Places We Once Knew

[Wyl Staedtler]

Mess Hall, Challenger


There were so many faces milling about, more than he'd seen all at once in months, and not a single one wore any of the expressions that he'd come to recognize as dangerous; it was incredible. There was a sense of general weariness but that was the case with most adults, nevermind the ones who were actually doing important things.

Important things like trying to keep this place safe and secret. That was totally important because when everything depended on secrecy, safety often went out the window.

Wyl peered anxiously at the faces as he followed Tak's Dama through the mess hall, hoping to spot one of the faces that had been so sorely absent in recent weeks. The carton of blue milk in his hands was cold and his throat was dry but the boy couldn't bring himself to open it. He was so close, he could feel it.

"There's so many people in here!" Wyl exclaimed. He had to raise his voice to be heard over the buzz of Alliance fleetmembers conversing, the clatter of flatware and dishes against the tabletop sounding in counterpoint. Tak's Dama had said that she'd confirmed his Master was aboard but what if they'd been mistaken and she wasn't, what if none of them were? Or maybe they had all been here but were gone now, what then? It felt like an age had passed since the confusion on Cloud City, the innocent mistake that had led to his being seperated from the group of Jedi the boy had come to view as his family.

Wyl gripped the milk so hard the carton bent and twisted in a horrible mimic of itself. "I don't see any of 'em, though."

[Hobgoblin]

The boy felt a tap on one shoulder. When he spun his head to look who it was, there was no one there.

A voice came from opposite the way he was looking. "See nobody?" it asked. "A problem this is!"

[Morgan Evanar]

"I don't care that I'm exceeding my "set" rations." Morgan ran a hand down his face in frustration. He'd become better at being calm, but when his blood sugar was in the toilet and someone was denying him food, it became difficult.

"You have exceeded your entire allotment of food for this cycle, sir."

"Listen, I can have Dr. de Coventina send over my calorie requirements, and you can marvel at my medically diagnosed absurd metabolism, or you can give me the four extra ration bars now." He felt increasingly un-Jedi like. Why was it so difficult to get some damned food. Morgan realized that arguing with a serving droid was futile, and people behind him in line were starting to get testy.

"Fine." He gnashed his teeth. Morgan took a deep breath, and four ration bars appeared on the tray. "I'm taking these. Let that marinate in your databanks." Hopefully after the physical he wouldn't have to keep teleporting food. Morgan immediately shoved part of the bar into his mouth. It was not especially appetizing, but it would satiate his relentless need for calories and nutrients. He chewed the bigger than reasonable bite and shuffled the rest of the bars into his jacket pocket. Morgan deposited the tray above the waste converter/sorter and nearly tripped over someone much smaller. In a display of awkward agility, he dodged the much smaller person by nearly stumbling over but almost cartwheeling.

"Wyl!"

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Any answer she had for Wyl proved to be unnecessary as Morgan very nearly ran the boy over.

The Lupine smiled lightly, and taking a step to the side, she folded her hands before her.

[Wyl Staedtler]

The old tap-on-the-shoulder trick was a dirty move and as Wyl whirled around, dropping behind Dama s'Il a few paces, his face slipped into an expression of patient irritation; he was ten. You weren't supposed to try and fool double-digiters with stuff like that.

Any comeback that had been planned promptly died on the boy's lips as he took in the wizened little creature from which the teasing voice had come. Wyl's eyebrows climbed up to his hairline.

"I didn't mean that I can't see nobo...anyone," he finally replied in a cautious tone. "Just that the ones I'm looking for aren't here."

The words had no sooner finished settling in the air when there was a whirl of motion accompanied by a startled noise as someone nearly sidelined into him, managing at the last second to avoid taking them all out by a spectacular sort of twisting maneouver. Wyl jerked back instinctively, an apology at the ready, only to do a double take when the unlucky pedestrian recognized him.

"Morgan!" Wyl shouted, abandoning his blue milk to the grated flooring as he leapt forward to tackle the man in a desperate grip. "Dama s'Il, look! He's okay! Morgan, you're okay!"

[Hobgoblin]

The momentary distraction gave Hob the opportunity to make himself scarce. He didn't go too far though - as the extremely tall human dodged members of the lunch crowd, 'Little Green' slid between a nearby chair and another pair of legs. The position made it seem for all the world as though he'd said nothing at all to Wyl and was part of someone else's conversation.

Fading into the background could be said to be one of his specialties, much to his apprentice Harlequin's annoyance. 'Why don't you disappear when I don't need you?' she'd asked once. Hob just smiled at the thought.

[Daria Nytherciria]

No matter the hour of the day, the Challenger's mess hall was always a busy place. Far from lamenting her trips aboard the Rebellion's flagship vessel – trips which often were extended sessions of negotiations, trying to reach a compromise between Alliance and Jedi goals - Daria lingered perhaps a little longer than necessary in areas like the mess hall, where there was an abundance of life.

A few familiar crewmen greeted her as she passed amongst them, grey robe fluttering at her heels. She didn't often wear what she considered her full Jedi attire – robes, tunic and all – but the image of a Jedi moving freely amongst them seemed to resonate well within the crew.

Even when surrounded by so many living beings, Daria's eyes were drawn to one small cluster in particular. Master s'Ilancy's aura stood out so prominently that she was practically impossible to overlook, though it was the Jedi Master's companion's who caused Daria to quicken her step.

[Morgan Evanar]

Morgan grabbed the much smaller Wyl from his mid-air tackle and held him eye level.

"I'm almost always ok." He said with a grin. Morgan set Wyl back down, and the boy proceeded to hug Morgan's midsection.

"It's good to see you too." Morgan added, and mussed Wyl's hair.

"What happened to you and Rhianna?" Wyl asked, desperate for information. Morgan paused while he put together a civil explanation.

"We foiled a robbery and were chased off-planet by a gang." Morgan explained. "She decided to go home after that."

[Wyl Staedtler]

"Seriously? No jokes? That's so cool!" Wyl's crooked smile widened in awestruck delight as he imagined the epic caper. It was a sad discovery to find Rhianna missing but the life of an outlaw (a glamorized-but-honest slant on their existence that he'd adopted early on) always necessitated unexpected changes to the grand plan. At least she was alright and Morgan was, too. It had been his greatest fear that the opposite would prove true.

Wyl hovered close to Morgan unwilling to break contact as though his tall friend would vanish if he stepped away. The boy waved a palm at Dama s'Il, gesturing her to come closer.

"Morgan, this is Dama s'Il. She's Tak's mother - remember Tak? You met her on Cloud City, she was... you know," in a valiant attempt at discretion, Wyl cupped his hands behind his head in mimicry of Tak's fluffy ears when she'd Changed. "I've been stayin' with her and the General. That's Tak's dad and he--"

Whatever had been about to be said regarding his father-in-law was gorgotten. Wyl's eyes locked onto the beloved figure threading her way through the mess hall and then he was off, calling frantically over his shoulder, "Don't go anywhere, I'll be right back!"

The boy's feet carried him swiftly through the crowded room in a dizzying path toward his teacher. "Master Daria!"

[Daria Nytherciria]

Daria caught Wyl as he collided against her in a hug that might well have toppled the Jedi Knight had she not been prepared. She cradled the back of his head with one hand, smiling as she realised how much her young apprentice had grown even in their short time apart.

“Wyl... I knew the Force would bring you back to me. Where have you been, all this time?”

[Wyl Staedtler]

At first the boy couldn't answer, heart pounding against his narrow chest as he gripped Daria in a vice hold and buried his face in the folds of her robe. His relationship with his master, forged from broken ends and uncertain starts, was a dear thing to a child who had learned very early on that such things could become fleeting at a moment's turn.

When he trusted his voice, Wyl tilted his head back to look up at the sightless Jedi, eyes bright. "With Tak's parents, ever since we got separated on Bespin."

He wondered at explaining that they were now his in-laws, thumb absently toying with the red plastisheen ring from Fang that circled his left forefinger. That was probably an announcement that ought to wait for a more private catch up, though, wasn't it?

"Dama s'Il is over there," the boy said, pointing at s'Il though he knew that Daria no doubt was well aware; conventionally blind or not, his master saw everything.

[Daria Nytherciria]

“Ah,” Daria allowed a small smile as she looked across the hall towards Master s'Ilancy. Though she could not read the nuances of human expression, her senses told her that Loklorien wore an expression similar to her own. Far too often, the Jedi seemed to meet to discuss grave circumstances but these rare moments of hope did so much to buoy their spirits – and, by extension, the morale of the Wheel at large. There was no biological connection between Wyl and Daria, but to the on-lookers in the mess hall, it certainly would have appeared otherwise.

“I hope Master s'Ilancy has been ensuring that you kept to your daily meditation routine whilst we were apart,” she went on, the faintest hint of a teasing edge to her voice.

[Wyl Staedtler]

Though it was a subtle tell, it was one that Daria no doubt caught; the tips of Wyl's ears coloured faintly and the boy offered her an earnest, winning smile.

"I learned a lot," he hedged. His passionate dislike of meditating was hardly a well-kept secret; Wyl was an animated, exuberant child and trying to quiet his mind was like trying to catch the wind in a water jug. He was of the opinion that the whole notion ought to be done away with.

No doubt he could meditate on that, later.

Wyl slipped faithfully to Daria's side as they approached the rest of the party, unable to keep the happiness from his voice. "M'glad you're safe. I've missed all your lectures."

The boy's eyes sparkled and he corrected himself, "I mean, our lessons."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

With a knowing smirk, s'Il met the pair half-way. The only other time she'd seen Wyl this exhuberant was when he and Tak were together, and it wasn't difficult to sense both the joy and relief coming from the boy. It was a palpable thing that she could almost smell, even.

"I've made sure to keep him busy with other, more standard exercises," she explained, sllowing to a stop before them, and with a respectful, slight bow to Daria, the Lupine went on.

"... Mathematics, history, languages, writing, and others of the same nature."

Which was true; she and Dan had made sure that Wyl and Teagan both had the beginnings of a more standard education.

A gentle hand was placed on Wyl's shoulder as her eye went to meet her fellow Jedi's gaze.

"I've not allowed him to become derelict, but I've found that a Padawan always finds his or her master - it is only a matter of time."