The Park, Monday Evening

[suitably_heroic]

Atton had been pretty careful about moving around the island these past few weeks. The last thing he needed was to trigger the wrong memory at the wrong time and send himself careening off this carefully-constructed balance.

But the park - and the hotel, where he'd been staying, and Baltimore, where he'd been spending his non-New-York evenings - was as close to safe as it got. And so, three weeks in, he finally showed up to a corner of it to do lightsaber practice.

Not his usual Juyo drills tonight, he decided. Maybe try a few of those moves that were supposed to help you take on Djem So-experts. No reason, really.

He lit his lightsabers with a dual snap-hiss, and began to move. Slashing, stepping away, jumping, sliding aside-- a whole acrobatic ballet.

[[ open! feel free to ignore atton and use the park for your own reasons if you wish ]]

Comments

[unusual_sith]

Well, that was a sight and sound that was difficult to miss. Lana detoured closer and stood a respectable (and hopefully safe) distance away to watch.

Did she have her own lightsaber with her? Absolutely. Was she about to challenge someone who was apparently quite a duelist? Force, no; she had common sense.

[suitably_heroic]

Too bad. It was educational on both sides, usually.

Atton finished his kata with a set of dual blades, dashing forward to chop off some imagined limb. He took a step back, and a deep breath, and-- deactivated his lightsaber.

"Fancy seeing you here."

[unusual_sith]

"Fancy that, since I work there," she pointed at the school, "and live there." The apartment complex, in the other direction. "Though I hear you're teaching these days, too. Don't suppose you loan yourself out? The Alliance's budget for short-range shuttles skyrockets whenever the Commander pilots one."

[suitably_heroic]

"That bad, eh? I've known one or two like that," said Atton, who had also crashed his fair share of shuttles but was currently on a winning streak in that department.

Mostly.

[unusual_sith]

"He insists the crashes are unavoidable. I refuse to believe shuttles are designed to be battering rams," Lana said wryly. "How are your students doing?"

[suitably_heroic]

Atton pulled a face and shrugged. "Crashing, mainly," he said.

Because Anakin wasn't the only teacher with a sadistic streak. Especially not when Anakin was in the class.

[unusual_sith]

"By their design, by yours, or by actual accident?" Lana wondered.

[suitably_heroic]

"Design," Atton allowed. "Most people in my class know how to fly just fine, but learning how to crash - now there's an artform."

[unusual_sith]

"And one you've perfected?" Lana asked.

[suitably_heroic]

"Not my fault," Atton said immediately.

[unusual_sith]

"Of course not," Lana said, nodding. "It's hardly your fault if people enjoy shooting at you, is it?"

[suitably_heroic]

"Not even me," Atton said. "I mean. At least half the time they're shooting at someone in the ship with me."

[unusual_sith]

"Ah, a feeling I know well." Lana smirked. "Generally I find that's either a mark of needing better company, or a mark you're doing something right. It's unfortunately hard to tell at times."

[suitably_heroic]

"I'd just like to be shot at less."

Sure, Atton, that's why you kept going out on missions.

[unusual_sith]

"The eternal dream," Lana said. "Well, there aren't too many blasters on the island. Usually."

It was so weird and quiet.

[suitably_heroic]

"Nah, just the occasional gun or superpowered explosion," Atton drawled. "Lived here a long time, I remember."

[unusual_sith]

"I think people who aren't from our galaxy don't understand just how quiet that makes it," Lana mused.

It was possible, of course, that Atton was more familiar with peace, but from what she'd learned of the history, she doubted it.

[suitably_heroic]

He wasn't, but to be fair, it was mostly his own fault and he knew it.

"Eh, depends," Atton said. "I mean, not to say I haven't fought giant monsters before, but when this island does giant monsters, it does giant monsters. Traumatizes half of these people."

[unusual_sith]

Lana nodded. "It's not so much the big things, though as..." she tried to think of a way to articulate it.

"The other day in my class, one of them picked some greenery. I had to explain he should watch what he touches, because so much of it is hazardous. The island - and Earth in general, from the little I've seen - has a much lower baseline of danger, humans notwithstanding."

[suitably_heroic]

"I think that might just be a Sith from-- wherever you are from thing," Atton said, snorting.

[unusual_sith]

"Is it?" Lana shrugged. "Granted, Dromund Kaas and Korriban are their own kind of dangerous, but Odessen's not much better. I suppose I'll take your word for it. Where are you from, then?"

[suitably_heroic]

"Alderaan," Atton said cheerfully. (Space Canada, said a memory he was just going to ignore.)

[unusual_sith]

"Ah, that's actually where we were last week," Lana said. "We visited the killiks and took a tour on thranta back."

[suitably_heroic]

"Yeah, it's your basic tourist hot spot. Boring," Atton said, "Low on the deadly flora."

[unusual_sith]

Lana shrugged. "They are tourists, after all. It's not like I'm about to take them to Korriban. Or Nar Shaddaa."

Not intentionally, anyway.

[suitably_heroic]

"Nar Shaddaa would be hilarious, though," Atton offered. "I mean. If none of them die."

[unusual_sith]

"Oh, lord, meeting the hutts. I'd be really concerned for some of them."

Which undoubtedly meant it would happen now.