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@darthrevaan
Sorry it’s a bit late; happy holidays!
Five Great Charters knit the land
Together linked, hand in hand
One in the people who wear the crown
Padme is not anywhere near so unprofessional as to sigh in the middle of Court. She wishes she was, though. She really, truly wishes that she was. It might make it incrementally more easy to endure the current argument taking place between the two nobles.
She wants to tell them that there is no disagreement to be had here. That there is no purpose to their debate.
The refugees are people. They have sworn oaths to her; by law and tradition, they are citizens of the Old Kingdom. It is her duty to ensure their safety and happiness; more then that, it is the right thing to do.
But she will not say that. At least - not like that.
Padme does not sigh. She draws breath, and readies herself to speak.
**
Two in the folk who keep the Dead down
Sometimes, Anakin really loves his life. Other times, he’s not so sure.
Though at times like this - with a bell clasped in one hand, and a sword in the other - he’s relatively certain that it’s better then the alternative.
Saraneth tolls; his will slams into the Dead even as he pivots on one leg, Charter-marked sword slicing cleanly through the wrist of the Dead Hand currently lunging at him. Old Dead, this - practically rotting. Almost an insult, if he cared to view it as such.
He doesn’t. A Dead Hand will kill you just as dead as a Mordicant. One of Obi-Wan’s lessons, pounded laboriously through his head with time and constant repetition.
He sheaths Saraneth and draws Kibeth in a smooth, practiced moment, and Dead begin to Walk. Hopefully to the Ninth Gate and beyond - Anakin wishes them safe passage, and good riddance.
He still twirls the sword before sheathing it.
(If anyone asks him, he’s blaming Obi-Wan. After all, the older man did teach him that.)
**
Three and Five became stone and mortar
Anakin is going to figure out how to make a Charter Skin one of these days. He so is.
In the meantime, gold and bronze are - acceptable alternatives. He’s currently wrist-deep in the gears and springs filling the stomach cavity of the feline automaton that’s going to be Padme’s birthday gift - a cat that shines a muted gold, with emeralds for eyes and steel-shod claws.
Anakin can’t wait to see the look on Obi-Wan’s face.
**
Four sees all in frozen water.
The Sight isn’t kind. Neither is it particularly beneficial - on his own, the most useful information Obi-Wan’s’s ever really gotten from the Sight was a warning that an inn’s kitchen would be serving over-roasted peppers for breakfast the next morning.
Obi-Wan’s vaguely grateful, but that really doesn’t seem to be adequate compensation for the whole dratted business. He could most certainly live without the scraps and slivers of foreknowledge that intrude on a near-daily basis - the what-might-be’s, for instance, are particularly distracting, especially as compared with the soon-to-be-nows.
…well. There was that - one occasion where the Sight - even the limited amount he could draw on individually - was very useful indeed. Obi-Wan - doesn’t really like to think of that desperate rush from the Dead as he and Anakin charged blindly into unknown wilderness. There wasn’t time for a map; most of their supplies had been lost over an extremely inconveniently placed waterfall, and the bare bones of a strategy they’d managed to scrape together had, essentially, consisted of run!
Obi-Wan been extremely grateful for the snapshot vision that showed him the route to Abhorsen’s House.
Really.
It almost made up for the entire inconvenience of having the Sight in the first place.
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