The Park, Friday Afternoon

[uncertain_dume]

Well... that whole week could have gone worse, Kanan supposed. The itching feeling of dread had more or less faded, which left just the lingering bouts of free-floating trauma around the island that was usual in the wake of this sort of thing.

Which meant it was a Friday as usual for training and the like, though today he'd brought Stance, and he'd made his way to the park rather than the warehouse, letting the pup run free to harangue the ducks while he sat himself down under a tree in the shade, and he read more of that book that the moose had foisted off on him.

He didn't necessarily agree with it all, but he could see some of the wisdom behind it all the same.

There were a few practice swords propped up against the tree, in case anybody was feeling up to training or sparring today, but otherwise... eh. He was more or less just taking it easy this afternoon.

With a book.

About a stuffed bear.

[OOC: Open!]

Comments

[uncertain_dume]

"The island would be overrun with nexu by now," Kanan decided. "Who doesn't want a little razor-quilled murderbeast with a bear trap for a mouth?"

[spectre_alenko]

"That'd be me," Kaidan said immediately, "I'm the person who doesn't want a nexu for a pet. My experience with Murderbritches was enough nexu time for me. They can stay in their proper environments, in a galaxy far from here. If I'm going to have anything with a bear trap for a mouth, I'd take a tooka. They're adorable and fluffy and their ickle chicken feets couldn't accidentally disembowel a guy."

[uncertain_dume]

"Hey, those mouths are way less bear-trappy," Kanan protested lightly. "... But that doesn't stop them from trying."

[spectre_alenko]

"They're cute," Kaidan said with a grin. You walked right into that, Kanan. "I can handle less bear-trappy. They're also sized better to be a lap cat. Kind of hard to cuddle up to an animal with razor-barbed quills."

[uncertain_dume]

"You do get a point for that one," Kanan allowed, laughing and shaking his head. "I haven't met many people who want to snuggle a nexu."

... He had kind of wanted to cuddle Murderbritches Cliff.

[spectre_alenko]

"Jack," Kaidan said without missing a beat, "She'd find a way to do it if she had to wrap in an armored bodysuit."

To be fair, he'd also wanted to cuddle Murderbritches after the cub had stopped trying to bite his face off. The sleeping cub had been awfully cute.

[uncertain_dume]

"I guess even nexu need to be cuddled sometimes," Kanan noted. "I don't much blame her for it, if she does end up wanting to try."

A pause.

"Hell, it might be one of the few things that could hold its own against those creatures she's got back home."

[spectre_alenko]

"If she ever hears you calling her precious babies 'those creatures, she will give you a bruise to remember," Kaidan said with a small laugh. Scrubbed a hand through his hair, "Varren. The domesticated ones do make pretty good pets and guards. Eezo's as stubborn and prickly as his owner to everyone else but for Jack? He's a big puddle of wriggling happy dog. She doesn't need to add another scary oversized predator just to have one on the cat side of the spectrum."

And she'd try, too. He'd met her.

[uncertain_dume]

"Varren," Kanan replied, snapping his fingers. "Varren. Varren. The not-akk-dogs. They look similar enough, I keep just wanting to call them that."

He paused a moment, and then added, "My galaxy's got scarier, far more oversized predators than nexu, anyway. Just be happy I've never mentioned gundarks around her."

[spectre_alenko]

"If ours does, I haven't met them," Kaidan shook his head, "Not anything Earth wouldn't have, anyway. Please don't tempt Jack with bigger, scarier predators, Kanan. The island's not big enough for the varren she has and back home she lives on a space station."

[uncertain_dume]

"There is nowhere that can fit a gundark," Kanan agreed with a chuckle. "Or a rancor. Or an acklay."

He titled his head, looking thoughtful.

"She'd get a kick out of varactyls, though."

Kanan, no.

[spectre_alenko]

"She'd get a kick out of most large predator animals," Kaidan said, not trusting that chuckle for a second. "And as long as they stay in your galaxy where she can admire them or pet them or whatever she's gonna do with them, that's great. Take her to see them in a zoo or something."

[uncertain_dume]

"Adding that to the bucket list," Kanan decided. "Take Jack to a zoo." He smirked a little. "Maybe we'll bring you along so you can talk her out of trying to take home one of everything."

[spectre_alenko]

"Nah," Kaidan said, smirking right back, "Your galaxy, your outing, your responsibility to make sure Jack doesn't destroy an ecosystem."

She wouldn't. She was more responsible than that. He just wasn't about to volunteer to be the responsible party.

[uncertain_dume]

"Hey, it wouldn't be my ecosystem," said Kanan, who absolutely did care about ecosystems, but he'd say a lot of poodoo when just shooting the shit.

[spectre_alenko]

"Not at first, no, but these things have a habit of taking off," Kaidan said with mock solemnity. "They could name a planetary disaster after you two. The Jack-Jarrus effect."

[uncertain_dume]

"Grounded Zero," Kanan attempted. "There's probably a really easy one with Dume, but nah, not going there."

[spectre_alenko]

Kaidan blinked several times and shot Kanan a surprised look. Hearing him say the name like that was unusual, considering Kaidan had only heard him say it about three times ever.

"It does sound like 'Doom'," he offered, still off stride.

[uncertain_dume]

"It does sound like 'Doom,'" Kanan agreed, smiling wryly. He watched as Stance shook himself off and went to pester the ducks again. "Apt, I suppose."

[spectre_alenko]

Kaidan leaned and bumped his shoulder. "'Jarrus' suits you better. I'm biased, since it sounds like 'Garrus' and that's who you remind me most of, but it definitely suits better than 'Doom'."

[uncertain_dume]

"Someday I'm gonna meet this guy," Kanan mused, grinning faintly and swaying with that bump. "And then... hell, I don't know. I'd say watch out, multiverse, but if the guy's anything like me we'd probably just settle in and talk shop or something anyway."

[spectre_alenko]

"At least you always bring a gun," Kaidan said with a short grin, "Garrus would judge you if you didn't. He's more or less always got his favorite sniper rifle magged to him." He thought about it for a minute and the grin widened. "Hell, now I want to see a target competition between you and the scariest sniper I know. That'd be a thing to watch, man."

[uncertain_dume]

"I'm more gunslinger than sniper," Kanan mused, reaching up to scratch his chin. "It would definitely make for an interesting counterpoint, wouldn't it?"

[spectre_alenko]

"Considering your aim's almost as good as mine," Kaidan grinned, drawling that 'almost' just to be a brat, "Yeah, it really would. He'd be disappointed if he couldn't use a rifle but he's no slouch with a handgun, either. You'd have your work cut out for you. Both of you would."

He was gonna lean back against the tree and just laugh for a minute at the thought. Oh god, it would go on for days, that shooting match.

[uncertain_dume]

Kanan snorted a little at that.

"Well, what's a little friendly competition, right?"

Kanan.

Kanan.

You'd do it with your eyes closed just to show off.