faithfulson | Voicemail ~ Mask or Menace

I think it's different. You weren't raised on the strict values as they were, Luke. As Master Yoda wa—as—

[ The link was beginning to weaken, her voice breaking up. The rest of what she had to say was lost. ]

Leia?

[ Worry worked over his gut, before he forced it out with a breath. No, she was fine; it was probably because she wasn't very experienced yet. He grabbed his communicator instead, sending off a text. ]

Everything okay? You faded out.

[ He'd called her name and all she'd felt was a white noise. She'd felt it. Like a bubble of static. The text bleeped on her communicator and she went for it, responding to it instead with audio.

Luke, it was too late— early— for that. ]

Don't worry, I'm still here. I was just... I felt a headache coming on. [ Then she added on a quiet laugh. ] I didn't think such a thing was possible.

[ Luke switches to audio himself, his voice calm with an edge of amusement to it. ]

It must be because we're twins. Our connection to each other is probably stronger than most.

All this time, I'd believed the Jedi extinct. With the exception of wherever General Kenobi had been hiding previously.

[ He'd been their only hope. And yet searching for him had led her to Luke. A Jedi, yes, but inexperienced and with no idea until his growth. ]

You found Master Yoda. And then you found yourself. Now it's...just us.

[ Back home anyway. Here they have one of the most powerful. Uncontrolled in his emotions but...powerful nonetheless, their father is. ]

[ Luke was silent for a moment, save a small hum of contemplation. ]

Leia... do you want me to show you some things? There's a lot of meditation practices in Jedi training; they could come in handy.

[ It was something they could both benefit from, and while he could do them, he barely had the patience for most of them. Leia might be much more successful at that aspect of Jedi training than he was. ]

Could they come in handy with managing patience around certain people?

[ Wryly. ]

Han, yes.

...people like certain Imperials, not so much.

[ We're not going to talk about how he almost strangled Hux, that's not a conversation that's going to happen... ]

Funny that you know who I was referring to.

Which Imperials? We seem to have a few here.

[ Anakin, in her mind, is one of them. ]

[ Leia... no he's not. Not yet anyway. ]

A man by the name of Hux. He's... annoying.

[ Hello understating the fact. ]

Edited (WAIT NO HE DIDN'T) 2017-09-30 00:14 (UTC)

Hux? I'm well aware of just how annoying he is. 'Annoying' is an understatement.

Edited 2017-09-30 00:15 (UTC)

Oh, wonderful, you met him.

[ He sounds so thrilled by this fact. Not really. ]

How long did it take you before you wanted to punch him? I'm trying to keep track.

I had the wonderful pleasure of meeting him, yes. He thought he would be cute and remind me about Alderaan.

[ There are no tears as she rubs at the inside corner of an eye, pinching the bridge of her nose. Leia also finds herself gritting her teeth until she feels an ache in her jaw. ]

If I could've reached through the comm link, I would've strangled him with my bare hands. Does that count?

[ ...welp. May as well say it. ]

Considering that I did, in fact, strangle him, yes, that totally counts.

[ And he was going to strangle him again next time he saw him. Maybe with his bare hands this time. Hux you sleemo you do not remind the princess of Alderaan that her home was destroyed before her eyes. ]

[ Woah. Woah— ]

Luke— you did what? Did you really? Why am I only hearing of this now?

It just happened a couple days ago.

[ Luke let out a breath. ]

Even I can loose my temper, Leia.

[ And... seriously. It's Hux. ]

He believes me a coward; said that when things fell apart all over again and the First Order began to rise, I ran away. He hangs onto that to the point of obnoxiousness.

I didn't think you had one.

[ In just the short time since they met, she'd begun to notice a change in him. A calmer and calming presence. ]

You're no coward. I know you aren't. You're more than that. And even if you had a reason to run, I'm sure it was a perfectly valid one.

[ Luke laughed softly at that. ]

Believe me, it is there.

[ Surviving several fights with Darth Vader would have a sobering effect on just about anyone. Finding out your survived because he didn't want to kill his son... that was something else. ]

[ He let out a soft sigh after a moment. ]

I know that. It doesn't make the words sting any less, after everything we've been through. After everything we will go through.

Well, I'm glad to know we have that one trait in common.

[ Leia sat in silence as she went over what he'd told her, what Poe had told her. They go through a lot; it seemed almost never ending,
the war, their struggle. ]

It's unimaginable. To think that we defeat the Empire and it just all comes right back at us.

I know the Force has a lot to do with it. The Jedi and the Sith...

[ An unending cycle of hate and peace, spiraling endlessly. It shouldn't be that way. ]

...maybe the Jedi just... need to come to an end.

That doesn't make any sense and I don't agree with it– there are no more Jedi. There's you, me, and him. The order that had gone out decades ago had wiped them out. Master Yoda is old, he can't be expected to live forever let alone do anything for either side. And Obi-Wan...

[ It didn't need to be said. Luke may not have been able to see it but she was shaking her head. ]

There will always be a good side and a bad side. Light and dark go together. All that matters is how light overcomes dark before it can be overshadowed.

And everyone else suffers as a result.

[ He couldn't help the bitter edge in his tone. ]

I doubt people who aren't sensitive to the Force even know the difference between Sith and Jedi. All they see is just someone who can use a power they can't.

[ Luke paused, blowing out a breath. ]

There... needs to be a way to balance it. Not just between Jedi and Sith, but in one person. There has got to be a way for people to just be Force users, without the burden of light and dark that goes with it.

I agree that there is a disadvantage there. That some might find it unfair. But the Jedi should be in place to main some semblance of control. Without abusing that power, as the Jedi Council did, as it might have been proclaimed.

[ She sighed with him. The Jedi as a whole were not something she was familiar with. And now knowing what she knows about herself... ]

I...don't think there is such a way. There is always going to be the good with the bad, in a person. Maybe with perhaps the proper means of meditation...?

As I understand it -- and I admit those we have here from the Clone Wars era are biased at best, but...

[ Again, probably understating the fact. ]

The Jedi were isolated in a tower on Coruscant, a tower that is now part of the Imperial Palace, and would pick and choose where and how they would use their abilities to help others. They were... distant in how they chose to help the galaxy.

I'm familiar with the tower you're talking about. The Jedi Council sat there. They would do most of their teaching there with the younglings. I believe they also housed the archives there, though I could be mistaken. It was the Jedi Masters mostly who all sat in the tower while those beneath them in rank would go and do their...duties.

[ Was it their duty? To help? Who knew. Leia only had a limited knowledge of such things she could share with her brother. ]

Not all of the Jedi stayed isolated, is what I'm trying to say.

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*maintain dammit drunk phone typo