Raven loves waffles more than life itself (ofevilsfire) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2019-10-10 05:33:00 |
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Life had a strange way of working out. Once Raven had decided on coming back to Orange County and take Natasha up on her job offer? Well… it seemed only natural that the empath pop up (quite literally) on her best friend. Only friend? She supposed it didn’t matter all that much. Raven had never been one for a lot of friends and Ahsoka was seemingly the only one still in the area.
True, she had shown up randomly to check in on the alien, and it wasn’t like it was hard for her to visit (travel by portal remained the best thing from the hell that were her dreams), but there was just something more pressing now that Raven was going to be in Orange County on a more permanent basis.
So why she felt some sense of anxious made no sense since it wasn’t like she hadn’t seen Ahsoka in the few years she’d been in New York. But Raven had long since accepted that emotions were weird and she shouldn’t try to make sense of them. Which was why she was just leaning against the wall of Ahsoka’s job at the end of her work shift waiting.
Raven had, at times, been the only person Ahsoka had trusted when she'd needed someone to talk to about Anakin and what felt like an inability to help him anywhere near as much as he deserved. Even if she did have to talk Raven out of putting him in a portal.
Repeatedly.
But Raven had always been one of those who'd known Ahsoka before the dreams, and someone who had helped her through difficult times, so there was a place in her heart just for her.
That still didn't mean she expected to see Raven, let alone when she stepped out of the building and nearly had a heart attack. "Raven?"
Raven was still a fan of the portal option. It basically was a win win, at least in her opinion. Yes, she understood Ahsoka’s concerns, why she wanted to help. But there was only so much any one person could do. The one being helped? They had to want it and accept it as well and not just stubbornly dig their heels in.
Pot meet kettle. Though Raven had mostly worked through her issues of destiny and feeling like she would lead to all her friends dying because of her and Trigon and that whole mess.
Maybe she should have called but it seemed that this whole….decision to come back to Orange County on a permanent basis meant surprising everyone. Well, no one ever said that Raven made the most sense. It was just the way she showed she cared.
“Surprise.” There was a faint smile, typical for the twenty year old and those she considered her people.
Portals were last resorts.
Ahsoka had only briefly mentioned the other Sith, and she'd be much quicker to agree to stuffing Lomea into a portal.
She found herself responding to that familiar, if rare smile. "Hey you. What brings you to my corner of the woods?"
So long as they were a resort. Because sometimes they were just necessary.
And Raven was certainly aware of the other Sith running around. One of those things she checked on whenever she did decide to visit. That and she could feel the different energies so while it could be overwhelming, it also meant she could pick such things out.
“What would you say if I were to tell you I was coming back here on a more permanent basis?”
Ahsoka had been determined to take Vader with her in the dreams, so she was in fact capable of it. She just very much preferred not to.
"That I could kiss you?" Ahsoka grinned at her. "What happened? Needed a change of scenery? Or felt like I needed more babysitting?"
Seeing at how Ahsoka was one of her people, Raven wasn’t too keen on certain things that might come about with Vader but for now she would simply listen and let things play out as they would. Unless her interference became necessary.
“Please don’t.” Raven knew of course Ahsoka wouldn’t actually do it, but it was still Raven so the deadpanned response was necessary, “Call it a feeling.”
Or she could be vague but that was Raven. At least she hadn’t said a bad feeling?
“I’ll only kiss if asked,” she assured her, her grin infecting her voice.
And suddenly, Ahsoka had a bad feeling about this but she kept it to herself, preferring instead to just relish in the idea that a friend was coming home, so to speak.
“Do you need a place to stay?”
“Acceptable.” It was an easy rapport and one Raven cherished in her own way.
And usually a bad feeling was understandable when it came to Raven being vague - even for her. Given her empathy and abilities, it was smart to be concerned when she said something like that.
“I… don’t actually. I hadn’t gotten that far in planning.”
Ahsoka nodded, before getting a thoughtful expression on her face. “Well, I’ve got an extra room. It’s pretty spartan but nothing a bed and some decor won’t handle.”
She’d picked out in part because it never hurt to have a room for someone in need.
All things considered, it was strange for Raven not to have things planned out. At least major life things, like moving. But sometimes things like portal travel and the like made her forget things like that. She probably should figure something out though for living.
“Are you sure? I don’t want to put you out.”
Yes, there had been the offer to move in with Ahsoka, Li, and Yang before the transfer to New York had happened, but Raven still wanted to make sure. She didn’t think Ahsoka would offer if she wasn’t sure, there were no signs of her being apprehensive about it, but some things would always catch the empath off guard - like people wanting or offering to share space with her.
It really was strange, but Ahsoka knew better than to pry overly much. When Raven was ready she would talk about it. But Ahsoka was nothing if not patient— all right she wouldn’t be able to finish that thought without laughing at herself, but she was at least more patient than she used to be.
Somewhat.
“I’m sure. I don’t really use that room for much anymore besides meditation, and I can do that anywhere.”
The day Ahsoka was truly patient would be a day that made Raven worry. But she was used to it and since Ahsoka knew Raven’s limits it wasn’t like it would be an issue. She knew when to push and when not and that was what mattered in the end.
Besides, if it didn’t work out, it wasn’t like she couldn’t find her own place later. But even if it would only be temporary, it would be nice. The permanence of the situation was something they could revisit later if necessary.
“Well then, sure. That’d be great. Thank you.”
“There’s actually a great little spot on the roof you need to meditate outdoors sometime. I’ve been thinking of sneaking a little awning up there for shade.” Ahsoka smirked, as though she knew she was breaking some kind of rule in doing so and didn’t particularly care.
“Need help moving your things? Though I suppose you can just portal them.”
“There is? That sounds nice.” And it did. There was something about early morning meditations that really helped with starting the day. It was something she had started in her Dreams but had followed her into the waking world. Orange County, New York… it didn’t matter.
“The joys of my abilities. It shouldn’t be that difficult to bring what I need. It’s not like I’m selling the house in New York either. I’ll just...be here instead.”
Ahsoka thought back to how hard meditation had been for her and realized it might be the dream decades that had passed that had made it easier. Experience, and she couldn’t even call it fake.
Just twenty plus years brought down on her over the course of a few nights. At least she only had the one lifetime to count. “Well, until then, want to get some tea and catch up?”
The Dreams were strange like that. Of course, in the three or so years Raven had been on Valar Network before she had left for New York, she’d gone through four sets of Dreams, so four sets of traumas and abilities. For while most were the same, there were always some differences and thus more years of training. Or of constantly being a teenager struggling to keep control. Good times.
“Sounds like a plan to me.”