fandomtownies | Atlas Gym- Monday afternoon

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Atlas Gym- Monday afternoon

Jaina was still stuck in Fandom. No amount threatening, begging, yelling, bribing or more creative threatening had gotten her any closer to getting home. The one bright spot was that she could kind of make calls home, but after thirty seconds the connection would die. But as long as she wasn't completely cut off, there was hope.

Still, there wasn't anything she could do about it, so Jaina was taking it out on a dummy at the gym. Hopefully she wouldn't have to pay for the replacement?

[Open! A little slow but my day is bad.]

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Tahiri had her one bag packed up and was heading back toward the junkyard, but she was taking her time in leaving; part of her was actually really looking forward to getting back to Zonama Sekot, but part of her really liked being somewhere where she didn't have to constantly sort out misunderstandings.

Or where they still kept getting her confused with Danni Quee because seriously.

So she had to stop in at the gym on the way.

"Honestly," she said, with a crooked grin as she leaned against the wall, "how does this keep happening to you?"

"Haven't the foggiest," Jaina sighed, with one more kick at the dummy. "Either Fandom really likes me or portals really hate me."

"I'd say the first part is a given." Tahiri gave the poor battered dummy a sympathetic glance. "If the second's true, portals are really slow learners. Or just have no sense of self-preservation."

"Or they think I'm not serious about burning them down," Jaina said.

She was, for the record.

"What's this about you leaving right as I'm probably stuck here forever?"

"Well, they're just dumb then," Tahiri declared.

She would not for a second believe Jaina wasn't serious about that.

She smiled sheepishly.

"Uh huh. Sorry. I'm headed back to Zonama Sekot. It's been a great couple of semesters back, but I knew I couldn't stay forever. Guess the timing is Fandom thinking it's extra funny."

"Guess I'm just going to have to make you visit to help me keep my sanity." Again, maybe not joking.

Tahiri grinned. "This is a very serious thing to commit to. Do I have to give you advance notice before I show up at your front door?"

Also maybe not joking.

"No. I've learned to always have an extra bed or couch available," Jaina reminded her.

"Not to mention I bet Jag's used to you having two of the same friend or relative by now," Tahiri added. "Is it as not weird for him now as it is for us?"

"It's still weird, but he's been here a couple times. He knows how to roll with it," Jaina answered. "He doesn't get why I keep coming back, though, especially when it's currently kidnapping me."

"That's more or less what some of the colonists told me before I came here back in the fall," Tahiri remarked. "Well, minus the kidnapping part. I'd told them a few stories about this place, and when I mentioned I was going to be here for a while, they . . ."

She laughed. "I honestly have no idea how to translate it into Basic and really get the level of disbelief across, so I guess you can tell Jag he's not the only one who doesn't get it, at least. Why do we keep coming back, anyway? I'm not sure I've ever really tried to put it into words myself."

"I have no idea. I remember a time when I couldn't wait to get out of here and never come back," she said. "Fifteen years later..."

Everyone is old, FYI.

"Sithspit, did you have to go and put a number on it?" Tahiri groaned.

Because fifteen years. What. How. No. (The narrative can be excused for not being entirely IC right now, right?)

Right??

"If it helps, I had a lot of sped-up time," she pointed out.

Tahiri acknowledged that with a tilt of her head.

"And I think Ben's going to beat you at that really soon if he hasn't already. Still. That makes me feel marginally better. But only marginally."

"Marginally. It helps that I have a Ben back home who's still young enough to make me feel old correctly," she admitted. Because seriously, she'd babysat for her Ben.

"I don't think it's been that long since I stopped getting occasional baby picture updates about mine," Tahiri agreed, though the last few years had kind of blurred together a bit.

She still remembered Anakin's amazing foot-in-mouth moment of wanting to know if all babies were that ugly when they were born.

"Hey, there isn't some kind of crisis back home that you're missing out on by being stuck here, right?" She didn't think Fandom was going to be that mean, but . . .

"Not as of yet," Jaina sighed. "It's been pretty quiet since the Abeloth stuff. And it better stay that way!"

It's okay, things would get messed up again when she got back, probably.

If they didn't, people were just going to start getting paranoid waiting for the inevitable messed-up-ness anyway.

"Here's hoping," Tahiri said, deadpan, because when did that ever happen with them?

"When are you these days?" Jaina asked. It was hard to keep track, what with everyone and their differing timelines and all.

"Surprisingly, I seem to have avoided any time fast-forwarding," Tahiri said, shrugging. "So it's been . . . right around five years since my graduation? Give or take a few months, maybe." ~~Which is still too long omg how.~~

A pause, in which she remembered that by Jaina's time 'the war' would specify absolutely nothing as far as conflicts that had occurred just during their lifetime.

"Er. With the Yuuzhan Vong, that is."

Jaina actually had to think back to what was happening then for her. "So at least you're not heading back to a bad time, then."

Because Jaina was practically ancient now, that was why.

". . . so now I'm going to be wondering when we're due for the next bad time," Tahiri said, and waved a hand. "I mean, I'm expecting one anyway."

There was a pattern of sorts. She was used to it by now.

"But hey, it's good to know I'll at least get some time to ease back into the routine, huh?"

"Exactly. And it's just easier to assume something bad will always happen. Because it does," Jaina said, though she was pretty chill about it.

"And when you get to be as old and wise as you are, you take it pretty well in stride," Tahiri said mischievously.

"Older and wiser also means I know more ways to kick your ass," Jaina teased.

Tahiri laughed and held both hands up in surrender. "All right, all right, you've got me there. I'm almost afraid to ask how many more tricks you must have picked up by now."

She seemed totally fine with coming out on the losing end of that battle, though.

"I'm a Master now, I had to step it up." Like she wasn't scary before that promotion, which she got while taking out Sith alongside Masters. "One day I'm going to top out and not know how to deal."

Yeah, regular Jedi Knight Jaina was plenty scary if you asked Tahiri, not that she thought scary was a bad thing.

"You'll figure out how to deal. You always do," Tahiri told her. "By making up a whole new level or two, probably."

"Worked for Uncle Luke," Jaina agreed. "I'm not sure I can imagine being able to do half that stuff, though."

"Well, no, because you're not Luke." Tahiri grinned. "He's got his style, you've got yours."

"I'm sure he'd be the first to agree with you there," Jaina laughed.

See, there was a built-in implication there that you'd better continue to keep all your own limbs, Jaina.

"I like to think I know both of you at least well enough to know that for sure," Tahiri said lightly. "And I have a feeling Fandom will remember before too long that you're sort of indispensable at home, and get you un-stuck. Here's hoping, anyway."

Jaina looked down and said, "Hear that, Fandom? Tahiri said," as if talking to the island itself.

You never know, it might work.

Tahiri snickered. "Yes, I'm sure that ought to put the fear of, um, me into it. But hey, why not?"

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Atlas Gym- Monday afternoon

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