Open

[hello_there]

WHO: Character(s)
WHAT: Obi-Wan Kenobi catch-all open post
WHEN: Backdated to cover the vaguely handwaved span of October/late september
WHERE: Kirkwall (Hightown), The Gallows courtyard, ect
NOTES:

I. Obi-Wan at the Hawke Estate

Obi-Wan Kenobi lived in a lovely house in Hightown. He was the only Rifter who lived there, indeed the only one on the entire street. This was, of course, because the house did not belong to him. It belonged to the Hawkes.

Specifically, most recently, to Bethany Hawke.

He valued his friendships for other reasons, but there were times when it was truly, geniunely good to have connections. Hemight work for the Inquisition, but living outside of the Gallows provided quiet, and privacy, and the luxury of at least pretending that they didn't all live in a prison built to house slaves and worse. Specificially it allowed him to putter aorund the kitchen and pretend that his arrival 'home' was no more remarkable than any other such arrival. That nothing was wrong. That he need not think of the future, or the past, or any moment beyond the present.

That he had returned as whole as he had left. Surely, there was that at least. There would be no miraculous bacta, or cloned flesh, or sybernetic replacement. This would be his life, from now on and he would just... have to cope. Alone.

There was no sense in worrying anyone, really.


II.Catching up with Cody

The first thing you'll see of them is a ball. It's small and rubber and it's brown in a way that suggests it used to be red, before time and dog had gotten their way. Mabari need a lot of exercise, and young mabari moreso than usual. So the first thing, is the ball, and shortly thereafter, bouncing at least as chaotically, is the dog. It's a sand-colored puppy, big-pawed and lanky in the way of growing dogs everywhere and running with a gait like an ambulatory pancake.

Floppa-floppa-floppa— pounce!

And thereabouts, just as the dog turns to return its prey to the hand that threw it, is when you might catch sight of Obi-Wan, walking at a much more sedate pace, and using the ball's added doubling back to make up for the lack.


III. Getting Back On The Horse, So To Speak

Obi-Wan no longer made his main residence in the Gallows, but it was still a useful place to visit. For one, most of the Rifters were still there, and for another, it was one of the few places in Kirkwall that a man could sit cross-legged with many small and often shiny pieces spread out in the sun and be reasonably sure that all of them would be where he left them a moment ago. Obi-Wan is, slowly, and with great care, taking something small and delicate off his lightsaber. It's not a terribly graceful process, for the most part, hampered as he is by the lack of a hand, but between that handicap and the use of the Force, it's a chore that requires a great deal of concentration. He's grateful for that, for the ability to simply forget about pretension, to make mistakes, even stupid ones and strive only for the hoped-for outcome.

Of course, the actual reassembly does not require the use of hands at all. But it's the time that counts, the ability to lose oneself in the work, in the meditation of it. And to forget, until someone else's shadow falls over him, that he's not entirely alone.


IV. Wildcard

Hit me up with a starter of your own!

Comments

i.

[chainlightning]

The Hawke estate is one of the only places in Hightown that Merrill can get to without as much difficulty as- well, everywhere else in Kirkwall. It's still not great; it takes her a while as she accidentally ends up crossing through someone's garden and circling the same block three times. Still, she gets there. She's not actually expecting anyone to be there - she had wanted to go and visit the estate because it had been where Hawke lived, where her friends lived.

How fortuitous that another friend lives there, now!

Merrill hasn't forgotten what happened at the Abbey on the White Cliff. She thinks she will remember it for a very, very long time. When a passerby finally tells her that the estate is occupied, and by Obi-Wan, she doubles back to the market. She finds tea and bread and herbed butter, and after Barkley finishes trying to chase a bird, she and her little dog go back to the estate. This time, Merrill knocks - and then doesn't wait for an answer, pushing the door open.

"Hello?"

[hello_there]

Obi-Wan hardly had time to put down what he'd been using to poke at the fire, let alone answer the door. That was another thing he'd had to get used to in Thedas all over again. Fire, as a primary means of warming oneself and one's food. It was hardly civilized, and yet...

Well, none of it had to do with the knock at the door, or his new visitor.

"Merrill?" He pokes his head out of the kitchen, a decidedly off-to-the-side affair, built into the house as if to minimize the presence of foot-traffic through the living spaces. Obi-Wan like it very much, even if it had likely more to do with isolating the servant's quarters than with any notion of his own privacy.

"What a surprise! Is everything alright?"

Aside, of course, from the obvious; Obi-Wan keeps his arms tucked into his sleeves more than usual, these days.

[chainlightning]

"Oh, yes!" Merrill is chipper as usual, and Barkley is happy to push further in and nuzzle into Obi-Wan. The house is just like she remembers, for the most part; further in there was the stairwell that she would slide down and the chandelier that she and Sandal had nearly given everyone heart attacks with.

She tilts her arms, showing Obi-Wan the bread.

"Hawke is a friend. I was coming to check on the house, and then someone told me you lived here, so... I thought I'd drop by with some tea."

wildcard with a touch of i probably

[provenforce]

[ after this ]

Rey had half considered just going to the Gallows and crashing on the cot in the Base Operations office for the night, but she'd told Ben she was going to Obi-Wan's, and only after she'd left had she realized she'd never actually asked Obi-Wan if she could stay.

The walk to High Town wasn't a terribly long one, but she took the time, trying to get her tears and the ache in her heart under control. When she turns up at Obi-Wan's door finally her eyes are red from her wiping the tears away, but she's no longer crying, for the moment.

She rings the bell, surreptitiously rubbing the back of her hand over her eyes again, feeling as if they're still wet even though they aren't. When the door opens she forces a weak smile, trying to look happier than she is.

"Sorry to drop in unexpected, but I was hoping you'd let me stay with you for a few days?"

[hello_there]

Obi-Wan answers the door without surprise. He lets her babble through the formalities, comforting nonsense-words that mean things like please, don't reject me and I'm lonely and frightened under the platitudes. Obi-Wan steps back to let her in and closes the door behind her.

"Of course you can stay as long as you like. I'm certain Bethany wouldn't object, even if she were here to do so. Come, sit," The house is full of the steeping smell of tea, Merrill's gift, and there's half a loaf of bread and pottage, not really too stale. They've both eaten much worse, and been grateful for it. Anyways, it's warm, "I can see we have some things to discuss."

You aren't fooling anyone, Rey. You get blotchy when you cry and it persists for hours, despite your dignity; it doesn't take a Jedi to see that you're upset.

[provenforce]

The relief she feels when she steps over the threshold into the manor is almost palpable. She exhales, her shoulders relaxing, the tension she'd felt a moment ago slowly leaving her body, and only leaving behind the hollow empty feeling. Padawan is on her heels, though she does spare Obi-Wan a cursory sniff and tail wagging greeting. At Obi-Wan's observation Rey gives him a half smile, though it's fleeting.

"Ben and I got into a fight."

[hello_there]

"I see," He says, which is his way of asking for more without pressing. He leads her through into the kitchen, and it's homey and warm, flat brown paving stones and the smell of good food. Cody lifts his tawny head from where he's lying beside the fire, wuffs once, then goes back to his nap.

And the table, yes, with the seat now meant for Rey.

"Conflict of some kind is inevitable in any relationship, however peaceful it might otherwise be," He says, though not without a certain trepidation. It's hard to imagine Kylo Ren or Ben Solo as a peaceful person, regardless of the relationship, "...It was an argument, not a..."

Not combat, he means. There's a difference between shouting and lightsabers, surely.

[provenforce]

She settles in at the table without further comment, Padawan laying down at her feet, the kitten still asleep in her pack that she puts next to her chair. The kitchen being homey and warm just makes her wish she were sitting in her own kitchen with Ben.

Shaking her head she leans her arms on the table, suddenly feeling very heavy.

"No, we didn't come to blows. He just... did something I don't agree with. Which I know is a lot of what he's done in his past, but I thought he was leaving it behind him." Maybe that's what she's most upset about. That she'd been foolish enough to think that the light in Ben Solo's heart was stronger now in this place than it had been in their own galaxy. That he'd be able to push off the darkness when it came for him, even without her help.

[hello_there]

Homey it may seem, but it's lonely too. Not that Obi-Wan is likely to complain— whether it's wise or not, he prefers to withdraw, most days. There's only so much reason, now, not to dwell upon the past. Not to meditate and let the days slip past him without much friction, when he can.

"I see," He says, quietly, and thinks about Ben's grandfather, disappearing into the black and returning much quieter than he had gone. He hadn't asked questions then, hadn't even considered asking; too aware of what the answer might be, and too unwilling to risk he inevitable consequences, "I should council you to go back to him immediately, to try and... guide him, somehow. That's what I would have said, before."

Before, in the lifetime when they had first met, and he had been a younger man.

"The truth is, sometimes, for there to be any good, there must first be some pain; you did the right thing, and I'm glad you had somewhere to run to, when you needed it. Anyways, I could use the help around the house, for a while; it's suddenly gotten a little... harder."

[provenforce]

She feels cold creep over her skin as he tells her of what he should council her to do, because she feels guilty, suddenly. Had she run out on him too quickly? He had been so desperate for her to stay, that had been a large reason why she'd felt she needed to go. He had needed her to put distance between them, she'd felt. The cold subsides when Obi-Wan continues, and she musters a brief smile as he commends her, but the guilt remains.

"Harder? What do you mean?" Rey's eyes flick up to Obi-Wan's brow furrowed as she then looks around. She knew that the other occupants of the mansion were gone, but he'd been living like this for a few months, now. She couldn't imagine it changing, much. She's also tired and horribly distracted, so maybe not as observant as she usually is.

[hello_there]

Obi-wan blinked at that. No, of course she couldn't know; and he'd done precious little to prepare her. But then, what could he possibly do? It wasn't the sort of news you threw a party for.

"I... took an injury, while I was away," He begins, sure only that to simply lay it out for her to see with her own eyes was... very much the wrong approach, "It's very likely to be permanent. So, this is going to be an adjustment, until I get used to it; I'm not sure how long that will be."

Time, like sand, there was so very much of it, until suddenly it was all slipped away through your fingers, and gone.

iii. but also wildcard i guess

[letoldthingsdie]

Kylo had felt adrift for a few days, now it tapered off into an almost numb sensation. He could still feel Rey through the Force and knew she could feel him too. It didn't change things. He didn't feel much changed despite having time to think and to turn over everything in his head. Now all he had was time to think.

When he wanders to the Gallows after a day at the Forges, the first thing he sees is Obi-Wan. He could tell even from a distance that he was concentrating on his lightsaber, that he was removing something from it or perhaps trying to reconstruct it. He didn't know. Still, the curiosity got to him and he watched, albeit from some distance. He didn't know what to say to to the seasoned Jedi. The last thing he wanted was to talk about Rey, and yet he still worried - still cared despite being the cause of her hurt.

"How long have you been at that?" He asks with some hesitance, like a stray dog that's likely to bolt when startled. He refused to talk about Rey right now, but he would talk about this.

[hello_there]

"Thirty years," He replies, with only a slight hesitation while he examines the part in his hand, "This is only my third lightsaber. I still had the last one, somewhere."

Probably destroyed, now, or confiscated by some dire regime, repurposed for use by a dark apprentice, or sealed away somewhere. That seemed worse, somehow: a beautiful, practical tool, reduced to little more than a trophy.

"Your lightsaber is your life," He says, still not looking up, and the rote rule of it is obvious in his voice, a lesson Obi-Wan had given a thousand times, "Lose one and you're likely to lose the other."

[letoldthingsdie]

“Did Jedi often lose their weapons so easily?” It felt strange to him. He couldn’t imagine losing his. It was an extension of himself. He had worked to craft it to perfection despite the glaring flaws and instability to its functionality. It suited him fine. It had been the only thing to keep him alive back when Luke had tried to kill him. He could still imagine the brilliant blue glow that clashed with green inside his hut that night. All he had to do was close his eyes.

He moves closer to Obi-wan, wanting to see his work. He’d dismantled his battered blade so easily and reassembled it. Yet this was taking more time. He couldn’t help wanting to learn this process, the curiosity calling him to the Jedi’s side.

“I’ve always had this with me. I’ve never lost it, not once.” But then he’d never met anyone strong enough to oppose him until Rey. He unclips the weapon from his belt, turning it over in his hand. It was a mess compared to Obi-wan’s craftsmanship.

[hello_there]

"I lost my first lightsaber when the Sith that killed my Master kicked it down a reactor shaft. And the second, as I said, I still have. Had," Obi-Wan replied, in a tone of politeness so calm and bland as to constitute an insult, "Anakin lost his constantly. He'd drop it in a fight, or have it stolen, or get it confiscated when he was captured..."

There is a pause in the slow rhythm of Obi-Wan's progress. He half-reached with his right hand, then paused, stopped, and heaved a sigh. And then he turned to look back at Ben with a face that showed every one of his years.

"I kept having to go find it for him, or else he'd have to make a new one. It was the stupidest thing you can possibly imagine. So, at least you're doing better than that."

[letoldthingsdie]

"He sounds irresponsible, if he was making you constantly retrieve it for him." Honestly that surprised him. He pictured this hardened man with an iron fist, someone who didn't have a stitch out of place nor lost his lightsaber so easily. Even so, part of him latched on to what Obi-wan was saying. It was what he'd wanted from the beginning, to hear the truth of his family even if it was small innocuous details like this.

"A far cry from Darth Vader, I'd think." He wouldn't know. The man had been dead not long before he'd even been conceived. All he had were Snoke's assertions of Vader's greatness and the legacy he'd squandered in a moment of weakness. Kylo had always aspired to be above such things, and yet here he was walking about with a broken heart he was still trying desperately to pretend wasn't really there.

[hello_there]

"I only met Darth Vader once. He looked like my brother, fought in the same way, had much of the same impulsiveness; I thought, I knew Anakin."

He had known Anakin. Had known him well enough that their duel had been very nearly a farce, that parries had slipped by and emotion overtaken reason. Had known him so poorly that he had woken up one day to find his life in ashes and Anakin— Vader holding the flame.

"He was irresponsible. But he was also very brave. Perhaps one came from another, in a way. It doesn't matter," Obi-Wan turned back to his parts, though he didn't reach for the next one, only looked at them as if they were the most unremarkable things in the world. It was an excuse to look away from Padme Amidala's eyes, living in a younger face, "He's dead now. They both are. And I'm not. So much for prophecy."

[letoldthingsdie]

Kylo frowns at that, feeling almost snubbed once Obi-wan turns away from him again. He didn't know what to say at first, so he just turns over the man's words in his head.

"'They both are'.... you mean my grandmother, too." He sighs, clearly frustrated that he can sense Obi-wan withdrawing back to his work instead of wanting to talk more about his grandfather.

"I think my mother was more concerned with pretending I wasn't like him than telling me things about either of her parents." What he knew of Padme Amidala was kept close to chest. No one was supposed to know that a respected senator had birthed the children of Darth Vader. He wished his mother had at least given him something to carry with him, even if it wasn't the man she hated.

"She named me after you, though. She had a lot of respect for you. You helped her stop Vader." And because he knows 'Ben' would probably make no sense to Obi-wan without an explanation, "Ben is the name you chose to go by while in exile on Tatooine, watching my uncle grow up."

He honestly felt less worthy of it since meeting the man himself, even if he was several decades younger than when his mother knew him. He realizes that he's never told Obi-wan this - that his name comes from him. He can't help but wonder whether Luke had been the one to suggest it. Probably. Most likely his parents would have bickered about what to name him and then Luke would have stepped in. The thought made his stomach knot. He hated his uncle.

[laurenande]

Locating Obi-Wan was not too terribly difficult, not if one had the will for it, and Galadriel certainly did. She was recovered from their trip to the isle of Alamaar and, at last, she was ready to address the horrors that had faced the people by her side. She regretting taking several of them but, frankly, of all her regrets involving rings these were not terribly major.

Save, perhaps, this one.

She raps on the doors firmly, her grey cloak shifting in the autumn breeze.

[hello_there]

Will or not, his name is on the rent-roll, Galadriel, you don't always have to make everything so mysterious, there's a social bureaucracy here. Kirkwall, for all its faults, is technically civilization.

Obi-Wan opens the door, and feels very tired.

"Galadriel," He says, after a pause to master his emotions. There is no passion; there is only serenity, "What brings you to hightown, this morning?"

[laurenande]

"I come seeking you," she says. It is obvious but the overt confirmation of it is unusual for her.

"May I enter?" she asks after a short pause. She will make her offer on his doorstep, should he refuse, but she would prefer not. Already too many people know of her ring, of the power she can wield if it comes to it, and she would rather avoid speaking candidly in public if she could.

[hello_there]

If he says no, she will do something, and if he says yes, she'll likely do it anyways. He's quite sure that the only way he could avoid having to cope with this fresh news is to ask her, without reservation, if she would mind going away and not returning until after he has run the natural course of his lifespan. Perhaps, truly, not even then.

He has a sense for these inevitabilities; of pain, in particular. But he wasn't raised to rudeness. So Obi-Wan sighs to express his feelings on the matter, and then steps back to admit her to the house. The place is clean, smelling of baking, and there is evidence of dogs; it is very much the Hawke residence.

"Please, come in. I apologize beforehand for any interruptions: Rey's been staying with me, these past few days."

[laurenande]

Galadriel pauses at his apology but inclines her head. She can take no issue with it, not when it is his associate in his home.

"No need for apology," she assures him. "I have come to offer you a gift. Interruption will not change that."

The door is shut behind her and she pushes back the hood of her cloak. She looks infinitely more calm now and the light that emminates from her is steady and even. Fueled, no doubt, but the ring he cannot see.

"I have come to offer your hand," she says, in plain terms. She has danced coyly around facts and tales in these last days. Obi-wan had no appreciated it and, frankly, that was not surprising. "If you would have it."

[hello_there]

For a moment or two, all he can do is blink at that. Between the archaic mode of speech in Thedas, and he own....esoteric...vocabulary... all he can think for the moment is that she's offering his hand in marriage?

It's quite the image, really. The first to save the kingdom from the dragon will have this man's hand in marriage. Of course there's also the wild, unpleasant possibility that she means it literally. But that's just silly: how could she have carried his dismembered hand all this way without anyone noticing? And why wait so long to return it to him? And why return it to him at all?

"...Ah... What?"

[laurenande]

"Your hand," she repeats at his confusion and is silent a moment. She makes no move to clarify, not for several seconds, and then decides it must be necessary.

"You lost it," she remind him, as if he might have forgotten. "I am fully capable of restoring it, if you should like me to."