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here's to all that we kissed
people really should learn to knock before traveling between universes
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By the judgment of the High Council, Anakin Skywalker, padawan to Master Elesse Vendar, is ready to seriously pursue her Trials of Knighthood. She's young for it, especially by modern standards - barely eighteen - but she's made remarkable progress under Elesse's tutelage, they hold, and she's already passed the Trials of Courage, Skill, and Insight through the course of her apprenticeship. She'd passed Courage and Skill at sixteen in successfully holding off a Sith Lord until her Master could join her in the fight, and she passed the Trial of Insight throughout the year after, as she pursued treatment for her own psychosis, recognizing the tricks her own mind played on her as illusions.

(There'd been a debate on if this counted for the Trial of Spirit, but - not quite, the Council believed, and none of them were privy to the true challenges Anakin had faced alongside Elesse in that year.)

(None of them were privy to the full details of her undercover mission with Elesse, the one that ended in her crossing lightsabers with a Sith. Certainly not to the ways Elesse tortured Anakin, to maintain and further their cover - that would count for the Trial of Flesh several times over, though Anakin doesn't exactly regret having an excuse to demonstrate her pain tolerance again.)

The Trials don't have to be back to back - they rarely are, especially when intentionally administered - and by tradition, she should pass the Trial of Flesh before undergoing the Trial of Spirit.

There's traditional methods, which one chosen idiosyncratic to the padawan, the Master, and the whims of current fads. But the Trial of Flesh always involves overcoming and pushing through great hardship - tremendous pain, sacrifice, losses that sear one to the bone. (Sometimes literally. 'Interrogation techniques' are a popular fallback, and the worst of those are, well. Some would find the description of having their flesh slowly burned away gruesome. Anakin had needed to excuse herself from her and Elesse's common room after reading about it.)

And so, to her Elesse, tone light and teasing and trying not to sound too desperately breathy - 

"The real problem for this Trial might be finding a pain that's a genuine hardship for me to bear." Then, more seriously: "I'd - like this to be something you do, though, especially if we'll need to challenge my limits."

(That's what Trials are supposed to do. Life isn't kind, and doesn't care much for safewords.)

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"That would be unusual," Elesse says. "But I think we could arrange it."

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Wider grin. "Maybe a bit of an extra challenge, to make up for how - easier, things being at your hand makes everything."

(The most popular Trial nowadays is the thorough severing of the training bond between Master and padawan. An immensely painful loss, one Anakin would prefer to lose her limbs than face.)

There's plenty of other hardships she could endure, though. Other losses she could be stalwart before.

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"Perhaps I'll keep the exact trial a surprise to you."

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Hum.

...Anakin wants control. Wants to know it'll be okay, that it won't be too harsh for her - wants to suggest things, to squirm as Elesse considers them - 

"I trust you," she says, quietly and sincerely. 

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"Thank you, Anakin."

"You will be strong enough to survive what I choose. I will not promise you that, because this quality is intrinsic to you."

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Shiver. 

Strong enough to survive... She likes the sound of that. (Likes the implication of how far Elesse might push her.)

"I know," she says, throat dry. 

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Elesse smiles.

"I think you might need to concern yourself more with the Trial of Spirit, young padawan."

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"I've faced a lot of my demons already..."

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"Then you should beware, for the ones that remain may be stronger than you think."

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Slow, serious nod. 

" - My limits are more extreme than they were, and the Trials always push those."

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"The path to Knighthood is not easy. But many have trod it before you."

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"I'm confident I'll get there." Smile. "But - yeah, I know it'll be hard." Teasingly: "You'll make it that way, if nothing else."

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"A good teacher is ever attentive to her student's needs."

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"Gives them plenty of opportunities to advance themselves."

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"Quite."

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Grin! 

"Will you warn me when my Trial is coming up?"

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"By at least five minutes."

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"Very kind of you."

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"I know."

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"I'll be waiting until then."

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Within the week, Elesse meets Anakin after one of her classes.

"It's time," she says as a greeting.

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She bites back a yes ma'am. They're being subtle. Not creating any situations Anakin will have to lie about to avoid getting Elesse in trouble.

"Lead the way," she says instead, bleeding her eagerness into bravery.

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Elesse leads her to a room, distinctly chill, with a bath of water in the center. There is ice floating in the water.

"You'll want to remove your robes," she says.

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She nods, because if she speaks she might say things she really wouldn't want to say in a formal and probably remotely observed event. 

She starts stripping, motions quick and efficient and unhesitating. She starts breathing rapidly and deeply too, building an awareness of her body and blood and lungs - she can guess where this is going, and there's mundane tricks to extend how long a human can hold their breath. Her grasp of the Force helps already here, though, lets her keep her mind sharp even as her blood gets increasingly alkaline. 

She stands once she finishes, naked and without seeming embarrassment, skin alternatively flushed and pale, and pebbling in the cold. (Intensely aware of Elesse's eyes on her.)

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Elesse makes a shoving gesture and Anakin is pushed back step by step until she teeters at the lip of the water.

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Deep, rapid breaths - and then she pulls her arms in towards her body and takes one last exceptionally deep breath - holds it tight - as she senses in the Force the moment when Elesse will push her over. 

(She doesn't resist at all.)

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The water is icy cold, and salted to keep it liquid at the temperature. The splash from her entrance falls straight back on her face rather than spreading out.

Elesse keeps Anakin pinned down with the invisible hand of the Force, and quickly crosses the distance to also pin her at the base of her throat with a hand wearing a waterproof glove.

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The first shock is the worst - her body tries to gasp, suddenly, and it nearly overpowers her - she keeps her breath, overrides that - and her body starts fighting itself. Her heart tries to speed up and slow down at the same time - decides on the compromise position of one half speeding up and the other half slowing down which no don't do that 

Anakin takes control of her own heart. She hadn't thought to do that before she was submerged, but there's no point cursing herself for not knowing what drowning means. 

And her chest is burning - her lungs, her heart's the worst - her limbs are going rapidly cold and painful, plunging towards an agonizing numbness, and she has to stop herself from fighting it with her control over her body - lets her body shunt all her blood to her core like it wants to.

(She wants to gasp at the feeling of Elesse's hand on her neck. She refuses to.)

She knows - in the distant theory of the lecture hall - that letting the cold penetrate her brain will extend her survival time. Letting herself go into a tupor, a false death state. That holding it back won't do her many favors, will just make things harder on her. 

She's terrified to, and the fear won't help either - she's terrified of unconsciousness, of getting so woozy and tired and cold she can't protect herself with the Force anymore. 

She reaches out to Elesse's warm presence in the Force, seeking reassurance almost - keeps her eyes open even though that demands more effort from her to keep them from freezing, from burning - she watches her teacher's face. 

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Elesse is a blank wall through the Force, impossible to read or get a grip on. Anakin must find her survival within her own self.

Elesse's gloved hand is the only warmth she is offering her, and even that is rapidly chilling.

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She's scared, and cold - so cold - and everything hurts, she should be numb not burning - 

(Anakin's never really gotten used to either water or the cold.)

(She loves Elesse, trusts Elesse, but there's nothing to grab onto - )

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Anakin's young and athletic, fond of slowing her breathing during meditation. (She slows down her heart, her first acknowledgement of the need to let go... Thirty beats a minute, incredibly slow but still enough to keep her conscious with her blood pulled in to her core like it is.)

Even without the Force - she could hold her breath like this for a bit over ten minutes probably, could stay conscious for a few minutes past that. With the trick she pulled before immersion - she'd pass out from lack of oxygen before her body realized it needed to breathe. She's strong, but even then in normal circumstances she'd finish drowning before the cold water finishes stealing her heat.

She fights what she knows she needs to do for nearly twenty minutes, fully awake and afraid - the carbon dioxide in her blood creeps back up, adds another terrifying burn to the intense pain in her chest. 

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Anakin's used to fear, used to a mind that goes into spirals of panic at its own shadows. 

She knows when she isn't acting as she must. 

She slows her heart rate further. Twenty beats a minute. Fifteen. Ten. 

One beat a minute - her heart isn't fighting her anymore - 

And she lets the cold in. 

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Unconsciousness comes upon her like trust, like letting go. Her control of the Force slips before her last experience fades - but her body knows what to do now. It knows it can survive.

 

(The stupor some humans enter in water like this resembles death, from the outside. Anakin still blazes in the Force, though, a sleeping undreaming mind, and her body waits for warmth to return.)

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When she wakes, it's in an infirmary bed, warm and comfortable and safe, and with Elesse holding her hand.

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She blinks up at her teacher, still a bit dazed. 

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"Back with us, Anakin?"

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Tiny dreamy smile. "Yeah." (She reaches for Elesse in the Force again.)

"How'd I do?" she makes herself ask with her actual mouth and not just with telepathy. 

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Elesse's Force presence is warm and comforting as a blanket again.

"You passed, of course. Though you took your time about it."

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She wraps herself in it, glowing with love for Elesse and pride for herself and a delighted, buoyed feeling like she can take on the world. 

"I had to be difficult about something."

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"You wouldn't be Anakin otherwise."

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Giggle. 

"Shows you chose a good challenge."

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"I'm glad you think so."

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"It was - really intense." (Probably the only physical things that actually scare her.)

She squeezes Elesse's hand. "It's good you got permission to be - the one doing that."

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"It was. I won't always be able to- but for now, you are still my padawan."

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"One thing I might miss." And then, reaching into her mind, 'You might have to stick to doing it for fun once I'm Knighted.'

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"Help is always available to those who ask." 'If you do so nicely.'

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"I will."

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Smile.

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"Now all that's left is my Trial of Spirit..."

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"This one you'll be more on your own for. I can't tell you what it will involve, and I will not be guiding it."

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Nod.

"Will you be watching over me, though? In case - I have trouble finding my way back?"

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"Always."

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Grin. 

"I wanna take a few days first, but - I'll be ready soon."

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"In your own time."

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Nod.

"Can we go back to our rooms? I want to rest properly before my friends start congratulating me..."

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"The healers said you were free to leave once you woke."

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"Let's get going, then."

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Then off to their apartment.

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Where Anakin very determinedly flops - curls up on their couch, snuggles Elesse where they're in the privacy of their own rooms.

(Where Anakin quietly turns the temperature up and the humidity down on the climate control, and keeps it that way over the next few days. She doesn't seem to be otherwise bothered long term by her Trial, though.)

She celebrates with her friends once she feels more alert and in the mood - brings them back to her bedroom for certain celebrations - and within a few days, approaches Elesse to say, "I'm ready for the last Trial."

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"Very well. Follow me."

Elesse leads Anakin down to the lower levels of the Temple, to a chamber where the Force seems to pulse in time to her heartbeat. There's a power here, one that always has been and always will be.

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Deep breath. 

And she settles in the middle of the chamber, legs crossed, hands on her knees, and closes her eyes to meditate. 

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Elesse takes a position at the edge, waiting for Anakin to finish.

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And she sinks into her own mind. 

 

There isn't much here she hasn't already explored. Anakin's mind is a strange beast, prone to turning against her. The mind healer, her therapist, Elesse - all have helped her find nearly every odd corner of who she was and who she currently is. They had to, for Anakin to come out sane.

There's corners they can't easily explore, though. Who she will be, who she could have been

Anakin thinks, then, of those visions she had years ago on Ilum. The other hers - the other worlds. 

They've found nothing in the years since, no hint of what happened, no way to investigate more. Anakin's feelings about those visions are complex still, a strange twisting nexus of thoughts in the back of her mind that changes every time she glances away. 

The nexus feels deep - threatening at times - and normally it doesn't bother her, doesn't interact much at all with her day to day stability. 

It's something about who she is, though, at a deeper level than her experiences could ever define - and she's drawn to it in this moment - 

Anakin sinks back into her memories of those visions, and she opens herself to the Force.

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And the Force drags her into its currents - into the vision of that strange, sad, dark her - beyond - 

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Anakin's getting tired. 

Not physically. She sleeps well, rests well. Keeps her body in peak condition. Eats an officer's portions, even when they're on stricter rationing. (Her girls refuse anything else.)

But the war's been raging for three months already, and Anakin's already sick of it. Her mind aches - her being still unused to stretching herself over thousands of people, nudging their minds and movements with gentle whispers, bolstering their confidence and smoothing out their teamwork. It's a major boon to her legion, and there's talk of getting her to where she can coordinate multiple legions at once. 

Never mind that she doesn't want to. The war demands what it will.

 

She's just.  Tired. 

She hopes the war ends soon. Everyone does...

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There's a murmur through the Force, a ripple - a senseless skim of days and battles without end, of deaths - entire ships lost - quick flashes of scenes. Anakin quiet as a woman in white armor speaks for her. Her women hazing shinies with rumors she's deaf. Submitting reports in writing, declining opportunities to speak to the High Council in person because she's tired, and speech is more exhausting every day - 

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A moment of focus. 

Anakin's sitting on Elesse's bed, her knees tucked into her chest, her arms wrapped around them, her gaze distant. The bed is made, rumpled only by her movements, and the apartment is - empty. Quiet.

One could be forgiven for thinking it's unlived in. 

Anakin's having a debate with herself, an ongoing negotiation, her mind spiraling and eating itself and struggling to get away, to live -

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If Elesse walks through that door before the morning, I won't kill myself.

I can't kill myself before talking to her. That'd be stupid.

I have to leave a note before I kill myself. I need to decide what it says. I don't want to blame her. (I want to blame her.) I can't just - leave her without any reason why. 

I should either get off her bed or figure out a way that won't leave a mess. (There's a lot of ways. I'd hate to die - alone - here's the next best thing to held - )

(I have sleeping pills, you know. I have the Force. This line isn't really a delay.)

I need to give her a chance. I sent her a message asking to talk. I should wait for her to respond, even if I don't wait to see her. 

(But what could she do, anyways? She can't stop the war. She can't pull me out. I'm too useful, everyone says. My requests for leave are already granted only with reluctance. No one has time to rest.)

If I warn her I'm this desperate, she might stop me. 

If I warn her, she might fix it, she has always fixed it - 

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Morning comes, mercilessly, relentlessly, and Anakin's comm goes off. 

It isn't Elesse.

Her brief gasp of leave is up, and she has a mission. 

Anakin stands, and she walks numbly to her duty. 

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(Somewhere else, somewhen else - Anakin looks at her other self, and tries to let her compassion overcome her horror. It's difficult, and defining herself separately from the powerful currents of this vision is - )

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Difficult. 

That's what Anakin knows she's being. That's what she knows she is. 

She hasn't said a word in - she can't remember. She hasn't spoken to Elesse in longer.

She's their best, most useful general. The missions come from the High Council - many of them signed by Elesse, though Elesse like all of the Council members is doing her part on the battlefield. 

Anakin has no excuse for dragging her feet lately. No excuse for poor performance. 

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(She can't even scream. Can't even break. Can't let herself, and she moves through the days in a numb haze. Thinks about killing herself a lot, gets close several times - tries once, then again - )

(She doesn't die, and she leads her women faithfully, even if in the back of her head she sometimes considers killing not just herself but everyone, herself and the hundreds of thousands of people - of soldiers - that Anakin's mind can stretch to contain.)

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The war has raged for nearly four years, and Anakin thinks she might be pregnant. 

 

She never completes her thoughts on that. Her misery grows overlaid with a constant sickening panic - her thoughts fuzz every time she tries to terminate the pregnancy, every time she thinks about telling someone, every time she tries to kill herself - 

 

There's a path in front of her, and Anakin only now realizes she can't stop herself from walking it. 

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A fuzz, a blur of the vision - 

Anakin's standing before the High Council. Elesse isn't there, is on campaign, but this can't wait -

Anakin's voice cracks as she speaks for the first time in over a year, and her throat feels like it's bleeding. Her voice wavers, falls to a whisper. 

(She knows who the Sith Lord is. She's known for months, somewhere deep inside, but she's just now found the strength to say it - )

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"Let me help," she whispers, chest tight and painful.

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There's a hand on her shoulder. (When was the last time someone touched her?)

And Mace Windu, Grandmaster of the Order, looks Anakin in the eye and says, "You've already done all that could have ever been asked of you, and more."

"And now I ask you - stay here, and stay alert. Stay safe."

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"I want to help."

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Hug.

"You would be a liability against her," he says, quietly. "I'm sorry."

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She knows. 

That doesn't mean she likes hearing it. 

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"We'll be putting the Guard on high alert," he says. "Join them, and do as they say."

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"Yes sir," she whispers, but no sound comes from her lips.

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She feels the moment they die. 

She feels the moment that woman's commands echo through their army - 

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Anakin is bigger than herself. It doesn't matter that she's exhausted, that she's heavily pregnant - that fluid is spreading between her legs and her entire core is wracked with spasms - 

She's fought a war like this. 

A nothingness falls over the Grand Army of the Republic, and Anakin reaches, desperate, to fill it -

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There's nothing in those familiar minds for her to grab. No watchfulness for her to nudge, no courage for her to flame.

Just the mission, and their orders, and the traitors before their weapons. 

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Anakin takes a deep breath, only vaguely aware of another person trying to lift her off the floor - 

And she cuts the thin tether she's clung to for four years, the thread suspending her above the churning ocean of the Dark Side. 

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And where she cannot nudge, she commands - 

Stop - 

But there's millions and millions of soldiers, and only one Anakin, and a geyser of power ripping through her body, burning her from the inside out, and as soon as her control slips the women go right back to their mission - 

Turn my blaster to my own head, and pull the trigger.

Anakin is hundreds of thousands of soldiers right now, and she's reckoned plenty with the thought of killing herself. She doesn't flinch.

But her control slips - she doesn't get all of them - and there's so many, and the battle is spiraling so quickly, and this isn't fast -

She keeps grasping.

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And she's not the only one with an interest in what these soldiers do. 

Another deep wellspring of power - one long refined, used to this rush - winds through the minds of Anakin's puppets, dislodges her grasp, disrupts her, slows her down critically. 

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Fuck OFF.

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A laugh. 

That isn't how you use the Dark Side, girl. 

You don't cajole. You don't find tricks or ways around. You take the universe, and you demand what you want. 

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Then die.

 

And a hundred thousand soldiers drop dead like puppets with the strings cut - and Anakin swells, moving through the ranks as fast as desire, chased by that laughter - 

It isn't enough, the Jedi are still trapped in the Temple - 

She reaches out - 

She kills the first Jedi she tries to grab. She leaves the second a babbling wreck, useless to her. 

She starts trying to push thoughts - to the Jedi in the Temple, to ones on campaign (there's laughter in the Force) - some of those she reaches aren't even disabled by the roar of power in her. 

She grabs the mind of one of the Jedi in the Temple - a padawan though barely, lifted from the ranks of the initiates too soon for a war that steals their children as relentlessly as it steals their purpose - 

She doesn't kill him immediately. She takes his body, and she gets the initiates out - takes the body of a crechemaster - 

They burn out before long, but she's gotten a few to safety - 

(She's burning out.)

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(She tries to pull back from the vision, sobbing. She can't. Not far.)

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The geyser of power fades. She comes back to her body, someone with their hands on her elbows, trying to lead her to safety - ragged breath in her ears - the knowledge that she killed them, she killed her children

She stops letting herself be lead. "I can't," she whispers. "I need to find Elesse."

She doesn't kill the person who was leading her. She does kill the traffic control officers who try to keep her from leaving, who follow their orders - she kills every loyal enforcer of the Republic in a position to intercept outgoing craft while she's at it - 

She looks for Elesse.

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Elesse - get me out - please -

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There's no response.

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She isn't in her right mind yet when she finds Elesse. Neither of them are. (No one has been, not for years.) She's angry, and terrified, and grieving, and still riding that agitated high - 

Yes, she says, when Elesse asks for truth - Yes, she's the Sith Lord, and the Council died fighting her. 

Why wasn't I there? Why weren't you there - you can't understand, you never listen 

Somebody twitches, as the Republic falls and crumbles, and the Empire rises as its death mask.

Somebody ignites her lightsaber. 

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Please - no -

(But when has the universe ever listened to 'stop'?)

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Elesse's going to kill her. It pulses through her like her own racing heart, a terrifying, overwhelming knowledge. If Anakin slips, even an inch, if she regrets and turns off her lightsaber - Elesse will kill her. 

Isn't that what we keep wanting?

She's scared. 

There's no Republic to fight for. No war to win. 

She can't win this. She's exhausted, wounded in body and mind, and she's never been the fighter Elesse is. 

There's no point to duty. 

She doesn't want to die. 

Just let go. Just surrender. It'll be better that way. 

She knows what she needs to do, and she can't. 

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Then you take the universe, and you demand what you want. 

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Elesse's golden blade pushes against her saber - close enough to her face Anakin's vision develops spots - 

I demand to EXIST. 

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It's her unwilling passenger who sees that demand ripple, who hears the reverberations in the Force like a great bell has been struck - who hears the echo of it, from countless universes and countless times, but always from Anakin - 

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(Anakin Skywalker was born in a nexus of the Force, a chaotic tangle of energy, unexplained, vague rumors chasing her that she was the daughter of a darksider, but no father was ever found - )

 

Elesse Vendar dies in the galestorm around her, and when her enemy catches up - captures her - Anakin Skywalker lets it rip her mind apart rather than give up her secrets.

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She wants to exist, too.

But Anakin isn't - won't be, can't be - a darksider, and she can't demand - 

But she can redirect, and she can curl up in a bubble, the world shattering around her, and she can escape - 

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And from the ashes of Anakin Skywalker rises a new life - a new existence - 

Her, and not her. A reflection, but still a fulfillment of that fundamental demand.

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And in the stillness left in the wake of the storm - 

The next vision is a cold room, undecorated, and a black suit, and a hiss of air through a machine, and a hollowed, dark reflection of herself.

The her is kneeling - almost meditating, except for how her mind circles around its emptiness rather than doing anything meditation should - 

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And Anakin knows this vision - 

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"What happened?" she asks, a lifetime ago. 

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"Everything of worth died, by my own hand," she says, voice flat.

(There's something stirring in that black hole in her center. Something dangerous lifting its head.)

(Anakin didn't recognize it at the time, but she does now.)

(It's hope.)

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Anakin isn't that girl anymore, and she stands at the back of the room, watching and crying silently. 

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"I'm sorry."

She echoes with a painful empathy.

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"I imagine the entire galaxy is rather sorry right now," she says, and it'd feel wry if there wasn't such a yawning abyss where her identity should be.

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"That doesn't remove your pain."

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The dark her is very, very still.

"Find what you love," she says at length. "And turn towards it, and never look back."

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"I will," she whispers, and the Force sweeps her away in its currents. 

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The scene dissolves - 

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And resolves.

The dark her is standing in front of a viewport, looking out at the stars. 

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Anakin starts crying. 

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"I don't need your pity," she says, without turning around.

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"You don't."

"You're strong, and you found your own survival."

"Pity is - there's something wrong with the world. It isn't - it doesn't take away from your strength, for me to say, you shouldn't suffer."

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"I'd have thought you'd grow more like me, the older you got."

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"I'm not your past."

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"Good."

 

"The Sith Lord - the leader of them, Darth Sidious - in my world was Chancellor Palpatine, and is Emperor Palpatine now."

"That information is dangerous."

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"I'll be careful. But - I don't think she's anticipating this. She set a trap for you, here, but - "

"The her of my world can't see you coming."

 

"Thank you."

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"A strange thought."

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"It's true."

She feels the swell of the Force around her. 

"And - I'm glad you still exist."

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Anakin has the sense she's being scrutinized - 

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But the Force sweeps her away, and she turns - 

And she tries to find her own body. To find her breath, her core - the deep well of her self knowledge - 

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Anakin comes awake in a body she'd left nearly empty, feeling like she's burning alive - she flails, reaches for Elesse - 

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Elesse hurries forward to catch her.

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Hug!

 

And she starts sobbing.

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"There now." Hug. "It's all right, I've got you."

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"You weren't there," she gasps out, her throat tight - "I couldn't reach you - "

(She doesn't know, precisely, if it's her or an echo of that horrendous vision talking.)

(She's scared.)

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"The trial was for you, not I," but Anakin has a history of seeing more than others, visions reaching farther, which is why Elesse argued strongly that she should be here at all. "What you saw-"

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She's shaking. 

(She has a whole host of bad associations with pushing thoughts at people now, and she's shaking too much to just invite Elesse in - let her see - and Anakin doesn't know if that'd be hazardous too - )

"I nearly died," she whispers, suddenly certain that - if she'd failed to pull back before the malestorm ripped the other Anakin apart - 

She would still exist, but it wouldn't be her, and she then might not have found her way back at all. 

((There's an undercurrent of secondhand betrayal in her heart.))

"I couldn't get out - I tried to reach you - "

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Elesse's Force presence is here, warm and comforting.

"You made it out. You made it back."

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The presence in the Force helps. The words don't. She already knows she survived, that she'll always make it out somehow or another. 

"Existing isn't the only thing that matters," she whispers.

 

(There's deep cracks in her shields. Anakin isn't able to open them, to invite Elesse in - but Elesse could look, if she wanted.)

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She does, making sure that Anakin can feel her presence.

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She does. 

She burrows into Elesse's hold. She doesn't try to keep Elesse from seeing anything she wants to look at. 

The echo of the visions are pretty obvious in her mind. Anakin's nervous about Elesse touching them - about Elesse getting harmed. 

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Elesse can handle herself. And she needs to see what Anakin has.

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It's all there. 

 

(Did Elesse hear, when Anakin called? When she asked for help? Did she - could she have responded, was that a choice - )

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She didn't hear. She would have come in an instant, would have interposed herself, taken the burden of the vision.

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Hug.

(The relief that washes through her nearly breaks her again - but it was a breaking she needed, the straightening of a bone trying to heal crooked - )

 

She's sorting herself, as Elesse looks. Detangling herself from the deep immersion, using the passing of Elesse's attention as an anchor.

And from that sorting emerges - 

 

Pity, mostly. 

She wants to find that other her in person and - give her a hug, first, and fix everything for her second. 

(The universe needs more pity, and less strength.)

 

(She wants Elesse to keep hugging her. She wants to know - that will never be us.)

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It will not be, for so long as Elesse has anything to say about it.

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Good. 

There were - internal problems, between those two. External problems too though - so many of those - in a way that - Anakin thinks broke any real chance of the internal problems being fixed, in a way that magnified them. 

She thinks some of those external problems exist in their world, too.

Anakin - 

 

She isn't strong enough to deal with those. 

(That feels horrible to admit - she wouldn't have been able to admit it a year ago. Maybe not even a week ago.)

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Fortunately, Elesse is here. And she can help.

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Except Elesse and not Anakin fixing things sounds like it'd require stopping hugging.

...If this - ends up meaning they need to work apart - Elesse needs to keep in touch with her a lot anyways, even if their paths need effort to cross. 

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She will. She absolutely will.

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Snuggle.

(...She wants to get somewhere - not here, somewhere they won't be observed.)

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Their apartment?

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Yeah.

(She's not going to ask Elesse to torture or have sex with her tonight, not when they're so close, but Elesse should definitely pin Anakin to her bed. Be a weighted blanket.)

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That sounds like something she can handle doing.

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Good.

(Contented wiggle.)

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If she's wiggling, perhaps Elesse isn't pinning her thoroughly enough.

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Perhaps not. 

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She can attempt to rectify that state of affairs.

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It takes some effort - but Elesse's good at this, and Anakin's being just difficult enough to ensure she's really securely pinned.

(Best Elesse.)

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She's just seeing to the comfort of her padawan.

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Taking good care of her padawan is part of what makes her best. 

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Excellent.

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Anakin's looking forward to being Knighted, now...

She's pretty sure that should count as passing the Trial of Spirit.

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Elesse agrees.

She'll make the case to the Council tomorrow.

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"Thank you."

"And - we should probably tell someone about - the tactically relevant things I saw." Not the battle meditation though. If Anakin has that ability too, she'll be keeping it very secret. 

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"I'll discuss the matter with Mace."

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Nod.

"Just - make sure he's careful."

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"I will impress upon him the importance."

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Snuggle.

"Thank you."

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"You are welcome, Anakin."

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Smile.

And snuggles until the morning. 

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And after breakfast, to the Council chambers. Elesse makes her report alone first, then there's a brief period of deliberation before Anakin is called in.

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She steps in, head held high, mostly succeeding at not being nervous. 

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"Anakin Skywalker," the Cerean councilor says. "It is the judgement of this Council that you have passed the trials of the Jedi and are worthy of knighthood. Will you accept this title?"

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"Yes, I will."

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"Then come before us, Padawan Skywalker." Elesse gestures to the center of the room, where Anakin would traditionally kneel at this point.

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She comes, and she kneels facing Elesse, breath caught in her throat. 

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Elesse ignites her saber and drops it to hover just above Anakin's left shoulder. "Anakin Skywalker, I, Elesse Vendar, in the name of the Jedi Order, charge you thus: through emotion, find peace." The golden blade swings smoothly over her head to Anakin's right shoulder. "Through ignorance, come to knowledge." Back and forth, the blade follows each line. "Through passion, know serenity. Through chaos, seek harmony."

Elesse brings her lightsaber into a guard position before her own face. "And remember always, though death faces you, the Force is there."

"Rise, Knight Anakin Skywalker."

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She rises, grinning. "I will remember, Master Vendar."

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Elesse puts her lightsaber away, and steps forward to give Anakin a hug.

"Congratulations," she murmurs.

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Hug!!! 

"Thank you," she murmurs back. 

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Elesse takes a step back, and the Councilors come up one by one to offer their own congratulations to Anakin.

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She accepts them with only a little delighted bouncing,  grinning widely and offering her gratitude in turn. 

(Her friends are going to want to congratulate her too...)

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There may or may not be an entire party planned...

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Anakin's excited about that - though she has been looking forward to taking some leave, going on vacation...

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Perhaps after the party.

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Hopefully the party won't run too long, then. All things in moderation and all that. 

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It'll be mostly Anakin's friends, so it's her own fault if it does.

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"I'll try to keep them in check."

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"May the Force be with you in that endeavor."

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"Thank you."

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"Let's not delay your appearance, then."

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"Yeah." To the party, then. 

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To the party.

This for Anakin, after all, so Elesse lets her take the lead.

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The party's fun - Anakin's made a lot of friends over her time in the Temple, and they're all excited for her, mostly the sort of people to love parties - 

She's having trouble keeping things... In moderation.

Several of her friends hit on her, an offer in their tone and gaze and sometimes words - that'd be Djedzu - but Anakin is - 

'Impatient' would be inappropriate for a Knight, probably. But she wants Elesse - wants the promise of no longer being Elesse's padawan, of no longer having to play by rules they both mostly agree are helpful more often than not. 

Anakin's getting very subtly squirmy as the night goes on. 

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When she's ready to retire, she has but to give the word.

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She doesn't want to disappoint her friends - she really is excited to celebrate, despite her internal grumbling - but she does slide up beside Elesse sooner than might be expected, murmuring, "They seem okay to continue on their own."

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"Are you done for the night?"

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"With this party, at least."

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"Let's go home, then."

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"Lead the way." Subtly - she takes Elesse's hand. 

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How bold.

Elesse makes sure her rush of pleasure at that makes its way over their bond as they slip out.

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Her breath catches in her throat a bit, and she sends excitement - love - delight back.

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Cute.

Back to the apartment.

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"I'm not your padawan anymore," she says - nearly purrs - as they reach privacy. "I think you promised we'd revisit certain topics at this point..."

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"Refresh my memory, Anakin."

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"Such as pain, and pleasure..." She steps into Elesse's space. "Your hands on my skin - my neck..." Shiver. "Such as me on my knees before you..."

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Elesse hums and brushes some of Anakin's hair back over her shoulders.

"I do worry somewhat that you won't be able to control the emotional bleed. That would make things awkward with our neighbors."

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"Please," she says, "If not here - somewhere people won't feel it."

(Not having to worry about the emotional bleed - not the first time at least - sounds nice, too.)

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"I wouldn't mind taking some leave myself..."

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"You deserve it." (Wiggle.) "How quickly can you take it?"

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"Oh, it shouldn't take too long. A few weeks, perhaps a month."

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Whine.

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Elesse laughs.

"I believe this is what they call... edging?"

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She doesn't look very impressed.

"You can't edge me that long." (Shiver.)

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"Can I not?"

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Shiver. 

But - "I don't want you to."

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"Not a whole month, then. Maybe a week, or a little less."

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"That's still too long." Impatient wiggle.

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"Patience is an important virtue, Knight Skywalker."

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She shouldn't start whining petulantly, but - 

Deep breath. 

"I've waited and been patient a lot already. Waiting more won't be - fun."

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"I suppose that is true. Go pack a bag then, I'll make a call to the hangar."

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Eager wiggle! "Thank you."

Hug! And off to pack.

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Soon enough then, they'll find themselves on a ship outbound from Coruscant.

(Elesse had already packed her own bag in secret, in anticipation of this.)

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"We don't have neighbors now..."

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"So it seems."

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Kiss?

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Kiss! But briefly, before Elesse pulls back and says, "I think you are wearing a few too many clothes, Anakin."

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Wiggle! And fortunately it is very easy to get out of Jedi robes quickly.

(Anakin wore a matching set of red lace underwear and bra today, apparently.)

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Elesse makes appropriately admiring noises... but suggests that those too be shed.

(Anakin may not notice that Elesse has caused her bag to open, and begun to telekinetically retrieve several lengths of rope.)

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She's more careful (and more teasing) about removing those, her skin pebbling and her cheeks flushing under Elesse's gaze. The ship's air is cold on her exposed skin - which isn't helping her light shiver.

(She notices Elesse's actions. It just makes her shiver more, pupils dilating and breath coming a bit faster.)

Anakin stands with her feet slightly apart, her shoulders back proudly, and asks, "Like what you see?"

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"Very much so." An end of the rope slithers past her leg and with a flick of Elesse's fingers, wraps itself around Anakin's ankle. "It makes me want to just wrap you up and keep you forever."

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She glances down, and Elesse's taking her breath away but - 

'You should,' she says through their bond, mixed with love and joy and desire and safety (with a sudden echo of a flash of memory - of the two of them who were married - tagging along in its wake).

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"I'll take that as permission," Elesse says, and the ropes move with sudden speed, snaking across Anakin's body to cross themselves in intricate patterns, knotting at strategic locations to rub and pinch and bind.

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She laughs and writhes, testing the strength of Elesse's hold. 

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Nothing she couldn't break with her full, enhanced strength, of course- but the ropes are tough, and she doesn't have much more than a half inch of play in any direction.

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She doesn't push genuinely - enough to confirm she's held tightly, though. 

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"Don't you look even lovelier now."

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Blush!!! And a proud warm glow across their bond.

"Thank you, Master."

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"Makes me just want to watch you for a while..."

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Tiny (attempt at a) squirm.

"We could cuddle," she suggests. "You could pet my hair."

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"But that might interfere with my view."

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"Even if I was at your feet, Master?"

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"That might serve." Elesse wiggles her fingers and ghostly pressure brushes over Anakin.

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Soft moan.

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Mmm.

Another gesture, and Anakin floats up into the air and Elesse wafts her over to a more comfortable place for them to sit together.

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She laughs, and starts nuzzling Elesse once she's in reach. 

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What an energetic girl. Elesse gives her teasing snatches of attention, but mostly just watches.

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Sadly she can't put on much of an extra show like this...

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That's entertaining of itself.

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Good. (She likes pleasing Elesse.)

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Elesse is very pleased by teasing Anakin. (She's firmly wrapped up in her Force presence, though physical contact is brief and intermittent.)

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This is cozy and nice and taunting, and Anakin starts squirming more the longer Elesse teases her. (It's a good kind of taunting, though, getting her excited and focused more and more fully on her Master.)

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How worked up over the course of their trip will her erstwhile padawan become, she wonders... Seems a thing worth testing.

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Oh no.

(Oh yes.)

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It's a good few hours before the realspace reversion chime sounds.

"Now you stay put," Elesse says, standing. "I'll be right back for you."

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Whine.

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"There's a good girl."

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Flush. "Please be quick, Master."

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"I'll be back before you know it."

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Anakin's attempts at squirming might indicate just a little doubt in that. 

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She'll just have to have a little faith.

Elesse is back soon enough, and she spends the time until landing adjusting Anakin's binds, so that when they do land, Elesse can simply pick her up as easily as their other luggage and bustle the whole load into the little lakeside villa.

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Oh this is - 

There's something very amazing about Elesse picking her up, carrying her around like luggage - Elesse is so strong and wonderful and Anakin is hers.

(The area's very beautiful too, and wonderfully private, but right now Anakin only has eyes for her Master.)

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And once they're inside, Elesse drops everything but her-


And Anakin finally gets all the attention she could possibly want.

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"I love you," she murmurs sleepily, once Elesse's finished wringing her out. 

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"I love you too, Anakin."

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Kisses?

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Kisses.

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"Can you untie me?"

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"I certainly could."

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"Please untie me, Master."

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"As you wish, pretty girl."

And lo, it is done.

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Excellent, now she can properly drape herself over her Elesse.

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Lovely.

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Anakin thinks so. (Nuzzle.)

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Pet pet.

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Cozy sleepy Anakin.

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Naptime.

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Snuggly naptime.

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The best kind.

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Anakin calms down from wanting to constantly jump Elesse soon enough, starts enjoying the sights - but she still definitely wants to jump Elesse a lot, and apparently is a bit of a nudist, given she takes advantage of their isolation to wear very few clothes most days. 

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All the better to show off Elesse's ropework. She's been taking classes.

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She loves wearing ropes around - including ones that don't restrict her movements, just pinch and rub and highlight how pretty she is. (Anakin has a few suggestions on what colors are prettiest on her. (Like rainbow, rainbow is definitely prettiest on her.)) 

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Elesse will do what she can to oblige.

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That's because she's the best. 

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In the upper percentiles, assuredly.

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Definitely at the very top. 

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She'll defer to Anakin's expert opinion.

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Wise of her.

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Comes with experience.

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"Not everyone experienced gets as awesome as you, though."

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"Alas."

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Nuzzle kiss.

(Best vacation.)

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Elesse is entirely agreed.

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And, a little over a week into their vacation, as Anakin and Elesse are lying tangled together -

There's a strange reverberation in the Force, a call and an echo, and a twist in the weave. Power coallesces in between moments, and the Force swirls - and three people appear suddenly in the room. 

One of them, a very tall woman in full-body black armor, whose breath hisses mechanically, is very, very familiar. 

She sees - feels - Elesse, and freezes.

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What-

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Whoa.

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" - Hello," says Leia automatically, in the tone of an extremely thoroughly trained diplomat. "I apologize if we're interrupting."

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(Anakin's just staring, wide eyed, at her other self.)

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(Her other self seems to be just staring back.)

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"Mama," Dalia says plaintively, tugging at her sleeve. "You didn't tell us teen-you was hot."

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Anakin had been on the verge of saying something definitely insightful. 

Instead her eyes go wider and she makes a high pitched noise. 

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The Feeling Is Mutual.

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...Sigh.

To the woman who isn't their hot teen mom: "Sorry about - this."

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"I, ah."

"I don't recognize you."

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"My name is Leia," she says. (No need for last names. At all. Too many potential questions. And she still isn't up for introducing herself as 'Leia Skywalker.') "I'm - her daughter." She gestures to the tall, dark version of Anakin. "We needed to - flee a planet we were effectively trapped on, and she said she knew a - sideways path. She didn't give a lot of details though or say how she knew about it or where we were going really, and."

"Uh."

"So what year is it?"

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"Nine hundred seventy-nine of the Reformation calendar."

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" - Twenty two years."

"That's... That was twenty two years ago. For us."

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"I think this is more likely to be a case of alternate realities, rather than time travel per se."

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So everyone else she cares about probably hasn't been erased from the timestream by her very presence. Okay.

"That's - good," is all she says.

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"One small ray of light to make up for the somewhat... awkward moment of your arrival."

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Dalia, returning from stretching up on her tiptoes to make sure Vader's life support is still functional, looks back over and grins.

"We could strip too, would that help?"

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Even higher pitched noise! 

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"Is that a yes? Leia, do you think that was a yes?"

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"It'd definitely make things a different kind of awkward."

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Good enough for her. She starts wriggling out of her clothes.

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Oh goodness.

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Well that does successfully activate Vader's 'my child is doing something ridiculous and inappropriate' instincts. Dalia has her trained very well. 

"Put your clothes back on, young lady," she snaps. (Definitely sounding stern and not strangled or alarmed. Really.)

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"But maaamaaaaa," Dalia whines.

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"No buts!"

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"My butt is awesome, though!"

"I'll show you later," she whispers in Anakin's direction.

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- Tiny choked giggle. 

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Teen mama is very cute and hot.

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Very much so.

(And, somewhat clumsily reaching for Dalia's mind - 'I think she might be subby.')

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Dalia giggles out loud.

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Smirk.

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"Perhaps you might give us a moment to dress, then," Elesse suggests.

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"Sure."

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Aww. Too bad.

"Okay. We'll, uh, just be outside then."

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She tugs both Vader and Dalia out.

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Elesse kisses Anakin on the shoulder, and summons their clothing over.

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Shiver, and lean. "That's her. The - the me from the vision."

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"I recognized her as well."

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" - She'd been thinking she'd killed her kid. In the middle of - everything."

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"It would seem she was mistaken."

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"Good."

"She - she deserves some good news."

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"We can create more for her, if she is here to stay."

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"Or here to get help."

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"Indeed."

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Tiny smile. 

"And I can give her a hug, now."

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"I think her daughters would like to give you a hug as well."

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Blush!!

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Elesse laughs, softly.

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"I think they want something more than a hug..."

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"That seems distinctly possible, I will admit."

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"You wouldn't be - bothered by that?"

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"As long as you're happy, I'm happy."

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Grin!

"I want to make you happy too."

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"I wouldn't mind an invitation to observe..."

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Extra blush!!!

"You're always invited." 

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"Excellent." Kiss.

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Mmm kiss!

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And then they really should get dressed for their guests...

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For now, at least. 

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Until they can get a firmer grasp on the situation.

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And get her alternate self more - settled. 

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As best they can.

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"It's going to be a long road for her."

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"We'll help her walk it."

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Hug. "Thank you."

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Hug. "Ready to go?"

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Serious nod. "I am."

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Then out to meet her padwan's alt and her daughters, hand in hand.

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Dalia fails to perfectly contain her bouncing. (Hot teen mama! Hot teen mama!)

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(Vader is very tense.)

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Fond smile. 

"Thank you for waiting." Then, gaze flicking to her alternate self: "I - had visions of some of your mom's life, but they ended before she found out you guys were alive."

"I'm really, really glad you're here for her."

And she steps forward, and wraps her arms around her alt's waist, and offers her presence in the Force, her warmth and compassion and yes pity - "And I'm so glad you're still alive. That you're here."

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She - crumples a little. 

Reaches back. 

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Elesse is so proud of her padawan.

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She nudges her alt into sitting down, so Anakin can curl up in her lap. And, intertwining still in the Force - offering that steady glow of compassion (and Elesse can tell it's hard, it hurts to focus on this - but Anakin isn't wavering) - 

"Can Elesse hug you too?" she asks, quietly. 

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Choked noise. "I don't have a right - "

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"You do. This is your body. Your mind."

"You're not - you're not your Elesse's Anakin. That's okay. I'm glad you exist, even while I'm sad for - that Anakin."

"That Anakin was wronged - that Elesse was wronged. And you inherited a lot of that pain, and the pain you feel is real. And - you have every right to want nothing more to do with any of it." Tight hug. "But my Elesse gives really good hugs, and - we're worried about you."

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"Would she forgive me?" she asks, voice small, and it's addressed to Anakin, but...

It's Elesse she's asking. 

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"She would. She would need to- process her feelings, but she would forgive you. I have no doubt of that."

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"I'm not her Anakin."

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"That does not make you less worthy."

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Wounded noise.

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Snuggle.

"So... Hug?"

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Shaky nod.

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Hug.

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Mrrrrrr.

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Calm, soothing pats.

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(It's... Not the same, without a body. She can't actually feel this.)

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And so, to Elesse:

'...Would sharing my senses with her be risky?'

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'Yes. But... potentially worth the risk.'

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'Yeah.'

'Keep an eye on us then, okay?'

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'I will.'

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'Love you.'

And to her alt, quietly - she reaches out in the Force, offering her senses. 

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Vader hesitates - 

And then reaches back, sinking into Anakin's mind.

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Hugs for both her Anakin and Vader, then.

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Wiggle snuggle. (And a dual-layered warm glow in the Force.)

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Leia pushes Dalia towards the cuddle pile.

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Well, if she insists...

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She does. It'll be good for everyone.

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Cuddle time!

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She giggles and pulls Dalia into the pile. 

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Yay!

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It takes a good bit of hugging to get Vader all the way to calm, but they're up to the task. 

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Many hands make light work.

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She detangles from Anakin's mind a little as she calms down. 

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Happier mama is good!

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Hug.

"I love you," she murmurs into her daughter's hair. 

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"I love you too!"

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There's a tiny, hopeful, broken thing in her. 

And, to Elesse: "You - you'll need help, with your world's Sidious."

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"The Jedi- Mace Windu- have begun investigating, based on Anakin's vision of you. But yes, I suspect so."

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"Mace Windu is - good, I think."

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"I trust him."

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"He's being cautious?"

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"Very."

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There's a jagged feel to her in the Force. 

"Good."

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"We have time enough for you to begin mending yourself."

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"That will take a - very long time."

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"You have support here."

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"A lot of it."

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"You guys are really good."

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"We're trying."

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Dalia reaches over to pat Anakin's cheek. "Keep it up."

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Giggle. 

"You're good, too."

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"Thanks!"

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"Thank you for - being here for her."

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"I did my best."

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Grin.

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"You have a cute smile."

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And now blush.

"It must be genetic," she teases. 

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"It's possible! You should see Leia's."

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She glances over with a raised eyebrow.

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Giggle.

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"Definitely genetic."

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"Good work on those."

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"I think you should be telling your mom that."

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"Good work, mama."

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Tiny, almost broken laugh. "You two are my best work."

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Hug.

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Tight hug.

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"You did well."

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"It doesn't feel like it."

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"You need some time, I think. A safe place to collect yourself."

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"Palpatine won't wait."

She doesn't sound very firm, though. 

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"We will keep Palpatine in check."

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"And there's time still, before the war in your timeline started."

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"I think it was - when Anakin was nineteen. Almost immediately after her Knighting, or just before."

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"That's about a year away, here."

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She glances at her alt, apparently confused. And, slowly: "But she doesn't have a padawan braid... And - you were - the you in my world became a High Council member immediately after, and was - busy, after."

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"Anakin is only eighteen, now. And I was offered a position on the Council, but I declined."

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"Things are - very different, then."

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"So it would seem. It might be good to further investigate the root causes at some point."

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"But - hard, perhaps."

"I don't remember much of Anakin's life, and - what remains is... Painful."

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"Of course. It needn't be something you force."

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"Perhaps - later."

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"Later," Elesse agrees.

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"A break sounds - useful."

"I need time to train my daughters, regardless."

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"Can we help with that at all?"

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"In combat, perhaps, and in - mundane lessons."

"I intend to teach them the Dark Side, though I will not - oppose it, if they would rather learn to use the Light."

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Elesse hums.

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"Can I do both?"

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"...I'm unsure."

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"Such a thing is almost unheard of."

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"Almost, but not entirely?"

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"I want to learn the theory of both," Leia says. "But I'll need to learn the benefits and drawbacks of each before deciding."

"What Vader was showing me of the Dark Side feels natural, though."

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"If that's what you want."

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"It is."

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"Me too."

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"The Dark Side's dangerous..."

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"It's what mama has."

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Your mama isn't the pinnacle of stability or mental health, though, Anakin doesn't say.

"A lot of its danger is - emotional."

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"I like my emotions."

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"I dunno if it does this for everyone - or if it'd always do it for me - but using it made me... More sad and scared and angry, and I couldn't let go."

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" - It doesn't do that - for me, now, at least, but I haven't heard of it doing that. Any more than trying to make yourself angry and having no reason to stop does."

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"Our sources indicate the Dark Side has an amplifying effect on one's emotions, and a way of twisting them."

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" - I think the Force felt... Different in the visions, though."

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"I'm not sure what it would- mean, for the Force to work differently. But interuniversal transit is a similarly unexplored phenomenon."

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"It feels different here. But I'm not sure - why, or how yet."

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"And the other quetion would be: do you still draw upon your Force, or ours?"

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There's a - strange eddy around her, an alien intent 

"Mine," she says. 

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"I see..."

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"It doesn't feel any different to call on than I'm used to, even though this world feels - strange."

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"Your connection to the Force persists."

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"I don't think it could do anything else."

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"There are some records- sealed records- that indicate that is not always the case."

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Disturbed shiver. 

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"It is not pleasant to read of."

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"Or think of..."

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"Indeed. Happily, we do not need to, here."

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"Right, so, change of subject. If our Force and your Force work differently, can we still learn from each other?"

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Hum. "Well, the raw motions of lightsaber combat shouldn't be very different - and there's a lot of like, philosophy stuff? That can be shared."

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"I wanna see you show off lightsaber forms."

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"I'd love to."

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"Yay!"

Shall they get up and do that, then?

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Absolutely. 

First question: does Dalia want to get wailed on, or does she want to watch Anakin and Elesse spar?

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Hmmmm that's a tough decision....... She thinks maybe she wants to watch a spar first. To see what she's in for.

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"Very reasonable."

'You should pin me,' she murmurs to Elesse through their bond. (Anakin's going to do her best of course, and she's improved dramatically, but she's still not on Elesse's level. It's not a wild guess that she'll lose.) 'Hurt me.'

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'You want to put on a real show for her?'

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Shiver!

'Yes, Master. I miss performing, you know...'

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'We should try that out again, then.'

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'I'd love to, Master.'

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Then up, and out to an open area.

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(Vader stays behind.)

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Leia tags along though, clear interest in her gaze.

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Elesse leaves one tendril of her awareness stretched out for Vader, a hand to hold if she needs one.

The rest of her attention she brings to bear on the fight, because while she can still usually beat Anakin, she does need to try.

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(She doesn't reach back exactly, but... She doesn't pull away. Like a cat slowly calming down about the quiet presence of someone alarming.)

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Anakin's showing off - Elesse really is going to need to give this her all. (She's growing noticeably in skill, it feels like every day.)

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Fortunately there's a trick or two Elesse still has over Anakin. It's not like she's been sitting still either.

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One of the best part of their spars. (Anakin likes pushing Elesse to improve herself.)

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Hopefully she also likes it when Elesse catches her with a subtle lock-disengage-flip combo and hip-checks her to the ground.

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Yes.

She tries to get back to her feet of course, tries to roll out before Elesse can pin her - 

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Not fast enough to save her.

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She struggles - tries to throw Elesse off -

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Elesse locks down her arms and legs and swallows Anakin's mouth with kisses.

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Moan.

(Her struggles transform into wiggles.)

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...Hot.

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Very hot.

Leia puts an arm around Dalia's shoulders.

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Nuzzle.

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Quick cheek kiss (without taking her eyes off the show).

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Best sister.

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Or best big sister - Dalia's the best little sister.

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Pout!!

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And the cutest and sexiest little sister.

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Hmm yes more adjectives, that's what's needed.

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Prettiest and funniest and sweetest and hottest and kindest little sister.

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Perfect.

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Though they do have a show to watch right now...

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True, true.

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(Said show has moved on to Elesse beginning to strip Anakin out of the clothes she so carefully donned not all that long ago, the better to show off how delightfully she bruises.)

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She bruises extremely delightfully.

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Very pretty. Dalia wants to be those colors.

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Maybe Anakin will oblige her later.

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Can't hurt to ask. Ooh, or maybe it will.

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A fun kind of hurt?

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Of course!

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That's a very interesting idea...

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Wigglewiggle.

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Kiss!

"I'll ask for pointers," she murmurs to her sister. "On how to bruise you."

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"Maybe a demonstration?"

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"Combines nicely with the fighting demonstration."

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"Yeah!"

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Giggle kiss!

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Mmkiss.

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Good little sister.

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She is, she's the best.

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Leia will fight anyone who tries to say otherwise.

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Maybe she should be the one with the combat lessons, then.

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No reason they can't both get lessons.

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Fair enough!

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Though Leia would prefer a different end to her lessons than Anakin is currently experiencing.

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They can make that happen.

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They'll be able to spar with each other, too...

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That'll be lots of fun.

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Yeah.

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Eventually, Elesse winds down the show with Anakin.

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Anakin's hazy and languid and very cuddly.

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One of Anakin's better states, in Elesse's opinion.

Though less useful for being a teacher, alas.

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Maybe Elesse can do a little...

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But she has such a cuddly Anakin to coddle right now.

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Maybe Dalia and Leia can entertain themselves for a while, then.

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If they have to...

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Leia giggles and leans over to nip at Dalia's neck.

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She yelps happily.

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She pulls Dalia more firmly into her arms - and bites.

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Shriek!

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Smug grin.

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Best not get too smug, or Dalia will start thinking she can bite back.

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That doesn't seem to be discouraging her.

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Chomp!

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Eeep!

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Dalia giggles. "Got you!"

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Kiss. "I got you first."

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"We're even, then." Kiss, then teasingly, "For now."

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"Until the first time I beat you."

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"Yep!"

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"In either meaning of the word," she teases.

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Hee. "That's the hope."

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Soft, hungry kiss.

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Kiss!

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Leia's sister is wearing far too much clothing.

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Maybe she should try fixing that.

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Don't mind if she does.

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Excellent. Shame not to show off this fine body of hers, after all.

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Anakin definitely agrees (going by how she's rolled over to stare admiringly at her alt's daughters).

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Dalia preens.

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"I think more than the smile is genetic," she stage whispers to Elesse.

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"I am detecting a certain proclivity for exhibitionism."

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"That, too."

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Elesse laughs, softly.

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Kiss. "We're a very pretty family."

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"Such as it is."

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"You, me, Leia, Dalia - and Vader has a beauty of her own..."

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Kiss.

"You have a kind eye."

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"Well, I got it from somewhere..." Kiss!!

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"Must be your innate perfection."

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"Or good influences on me."

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"I've always appreciated your insight, Anakin."

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"Good." Kiss. "Because you've been an excellent influence on me, too."

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"We make each other better."

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"We do." Her adoration glows in the Force, a bright warm fuzzy blanket.

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Elesse wraps her up in all her love.

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Her favorite place to be. 

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And Elesse's favorite place to keep her.

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Kiss.

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Nuzzle.

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"They're cute together," Dalia whispers to Leia.

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Light hug. "I'm glad we met them," she whispers back, "And not just because they're cute."

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"I think we'll have a lot to learn here."

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"And a lot to help with."

"And - they'll be good for Vader."

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"Mama deserves at least that much."

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"Yeah. She does."

"We'll give it to her, too."

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"We will."

And a kiss to seal the deal.

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A very serious kiss.