weetuskenraider | Room 529, Thursday Midday

As decidedly less than thrilled Tahiri had been about the fact that someone had been able to pick up on her little mental friend so easily, Karla had offered her help. Riina had been pretty quiet lately -- but Tahiri didn't feel like counting on that to last. Although she wasn't holding out too much hope yet that there was actually a chance the girl she'd only just met a few days ago could do something about this problem, it definitely couldn't hurt to find out.

So with Hurley out for a few hours she'd ~~handwavily~~ given Karla a call, then took a seat on her bed to try and meditate for a little while. Talking about that particular experience was always unnerving, and just thinking about it now already had her on edge. Ergo, meditating. Or trying, anyway.

[OOC: Post is for peoples what know who they are, up whoa early for great SP justice and roomie modded with permission. Note to self, in case you forget because you are a flake, details of convo with Karla NFB like whoa, please. Notice for triggeriness: the thread with Karla will concern not-exactly-vague memories of torture, so consider that a heads-up.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

glacial_queen

Karla knocked, hesitating outside of Tahiri's room. She'd gotten Tahiri's call a while ago, but had taken some time to put together a few supplies.

"Excuse me?" she called softly. "Tahiri?"

From:

weetuskenraider

Tahiri opened her eyes and reached out in the Force to sense who was there, then open the door.

"Hi," she called softly. "Come on in."

From:

glacial_queen

"Hi," Karla said quietly, slipping inside. "I'm sorry it took so long for me to arrive, but I had some preparations to make. I...wasn't sure what would be needed." She glanced around. "May I sit?"

From:

weetuskenraider

Tahiri didn't realize she was curled in on herself, hands on her knees and her posture hunched up defensively, as she nodded. "Of course. There's chairs, or --" She scooted over toward the head of her bed to make room in case the chairs weren't comfortable. (She wasn't a fan of hers, personally.) "It's okay. I wasn't in any hurry."

She wasn't looking terribly eager to talk, either, which was a contrast to her usual tendency to ramble.

From:

glacial_queen

Karla sat down on the end of the bed, giving Tahiri as much room as possible. There was something about her that reminded Karla of a wounded Arcerian cat. Not entirely trusting and ready to shy. "I brought wine and chocolates, as promised," she said, smiling. She called in a bottle and a bag from J,GOB ~~handwavily~~ acquired earlier. "I saw Ben and Anakin spar, earlier today," she said gently, trying to get Tahiri to relax a bit.

The more tense she was, the harder this would be for both of them.

From:

weetuskenraider

Ben and Anakin. Tahiri knew exactly who Karla was talking about by that, of course, but the phrasing was just enough to throw her for a moment, bring up a completely different mental image, and she flinched.

She really wished she'd stop doing that.

"Pretty astral, aren't they. Ever seen a lightsaber duel before?" she asked instead, forcing a smile; her efforts to try and relax were practically visible.

From:

glacial_queen

Karla caught the flinch and mentally kicked herself. She wasn't sure what she had said wrong, but she certainly had said something. Still, there was nothing to do but keep going. "Never. I'd never even hear of a lightsaber before. But Ben and I were practicinging in the gym at the same time, and he invited me to watch them practice. They are quite impressive."

She held out the bag. "Pastry?" she asked. There was quite the selection. You could get a lot for a gold coin.

From:

weetuskenraider

Oh, it wasn't that Karla had said anything wrong. It was just that Tahiri had one hell of a hangup when it came to a different Anakin. But she'd get to that in a bit.

"Did you clean out the inventory or something?" She managed a tiny smile and reached for something really, really chocolatey. "Ben's better than I am now, and I'm half a galaxy away from being anywhere near as good as Master Skywalker. I thought about going, but . . ."

Looking a bit guilty, Tahiri shrugged.

From:

glacial_queen

"I only have gold coins to pay with, and the staff insisted I get as close to full value as they could get. We compromised, though, since I didn't want to clean them out completely--I was worried for my safety if I did. So they gave me half the value of the coin in treats, and now I have half remaining in credit for future visits. I should probably switch my money over into this world's currency, but I admit I enjoy the look on the shopkeeper's faces when I pull out a handful of gold coins."

Karla was babbling. But if her babbling got Tahiri a little more comfortable and relaxed, Karla could keep going for hours if necessary.

She really hoped it wasn't necessary.

"Wine?" she offered. Again, a glass or two would help with the relaxing, and wouldn't interfere with any of the other brews she'd brought.

From:

weetuskenraider

It was . . . relaxing, yes. Tahiri wondered if that was what she used to sound like to people back when she wouldn't shut up short of a direct order to do so. She'd asked Anakin, once, "When did you start talking so much?"

"I don't know," he'd replied. "When did you start coughing up one word at a time as if three or four were going to break your mouth?" Which was close to what she was doing now, like she did every time the subject of her shaping was at hand. She'd never really explained the full story to anyone, and didn't enjoy putting it into so many words.

"Sometimes the reactions are fun, huh?" she offered instead, absently rubbing at her forehead. Considering the wine, Tahiri chewed on her lip. "Maybe a little. My tolerance is pretty bad."

From:

glacial_queen

"This wine is very strong," Karla said. "Though if we mix it with a little water, it shouldn't be too bad. It's how I first started drinking wine, and how I drink it with dinner. It would be horrifically embarrassing to get drunk at a dinner party, wouldn't it?" Not to mention dreadfully dangerous, at least, back at Karla's familial estate.

But that wasn't important now. Tahiri, and whatever her problem was, that was important. Karla probed gently. Yes, the second psychic scent was still there. It felt...quiescent, almost. But definitely waiting.

Karla called in two glasses and enough water for both of them. Her Jewel would burn off the alcohol quickly even without the water, but Karla wanted to be in perfect form. Water it was.

From:

weetuskenraider

Riina had been quiet lately, but not so quiet that Tahiri wasn't always aware of her there, somewhere in the back of her mind; it felt like those jungle patrols back on Borleias, knowing she was being watched but not being able to sense a distinct presence.

"Waking up in the stables was embarrassing enough," she ventured shyly, reaching for one of the glasses. Swallowing hard, she asked, "Is there . . . what exactly do you need to know?"

From:

glacial_queen

"We could start with what happened," Karla asked gently. "Is it something you can talk about?"

Back home, there were so may witches who couldn't.

Pain drowns other people. I just swim in it.

Room 529, Thursday Midday