moreofaponchoguy | Midnight Manor Boarding House, Kitchen, Saturday Morning

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what: field of dreams

Midnight Manor Boarding House, Kitchen, Saturday Morning

If you had asked Cal how he thought he'd be spending his weekend, making breakfast for his dead Jedi Master wouldn't have been anywhere on the list. But, here he was, and here Jaro was, and here the awkward silence of so many unspoken things he'd never gotten to say was.

These were going to have to be some very magical pancakes to get them both through the morning.

[Open!]

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Jaro wasn't a man of many words on the best day, but he was also stuck on where to start with all the things he wanted to express to Cal now that he was here.

"This is an interesting home you've ended up in," seemed like a neutral way to start. The chair that had simply appeared from nowhere to fit his seven-foot frame was a surprise, but he couldn't complain. "Am I correct in seeing some of your handiwork in the upgrades?"

"Yeah, I set up the speakers that are outside," Cal said proudly. "Everyone does their part in keeping the place together. That's kind of the vibe of the whole island, actually."

"The island you arrived at through a portal you decided to touch without thinking," Jaro replied.

Oh boy, it was definitely the heat of the pan making Cal's face red, not anything else. "You know thinking before acting has never been my strong suit, Master," Cal said. "And it worked out all right."

Jaro let out a small sigh before nodding. "Yes, it does seem to have been the right decision in the end," he said. "Your consideration might be fleeting, but your instincts were always strong. It's good to see some things have not changed."

"Hey, Cal, did you hear that this weekend--" Arden stopped in her tracks, taking in Cal, who she'd expected, and Cal's guest, who she hadn't. But, honestly, there was only one person this alien stranger could be. "Master Tapal?" she squeaked.

"Ah, my reputation precedes me," Jaro said, laughing quietly. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss..." He trailed off, glancing at Cal to see if he was going to be polite and provide an introduction.

"This is Arden Finch. She also lives here, so I've ended up telling her a lot about you," he said, looking to Arden with a smile. "I don't remember this whole thing coming up in any of my lessons on island weirdness."

She lives here, so I've ended up telling her a lot about you.

Arden managed to keep herself from wincing at that explanation. It made sense, of course. She wasn't supposed to be...what she was to Cal. Cere had been okay with it, but then, Cere had lived through everything, knew that things hadn't changed. But unless Master Tapal had been hanging around as a ghost or watching Cal through Afterlife Cable or whatever, he wouldn't understand.

So...yeah. A person who lived here. She could do that.

"Trust me," she said. "I would have said something if I'd known it could happen." She gave Master Tapal a smile that maybe struggled a little around the edges, but she thought was pretty decent otherwise. "Please, sir, just Arden is fine. It's an honor to meet you. And since he probably won't tell you himself, I'll say that he's grown into a good man and he attributes a lot of that to your training and teachings."

Cal didn't need to see a wince to know the feeling was there. He hated talking like Arden was just a neighbor and not one of the most important people in his life. It felt like he was treating her wrong, and the twist in his stomach helped him know it was wrong.

"Arden is way too nice. I think I've done all right, but her opinion is also kind of biased, because she's my girlfriend."

Look, his failure as a child soldier caused his Master to get killed, so it wasn't like he could be more disappointed, right?

Cal took Arden's hand and gave it a squeeze, partly in apology and partly to keep the "oh no what have I done" feelings from overwhelming him.

Among the many things there hadn't been time for in his own training, how to deal with your padawan's inevitable development of romantic feelings for someone was certainly somewhere on the list. But, he knew Cal well enough to know that silence might be taken for disapproval instead of surprise.

"I'm not quite sure what to say," he admitted. "You were always so shy that I wasn't sure if this was a conversation we would ever have."

Was that a hint of a smile? It was fine, no one would ever believe Cal if he said it happened.

It's fine, Arden could stand in shocked silence enough for both of them--which didn't get any less shocked when Master Tapal didn't immediately get upset about it.

"I..." She had to swallow and try that again. "Should I go? I mean, if you two need to have a private talk about this or something..." You know, this was so not a situation or a conversation that she'd expected to have when she'd gotten up this morning. She took a deep breath, squeezed his hand back, and added, "Though - and I mean this very respectfully - if you're just going to be mad at him or whatever, I'd like to stay. I know what the Code says about entanglements, and even though I'm not a Jedi, I'm just as much responsible for this as he is, so it'd only be fair to share in whatever consequences he faces, too."

"There will be no consequences Miss--Arden," he said, and now the smile was truly genuine. "I did not come here to provide any judgement. My time with my padawan was far too short, and I wanted only to see the kind of person he has become." And deal with any lingering trauma, but that was definitely more of a conversation for just the two of them. "It seems like I can trust your word that he's been an honorable man?"

Arden relaxed, and this time when she squeezed Cal's hand, it was for happiness, not comfort.

"One of the best I know," she said. "I mean, I won't lie to you and say he's perfect--" even if she maybe kinda thought he was, at least a little bit "--but he...listens. He learns. He tries. Umm, there was this famous guy on Earth who once said, 'Look for the helpers.' And if you do, you're gonna spot Cal right there in their ranks, doing whatever he can to help. To make things better. To protect and take care of people, even perfect strangers. And one of the reasons I know of you, sir, is because he still considers what you might do or say in a situation. You didn't have each other long enough, no, but your words and your wisdom imprinted themselves really deep in his heart anyway."

Poor Cal was probably as red as his hair right now, but that was fine. Arden knew better than to think he'd ever talk about himself this highly to his Master, even though it was deserved.

Yeah, Cal was torn between unspeakable relief that Master Tapal wasn't mad at him, and wanting the floor to swallow him while Arden said such nice things about him. "Things have been a lot different than you ever could have prepared me for, but Arden's right - I've been trying to be the sort of person you'd be proud of. I promise, I haven't forgotten about the Order or your teachings, but I've had to adapt and change and... I don't know, I think loving someone goes along with being the sort of person you were teaching me to be."

"Love" wasn't the word he expected to hear, but now that he was really looking at the two of them, it was a wonder he hadn't caught the energy between them as soon as Arden had arrived.

"You don't need to justify anything. Things are certainly not how I planned them to be, and the world I was trying to prepare you for no longer exists," Jaro said. "If you are helping and protecting others, and persevering through your mistakes, there is little more I can ask of you."

With that, his gaze turned to Arden. "As for you, I hope your intentions for my padawan are as pleasant as your words for him, yes?"

"Intentions?" Arden ~~squeaked~~ asked in a completely normal voice.

Wait, wait. He was an alien. He probably meant, like, intentions-intentions. You know, like if she was planning on stealing all his money (that, okay, he didn't have) or gonna betray him to the Sith or whatever. Surely he wasn't asking if she was planning to make an honest man out of him! Surely.

"I want only the best for Cal," she said. "The actual best, not just the easiest or even maybe the happiest in the short-term, but the best. A life that lets him grow and change and be the man that makes himself proud, not just other people."

As much as he was enjoying watching these children squirm, Jaro really had intended for his visit to make things easier on Cal. "Your earnestness is endearing. I can see why Cal has grown fond of you," he said. "But you should know that the life of a Jedi isn't easy. It was never simple and peaceful, and now our galaxy is in even more unrest. This island seems like a pleasant safe haven, but if you truly know Cal, you know he will not hide from danger forever."

Cal straightened up a little; it was amazing how easily the feeling of wanting to follow his Master's words came back to him. "I know, Master. This place isn't always safe either, but I haven't been hiding from my duties, not anymore." He gave Arden a warm smile. "Arden's pretty strong herself. If I run into danger, she's probably going to be right behind me whether I want her to be or not. She doesn't take hearing 'no, stay here' very well."

"I wouldn't want him to," Arden said with a shrug. "I mean, sure, if he did, that would be the easiest thing and make him happiest in the short term, but it wouldn't be what makes him proud of himself. And he won't do it alone, that's for sure." She looked at Cal, adoration in her eyes, but also mixed with, well, apology. Because she knew very well that Cal wasn't going to like what she said next.

But it was important.

"My only fear is that he'll walk into something that he knows he won't walk back out of just because he's afraid of failing anybody else the way he feels he failed you. Sir."

She had to believe that Master Tapal was here to tell him he was wrong. She had to.

"Sorry, Cal."

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Midnight Manor Boarding House, Kitchen, Saturday Morning

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