[Video]

[out_of_order]

[Cal's leaning against a wall nearly overtaken by clinging vines. He sighs a little before giving a headshake and a sad smile directed off-screen.]

Guess not, buddy.

[He looks back at the screen, rolling back his shoulders as he takes a deep breath, trying to summon a more convincing smile.]

Well, things sure got a lot more...greener around the city. Didn't think we were gone that long, but alien planets, right?

Been easing back into things and I'm sure everyone else has been doing the same, but if anyone needs anything repaired or might want to have a look at salvage parts I've got, just let me know so I can be at the workshop.

Also, if you need some doors or paths cleared, I can probably help with that too.

Guess that's it.

[The Jedi shrugs, offering a nod before he clicks off.]

Comments

[only_an_echo]

Echo tips his head, brow furrowing as he sets the mug down. "He slipped it in there. I want to say he's joking, but..." He shrugs, resigned to the fact that it's happening. "That appears to be the objective of this trip."

[beholding_archivist]

"It could be worse." Jon shrugs. "As long as they aren't poisonous or try to eat us I don't necessarily mind engaging with some of the flora this planet has to offer. There may still be some that have some medical use we haven't yet discovered." His more matter-of-factly tone gets interrupted by a small smirk. " I will be a tad worried, however, if Tony has us make flower crowns."

[only_an_echo]

Between the tapping of buttons, Echo makes a face at the possibilities outside of the more harmless options they have for their flora expedition. And maybe a few flashbacks to his Bad Batch experiences whenever they went on a mission that decidedly had very limited details on what to expect once they got there.

"...We may have a chance of things going smoothly for once," is all he comments on when he thinks about their group in general. Even if Jon may be right about this. That doesn't stop Echo from arching a brow, however. "Flower crowns?"

[beholding_archivist]

Jon tilts his head with an unperturbed smile. "Flower crowns. Can't say I ever tried making these, but Tony would figure it out even without any previous experience I'm certain." Because the man is a genius if it comes to creating things.

"Though I think I will also check on... A creature we met the last time we were in Sh'Ka. Curious fellow. Got quite attached to us." In a very literal way.

[only_an_echo]

The line that forms on Echo's lips twists at one corner. "Wouldn't be surprised if he does." Not that he's looking forward to it, but he's kind of curious to see if Tony can pull it off now.

"-Wait, you made friends with a creature?" He asks this as he turns again, reaching for the mug so that he doesn't forget about it. "And it didn't try attacking you?"

[beholding_archivist]

"Oh, I... I don't believe it was meant as an attack. We would have been too big to be something it considered prey. But it clearly was curious. It's tongue just proved to be incredibly sticky." Jon says, recalling the encounter with the deleon.

"It kept sticking around us to observe what we were doing. Obviously this creature has never encountered any humans before, which may explain its behavior."

[in_extremis]

"Gentlemen," Tony interrupted grandly, as he drew Cal up closer, then shifted to present him with both hands on his shoulders. What they had been talking about clearly had to be put on pause for Tony's incredibly important announcement, "Our young Caliente is desperately in love." That was where Tony left him, unsupported, to step away with the return of his teasing smirk and a small bow of his head, hands innocently tucked behind his back. "He could use some advice. You know, from people who have experience surviving that kind of thing."

Tony's behaviour was a little more complicated to explain than a curious deleon.

[out_of_order]

Do Jedi get embarrassed? Cal didn't look it so much as he seemed mildly scandalized by Tony's presentation of the situation. Overall, he couldn't say that he was surprised, not that it stopped him from making a face at Tony as the man stepped back before he looked at Echo and Jon, and took a step to the side to take all three of them in a bit better.

"-ouch, you think I'm doing that badly?" he said with an exaggerated wince.

[only_an_echo]

"Better curious than hungry. From what I've seen, the chances of that ever happening are rare- especially when you don't know what to expect of the fauna." Dubious as he sounds, Echo is just glad (?) Jon and the others weren't harmed.

Anything further than that was interrupted by the timely arrival of Tony and Cal. He was in the middle of bringing the mug back to his lips, slowly raising it to where it was supposed to be as Tony spoke trifles. During this, his sunken gaze turned half-lidded, drawing out a long sip moments after the man intentionally left the attention on the young Jedi.

Echo's nose then wrinkled slightly. This kind of thing, huh? He should have expected as much. "Well," the clone started, tone already dry as the now-empty mug in hand rested on top of his thigh. Except he looked at Jon and Tony. "I doubt Cal really needs it, but...go on."

[beholding_archivist]

Jon is in a comparable position as Echo when Cal and Tony show up: Occupied with what is left of his coffee. He all but raises a brow at that entrance, then looks over at Echo when the clone speaks his opinion before addressing Cal himself.

"If you really want any advice? Don't listen to everything Tony says." He says before directing a smile teasing flutter of eyelashes over at Tony. "He's already making you question yourself more than necessary."

[in_extremis]

While it was not a complete surprise that they would use this chance to turn against him, Tony was hoping they would take the invitation to smother Cal with attention so he could make his escape again. He could adapt, though, and lean into this dynamic if it would get them excited. He gave Jon a just as innocent blink in return, dainty hand on his chest for these accusations, and insisted, "I didn't say you were doing badly. It's your first time, I'm trying to make it go smoothly. You're going to go back there and you think you're going to give her the flowers and tell her that thing about the light in the darkness, and she's going to swoon, but I'm telling you, that's just going to make her push you into the ocean. No, you gotta make sure she sees you giving the flowers to someone else." This was delivered with all scholarly confidence, only betrayed by the end with a slow glance Echo's then Jon's way to check how they were taking this and if they were appropriately intrigued and outraged enough to do that smothering.

[out_of_order]

Cal did his best to keep a straight face as Echo and then Jon responded, turning a look towards Tony, brows arching in expectation.

"Wow, I didn't know going to get a girl flowers for the first time was so complicated," he said, keeping a smile from his face. "Anyway, if you're suggesting I hurt her by misdirection then I think I'm better off with no advice."

[only_an_echo]

The teasing did remind him of the times when some clones would pester each other whenever there was down time away from the heat of battle. It was impossible not to roll his eyes at Tony's attempt to cajole him and Jon into the activity, but it didn't completely keep a smirk from forming in the visible annoyance he displayed.

The response Cal shot off, however, made him snort for once. "Kid's got a point," Echo cleared his throat, acting as if nothing happened. "But maybe you need to do more than flowers." He set the mug back onto the console. "Dinner, maybe. Doesn't even need to be that complicated."

[beholding_archivist]

"You didn't have to prove me right right away, Tony." Jon remarks with a one sided frown. If Tony is trying to get Jon's attention on Cal that way, he will be disappointed. Such a nonsensical advice is a rather clear indication for an ulterior motive.

Echo seems the matter covered well enough, tho, so Jon offers the remaining half of his coffee to Tony and keeps his attention on the man. "What exactly is your goal here?"

[in_extremis]

Cal was supposed to be wide-eyed and innocent enough for Tony to have him questioning himself, even if it wasn't for long, and Tony pursed his lips with some begrudging respect that he wouldn't be so easily manipulated, at least when it came to treating Merrin appropriately. The backup plan was falling apart quickly. Still pouting at Cal like the kid had spoiled his punchline, Tony accepted Jon's offered cup blindly, and waved his free hand to insist, "I wouldn't dream of proving you wrong," like he was only being supportive in his efforts.

He was sipping just as impulsively as Echo finally indulged him, leaving him pointing emphatically at the dinner suggestion with an enthusiastic, "Mm!," only to turn to Jon when he had swallowed his mouthful to wonder, "When did you get coffee?" That meant Jon squarely had his attention and it was going to be very hard to pretend that Tony hadn't heard Jon questioning his goal. He did still try, eyebrows raised innocently to ask, "Hm?" His hand was still half-raised, so he could gesture to Echo again, now his most tenuous backup and maybe more viable candidate to shift Jon's focus, and expanded, "Something complicated, though, that's always really impressive. A show of effort. But make it look effortless."

[out_of_order]

Innocence and idiocy were two different things, and Cal liked to think he at least had common sense to some degree to understand how people would react to things. It wasn't difficult at all to read how the angle Tony had suggested would go, and quite frankly the young Jedi couldn't see any positive outcome for the tactic.

"I didn't think I had to do anything, flowers were just a nice gesture," he admitted as he folded his arms. "Dinner sounds nice, but there aren't exactly many options for that," he said. "And I'm no cook like Greez."

He glanced over at movement behind Tony, smiling crookedly as BD-1 came dashing into the area again, pausing only to borble at them before hopping over to look out the cockpit window.

"Complicated but effortless... If this circles back to the whole bear fighting that you're so obsessed with..." he said as he looked back at Tony.

[only_an_echo]

This was where the clone frowned at Tony, but he leaned back in his seat, trying not to argue over something so trivial. "Whatever is available can still work, regardless," he added, glancing at Cal. "Something practical without the mess is just as thoughtful as flowers."

Strange thing was Echo wasn't reaching when he made the suggestion. He really was speaking from experience. Maybe with a few minor details left vague, but it was the same.

There was a pause. Echo had to think about what was said, raising a hand as if it would automatically stop the conversation. He didn't even notice BD-1 returning to wander around the controls. "-Hold on. Why would Cal need to fight a bear?"

[beholding_archivist]

“No one is fighting any bears.” Jon says without taking his frown from Tony. He hasn’t yet finished that one sentence when he gets to his feet and steps over to the man and take his gesturing hand in one of his, aiming to ground some of that obvious restless energy.

With Tony captured, Jon can actually look over to Cal for a moment. “You will figure out what works best.” A sentence he punctuates with a squeeze of Tony’s hand.

[in_extremis]

That gesturing hand had started to become erratic as Tony looked personally offended that Cal kept calling any efforts he made nice, like that was the goal in a courtship and not just how you treated a waiter. "Merrin needs him to fight a bear," he said with a lot of authoritative confidence for one conversation he had with Merrin a year ago, only for the energy of the declaration and his frustration to stop sparking dangerously as Jon grounded him. Right, okay, he would stop, but he looked to Jon with a brief, anxious plea, feeling cornered and sure he would start biting if the hissing wasn't working, and none of them wanted that.

[out_of_order]

Considering relationships of such a nature were considered taboo for the Jedi Order, 'nice' was practically leaps and bounds. Cal's half-smile faded a little as he could sense Tony's growing irritation, and he looked at him with some concern. Jon received a thankful look, for more reasonable advice, for helping Tony calm down a little.

The bear thing still sounded rather non-sequitur, but it still sounded completely ridiculous as Tony stated it so, like some strange proclamation. Cal covered his mouth with the back of his hand as though that'd disguise the snort of a laugh that slipped.

And then quite abruptly, the entire shuttle lurched under their feet, feeling like it was going to drop out of the sky. On the control console BD-1 jerked his little head up with an almost sheepish beep before skittering over to leap onto Cal like he did not totally just tap random buttons.

[only_an_echo]

Echo also had his concerns with that statement, releasing some of the skepticism in his expression while Jon anchored Tony where he stood. "...So that just means you'd have to find a bear- "

In the middle of trying to alleviate things, the clone quickly leaned back into his seat after the suddenness of the lurch and the subsequent pull of gravity, spinning around to catch the little droid red-footed. "BD-1!" he snapped, sounding like he was scolding a puppy as he re-situated himself and began tapping what was lit up. "What did I tell you? Never touch the buttons in this section!"

Fortunately for them, everything started up just in time to keep them in the air, the whole vessel roughly shifting to level itself out.

[beholding_archivist]

The ship's sudden movement would easily have been enough to knock Jon off his feet, were he not holding on to Tony's hand, turning the previously light squeeze into more of a surprised clasp, complete with a rather high-pitched yelp that betrays Jon's usual tone. Thankfully, no face-planting happens this time around and Jon can mutter some irritated words towards himself while straightening out his own footing. "...Jesus, that was uncalled for."

He huffs, but then turns his attention back to Tony, his expression and tone stern after the drop, but also laced with concern in response to the man's clear anxious behavior. "Who gave you that idea with the bear, Tony?"

[in_extremis]

While it did sound like Echo was going to graciously play his game again, Tony tipped his head to the side with a grimace at the suggestion, because the conceit was supposed to be that the bear was the issue they were trying to avoid. Unfortunately, gravity was unwilling to encourage this rousing debate on how effective introducing a bear to the scenario would be. Or BD-1, it was hard to tell. Luckily, Tony was fairly well experienced in such a sudden drop, squeezing Jon's hand back as he planted a purposeful foot against the shift, and ready to haul him back up with the other arm out to brace Cal with a slosh of the last of the coffee he still carried.

He watched the droid with some disbelief, then pointed to Echo and his scolding and efficient reclaim of the controls to ask, "Is anyone else turned on now? Is that weird?" With a deep breath, knowing full well no one wanted to answer that, he added, "We should probably punch it, the kids are getting antsy, there's no telling what else he'll do. Do we know where the fuel line is in this thing?"

None of that saved him from Jon's very serious question, and he didn't quite know how to defend himself. He had to try to convincingly explain, "Merrin, it's her whole thing, it's like a hazing thing and she'll eat him if he fails or something."

[out_of_order]

The exploration droid gave a little 'booo~' at Echo's scolding, even as Cal gave BD-1 a look. Not that he could say he was surprised; the little guy did like to push buttons. He straightened up from his own shift in stance, giving Tony a nod and a brief pat on the arm.

BD-1 seemed perfectly content to sit there in the crook of the Jedi's arm, glancing at the others like he hadn't nearly sent them plummeting from the sky. Cal looked over at Echo in apology before checking on the others, but aside from the initial panic, everyone seemed all right at least. "We should almost be there at least, right?"

Cal tried not to roll his eyes at the continued bear conversation. "I don't think they even have bears on Dathomir."

[only_an_echo]

"Any later and we'd still be free-falling," Echo muttered to himself, easily reminded of his Bad Batch escapades while completing the sequence to be sure nothing was missed. He then kept one hand on the steering, sighing as he turned halfway to see if everyone was fine.

A Look™ was shot at Tony, nearly identical to the one he gave BD-1 a few moments earlier. For his sanity, it was easier to redirect energy into other things outside of their previous topic. "If anything spilled, you're cleaning it up."

He was more lenient with Jon and Cal, shooting another glance the droid's way when he 'booed' him. "Nearly," he replied to Cal, acknowledging the unspoken apology. The rest was said for everyone involved. "Won't be too long. Once we land, we'll all be free of each other for five or six minutes. By then I expect we'll get back on track with the flower-arranging."