#astravates

He could get used to this, Obi-Wan mused. The tray presented to him was full of delicious-looking finger food, made from ingredients he had never tasted before. It was truly outstanding how the galaxy never ceased offering new experiences. The room was beautiful as well, large and golden with a sparkling chandelier on the ceiling and crimson curtains framing the many large windows.

The only thing sullying the otherwise enjoyable experience was the room full of monarchs and politicians, who were dressed as elaborately as they managed. Connecting with them and collecting information about Dooku should not be too difficult, as long as they played along and worked on being as pompous as this gala's patrons.

Usually Obi-Wan and Anakin would stand out in their minimalistic Jedi garbs, but they had come prepared. They were dressed finely, wearing clothes so expensive that Obi-Wan really did not want to know how many credits they cost.

Morning After from caleb…. i’m sorry i couldn’t help myself but feel free to ignore this if you want to hahahaha @astravates

The morning's first light creeps in, shades of dusky sunlight that filter through the gaps in the tent. He's not particularly modest — gods, but that's been proven enough during this whole journey — and he didn't bother to get dressed again after last night, and he's tangled in the rough blankets and bedrolls and had slept so solidly that the world might have shifted under them and he wouldn't have noticed.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

The air was growing noticeably fresher, a good sign that he was walking in the right direction. Lux did his best to remain stoic upon this discovery. Although there was nobody around to witness it, he feared that if he allowed for relief to get a hold of his face, it would inevitably open the gates to all his other barely repressed emotions as well - namely anxiety, claustrophobia, and loneliness. And the moment he stopped masking those, that he knew, he would have no other choice but to succumb to them. Fake it 'til you make it. A mantra that had saved his life before, and would now save it again. Survival was a battle won with the mind.

When the path split in half before him, the half-elf closed his eyes, drew a deep breath, and decided to pick the left one. In the faint, gloomy light of lichen and other mushrooms crawling along the tunnel walls of the underdark, his skin seemed almost green, like a creature lurking at the bottom of a murky lake. A fire would have certainly helped cozy up the place, but he did not dare to light one. Nobody who belonged in the Underdark needed fire to find their way around. He might as well have banged a couple of pots together while screaming at the top of his lungs 'HELLO! HERE I AM! QUITE THE SNACK, IF I DO SAY SO MYSELF! WANT A BITE?'. Hell no. For this one, he would have to rely on his mother's blood and the superior sight it had gifted him with to conquer the ever present darkness.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

He was a fool, no doubt about it. A fool in love, but those were usually worse off anyway. To leave behind the safety of his home, a bustling city full of sunlight and hidden opportunities, and exchange it for the road, blisters on his feet and this dank and dark place full of alien wonders and deadly traps. He could have hitched a ride with one of the traders and traveled straight to Neverwinter or Waterdeep or Baldur's Gate. Somewhere with taverns and shops and people who did not know him, who had yet to be dazzled by his charms and bewitched by his artistry, and would finally - finally! - give him a chance to be the person he knew he could be. And yet... The thought of just walking off like that without telling him had been unbearable. Well. After a good month without seeing the light of the sun, perhaps it was just a little more bearable now.

Drip. Drip.

Was that the sound of water he heard? Not the echo of that noisy moisture dripping form the ceiling, but an actual flowing stream of water? Lux stopped to listen to the darkness around him. Somewhere, right up ahead, the faint soughing sound of water vibrated against slick stone. Lady Luck, be with him now! Could this be the river by the crystal cave he had passed on his way from above? His lips twitched treacherously. Fine. Maybe he could allow himself to show just a little sign of hope.

his hair had grown, as well as the shadows beneath his eyes. padmé could only assume it was the same way for her too. adjusting the hood of her silvery traveling cloak, a smile rose on her lips as she studied his features from a distance, wondering if the idleness felt strange to him after long times spent in the heat of the kind of 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 she'd only experienced fragments of. ❝ what are you thinking about ? ❞ she asked, straightforwardly as usual, resting her hands down in her lap. ❝ we'll be landing soon, but still have a moment if you want to reveal what's going on in that brilliant mind of yours. ❞ his men ? the war, the order ? options were endless and so was her curiosity.

a short pause followed until her lips parted again, ❝ my apologies. i simply am glad to have you by my side for this mission. ❞ despite the tension brought by unavoidable stress, it felt good to see him again.

[ wound ] sender cleaning / bandaging receiver's wound(s) (from caleb but reversed because well… squishy wizard lol) @astravates / caring prompts

" Oi, hold yer arm like so —— " Sword-rough fingers, gentle in their touch, tip under Caleb's elbow to push it up a little. " An' sit up as straight as y'can. Aye, that's it. "

He's no healer — or at least he likes to say. In another life, maybe, he would have made a proper cleric, but in this life — oh, in this life sword and oath and the fight have burned so vibrant that all other could-have-beens were forgotten. So no, he's not a healer in name, but he's good enough at it to be half of one in practice.

His eyes were closed. It wasn't often that there were peaceful moments though now that Ludinus and Predathos were truly gone and the gods disappeared from this earth. The breeze of Zephra was steady and the air heavy with the smell of rain. Pink blossoms swrild in the air around him so familiar that Orym could almost sense them. There was a grave, several really but he found the root of an ancient tree branching sideways to this particular one... two moons carved into it's surface, the same ones he carried inked into his arm. "You would love it, Will..." He mumbled without even opening his eyes. His heart still ached for his husband, for the companion he lost so many years ago. A fraction of a promised forever but despite the pain there was joy, always and forever.

The air changed behind him, a fresh breeze stirring through the trees the smell of petrichor more pronounced with a hint of orangeblossoms. Warm arms wrapped around Orym and he leaned back against a warm chest, an easy smile on his lips. "And here I thought I would miss the Storm." He opened his eyes and looked upwards, finding blue skin and an always handsome face. He reached up, kissing the side of his jaw before he hummed contently. "I was just telling Will about our trip to the moon again. Still, so many things I haven't gotten around to recounting. Did you come to find me?"

She's been worried about Gale since finding out about the Elder Brain and facing Ketheric and what he has become, and while it didn't take much convincing, she felt almost like a watch dog in his tent that night. The one drawback of being an Elf was not actually sleeping, but for him, she would do anything--even just lay with him while he slept--and it wasn't as though she couldn't trance. It was just that the man that she loved had thought even for a moment about blowing himself up and now she was nervous. Terrified that he'd regret listening to her when she knew how selfish others might find it. If he was upset, however, he'd kept it to himself while she lulled him off to sleep once they camped just outside the city, and now she was up, pouring over a book after having only tranced for a few hours, sitting quite close to him until she realized what she had done.