Revan gingerly goes to pat his shoulder. Pat, pat?

Sob. Drink. Sob.

Sob.

Is it tacky to ask what's happened to his ship...? Yeah, okay, a bit tacky. Don't ask that question, Revan. And this guy does not look like the type to bounce back with a vengeance after seeing their partner die. Useless to him? Useless to him.

But he can at least make sure he's well taken care of.

"You know," says Revan, soft, "where I come from, there's a tradition when someone you care about dies. To honor their memory, help - send them off."

"An' whas that?"

"Well, see - sometimes it wasn't always guaranteed to have everything the person owned, or even a body," he makes up, because he bets that all of Jinx's stuff has been taken and her corpse too, because that seems the sort of thing that would happen.

Okay, running through available options here: do not introduce this man to anything dangerous, the point is to stop him from drinking himself to death. So, no dramatic effigy burning or the like. Also, no rubbing salt in the wound about anything space related, that's just mean. Water send-offs don't make sense, can't send him to where she died for fear of getting him in trouble with the government, what is suitably spiritual and harmless and will give this guy a measure of peace..?

"But a person's not just the stuff they own or the body they inhabited. My people believe there's something - more." Which is true. They do. "And that with the proper materials and care, you can make a talisman to carry a bit of their themness with you, wherever you go. Keep it safe from the uncaring galaxy, bring them along with you, so even though they're not with you, with you, they get to see some things they missed. How you're doing, how the galaxy's changing - so on." He shrugs. "Send them off by moving on, living your life, but never really letting all of them go."

"Tha's," he chokes up. "Tha's really sweet." He's going to cry for a bit now.

"I think so," he agrees. "I can explain the ritual for the talisman to you, if you want it."

"Does it still work even 'f I don' go anywhere? 'Cause the damn Imps took m' ship when they came f'r Jinx."

"Of course it does. You could go run a moisture farm for the rest of your life and it'd still work."

And, yep. That's a guy that's useless to him, all right. Good call on the fabulous lies, Revan.

"M'kay. Wha' do I gotta do?"

Revan explains the procedure that he definitely did not make up right now, nope, not at all.

In this procedure that is not at all made up on the spot, the person takes an appropriate container (small, preferably, so it can easily be carried) and sit with it in a safe, secluded space. The container will be opened, and held by the person for the span of a galactic standard hour. During this hour, the person speaks of the deceased ("Crying is allowed and all but encouraged," assures Revan.) and of fond times spent together. Then, the person is to leave the container open for a galactic standard day, as the person in mourning carries it with them, though Revan informs him that it can be longer if he is worried that Jinx might be a bit lost. While the container is open, it's important to not overwhelm the essence with other, worldly senses. A mild fast is recommended, but not required; water and ration bars are traditional, though if the food is following the theme of not overwhelming the senses while still taking care of the person in mourning, or generally following the spirit of the matter, it is acceptable. Priority towards keeping the person in mourning safe and healthy over not overwhelming the senses, because the person is the anchor the spirit is tied to. Purposefully starving is not okay.

Then, after this period is done, the container is closed, and the person in mourning has their piece of the deceased. If the container is, for some reason, lost, the ritual may be conducted again, and the essence that was in the lost talisman will find its way to the new one. As such, while the talisman is still important, the most important thing for the holder to preserve is themselves, as they can make a new talisman for the deceased.

There. That is acceptably safe, while also likely to sober this guy up a bit, without putting him on a crazy quest to keep the talisman safe at all costs. Revan is mildly proud of himself, not that he'll show it right now, when he's all somber explanations and ritual explanations.

Sniff. "Okay.I can do that." Determined look. "I'm gonna go do that. Right now."

He stands (wobbily) and walks (unsteadily) out the door.

Revan nods, somber.

Well, that worked. He thinks he might need to get drunk now, though. Bah. He's not allowed to, he's not on a safe planet yet.

In lieu of ordering juma juice, he heads back to Ana and sits down.

"Hi, honey," he says.

"Hiiii." Would it be appropriate to hold his hand? Yes, that would definitely shore up their cover. Ana is going to hold his hand.

Revan smiles, amused and fond. Well, this was a good idea, he's already cheered up. And Ana's obviously happy. Wins all around, Revan's plan of lying fabulously has not backfired in any way, excellent. He hates it when it backfires.

"Hope you haven't been too lonely over here."

"I survived. I guess that guy wasn't who we were looking for?"

"Nope. But he needed someone to keep him from drinking himself to death, so." Revan shrugs. "Wasn't a waste of my time."

Smile.

"So what next?"

"I can try to make more friends, see if I have better luck, or we can see about finding a place to stay. Up to you."

"Find a place to stay? You think this will take long enough we'll need one?"

"It's certainly possible. Even if we find someone tonight, these things do sometimes take time."

"Oh." Ana does not relish the thought of spending multiple days in the Imperial capital. "I guess we should do that now, if we're going to. I can get back some of the deposit on the locker if we don't use the full time."

"All right." He squeezes her hand a little. "And, hey. It'll be okay."

"When you say it like that, I can believe it."

She's going to keep holding on to his hand while they go back to where they stored their things. To stay in character.

Of course. Revan is very understanding about these things. Staying in character: very important.