Room 328 [Copacabana Palace, afternoon]

[momslilassassin]

Ben was back at the window, staring out at the ocean and trying to find some calm. He and Ender had called Karla over, and while Ben trusted her absolutely when it came to healing (he wouldn't have had her help with Ender otherwise) and he wasn't afraid of pain, he kind of...worried about her reaction when she saw exactly what the Sith Lord had inflicted on him.

Thus the truncated meditation exercise. Not because he was nervous. At all. Really.

Ben was an expert liar, after all, and had been an expert at lying to himself for years.

[OOC: For the boy and the girl! Warnings for talk of being tortured Troy Denning-ed.]

Comments

[momslilassassin]

Ben's tea floated over to his hand without him opening his eyes. "Not planning on repeating this particular exercise," he said with a sad attempt to rally his sense of humor.

[endsthegame]

Ender quietly stroked his fingers over Ben's hair, working under absolutely no plan to leave, thanks. "Now this is just awkward," he commented, tossing his own sense of humor into the battle.

[glacial_queen]

"If you were planning on doing something like this again, I'd claim Healer prerogative and sit on you," Karla informed Ben sternly.

Because her weight would absolutely prove a hindrance to Ben, yes.

[momslilassassin]

Oh, when he went back out, he'd come up with an entirely new way to injure himself.

"All four pounds of you?" he said, smiling. "Terrifying."

[endsthegame]

"I don't think it's the weight you should fear," Ender said, "Just the creativity of the invectives." He dropped the towel and settled his hand on Ben's shoulder.

[glacial_queen]

"You know what I need," Karla mused, appreciating the tea's warmth as it spread through her, "a profanity lexicon. One that contains as many foreign curses as possible. It's very frustrating when you're railing at someone and begin to repeat yourself."

Or worse yet, cussing out Lucivar and having him fix your pronunciation.

[momslilassassin]

"I can give you some of the ones we use," Ben said, resting more heavily against Ender. "You want Bothan or Huttese?"

[endsthegame]

Ender adjusted accordingly, his arm slipping around Ben's waist. He kissed Ben's temple. "The Huttese does speak more to the imagination."

[glacial_queen]

"I've been a mostly good girl recently," Karla decided. "I'd like both."

She grinned at him. "Though I do already know some Huttese," she added, and used one of the phrases Ben sometimes let slip when he was unhappily surprised. And then another one that Anakin was decidedly fond of.

[momslilassassin]

Ben grinned. "That last one is Granddad. And really filthy."

[endsthegame]

"Anakin Skywalker, curse aficionado," Ender said. "I'm not surprised at all."

[glacial_queen]

"One of these days, I'm going to demand a translation," Karla informed them. "What are the odds he'll actually give me the right one?"

[momslilassassin]

"Very slim," Ben replied. "It's something that involves explaining Hutt anatomy and no one wants that."

[endsthegame]

"Scientifically speaking, it's actually quite interesting--" Ender interjected.