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[sunbaked_baker]

The dull grey February sky doesn't last long after Rae steps out the door heading for the lake. The burns around her neck and on her hands are healing well, and don't hurt so much to look at. She is still getting used to having short hair, though. The lightness of it still feels odd, the slightly ticklish feeling of the fringe just brushing the back of her neck when she moves.

Though the clouds soon clear away and the sunlight streams down, it is still February and cold. She hurries to the Caribbean inlet and the persistent warmth of the tropical sea, where she settles to soak in the sunlight and enjoy some quiet for a while. She had not been as successful in avoiding drama following the incident at SOF as she would have liked. All week, the tension at the coffeehouse has been thick enough to cut with a knife and fork. It's good to get away for a little while.

Comments

[iprotectyou]

Baze is already there on the beach, wading in the water with bare feet and rolled up pantlegs. He offers Rae a beaming grin and a wave as she approaches.

"Hoi, Rae! May the Force of others be with you! What are you up to?"

[sunbaked_baker]

Rae grins and waves back, a little wry (but ultimately unapologetic) for having caused the sudden shift in weather.

"Hey there, Baze," Rae greets him, friendly. "Just seeking out some sun. It's been a hectic week. How have you been?"

[iprotectyou]

"I've been well, thanks for asking!" Baze says, wading over to her and digging his toes into the warm sand.

"Dealing with the aftermath of the SOF questions?"

[sunbaked_baker]

"It's been... almost quiet from SOF this week. All the drama has been at the coffeehouse," Rae says, wryly. It's not great, but it's not so very not great that she can't also be wry about it.

"Though I've been meaning to ask - you say, 'may the Force of others be with you.' What's the proper response to that? 'You too' sounds a bit too glib."

[iprotectyou]

"Uh-oh! That's no good. Can your apprentice not handle what you've given them?" Baze says, raising his brows.

"Oh! Whatever response feels best for you is good! 'May the Force of others be with you,' in response is just fine, as is 'You, too,' if you feel it's appropriate."

[sunbaked_baker]

"'You too' was all I could think of and it didn't feel appropriate," she grins, wry. "May the Force of others be with you, Baze."


She steps towards the shore, slipping off her sandals so she can dig her toes into the sand as well. "It's not my apprentice, not really. They're doing marvelously. It's just... everyone. Mostly my mother, which is nothing new, but it seems particularly bad lately."

[iprotectyou]

"Cassidy has said, 'And also with you,' which I think is really nice, but he seemed uncomfortable about it afterwards. Have you met Cassidy?" Baze says, crouching down in the sand to dig his fingers into it as well.

"Sorry to hear that your mother has been particularly bad. That sucks."

[sunbaked_baker]

"It does," she chuckles. "But it's nothing new. My mother worries a lot about me. She just never learned how to worry in ways that don't make people miserable."

This is something little!Rae is starting to put together.

"I actually met Cassidy at you and Chirrut's recent party," Rae grins. "Said something about drinking you under the table..."

[iprotectyou]

"Ugh, I'm sorry. I try not to make Chirrut miserable when I worry about him. It's another worry of mine!" Baze says, shaking his head. He brightens when she mentions that she's met Cassidy, however.

"Ha! Told you that, did he? Yeah, we both passed out, but I passed out first. He has the constitution of a bantha."

[is_the_motion]

Bonnie is outside, getting a bit of fresh air. She gives Rae a little wave.

She's a bit pale, but looking a lot better than she was a week ago.

[sunbaked_baker]

Rae lifts one of her healing hands and waves back, inviting the woman to join her in the warmth by the Caribbean beach. Rae may look more than a little different than Bonnie last saw her. The burns around her neck and hands are still in the process of healing, so they are still visible but do not look as bad as they once did. The ones on her neck are more visible than they might have otherwise been, also, because Rae's hair has been cut at approximately chin-length, no longer falling in waves down her back.

"Bonnie, hello!" Rae calls, smiling.

[is_the_motion]

Bonnie gets up and joins her, a little slowly.

"Hey honey. I heard you got hurt, I'm sorry I didn't catch up with you, how are you doin'?"

[sunbaked_baker]

"I'm healing, little by little," she assures Bonnie. It's warmer at the Caribbean inlet, lacking the chill air of a pseudo-Scottish February. "Though it's still odd to realize how long I've been away from here, when only a few days have passed back home."

"How are you doing? You're looking a little pale..."

[is_the_motion]

"I took the flu badly this year, ended up with pneumonia." Bonnie says. "I'm doin' better now, Guppy says I'm not contagious any more, just got to keep restin' up."

The warm air feels better on her chest, and it was a good move coming over here.

[sunbaked_baker]

"Oh, Bonnie," Rae breathes, sympathetic. "And it was Milliways' flu, wasn't it."

How terrible, the idea of having additional symptoms but not having the opportunity to do anything about them because you believe you're someone else?

"I'm glad you're doing better, but I'm sorry you went through all that. Can I do anything to help?"

Apart from making the soup she is already planning to make?

[is_the_motion]

"It was, though I was too ill to start wanderin' around thinkin' I was someone else, mostly I just lay there havin' all sorts of weird dreams." Bonnie says. "I was in bed fer three days before Jay found me. It was my own fault I caught it though, I went around feedin' sick people."

She shakes her head. "Guppy kept me in the infirmary a couple days, but I'm startin' to get better now thanks. He thinks I'll be up to full speed in about six weeks. I'm missin' Billie though, so I'll go home sooner than that."

She'll definitely take Rae up on soup though. Rae makes good food.

[sunbaked_baker]

"That's a hard balance to strike, putting yourself at risk by helping others," Rae murmurs. She knows it well.

Rae bumps Bonnie's shoulder with her own. "Just make sure you're well enough to keep up with everything back home before you head back. You don't need to have some sort of relapse, trying to do too much too soon."

[runningred]

"Hey you." Jay comes swimming across the lake, staying into the warmth of the inlet. "Come in, the water's lovely."

[sunbaked_baker]

"Hey you!" Rae calls back, waving and smiling. "Well if you say so, how can I refuse?"

There is little to do by way of changing - she is dressed for her own world's early summer rather than Milliways' winter, as it is, and usually wears as little as she can get away with when it's hot and sunny outside. She kicks off her shoes, and tucks her socks, her little pocketknife, and her silver sun-ring into one of them, before she steps down the beach to the water.

Whatever hesitation she had about the water possibly hurting her still-healing burns disappears once she is in the water. It feels great. She'll just remember not to stay in so long that the healing blisters get too soaked.

"Oooh, you were right," she grins, treading water. "Clearly I should listen to you more often."

[runningred]

"Damn straight you should. For I am wise and all knowing." He wiggles eyebrows at her, belying his serious and pompous tone. "You're looking better. Still half-baked but less crispy."

[sunbaked_baker]

"Oh venerable and sagacious one they call Pixie Boots, forgive my doubts," she laughs, letting herself drop in the water to get her hair wet and let the cool water splash over the healing burns on her neck. Rae hasn't yet had much time to get used to having short hair, so it is still a weird, light feeling not to have her hair half-soaked just by being in the water.

She brushes her hair out of her eyes as she comes back up. "'Pan-seared' was the term that kept coming to mind. The kenet is helping a lot with the lingering aches and making sure it heals well, without it being so quick that it garners suspicion."

[runningred]

He splashes her, laughing. "Says the half baked baker."

He watches her. "The hair looks good, by the way."

[sunbaked_baker]

"I'd rather be sunbaked than pan-seared, it's true," Rae chuckles, splashing him back.

"I'm not sure how I like short hair, to be honest. It was a necessity, though. The ah, Goddess' hands burned through a good bit of my hair when she burned my neck. Couldn't leave half of my hair long and half of it unevenly mid-neck length."

[runningred]

"It'll grow back faster than you expect." He pats her shoulder gently. "And you know there are plenty of people here who can help soften the scars."

[sunbaked_baker]

Rae smiles, wry. "You never know, I might get used to it yet. It's just different. My head is a lot lighter, and I can't put my hair up."

Once she could tie a knot without pain, she was back to keeping her hair out of her way using her collection of kerchiefs.

The water feels great against her healing burns, and with the sunlight streaming down at her she almost feels at peace.

"How have you been?"