The Park, Thursday Morning

[suitably_heroic]

It was funny. Every time Jack came back here, the island felt different. From a place of grief, to a place of dangers, relapse and recovery, to now, just... a place. Sure, part of it was that he knew he'd be back home in a couple of days, that they'd be testing the Portalocity subscription he had for their first show of the new record, but it was also just...

Something.

He took some time to suck up the ambiance that morning, wandering out of the hotel to roam Fandom's streets. This time, he didn't take the path up to Galactica Point, though-- he made it to the park, hands stuck in the pockets of his jacket. Watching the flamingos and the other birds flapping around.

On a whim, he picked a spot on the grass, by a tree, and sat down. He let his senses expand outward, slowly, in circles. From the grass to the birds in the water to the squirrels in the trees, and then beyond, into the town, and past that.

He used to let himself get lost in it. Now, he kept a gentle hold on his own place in the Force ('more of your Jedi zen bullshit', said a voice in his head, anchoring him there) as he let the life of it all wash over him.

It was peaceful. He felt good. It was good.

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[unusual_sith]

Feeling that presence on the island, Lana couldn't help but come drop by.

She smiled when she saw Jack, then walked slowly up and knelt opposite him, expanding her own Force sense to enjoy the day and teasingly prod him.

[suitably_heroic]

One of Jack's eyes opened... slowly. "Very funny, Beniko," he said.

He didn't sound particularly grumpy.

[unusual_sith]

"I thought so," she said, quirking a smile at him. "Getting an early start on summer?"

[suitably_heroic]

"Wanted to go see Summer at the bar yesterday," Jack said, stretching. He rubbed the back of his neck. "Figured I might as well stick around and set up while I was here."

[unusual_sith]

"Set up what?" Lana asked. "You're not planning on keeping a flat here as well, are you?"

[suitably_heroic]

"At the hotel," Jack specified. "I'm taking some classes for the summer."

Mostly to get a cheap deal on Portalocity tickets, but you know.

[unusual_sith]

"I'd say you'd better be taking mine," Lana said, "but you'd have no reason to. I'm taking everyone to planets back in our galaxy."

He'd seen plenty already.

[suitably_heroic]

"Asida's gone, right?" Jack asked lightly.

[unusual_sith]

"Back to her own time," Lana agreed. "Hopefully she'll do well. But if you want to visit, you don't need a class to do it. Though I'd never say no to help wrangling students around Nar Shaddaa."

[suitably_heroic]

Jack shrugged. "Seems like a fun time," he admitted. "As long as nobody's plotting to rope me into some kind of Jedi adventure, I'm game."

[unusual_sith]

"Definitely not," Lana answered. "I'm bringing tourists along; with luck, there will be no adventure whatsoever." She hoped. "Though if Cal takes the class, I may have to intervene."

[suitably_heroic]

"Space, that's the one with the annoying droid, isn't he?"

[unusual_sith]

Lana gave him a bemused look. "I suppose so, though the droid hasn't been a problem. More to the point, Cal is a Jedi. Young enough to still be somewhat sensible, but also young enough to be impulsive."

[suitably_heroic]

Jack snorted. "Is he one of the really earnest ones?" he said. "I'm not sure how many speeches about love and peace and justice I can take."

[unusual_sith]

Lana made a so-so gesture. "He doesn't preach, and he seems to have seen enough to know how the world actually works, but he's still a bit idealistic. Not unpleasantly so, but the sort that's liable to get him fighting battles." Hence the concern.

[suitably_heroic]

"What time is he from?" Jack asked. He stretched his legs out.

[unusual_sith]

"The future," Lana said. "I gather around the same time as Skywalker and some others."

[suitably_heroic]

"I guess that at least saves us another headache," Jack allowed.

[unusual_sith]

"Not interested in anyone else from your time?" Lana asked.

She wasn't going to mention Kreia.

[suitably_heroic]

"I think we both know the island only finds and spits up the most complicated people from your era it can find," Jack muttered.

[unusual_sith]

Lana shrugged. "If that were true, I can think of a few I wouldn't mind seeing. But most of them I could just invite for parents' weekend."

She smiled. "So, when can I hear the new album, and are you going to have 'merch' this time, or will I have to make my own again?"

[suitably_heroic]

"Oh, we're definitely doing merch. Summer would kill me if I didn't, I think," said Jack, who knew very well Summer wouldn't do anything he didn't agree to, but hush. "And I can, uh. Play you the record now, sure. It's going live. Soon. And stuff."

[unusual_sith]

"Oh, wonderful! I'll talk to Summer, then. And I would love to hear it. 'And stuff' as if you don't know exactly what you're doing."

[suitably_heroic]

"I," said Jack, who did not always believe he knew exactly what he was doing, and really needed to be told. "Uh. Thanks. I mean. Yeah."

He fumbled for his phone.

[unusual_sith]

"You're welcome." Lana switched from her kneeling meditation stance to lounging on the grass and waiting.

[suitably_heroic]

Jack sighed, and thumbed to the deliberately rambling first track, and let it play.

[unusual_sith]

"Mm." Lana settled in a little more to listen intently. You were the one who'd given her most of her Earth music education, Jack, so this was your own fault.

If it helped, though, she was smiling.

[suitably_heroic]

"I really should've brought headphones," Jack muttered. "The sound is better."

Honey.

[unusual_sith]

Lana shook her head. "I can hear it perfectly well. Though feel free to make it louder if it's warranted. I don't think the flamingos will mind."

[suitably_heroic]

"You think they're into rock music?" Jack asked wryly. He turned up the volume; the next song was a lot darker.

[unusual_sith]

"Probably more," she took a moment to recall the term, "glam rock. With all of those feathers. But if they don't like this, they can always go to the beach instead."

And then she was listening again. Because ouch.

[suitably_heroic]

Sometimes - or a lot of the times, if you were Jack - metal was a little like an exorcism.

And Jack - well aware that this and the next song were exorcisms - sat back and waited for her verdict.

[unusual_sith]

And all Lana could do really was give him a firm understanding nod and, "They sound good." What else could you say to that?

"You've been through hell, and this is an accurate reflection of that, but also it does rock, and I can't say anything about your experience that you don't already know, and I appreciate you sharing this with me, and you're brave to share it with the world" was a bit long.

[suitably_heroic]

It was a bit long. And Jack would've gotten very awkward about it.

(He would've appreciated it, though.)

"I can just... send you the rest," he said, a little lamely. "I mean. Because of the flamingoes." A pause. "Thanks."

[unusual_sith]

"I'd love to have it," Lana said. "You've really done some amazing things with this."

Was that short and un-awkward enough?

[suitably_heroic]

"Thanks," Jack said. He smiled, small but genuine; he'd probably be a little startled at how open his own expression looked right now if he could see it.

Ugh, therapy. Who knew it worked if you stuck with it?

"Felt like taking a step forward," he said. "Like I'm getting the last monsters out and figuring out where to go from here, you know?"

[unusual_sith]

Lana nodded. "Have you made any decisions about that yet?"

[suitably_heroic]

Jack snorted. "What kind of decisions?" he said. "Feels like life is just living for me now, if that makes any sense. I haven't had time to get into any apprenticeship programs for my backup profession because I keep getting roped into doing work for people at home, and I'm-- comfortable. Where I live."

Somehow.

[unusual_sith]

"Then why do you need to go anywhere from here?" Lana asked. She shrugged. Then she widened her eyes as if horrified and leaned in. "Maybe you're home."

[suitably_heroic]

Jack gave her a tiny shove against the shoulders to get her to back off because they were basically siblings. "Hey, hey, hey, don't get ahead of yourself," he said. "And when I said 'where to go from here', I meant I was processing that in the music, which came together over the past year, space. And she calls herself a poet."

This was the perfect time for his own voice to burst from his phone between them: "Look, I know I'm an asshole, I don't know how to sit still..."

[unusual_sith]

Lana laughed. "Well, at least you know it!" She gave him a little shove back, too, just because it was her elder sister duty.

"And you made your processing everybody else's problem. Or in this case, everybody else's delight."

[suitably_heroic]

"Look, what's the point in getting into psychological and emotional shape if you can't bother everyone else with it?"

Nevermind that Jack had spent most of his adult life obsessively keeping everyone else from seeing the depths of his damage. But it was different when it was music! Like. There was plausible deniability!

[unusual_sith]

"I thought the point was to feel better," Lana said. "Bothering everyone else is just a bonus."

[suitably_heroic]

"For other people, maybe," Jack said. "Me? I'm mainly motivated by spite."

[unusual_sith]

"You know, that's entirely fair," Lana said. "I've done some spectacular things when motivated by spite. Carry on."

[suitably_heroic]

"Thanks," Jack said brightly. "I appreciate the ex-Sith to ex-Sith solidarity."