Hey! Listen! (Rugs)

[Talau the Ever-Lurking]

It was early and she was already looking for something to do. After weeks and weeks of being stuck in the Temple she wanted out. That’s what likely led to her standing outside of Locke’s door and pressing the com-button. It buzzed once and she waited, bobbing her head once more to that intangible music…or was it? Honestly (this time) she had a small headphone stuck into one ear, an upbeat song playing on repeat. Elysia Chronostia, iJedi…go figure.

Shifting her staff from one hand to the other she’d buzz the com again. True it was only just after dawn, but she wanted to make sure that she caught him before he went off to do anything else. Elys was a morning person, after all, and was ready to get a move on the day. Still, as she waited there was no answer at the com…no sound of movement…she couldn’t even see the shadow of movement within. Finally she sighed heavily and pressed the com button again.

”Master Looooocke. Oh Master Locke…are you in there? It’s Elys.”

And so she waited…

…She was pretty sure she felt him in there.

Maybe he was just still asleep.

[Rugs]

For four hours, Locke had been sleeping the sleep of the dead.

Late nights were nothing uncommon for the Investigator; he'd learned early in his apprenticeship that he'd have to learn how to make do with very little sleep, and sometimes no sleep at all.

Ever since taking on one apprentice, and now two, his life and hours had shifted to something that approached normal. For certain, nothing was ever normal for a Jedi, and that was doubly so for an Investigator. But the rigors of his job and the way many aspects weren't suitable for a padwan of Jazen's level--especially with him lacking any real experience in the sort of thing Investigators did, despite his previous master--meant that Locke's role as an Investigator had taken a bit of a backseat to his new role as a teacher. There were some things he still did, contacts he still kept, and a very rarely, the occasional mission he would take without Jazen, but for the most part, he'd gone to a more simple schedule geared around teaching his student.

However, he still had some duties he kept. Meeting with contacts was one of them.

And so, the night before, after he'd started to settle into the routine of having two students, he'd arranged a meeting with a contact--a woman he used to stay abreast with any rumblings of criminal activity going on in certain political arenas.

The meeting was late at night, after he'd finished for the day with Jazen and Elysia. It had gone well. Afterwards, Locke had decided to have a bit of fun on his own while he was out in the city...

Which was probably why the buzzing at the door from Elysia sent a stab of pain through his temples that rocked him back to consciousness.

"Gods... Force damned alarm clock needs to..." His eyes slowly opened. The chrono on his wall said it was too early for his alarm to be waking him up. "What in the hell is makin' that nois-"

”Master Looooocke. Oh Master Locke…are you in there? It’s Elys.”

Elys. Force help me it's too early for this...

"Hold ooon," he called, sounding about as groggy as he felt. Slowly and with some degree of difficulty, he got himself out of bed and walked across the dark room, nearly stumbling over the boots he'd left in the middle of the floor. He at least had the presence of mind to flounder his way into a shirt before he opened the door. Locke was an attractive man, and in good shape, but being half-naked while greeting the girl who'd barely been his student for a few days hardly met any sort of decorum.

Of course, the shirt was on backwards. But Locke didn't notice or care. It was something. Decorum.

That was about as much decorum as she'd be getting, though, as he opened the door and looked out, squinting against the light in the hall. He leaned against the doorframe and held the door, keeping it open only enough to stick his disheveled head out.

"Oh... hi Elysia. It's early...." He stifled a yawn, and then stifled swears at it agitating his piercing headache. "I uh... you need anything?"

[Talau the Ever-Lurking]

“Hold ooon…”

Oh good, he was inside! She’d thought she had heard something a moment ago, but now she was sure of it. With a chipper ‘okay!’ into the com, the teen hummed happily to her music as she waited. There were a few times, however, that the sound of bumping and stumbling from inside had her brows lifting in surprise. At one point it had her hand up to the com once more, ready to ask if he was okay…when the door unlocked and the disheveled head of her new master popped out.

The poor girl had to make an effort not to smirk, smile, or outright giggle at him.

”Hi Master Locke,” came the happy, and very awake, reply. ”It is early, but it feels like it’s going to be a beautiful day outside already! Anyway, I wanted to catch you before you stepped out. I don’t really know what time you get up sooo…I just decided to come after I sat out for the sunrise.” True, she couldn’t exactly see the sunrise in the way others did, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t enjoy the growing light of day and the feeling of peace that time of day brought.

”Anyway, I had a question…well, maybe a request, too, but mostly a question.” A slight shift of her weight showed the fact that she was mildly uncomfortable with something, but it passed just about as quickly as it had come. In fact, she had noticed something…off…about Locke, other than his general disheveled appearance. Cocking her head to one side she’d look at him with as much curiosity as her blind-fold covered face could show.

”By the way, are you alright?”

[Rugs]

Sunshine and energy. She was such a nice girl, bless her heart, but right now, Locke wasn't sure if he liked the fact. When did she get up? Is the sun even up It had to be if she'd been up watching the sunrise.

"Is that so?" Locke managed to say, leaning against the part of the doorframe that was in front of him. "Was it a pretty sunrise?" He managed a grin, hoping to play off the stupid question as one of his usual bits of sarcasm or gentle teasing. Maybe she'd buy it. Maybe not. He really just wanted to go back into his room. Curl up under his covers and hide until the splitting pain threatening to split his head open went away.

"Question?" Locke yawned, stretching in place as he did so and gritting his teeth as his headache briefly intensified. "Well... I might be able to help you out. I mean I still need to wake up but..." He yawned again. "I try. Most of the time."

”By the way, are you alright?”

No, Locke thought bluntly. I'm not. I want to be in bed.

That would hardly do for an answer, though; it wasn't Elys' fault that he'd been out drinking last night and had a hangover now. Sighing, Locke rubbed his eyes and thought up some sort of explanation.

"I had a long night. I was out meeting with some of the contacts I keep." Again he yawned, but it was a small yawn this time. He stifled it with the crook of his arm and continued along. "I didn't get back until pretty early in the morning, and I'm a little tired. Still waking up, see..."

Yeah, that would do. It would damn well have to cause that was the story he was sticking to. It was mostly true anyway, save a few missing details.

"I also have a bit of a headache, but don't let that stop you. I'm... I'll be fine. Just... gimme a few."

[Talau the Ever-Lurking]

“Is that so? Was it a pretty sunrise?”

That had her head tilting just a bit further to the side as she puzzled out if he was teasing her, or if he’d…somehow…forgotten she couldn’t exactly see enough to tell. After a pause and a wary ‘uuuuh,’ as she pondered her reply, she shrugged and beamed a grin at him. ”Well I can’t exactly tell, you know, but the light was nice as it grew all around me, and the crisp air started to get a bit warmer of a smell and feel to it,” she replied finally, satisfied that she’d given a proper answer for this impromptu test of her explanatory skills. At the least he’d have as good an answer as she could give him…teasing or no.

Still, she couldn’t help but notice that he was yawning an awful lot. Maybe he’d been up late. That seemed the probable answer as she felt a tinge of annoyance at her question about if he was alright, mild though it was. When he replied to her it rang true enough with her guesswork and a part of her felt a bit bad about waking him up. The other part of her (the selfish bit that wanted him to be awake and alert and energetic enough to go out and do something with her) harshly attempted to trample any thoughts that were of that nature, however.

Despite the internal emotional (and moral) combat, however, Elys simply nodded a bit to his comment and hesitated another moment as she attempted to decide if she was actually going to pester him or not now that she knew he was so tired. In the end it spilled out.

”Master Locke, I was wondering if maybe it was okay if we get out of the Temple for a little while today.”

She paused long enough to take a breath and ‘eye’ him cautiously for a moment before continuing on, this time a bit less swiftly.

”It’s just that…I’ve been cooped up in here for a couple of months now and…” she let her words trail off, certain he could fill in the blanks himself – tired or not. Chewing lightly on the inside of her lip, she’d turn her staff a bit on the ground and rock back and forth from her heels to her toes and back again before consciously making herself stop fidgeting as she waited for his answer.

[Rugs]

Locke listened but didn't listen to Elys' description of the sunrise, nodding where appropriate. In truth, he was trying to remember how much he'd had to drink the night before, but his memory grew blurry past the eighth shot...

"That sounds lovely, Elys," he said, smiling as if his attention had been on her and her alone all the while. Sometimes the skills learned as an Investigator came in handy; sometimes he had to pay attention while not really paying attention to someone.

Still, as he looked down at the blind girl, all joy and purity, he couldn't help but feel a guilt stab at the back of his mind. She hadn't had a thing to do with his bought of irresponsibility the night before. And here I am, blowing her off.

Not the best way to start an apprenticeship.

Locke sighed, leaning against the doorframe and trying to clear his head. The girl had come to her for a reason, and he was her master now, for better or for worse. The least he could do was hear her out.

”Master Locke, I was wondering if maybe it was okay if we get out of the Temple for a little while today."

I should've known.

”It’s just that…I’ve been cooped up in here for a couple of months now and…”

Locke was quiet for a few long moments, tapping his forefinger on the doorframe's polished metal edge while he thought. It wasn't an unreasonable request; any other time, he'd be more than happy to oblige. But the pounding in his head, going on and on like drums to war, didn't make for a particularly agreeable Locke Nemsee.

But still...

He sighed softly and nodded, offering Elys a tired smile. "Sure, Elys. Just uh..." He looked at her, rubbing scruffy beard thoughtfully. Surely, he still had some medicine somewhere in his room. And some water...

"Just give me a few minutes to wake up and actually put on something presentable, alright?" Locke titled his head slightly aside and grinned wryly. "Need a shirt that's on right, and as lovely as my quads are, I don't think the good people of Coruscant are ready to be graced by them."

He gave her a wink and a smile and retreated back into his room, closing and locking the door behind him so he could prepare.

[Talau the Ever-Lurking]

Poor girl really was having a difficult time it seemed…

The worst part about technically being blind was that other senses strengthened…like Sense. It didn’t help any that she was good at inferring things from those around her. She was training to be an investigator, after all. So, when Locke only half listened to her words…she knew it. That was why his reply stung enough to make her frown…an expression that seemed foreign to her face. His long moments of silence after her request didn’t help any.

Maybe this had been a bad idea after all…

Finally she sighed a little and looked down the hall.

…She suddenly didn’t feel like going anywhere…especially not with the mood she felt coming on strong.

”No, it’s okay I’m not sure I f—“ As she turned her face back to look at Locke, she found the door closing on her, only causing her to sigh more heavily. —feel like going any more…Ah, nuts.”

For a long moment she debated on what to do. Should she wait? Should she use the door com to just tell Locke to forget it? Should she…no, the latter was the best option. Pushing the button on the com she didn’t wait for him to acknowledge the fact that she was there. If he didn’t know already, he’d know soon enough.

”It’s alright, Master Locke. Let’s not worry about going today…let’s just…maybe we should just go tomorrow. So…I’ll um…I’m going to go and work in my room for a bit if you need me.”

With that said, she let go of the button and made off down the hall without a second glance.

The path that led her back to her room was a short one, and all too familiar. It was beginning to feel like a walk of shame every time she came from the knight’s quarters, but she ignored it by humming a little to herself and trying to focus her mind on what she was going to do once she got to her little niche in the temple. After all, what good would dwelling on things do her? None, really. Life was chalk full of disappointments, and one more day wasn’t going to hurt her any.

That’s what she told herself, anyway.

Unlocking the door to her room, she slipped inside and sighed as she let some of the emotion roll off of her like water now that she was in a more comfortable environment…a familiar environment where she didn’t have to wonder or worry about any one else’s thoughts or feelings besides her own. It was always so stressful for her, dealing with knights…especially Locke, now that he was her new master. As she put her staff and bag down in their place by her door, and moved further inside, she considered this.

”The problem is, I just really want him to like me…I suppose…” Pulling the small droid she was planning on working on out of her closet (as well as the tools she needed for it), she muttered to herself aloud, puzzling out her problem and the source of her hurt emotions as she went. ”I really want to get along well with him, too…but it’s just been forever since I’ve been able to leave the temple.”

Settling herself down on the floor, she began pulling off the outer panels of the droid to get to the parts she needed to work on, surveying the state of her newest project thoughtfully. ”It isn’t as if I want much. At least, I don’t think I do. It seems pretty reasonable to me. I mean…I was going on lots of missions with…with…” A heavy sigh stopped her there, one hand resting on the droid and the other on one of the tools. ”Things were so much easier before she left. I didn’t have to worry about all of this ‘getting to know a new master’ business.”

Resting the tool (and her hand) in her lap, Elys leaned her head forward against the side of the astromech and groaned a little. ”Master Ayani…why did you have to do this? Why? I don’t understand…”

[Rugs]

Locke's brows rose gently as Elys' mood suddenly shifted on the other side of the door.

All of a sudden, she didn't want to go out. They could do it later.

Strange felt like an appropriate word to describe the shift as opened the door, pants half on, and watched her turn around and go retreating off down the hallway.

"Huh," he muttered, wondering what was wrong with the girl.

Well, I suppose that changes the day's plans...

Briefly he felt a touch of concern. But she'd said everything was okay, and truth be told, with his head still pounding like a drum, he didn't feel like he needed to go chasing her halfway across the Temple. That might only make things worse.

"Well, alright..." he muttered as she disappeared around a corner. He backed into his room and his door closed behind him with a quiet sigh.

He turned the lights off with a lazy flick of his head and lay back in bed again, pulling his pillow over his eyes to shield against the light streaming in through cracks in his curtain. Even has he drifted quietly off to sleep, he couldn't shake the feeling he should see the girl.

He'd make it the first thing he did when he woke up in the afternoon...