The Park, Friday Afternoon

[uncertain_dume]

No oppressive feelings, no monsters waiting to kill him or turn him into one of them or worse lurking in the shadows. Kanan was tentatively hopeful that things were getting back to more-or-less normal. Sure, his TA was a bird making little bird footprints all over one of the rooms of the Ghost with finger paints, and he could still feel the residual damage of the last few weeks haunting more than a few residents of the island.

But right now? Right now, Kanan's worst concern was surviving the heat. He'd brought Stance to the park today - yes, in his vesty-vest - and was letting him merrily harass the ducks while Kanan himself staked out a spot in the shade under one of the park's larger trees, where he was running through lightsaber forms in slow-motion, working on restraint and balance every bit as much as form and... not overheating and dying, really.

It seemed to be working out for Kanan, anyway.

[OOC: .... I appear to have lost half my Thursday again. Help. Open!]

Comments

[justice_undone]

Breq was humming a song as she was walking through the park to where Kanan was practicing. The heat didn't bother her too much, but she was sweating, and a bit impressed by Kanan being able to practice as well as he did.

She stopped - walking, not humming - and waited for him to notice her.

[uncertain_dume]

It was one of the things they'd taught Caleb Dume back in his youngling days; how to move beyond physical discomfort in order to carry on. It also worked for cold, and pain, and a whole host of other situations that Kanan was perfectly happy to avoid nevertheless.

He raised his lightsaber over his head, foot shifting back as he went into a parry, and then stepping forward again into a riposte, all slow-motion. He did quirk a smile in her direction, even as he continued his training.

"Afternoon, Breq."

[justice_undone]

"Afternoon," she said. "I suppose the heat is better than something obviously weird going on. I thought I should get some practice done myself."

Sh put a bag with a big water bottle on the ground.

[uncertain_dume]

Kanan gave a nod of approval at that.

"Better to take advantage of the relative safety while you can?" He took a few steps to the side, making more room in the shade. "Then you best keep out of the sun for it. It's a killer out there today."

[thatwaslucky]

And of course there was Rey, making a somewhat cautious call, hoping nothing was blowing up.

[uncertain_dume]

"Hey!"

Fortunately, nothing was! Kanan's lightsaber guttered audibly as he answered the phone, but he seemed like he was in far too good a mood to be fighting his way through a horror maze, at least?

[thatwaslucky]

"Hi. Are you busy?"

She remembered the snow monsters, Kanan.

[uncertain_dume]

"Just running some forms," Kanan replied. Because he wasn't always a disaster man.

Only usually.

"Slowly. In the shade. This week seems to be completely normal." A pause. "Except for a few animal transformations, but those seem to happen a lot this time of year."

[thatwaslucky]

"Oh, I remember that," Rey said. "I turned into a stingray. That was fun."

[uncertain_dume]

"Kinda jealous of the stingray right now," Kanan admitted. "It feels like the livable zone of Gorse out here right now."

Just... sunnier than that overheated steaming mudball was.

Kanan would be perfectly happy to never have to go back to Gorse again.

[thatwaslucky]

"Is this Fandom's doing, it just the weather?" Rey wondered.

[uncertain_dume]

"Pretty sure this is what those snowmen were complaining about," Kanan offered.

Because it was unbearably hot out here and Kanan wanted to say he had been in some hot and soupy places in his life.

"I'm blaming this one on Earth."

[thatwaslucky]

"And you're indoors, right?" she asked, knowing better.

[uncertain_dume]

"I'm in the shade of a big tree in the park," Kanan clarified. "With plenty of water on hand. Stance hasn't been out and about in weeks, I'm starting to feel like a monster, so I'm taking advantage of this whether I like the heat or not."

While Stance harangued the ducks.

"And I'm not exerting myself or anything," he added, to help put Rey's mind at ease a little more. "I'm doing forms, but working on precision instead of speed."

[thatwaslucky]

"Good. It would be terrible to waste air conditioning when you have it," she reasoned. "But you should also enjoy normalcy while you have it."

[uncertain_dume]

"I've missed the sun," Kanan laughed. "Last week was all smoke and horror, this is the first week in a while where it isn't just bad feelings sinking their claws into everything. The air conditioning will be waiting for me after this, I can't imagine I'll be out here too long in this heat."

A pause.

"I might join Stance in the pond."

No, Kanan, don't do it.

[thatwaslucky]

"That's risky without a vest," Rey teased.

[uncertain_dume]

"I'll be fine," Kanan chuckled. "I brought my own rescue dog."

... Stance was not really great 'rescue dog' material.

At all.

[thatwaslucky]

There was a long pause.

"I'm picturing that."

It was adorable, and not helpful.

[uncertain_dume]

"What he lacks in size and anything resembling an actual capacity to rescue me, he makes up for in enthusiasm," Kanan mused.

Because, yeah. Adorable. But not at all a helpful dog.

[thatwaslucky]

"He tries, and that's what's important," Rey said, accidentally putting forth her whole actual philosophy. "So what all do you do now when things are normal?"

[uncertain_dume]

"Mostly I've been walking the dog," Kanan admitted. "Seeing what businesses in town are open, even if only tentatively. I did a little bit of stocking up in case of the next emergency, because I'm not about to assume we're anywhere near out of this mess yet. Taking care of one of my students who happens to be a bird right now."

There were absolutely finger paints.

[thatwaslucky]

"That's nice of you," Rey said. "I think that'd be hard, without thumbs."

Being a ray was much easier.

[uncertain_dume]

"Thumbs are pretty useful," Kanan said, just narrowly avoiding a terrible pun on 'handy.' "At least it's not a bad week for it. I can't imagine how a transformation like that would go if we were still in," actual Hell? "that last place."

A beat.

"Might have been useful in the maze, though."

[thatwaslucky]

"Unless they got turned around in the sky, too," she pointed out.

[uncertain_dume]

Pause.

"... I suppose if the Force was no match for that place, eyesight probably doesn't stand a chance," Kanan allowed.

Hm.

[thatwaslucky]

"Maybe. Though I'd rather you not have reason to test that again," she told him.

[uncertain_dume]

"And that would make two of us," Kanan replied. "So, let's hope that whatever I get to deal with next, eyesight'll be plenty, hm?"

...

Look, sometimes you just have to make these pings.

[thatwaslucky]

"Since it's too much to hope you won't have to deal with anything at all, yes, let's go with that."

Make eyesight a thing, though.

[uncertain_dume]

"Knowing this place, there'll be something. Just because this week seems mostly normal doesn't mean I'm going to let my guard down until it's stuck for a bit."

Which it would not.

Naturally.

[spectre_alenko]

"Is this going to become an annual thing?" Kaidan asked, walking up and leaning against a tree, arms crossing over his chest, "Where you wear inappropriate clothing for the weather and I threaten to throw you into the pond? Because consider yourself threatened, buddy. You own t-shirts and lighter pants and lighter boots. I was there when you bought them."

His arms uncrossed just enough to reach into the backpack he'd brought with. So he could retrieve a half-frozen water bottle and lob it toward Kanan.

It was not meant to be target practice, don't you dare, Kanan Jarrus.

[OOC: I'll be slowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww but I had to.]

[uncertain_dume]

[OOC: Go team sloooowwwwww!]

Kanan's hand shot up and caught that water bottle even while he was shutting off his lightsaber, ducking his head, and laughing.

"It might be an annual thing," he replied. "I'm not sure there is such a thing as appropriate clothing for this weather, buddy."

People tended to frown when you ran around in your underwear.

[spectre_alenko]

"Shorts and t-shirts," Kaidan told him with a grin, "I know, you don't wear shorts, but they are weather-appropriate for this kind of heat. Also, sandals. Not boots."

Said the guy wearing combat boots.

"How's your week been?"

[uncertain_dume]

You know... I can't complain? Weather aside, I've had a happy dog bouncing around every which way, Stance's excitement is infectious." A pause. "Not looking forward to having to keep him cooped up again. Some weeks, the best I can do is throw a ball around the Ghost's cargo hold."

A pause.

"And you, buddy?"

Last week had been rough, he knew. But it was good to see a smile on Kaidan's face, now.

[spectre_alenko]

"Better," Kaidan said and lifted a shoulder, "Still raw around the edges. It'll take time. Always does. The week of normal's helped." He hadn't noticed anything unusual about the week. "Trying not to be anxious about what comes next. I'm sick of all the damn dark, Kanan. Sick of wondering when we get to catch our breath."

Another shrug, "Nothing I can do about it but wait it out, just like everyone else."

[uncertain_dume]

"Just like everyone else," Kanan agreed, if a little grudgingly. "If next week's worse than the last ones have been, I don't know what the hell I'm going to do. Hunker down? Fight harder? Go do something horribly ill-advised in another reality until it blows over?"

All of the above?

Probably that.