tena ✦ even if the sky does fall

[lavi s.]

[align=left]IF THE SKY COMES FALLING DOWN, FOR YOU —

Lavi found the air these days sufficating.  The aprehension of war ran his blood cold.  Like his twin, the young Jedi lacked a taste of violence.  His claws remained ready however.  He was willing to fight for the defense of others.  For one in particular, he knew he would run into the frontlines just to keep her safe.

He found it hard to understand why.  Recklessness seemed to run in the Solo family, and Lavi knew he offered no exception to the rule.  He had made a good friend in a fiery sand cat and he swore to himself he'd stand by her side.  With uncertainty, he sought out the very sand cat within the boundaries of the sea town.

Lavi breathed softly as he found the little house by the water.  The fluffy feline could still taste spices in the air.  If the time for battle wasn't so soon he may ask for a cup of tea or even some tzai.  His ringed tail twitched as he lightly tapped on the door.  "Hey Te?"

"Can I come in?"

// [member=298]Tena M.[/member]

— THERE'S NOTHING IN THIS WORLD I WOULDN'T DO

[Tena M.]

Tena Moonspinner —
Quiet.  Everything felt awfully quiet.  Despite the blood on the breeze.  It felt like something might be different now.  The ever-changing waters.  A tension in the air.  Apprehension.  For something other than the inevitable battle. 

Honestly, the petite demdji only wanted what was best for Elysium.  Sometimes it felt like a ghost town.  Not today.  Today it felt like she was walking on a tight rope.  Voices on the wind, murmurs of an assembly but she had not called one.  So the story repeated itself... And what did that mean for her?

Tena paced the length of her little house.  Close to the water, but not quite out there.  She still couldn't swim after all.  Small.  With a little kitchen.  A place to sleep close to the windows.  Overgrown plants on the outside.  Perfect.  Almost.  Even when the kettle boiled over a tiny fire, the smell of spices spreading throughout the building... Nothing ever truly felt like a perfect home, but she was never going to get something better than this, would she?

The petite sand cat thought once of inviting Ebra to live in the same building.  Maybe her brother would change the feeling in her chest.  But there was not a lot of space and she had yet found the words.  Ebra had likely found a place of their own by now anyway and she felt she'd be intruding to pull them away from it.

So long as I keep one foot in the sand and one here... Someone was knocking on the door, tapping on the wood.  Her ears perked, bright blue eyes blinking.  She glanced once at the kettle, still heating the Tzai she had started to make.  Plenty of time.  Curious, she padded up to the door and pushed it open to reveal a certain scruffy Jedi.  Why am I not surprised?

"Lavi," she shuffled back some to grant him room.  "Sure." Had he ever come over before?  Tena frowned lightly as she would wait for him to enter, then closed the door once again.  She supposed he had not, because she never invited anyone over.  "What's up? I heard Rin had called an assembly," her tone grows flat quickly, betraying her conflicting emotions all too soon.

Rin had not even been a full Elysite last she checked.  Determined to simply remain and offer them her services in gratitude for their hospitality.  Tena didn't know why but she had always understood the wariness of full commitment so she had never pushed.

Quietly, she returned to the little kitchen, studying the fire under the kettle.  "It must've been important." A bare mutter.
[align=right]— I tell you this story, save your life, set you free

[lavi s.]

[div style="width: 450px; line-height: 12px; text-align: justify; font-family: georgia; font-size: 8pt;"][align=left]IF THE SKY COMES FALLING DOWN, FOR YOU —

The young Jedi stepped in quietly, pleasently surprised to taste spices in the air.  Almost subconsciously, his eyes float towards the small kitchen.  "Are you making tzai?" He inquires lightly, the thought of the homemade drink making him feel warmer.  The heavy feeling in his chest felt a tad lighter.

Only for him to inhale sharply as she posed her own question.  Her tone portrayed bitterness, yet less than he expected.  Lavi realized she must already suspect the matter of things.  "She did.  I left slightly early, is all." A simple admission.  "I don't suppose she spoke to you prior, did she?" Would that change the attitude betrayed by his friend's body?

"She... She's taken command.  She said something about it being temporary and all that." The time mattered little to Lavi.  He simply felt inclined to check with the one he truly felt loyal to.  "You don't seem as upset as I thought you would be if I am being honest...?"

The first thoughts he had whenever Tena came to mind was of a fiery spirit.  A loud, reckless, fiery spirit.  This quiet, bitter feline before him hardly matched.

— THERE'S NOTHING IN THIS WORLD I WOULDN'T DO

[Tena M.]

Tena Moonspinner —
Tzai.  Her family recipe sat highest on the list of what she owned.  Recorded carefully in her mind.  Her brother of course, knew the same recipe, similarly memorized.  The stories followed quickly after.  The most precious keepsakes of her home.  Keepsakes she often struggled to share.  All of it was too deeply apart of her to avoid, of course.  Tena knew one day she might share those stories with Elysium.  One day.

Lavi however... Lavi belonged to line... From the same desert.  A few free generations did not make them less a part of that culture.  But if the Skywalkers possessed a Tzai recipe of their own, Tena had never tried it.  Sadly, she realizes it may have been lost.  She doubts Lavi's grandmother knew it, and his great-grandfather had been separated from that culture so long...

The petite sand cat smiled, shrugging loosely.  "Thought it'd be nice before the fight.  You can have some when it's ready." She believed the drink something special to share.  A taste of family.  Of home.  Wherever that was now.  Tena found her smile falling away quickly at the conflicting thought.  Hadn't she been so sure before?  Elysium was her home now... Wasn't it?

Did Rin talk to me?  Hah.  "No." Why would she?  Tena had not spoken to Phoenix before assuming command.  Granted, she'd shown her face not too long ago, while Phoenix… The Demdji still wandered whatever happened to Phoenix.  Just another ghost of the past.  Tena was not.  She was still here.  Hadn't she been trying?

"I don't care." The words are bitten out.  Cold and determined to fight past the sting of betrayal.  She wouldn't pretend to have known Rin before.  Or now.  And does anyone really know me? Ebra.  Lavi, maybe.  The insight of a Jedi.  "It doesn't matter who's in command, Solo.  Just that someone's picking up the pace.  Especially before battle."

"If I wasn't cutting it..." Her paws ground into the wooden floorboards.  "Maybe it's because I haven't figured myself out." Her voice dips lower as she speaks.  Dropped to a murmur.  "Elysium should be led by someone at home in Elysium.  Honestly? I don't know if that's Rin, considering she hadn't committed to being a sworn Elysite before... But I don't know if that's me either."

Tasting home in the air, Tena rose up to her paws.  With her ears flicked back she trotted into the kitchen and quickly blew out the little fire with a gust of air.  "Let it cool for a moment, then we can poor some cups."
[align=right]— I tell you this story, save your life, set you free

[lavi s.]

[align=left]IF THE SKY COMES FALLING DOWN, FOR YOU —

Lavi failed to contain the overly pleased smile.  To share some tzai before the fight lifted his spirits about the ordeal considerably.  He had no doubts about the victors of the fight to come but that did not mean he felt excited for it.  Jedi did not seek battle, they only sought peace.  But I'd fight for her.  To keep her safe.  Jedi were protectors too and he meant to live up to it.

Finding his suspicions confirmed caused his ears to flatten.  "I see."  Yet you're not doing anything about it.  The feline saw he did not need the Force to sense the conflict in his feisty friend.

He felt his brows press in concern.  Tightly, he wound his tail around his paws.  "Te, I'd follow your lead to the ends of the earth.  Magna or not."  Lavi still did not approve of the takeover, but he would not push for conflict between Elysites.  "I believe in you.  You're worth following."

The Jedi smiled sheepishly after he spoke.  Settling into quiet, he watched as she checked on the tzai.  "Speaking of following; I'd like to watch your back during the raid.  Force knows someone should."  He chuckled, allowing his tone to lighten to something more teasing.  Tena's recklessness knew few bounds.  "If you'd like I mean."

— THERE'S NOTHING IN THIS WORLD I WOULDN'T DO

[Tena M.]

Tena Moonspinner —
Quiet.  Untypical of her.  Yet the sand cat listened quietly, without comment.  Typical Jedi.  The Demdji opened a small wooden cupboard, seeking a set of wooden cups.  Her ears flicked as his words registered more fully.  So, so very dedicated.  Jedi...  Once the cups were retrieved she huffed, slamming the cupboard shut.  By the mother...

"Sentimental, Solo," she quipped, her tail lashing once.  Truthfully, her stomach spun in knots.  All sorts of unnatural twisting.  Perhaps her voice even trembled.  Who knows?  She simply failed comprehending the Jedi's faithfulness to a 'friend' who kept pushing him away.  Get the hint...  Stubborn.  Naïve.

Yet she felt her walls crumbling.  Every time he smiled at her.  Blind dedication.  He's just asking for trouble... Not that he never found it without her.  A true Solo then.  Bold.  Reckless.  But truly compassionate.  Truly loyal. 

Tena furrowed her brows as she carefully moved the kettle, inhaling softly.  Gently, she tipped it over, letting the spicy tea-like drink flow into each cup.  Home.  Since when did she invite Lavi into her sense of home?  Because he's a friend... If she just let him be a friend...

"Here," she murmured.  The cups were small enough to levitate, just barely, with her elementals.  Her eyes glinted with slight amusement.  She was no Force-wielder but she had her own tricks.  Unless the Force really is part of everything... Whatever.  "Might be a little hot still."

As she sat with her own cup, Tena snorted.  Watch her back?  Alright.  Partners was part of the plan.  No one fighting on their own.  Alone. "I think you need me watching yours."  If you'd like.
[align=right]— I tell you this story, save your life, set you free