Ask Takodana Where Flowers Bloom

[Prani Shalrazi]

It was a bit after sunrise in the Takodana temple. It was mostly empty and peaceful out in the courtyard gardens behind the temple. It was her favorite time of day because she could simply be herself where she loved best - amidst nature. She was seated at the base of a tree, roots and weeds beautifully woven all around her from practicing her specialty.

Prani had her hallikset out as she strummed it while singing a song. She knew no one would antagonize her this time of day. It was a day off and most of the padawans were sleeping in or planning for a day of fun in the cities.

She was adorned in a dress that most here would tease about being ‘old timey’, but she didn’t care. Her sandals were stolen, so she was barefoot for now. She didn’t mind it, happily strumming and singing her song. Prani gazed at the birds and other woodland critters that surrounded her, finding them her perfect audience.

For a moment, she didn’t have to think about Jedi or Sith, and she could simply get lost in the music and beauty around her.

@throwitintothefire

 

[Shaw Amaris]

Normally Shaw wouldn't be out and about this early in the morning on a day off with no lectures or assignments, but this morning he had happened to take the initiative to get up early and go for a run. Between lightsaber training with Caul and hiking out to the preserved ruins with Myla recently, the teenager had made the decision that he needed to work out more. Wanted to. He didn't like to think that he was necessarily out of shape, but he could certainly be in a lot better shape. He wanted to build muscle and sparring with the other padawans in the training rooms just wasn't gonna cut it. He would have to put in the extra effort if he didn't wanna get caught slacking.

It was kind of a weird feeling, taking the initiative and wanting to be the best he could possibly be instead of skirting by by the seat of his pants. There were suddenly a lot of new people in his life that challenged him to do better and be better. So here he was, out bright and early in a tank top and a pair of athletic shorts instead of lounging in bed for hours. He had promised himself a nice big breakfast later as reward.

He was jogging back toward the temple, past the courtyard gardens when he heard someone singing. He peeked over the stone wall and spotted someone sitting under a large tree, hallikset in hand as her practiced fingers plucked the strings. Long brown hair. Brown eyes. Roots and weeds woven in an intricate pattern around her. Shaw recognized her right away.

"Prani!" he grinned excitedly before he could stop himself. He regretted it right away, realizing that if she heard him he would probably break her concentration and she would stop singing. He had a bad habit of speaking first, thinking later. @Sreeya

 

[Prani Shalrazi]

Prani could sense someone was approaching, and her gaze flicked up. She saw it was Shaw and a warm smile graced her face even as she sang, but she didn’t stop. The Padawan kept strumming her hallikset, now designating Shaw as her audience. The song became a performance and she carried it on to let him hear the words and music in their entirety.

Her voice carried through the air and the wind, the haunting strumming of the hallikset filling their surroundings. The instrument was no ordinary thing, and Shaw would be transformed to a different place entirely if he embraced the music. He would be taken to a whole different plane, he would see the violet eyes, he would feel as if he were the brave wolf warrior.

Eventually the song came to a close and Prani gently put the hallikset aside. She gave Shaw another smile, “Mornin’!” She said cheerfully, “Didn’t think I’d see ya up so early. You headin’ into the city with the others?” Prani asked. He was one of the popular kids so she had no doubt he had an entire group lined up to go into town.

@throwitintothefire

 

[Shaw Amaris]

Shaw approached the other padawan slowly, trying not to make a lot of noise or cause a big distraction. He was glad his interruption hadn't dissuaded her from playing. Sitting down a few feet away from her on a rock pathway, he leaned abck against a stone bench and watched her fingers dance across the strings without missing a beat. He couldn't decide which she was better at, singing or playing. Or which he liked better for that matter.

It was a beautiful song. Not a song that he had ever heard before nor a song that he would typically listen to, but something about it pulled him in. Possibly the moving lyrics or the delicate notes or the otherworldly quality it possessed. Whatever it was lulled him into a relaxed state, regulating his labored breathing from running as he closed his eyes and listened to the music. Experienced the music. Lived the music. Believed he was the music, the brave wolf warrior from the lyrics.

When the song came to a close, it was a few seconds before his eyes reopened and he stared at Prani. A smile slowly crept over his lips. "How... how did you do that?" He wasn't even sure what she had done, but he was impressed. Whatever it was. He felt different. More confident or something. "That was incredible. I didn't know you could play like that!" Or sing like that.

The teenager shrugged and exchanged a lazy smile with her. "Not normally up this early to be honest." He chuckled. "I didn't have any plans past breakfast... What about you? You heading into town? Gonna finally go on a shopping spree?" @Sreeya

 

[Prani Shalrazi]

“Do what?” Prani asked with an amused chuckle, “Aww shucks, it ain’t nothin’,” She said as a blush crept to her face at the compliment, “My pa taught me to play. I miss bein’ home so when I play the songs, it takes me right back to the caravan,” She explained, her thoughts drifting back to Gennaria. The smile turned into a slight frown as she recalled the horrors that happened there and the reason she was sent to the Jedi to begin with. She couldn’t let her family down - they were counting on her to make a difference. It just felt overwhelming sometimes.

When he asked about her going into town, she shook her head, “I lost my last pair of sandals,” She gestured towards her feet, “I was hopin’ to have them back before the day off today, but oh well,” Prani sighed. She purposely didn’t elaborate that the shoes were, in fact, stolen along with every other pair she owned, “I think I’m stuck here for the day,” Prani said with a chuckle, “But I can catch up on all my trainin’ so it ain’t so bad,” She said cheerfully, “Y'all have fun out there! I heard the other padawans talkin' about Ricki's Sundaes and how it's got the best sundaes ever. Try it out for me.”

@throwitintothefire

 

[Shaw Amaris]

"Ain't nothing? It's straight fire, Prani," Shaw replied, hyping her up. Not really the best description. Beautiful or ethereal or otherworldly were more apt descriptions, but those weren't really words he used on a daily basis. But it was a sincere compliment. "You could go on tour or something. Or hold little concerts out here on the weekends!" They could have a bonfire and hang some lights and grill out and everything. "That'd be lit!" Plus it'd be an excuse to get her to play for him again.

It wasn't until she mentioned that she had lost her last pair of sandals that he looked down and noticed that she was barefoot. He knew by 'lost' what she really meant was that some jerk had stolen them and hidden them. She was just too nice to say it out loud. Probably didn't want his sympathy either. He tried not to let his irritation show.

"Wait. Didn't you get my text message?" he asked with a confused look. "I found a pair of sandals up by the ruins. Figured they were yours." Maybe the message hadn't gone through. He hadn't thought to check his reception out at the ruins. "I've got em back in my room. Come on!"

Then he remembered the state of his room. Clothes everywhere. Half drunk water bottles and empty snack bags on the nightstand and the floor. Books and homework spread all over the place. Who knows what else. On second thought... "Actually, wait here. I'll go grab em and take a quick shower." He did not want her seeing the state of his room. He really had to get that mess picked up before the knights decided to do another random inspection. He had worked up a sweat anyway. A shower was a good idea. "Then we can go into town together!" @Sreeya

 

[Prani Shalrazi]

“Fire?” Prani blinked curiously, not up to speed on slang, “Why-” Before she could ask, he began to rattle off about her going on tour or performing a concert. She could barely keep up, but eventually worked out that ‘fire’ was a compliment. Prani started to giggle at his broad visions about her as some sort of famous musician, “That's real sweet but..I only play to play…if people wanna listen they can, but…I ain’t brave enough to advertise and put on a show for a crowd,” She said with smile, “But I’ll play for you if you like.”

When he asked if she had gotten his text, Prani gasped. She was terrible about checking her EZPhone. When she was back on Gennaria, she had her whole world with the caravan and never needed to rely on a dataphone for anything. Prani pulled up her EZPhone and stared at it.

200 unread messages.

“Aww sugars,” She said with a sigh, before pulling up Shaw’s name, “These are them!!” Prani said excitedly before springing to her feet. She began to follow him when he abruptly stopped her. She couldn’t help but smirk, “What, ‘fraid I might catch you with some game FAQs books?” Shaw bragged nonstop about his gaming prowess, so she couldn’t help but tease.

Prani’s day improved dramatically at the prospect of going into town. She went to her room to grab her bag, slinging the hallikset on her back as she waited for Shaw. Once he met her in the main lobby of the temple, Prani was ecstatic to be reunited with her sandals, “The universe got a funny way of workin’,” She said as she slipped them on, “These found their way back to me after all,” She looked at Shaw with a smile, “Thank you.”

There were shuttle speeder services that went from the temple to the city. Prani stepped into the glorified bus, taking a seat and waiting for Shaw to join her.

“You got so many buddies here, I’m surprised you’re goin’ with me,” Prani said. He may have been a goofball, but he was funny, which meant he was always surrounded by a group. In fact, even as they boarded the shuttle, a few padawans stepped on after them. One of the girls glanced at Shaw, her face scrunching up at once, “Why’re you sitting with her?” She asked, flabbergasted, “Come on up front with us!”

Prani’s expression didn’t change, “Well go on then!” She simply said to Shaw, entirely unfazed by the exchange.

@throwitintothefire

 

[Shaw Amaris]

Shaw was convinced that the other padawans would really love getting to hear her play, but he wasn't going to push it if she wasn't comfortable with the idea. "Maybe it can just be us then," he grinned. "Concert with an audience of one. I can make enough noise to still give you the real concert experience if you want."

Once Prani agreed to go into town with him, Shaw booked it back to his room, dug through his backpack for the sandals, and found a pair of black cargo trousers and a white t-shirt that passed the sniff test before taking a quick shower and meeting back up with her outside. "I'll let you know if I find any more of your shoes hanging around." Quit literally hanging. He had found this pair hanging from a vine. He had been keeping an eye out ever since he had discovered that some of the padawans liked to steal her stuff, but so far this had been the only pair he had come across.

Boarding the shuttle that looked like an old, refurbished school bus or something, Shaw sat down next to Prani and watched the temple slowly disappear from view. It was exciting to get to be going into town with Prani. He really hadn't seen her a lot since Listehol. At least not for any real amount of time. They might have risked their lives together back on Listehol investigating that kidnapping case, but they really hadn't gotten to know each other.

Shaw looked a little confused when she said that she was surprised he was going with her. "What do you mean?" he asked, confusion evident. "You are one of my buddies." It felt a little weird calling her a buddy. She wasn't a buddy buddy like Macote or Caul, but she was still a buddy. She was just a... different kind of buddy. He tilted his head and teased, "What? You saying I'm not your buddy?" He knew that wasn't what she meant. He was just giving her a hard time.

Then he changed the subject. "Hey, you're gonna have to—" But not before one of the other padawans on board interrupted. He looked between Regina and Prani, not sure what to say at first before deciding on, "Naaaah thanks, Regina. I'm good back here. I wanna catch up with Prani." Regina gave them both a look.

Prani didn't seem bothered by the exchange which kinda surprised Shaw. Did she not realize that Regina had just snubbed her or did she just not care? "Go where?" he asked, confused again. "I'm with you, remember?" @Sreeya

 

[Prani Shalrazi]

Truth be told, Prani was embarrassed about the idea of Shaw finding her shoes in random places to bring back to her. She remained silent on the topic, still finding the ritualistic stealing and turning her shoes into a scavenge hunt bizarre. Maybe it was just the way city folks operated, but she wasn’t going to judge.

Prani was completely put on the spot when he quipped back about her buddy comment. She coughed and nervously chewed the inside of her lip, “I guess….I figure you wanted to hang out with me to be nice,” She said with a sheepish smile, “I ain’t cool like them folks,” Prani said with a jut of her chin towards the front of the bus, “You’re best friends with people like Macote and that boy’s practically a legend,” Prani chuckled, “And I’m just the n-” She almost said 'nature freak', but she wouldn’t forget his stern response to that on the jet ski. He was right - it was wrong to give any merit to that term, “And I’m just me,” She finished, “But… oh biscuits, I’m just ramblin’,” She sighed, “Yes, we’re buddies, Shaw.”

To say that Prani was surprised by Shaw’s response to Regina was an understatement. She didn’t miss the look the girl gave before Shaw addressed Prani again, “Yeah, I guess you are,” Prani said with a smile. She sat up a bit taller after that.

The shuttle dropped them off near the shore line with Takodana castle looming on a cliff in the distance. There was a boardwalk with little shops and stalls lining the entire stretch. Prani stepped off the bus and looked around at everything. Shaw would notice the other padawans whispering amongst themselves while glancing at Prani and then him. If he looked at Prani, he would find her entirely detached from the gossiping or drama.

All the markets and shops seemed almost overwhelming, “Where do you wanna go first?” Prani asked Shaw as they started walking, “When I traveled with the caravan, I used to make all sorts o’ embroideries and bead jewelry. We’d stop from town to town and set up stalls to sell ‘em,” Prani said, “I also used to shape trees and flowers into wreaths with the Force to sell around Life Day holidays,” She explained, “For me the Force was just a way o’ life, I guess. It was never this thing you learned in a classroom,” Prani said as she gazed off at the water in the distance, “Maybe that’s why I’m so…different.”

@throwitintothefire

 

[Shaw Amaris]

Shaw stared at Prani. "I want to hang out with you because I want to hang out with you," he said simply, "Simple as that. No hidden motives." He grinned at her. "Besides, 'just you' is pretty dope. Remember when you stopped that three headed dog in its tracks while Macote went to hackin'? And when you rescued Elyna from Chaz?" His eyes got wider as he recalled the memories of the adventures they had shared. "Don't sell yourself short." When she admitted that they were buddies, he smiled. "Good. I was about to get my feelings hurt."

The whisper campaign didn't stop, not even after they had filed off of the shuttle. Shaw caught some of the other padawans watching Prani and himself. You would think they would have better things to do than to stand around whispering about them. Hadn't they come here for a reason? At least Prani didn't seem to notice or care. Her eyes were all for the colorful shops along the boardwalk.

"Did you really?" he asked, turning his back to the others so he could focus on Prani instead. They were gonna have a lot of fun together today. He could feel it.

It wasn't hard to picture Prani making wreaths and jewelry. After all he wore an example of some of her craftmanship on her wrist. "That sounds like fun." Getting to travel around with your family and closest friends. "Bet you saw lots of interesting places. Your family still traveling around?" Shaw was curious about the life she had led before the Jedi. It couldn't have been more different than his own. Prani had been raised in harmony with the force, taught to embrace it. It sounded like it was like breathing for her people. Shaw had been taught to suppress the force and hate it. It was no wonder Prani was so in tune with nature!

As for what they wanted to do first, the sky was the limit as far as Shaw was concerned! Or perhaps credits was the limit. There were lots of little curio shops they could explore. There was a small wharf where some of the padawans were fishing. Others were swimming. Still others had rented a boat and gone canoeing on the lake. There was a sandwich shop and a candy store and— "Oh, hey!" Shaw remembered what she had said about Ricki's Sundaes. "You wanted a sundae, didn't you?" That would be a good place to start. Never mind that it was first thing in the morning and they hadn't eaten breakfast yet. @Sreeya

 

[Prani Shalrazi]

Prani nodded in response, “Yeah, we never stay in one place too long,” She explained, “I..wanna ask about your folks and home but I don’t wanna bring up anythin’ painful,” Prani said almost shyly, “I know what happened to your planet,” She muttered quietly.

Her eyes lit up as Shaw remembered the sundae shop, “Let’s go!” Prani said excitedly, practically running to the shop once she saw the sign. There was a bit of a line, but they were seated soon enough and given some of the most over the top sundaes she had ever seen. Prani blinked down at it, “This is bigger than my head,” She mumbled, fear seeping into her tone, “We shoulda just gotten one to share,” Prani giggled, grabbing a spoon to get to work on the monstrosity. Even from the first bite it was obvious why this was such a famous place, it tasted exquisite!

“I’ll be honest,” Prani said after she swallowed the first couple bites, “The food where I’m from…was never as good as what I’ve had since bein’ out and about with the Jedi,” She said with a smile, “I hope I get to go on more missions all over the galaxy!”

Prani glanced across at Shaw, “And I’ll definitely sign up for the ones you pick. Someone’s gotta stop you from gettin’ into sketchy speeder trunks,” She tried to keep a straight face, but she failed spectacularly as she burst into giggles, “I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” Prani said, practically wheezing from laughter.

"Look, you can make fun of me for almost passin' out from seein' those women dancin' at the club," Prani tried to offer helpfully as she tried to curb her laughing. At some point, she snorted from laughing which only made her laugh even more.

@throwitintothefire

 

[Shaw Amaris]

Made sense that they traveled around and never stayed in one place for too long. Prani had said back on Listehol that it was a gypsy caravan. Gypsy caravans were always moving around. At least from what Shaw had picked up from holodramas. That and what Prani told him was the extent of his knowledge on the subject. He remembered that she had said they would sleep outside at night and stargaze. It sounded like fun. Maybe a little uncomfortable but fun.

"It's alright," Shaw assured her. "All my family made it off world alright." Except for his older brother, but the razelings hadn't gotten him. He had died a few years ago. Really Shaw's family was fortunate. A lot of people hadn't made it off Coruscant. His old friends, his neighbors... he didn't know if any of them had made it out alive but he hoped so. "We were the lucky ones. A lot of people didn't make it off. Not sure where my parents are now." He hadn't heard from them for a while. "But they're just trying to regroup. Get back on their feet." And then they'll send for me. Not a part of the story he shared as often these days.

Once it was all he could think about. Getting away from the Jedi and being reunited with his family. Now he wasn't so sure. He wasn't sure he wanted to leave the Jedi. Not now. Maybe not ever. "I think I miss my little sister the most," he grinned. He missed tucking her in at night whenever his parents had to work late. He missed getting to braid her hair and he even missed it when she would come wake him up in the middle of the night because she'd had a nightmare. Even if the image of her standing in his doorway at three am gave him nightmares of his own. "She's probably getting really tall by now. What about you? You have any siblings?"

Shaw's grin only grew when Prani mentioned wanting to travel the galaxy, and he couldn't help but laugh at himself when she brought up the trunk incident. Not one of his brightest moment's in retrospect, but at the time it had seemed like a really good idea. It was hard not to share in her laughter when she snorted and her eyes lit up. "No judgement here." He raised his hands. "I think I almost passed out a time or two myself." Mostly because he had remembered all of the mom's nights out his own mother had gone out on. He still didn't like to think about it.

One of the shop owners wandered by their table, a large pale of ice cream in one hand and a scoop in the other. "Any refills, dearies?" she asked in a voice almost as sweet as the ice cream they were wolfing down. Wait. This place had servings this size and free refills too? No wonder the reviews were crazy good. @Sreeya

 

[Prani Shalrazi]

Prani listened as Shaw talked about his family making it off the planet. She didn’t miss how he didn’t elaborate where they went or if they were still in touch. Before she could ask, he spoke about his sister and she noticed the fondness in his voice. She smiled in turn, “What’s her name?” Prani asked, “I bet she’d be real proud of ya! Big brother a popular Jeedai that’s out savin’ the galaxy,” She said with a smile. When he asked about her siblings, she nodded.

“I got an older brother Feroz and a younger sister Mariel,” Prani explained, “Feroz…” Her smile faded slightly, “Well he thought the caravan life was real silly so he left. Broke my ma’s heart, but it happens often. A lot of the kids don’t wanna keep the gypsy lifestyle so they go into the city and start lives of their own. I considered it myself, but I didn’t like how sad it made ma,” Prani said, “Mariel is also learnin’ to be a healer. That’s what I was doin’ before my parents sent me to the Jeedai.”

As the woman asked for refills, Prani shook her head, “Oh no thanks m’am, I don’t think I could eat for a few days after this,” She said with a chuckle.

“Golly, I really do ramble, don’t I?” Prani asked Shaw with a sheepish smile, thinking back to rattling off so many details of her story while he always kept it short and mysterious, “I guess I feel real comfortable just tellin’ you stuff..” She mused. It was a rarity for her, but it came easy with Shaw.

She didn’t mind waiting for Shaw if he got some refills, but once they were done and stepped out of the shop, Prani pointed, “Wanna check out Takodana castle? I heard the padawans talkin' about it. It’s a museum now after it was rebuilt,” She said.

“Apparently it’s got a lot of history,” She said, genuinely curious, “And there was some big battle!”

@throwitintothefire

 

[Shaw Amaris]

"Maliah," Shaw replied, smiling across the table at Prani. No one had really asked him a lot of questions about his family other than Macote. It was nice to get to talk about them. Especially about his little sister. "But I call her Mal." Sometimes Mal Mal but that really annoyed her. Which was the only reason he called her that in the first place. It was even nicer for Prani to say that Maliah would be proud of him. Maliah? Maybe. His parents? Definitely not. It had only been a few months, and he had already broken his promise to them—to stay low and keep his distance from the other Jedi as much as possible. He had broken it more that once.

When she started talking about her own siblings, he was glad to have the distraction. Plus he just liked listening to her, and not just because of her accent. It sounded like the gypsy life wasn't all sunshine and rainbows like he had imagined. It had been heartbreak and lettings go too. He couldn't help but notice the way her smile faded when she talked about her brother. 'Sorry about your brother' sounded really lame, so he went with, "Do you get to see him often? Your brother, I mean?" Or any of her family for that matter now that she was with the Jedi.

"Do you?" he asked when she said that she had been rambling too much. He really didn't think so. He'd been enjoying hearing all about her life back with the gypsies. If he was being honest he wanted to hear more. Why her parents had sent her to the Jedi, if she liked being with the Jedi, all that good stuff. "Well I hadn't noticed." If he hadn't been a teenage boy he might have thought to say 'I'm glad you're comfortable with me' or 'I'm comfortable with you too' or something like that but he didn't. He felt it, but he didn't think to say it.

It wasn't like Shaw to turn down free food, especially when it was something like ice cream, but even he couldn't go for seconds. Not even after that run. So it wasn't long until the ice cream shop was behind them and the teenagers were back outside, basking in the early morning sunshine. "Sounds dope!" he said at her suggestion to visit the castle up the hill.

It was a lot bigger up close, with battlements and towers and so many different colored flags fluttering in the wind that Shaw couldn't count them all. Large doors left open inside the bailey led into the main hall of the castle. There were people everywhere, checking out displays or talking amongst themselves or trying to wrangle their excited children. In the center of the hall stood a tour guide, bright red lips split into a smile as she led a group of padawans through the castle.

"It is rumored that this site was once the battlegrounds of the Jedi and Sith Order," she explained. Most of the padawans looked disinterested, drug along by their friend who hung on to the tour guide's every word. Shaw couldn't tell if he just loved history that much or if he had a crush on the guide. "There are tombs of long passed Jedi Knights beneath the castle in the catacombs..."

This castle really did had everything, didn't it? Shaw turned to Prani and grinned. "So. You wanna go on the guided tour or freestyle it?" @Sreeya

 

[Prani Shalrazi]

Prani nodded in response, “Feroz is the one I hear from the most,” She said, “My parents aren’t the best with technology,” She giggled, “They go into the city once a week to the local tech library and holocall me from there,” Prani said, “I think I get my chattiness from my ma. She can talk for hours!”

She wasn’t entirely sure she believed him when he said he didn’t 'notice' her talking too much, but she would take it at face value for now. It was refreshing to be able to be herself around someone and not have them find her odd.

She followed along with the tour group for a moment, also hanging onto every word. When Shaw asked his question, she almost missed it, “Hm?” Her eyes widened, “Oh..I was going to-” Prani had seen that look in his eye and that grin enough times to know what he was asking without asking. She only laughed, “Freestyle it, of course,” She said with a matching grin before stepping away to begin the self guided tour.

Prani stopped before a display of Grandmaster Rey, “So she was captured on Takodana durin' the battle by Kylo Ren!” She read with a gasp, pointing to Rey’s saber replica. And of course the tour took them past models of Maz Kanata and Han Solo.

“What would you wanna be remembered for as a Jeedai?” Prani asked as she glanced over towards a section that was restricted. It was to the catacombs in the levels below. She couldn’t deny the curiosity of exploring down there, but the thought of breaking any rules made her nervous.

@throwitintothefire

 

[Shaw Amaris]

"Alriiiight!" Shaw's grin only grew. He had hoped she would want to freestyle it. He didn't really want to have to follow the tour guide around. He liked taking things at his own pace, which didn't always turn out great for him. "Your tour awaits!" As if he was the tour guide, he opened a side door at random which led into a long hallway with lots of display cases and a few people milling about. Did he know his way around the castle? No. Had he ever even been here before? Also no. But Shaw did know how to have fun. That had to count for something.

At Grandmaster Rey's display case, it was the lightsaber replica that caught Shaw's attention for the longest. His brown eyes roamed over the cloth handgrip and blocky design. It wasn't the sleek, expensive lightsaber you might expect from a grandmaster. Shaw had always been fascinated with lightsabers. Even as a child, growing up with resentment toward the Jedi and the Sith. Lightsabers were just cool.

Shaw came to a stop in front of a random set of plate armor on display. He cleared his throat, stood a little taller, and used his best tour guide voice. Whatever that was. "Here we have—please, please, madam, do direct your attention here!" He gestured for Prani to get a good look at the armor. "This is the intrepid Sir Huff and Puff of the northerly house. Not to be confused with the southern Huffs and Puffs mind you," he said making it all up on the spot. He shook his finger at Prani like that was a common mistake people made. "Who died valiantly in battle two thousand years ago when, unable to make it up the hill to the battle in this heavy armor, tripped and fell, rolled all the way down the hill, and drowned in the lake!" The plaque told a very different story, but Shaw just laughed. He liked his story better.

"Remembered for as a Jedi?" Shaw echoed. The question had taken him by surprise. Not because he was afraid of telling Prani. Because he wasn't sure that he really had an answer. And that... bothered him. "I—I don't know if I'm being real with you. Guess I've never really thought about it." Was that a bad thing? "Lame answer, I know. What about you? What does Prani want to be remembered for?" He met her gaze and waited for her reply, very invested in whatever words came out of her mouth next. @Sreeya

 

[Prani Shalrazi]

Prani figured self guided meant they were going to wander around aimlessly and find whatever looked interesting. When Shaw took up the role of tour guide, she was genuinely impressed and amused. She took a look at the armor and listened to his every word, completely failing to realize he was fibbing on the spot. Her eyes were wide with wonder, “Oh gosh, that’s just awful!” Prani gasped, “That poor sold-” She scrunched up her face when Shaw started to laugh. It was then that she read the plaque and burst out laughing.

“You had me believin’ every word of that!” Prani quipped as she very lightly smacked his arm, “I really pictured valiant Sir Huff and Puff jus' tumblin'..” She could barely get the words out, bursting into a fit of giggles. This time she covered her mouth to curb any snorting. She could already see one of the actual tour guides giving her a savage look.

She didn’t seem remotely disappointed at his lack of answer about how he would want to be remembered. When he turned the answer back on her, she cleared her throat, definitely prepared with an answer, “Jeedai Grandmaster Prani will be remembered for rallyin’ together a fellowship to take the necklace of power to the depths of Mount Evil. Never mind that it’ll be two ewoks doin’ the actual job, but Grandmaster Prani will have authorized this fellowship!” She said proudly and seriously, reciting the plot of a famous fantasy movie. Prani was terrible at keeping her face straight and started giggling moments later.

It was very obvious that she didn’t have an answer to that question either.

Prani glanced to the side where there was a lot of commotion going on. She started walking in that direction and it was a re-enactment of the Takodana battle. Prani motioned for Shaw to take a seat next to her as the performance began. The scene opened with someone dressed as Rey running with a BB-8 droid. Stormtroopers charged into the scene and a mock blasterfight ensued.

“Oh gosh, will I have to know how to use a blaster as a Jeedai?” Prani whispered to Shaw, feeling unnerved at her prospect of being a Jedi as she watched the show.

@throwitintothefire

 

[Shaw Amaris]

Shaw expected some really noble, selfless answer that would put his total lack of an answer to shame. He expected nothing less from Prani because those were two of the exact traits that came to mind when he thought of her. Noble and selfless. She had displayed both more than once back on Listehol.

Instead she started reciting the plot from a fantasy holo movie. Of course it took Shaw, totally invested in her answer, a few seconds to realize what she was doing. It dawned on him about the time she said it would be two ewoks doing the actual job of carrying the necklace of power to the depths of Mount Evil.

The teenager burst into laughter. "You had me for a second there," he chuckled, surprised that she had turned the tables on him and that he had fallen for it so soon after his made up story about Sir Huff and Puff. When Shaw started to lean against the empty suit of armor for support without thinking, the teenagers realized that it was time to move on. The tour guide that had been glaring at Prani was now headed straight for them.

Their next stop was a re-enactment of the Battle of Takodana. "I don't think so?" Shaw whispered to Prani with a shrug, trying not to interrupt the re-enactment. It didn't stop Regina, two rows in front of them, from shooting them a look anyway. "I've never seen a Jedi use a blaster before." Well, until now he supposed. But who was Shaw to know? He was brand new to the order.

It wasn't until Kylo Ren—or some guy dressed like Kylo Ren—arrived on the scene and carried Rey to his ship bridal style that Shaw interjected again. He leaned over to Prani and whispered, "Uhhh is it just me or is there like... some kinda weird romantic tension between those two?" @Sreeya

 

[Prani Shalrazi]

Prani watched the show play out, still nervous about the idea of having to learn to shoot. She hated the idea of excess violence to begin with, but just firing a blaster at an unsuspecting enemy? It left her with a bad taste in her mouth. Prani watched Kylo Ren walk in and sweep Rey up in his arms and prance away.

“Oh absolutely,” Prani said with a nod. She sighed wistfully, “Star crossed lovers is my absolute favorite trope,” She admitted, “I bet they prolly had somethin’ goin’ which made things complicated and just so drama,” Prani said, seriously invested in the story. She wondered if she would have some angsty story with a Sith that she tried to bring over to the light side. Prani shook herself out of her scandalous romance novel thoughts, clapping as the show began to wrap up.

“Okay Mr. Tour Guide, where we goin’ next?” Prani asked Shaw as the crowds began to disperse, “There’s more of this museum, the water activities or the markets,” She rattled off cheerfully. She couldn’t remember the last time she had such a fun day out with someone, but of course that felt too cheesy to admit. She kept it quiet and hoped they would have more excuses to keep the day going.

Prani was entirely oblivious to the fact that Regina and her clique were now starting to get nosy and tail the two to see where they would go. One of the girls in the group had a crush on Shaw and was miffed at seeing him wander around with another girl, so of course she went to Regina to hatch a sabotage plan.

@throwitintothefire

 

[Shaw Amaris]

"Star crossed lovers?" Shaw echoed, surprised to look over and see how into it Prani was getting. Girl was seriously invested in whatever on stage chemistry the two actors shared. She wasn't the only one either, some of the other girls a few rows behind them whispering about how swole Kylo Ren probably was without his shirt on. Shaw looked at Prani again. Oh so maybe that was why she was so invested. He watched Kylo Ren disappear into his ship, still carrying Rey bridal style. Dude probably was pretty swole under all those dark layers now that he thought about it.

Shaw looked around, looking for their next destination on his guided tour. Of course his gaze landed on one of the entrances to the catacombs beneath the castle. A sign hung over the entrance that said Restricted Area: No admittance allowed without tour guide, but he paid it no mind. "Why the catacombs of course!" he announced, adopting his over the top tour guide voice again. "Nothing but the best for a fine lady like yourself. Right this way!" He ushered her toward the entrance with a wide, sweeping arm gesture. "Now watch your step, madam! Some of these stairs are as old as Master Yoda himself!" Sometimes it really did pay off to listen in history class.

Meanwhile, Regina and her clique watched the two padawans as they descended the winding stairs that led into the catacombs. "Ugh! Now what are we gonna do?" the first girl asked.

"What are you freakin out about?" one of the others said. "It's not like they're gonna start making out around a bunch of corpses or something. Ew!"

Regina just rolled her eyes, as if the answer was obvious. These girls really did need her help. "Let me handle this." She approached one of the museum workers. One of the more infamous ones that all of the padawans usually knew to avoid. "Excuse me, ma'am?" Regina said in a sweet, innocent voice. "I hate to be one to tell on my friend like this, but..." She had the museum worker's full attention now. "But my friend Prani? Well she just went down into the catacombs. I wouldn't mention it except I'm worried about her. She's... how do I put this nicely? A bit of a nature freak. It's all gone to her head I'm afraid, and she's been rambling on and on about trying to go down to the catacombs and raise some long dead Jedi or something crazy like that! Can you believe that?" She forced a laugh. "Raise a Jedi from the dead after all these years? I only mention it because—"

But the museum worker was already gone, hot on the trail of Prani and Shaw. Regina beamed. That took care of that. @Sreeya