( open ) summertime,

[periastron]

WHO: Alexandra, D’Artagnan, Fingon, Kylo Ren, Rey & open
WHAT: brave camp-anions assignment: members of Forces test Inquisition camping gear on the rough terrain and weather of the Wounded Coast, others can come by and laugh at their struggles and applaud their victories (lol)
WHEN: vaguely June
WHERE: Wounded Coast
NOTES: set up your starters, assigned campers! and feel free to come visit the campers.

Take a quick trip outside the city to test Inquisition tents, and try building your own shelter.
What’s easy to set up? What holds up well against the weather? Does anything need repairs?
Did you figure out the ideal ‘smore ingredients, or ghost stories to demoralize the enemy? Team bonding!!!

Comments

[letoldthingsdie]

"Ah." Her question actually makes him frown a bit, his thoughts instantly going back to the Jedi Temple immediately. He remembers his hut being similar to the one she had been in on the island with Luke. Jedi Temples weren't all that different. He tries his best to push thoughts of Luke away immediately, trying to feign indifference when he speaks his name. "When I was with Luke, probably."

He shrugs, trying to keep his thoughts neutral. It wasn't as if she'd said anything wrong. Truthfully, it had been a long time and the First Order had spared no expense on small comforts. They had the funds, after all.

[provenforce]

"Oh." She realizes she should have known that, and she is a little angry with herself for bringing it up in the first place. She falls silent for a bit, chewing her lip and focusing on picking up sticks.

"There aren't trees on Jakku. Scrub brush, sometimes. Little bits of vegetation that somehow survives despite the climate, and the Caretakers of the Jedi temple usually gathered all the wood for our fires on the island. The first time I really gathered wood for anything was here." She volunteers the information, hoping it'll distract him from thoughts of Luke.

[letoldthingsdie]

He can see her regretting her choice immediately and he instantly feels guilty for it. He searches his memories, trying to find something to tell her about. She beats him to it and he smiles appreciatively.

"No, I wouldn't imagine there was a lot of plant life on Jakku. Not unless it was nightbloomers and spinebarrels occasionally." He'd picked that one out of her memories, seeing the shriveled up plant in her AT-AT home in his mind's eye. "I wonder if there are plants like that here."

[provenforce]

A slight smile touches her lips as he mentions the flowers by name that she used to collect. She's come to appreciate a wide array of flowers since those, but they had been little reminders for her. If they could survive in the Jakku desert, so could she.

"There must be. This planet has so many different kinds of flora it wouldn't surprise me. Even in the desert there had been more green than I'd ever seen on Jakku."

[letoldthingsdie]

He begins gathering up sticks and things again, bundling everything in his arms and straightening to his feet once they're full. It was easy to focus on his task and take his time finding the words for their conversation. They were here to do a job, but he did enjoy spending time alone with her. She made him feel less out of place when they ended up on assignments together. It made him feel slightly more at ease around others.

As for their conversation - he had seen so many different worlds, far too used to the New Republic changing home planets every so often. His home had been Chandrila but his mother's work and later his travels with his uncle had taken him to so many places. Jakku had been a harsh climate, that he remembers of his time searching for Dameron's droid.

I imagine it would have been hard to find water needed for plant life on a planet that needed to import it. His brows knit slightly, picturing Rey again - all skinny arms and legs and those buns - sitting and waiting with synthetic food and a Rebel Pilot's helmet on her head. She would never have to feel that alone again and would see all the green she wanted.

"Maybe we can make a garden in front of our home, fill it with plants and flowers - whatever you want." He smiles a bit sadly, hoping he could give her what she wanted above anything else. She deserved it after her years long vigil on that desert graveyard.

[provenforce]

"I was thinking about that," Rey replies, her smile growing as he brings it up. She walks towards him, her arms full of sticks and her eyes warm. "There's plenty of room out front, and... it'll be nice for the birdhouse to have flowers surrounding it. We could grow vegetables too. I... don't know how, but we could probably figure it out?"

She can't imagine it's too difficult, but there are gardeners around the Gallows, she can find people to ask for advice easily.

[letoldthingsdie]

"I don't exactly have a green thumb, but we could work on it. Flowers and vegetables - all of it." He knew next to nothing about these things too, but what they lacked in knowledge they made up for in enthusiasm.

"Should we head back? Or did you want to pick up more?" He looks around them, eyes scanning for more branches they could use for the fire.

[provenforce]

She's happy that he wants to help her with a garden. It would be something nice they could do together, building up their home more in little ways. Making it theirs entirely.

At his question she looks at the bundle he has, and her own, considering for a moment.

"I think we can head back, this should last us through the night."

[letoldthingsdie]

It was honestly the most mundane thing in the world: a garden; having a house, building a home together, and all that came with it. Yet, it meant everything to the both of them. It terrified him greatly to see himself become someone who could rise up out of his darkness and settle into this kind of a life. He didn't need to destroy things to etch out his place. Rey had made room for him already.

"Mm. Hang on a second, before we do." He looks around them, checking that no one else has decided to wander back here. It shouldn't matter, of course. It wasn't as if they had anything to hide. Even so, his wish for a private moment was important to him.

He dips himself forward, into her space, with his bundle of wood and branches still held in his arms, and kisses her forehead before finding her lips.

"Thank you for helping me." In more ways than one, really, but he could just be talking about the firewood.

[provenforce]

When he starts looking around them she does too, curious as to what he's looking for, and then he kisses her forehead and it becomes clear enough that she's able to reciprocate when his lips find hers. It's awkward with two bundles of wood between them, and brief, but impossibly sweet. She smiles at him, careful not to lose her grip on the wood in her arms.

"I'll always help you, Ben."

[letoldthingsdie]

"We should... go back, before Caedus decides to get himself caught in that net of yours." He smiles fondly, hefting his bundle in his arms to a more comfortable position. Turning slightly, he nods in the direction of camp and begins walking back. His steps felt somehow lighter, a light and contented buzz filling him up and reaching out to her through their connection.