milliways_bar | (no subject)

Entry tags:

(no subject)

Bodhi makes his way to the library after a few more nights of not sleeping and not coping. Only now he’s not alone. Myrrh the forge cat has adopted Bodhi and has taken to riding around on his shoulder.

Bodhi’s currently curled up on the library floor, almost catatonic. A datapad with The History of the Rebellion open on it has fallen from his hand.

Myrrh is perched on the human’s knee, hissing at anyone who gets too near.

{ooc: the probably of Rogue One spoilers in this thread is high. Very high. Tags are open to all and as always, if you’re worried about spoilers or anything, PM me first and we’ll plan something out.}

[tiny tag - Bodhi Rook]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Someone's humming in a nearby aisle, ever so faintly, to no discernible tune. It's getting closer, as whoever it is makes his way along the bookshelves.

Myrrh mewed loudly as if trying to get the humming person's attention. The human she's sitting in doesn't appear to be doing very well.

The humming breaks off with a tiny startled noise, and a moment later Andrew peers around the corner of the bookshelf at the end of the aisle.

"Oh --" Startled, he hurries forward and drops to a crouch nearby. "Are you all right? Sir? Can you hear me?"

Bodhi blinks, starting to come back to himself. He brushes tears from his cheek, flinching as the datapad clatters to the floor, shocked by the sudden sound.

"Hey," Andrew says, gently anxious, putting out a hand toward his shoulder, ready to draw back in an instant if he pulls away. "Are you okay?"

Bodhi does flinch away a little, but fights himself, trying not to show his reaction. "I'm... I'm not-" He swallows thickly. "I'm sorry."

Andrew pulls his hand back quickly at the first sign of the suppressed flinch, resting it on the nearby bookcase instead to steady himself.

"Hey, no," he says at once, "it's okay, you don't ..."

A pause, and a closer look. And a longer pause.

Lower: "Do you need help?"

"I don't think anyone can help." He mutters softly, rubbing his eyes.

He bites his lip.

"... do you want to talk about it?"

"I found out, my friends... they died."

"Oh." Very soft. "I'm so sorry."

A beat.

"How did it happen?"

"We... we were in a battle. We were fighting-" He stops and swallows, his voice a little shaky. "I hoped they'd survived but-"

Even softer: "Oh."

His knees are starting to protest the crouching position; he shifts to sit down cross-legged on the floor, instead.

"That's rough. I've been there."

"You were in a battle?" He asks, curious rather than judgemental.

He nods, soberly. "Couple times. Lost friends in some of them, too. It's ... kind of always terrible."

"I'm sorry." He nods. "I hope-" He has no words for any of this.

"Yeah," he murmurs.

And hesitates.

"... Did you make it out? Or ...?"

Bodhi lowers his eyes and shakes his head. He didn't make it out.

Andrew bites his lip. "I'm so sorry."

His glance goes, briefly, to the datapad on the floor.

"I wanted to know... I needed to know... if it was worth it, what we did." He can feel his throat closing up with a choke.

Careful now, careful --

"What you did?"

"We stole the plans, for the planet killer. Galen, he designed a weakness into it. Something the Rebellion could use. To destroy it."

"The planet killer --?"

He lets his eyes widen, his mouth drop open, as they wanted to when he first thought he recognized the man.

"You and your friends -- you were Rogue One?"

Bodhi looks at him blankly. "Yes. How...?"

"I, I've heard stories --" He rakes a handful of hair away from his forehead, meets Bodhi's eyes. "I've met people from your world here. Years ago, but they were from your future -- it's a thing, time gets really weird here sometimes. I knew Princess Leia. Leia Organa?"