gunah | (no subject)

[ Shuyi shouldn't be back on her feet just yet, but Medical was getting full of others needing the exact same help and she thinks she was recovering much faster than they were. Besides, how dreadful would it be to have Luke show the universe in the palm of his hands while surrounded by recruits suffering from multiple organ failures?

She takes some time to reach the door, hands on the walls for support, but when the door opens, she's ready with a blinding smile despite the paleness of her skin and the tiredness in her eyes. ]

Where is it?

[Luke's expression, in return, is more one of open worry. He resists the urge to reach out and offer her support. She clearly wants to seem strong and untouchable through this, and he'll do his best to accommodate that, though it chafes at his inner urge to help.]

Where's what?

[ Untouchable, yes. She wants never again to be weak enough to ensnare and to be used. Even being here, working for the CDC, is something she chose of her own free will (right?). She tips her head to one side and surreptitiously swallows back a sharp and bitter bile that occasionally finds their way to her throat. ]

The universe, you said.

[ No, she's not letting him in until he shows her the goods. ]

[The answer catches Luke by surprise, pulls a smile out of an otherwise grim expression. Even in the worst of times, Luke is easy to cheer. He bounces back quickly, and the company of a clever friend speeds that process.]

[He takes a step back, and holds out his hand, outstretched as though cradling an invisible orb. On the ground at his feet, a little flower, nothing more than a pretty weed, is picked from the ground as if by an invisible hand. It floats through the air, until it lands in Luke's palm.]

There. That's the universe.

[ That makes two of them, even if it takes a little bit more effort to bounce back each time. Each time, it grows harder.

Shuyi watches the display with furrowed brows but a chuckle threatening to spill from her lips as the wildflower floats through empty air as if on an invisible string, landing on his palm like a magic trick. It's charming, somehow, that he chose such an unassuming weed to demonstrate his power on. ]

Was that how you saved me from the stampede?

[Luke has a natural urge toward flashy displays and impressing people, yes, but he's given to understand that the Jedi should be better than someone who shows off at every opportunity. He's been asked for proof a few times since he got here; each time, he's tried to keep it simple, small, fragile. The Force is the living universe; it shouldn't be abused.]

Yes. I'm not so good at moving things as big as people yet. But it's more than moving things, it's... [Luke gestures vaguely.] I'll try to explain inside, if you want. [If distracting her with conversation is something he can do to help, he'll happily do it. Especially if it means she might forget to ask him to sing.]

[ Shuyi won't forget to ask him to sing, she's only biding her time. But he has shown her the very fabric of the universe being tampered with, the invisible strings that hold everything together, so he deserves to come in. With an amused smile that's only tired around the edges, she reaches for his wrist so she can lead him inside. Nevermind that he doesn't need it probably. It's she who does. ]

When you saved me, it was not only intangible hands guiding me to safety but something more, wasn't it?

[ Like a little voice inside her head.

Inside the rover is quiet and dark, the lights turned off in the common area, but her little corner is bright albeit spartan. The only possession she has laid out are small metal bells beside her pillow. She climbs to the bed to sit crosslegged, patting the space beside her for Luke. ]

[So Luke lets himself be guided gently inside. This is what he likes best about Shuyi, he decides. She's always so gentle, even with the way she speaks and moves. He doesn't think it's an innocence to protect-- it's a sign of good character, instead. Happiness is a virtue, not virtue's reward.]

Sort of. I guess it's, uh- [A smile flickers onto his features-] a matter of perspective. What do you think it was?

[ Happiness that comes out of choice rather than naivete is worth far more, she thinks, which is why when presented with the opportunity to bask in the deluge of sympathy rushing her way by mulling in her suffering, she would rather not. Because that means choosing to be unhappy. The alternative just isn't worth it.

Shuyi turns over her shoulder with a laugh when he asks her. ]

A trick question. Are there any wrong answers?

[Shuyi is just so smart sometimes it blows Luke out of the water. He thinks she'd make an excellent Jedi.] You got it! That one took me the longest time to understand. But the Force isn't like science, it's not assured. There are dangerous ways to use it, but as long as it works, it isn't wrong. Or- no, it isn't incorrect.

[Because he's seen the things the dark side can do, and that's definitely wrong.]

[ She's Yoda in a human suit, please.

Shuyi climbs onto her bunk and sits crosslegged, hands resting on the balls of her feet, but she makes no move to invite him. Not that she would push him off the bed if he tries. Maybe. Even so, his answer turns her thoughtful. The force, he says, but the force of what exactly? ]

One cannot blame the knife for a murder, as they say. Is that what you mean?

[She doesn't make Luke nearly as nervous or upset as Yoda, though, so that's a plus?]

[Rather than join her on her bunk (unthinkable!) he leans against the nearest crate or wall or whatever, and folds his arms across his chest. It's the posture of someone trying to seem at ease, but Luke's expression of curiosity and contemplation make it look more like he's a fidgety mess.] Sort of. I mean, if that's how you see it, it's true.

I don't really... I don't really think of the Force as a separate thing. It's a part of everything, so I thought of how there were parts of the flower that wanted to be in my hand, and tried to convince the rest. Some people try to command it. My old master believed it was about letting it flow through you, almost until you became a part of it.

[ Wait for it.

She smiles a tad wider when he opts to hang about at a proper distance. How gentlemanly. Forgiving as she is, Shuyi thinks he is simply excitable rather than fidgety. A slight difference, for what it's worth it. She thinks on his words a moment, trying to reconcile it with how he made the flower float to his palm and his dislike, it seems, against commanding it. Wordplay and set logic were never her forte, so instead she raises up a palm, allowing the surface to let out a blue glow in the shape of an O. ]

With this I can break the bonds that hold the universe in such innumerable forms. [ She closes her palm. ] But I see that you have found a way to appeal to it in a less violent manner.

[Luke's mien lights into an expression of absolute wonder.] Oh- wow! How did you do that? [He's completely forgotten the theory in favor of the practice, and he's utterly awed by what she just laid out for him. Bending forward, hands on his knees, he gapes for a closer look.]

[ With her other hand, though no less dangerous when it comes to it, she gestures for him to come no closer. This is white heat and severed molecular bonds traveling faster than the matter surrounding it, though she would be unable to put it into such exact definitions. What she knows is heat and light, fire and destruction. Her power can't create. ]

Practice. [ She lowers her gaze, teasing. ] I have the stuff from which stars are made of in my veins, don't you know?

[So Luke comes closer, eyes still wide open with palpable curiosity.] I know, I know. [Well, he's familiar with the scientific principal. He's never heard the poetry.] Where did that power come from? Is it something to do with your planet? [His brow furrows, and he hesitantly ventures a guess:] Your... species? [He'd never assumed she was anything but human, but... well, near-human species with extraordinary abilities did exist.]

[ Shuyi tips her head to one side in thought. Species, perhaps, but the Rauthas have no such elements in their blood. Perhaps it comes from the foods they eat or the ground they walk on. She doesn't know. ]

The same blood runs through those of my people but we all had to learn to use it. Practice, you see.

[ She rests her palms on her knees as if to draw attention away from them. ]

Who gave you the power to speak to the universe, Luke?

Ohhh. [Luke doesn't really get it, but he makes a mental note to read her file later and figure out the specifics. He hasn't really been doing that, has he? Oops.]

Um... the Force did. Some people are just born sensitive to it. With training, they can become masters. My father could do it, that might have something to do with it.

[ Some might say it's impolite. Even, wrong to do so. But Shuyi is not so naive to think that she can afford not to read the files, even if she leans toward never speaking of it. She rests her elbow against her thigh, leaning forward to prop up her cheek against her hand in interest. ]

Are you a master of the universe now?

[Luke snorts in repressed laughter.] No! No, I'm a Jedi. That's the name for people who can work with the Force. My father was a Jedi Master. [Sort of. Not really. Luke remains blissfully ignorant of this fact.] I'm just a Jedi Knight. [Because he decided he was, once, in lieu of actual regimented training.]

[ ~~You sweet summer child.~~ ]

A Jedi knight. [ She does the pronunciation well enough. Nothing too complicated. ] Are you greater than your father, do people tell you so? Or do you hate being compared?

[Luke's expression falters. Up until now, he's been endless cheer around Shuyi. Maybe he's a little tired sometimes, but always in good spirits, ready for anything. Here, his smile falters, and the attempt to plaster it back in place is a bit thin.]

[Still, he keeps smiling.] It's... complicated. I don't... [No, he can't say he doesn't know. He won't pretend his father died before he was born. He refuses to be ashamed. He looks frustrated, querulous, maybe a little sad, all in waves] He... had more training. The first time I fought him, he... defeated me easily.

[And the second time... that's another matter. No one won. Winning wasn't important, wasn't the point. He could have killed him, but that wouldn't have been winning, either.]

[ The change is jarring, like the height of a summer's day quickly receding into wilting autumn, his smile turning uncertain, without the endless optimism that makes his presence so contagious. She thinks she can feel the room turn that little bit colder, and she frowns in sympathy before deciding a smile, albeit sad, is what he really needs.

You will defeat him next time occurs to her, but she doesn't think his loss was what makes him so uncertain. ]

You don't have to be him to be . . . great. You already are.

Oh, no! [Luke laughs, though there's a definite twinge of surprised horror in his tone.] No, of course not. I want to be like the good parts of him. [But now that he's said that much, it would be rude to just leave her hanging, wouldn't he? He decides to navigate these waters slowly, carefully. He shrugs weakly.] He... did some very bad things. Like I said, it's complicated.

[ Shuyi doesn't laugh with him, when she would have in any other situation. His seems only meant to diffuse the tension, not out of any amusement. There's little humor to be found in discovering imperfections in one's idols, let alone one's parents. She drops her feet to the ground to step closer to him, reaching out to hold both his wrists while giving him a look to ask for his permission. ]

Do you want to defeat him or do you want to redeem him?