driftfleet | may mingle (blameless!)

Oh yeah? What school?

[Ahsoka nods again at his question.]

That's right. Well, sort of. "Was" is the operative word in that sentence. I wasn't a pilot, exactly-- I was part of an Order that dedicated itself to keeping peace throughout the galaxy. Sometimes, that included fighting and piloting. [She's used to people not knowing who the Jedi are, now, so she explains preemptively before Hank can ask.]

But I left the Order, so technically Anakin isn't my master anymore. Just my friend.

Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters.

[he appreciates her explaining - because he would have certainly asked, and he smiles to show her as much] Old habits, though, right?

[she seems so young, and yet it isn't as if he has room to say anything. The X-Men - that first group, there were teenagers there. The ones here are young as well, and he'd met so many people in Kyriakos half his age and who had done more with their lives than he could ever dream]

I've never heard of a - galaxy-wide group of peacekeepers, though. That's - really impressive, and amazing, especially for someone so young - [and he immediately winces and holds up a hand apologetically] - no offense.

Xavier's... [she pauses, thoughtful, like something's on the tip of her tongue. Why does that sound familiar to her? Absently, she waves him off while she's thinking.]

None taken. It's normal back home, because everyone knows that the Jedi start training young. But I'm aware that most people here think it's weird, usually because they don't have any equivalent.

[he tilts his head, but he'll wait for whatever it is she's thinking]

Mm, it's - incredibly uncommon where I'm from, but - I was young when I did my schooling, so I kind of understand. And I've met a few people who were - younger than you would expect, doing all sorts of things you wouldn't see in my world.

Right. [And then that sparks her memory!]

Ah! That's it! I've got it! [She punches one palm with her other hand for emphasis-- she's animated like that.] Xavier's-- that's the school Kurt goes to, isn't it?

Oh... although, if you've just built it, then that means... [MORE TIME SHENANIGANS.]

Ah - yes, that's the one. You know Kurt?

[he smiles a little. He's so used to time shenanigans it hurts] We're not from the same - uh. Timeline? World? . . . either of those work, honestly. There's similarities, though. Like the school.

There's a lot of that going around here. Not so long ago, we had some friends here from about twenty years in my future. Boy, that was a trip.

But yes, I know Kurt. We're friends. [She chuckles.] Actually, when we first met, I thought he was from my world.

[he winces a little in sympathy] I know how that is. There's a number of people here from - a future. They're all a good thirty years or so ahead of me.

That's - good, though. He's a good kid. [he tilts his head] Really?

Uh-huh! Back home, there's a species called the Chiss who look a lot like him! I mean-- with the blue skin and all. I was so excited at first-- everyone here's a human, you know? [Something seems to occur to her, and she continues on quickly:]

Oh! Not that humans are bad, but... well, it's kinda weird when nobody else is used to non-humans. [Flippantly:] Do you know how many questions I have to field per day?

[he blinks a few times before he can't help but smile] Probably as many as I've had to field the past month. I understand the sentiment very well.

[says this guy, who looks completely human at the moment] I'll admit I want to ask too, but only because I'm curious, not - because I'm not used to non-humans. But I didn't want to be rude.

[Ahsoka rolls her eyes with a smile and well-meaning good humour.]

It's okay. I'm used to it. Go on, what do you want to know? Is it the horns? It's always the horns.

If I say it was the markings and the horns, am I forgiven for asking in the first place?

[he does look apologetic, though] I can make it fair if you want.

[Ahsoka laughs.] I'm already used to humans. [She hasn't put two and two together yet.]

The markings are an evolutionary throwback to when we survived in nature-- they're camouflage, they help us to blend in on our home planet. Same with the stripes on our horns. Everything on Shili is bright, multi-coloured and patterned. So we are too.

[Then she uses one hand to point to the top of her stubby little cat-eared-horns.] These are actually called montrals. They're not quite the same as horns. They're sensitive to vibrations in the air, so we can tell where things are around us even without sight or hearing. They grow bigger as we get older. Pretty cool, huh?

[she has his complete attention. He loves learning about other humans and non-humans - how can he not, when he's dedicated his life to understanding them both at a genetic level?]

That's - wow, that is really cool. [congratulations Ahsoka, you're the first person to get him to use that word genuinely] Your planet sounds amazing, too. That sort of stuff - other planets and all - that's . . . far, far in my future. So hearing about it is - thank you.

[and - because he is about fairness, he grins] I never said I was human.

Yeah-- you and just about everybody else here. It's weird how many people here aren't familiar with space travel!

[Pause. Digest. React.]

... Wait. You're not human? Oh! Are you using one of those-- hologram things like Kurt too?

To be entirely fair, I'm from the 70s. My Earth only recently traveled to the moon.

[he shakes his head] I use a serum. I don't think a hologram would work as well, given - uh, what I actually look like.

["The 70s" means absolutely nothing to Ahsoka, being both unfamiliar with Earth history and also how their dating calendar works. In the Star Wars universe, the base 0 calendar year resets almost every time there's a major galactic event.]

A serum? You mean you change your appearance... physically? How does that work?

[why Star Wars universe, why]

It suppresses the cells that - make me look the way I do, essentially.

... That sounds like a major hassle.

It is. [he isn't going to lie; he doesn't like that he takes it] I get yelled at a lot for it, too.

Yelled at? Why?

I have a friend or two who think I shouldn't hide. Which - is what I'm doing, really.

But I'm not - used to walking around out in the open like that, either. It's a very old argument.

Huh. But... correct me if I'm wrong, but-- from what I've heard, humans aren't very receptive to non-humans on your planet, right?

No, they're not. [he nods] On my particular world, it's - complicated, because the world just learned about us. So they're sort of figuring out what to do with that information.

["Figuring out what to do" sounds like the nicest euphemism Ahsoka ever heard.]

... So you're defending yourself.

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