Brilliant, on a curve of Skywalker

Ben finally got his hand extracted from Ender's (he hadn't really been trying that hard while Alai had been visiting), and left the room to give Val (and Alai, sigh, grumble, whatever) some time to spend with Ender as well.

Ben went for a walk, got lost four times, found some food and a shower and finally made his way back to his room.

He sat down in an uncomfortable chair on the theory that if he sat on the bed he'd fall asleep for a week, and began making some long-delayed calls back to Fandom.

With his luck, time had sped up there, he'd been gone for a month, and Karla was after his head...

[OOC: If you think he called you, he did!]

The repairs were finished on the ship, and Luke still hadn't returned from beyond shadows. Ben was returning from his daily trip to check on him (his dad's suck-nozzle kept shifting out of his mouth and he was getting pretty dehydrated), and had poked around some of the other ships looking for anything food-like.

The Mind Drinkers had made themselves at home as visitors in the Shadow and were going through provisions faster than Ben had thought possible. At this point, the first thing they'd have to do when they left the Maw was get more supplies. At the beginning it had been worth it to get them to feel comfortable and learn about how they'd ended up here, but Ben was getting uncomfortable with how comfortable two of them in particular--Rolund and Rhondi Tremaine--had gotten with just stopping by to talk to Ender for hours. And eating everything in sight.

Ben wasn't jealous. At all. Really.

And also shut up.

"Ender?" he called as he stepped aboard the ship again. "You around?"

( Where Ben goes a little crazy. Maybe. A tad. )

Without his normal choice in coping--making many, many droids--Ben chose his second option: working himself into exhaustion.

Which was why he was down at the practice grounds, ready to face all comers.


( This wouldn't be very interesting if no one stopped by, of course. )

It had been an extremely long and musical day, which was why Ben had fled to the beach as soon as his classes were over in the hopes that the song Captain Kirk had been singing would eventually get out of his head.

Naturally, he'd been on the beach all of a minute when he'd gotten his wish.

( Cut for lyrics. Contain your shock! )

Ben sighed, repressed the daddy issues the island seemed to want him to deal with, and looked out at the water, hoping that no one had heard him.

[OOC: I, of course, hope no such thing. Open!]