( closed. )

[apoptotic]

CHARACTERS: anakin ; others
DATE: mid to late june
WARNINGS: will edit if something comes up
SUMMARY: catch-all for prison stay; pm if you'd like a starter!

Comments

damian →

[apoptotic]

day one.

[apoptotic]

[ his lightsaber was confiscated. anakin can feel it on the ship the only way to disarm a force user, however, is to kill him…and anakin is very much alive. he stands in the middle of his cell, eyes darkened in a furious face. someone tripped the alarm. of course, someone tripped the alarm. this was never a mission for all of them. three max would have achieved mission objectives. one such as him could have done it alone. every extra body was an extra chance of failure. here they are.

the short-sleeved jumpsuit plainly reveals the false arm replacing the lost right. the gold-tipped black fingers curl slowly inward. focus on the present. the shouts and jeers of inmates. the clipped tones of officers. the heavy footfalls of the guard droids.

two such steps come down the hall. anakin waits to see who they’re dragging, where they take him or her.

to his surprise, his door opens.

everyone he has seen has got a little shove to “help” if they don’t step inside quickly enough. everyone he has seen has been a grown adult. the kid — damian, he recalls — is so small the force almost knocks him down. anakin catches him. the door clangs shut with a finality that should sound intimidating. in truth, it only pisses him off further. ]

You okay?

[ even as he asks, anakin’s glare is fixed on the retreating guards. ]

[littlestguano]

[Damian rights himself immediately, whipping around and nearly charging at the doors for all the good it would have done even if he had managed to catch the guards before they'd closed it. He's already realized it didn't appear they could be hurt but that sure as hell wasn't going to stop him from trying over and over again.

Only when the guards are out of sight does he step back and glance at Anakin, his fists clenched at his sides and his eyes bright with anger.]

They took my weapons. All of my weapons.

[apoptotic]

They took mine too. [ the lightsaber. the electrostaff. but he knows where they both are. anakin glances over damian's head. the look in his eyes is far away as if focusing on a point only he can see. ]

They're on the ship. I can feel them.

[ the black fingers open and close for want of a solid hilt to grip. ]

[littlestguano]

[He turns around fully, brow creased in question. Right now though, the 'how' is not important.]

Skywalker. [Said in belated greeting. Damian feels around his wrists and ankles and sighs.]

They took my lock picks too. Can you tell how far away the weapons are being stored?

[apoptotic]

Yes. [ blue eyes refocus on damian. ] I can also tell how many people, droids and doors are between us and them.

[ waltzing out won't be an option. they don't know what they're facing. anakin can keep back many with the force alone, but not forever.

he pivots on his heel away from the door and away from damian. his fist smashes into the wall. dimly, surprise registers at how little effect the action had on the wall. for his part, he feels no pain. he refused to install pain sensors in that arm.

anakin drops to a seat, hands clasped before him. jedi calm eludes him as does almost any semblance of reason. the only thing keeping him sane is what had so destabilized him only hours ago.

at least padmé isn't here. at least she was spared this. ]

recreation.

[apoptotic]

[ a trio of inmates accost a skinny alien with large, silvery eyes. the alien, bearing a blue zero on his forehead, tries simply to avoid them. they don't let him by. the leader seems to have taken a shining to a ring he wears on one long, pale digit.

the alien sidles closer to the wall. his bullies close in. they have to step past a rack of weights to do so.

just then, the rack gives way.

one lackey gets smacked in the hip. the other trips over the weights and falls. the leader has the unfortunate luck of having a dumbbell smash directly on his foot. he screeches in pain, swearing up a storm. guards are drawn to the noise. the word "infirmary" is heard.

on the other side of the room, seated on the floor, a book on his lap, anakin idly passes a page. ]

Don't smile so much, [ he warns damian, a smirk of his own barely hidden. ]

[littlestguano]

I have no idea what you mean, Skywalker. [He is perfectly innocent and isn't smiling at anything in particular, just as Anakin is perfectly innocent and that rack of weights must have given out entirely on its own. Damian fixes him with a look that can only be described as appreciative and then turns back to his own book, pretending to pay attention when really he's keeping an eye on the rest of the inmates.

Among a group of dumb thugs like these, it never takes long for one of them to try and start something, and the arrival of so many new prisoners has likely only amped up the tensions. Damian is right and he doesn't have to wait long at all. It's only a little over ten minutes when another would be scuffle begins, an ugly blue humanoid making a fuss about intimidating a much smaller fish like alien off of the weight bench he's using.

Rather than stand to intervene himself, Damian merely fixes Anakin with another 'look' before flicking his gaze meaningfully back to the bully.

Well?]

[apoptotic]

[ anakin took notice of the other almost at the same time damian did. he meets damian's look, but he does not act immediately. in the time anakin finishes his page, the humanoid succeeds, and the other alien scurries away. smug in his win, he lies down on the bench and wraps hideous blue hands around the barbell.

behind his book, anakin extends his fingers.

the barbell slips the alien's grip. even across the room, anakin can hear the abrupt oof! he releases as all the air is forcefully expelled from his lungs. the less weight the fish alien used and his own tough skin mean the alien is not in danger. but he flails comically in his attempt to get out from underneath the weight. another group of inmates takes notice. the sound of their raucous laughter fills the space. even the fish-like alien dissolves into the quiet gasps that mark his species' laughter.

anakin skims to the next chapter. ]

Terrible luck with the weights today.

[littlestguano]

[Damian buries his face in his own book in order to hide his full on grin. Only when he can manage to force his expression into something more neutral does he respond.]

Mmm. It would appear they're in desperate need of some maintenance. How unfortunate. [He will never admit it out loud, but Damian is growing fonder of Skywalker with each passing day. They clearly share a sense of humor.]

[apoptotic]

[ the would-be bully finally frees himself of the weight. blaming the fish alien, he charges the other. unfortunately for him, the guards' attention was already on him and they immediately intercept. he's dragged away cursing and yelling. ]

I hadn't heard that phrase before.

[ but now he has and it has been added to his repertoire of things to say that make obi-wan wonder where he went so wrong. ]

that one time damian turned bright red.

[apoptotic]

[ anakin makes it a point to keep an eye on friends. but there's no need of the force to find his cell mate when a small crowd is watching, casually reading as he sits on a barbell lifted by his father.

anakin lingers only long enough for damian to register his presence. then he turns away with a knowing smile. the same smile with which he innocently presses the query later when they've all been locked back into their cells. ]

Did you have fun today?

[littlestguano]

[Damian keeps his eyes on the cell bars, fighting the immediate heat he feels rising to his cheeks and totally ignoring that smirk he can see out of the corner of his eyes.]

I had a productive day, Skywalker. [Beneath the color in his cheeks and the embarrassment that the question brought to the surface, Damian radiates nothing but contentment.]

[apoptotic]

It looked like it.

[ anakin lies back on his bed. his fingers find the leather cord tied around his neck. hanging from it is a ring. had the guards taken this he would have had to be sedated to be kept prisoner.

anakin twists the cord around a finger. ]

Your dad had fun, at least.

[littlestguano]

Tt. Has anyone ever told you that you are a meddler, Anakin Skywalker? [Is what he says out loud, but even without the force, Damian's joy can be heard in his voice, and the blush that he was trying to fight off has won. It doesn't appear he minds and a soft smile engulfs his features.

Father enjoyed himself too. He enjoyed himself with Damian. Will the wonders never cease?]

[apoptotic]

Full name. [ anakin adopts a tone of insincere incredulity. ]

If you weren't smiling so much, I might think I'm in trouble.

[littlestguano]

[He returns to the cell before they're required to be there and by the time everyone is being herded back, he's been going through katas for hours having skipped dinner entirely. Maybe it's a stupid decision but he couldn't have eaten anyway, his appetite long since having abandoned him. His shirt is drenched in sweat and his muscles beginning to quiver with fatigue and still he can't bring himself to stop, not even now that his anger fueled adrenaline has faded leaving him feeling empty and drained.

It's only when Skywalker returns to the cell that he finally ceases, and only because with another occupant there isn't room to continue. He is still for all of thirty seconds before he shifts into a hamstring stretch, his mind reeling even if his body can no longer support his exhaustive coping methods.

The anger is still present within him, but now it is joined in equal parts by shame, and hurt. He very deliberately does not meet Anakin's eyes.]

[apoptotic]

[ who does he need to kill.

]

Damian? [ anakin's hand finds damian's shoulder. behind them, the doors shut with a definite clang. ]

What happened?

[littlestguano]

[Beneath Anakin's hand Damian's shoulder is shaking with both fatigue and emotion. He's silent in response, frozen in place with his eyes boring into the floor. The word 'nothing' is on the tip of his tongue and he can't bring himself to spit it out. (Finds that part of him doesn't want to.)

When he finally speaks it's with a loathing in his voice that only barely conceals the pain beneath it. It's also not an answer to Anakin's question. Not exactly.]

I hate this stupid mark. [He doesn't raise his hands to his forehead or make any other gesture to indicate what he means but his meaning is clear anyway.]

[apoptotic]

You're not alone in that.

[ anakin takes a seat on his bed, watching damian. he doesn't need the force to know how deeply affected is the kid, but he feels it, anyway.

anakin drops his hand, but leans forward. ]

What happened? [ spoken quietly. ] Tell me.

daenerys →

[apoptotic]

[apoptotic]

[ on his feet, left wrist clasped by artificial fingers behind his back, anakin faces a wall with closed eyes. his back is turned to the diverse collection of species and specimens amassed in the recreational area. he cuts a disparate figure: quiet, alone, and marked as “not to be messed with” since the brutish alien that tried harass him stabbed himself through the hand with a fork hard enough for the tines to dig into the table.

the guards did not see it happen, nor could the alien explain what happened. no one else at the table spoke up. one thing that he can count on a criminal for is to refuse cooperation with law enforcement whenever possible. ]

Not the place for you, [ he jokes with what is not s joke, eyes still closed, before she has a chance. not a place for a queen, though he quiets his usual address for her. being uninteresting is safety; dany, as she is, draws attention. best not let anyone overhear she’s a queen. ]

[conqueress]

[ Once she had taken her measure of their prison, Dany had decided immediately that here her weapon must be mystery. No one aboard the ship shares her silver hair, her queerly aristocratic features, her strange violet eyes. She is a delicate woman with a murder count upon her forehead that surpasses that of most incarcerated aboard the ship, and that shall be enough to buy her wary gazes and wide berths.

For now. ]

You will protect me, [ comes the overly sweet answer. There are none to overhear. ] You, and my friend who boasts of obliterating an entire army. [ Across the way stands a lone alien, hulking where he stands against the wall, his five eyes glowing gold. ] Or must I choose another?

[ Her timing here is no accident. The recreation room presently hosts three other dangerous members of their team, though she has chosen the one she favors most. Before she was a queen, Dany was a beggar with no permanent home and no guard. She moves about this prison with a canniness Anakin might find surprising. ]

[apoptotic]

[ the serenity of his expression breaks with a sudden grin. anakin drops his head, hiding a laugh. forward as only daenerys can be…and true. a glint of amusement continues to shine in his eyes even as he studies her new guard. opening himself to the force is reflex; the symbol on the alien's forehead speaks plenty too. ]

I'd check the number of his "army." But he'll do here.

[ regarding dany, the corners of his mouth lift in wry challenge. ]

Unless it's me you've come to doubt.

[conqueress]

[ Or whether the slain numbered among his own host. Of traitors and cutthroats, Dany knows much and more. Yet in conversation, she had gauged that his hatred fell to their prison and their guards. In the end, he had thanked her politely for listening to his story, and his hands had been gentle when he had carried her tray of remaining food to return it to the waste. ]

You know how much I value your gifts.

[ Her tone is a light one, though she keeps her face carefully blank. Soon or late, she would have seen what glowed upon his forehead. His branding is no different from mine. ]

I have seen your symbol, [ she tells him. ] Do you think that my own hands are so clean?