bakerstreet | winter is a lingering season

[ Hetter Yuk, sparsely populated and scarcely known, is an Outer Rim planet known for its unpredictable weather and not much else. Its overall temperature runs cooler than most, and while parts of it are too dry for snow, in the equatorial regions, the summer months can bring hundreds of feet of thin-packed flakes, some the size of a human child's fist.

Obi-Wan and Anakin are two days into exile, trapped in by a particularly nasty snowstorm that rages just beyond their chilly cave hideout. They have their supplies, their rations, even some blankets, but it never quite seems to be enough, does it? Enough warmth, enough food, enough options...

Eyeing the fire critically, the Jedi Master runs numbers in his head over and over again. The amount of fuel they'd managed to carry with them will last at least the night, but come morning he doesn't expect they'll have any choice but for someone to fight the storm and... appropriate supplies from the enemy camp they're only meant to watch.

If he gets a say he knows who he'll choose to make the journey (and he certainly will because he hasn't revealed his plan at all.)

He lowers the temperature on their heat source a few degrees and swallows thickly. It's feels risky to allow the temperature to drop so low, especially since Anakin is considerably more susceptible to the cold, but if it buys him some time to get to the fuel and back, he thinks it's a worthwhile risk.

When he looks to Skywalker, he observes for just a moment, silent in his thoughtfulness, and then closes the distance and places a hand on the other man's cheek. His own hand is warm, and a stark contrast to Anakin's cold skin. ]

You look pale to me. How do you feel?

[There is a factor to his position a Jedi where Anakin is perfectly enamored with every new planet they're sent to. The exploration facet of the position--while he's not supposed to be so in love with the excitement--does not often dim, even in the face of mission troubles.

A few exceptions come to mind. This planet is one of them. He can handle the cold in intermittent occasions, but after being snowed in outside for a few days now, he's not just on edge. His teeth chatter behind a firm frown, and his jaw clenches as he turns slowly into that blessed, painful warmth.

He doesn't want to worry Obi-Wan with how, frankly, awful he feels. This shouldn't have happened like this. He should have watched the weather more closely, conserved their fuel...something. If they could steal it from the nearby camp, they could easily make it through this until the storm let up, but it's difficult to focus on anything but the immediate harsh sting of cold in his joints.]

Like I'll never be warm again. How do you think?

[ The rumble of Anakin's displeasure leaves Obi-Wan feeling all that more ill at ease, although he's grown enough by now to understand that his friend doesn't take any of this personally. Cold as they are, at least they've never quite been the type of want to rip out throats in arguably unfortunate situations like this.

He swipes a thumb across Skywalker's cheek and then severs that thin connection in favor of checking the time. It's nearly nighttime, and with the quick rotation of the planet, the sun is due to rise again in six standard hours.

Obi-Wan takes a seat next to Anakin, his arm sliding in behind the other man's elbow. He links their fingers, rests his other hand over top their joined fingers. ]

There aren't many places too warm for you. We'll go there next so you can see me suffer.

[ A poor attempt at humor, but at least an attempt. And in the meantime, Obi-Wan is tugging on the Force, coaxing at it for permission. He can draw warmth from elsewhere, can't he? If he tries hard enough, he doesn't see why the Force won't grant him that. And what he has, he shares. ]

[Were this near anyone else, he might have pulled away or at least not leaned so quickly into that embrace. Then again, is this were near anyone else, it wouldn't have come to this closeness in the first place.

For a moment, he bemoans that loss of Force connection until it becomes a tangible, real thing. He nearly sobs at that sudden brush of warmth and any thought of how appropriate this may or may not be is pushed aside. Completely unashamed, shoves his face into Obi-Wan's collar. The laughter that comes at Obi-Wan's attempt to lighten the mood might be slightly delirious, but it's better than being caught up in his own misery.]

Our luck, it'll be an ocean planet they send us to next. Never warm, never dry...

Kamino, possibly.

[ It's the first thing that comes to mind and it's followed by a frustrated grunt. The way that things always worked out meant that he spent most of his time there soaking wet and chilled to the bone. Unpleasant, at best.

He leans into the contact, too, knowing now that he's doing at least a little good. A bit more with the help of the heater. ]

No one ever seems interested in hiding their secrets on temperate planets with pleasant accommodations. If I were evil, that's where I'd go.

Ugh, don't mention Kamino.

[The idea of being caught in those sheets of rain is almost more unappealing than this bitter cold. The cold, at least, comes with better company than the strange, distant Kaminoans.

He pulls his knees up and keeps himself curled into Obi-Wan's side.]

Obi-Wan, if you were evil, we'd all be in trouble.

[ All it takes is a subtle adjustment, but it's not any stretch at all to fold himself halfway around his chilled companion. They've been through so much together, but at times like these, it's really a wonder either of them have survived for so long, and that's saying nothing of the thinner odds that they're both still alive after all this time. ]

Yes, well, I suppose that means you had better not argue with me when I suggest you should get some rest. Just in case.

[ But he's certainly not going to force Anakin to move when the only option they really have otherwise is cold rock and thin blankets. ]

[He scoffs into Obi-Wan's collar, then hums at the warmth.]

If that was the case, you'd be evil a thousand times over.

[Anakin winds his hands into Obi-Wan's robes, careful not to maintain too muck direct contact when his fingers barely have feeling. Maybe he's not as susceptible to the cold--though it's hard to imagine--but his friend has to be tired too.]

Anyway, I'm not the only one who needs rest.

Oh, I intend to rest. But not until you do.

[ And that's his prerogative, being the older and the wiser. But for now he's content enough giving his space and his time and his attention. Anakin deserves that much, and Obi-Wan doesn't really mind it so much himself. ]

And don't be stubborn about it, either. I know you didn't sleep well last night.

[If Anakin wanted to move, he'd give his former Master an intense glare at all of this. He knows how much of this is a similar stubbornness to the same he gives in turn, and he's not thrilled. But he's also not in a particular place to argue when he's exhausted and pulled to sleep through the first time he's felt significant warmth in days.

Do I ever sleep well? He thinks of asking, and instead just projects a very targeted sense of annoyance.]

Most people wouldn't. And I'm not the only one.

[But he doesn't move to argue or prove a point. And this is absolutely ignoring the yawn that follows.]

[ Even if Anakin is ignoring that yawn, the sense of it in the air is more than enough to get Obi-Wan started on his own. He yawns and tries to fight it just like his friend, but even sharing what little warmth there is between them, he finds the pull just the same. ]

No, you're right about that. But don't hold that against me.

[ He laughs lightly, his breath escaping in a soft puff. Honestly, he'll always be looking out for Anakin. He tugs a little at Skywalker. ]

At least lay your head down. Come on.

Edited 2017-01-21 04:16 (UTC)

And move? [He makes a negative noise that sounds not entirely unlike a wounded animal. He's comfortable where he is--about as comfortable as anyone could be under the circumstances when several layers of heavy robes, a nearby heater, and shared body heat does little to stop the encroaching cold. He feels a distinct shiver up his spine at the thought of giving any of that up.]

...Do we have to?

I think it would make things a bit easier.

[ All at once and for no real reason at all, he feels like they're young again, the both of them. Like they've got no real clue how they're supposed to move forward (even if he knows they're both far too old for that excuse).

He doesn't really give Anakin time to answer, though, more than willing to acquiesce considering their circumstances. ]

You'd rather stay like this? I don't mind if you do. It just doesn't seem terribly comfortable if you're going to try to sleep like that.

[ But, then again, they've slept in worse places in their time together. ]

[Nothing about this is comfortable. He thinks to counter with that, but he's warm, and that's as close to comfort as it gets. It would take more energy to argue than to stay.]

Better than stuck under a desk...or worse.

[They've had worse. He'd grown up with worse on occasion (though accommodations with Watto almost look like a boon compared to this, and that's a horrible thought). He groans a bit at it, off time with the actual conversation, and then winds his fingers more tightly into Obi-Wan's robes.]

I don't know how anyone is built for this.

[ Kenobi doesn't answer immediately, instead lingers there, adrift for a moment in a the blanketed nothingness of their surroundings. They're still well enough alone, at least, with no need to worry for much more than the weather, but still he finds himself unable to let go of his overall sense of concern. Giving off an unnatural heat that he wouldn't have to spare if he didn't have a connection Force, the Jedi Master tries again to soothe his friend. ]

People have certainly said as much about that scorching desert where we found you.

[ He makes room — enough room — for Skywalker to lay his head down in his lap, probably not for the first or last time in their lives. A shiver shakes him as his defenses waver slightly at the thought of the frigid landscape. ]

One can only wonder what we'd be getting ourselves into if we were there instead of here.

[Anakin finally starts to yawn and finally takes Obi-Wan's cue, as much as the shift only tends to highlight how bitterly cold this cave is. He chuckles with eyes closed, perhaps the only time he ever has with anything in relation to Tatooine.]

Sleeping would be easier. We'd probably be done with this by now. You know--when we get home, I'm burying myself in bed and not coming out for a week.

Edited 2017-01-29 06:20 (UTC)

You aren't counting on me stopping you, I hope.

[ But then again, Obi-Wan has come to feel that much more strongly about how much they push Skywalker, who is, by all rights, still so very young. He can always use the rest, particularly from such a cruel war.

He rests on hand on the crown of Anakin's head and the other cards through loose curls. ]

This storm won't last.

[ Obi-Wan thinks of how glad he'll be to leave this place, and also about how much he's come to dislike it just because of their current conditions. Even then, he could deal with the cold if he didn't have to see how it nearly cripples Skywalker. ]

And when we accomplish our mission, we'll be that much more pleased that we don't have to look back again.

Stopping me? You're coming with me.

[Which will not actually be accomplished the way he wishes it would. They're both terrible at taking care of themselves, however much either of them talk about how the other needs to do better. Anakin has always had a tendency to put others above himself in everything--even those acts he doesn't divulge to the council, Obi-Wan, or anyone else. He'll spend as much of whatever reprieve they get in the one place that still feels safe. He can't take Obi-Wan with him, not really. His friend wouldn't understand.

But he wishes he could. Curled into the two people that matter most, knowing that he'd have the ability to take both of their implicit senses of trust without the guilt of betrayal sounds beyond heavenly.

For now, with the cold gnawing at his tips and that ever-present guilt eating him from the inside, this will have to do. He lets out a quiet hum of contentment at the fingers in his hair.]

Why do the Seps have such awful taste in planets? If we wouldn't miss it--

[The rest of that thought is dismissed with another grand yawn, and he curls inward just a little closer.]

winter is a lingering season

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