Fandom High Welcome Picnic, Front Lawn of the School, Saturday, All Day

[bigdamnprincipal]

In spite of the icon Wintertime had officially reached Fandom, and the chill in the air meant it was time for a combination picnic and bonfire! There might not be shirtless greetings today (or maybe there would be, such a diverse population was bound to have different freezing points), but there was plenty of warm food and drinks for everyone to indulge in as they welcomed the newest residents and celebrated the start of a new semester!

[Flying OCD-free since it's been working well. Have at it!]

Comments

[suitably_heroic]

"Somewhere in her early twenties, now," Atton said. "Not a Padawan anymore."

He took another bite.

[unusual_sith]

Lana frowned. "So you're not 'abandoning' a child in a more or less supportive and safe environment. She's a fully grown woman who could be setting out on her own anyway. And she's surrounded - or at least accompanied by - other Jedi."

Did she have this story straight?

[suitably_heroic]

"But she never let go of that grudge against me," Atton said. "And I know for a long time she was hoping I'd do something to change her mind."

He reached for his coffee.

"I just wasn't in a place to give her that. Not after my friend left," he said. "I do feel guilty, but I don't ultimately think it was my responsibility to be that guy."

It was a complicated bunch of feelings.

[unusual_sith]

Lana hummed in thought. "Whether she hoped for something different from you, you certainly didn't owe it to her. What's more, I think the Jedi would agree with me on this. Are they not as into emotional detachment in your time? Did nobody try to give her a more even perspective, or was she having none of it?"

[suitably_heroic]

"We're not the Jedi Order that came before us," Atton said. And added, wryly: "And after us."

Sip.

"We're just a bunch of people with Force powers trying to figure out how to make this work."

[unusual_sith]

"My good luck and condolences," Lana said, equally wry. "So she blamed you for her master's death, nobody could talk her out of it, she finally snapped, and now she's making trouble for you?"

[suitably_heroic]

"Yep, that's about it," Atton said. He eyed his coffee. "And because she's mad at me in particular, Mical wants me to be involved."

[unusual_sith]

"I can't say it's a bad strategy," Lana allowed. "If nothing else, she's likely to focus on you to the exclusion of all else, which would give the others a way to trip her up. How powerful and intelligent is she?"

[suitably_heroic]

"She's still a kid in a lot of ways," Atton said. "I used to spar with her, back when I still saw the point of making an effort. She has potential, and if she falls to the Dark Side, she can probably punch harder, but still..."

[unusual_sith]

"But if you can work as a group, taking her down shouldn't be too difficult, particularly if she's distracted by her hatred of you," Lana said. "What are their plans - do they want to capture her or kill her? And what are your plans?"

[suitably_heroic]

"Mira would probably Force Ghost right back down to the planet to yell at me if I tried to kill her Padawan," Atton said. He sipped his coffee.

[unusual_sith]

"So capture her, then." Lana eyed him as she sipped her coffee. "Do you think your Jedi can help her after that, if they haven't been able to yet?"

[suitably_heroic]

Atton rubbed his forehead.

"I should probably tell Mical to get an actual therapist on staff," he said. "He might actually be open to it after, well. Me."

[unusual_sith]

There was one on the island he could always hire.

"Hopefully," Lana said. She fidgeted with her burger for a moment, then sighed. "If not, maybe she'd be better off somewhere you aren't. Somewhere that could build on her Jedi experience but also teach her to channel her anger. What use are portals if we don't take advantage of them?"

Look, the Alliance had been good for a lot of people. And maybe the Commander's do-gooding was rubbing off on her. She certainly wasn't the altruistic type.

[suitably_heroic]

Atton would rather throw himself off a cliff.

"Huh," Atton said, thoughtfully, and picked up his burger. "You know what? That's also not a bad option. Thanks."

[unusual_sith]

Lana nodded in acknowledgement and picked up her own. "So, what sorts of music do you see us going over?"

[suitably_heroic]

"I figure we'll start off slow and just see what everyone else is into," Atton said. He shrugged lightly. "After that, maybe take the chronological path? This universe and ours."

[unusual_sith]

"That sounds like an excuse to play your favorite music before mine," Lana teased. "Unless you can dig up some ancient pre-schism tunes."

[suitably_heroic]

Atton snorted. "Please," he said. "I'll have to make it through centuries of folk and classical on the Earth side, not to mention bebop and showtunes, before we get anywhere good."

[unusual_sith]

"What's bebop?" Lana asked. "I haven't heard of that one."

[suitably_heroic]

Atton waved vaguely. "We'll get to it," he said. "Anything on your list from home you really want to get to?"

[unusual_sith]

Lana thought about it and shrugged. "Not particularly. I mean, I enjoy a few things, but I can't say I'm dying to introduce anyone else to them since we don't have examples of Sith opera. I'm mostly curious to learn more about Earth music."

[suitably_heroic]

"Then kicking it off with classical it is," Atton said. He took a bite. "And poking the students into picking up an instrument."

[unusual_sith]

"Does that mean I have to, too?" Lana asked. "If so, I pick drums. They seem cathartic."

[suitably_heroic]

Atton chuckled. It was surprisingly unsarcastic, for his standards. "Yeah," he said. "You have to."