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I'll be more welcome to this when you've begun to leave. [While Lexa doesn't know a single thing about solar energy, she has figured out the difference between being in here and not being in here. It's like night and day ... so to speak.]

You were an example before when I told others not to overextend themselves. Is this a thing you often do? [Without waiting for him to reply, she begins to lead him out of where he's sitting so he can embrace the light (so ... to speak).]

[ each huff of air was precious and he didn't feel like laughing much, but he chuckled anyway. he's resilient, strong. stronger if he could tap into the full power of the force. he knows he'll bounce back as long as someone can give him a start. ]

What, setting an example for others? [ his head is bowed but there's a small smile from all the bravado he encompasses ] I try.

I'm certain you do. There are a few others who would be more than inclined to take your lead. [Lexa would (ironically enough) include Ahsoka (Ashla, as she's going by here) in that list of individuals. She doesn't know their ties to one another, however, so she can't really know the irony of it.]

We won't survive if we have to keep an eye on everyone else. That will be too great of a burden for all of us.

[ his response is immediate ] The only way we survive is if we keep an eye on each other.

It's bad enough we're stranded on a remote planet. We have these suits that limit us like we're machines. [ he picks at the seam of the strange suit, fingers itching to peel it off. ] We can't- couldn't have exist here without each other's help. Keeping an eye on each other isn't a burden, it's self preservation.

[ just like that, his sudden intensity flares out and he rolls his shoulders. ]

Think of it this way, I'm your backup battery, just like you are mine. The more we have, the better.

[His point isn't wrong. The problem is that it involves a thing that Lexa has very little room for: trust. Yes, her people take care of one another, but there is and has always been a sense that they can and will strike out on their own if everyone else makes poor decisions.]

We have no reason to take care of one another right now. I trust one who's arrived here and no more. [Saying it that blatantly might not explain why she just saved him, but she sees no reason to let a man die when she can help him.]

[ his eyes are downcast for a moment as he notes her ruthlessness, the necessity she implies without force. it's experience; they need experience but it has its downsides.

he turns a wry smile at her. although it's not unkind, it is guarded. ]

You may have no reason but I do. Do you trust me enough to give me a name? I don't think I ever got one.

Lexa. [With someone else, she had given her full titles, but she sees no reason to be on guard here, to posture unnecessarily.] A name can only give you so much. It doesn't grant you my trust.

[Some people might think differently, but Lexa's people ... well, they love giving titles to people.

But that is what she's withheld.]

[ anakin stares her for a moment, as if he's trying to see something beyond the pragmatic attitude. ]

I don't need your trust to know to return a favor when you need it.

[ hopefully, he didn't just open himself up to be signed up for some stupid unreasonable venture - though another glance at lexa tells him that's entirely possible. he brace his weight against the chair and push himself off on steadier feet, muttering a few popular huttese curse along the way ]

Where we you headed?

A favor for a favor. My people do believe in such things. [It's the easiest way of discerning transactions between two people. Trust may mean nothing, but favors given may lead to favors owed. She hadn't acted for that, but it might make things simpler if he understands it.

There are few others who do. She doesn't bother to explain more.]

I'm looking for weapons that aren't guns, and items that will allow us to store our belongings. If you follow, it won't be a matter of making good on that favor. I'll make it clear when that is happening.

[ he would mention that he technically owes lexa two favours at this point but he's not keen on making that list for her.

though he has to wonder what kind of people were lexa's - some kind of militant group perhaps, he can easily imagine mercenaries along the mid-rim. but no, they use blasters and are more comfortable with the efficiency of blasters.

that makes "weapons that aren't guns" interesting. ]

I won't be making much progress here without power cells, or some kind of lasting power. [ with lexa so eager to point out that there's no trust between them, he's highly tempted to push at that concept ] I don't want to find out what is making those claw marks without a weapon and I'm sure you don't either. We travel together; if I find anything that might work for you, I'll trade it in return for any blaster parts you might find.

[Oh, it's not that Lexa didn't factor it in; she's just concluded that "feeding her partially with that plant" counts as the return favor. Lexa is way too merciless to overlook that.

She does hesitate at his offer for a trade. It's not that she disagrees. It's a worthwhile approach to these matters. No, the real issue is this: she doesn't know how to define what he's looking for. A "blaster" is likely a gun (albeit a weird name for it). Otherwise? Well, she's not sure.]

Have you found any of these parts already? Most of this technology is foreign to my people. [Or technology in general, sans the Foucauldian approach to it.]

[ another way of saying she won't know what he's looking for. and if he was honest, it takes him a moment to know what he's looking at. what would even count as blasters here. for once, he feels like obi-wan and his dislike for blasters - or more like his frustration at not having his lightsaber - comes through in a clipped manner. ]

No, I haven't. But it's a gun. You shoot it. If you're lucky, it'll work. It might even have power. But even if it doesn't, a blaster has parts that can be re-purposed. [ he runs a hand through his hair and sighs, audibly ] Why don't you tell me what your people are familiar with instead?

Edited 2016-11-13 22:50 (UTC)

[Her eyebrows raise at him. Lexa isn't exactly a person who takes kindly to even a hint of condescension about her people's ways. Between Skaikru and the Mountain Men, they have been treated like savages quite a bit. Even this sliver of dislike grates against her nerves, and she cants her head to the side and lifts her chin up, like she's accustomed to answering condescension with more condescension.]

My people are the survivors of the decimation of our world. We make weapons out of scrap, but we lack the power you're indicating here. There were those who did have it, but they ... took care of themselves. [To an extent.

Lexa doesn't feel bad for what happened to the people in the Mountain.

Only that Clarke had to do it, and that she forced her hand.]

[ anakin suppose that his tone, born out of frustration and his increasing irritation at this place, was unwarranted. he could almost hear obi-wan's voice, no words are needed, the tone inflicts the necessary lesson.

to which anakin would have rolled his eyes to but obi-wan is not here.

anakin turns downwards and nods stiffly. he's all too aware of situations that leads to worlds like hers. ]

I'll find you weapons. But while I understand why you might not want to use a blaster - a firearm, it might become necessary. It might become the only way you can protect yourself - and others - here.

[It might not be immediately apparent where her mind goes to, at least not at first. But if Anakin is able to grasp on to the Force at all, it's apparent that there is someone here that she would want to protect. But just as quickly as a thought of Clarke surfaces in her mind, it vanishes.

Lexa cannot be held back by thoughts of her right now, not when they're in here. She can't be distracted.

(No, she can be distracted by Clarke in her own time, and she's certain the sentiment is one that's shared.)]

It might be, but I'd prefer it to be a last resort. They took much of who I am from me when I arrived here, when I awoke in that pod. I don't want to lose that.

[She will always have her Flame, but she hopes to be stubborn for a while longer on this other point.]

[ he tilts his head and regards her for a moment. nothing lexa has said to him has a hint of lightness in it - she's in fact so serious that it's comparable to mace windu. he has felt his being in the force feeling... lesser, not significantly but enough to tell. if it's anything like that, he understands the seriousness of it. of losing that and having the need to protect others - someone loved.

lexa doesn't seem to be the type to open up about it (like mace windus, perhaps) so he takes the first step. ]

My abilities - the ones you saw when we first met - it feels like I lost some of it when I woke up here. Is that what you mean?

None of my people have powers like that. [Anything unique about Lexa is genetic: her black blood, which is now apparent to many others here. Her ability to process radiation is something that she's not aware of, and she's still adjusting to the idea that the Flame—which is a central part of her identity—is also technology, albeit degraded technology.

It's a lot to absorb, but still, none of that is what she meant.]

I was a leader ... a Commander. It was my duty to look over them and help them. Being taken away will only bring chaos. It's the same for someone else from my world, another leader. She has to return to them. [But there's still a solid chance that the pods were there for a long time. Lexa can adjust to this, but Clarke may not.]

Taking our people from us is the same as taking everything.

[ he tries not to think about the people he left behind - obi-wan in the front-lines without him is a terrifying thought, not to mention mace windu and the possibility of losing anaxes shipyards. ]

If your people is as strong as you, there is hope that they'll survive without you for a time.

[ it's not a compliment or reassurance. it's just fact. they'll continue for a time until internal conflict tears them apart - he's seen it happen too many times in his padawan days, a change of power is too often an ugly affair. ]

Let's focus on keeping you and your friend alive and able to defend yourselves for now.

[ a beat and then he adds ]

Commander.

Edited 2016-12-05 02:50 (UTC)

[There's a beat of hesitation that's followed up with a quirk of her lips. It's not that Lexa had been seeking praise—she's not really the type of person who requires it—but the smile itself is acknowledgement enough of his words.]

And what of your people? Are they all like you? Or have they lost a great warrior in the process?

[Praise for praise, like a political exchange that Lexa herself can't overlook. But still, it's apparent that he prefers to take himself to his limits. That's more than enough for her to work with.]

[ he doesn't know how to answer that at first, and stares dumbfounded at his feet while he thinks - obi-wan and ahsoka, and everyone else in the order, those are his people. he knows where they are for a most part, in his time. but he remembers what padme told him, what luke's life must imply.

even with the war in another galaxy far far away, he carries it with him in his rigid shoulders and defiant tilt of his chin ]

Despite their best efforts, they haven't lost me yet. But you guessed right. They are like me - with my abilities. j[ his expression softens, his gaze turning somewhere far off. ] Even if I were to be lost, the Jedi will survive.

There will always be someone to fight. These Jedi—are they the warriors where you come from? [That seems to be the most logical conclusion. Her first words hint to a rather dark view on life. But Lexa has a hard time hiding that. Everything that she's seen since birth has involved war. Even in stopping war, she has given reason for more to erupt again and again. It's as if people starve without it.

So, where there are wars, there are people to fight them.]

Not always. We are more than just warriors. Sometimes, we're peacekeepers, response units, third party negotiators or diplomats. We go where we're needed, and we serve all living beings in the galaxy so they can find justice and peace.

[ but she's right about the other part; even if the jedi weren't fighting this blasted war, they would be fighting something else. from the star hyperspace war to the clone wars. he exhales a lon ]

Fighting isn't our only way, but if the fight is brought to us, we can and we will. I'm sure the same can be said of you and your people.

We'd be foolish if we said the fight was always brought to us. [Truthfully, being able to claim that seems as if someone is engaging in a falsehood. Lexa wonders if he truly believes that, or if he's only saying that because it's meant to represent him and his people better. She leans on that, in part because she's a cynic.

All in all, what he says reminds her of the Sky People, and how they always put themselves above her people, as if they were any different. That doesn't make them callous; it just means they're more experienced in finding excuses for themselves.]

My people have known nothing but war. We fight because that's what people do. We've only begun to find a different way, but nothing lasts. Still, I could say my warriors do the same as yours. Our negotiators have to be prepared for a fight, as are our diplomats. As their leader, I have to choose who's best equipped for a scenario.

[And most often, she has chosen Indra because she is both trustworthy and vicious. She once sent Tristan because she wanted to decimate the Sky People, but when it comes to matters of negotiations, she'll reach out to the slightly cooler head. (Most people would not agree that Indra is a woman with a cooler head. They would not be wrong.)]

[ no jedi get themselves involved in a war where they don't belong. it's why they kept out of the mandolorian civil war as long as they did, until they were summoned. until his own master was summoned. now that he thinks about it, it feels strange to talk about the ideals the order and what it represents without obi-wan here. usually, he handles these talks as anakin's opinions are... off. ]

People willing to find a new way when the old isn't working are hard to find. [ he adds as an afterthought, ] Depending on what part of the galaxy you're in.

[ he has to take another look at her; she looks around his age, though there are humanoids that age slower. something about the way she said that - that she chooses what's best - sours the taste in his mouth and he wills himself to brush it off. ] Either way, it's all the more reason to get you - all of us home.

I'd say it depends on the circumstances that brought about the old ways, as well. [It's only in this new life that Lexa can realize how wrong her people were about so many things, and it starts with the Flame that lies in her body. She knows that it's proof that they knew so little, and that they let themselves get caught up in so much.]

Regardless, you're correct. That's if we still have people to return to. There is a chance that we may be wrong about that.

[open!]

chosen ones don't have battery powered existences (yet anyway)

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