Tahiri's Usual Spot on the Beach, Friday Afternoon

[weetuskenraider]

All her things were packed; her room had been restored to its original state, her X-Wing was prepped, and her blaster, gaderffii, and lightsaber cleared out of the weapons locker. Tahiri didn't own that much, and everything non-essential that she'd accumulated over the last three years had been shipped out ahead of her. The rest was stowed safely in her X-Wing in the junkyard, and her lightsaber clipped to her belt.

She wasn't one to leave without saying goodbye, though, and she'd made sure to send messages to let them know she was headed out, that she'd love to see them one more time before she left, and if not then she'd keep in touch and try to come back for a visit as soon as she could -- and, most importantly, that she cared about them all. That was something she'd never leave unsaid again.

But now all of the preparations were done and there were still a few hours to go before Tahiri absolutely had to leave, and she made her way out to the patch of beach where she'd spent so much time. (It was always the same, and yet different, as was the nature of sand, and there was something fitting about that. Tahiri supposed she could puzzle out the philosophy of it all on the trip home.) There would be beaches on Zonama Sekot, she was sure, but none of them held the memories, painful and happy and everything in between, of this one.

Walking a couple of feet out into the surf, she stood and let the waves wash over her feet, closed her eyes, and opened herself to the Force to really just feel Fandom one more time.

[OOC: *CLIIIIIIIIIIIIINGS to my girl forever wah* Tahiri's last post in Fandom, yes, and absolutely open if you want to stop by. I'll happily SP this as long as necessary, since I don't think I'm gonna be pinging too fast at work. Mostly because I don't want to have to explain why I'm all wibbly . . .]

Comments

[endsthegame]

It wasn't some visitor come strolling up the beach, no. But Ender knew what day it was back in Fandom, and what would be happening. He didn't know if Tahiri had left yet, but either way, she probably deserved a call.

And so her phone might have been ringing.

[weetuskenraider]

And Tahiri might have been smiling when she saw who was calling.

"Hi, Ender. I'd be impressed at your timing, but somehow I can't entirely believe it was a coincidence you just happened to call on the day I have to leave."

[endsthegame]

"It was a gamble," Ender admitted, smiling, too. "I knew it was going to be sometime this week. Blame serendipity, though."

He tapped his foot against the floor where he sat. "All packed?"

[weetuskenraider]

"The only thing left is to get into the X-Wing and take off," Tahiri confirmed, not sounding horribly thrilled about it. She moved over to perch on a rock she could swear had developed a patina of sorts from her sitting on it so many times and looked out over the water. "Which I'm trying to put off until the last possible minute. It feels a bit strange to be leaving this place behind; it's the first place I've lived for any length of time that I haven't had to leave unexpectedly."

After a moment:

"Even if the view across the causeway has changed so many times."

[endsthegame]

"That's just as much a part of the place, though," Ender pointed out. The smile was audible in his voice. "But as I've been trying to explain to someone," Karla, "recently, that's the high school experience, I think. You learn, you change, and then you leave."

[weetuskenraider]

"It wouldn't be Fandom without that, would it? Good practice for heading to a hyperdrive-equipped planet, I guess," Tahiri agreed with a laugh. "Though I'm not sure that sort of experience is necessarily limited to high school. Maybe it just seems more . . . I don't know. Intense now. At least they won't have to drag me kicking and screaming across the causeway."

That would be a sight, though.

"How are things where you are?"

[endsthegame]

Ender exhaled. "Has Ben told you yet?" he asked. "We appear to have been exiled from our exile."

[trigons_child]

Raven had had a long conversation with Tahiri only a few days before, but she wasn't about to let her leave without seeing her again. Fortunately she could use her gifts to track her friend down on the beach. She teleported a short distance away and began to walk across the sand.

"Hello, Tahiri," she called out. "I am sorry to see you go."

[weetuskenraider]

"Likewise," Tahiri replied, standing and moving toward Raven. "Well . . . more like I'm sorry I have to leave all of you, but you know what I meant, I hope."

[trigons_child]

"I understand," Raven said. She sighed as she looked out across the water. "I do not like this time of year, when friends must leave. I hope you will not disappear like some have."

[weetuskenraider]

"I have no intentions of disappearing," Tahiri answered, carefully avoiding anything that sounded like a promise. "I can't guarantee my duties back home will give me anything like a reasonable break schedule, but it's not actually exciting missions all the time for most of us. I'll see you next time I'm here, I hope."

[trigons_child]

"I am glad to hear you say that," Raven said, managing a smile. "I know time moves different between many of our worlds" -- Azar knew that caused her some small amount of distress about Jono's world -- "and that you will have responsibilities you cannot ignore, but I hope to see you return for Homecoming and other special events."

[weetuskenraider]

"That makes two of us," Tahiri replied, reaching out to take Raven's hands. "After all, I have to give Karla a break from making sure you don't overstretch yourself sometime, don't I?"

Also someone was going to need to teach Steph to say "God, Raven" now.

[trigons_child]

"Karla has grown quite skilled at telling me not to do so," Raven said, squeezing Tahiri's hands and sending her a gentle pulse of affection, though tinted with sorrow at her leaving. "But I do not believe she would ever turn down assistance in such matters."

[likes_scoundrels]

Leia had gotten Tahiri's message while making the preparation for her own leave-taking, which was terribly convenient since she wanted to see Tahiri anyway. She headed down to the beach to find her that afternoon.

"Ready to go?" she asked. She was eager herself, but reluctant as well.

[weetuskenraider]

"Ready as rockets," Tahiri answered without thinking, an odd little smile coming to her face as she did; she'd used that phrase with Anakin so many times. "You too, huh?"

[likes_scoundrels]

"I have a future to live up to," Leia said with a tiny smile of her own. "I can't do that from here."

[weetuskenraider]

"Obviously not," Tahiri answered. "How are you ever going to end up nearly adopting me, or finding a million ways to embarrass Jaina at every opportunity, or anything like that if you stay?"

[likes_scoundrels]

"I'm still not too sure Jaina's ever going to exist in my world," Leia said. "I don't like her father. At all."

Really.

[weetuskenraider]

"There are a million things I could say to that," replied Tahiri, who suddenly found it very hard to suppress a faint smirk. "But I'll keep them to myself so as to not influence your choices in future."

Her past. Whatever. She'd heard plenty of stories about that particular part of Han and Leia's relationship.

[likes_scoundrels]

"What about other future choices?" Leia said. "Good places for rebel bases?"

Look, she had to ask. She didn't know when she'd have a chance to try to dig up more information in the future.

[kestrelswolf.livejournal.com]

Firekeeper- or Blind Seer for that matter- weren't really all that sentimental, but Tahiri was pack as far as they were concerned, and so it wouldn't be right to not see her off.

So they sidled up to Tahiri, not speaking just yet, just standing by her side.

[weetuskenraider]

Tahiri sensed their presence, of course, and ducked her head to hide the smile that crossed her face -- she was more sentimental than they were, but wouldn't overwhelm them with it right off.

Instead she grunted softly, a familiar sort of Tusken greeting, and leaned over to nudge Firekeeper's shoulder lightly with her own.

[kestrelswolf.livejournal.com]

Firekeeper's lips curled up in a small smile as she curled her toes in the wet sand to steady herself at the nudge. Blind Seer gently nipped at Tahiri's hand on her other side, his own version of a greeting. "I want to see your world sometime," she said plainly.

[ooc: the problem with multiple computers is sometimes when you forget to hit 'post' you don't realise it for DAYS. shut up.]

[weetuskenraider]

"There will always be a place for you there, I'll make sure of it," Tahiri answered, and reached a hand out to scratch at Blind Seer's ears. "And I hope I'll get a chance to see yours someday, too."

[OOC: I am PAINFULLY familiar with that problem, technology whore that I am.]