[D4LA] Checking damages [Friends apartments]

[Mianerra Tavvos]

"Yeah. My family grew crops back on Chandrila. Most of it was automated, but some required sentient touch, finesse. And my dad didn't really trust droids, nor did his dad.

"It was nice and quiet on our world, even through the Clone Wars. Then, well, you know what happened. My point is, it was a simple life and I never wanted more."

[Petrus Karath]

Petrus secured the second hinge in place. "Help me lift up the door?" He gestured to Mia.

"So..." He chewed his lip a moment. "Why'd you decide to do it, then?"

[Mianerra Tavvos]

"Yeah, I got it." Mia lifted it up and then peered at Petrus. "What, I really never told you?"

She figured she must have been trying to protect him from the truth.

"Nowhere is safe, honestly. And you see it up close and you can't just leave, I guess."

[Petrus Karath]

Petrus nodded, but he didn't say anything. For a time, the only sound was the hydrodriver, as he secured the door back into place. He pushed it, letting it swing a few times. "Well, that should hold until the next time you really need to get into my apartment." He chuckled.

He turned back to Mia. "So... you just gotta do something? Is that it?"

[Mianerra Tavvos]

"And keep out thieves and other dangers. Well, unless they use bombs or," Mia said, pausing to hold out her hand. She did a slow cut, like with a knife, but added on hissing sounds.

Afterwards, she gave a small chuckle, not as lively as her usual ones.

"Yeah. It just wouldn't be right for me to just sit around while people get killed."

[Petrus Karath]

Petrus nodded slowly. "Yeah. That's pretty much how I feel about it. Now, anyway. For a while, I couldn't do anyway..." He sighed.

After a few moments, he shook it off. "Hey... you wanna head inside? Door works now. We could hang out?"

[Mianerra Tavvos]

"Sure," Mia said with a small smile. She walked on inside and shoved her hands in her pockets. She glanced around and sighed. "Feels like I've been 'hanging out' for too long."

[Petrus Karath]

"Get you something?" Petrus asked, as he walked to the part of the apartment with the kitchen unit.

He frowned back at her. "Really? You feel like that? Huh." He frowned thoughtfully. "That's how I felt about myself. And you do more than me..." Petrus smiled. "Maybe everyone feels like that."

[Mianerra Tavvos]

"I already helped myself to water," Mia murmured.

She then looked towards the window, and through it, the giant ship in the sky. "If I had done something, maybe we wouldn't still have this giant ship up there. Or maybe it's all pointless after all."

Mia sighed. "Nevermind. You don't need to hear all this. Let's talk about, I dunno, Warrior's Heart."

[Petrus Karath]

Petrus just grinned. "Alright."

He spread his hands. "I mean, whatever you wanna talk about, I'm game. There's lots of stuff I don't really wanna talk about either. I can tell you that I don't think it's pointless anymore. I used to."

He shrugged. "On the other hand, if you wanna talk about how many Mega-Rancors the spirit of the First Mandalore could take in a fight, that's up to you." He frowned a moment, considering. "I think he could take the full twenty, but hey, that's just one man's opinion."

[Mianerra Tavvos]

"Wouldn't a spirit be unable to be harmed by the Mega-Rancors?" Mia asked, honestly unsure about the lore of the show. It seemed like the director had a great idea at the start but didn't have enough people giving him honest feedback to keep things from getting convoluted.

Mia took seat on the couch and sighed

"Dove is better at hiding how she feels. It's too easy to see how I feel."

[Petrus Karath]

"Good point." Petrus said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "I mean, the only reason Dacen could hurt him is because he had the Warrior's Heart. Of course Jaina actually got the final blow on him. There's a few theories going around about why that is. Some people think it's because she's Force sensitive, but I think it's because of the magic baby."

He cleared his throat as he flopped onto one of the chairs.

"Yeah..." Petrus brushed a hand through his hair. "I mean, Dove's Dove." He was silent a few moments, pursing his lips. "I'm actually pretty good at it myself. It was part of being in the Order. We were sorta encouraged not to feel a lot of things, and fake it until you make it, right?"

He looked at Mia. "But I can't look at you and see what you feel. Guess you'd better tell me."

[Mianerra Tavvos]

"What?" Mia asked. She was barely able to keep up with actual mysticism, let alone all this stuff. "So you think her being pregnant with a magic child gave her magic powers? What happens when she isn't pregnant then?"

Mia bit her lip and then closed her eyes.

"Look, kid... Petrus, I never wanted you to have to worry 'bout anything, especially not me."

[Petrus Karath]

"Well, she's still Force Sensitive." Petrus said. "But remember, Jaina was poisoned, and the only way she lived was by drinking the fresh Mega-Raptor blood. So the baby's both Force sensitive and, uh, whatever you get from that. That's how she was able to absorb the First Mandalore's essence into her unborn child." Petrus nodded as though this all made perfect sense.

But enough about that. Petrus took a deep breath. "I tried not to worry about much, for a while. You and Dove and Jenna helped with that. I didn't even really have to worry about money. Or cleaning the apartment."

He chewed his lip a few moments. "I think maybe that helped. Gave me time to heal. But..." He spread his hands. "I gotta be ready for the galaxy again sometime, right?"

[Mianerra Tavvos]

"You'd think the Empire would be upset with all the Force stuff by now. Or maybe it's a big joke for them now."

Mia dipped her head. "I never wanted you to have to. I wanted you to get to relax, live the life I wanted but never got to have." She looked up at him. "I don't know when this ends, you know? I don't want you to live the rest of your life having to... Fight."

[Petrus Karath]

Petrus grimaced. "They toned it down a lot. Don't really mention the Force. Just... mystical powers, and mix it in with all the fake stuff. It's like they're trying to pretend it doesn't exist."

"I don't know when it ends either." Petrus said, shaking his head. "But Mia... you know who I am. What I am. It took a while... I was afraid..." Was? Petrus swallowed. "But I couldn't stand by and let innocent people get hurt either."

[Mianerra Tavvos]

"Of course you were afraid. We can see constant reasons for you to be afraid." Mia's hands clenched inside her pockets. "I don't see why it has to be so hard for me to look after you!"

Mia blinked and then bit down on her lip. She paused for a few seconds, unmoving, before turning away from Petrus.

[Petrus Karath]

"Yeah, but..." Petrus blinked as things moved almost more quickly than he could follow. His eyes widened as Mia turned away suddenly.

"Hey." He began. Swallowed, trying to find the right words. "Mia..." Petrus stepped forward, putting his hand on her shoulder. "I... guess I didn't realize when you called me 'kid', and talked about you two being my moms... that was less of a joke than I thought, huh?" His voice was gentle.

[Mianerra Tavvos]

"I dunno. I got no idea what being a mom is like," Mia said, voice level. She didn't slink away but she didn't go into the physical touch either.

Mia sighed.

"I keep seeing that scared kid we brought over to this planet instead of the guy you are now. Things change, I know they do, but I haven't caught up yet."

[Petrus Karath]

"I know." Petrus let the hand linger a little while longer. He gave her shoulder a squeeze, and then let it fall away.

He chuckled. "You know, it actually kinda got to me sometimes? I mean, you're younger than me. I was in a war. Not, like, all the time, but enough. Anyway... point is, yeah, I remember sometimes getting annoyed at being called a kid. Not sure whether you or Dove bugged me more with it." His lips quirked.

"But..." Petrus shrugged. "I dunno. I think it made sense, really. And now I don't mind it so much anymore." Well, maybe a little. It probably depended on his mood.

[Mianerra Tavvos]

"I think Dove started the mom thing. And much as I actually thought of you as a brother, I didn't want that to mean I was one of her daughters." Mia shrugged. "I'm used to looking out for my younger sis. She's just a kid, really, and then I get to calling everyone I look after a kid."

[Petrus Karath]

"That... huh." Petrus scratched his head. "Well, I don't think she thought of you as her daughter. More like a fellow mom." He looked at her curiously, trying to unpack everything. He couldn't quite figure it out.

"Yeah?" He crossed his arms causally, a relaxed posture. "Tell me about your younger sis."

[Mianerra Tavvos]

"No, I know. I just don't want her to think of me as a kid, I don't want her to have to take care of me when she should focus on everyone else."

Mia finally turned around, though she was visibly annoyed at the memories of her sister. "Yeah, her. I haven't seen her in years. She ran off to join some other resistance. Always was a rebel, though. I don't how much of it was cause she cared or if it was cause she wanted an excuse."

[Petrus Karath]

Petrus shook his head. "She doesn't. I'm sure." Although... Petrus knew Dove had kept secrets from him for his own good. Was she doing the same for Mia? There wasn't an easy way to ask.

He frowned at the expression on her face. "It seems like you're not happy about that." He chewed on his lip a few moments. "Is that because now you can't protect her anymore?"

[Mianerra Tavvos]

"That's a relief. We need to work well as a team."

Mia nodded. "I miss her, even if she was the most stressful part of my life. It was nearly all of it back then, really."