fandomhighdorms | Outside Chupacabra cabin: Pre-dawn hours, Tuesday morning

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Outside Chupacabra cabin: Pre-dawn hours, Tuesday morning

Karal was lying on his back, staring up into the sky, arms folded under his head. The star map he'd been given in class was spread out on the ground nearby, and Altra was standing over it.

"Which one next?"

Altra peered at the map, then up into the sky. :Hmm, try for Hercules.:

"All right." After several minutes scanning, he pointed. "There."

:Very good.:

Karal smiled at the praise. "Altra, do you think our stars are other worlds? Or are they simply lights in the night?"

:When it's time for that to be known, it will be known. Until then, find Cygnus.:

He really hadn't expected an answer. His world hadn't yet found a collective name for itself; in no way was it ready for the idea of stars as other worlds, looking down on them. "Cygnus is there," he said, pointing once more.

It was cool and dark, though there was faint illumination from the cabins, hopefully enough they wouldn't be tripped over should anyone come wandering by, and he felt calm, almost peaceful, out here in the night.

[ooc: open if you'd like. Karal is talking quietly, but not so much so that he couldn't be overheard.]

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Jaina had been up late working on her little project. In fact, she'd been up so late that she hadn't bothered to go to sleep yet. Armed with a cup of coffee (which still wasn't as good as caf but she'd take it), she'd headed outside so she wouldn't bother anyone.

If she hadn't been able to tell someone was out here, she would have been surprised. "Hi," she said softly, trying not to startle him.

Karal was slightly startled at the sound, but Altra didn't react beyond flicking his ears at her, so he knew there was no danger. "Jaina, hello," he said as he sat up, smiling shyly. "Would you care to sit?"

She smiled a little back, making her way over, "I'm not disturbing you, am I?"

"No, not in the least." He gestured at the star map - which now had a 'cat lying over half of it. "We were given a map of the constellations, in class, and I was seeing which I could find. Your company would be more than welcome."

Jaina took a seat on a nearby log, looking over at the visible half of the map. "Have you had much luck finding them?"

"Some. I keep becoming sidetracked by the fact that these are different stars, entirely new constellations," he admitted, glancing back up at the sky. "It is quite a strange feeling. Did you get up so early to come and see the stars?"

"No, I was working on a thing," she explained. "I figured there's not much point in sleeping now."

"A thing?" he asked curiously. "And no, probably not. I would sometimes spend an entire night in the archives and not realise it until I heard the birdssong. It was simpler to remain awake through the day, though not always easy."

[ooc: And I am crashing like a thing what crashes. SP okay?]

"That's what this is for," she said, sipping the coffee. "And yeah, a thing. I was tweaking a comlink so I could communicate with people back home in realtime. At one point it seemed like a good idea to take it completely apart and put it back together in case it was quicker that way. It wasn't."

[Yes! Go crash!]

"Which is why you are still awake at this hour," he said, nodding, even though he had no idea what a comlink was. "Being able to talk to your home whenever you chose would be nice. Did you succeed in getting it to work?"

She nodded. "I was able to fix up one before I ever got here, but ran out of time on the others. I probably won't be able to talk to them as much as I'd like, but the option is there, and it's good for emergencies." She shrugged. "I just feel better having them working."

"I would offer to help, except I don't actually know what a comlink is - though I'm imagining as a sort of telephone? - so I'm sure I would be less than helpful." he said with a smile. "But knowing you can reach family and friends immediately would be a comfort. Have you spoken to them since you arrived?"

"Something like that. It's small, and... I'll show it to you inside," she said. "I sent a transmission back when I first got here, but I finally got to talk to my brother last night. Have you talked to anyone back home yet?"

"I haven't. Almost no one knows I'm gone. Time--" He hesitated, looking at Altra, who decided to wander over and sit in front of Jaina, giving her the 'you should scratch me now' look. "I have been told it runs differently here. A month here is a day there, so from their perspective, it has probably only been hours since I left."

Jaina had zero experience with cats, but she knew the look. Leaning over to scratch Altra, she said, "That's new. I didn't know time worked differently like that."

Altra leaned into her fingers and purred. :I like her.:

Karal covered a smile. "Nor did I, but Qui-Gon explained that different worlds could be different dimensions, which don't quite overlap. Like a team of horses running in a circle, the ones on the outside have to cover more ground than the ones on the inside." He paused, then grinned at her a tad sheepishly. "I do not actually understand it, but I almost stopped being confused after his explanation, so I'm hanging onto it."

"No, that makes sense," she said slowly. "People from several different timelines in the same universe can show up in the same place and time, so it's only logical that for whatever reason, someone's personal timeline can work a little differently."

"I will take you at your word, and nod as if I understand perfectly while I simply have faith that everything is happening as it should," he said lightly, and proceeded to nod and try and look wise. Altra gave a snort which sounded slightly like a strangled laugh. "But that is why I've not yet spoken to anyone at home. Your brother, did you tell him of the oddness here?"

"I kept it to a minimum," Jaina admitted. "There's a lot more oddness than I'm willing to say over a comlink. It would take a lot of explaining. And maybe evidence."

"Unless you can provide him with proof, such as a photo or holo of Gavin attempting to saw someone in half with a stick," he said with a laughm and as badly as he felt for Gavin, part of him wished he had seen that. "He's not likely to believe you."

"Isabel offered me copies of pictures she took that day," Jaina grinned. "It's going to traumatize my family, but I think it's the only way they'll believe it."

"How do you think they'll react, knowing that this place is, well, what it is?" he asked curiously.

"I don't think they'd have a bad reaction to most of it," she said. "They have bigger problems. Certain aspects of it would freak them out in a really bad way. Another reason I should tell them in person."

He nodded in understanding. "Some things are better told face to face. Do you mind me asking, which aspects do feel will, umm, freak them out so badly?" He stumbled a little over the unfamiliar phrase. "I have a feeling you're not referring to the gremlins."

"There are a few people here who are different versions of ones back home," she says. "In a couple cases, family. It would freak them out."

"That would be very, very strange," he said, trying to imagine how he'd feel to meet someone he knew but didn't know. Odd. "You are not the only one in such a situation, though I don't think hers were family."

"From what I hear, it's pretty common here. This place is kind of weird, have you noticed that?"

"Weird? This place?" He laughed and leaned back on his hands as Altra wandered over to drape himself across his legs. "I'm quite sure I don't know what you're referring to."

"It must just be a trick of my imagination then," she said, smiling over her coffee. "Maybe I should try to get a couple hours before I go off to play with explosives, actually."

Explosives? No, he wasn't going to ask. "That might be wise, if you can," he said. "There's a ways to go until the sun rises, I think. At least an hour or so."

"We'll see if it works. Good luck with the rest of your star searching," she said, getting up from her seat.

"Thank you. And sleep well, Jaina," he said quietly. "If you're not awake by a certain time, do you wish me to wake you?" And he did blush a bit at that, but hopefully she'd not see it in the dark. "So you won't be late for your workshop," he added hurriedly.

Jaina smiled at that. "It's second period," she said. "Thanks, Karal. Good... what's left of night."

"And you," he replied, ducking his head a little as he smiled back.

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Outside Chupacabra cabin: Pre-dawn hours, Tuesday morning

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