The Park, Friday Afternoon

[uncertain_dume]

Kanan was in the park today.

Just Kanan, and a hell of a lot more trees than he remembered, all shining and glittering, like crystalline stalagmites out of the corner of his eye. Which was... kind of melancholy in its own way, really. If he let himself just kind of zone out, his mind would wander back to a world he'd only been to once, to get the crystal for his lightsaber...

He shook his head, carefully, and sighed as he closed his eyes and slipped back into his attempt at meditation. He was still sore after the beating he'd taken last weekend, partly from the student he'd squared off against, and mostly from the boulders he'd dropped on his own damn head. By all rights, he should still be in that bacta tank that Hera had scared up for him a galaxy and a few systems away, but... well...

It was Friday.

Not that he was entirely expecting his usual Friday student to arrive. He'd left her a voicemail and he'd wait here until tomorrow if need be, with their training swords sitting on the ground beside him. But if it turned out he didn't actually have a student anymore, that he'd blown it while under the influence of some evil slug plague, he'd understand. Maybe it would be for the best. One less thing tying him down, and all that.

The hell of it was, he'd gotten to a point where he didn't really believe that anymore.

[OOC: Open!]

Comments

[justice_undone]

Breq was out for a walk, by now not even surprised by the latest thing the island had come up with in anticipation for the holiday. Passing the park, she noticed someone familiar, someone whom she had last seen under a pile of stones. Or rather, she suspected, that person not trying to bring on the end of the world.

"Feeling better?" she called, because despite her expressionless face she did have a sense of humour.

[uncertain_dume]

Kanan had sensed her coming, of course, and the hint of humor behind her words even before he opened his eyes and looked her way. He offered her a wry sort of smile, and then gave a nod of his head.

"Physically and mentally," he agreed. "Good to see you're up and about."

He'd sort of dropped the rocks on the both of them, after all. Though she'd been shielded by both her armor and, well, him.

[justice_undone]

"I think you took the worst hit. Physically and mentally."

Breq paused. "If I interrupted your spiritual practice I apologize."

[uncertain_dume]

"Pretty sure I deserved the worst hit," Kanan noted, and then gave his shoulders a shrug and shifted around, carefully, to make himself a little more comfortable on the ground. "And it's fine. I wasn't doing a very good job of it today, anyway."

At all.

[justice_undone]

"I didn't think people here meditated," she said. "Or had any kind of religious practice."

She wasn't sure this could count as the latter though.

[uncertain_dume]

"Most people here aren't from here," Kanan noted, tilting his head a little. "And from what I've seen, the people of Earth have plenty of different religions. I suppose it'd be difficult to represent any one of them here, though."

He looked around thoughtfully.

"Organized religion is difficult when you're one of maybe two or three people in any one place who observes it."

[justice_undone]

"True. I've just known quite a few for whom it was just a part of daily life."

She added a smile. "In any case, I'm glad I didn't interrupt you, and to see you are doing better."

[uncertain_dume]

"Nothing like a few days in a bacta tank to really give a guy time to sort things out," Kanan replied, smiling wryly. "How are you holding up? That shielding of yours keep you mostly out of harm's way?"

[justice_undone]

"It did," Breq said. Her shoulder was still a little sore, but not worth mentioning. "A bacta tank?"

[intotheout]

It was a good thing Kanan was willing to be patient, since Tip was taking her dear sweet time. She'd considered not showing up at all, but she was heading home for Smekday tomorrow, and that was going to be complicated enough without her also carrying a grudge. Plus, the Chief she imagined in her head said she should give him a chance.

She stopped several feet away, arms crossed over her chest, specifically not looking at the practice swords.

She had kind of missed practicing with it, this week.

[uncertain_dume]

"You left your sword," Kanan said softly, not yet opening his eyes. He frowned a little, and then bowed his head before carefully shifting his weight and pulling himself to his feet. "I..."

He sighed, the corner of his mouth pulling into something that didn't quite manage to be an attempt at a smile.

"Hell, Gratuity. I messed up."

That seemed like an important place to start.

[intotheout]

"Didn't much feel like using it again," Tip said, arms still crossed, then shrugged, the very picture of angry teenager. "I'm pretty used to teachers being idiots, but you were supposed to be different."

[uncertain_dume]

"Yeah," Kanan sighed, "I was supposed to be. And you deserve better than any excuses I could possibly give. I was wrong. I was more than wrong... I was cruel. You've been everything I could have asked for in a student."

He looked down at the two swords on the ground, and then shook his head.

"I'm not asking for your forgiveness. Hell, I'll understand if you wash your hands of me completely. Regardless of what was going on last weekend, there was a line crossed. I betrayed your trust. And I'm sorry for that."

He had felt the moment it had broken. It still resonated in the back of his mind.

[intotheout]

"Yeah, well. Like I said. I'm used to it." Tip finally unfolded her arms, moving to pick up her practice sword from next to him. She wouldn't look him in the face while she did, though. "If I quit every time a grown up was stupid at me, I'd never get anything done."

[uncertain_dume]

What was it about being called a grown up that hurt so damn much? Maybe it was that he'd been that kid, once, himself. Stabbed in the back by the people close to him. He exhaled, a quiet hiss between his teeth, and then nodded, crouching down to collect his own sword.

Carefully. And today he was holding it in the wrong hand, too. But coming back and giving this apology next week instead hadn't been an option. No way.

"Well," he said, "I'm going to try not to be stupid again. No more petting slugs, for starters."

[intotheout]

Plus, Tip had never had a great opinion of grown-ups, so the term had come out all wrapped up tight in anger and disappointment.

"Yeah . . . most people don't need to learn that one."

Admittedly, J.Lo would absolutely have pet the slugs. At least until he got a load of those teeth.

[uncertain_dume]

Kanan shrugged his shoulders a little.

"I never claimed to not be an idiot," he replied. And then paused a moment. "I never in my right mind claimed to not be an idiot."

[2_old_for_this]

Peter knew where Kanan usually was on a Friday, and he'd promised him a sparring match a while ago that hadn't happened, so he was coming by.

Without his sword, which his other-world human self had taken back. They'd manage.

He showed up, took a look at Kanan, and just sat down nearby and waited.

[uncertain_dume]

It took Kanan a few minutes to open his eyes and look Peter's way. He could tell Peter was there, yeah. Pretty much from the instant he'd arrived, in fact. But he could also tell that there wasn't exactly any rush. Peter was patient, and Kanan needed a moment to center himself before doing... pretty much anything.

"Hey," he greeted, finally. "Out taking in the sights?"

[2_old_for_this]

"Yeah," Peter said. "The blinding trees, one of the shortest sunlights of the year, and my friend coming down off whatever that was last week. You okay?"

[uncertain_dume]

"I've been better," Kanan allowed. "I've been worse. I think at the moment, I'm going to rate this a solid five out of ten."

In that he was still in a moderate amount of pain, he'd tried to kill a student last weekend, he'd totally torn Tip down for no good reason at all, but hey, at least everyone he cared about was still alive for once. They had stumbled over that low low bar.

"At least I got the homicidal urges out of my system. I've got that going for me."

[2_old_for_this]

"That's a good start," Peter agreed. "Though I'm still up for that sparring, if you want."

He wasn't getting ready to stand up, though; Kanan didn't seem to be in a sword-swinging mood.

[uncertain_dume]

"I'm still going to hold you to that," Kanan promised, nodding a little. "Maybe not right this minute."

Hera would probably kill him if she found out that he'd argued his way out of a bacta dunk (as best as one could while submerged in the stuff, mostly using an elaborate sort of charades, clad only in his underwear) in order to come back to the island early, just to get his ass kicked again while sparring like an idiot.

"But I appreciate you swinging by, anyway."

[2_old_for_this]

"I promised you a spar, and after the weekend, I thought it'd be good to see how you were doing anyway." Peter shrugged.

"Never thought we'd see those people again."

[uncertain_dume]

"Never thought I'd be one of them," Kanan replied, grimacing. "Do me a favor, Peter? You ever see me getting cozy with evil horror slugs, tie me up or something before I do something stupid?"