Wandering the Labyrinth, Friday Afternoon

[uncertain_dume]

It was funny, really. No matter how many times Kanan tried to get anywhere but the school, he seemed to wind up back at the school.

It had started out as an attempt to run a rescue mission, of sorts. If people were going missing, what better tool than the Force to help find them, right? And so he'd assembled his lightsaber, made certain there was enough ammunition for his blaster, and then he'd set out on a search for any... he didn't know what. Spheres that needed breaking? Kidnappers that needed shaking down?

He'd wound up at the school. Turned around, walked away from it, and wound up there again. Even stuck around for Rosa's class. He was there anyway, apparently this was what he needed to do, right?

Left.

Back to the school.

Left.

Back to the school.

"This is starting to get repetitive," he muttered to himself. And wound up, once again, back at the school.

[OOC: Open!]

Comments

[thatwaslucky]

...Sorry.

Anyway, guess who was calling!

[uncertain_dume]

Well... Kanan wasn't getting anywhere anyway. He shrugged, and then answered his phone.

"Afternoon, Rey."

There were no immediate sounds of horror floating about, at least. That was a good sign, right?

[thatwaslucky]

"Hi. How's this week going?"

If she sounded a little cautious, well, she was on to this place.

[uncertain_dume]

"... Well, the good news is, nothing has tried to kill anyone yet."

He didn't think, anyway.

[thatwaslucky]

"That's good!" Rey said encouragingly. "What's the bad news?"

[uncertain_dume]

"The bad news is that the whole island has become a giant hedge maze and I think there are little people trying to kidnap everyone," Kanan offered. "And I left Stance at home."

Guess who was wandering the maze, Rey!

[thatwaslucky]

Rey paused. "Can't you just climb the maze?"

Rey was basically a monkey.

[uncertain_dume]

"I can jump the maze. From a standstill. The maze seems to have other plans, though."

Because jumping from here to there should have him headed toward the park. It should, damn it.

"... And I'm back at the school."

Sigh.

[thatwaslucky]

"So... Wait. What?"

[uncertain_dume]

"I know where I just was. I was on the side of the park opposite to home. All I had to do was cross the damn park, and then I'd be able to walk up to my apartment, go inside, maybe throw a ball for the dog or something. Jumping the hedge to get into the park shouldn't leave me standing outside the school again."

A beat.

"Or near the bog that seems to have bubbled up here."

It was... bad. The smell was bad.

[thatwaslucky]

"What if you did get atop the maze, and you could see where you were going? That doesn't help?" she wondered.

[uncertain_dume]

There was a moment's pause as Kanan turned around and... walked smack into the school's front door.

Not the most graceful moment he'd ever had.

"... Well," he muttered. "The good news is, my nose probably isn't broken."

[thatwaslucky]

"I heard that one," Rey said, wincing.

[somethingwithturquoise]

In the Labyrinth, it probably wasn't unusual to feel as though eyes were watching, all the time, especially not for a Jedi, and especially not since there were eyes watching, nearly everywhere, even where you couldn't see them yourself. But one set of particularly round and bulgy eyes had been watching Kanan's progress--or, rather, lack thereof--with a keen interest. Of course, just watching wasn't very fun, so the time to just watch wore thin, and Summer decided it was time for something a little more exciting.

Summer hopped up...floated, really...to one of the higher walls nearby, plopping down into a sort of lounging position, grinning down at Kanan, with one...err...leg??...propping up her chin.

"Heya, guy!" And, while the shape and form of the creature might not seem too familiar except perhaps as some overgrown and overly hairy (and MUCH CUTER!!!) Kowakian monkey-lizard, but that voice. That voice coming out of it should definitely ring a bell or two. "Where you heading?"

[uncertain_dume]

Well, that voice definitely rang a bell. Kanan blinked at... Summer? And squinted a little.

... Hooboy.

"Well, it was going to be a rescue mission," he said, smiling a bit crookedly. "But it's starting to look more and more like I'm in a bit over my head, too."

A pause, and then he added, "Afternoon, Summer."

[somethingwithturquoise]

"Over your head?" asked Summer, tilting hers. "Looks more like you're a bit under your head. This," and she hopped...floated, really, as if pulled by invisible strings...up from where she was, popping off her head in the meantime and landing smoothly on top of it, "would be over your head!"

She then smoothly booted the head back up her body, giving it a good twist and turn to make sure it was settled in, before she plopped down on the wall, long legs dangling and kicking a little restlessly, long arms dangling between them, tilting her newly affixed head at him again. "But you know my name," she noted. "I don't know your name. Or do I? Have I met your body with a different head before?"

[uncertain_dume]

"Pretty sure my body's always had this head," Kanan replied wryly, watching that whole... whatever the hell had just happened there. It was alarming, but she didn't seem to be in any sort of distress, so he managed to bite back his shock at... all of that. "I might've met you with a different one, though."

Had, in fact, though clearly not in the way she was thinking.

"Unless you have," he added, considering. "Kanan. I don't suppose you know a Kanan?"

If he was a hairy red thing with detachable limbs in some other reality, so help him...

[somethingwithturquoise]

"Kanan...Kanan...." Summer repeated it thoughtfully, narrowing her eyes a bit as she considered it herself, scratching at her ear as if that could help get her brain-juices flowing a little better, but all it seemed to do was slowly make her ear detach and float up from her head into the air above her, moving like a wing.

"I do!" she finally decided, sounding a little triumphant, with a long finger pointed in the air. "Only he pronounces it Kanan."

She looked up, seeing just how far her ear, which had been seriously booking it, had managed to get, jumping up to close in the distance smoothly and snatch it back. She landed again in a crouch, patting it back into place, albeit backwards. Both ears gave a satisfied little waggle as she grinned back at Kanan.

"Who're you rescuing?" she asked. "And from what? That doesn't sound like much fun."

[uncertain_dume]

"People have been going missing," Kanan explained. And then paused. "Or just going to sleep and not waking up."

He watched that leap for the ear, a pretty impressive one by most standards, and hummed a little.

"At least a few of them are my students, and I want to get them back."

Fun really didn't factor in, no.

[somethingwithturquoise]

"Oh," said Summer, waving a dismissive hand...which, thankfully, actually did stay attached this time, "I'm sure they're just fine! They're all probably having a good time, wherever they are! Maybe they really need the sleep. Maybe they don't want to wake up!"

She sounded very positive about all these things, downright cheery, maybe even a bit excited.

"So you should just take it easy, Kanan! You're not going anywhere any time soon, so might as well enjoy the anywhere while you're here! Chilly down! Kick your feet off"--no, that wasn't a typo; yes, she meant it literally--"Relax!"

[uncertain_dume]

"I think I'll keep my feet on, thanks," Kanan replied, smiling wryly. "I'm afraid I'm not really the chilly down type. Been there, done that, it was a bad fit for me."

Well. It had been an okay fit for him besides all the self-loathing and the drinking habit.

[somethingwithturquoise]

"Maybe it didn't work for you," suggested Summer thoughtfully, "because your head was on wrong!" She gave her head a flip, turning it upside down, as it to prove how it could put things in a different perspective, then flipped it back again. "Or maybe you just had the wrong head! You could try mine for a while, if you want!" She popped it off again, bouncing it easily in the palm of her hand, looking ready to serve it over to him like a volleyball. "And I can try yours!"

[uncertain_dume]

"That's, uh, very generous," Kanan said, blinking. "But I'm afraid taking my head off would, uh..."

A beat. He spent a moment trying to come up with the best excuse he could think of, but apparently that was, 'void the warranty.'

"... kill me. And I'd rather that not happen."

Kanan, you were too Jedi sometimes.

[somethingwithturquoise]

"That's what the student in my class said!" Summer remarked, as if this was a completely astounding and unexpected coincidence. "But with him, I'd believe it more; it wouldn't be easy getting a head off a neck like that! Like a tree trunk just sprouted a head! But your neck? Scrawny! Should be easy! Should just," she made a popping sound that went all too well with the popping action, "pop right off!"

[uncertain_dume]

Kanan did an admirable job not giving weird hairy monkey-lizard Summer a stinkeye at that.

"Nope, reasonably certain that's not how it works."

Scrawny? Scrawny? Come on! Sure, he was a bit on the slim side, but...