And apparently she had missed a lot of what had happened. She'd caught flashes of the revelations that had rocked Obi-Wan's world... But a lifetimes worth of memories is a lot to have thrust upon you. It takes more time than they had either one had to get past that. She continued talking, and the Jedi kept reacting. It was obvious to her that what was being said through him completely off kilter, which hadn't been Bria's intent at all. But she did like the fact that he pushed the thought aside and focused solely on her. The differences from the way Han looked at her were striking, but she decided that this wasn't the time to go over those. Later... I'll figure it all out later. Assuming there was a later. Meeting Obi-Wan's gaze had been a true jolt, her breathing had sped up. He was reaching the point that he didn't care anymore. She knew it, that he was going to let go of everything. There was more to it than merely her, hints of Anakin falling, his love for Padme (whoever they were) flickered through the Jedi's mind. They seemed to be warnings, but Obi-Wan ended up taking them in a very different fashion. It was almost like they were a warning against NOT acting. Which was odd, considering everything. Bria decided that complaining would be a monstrously stupid thing to do. At her last statement, that Obi-Wan was the last hope she had, his mind seemed slightly overwhelmed. It was as if everything that she needed help from had descended into him and left him at something of a loss as to what to do to fix it. How to conquer the darkness that was so aparent within the wounded woman's soul. Love. It flashed through her mind, and her eyes widened slightly. Love is the answer to the darkness? It seemed so obvious, but that was something she needed desperately. Han had given it to her, but it wasn't quite what she had needed. Han simply couldn't understand, and that limited his ability to help. That had always hurt him, which in turn hurt Bria. But every time she'd tried to tell him, Han'd brushed it aside as if it were something easily beaten. That or he'd had no clue what to do, what to say or how to react and as a result she'd been left in a slightly worse state than before. All in all, Han was not the most healthy situation for her. Not that Obi-Wan was perfect. She knew he wasn't by any means, but the simple fact that he understood made him imminently more qualified than anyone else. Confusion reigned in Kenobi's mind as he tried to figure out where that thought had come from. He couldn't decide if it were Bria's, his own or come from the Force. She could feel how close he was to running... but the last kept him pinned in place. What if the Force was trying to tell him that she'd been right, that they had become too inhuman. If you couldn't understand it, live it, then you couldn't help people that did. You never understood quite what things meant to a regular sentient. It was purest arrogance to think that you knew better for someone who experienced things you never dreamed of having. For no better reason than that those dreams were forbidden. It was wrong. Obi-Wan was working through the problem in his own way, and come to the conclusion that true love... the unselfish love that Luke had shown to his father was what a Jedi should feel. Love was a power for good. How could you truely be good without experiencing it. Love was pain, and it caused anguish... but those were the things that let you know you were living. Those were the things you should be thankful that life brought you, because you couldn't truly understand happiness or pleasure without the pain and anguish that was it's foil. Han hadn't ever grasped that, and had never learned how to deal with the pain that he went through. It was his greatest weakness... and he thought it his greatest strength. Then the Force clearly reitterated a previous thought. Love is the cure to darkness. Bria found herself blinking, having had no clue what it was like to feel something so all pervading. Is that what he feels on a regular basis? It had left her in awe. It was like life, pure and simple. But... it was still stale when it had nothing human to go with it. What was life for it's own sake but selfishness of a completely different nature? Catching sight of a little movement, Obi-Wan started lifting his hand towards her. Bria dared not move for fear she might break whatever moment was happening. The first touch was electric, and it sent a shiver running through her. It was pleasure, intamacy and openness all rolled into one. And it was more than she'd experienced before. Obi-Wan stopped with that, Han flitting through his mind. Squeezing his hand Bria thought, Han doesn't matter anymore. There was a little fear in her eyes, fear of the unknown. Fear of exactly what this bond they shared would do in this kind of a relationship... If merely touching her hand caused this kind of reaction what would something truely intimate be like? Apparently she was going to find out. She could feel how much it cost Obi-Wan to reach out and caress her cheek. She closed her eyes for a second, shuddering under his touch. The trail of fire his finger left on her skin was almost overwhelming. If Han hadn't been out of the picture before that one action alone ensured that Han had indeed lost his chance. And it was his own fault. Had he not broken her then this bond would never have formed, and she would likely never have looked at Obi-Wan in anything resembling a romantic way. But Han had, and the bond had formed... which left them here. Hand cupping Bria's cheek, Obi-Wan leaned in after an eternity of his hands on her skin. It was as if they had just jumped off of a cliff into a raging sea, and they had no clue if there were rocks below waiting to smash them to bits. Obi-wan saying that he would do anything he could to help her was like a flash of light in her soul, and the blossom of hope bloomed. Lips trembling, they met with the Jedi's and it was as if the whole world exploded. There was nothing but Obi-Wan, he encompassed her thoughts, her feelings, and there was nothing outside of him. Hand trembling, she reached out and pressed it to the back of his neck making sure he wouldn't leave anytime soon... Hoping that he wouldn't want to. Somewhere in the background she knew this was just to make amends, that it was truly what she'd said... He wasn't doing this for himself. This was all about her, which for that moment was what she needed. It filled those empty places that she had feared would never be assuaged in any way. It shone light into the darkness of her soul in a way that she hadn't dreamed possible. Still, that was something that she would likely deal with later. She could not use this man. Sharing each other was one thing, but one taking from the other and the other not being willing to recieve was not something she could live with. Lungs screaming for air, Bria pulled away from the warmth of Obi-Wan's lips. Simply staring into his eyes, taking in the depths that they offered, she whispered "Thank you..." And then reclaimed his lips as her own.
