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[ battle instincts kick in and leia's soon ordering both hans and bria to follow her. she doesn't know where she's going, but there are people approaching from one direction and not the other. it's not until all four of them are safely behind the closed doors of storeroom does leia finally deactivate her lightsaber.

the hand that's not still gripping the pummel lands on the elder han's arm. ] I need a second. This is... The Force is hazy.

[ luke would understand what she meant, but luke isn't here-- and leia grips han's arm tight as she fights back against the urge to search for him, reigning herself in and focusing on battening down her mental hatches instead. ]

[ a lot more than the force is hazy right now, and han will take her cutting off circulation in his arm to any more blaster fire. his free hand cups her face, tilts it towards him. ]

Stay with me, Leia, okay? I need you here... [ not off in some force-induced haze. or another time, separate from him again. he's not sure he'd be able to handle that.

but they're backed into a corner, now, and the younger han is muttering to bria about what are they going to do to get out of this, and why does that guy look so much like him? they must be related, closely, but he has no idea how or why. if the other man knows it or is as confused as he is, and he seems a little preoccupied with his girl so it's not like he'll be forthcoming with answers yet. ]

I'm trying, [ she insists, but the truth of the matter is that she's still vastly untrained, a jedi novice that's been relying heavily on sheer instinct and following the leads of her brother, father, and obi-wan in lieu of all the training she's yet to receive. she only half knows what she's doing, and that's why she can't quite stop herself from reaching out and trying to find--

her eyes go wide, and she drops the hilt of her lightsaber in favor grabbing a handful of han's shirt. ]

He's not there. I can't find him. He's not there!

What, Luke?

[ the younger pair, confused and more than a little disturbed, turn to cover the door while whatever this is goes on behind them.

the older han drops his blaster (likely a bad idea) and cups leia's face in both his hands now. ] He wasn't around at first last time, remember? He'll catch up. Just breathe. Please, sweetheart, you've gotta stay with me so we can get out of this.

[ he's never seen her like this, and it pushes his own anxiety about the situation a little closer to panic. the closest was that night on endor, the way she had crumpled on that bridge when luke left. saying luke will be back, as if he's tagging along behind, is the only comfort he can think to give. ]

And what if he doesn't?

[ it's an old fear, one that she had comforted herself with the knowledge that it was her and her alone stuck in the mess she was before; a void that was filled by surprisingly steady presence of the father she never knew, a man she's hesitant to reach for in the here and now as her mind catches up to the signs around her.

leia breathes in, rough and deep, hands coming up to circle han's wrists. ]

Don't freak out. I'm going to try something.

[ he's not force-sensitive, so she doesn't know if this will work or not, but she's desperate to ground herself before she becomes lost in the haze of the force or sucked into the void the absence of luke's presence has left.

stretching out through the force, she finds that presence that's distinctly her han's, the one bright and full of love and concern for her (and not whoever that woman is with the younger one). she grabs hold of it, enveloping herself in the warmth of its security. it's unconventional, but the more leia wraps herself around han's presence in the force, the steadier her breathing grows -- the clearer her mind becomes. ]

Princess, that is the exact wrong thing to say at a time like this.

[ it makes him think something is going to explode, or fly around the room while she meditates or something. he's not entirely sure that's not what will be on the agenda until he feels that strange sensation, like a softer echo of the stunt luke pulled on bakura, quashing his jealousy like a cool hand against it.

still incredibly uncomfortable, but han trusts leia, and han trusts that she's not doing anything to him. just... with him? with something, that's for sure. so, he sits still and he watches her.

behind them, the younger han and bria watch. he had felt the brush of whatever this was like some stranger version of t'landa till exultation, and from the look on her face bria felt it too before leia pulled it back to focus on the man kneeling beside her. ]

[ nothing flies off the wall, explodes, or implodes -- there's only leia, easing herself into a state of calm where she's able to think clearly and doesn't feel like she's being pulled in different directions by the two hans. she can still feel the younger one on the edge of her consciousness, but at the forefront is the elder: her anchor.

she holds out a hand and her lightsaber rolls, jumping obediently into her palm. ]

I'm okay.

[ the relief is palpable, and the little twitch of his when she calls the lightsaber back to her isn't enough to sweep it away. ]

Great, you wanna explain what's going on then?

[ from the younger han, standing just slightly in front of bria as if to protect her from the two on the floor. as if he needs to, and maybe he's just jumpy because everything he'd planned is going wrong very, very quickly, or because the force has faded into being nothing but a fairy tale dewlanna had talked about when he was little. ]

[ had the elder han asked that question, leia would've jabbed him in the chest with the lethal end of the pummel of her lightsaber and yelled at him for demanding such a thing from her when he was clearly the one who was sinking fast into explanation debt. but the younger receives none of her famous ire, the princess putting on her best diplomatic face and turning calmly around to face him and-- a girl whose connection to the youthful version of her -- boyfriend? lover? -- is more than clear, from the way he's standing in front of her like that.

to her credit, she manages not to look as crestfallen as the sight makes her feel. ]

Time travel. [ succinct and to the point. she has no desire to hold any hands today, or whip up some clever cover story that would help her to blend into a period that she (and luke) apparently ceased to exist in -- or maybe there was something in place preventing her from sensing her own self, and luke by twin proxy. ] We're time travelers, more or less. Unfortunately, the traveling part of that doesn't come with much of a warning. We were taken by surprise in more ways than one

Edited 2015-08-19 03:59 (UTC)

[ no, but the older han notices the change in expression, the way she shuts down anger. (truth be told he still kind of hates that redhead in front of them, hates what she did, hates how he can still remember loving her and protecting her and how it was all for nothing. hates how he'd thought about her in comparison to leia at all, ever.) he assumes it's to do with luke's absence and doesn't question it, just puts a hand on her shoulder as he twists to face himself (and isn't that weird) while the younger version of himself steps forward, all anger and fear, and he wonders how he ever survived being like that. ]

Bantha dung. [ still, it rings true, but maybe that's some jedi trick. they weren't to be trusted, if the empire information was to be believed, but he and that other man look too alike, sound too alike, for him to dismiss it completely. behind him, bria is holding his elbow tightly to keep him from going further. probably wondering if this is some strange side-effect of withdrawal.

which is right when the older man sighs, head shaking just slightly. ]

One of these days, you'll learn to take her word for it. [ and he stands, holding a hand out to leia to help her up. not that he's mastered the art of taking leia's word for it, but he likes to think he's not such a hothead about it. ]

[ leia rises to her feet with assistance from her han, but keeps her eyes on the other.

skywalker. her name is skywalker. it's the name she was born with, the one she's readopted in the wake of falling back into the past and getting swept up in dealings she would rather not drag the organas (and alderaan) into. she's been using the name for weeks, yet when she speaks, he jealousy stirs and sparks, and what topples out of her mouth winds up being more of display of power and position than a gesture of good faith. ]

My name is Leia Organa, Crown Princess of Alderaan.

[ definitely not what her han would call 'keeping a low profile.' or even just 'sounding remotely sane.' the younger han seems to be in complete agreement to the last point, because he's looking at her like she's delusional. ]

Sorry, lady, but the last I saw, the Princess of Alderaan was some white-haired kid.

[ he doubts time would completely change a person's genetic makeup, though maybe it's a bad dye job. just to the side of leia's shoulder, her han is pinching the bridge of his nose.

bria, for her part, is more trusting. she had wanted something bigger, after all. a greater purpose in the cosmos. time travel seemed to be pretty great. so when she lifts her chin and says "prove it" the boy beside her just looks over to her face, worried and anxious.

the older han drops the hand from his face so that it rests as a fist against his hip. ]

How's Muuurgh?

[ leia does a pretty good impression of the pittin she aptly named "all-terrain attack-vehicle" as a child. were she really a small feline creature, her hair would be standing angrily on end instead of her merely bristling with barely contained anger. ]

Winter? [ she sounds almost betrayed when she speaks her foster sister's name. winter had been her constant companion throughout her childhood, her loyal and trusted confidant, and somehow the thought of winter thriving in aldera without her felt like a blaster bolt to the gut. leia was well aware of this possibility, with how unlikely it was that her biological father would ever fall to the dark side -- nevermind how she went out of her way not to involve the organas in anything she did, wanting desperately to keep alderaan off palpatine's radar -- but she didn't think it was something she would have to live through so soon. ]

Maybe she is in this version of history, but in another, that princess is me.

[ she might not be an organa by blood, but she was in all the other ways that mattered. for the first twenty-two years of her life, bail organa was the only father she ever knew, and right now, it feels like he's being taken away from her. unfairly, it hurts more to be confronted with evidence of her disconnect from him than it did to watch her homeworld obliterated right before her eyes.

even moreso that she has nothing to prove it by. even if she were standing in her proper time, she wouldn't have anything. alderaan was gone, and leia about the only thing leia "had" in the wake of that loss was a handful of alderaanian gunships that were probably still undergoing repairs after endor and-- ]

Muuurgh? [ she glances up at her han questioningly. ]

Edited 2015-08-23 05:43 (UTC)

Big Togorian. Almost killed me once, but we worked it out... [ it's a succicnt explanation, one that has the younger han frowning, but the older doesn't give a damn. leia doesn't look right... too distant, and too unattached to what's going on.

he doesn't like it, but he can guess the source. bail organa not being her father, if she existed in this timeline at all, can't be good. that had been her family, and they'd been destroyed but not completely severed from her life like this. no, it wasn't good at all.

by the door, bria looks wholly convinced on just those words alone, but the other han is more skeptical. ] All Togorians are big. That doesn't mean you and Miss Princess are telling the truth.

Can it, laserbrain. If and when I want you to chime in with your two credits on this, I'll ask.

[ snapping at the younger han is, at least, something familiar in a sea of unwanted unfamiliarity, an earlier (and alternate) version of her boyfriend or not. ]

Listen, I'm not the one that whipped out some Jedi relic in public! [ and he's standing in front of bria fully now, her hands on his arms to keep him from moving forward, and he's keeping the shout down in volume as much as he's able.

beside leia, the older han tenses and feels a strange version of jealousy rear up and then diminish. ]

[ one of leia's many façades falls into place, this one being that of the rebel leader who stood before squadrons of pilots and sent them off on missions she knew a good portion of them wouldn't come back from. the one whose face was all hard lines and sharp angles, who spoke words that were hard, cold, and firm. the gaze that's now trained on the younger han and his redhead companion has made battle-hardened men twice her size wilt under the force of her scrutiny. ]

I advise you to refrain from commenting on that which you don't understand, Solo.

[ much like with the exhultation, young han's reaction to that is to get angry enough that it doesn't have an appreciable effect on him. ]

I understand that you're crazy.

[ han, her han, watches her with the usual admiration. only this time it's tempered by the fact that she's doing this to another him and not some idiot recruit. ] Fine, don't believe her. How do you explain me? ...Us? [ said with an awkward gesture between him and his younger self. bria squeezes her han's arms, gentle and reassuring, and he's (finally) at a loss for what to say to that. ]

[ leia takes a dangerous step forward, but the threat she poses is entirely that of the rebel princess the alliance and empire alike had grown to fear and respect, not an heir to the legacy of the jedi. ]

And I don't have time to deal with a snot-nosed teenager with an ego the size of Oovo, hot air and all.

Edited 2015-08-27 04:37 (UTC)

[ well, it's enough to keep him quiet for now. bria, for her part, watches leia intently, if only because she knows what this means. she and han don't last, but han and this woman, this princess, do. she's already making a mental catalog of similarities and differences, already filing leia away under 'probably not addicted to t'landa til exultation.'

for his part, the younger han is too confused (and a little brow-beaten) to wonder about his future relationship status. ]

We done arguing now? Because I'd like to get out of here, and I'm pretty sure if you get shot [ as he points to his younger self before pointing back at his own chest. ] I'm gonna have a real bad day.

[ definitely not addicted to that sort of thing, but she comes with her own unique set of baggage and various issues she needs to work on. ]

Don't even suggest that. [ she shoots a pointed look over her shoulder at the elder han, as if saying such a thing out loud would plant an idea in some invisible force's head and make that one of its goals. ] If Winter is the heir to the Alderaanian throne in my place, then it's safe to say that this is an entirely different future than the one we're accustomed to. [ maybe it was the result of their actions in the past, maybe not, but-- ] If that happens, it may not affect you. But I would really rather not take the risk.

[ considering their luck with the universe, that might be exactly what happens, so han isn't going to argue the point. ]

Let's just get out of here, first, and we can figure the rest out later.

[ there's a suggestion pressing at the back of his mind to have her reach out for anakin, but they can discuss the possibility of darth vader when they're somewhere else. he looks to the younger han, and then bria. then he wishes he hadn't and shakes his head. ]

We've got the navigation units. It'll make finding our way back out easier for us and more complicated for them. [ which will be good, though the younger han isn't entirely sure why he's so on board with this now. probably that sensation of kinship to himself, in addition to not wanting to be shot. ]

[ leia's thought about doing as much, but the fear of coming across something she won't like has her holding back. maybe she'll find her father in some alliance cell, taking up a mantle as one of the leaders of the rebellion, but she's terrified of coming across vader. she worked so hard to prevent him from falling to the dark side. it would be a devastating blow to see that no matter what changed, he would always wind up dark and twisted.

sensing han's discomfort, leia reaches back to take one of his hands in hers. ]

And I'll keep an eye on them in Force, make sure they aren't trailing after us. [ she wasn't very good at keeping her focus trained on non-force sensitives, but ensuring they weren't shot to pieces would be well worth the headache. ]

[ the older han squeezes her hand and nods to himself as the younger version moves to be ready to open the door. ]

So, down we go. [ he turns to leia and tries for a smirk, but it ends up looking more like a grimace. ] There's a second first time for everything, I guess.

Calm down before you hurt yourself, hotshot.

[ while she appreciates the attempt at humor in a dire situation, she'd rather you focus on your younger self and that girl he has with him. ]

On the count of three. One, two, three--

PICK YOUR POISON
PIC PROMPTS / TFLN / RANDOM SCENARIO
HAN SOLO velocities	BETTY MCRAE bombsheller	RIVER TAM subsulcus	RIVER TAM (AU) comprehender
SIMON TAM vest	BRIA THAREN exulted	NADINE CROSS bridaled	GU JUN-PYO toddler
available on special request: veronica sawyer, benjamin linus, imani, maria deluca, mushu, poseidon, niccolò machiavelli, malik al-sayf, chloe

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it's a musebox and i'll make shit up if i want to~ ♫

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