Fourth floor common room: Monday Evening

[vkandis-son.livejournal.com]

Karal was very deliberately spending the evening doing something just for him, something that involved no work or stress whatsoever.

He was curled in a chair in the common room, reading The Hobbit Halfling, and really getting into it. There were occasional exclamations of surprise or excitement, but they were in Karsite, so they probably sounded a little strange.

The television was on, providing some background noise, but he wasn't watching it. Didn't mean other people couldn't, however.

[ooc: open, of course! Shhh, it always said Monday]

Comments

[tatooine-doofus.livejournal.com]

Luke blushed under Karal's gaze. "I just did what felt right. Leia thought it was kind of an insane idea at the time."

[vkandis-son.livejournal.com]

Karal looked away, focusing on his Vkandis medal, not wanting to make Luke uncomfortable. "Sometimes doing what is right sounds insane to everyone else," he said quietly. "Yet we still must act. May I ask, who is Leia?"

[tatooine-doofus.livejournal.com]

"Leia's my twin sister," Luke said, eyes lighting up when he mentioned her. "Jaina's mother. Not that my Leia knows that."

He chuckled. "I wouldn't dream of ruining that surprise."

[vkandis-son.livejournal.com]

"Sometimes," Karal said after a moment or two spent wrapping his brain around that. "This place makes my head hurt." But he was laughing a little as he said it. "I guess that means twins run in the family, given Jacen."

[tatooine-doofus.livejournal.com]

Luke nodded. "It certainly seems that way. I don't know if one of my parents were a twin, too, though. My father...isn't the most open man about the past."

No kidding, Luke.

[vkandis-son.livejournal.com]

"Do you see him often?" he asked curiously.

[tatooine-doofus.livejournal.com]

Luke grinned at him. "Often enough. He teaches Ethics."

[vkandis-son.livejournal.com]

Karal knew who taught Ethics, so it didn't take him long to work that out. "Oh, glory," he muttered and closed his eyes. He'd heard enough about the Professor to give him a healthy respect. "Please don't tell him what I said to Jaina. I really did not mean it."

[tatooine-doofus.livejournal.com]

Luke nudged Karal's shoulder and chuckled. "I wouldn't dream of it. I'd say his bark is worse than his bite, but it's not really true. He's pretty much humorless."

[vkandis-son.livejournal.com]

Karal opened his eyes at the nudge. "Thank you," he said, chuckling weakly. "I am amazed Jaina forgave me, I do not want to push my luck any farther."

[tatooine-doofus.livejournal.com]

"Sometimes I think he keeps all the grudges most people forget about," Luke said softly, "but we're hardly close. He teaches me about the Jedi, we're polite to each other, I don't ask too many questions, we go our separate ways."

He paused.

"My family is kind of strange."

[vkandis-son.livejournal.com]

"You go to school with your niece," he pointed out. "I'm not sure it could be anything else." But it sounded sort of sad to Karal. "Would you like to be closer to him?" he asked quietly.

[tatooine-doofus.livejournal.com]

"I don't know him," Luke replied with a small, humorless laugh. "I grew up believing he was dead: all of the Jedi were exterminated when the Emperor rose to power. A legacy of 10,000 years gone in less than 20. It's only through Fandom that I got a chance to meet him at all."

And that was a spin to the story that would make Obi-Wan proud.

[vkandis-son.livejournal.com]

"Oh," he said in a quiet voice, overwhelmed by the magnitude of the tragedy. Even though they were countless years and worlds away, he bowed his head and sent up a silent prayer to Vkandis, asking him to watch over the Jedi. Maybe it would help. "Perhaps there is reason to be grateful for the strangeness of this place, after all."

[tatooine-doofus.livejournal.com]

Luke gave him a small smile. "I've gotten to know my family," he said. "I'm very thankful."

[vkandis-son.livejournal.com]

"It is truly something to be thankful for." He risked a bit of teasing, though he looked a little hesitant, even with the smile. "Even if one if more challenging than the others."

[tatooine-doofus.livejournal.com]

Luke laughed. "He can make Inara lose her temper. I think that's a bit more than merely 'challenging.'"

[vkandis-son.livejournal.com]

"He made Inara..." Karal blinked. "Truly?"

[tatooine-doofus.livejournal.com]

Luke nodded. "Ask her about flight workshop some day," he recommended. "She'll make a face like she just ate something that wasn't ripe."