Aboard the Jade Shadow [Sunday, Fandom time]

[momslilassassin]

It had taken a few days to break free of the Kathol Rift, but the minute the ship cleared the interference, Ben had his comlink out to make a few long-needed calls back to various galaxies.

Ender and his dad had been good to talk to--or not talk to--but he needed to reconnect with some others, too--especially Jaina.

[OOC: If you think you got a call, you did! Ping on back!]

Comments

[weetuskenraider]

"So about the usual, then?" Tahiri asked, sounding more relieved than she realized. "I suppose you're forgiven. Unless something's eaten any of your limbs."

Because that would be something to blame him for, Tahiri. Sure.

[momslilassassin]

"No eating," Ben said. "Way too much licking, but no eating."

[weetuskenraider]

A long, long pause on Tahiri's end of the call, then:

"Licking? Really?"

[momslilassassin]

"Aing-Tii are weird," Ben said.

[weetuskenraider]

"No kidding," Tahiri replied. "Dare I ask why there was licking involved?"

[momslilassassin]

"That's how they communicate," Ben said. "With pheromones. It's not all that wet or anything but it's still really odd."

[weetuskenraider]

"If only I'd learned to do that," Tahiri replied, and if her voice sounded a little funny now it was because she was trying not to laugh. "Then maybe everyone who ever complained that I talked too much would have realized that was the better option. Did you at least get something useful out of all of that . . . um . . . licking?"

The mental images were weird.

[momslilassassin]

"Dad learned how to move things instantaneously from one place to another by thinking about it," Ben said. "He'll never lose the remote again."

[weetuskenraider]

Tahiri contemplated that for a moment, then mentally added it to the frighteningly extensive list of things she was pretty sure Luke could already do.

". . . seriously?" she asked. Because she'd heard of some pretty out-there Force skills, but now she was thinking of Karla's trick of vanishing things and calling them in, and really?

[momslilassassin]

"It doesn't disappear," Ben said. "It just instantly moves from one place to another. I can't figure it out yet. Dad knows all the astral stuff."

Ben got flow-walking.

[weetuskenraider]

"Thermal," Tahiri said slowly; she was still trying to figure out how that even worked in the Force. "Did you learn anything from them?"

[momslilassassin]

There was a slightly strained pause. "Do you know about flow-walking?"

[weetuskenraider]

". . . no," Tahiri replied after several moments of racking her brain. "Should I?"

[momslilassassin]

A weight lifted from his shoulders that he didn't know he'd had there. "No," he said. "Basically, it's a technique to see the past or the future as it's happening. It is really not worth looking. At all. Ever again."

[weetuskenraider]

"That sounds dangerous," Tahiri replied with a kind of caution that the other her would have done well to exercise. "I think I know enough as it is, knowing you and your grandfather."

Which, she realized, was beside the point.

"It was rough, wasn't it? Are you all right?"

[momslilassassin]

"Not really," Ben admitted softly, "but I'll get there."

[weetuskenraider]

"You'd better," Tahiri replied, wishing she could do something to help him from here. "Honestly, I'm glad I didn't have to pry that answer out of you."

[momslilassassin]

"It's a very long distance call," Ben said with a tiny smile, "and it's you. There's not much I don't tell you eventually."

[weetuskenraider]

"The 'eventually' seems to be working in my favor this time," Tahiri noted; she couldn't help an appreciative little smile. "Are you any closer to getting some answers?"

[momslilassassin]

"At this point, I'm not even sure we know the right questions," Ben sighed.

[weetuskenraider]

"Does anyone?" Tahiri asked, her voice edged with frustration that she couldn't help nudge them in the right direction. "It isn't as if there are records to look back on that would be any use."

[momslilassassin]

"Next time someone turns to the dark side, I'm working up a questionnaire," Ben decided.

[weetuskenraider]

"Don't suppose you could get one to other me," Tahiri said wryly.

[momslilassassin]

He chuckled. "Maybe through Master Cilghal?"

[weetuskenraider]

"Oh, is she still talking to me?" Tahiri wondered. "That'd be nice."