Current mood:

geeky little bastard fangirl!

Ornamenti: Part 14
We've finally decided upon a title for this AU! HOORAY! It is no longer nameless and wandering across the neverending promise of the thesaurus and other promising venues of title-grabbing!

Ornamenti.

The title's aptness shall be proven time and again as the story progresses, so enjoy!
(Now to go re-edit all the previous entries to fit with the change. AUGH. :P)


Part 14: In which there is teasing, suggestive lesbians, and a bathing incident. Haha.



After the harrowing chase and escape, the children had insisted upon helping the young Jedi in his repairs of the ship. All save Suldai, who seemed aware that something about her presence unnerved Anakin. She followed Eirtae and Padme around instead, carefully gathering materials for bartering with the traveling merchant race known as the Jawas.
The Naboo ambassador had easily relinquished the alien spacecraft to Rabe for inspection; the handmaiden was currently bent upon understanding the secret innards of the assault vehicle's weapons arsenal, possibly for the purpose of cannibalizing the technology onto her homeplanet's cruiser.
Corde amused herself by eating a thick buttery concoction straight from the jar while watching Obi-Wan's chest rise and fall in the medbay.

It took Anakin just as much time as he'd predicted to make preliminary repairs without the necessary part- three hours spent bent over the smoking, angry innards of the cruiser, goggles strapped to his face to prevent sparks from damaging his eyes. Tracking down the Jawas would take time, and even then it wasn't guaranteed that they'd be carrying the necessary part, this time, and so once the general repair work was done Anakin quietly put down the tools he'd been using in places easy to relocate, and slipped back to the medbay. There he greeted Corde with subdued, tired tones, and set about changing the bandage on Obi-Wan's awful stomach wound. Jedi Padawans learned basic medical application as a part of their training, so this task was nothing particularly unfamiliar. He kept his touch gently on his teacher's mind as he worked, willing sleep to remain.
"You didn't get knocked around, did you?" he asked the injured handmaiden, without looking up from his task.

The dark-haired woman smiled at the considerate question, once more back in her bunk. "Not too badly. I spent most of the time strapped in with the children." Corde tapped a heavily bandaged finger against her cheek. "That was some skillful flying, there. Rabe tends to get the job done, but you lend an eloquence to it few pilots can manage."

Anakin smiled a little self consciously, dabbing at the edges of the sewn wound with a mildly stinging cleanser. "It feels natural," he said, with a small shrug. "It has for as long as I can remember. Easier to talk to machines than it is to talk to people, sometimes."

"Hm. Had any exciting talks with Artoo lately?" Treating the higher forms of droid as sentient creatures was a commonplace attitude upon Naboo. Plus, the little blue R2 unit had saved lives many times over; the cheerful droid was a decorated war hero.

The boy's smile widened at mention of that particular droid. "Just the usual exchange of greetings and soforth. I was hoping to be able to talk with him more later, if there's time..." That most people didn't converse directly or in full with droids, especially droids that only spoke in vocal Binary, didn't seem to occur to him. Anakin patted the remainder of the cleanser from Obi-Wan's skin and fetched a fresh roll of bandages. "The Naboo made droids are all state of the art," he went on, glancing up at her with a friendly expression before he lay hands on the elder Jedi again, rolled him gently onto his side to maneuver the bandaging around his back, grip steady but careful. "They don't even make them that well on Coruscant..."

"We like to take our time with our companions." Corde viewed his steady medical aid application to Obi-Wan's wound with interested dark eyes. "Artoo's a sweet one- he spent a greal deal of time with the younger handmaidens before he entered formal service." She smiled at fond memories. "He likes to help."

"I wish we were allowed possessions," Anakin said, grinning at his work in a rueful sort of way. "I'd buy him from you in a heartbeat, or one of his models, at least. I doubt you'd want to let him go-" He paused for a moment to ease his teacher onto his back again, with the same delibrate, studied care. "-It sounds like you consider him a friend, at least." The idea seemed to warm him a great deal. He pulled the blankets up over Obi-Wan's chest again, touched his pulse for a moment, and then sat in the bedside chair, and leaned over to cross his arms at the edge of the bed, laying his cheek atop his forearm, the top of his head just touching Obi-Wan's side. He smiled at Corde. "Do you need anything, while I'm here and still awake?"

The bandaged woman smiled, waving absently with that white-wrapped hand. "Not at all. You go rest- You surely deserve it after all the excitement." Corde winked. "I'll watch your Master while you're gone."

"Well I /was/ thinking of staying here..." Anakin lifted his eyebrows momentarily. "I was hurt badly a few months ago... he sat by my bedside and didn't do much else until I was awake and out of danger."

Corde raised her eyebrows in return, disturbing cheek and forehead bandages with the change of expression. She seemed pleased. "No softer bed for you, then?"

Anakin wrinkled his nose. "It'll spoil me," he replied, faintly teasing. "I'm all right. I've slept in worse places..." His eyes moved to Obi-Wan again, expression undeniably loving. "When I was little we got stranded for a few days on a jungle planet, without shelter or anything like that... when we slept, I slept in his lap, wrapped in his cloak. I can't do that for him right now, but I can do this instead. I owe him that much."

Corde chuckled, elbowing herself up. "I had to do something like that for Padme once. Luckily she doesn't kick when she sleeps."

"I wouldn't know." He realized what he'd said a moment after he'd said it, and promptly began to turn red. "...I mean, I... it's not that..."

The handmaiden looked at him with full amusement now. "No. I don't suppose you would." An eyebrow raised, and the amusement turned serious. "People don't tend to move much when they're freezing."

The boy's smile faded, remembering his own brush with that fate that had involved Padme, remembering just how terrifying it had been to feel the life draining out of her while he himself had clung desperately to consciousness. "...No, they don't."

The boy's change in attitude didn't pass Corde by; something about it satisfied her in a mystifying way. "She's a tough woman to protect, Padme..."

"You were her teacher, weren't you?" he asked, eyes slitting a little, expression curious but not intrusive. "What was she like, when she was younger?"

"Really damn cute." Corde warmed to the subject quickly, moving farther up on her elbows. "She was always eager to learn."

"She knows a lot, obviously." Anakin smiled at the Handmaiden, comfortable, at ease with his Master so close and the subject matter so well loved. "I've never met a woman who was so... well rounded, I guess." He seemed a little bashful. "...She intimidates me a little, to tell the truth. I think she's a lot smarter than I am."

"She's a lot smarter than most people- she wouldn't have been selected as Queen otherwise. Granted, there were many other factors that led to the office: her experience as a junior legislator, our previous monarch's questionable activity, her sound suggestions for moral improvement in government practices and her extensive volunteer work with the Refugee Relief Movement." Corde knocked her head to the side indulgently. "That was her main reason for entering politics, really. To make the world a better place." The handmaiden smiled. "Padme always was a shy one... Unless there was a worthy cause to fight for."

"I can't even imagine her being shy." He was grinning now, with an affection and feeling that he simply couldn't hide. "She's always been so... confident and poised..."

Corde chuckled a bit, strong chin tilting up in humor. "That is the result of years of diligent training, Padawan Skywalker, though Padme did have her share of brash behavior when she was small." Eyebrows rose. "Oh, the stories I could tell..."

"Tell me." Anakin's eyes sparkled with eagerness. "Everything. I want to know."
He was fairly sure Obi-Wan wouldn't approve of such attention, or such questions. Intrusive, he'd say, or maybe unnecessary. It was one thing to get to know a friend, but Anakin was showing far too much interest.
Well. Obi-Wan was asleep, wasn't he...
Though even as the rebellious thought crossed his mind, he shifted enough to let his fingers touch his Master's arm. After the departure of his mother, he needed the comfort of physical contact, small as it might have been. Water soothed, as always, even when it was tranquil and still.

The chuckle turned into an outright laugh. "Aren't you the eager one?"
A mischievous grin stole across Corde's features, decided it liked the place very much thank you, and stayed there. "Perhaps I shouldn't. She might find it embarassing."
Padme's embarassment, to this woman, was not something to be avoided. It was something to be enjoyed.
Thoroughly.
With great glee.

Anakin recognized the expression for what it was, and smirked a little. "Maybe you want to wait and tell me when she's actually here?"

"Ooh. You've read my mind." Corde settled into an actual sitting position, smirking like a satisfied cat. "Now if I only had a little bell to ring, I could summon her immediately-"
"With pillows?" Padme bustled in with two large fluffy objects of that variety and tossed them to Corde, who caught them with little strain.
"Oh, look at you," The wounded woman grinned, stuffing one behind her back. "Speak and she shall appear- I believe you're the best pupil I've ever had."
"If you're expecting me to wait on you hand and foot, you'll be sorely disappointed." Padme set the small tray of food she'd been carrying upon an unused medtable nearby with a small click and set about discovering new linens for the extra beds. "I heard what you were threatening to do. For shame."
"Pish-posh, you're going to serve me breakfast in bed while I detail the sordid relics of your past."
Padme stuck out her tongue at Corde whilst passing in fluffing pillows and finding bedsheets.

Anakin lifted his head at the sight of Padme, eyes lighting up, though he tried to disguise it. "If you don't want me to hear it," he told her, playful, "Then just say so... and I'll make sure to ask later when you're very far away." His smile was all for her now, the bright fire of him focused warm and attentive.

Padme rolled her eyes. "You should be in bed, Anakin." She rolled the covers back on one bed, tucking the corners in. "You've had a long day."

"I was going to sleep, but Obi-Wan needed looking after." He was still smiling, tolerant of her mothering, though he was exhausted. "He takes priority."

"We can look after him for you. Sleep."

"Are you giving me orders?" Still playful, testing her.

Padme raised her eyebrows. "Yes."

"Why should I follow them? You're not my Master."

That got him a grin. "Fair enough. How about I make a bargain with you?"

His smile evened a little bit. "Do you have something that might interest me?"

"Maybe I do, maybe I don't." Padme righted a nearby chair and dipped a spoon into Corde's soup, preparing to serve the bandaged woman since her fingers couldn't clutch small objects like eating utencils yet. "But you won't know until you try it."

Anakin watched her, intrigued, head tilted slightly. He sat up a little straighter, letting go of Obi-Wan and turning to face her in full.
"All right. Bargain. We'll see."

"You go lay down in that bed," Padme pointed at the one she'd folded the covers back on. "And we'll tell you all the embarrassing stories you can stand to hear."
Corde slurped her soup appreciatively. "Ha. So we have your permission now? Hm."
Padme grinned up at her former teacher, head lilting playfully to and fro. "There are some aspects to those stories /you/ don't know."

The boy laughed, and gave his head a surrendering little shake. "All right, all right," he said, getting up from his chair and moving past Padme, letting his shoulder brush hers in an affectionate sort of way. "As long as you promise you'll wake me when Obi-Wan comes around..."

"We promise." Corde nodded solemnly, with Padme echoing, looking incredibly amused.

Anakin sat on the bed obediently, and lay down on his side, stretching out with a long and comfortable sigh. "Next step on becoming human again," he muttered, "is a shower."

Corde grinned. "Baths are nicer."
Padme gave her a firm look and stuck a laden spoonful of soup in her mouth.

He just smiled, and shifted, to get to work trying to wedge his boots off. "All right, then. Spill. I could use a good bedtime story."

"Funny you should mention showers, then." Corde grinned, immensely pleased at Padme's sudden horrified expression. "-Because our dear Padme here was a very naughty girl in times past, particularly when it came to other lifeforms and where one should house said lifeforms-"
"The poor amphibians were getting dehydrated!"
"So you snuck them into the Academy washroom. Which all the other girls had to share." Corde was trying hard not to laugh.
"...it's not my fault Mende had a phobia."
"One fell out of the cornicework into her hair when she was taking a bath!"

Yoinomyoujou: (*LOL* Oh, Padme and Anakin are a wonderful match.)
AraiYasha: (Padme did a lot of... "animal saving" when she was a youngster. XD)

He chuckled sleepily, watching Padme's face, enjoying her reaction. "Save a lot of animals back in the day?" he murmured, propping his cheek against his forearm and giving her a tired, happy squint. "So that's where all that compassion came from."

Corde chuckled again. "She saved plenty- sometimes at the expense of a classmate's sanity. Mende had a hysterical fit, started all the other girls off..."
"Yes, yes, I remember the stampede, too. I got bumped on the head, remember?"
The older handmaiden giggled outright. "Oh, yes! I'll never forget the sight of you fighting Mende for that tiny little swamp frog! Soap and suds EVERYWHERE!"

"People say /I/ have a problem with lost causes," Anakin said, grinning at Padme. "You're as bad as I am."

Padme stuck her tongue out at both his and Corde's grinning faces. "It wasn't a lost cause! Mende lost her grip and the frog was perfectly safe."
"We ended up dumping the amphibians in the ornamental pond," chuckled Corde. "Under that dratted bird's nest."
Padme scrunched up her face, aware of another embarassing story approaching.

Anakin hugged his pillow a bit, giving Corde an expectant look. "Well?"

The dark-haired woman smiled, searching for the correct words to fully convey this childhood tale of misadventure. "Our Padme had always been inordinately fond of birds. If it had feathers and a beak, she was interested in it- even really annoying little creatures like those peafowl who managed to migrate onto your fair planet here and persist in getting into the grain."
Padme rolled her eyes, but remained silent. She was eager to see how Corde related this particular story.
"When Padme was nine years old, she'd been a /junior legislator/ for over a year," Corde smirked, enjoying the irony of the distinguished office Padme had borne during the time of this tale of immaturity. "However, even /junior legislators/ are allowed a break every now and then, and Padme liked to take hers on the main balcony with the other handmaidens in training. Now, the thing you have to remember about this balcony-" Corde held up a bandaged finger, leaning forward towards Anakin. "Is that it ringed the outside wall of the Royal Palace. The only things beyond the edge were trees, rocks, and a slippery slope leading down to the Falls."
The elder handmaiden subsided, grinning ruefully. "Now Padme just HAD to discover a peko-peko nest in the tree branches just slightly beyond arm's reach."

Anakin's sleepy gaze turned to Padme, one eyebrow lifting very briefly. He seemed too tired for further movement. "You fell?"

Padme blushed. "...Well, I was reaching as far as I could, and some of the other girls were playing tag behind me and-"
"You suddenly disappeared over the rail." Corde's tone was flat and only half-amused. "I remember, because I was about to walk over there and pull you back in."
Now Padme had the grace to look very embarrassed. "......A tree branch broke my fall."
Whatever seriousness Corde harbored for this story disappeared in the wind, as she was nearly laughing out loud. "You had a mild concussion, some very interesting scrapes and that one NASTY purple bruise across your hips where 'the tree branch broke your fall.' Goodness, Padme, you barely had any breath left. After all of this, the first thing to come out of your mouth when we got to you was-"
"-I didn't MEAN to knock the nest when I fell-"
"'Save the egg!'" Nearly became fully as Corde's amusement found a vocal outlet. Oh, was she giggling.

Yoinomyoujou: (*DIES* Tiny Padme oh god.)
AraiYasha: (Tiny Padme was ADORABLE.)

Anakin's chuckle was low and throaty and half asleep already; his eyes had fallen shut at some point during the talking. "Can't say I've ever fallen off a cliff before," he murmured into his pillow. "Into the ocean, off a ramp and onto a sharp rock... not a cliff. Padme wins..."

"She was lucky she didn't slide all the way down to the Falls." Corde was mock-stern. "Forty feet from a balcony to trees and rocks below is nothing compared to all that watery press; people have died attempting to jump the Falls."
The woman's former pupil huffed. "I didn't fall and die, Corde." She leaned forward with full spoon. "Eat your soup."

"Mm," said Anakin, clearly drifting, exhausted by lack of sleep and days of hard work with no end in sight. He seemed far more peaceful here than he had days before, snoozing on the entryway floor of the cruiser, though one got the impression it had less to do with the comfortable bed and more to do with the company.

Padme exchanged a grin with Corde; Anakin was absolutely adorable when he was nodding off.

"The fresher's broken," said a familiar voice from the doorway; Sabe stood, arms crossed, leaning momentarily against the doorframe. "Everything except the toilet. So you know." She arched an eyebrow at Padme and grinned, unabashed. "I overheard the topic at hand."

Corde groaned. "No shower? Ugh." As a badly wounded individual, getting washed was highly important.
"Well, at least we don't have to live with worse things." Padme was determined to look on the bright side. "I'm sure there are other ways to stay clean that don't include water..."
"Ah, /yes/. Anakin, before you drift off to sleep, is there any place nearby where we can get clean?"

Anakin grunted and opened one eye again, momentarily bleary. "What?"
Sabe's expression had grown more reserved now that he was awake, but she was still smiling with definite amusement. "The fresher shower's broken, Skywalker," she informed him, and he sat up after a moment, frowning. "...Well, we're in Beggar's Canyon... go a ways down it to the south, there's a waterfall and a pool. It's fresh water, clean runoff from local moisture farms..."

"Ah," Corde smiled, falling back into her own pillow. "Sounds lovely."

"Give me an hour or two here," Anakin murmured, lying back down again and closing his eyes. "And I'll show you how to get there."

The boy was /really/ adorable when he was sleepy. Padme smiled and spooned another serving for Corde. "Thank you, Anakin. Rest for now. You need it."

"Bleah," Anakin declared in Padme's general direction, the sound half-hearted but not unkind. He sighed, and was asleep within moments.
"Now we all get to walk naked down the Canyon," Sabe said blithely. "Or, better yet, you all do. I get to stand on top of the ship and watch."

"Oh, do we really have to? I bet the sand blows rather nastily." Corde waved a mummified hand in the air. "I'm all for scampering to the watering hole with only my bandages for cover, though."
Padme grinned. "Very sexy, Corde."
"It's fun when they teasingly unwrap."

"Mm/hmm/," Sabe said appreciatively, dark eyes alight with her usual internal good humor. "Don't tease me if you're not really going to do it, Corde."

"I'm hardly wearing anything else anyway." The older handmaiden winked.

"It would be terribly uncouth of me to take advantage of a helpless, injured woman," the other girl replied, and sidled to the right, her hip bumping Padme's affectionately. "Our mutual friend here, however..."

Padme kissed Sabe's cheek, dark eyes sparkling with humor. "Anything for you, Sabe."

"I am the /luckiest/ handmaiden in the galaxy."



Anakin's directions, though vague, were useful enough to an individual accustomed to navigating rough terrain. Of course she hadn't walked down the Canyon naked as Sabe had so drolly suggested, but the waterfall and the pool below it definitely invited the shedding of clothes.
For the moment, however, Padme examined the scalloped rocks, blaster in hand. It never hurt to check for bounty hunters staking out the biggest water source for clicks around.
After all, the pool wasn't very far from the ship's hiding place.

It was a wide pool perhaps four feet deep at the center, shallower close to the rocks, and the waterfall spilled down clear away from the sides of the canyon in freefall. Perfect for the action he'd reccommended it for. Small desert-dwelling lizards watched her warily from their sunning spots; the light trickled down through the cracks above, spilling shafts of sunlight across the water.
All in all, it was a tranquil, peaceful scene.

The lizards appeared to be the only lifeforms around the pool. Safe enough, then.
Padme stripped off the desert costume Eirtae had so thoughtfully designed, not supressing a sigh of relief as the heavy sweat-soaked fabric departed contact with her skin, and slipped gratefully into the water.
She settled into the sandy bottom, happily allowing the faintly sun-warmed liquid to close over her head.

It was as such that the sound of someone else's approach was difficult to hear until it was too late, though, considering Anakin was a Jedi, he probably wouldn't have made that much noise in the first place.
He hadn't gotten a chance to fully cleanse himself of engine grease yet, nor the usual scrapes and scuffs of dirt and grime that came with the job, and it was with a sigh of relief that he unbuckled his belt and began to pull off his tabards and tunic. There were still a few fading bruises along his back and shoulders, and his joints were sore from abuse; he took a moment to rotate both arms, trying to get them limber again, bare back turned to the tranquil pool.

(Ho hum, eye candy.)
AraiYasha: (...Why are we doing this? XD They are going to be SO awkward.)
Yoinomyoujou: (Because it's fun and awkward and kind of hot, and perfectly sets up the ambush I have planned to get the plot moving in the direction we want? :D)
AraiYasha: (OH GOD I LOVE YOU)
AraiYasha: (I LOVE YOU SO MUCH)
Yoinomyoujou: (:D <3 I am sparkly.)
AraiYasha: (SQUEE)

Padme blew bubbles from beneath, enjoying the cleanliness and the pleasant temperature of the water for as long as her breath lasted.
Then, air spent, she surfaced nose first, still facing the small outcropping of rock where she'd stashed her clothes and the blaster. The others would be coming soon, and it wasn't fair to monopolize the water.
Even so, letting her hair fan out and float like this was fun; it was nearly past her waist now.

Someone nearby made a small and rather startled sound; the voice, despite the surprised pitch, was decidedly masculine.
"Um," said Anakin, hastily pulling his leggings back up again and flushing crimson; clearly he'd been on the verge of getting into the water, himself. "Sorry, I didn't- didn't know-" He was also trying desperately not to stare.

Padme knew better than to turn around.
She knew much better than to do that.
Fortunately, she hadn't fully emerged from the water yet; what Anakin could see was little more than faintly bruised shoulders and upper torso framed by long clinging strands of dark wet hair.
Which was sensuous enough, considering the circumstances.
"...There's no reason why you would have. I tried not to make my presence too obvious."
She reached for the balled-up clean white shift and the loose wrap that she'd stuffed into the overhang bearing her clothes, suddenly, embarassingly wondering where on earth the belt for the ensemble was. It certainly wouldn't do much good if the wrap flew open unannounced, would it?
Water splished against her waist, small ripples widening outwards to where Anakin stood at the rim of the pool. "...I'm about to leave, if you want to wait."

He turned around swiftly, bending to pick up his discarded clothes, and frowning momentarily as he realized he'd left his lightsaber in the cruiser. "I'll wait," he said, trying not to think about her so near to him wet and unclothed. Considering his own current state of semi-undress, too much thought in that direction could potentially make the situation even more embarassing.

AraiYasha: (ANAKIN WHY DID YOU NOT BRING YOUR LIGHTSABER)
AraiYasha: (YOUR LIGHTSABER IS YOUR LIFE)
Yoinomyoujou: (Anakin: *...it's justsgfdfghn NOT THE SPEECH*)
AraiYasha: (YES, THE SPEECH)
Yoinomyoujou: (Anakin: It's just in the ship! It's okay! I can fight without it if I have to!)
AraiYasha: (YOU OBVIOUSLY NEED TO HEAR THE SPEECH AGAIN)
Yoinomyoujou: (Anakin: No. It's /fine/. *glare*)
AraiYasha: (...Also, we may need to have a discussion about something ELSE. *AHEM*)
Yoinomyoujou: (Anakin: ....What. /What/!)
AraiYasha: (YOU. AND THE AMBASSADOR. AT THE POOL. TOGETHER. /AHEM/.)
Yoinomyoujou: (Anakin: ...WHAT ABOUT IT?!)
AraiYasha: (THAT SORT OF THING SHOULD NOT HAPPEN, MY PADAWAN.)
Yoinomyoujou: (Anakin: ...You're not my Master. Don't call me that.)
Yoinomyoujou: (Anakin: It was an honest mistake.)
AraiYasha: (...I'm sorry, kid, but he's kind of using me as a channel right n-

MISTAKES LIKE THAT COULD BE CONTRUED AS CRIMES IN OTHER CULTURES.)
Yoinomyoujou: (Anakin: *SCOWL* Are you implying that I'd do something to /hurt/ her?)
AraiYasha: (NO. I AM IMPLYING THAT IT IS NOT A GOOD SITUATION.)
Yoinomyoujou: (Anakin: ...........)

Padme checked briefly over her shoulder to ascertain that he'd had enough time to fully turn away, and, satisfied with the slightly-too-interesting view of his shoulderblades (though exactly why her brain filed it as "slightly-too-interesting" Padme had no desire to examine at the moment), slipped out onto a clean cloak she'd spread out on the sand for that exact purpose.
First article of clothing on was the hip-length shift; it would cover the most if Anakin happened to look back accidentally. Second were the leggings, which clung to her wet skin and refused to pull up properly without a great deal of wiggling. The sodden slapping of her hair didn't help matters much, as the white material accepted water readily and clung everywhere the water hit. Eventually Padme wrapped the robe around herself and gave up, tossing the long brown twists of damp hair over her chest.
The robe was thick enough to negate the need of such a measure, but it never hurt to be cautious.
The white wrap cinched with one of Eirtae's handy little tool belts, and the blaster clicked in Padme's hand, ready for action. Unlike Anakin, the former Naboo Queen liked to know where her weapon was at all times.
She gathered up her dirty clothes in a free arm and walked around the edge of the pool, sheepish and intensely aware of the awkward situation. "...Sorry."

He glanced over at her, and turned in full, folding his arms over his bare chest and giving her an equally sheepish smile. "It was my fault," he said. "I should've asked around to see if anybody was here already." He was discreetly shifting behind the nearest rock, inwardly cursing the the fact that he was male, and a teenager, and therefor subject entirely to whims of the body not at all of his own creation.

Yoinomyoujou: (Anakin: *ISDFsfgdgh I hate this thing*)
AraiYasha: (.... *LMFAO*)
Yoinomyoujou: (Teenage boys. /Algebra/ gives them wood.)
AraiYasha: (So a beautiful naked woman bathing in a pool with wet hair clinging to her skin ranks...?)
Yoinomyoujou: (Anakin: *shut up, shut up, oh /god/*)

Fortunately for Anakin's pride and composure, Padme seemed determined to look him in the eye and nowhere else, her own cheeks flushed slightly pink. "...I should have told someone when I decided to come." She looked away to the sheer cliff-face beyond, the blush emphasized by a coil of wavy dark hair plastered to the side of her face. "I'll tell the others you're out here, so you should be able to have some privacy."

"Oh, no, it's fine-" Anakin grinned, tugging at his Padawan braid lightly. "I just need to scrub my hair a little, it won't take too long, you can go back to your, um... your bath when I'm done, if you like."

Padme shifted absently from one foot to another. "...do you have everything you need?"

He nodded, extended an arm and opened his hand, a soap capsule in his palm. "Right here. We carry them on our belts. Easy access." Talking about something ordinary made the pressure a little easier. Just a little.

She eyed him carefully. "You might want a lookout, too."
They were, after all, on the run from Gardulla the Hutt.

"Too late for that," said a gruff voice from the ridge above them- the whipid who had come for Anakin previously had appeared, flanked by several dozen of his cronies. There were others coming up the canyon from the opposite direction of the ship, sniggering amongst themselves, weapons in hand.
Anakin hissed softly in dismay and flexed back on his rear foot immediately, into an open-handed fighting stance. What a day to be without his lightsaber.

/They/ might have had weapons in hand, but so did Padme Amidala.
She quickly moved back-to-back with Anakin, asking softly, "Where's your lightsaber?"
He would've had it out by now.

She had to ask. "I left it behind," he said, doing his best not to sound upset, as though this would be just fine. "It's okay, I can fight without it." He flexed his hands, reached for Obi-Wan instinctively- ...and remembered that he was soundly unconscious, still.
The whipid had ambled his way down the rock face and was approaching them now. There was a short human in dark browns and desert shades, face covered by an equally colored mask, at his left. "What's wrong, little Jedi?" the whipid snarled, showing teeth. "Missing your oversized vibroblade?"

"Ah."
Warily, Padme watched the approaching duo, gauging their strength and speed by how they carried themselves. Purposeful, confident, just like anyone would be with a whole horde of fighters watching at the back. The mass was far too many for Anakin and herself to fight at once. "...We can't lead them back to the ship. Cover your ears, Anakin."
Padme immediately dropped to her knees, one hand tightly against one ear and the other gently tapping a small metal button on her utility belt.
The sweaty time spent casing the canyon for hiding ambushers was well-spent; at every place she'd paused, Padme had delivered a tiny little metal Singer. A Singer was just a teeny little metal-alloy box with spidery legs of silver to grasp and hide in tough-to-reach crevices in the sandstone canyon, but Padme had brought many with her to the watering hole and each had discovered a happy little home amidst all the sand, rock, and dust.
Now, according to the miniscule wiring in their itty bitty brains, it was time to Sing.
And Sing they did.
The aural explosion rippled outward from the pool in seeming silence, disturbing the natural paths of windblown sand with an invisible force.

(o,o Welcome to Handmaidens Will Fuck You Up 101.)
Yoinomyoujou: (HAHAHA OH SHIT)

The whipid howled in pain, as did the more aurally sensitive aliens, clutching their ears and dropping their weapons; their cries echoed off the rocky walls as they staggered into each other, away from the source of the noise, anywhere.
Save the small human in desert colors. A step forward, graceful and strong, and one arm extended, holding out a round, glowing ball. A button on the side slide forward, and the ball lit up, a sudden flash of pure, bright white light.
And Anakin screamed as though every bone in his body had been broken, threw himself backwards so violently that he hit the rock wall behind him; he was clutching desperately at his head, clearly in agony.
There was an unpleasant, bone-rattling buzz in the air.

And Padme was furious. Despite the horrific pain wracking her head and snaking through each inch of her body, it was Anakin's pain that meant the most to her.
She aimed at the small human in desert colors, pulling on a time she did not speak of, when pain had been a constant and never accepted as an excuse for inaction.
She shot the hand that held the ball.

The small figure hissed and jerked to the side, narrowly avoiding losing the hand and the strange glowing ball. It said something in a light voice, an unfamiliar language, and the whipid growled, getting his feet back under him again. "Feen says," he rumbled, "that he will engage the disruptor again if you do not turn off the noise, put down your weapons, and surrender."
"Don't," Anakin gasped, on his hands and knees, back scraped from contact with the rock face. His nose was bleeding. "Don't, Padme."
Feen drew a blaster from his hip and held it up, as though to drive home the point.

Padme's jaw worked a little, a slight to and fro as she considered her options. It hurt to do that, to slide her jaw across tender membranes, but the pain was focused, and focus wasn't altogether unwelcome now.
The others had doubtless been alerted to the fighting already; the Attack Song existed at a high frequency that would alert Artoo without damaging him, and the little droid was notoriously protective of his comrades.
So.
Speed.
Padme lunged for Anakin, grabbed him by the waist without a single care for the blood against her white clothes, and threw both the boy and herself into the pool while pressing down on the control button as hard as she could without letting up at all.
Let the Song take them.

AraiYasha: (Eat repeat pulses.)
Yoinomyoujou: (HAHAHA, BADASS)
Yoinomyoujou: (Feen: >:| )
AraiYasha: (Padme: *pulling breathers from her belt* *Take one, Ani*)
Yoinomyoujou: (Anakin: *I would, but sdfgdfhfszddfhgdsfsrgsdfdfg sdgfghth!!!!*)
AraiYasha: (Padme: *dammit* *nosepinch* *gives him a breather* *Don't inhale underwater*)
Yoinomyoujou: (The Force is, unfortunately, as the Jedi Masters say, everywhere and in everything. *L*)
AraiYasha: (*L* They're so screwed. Also, Padme's white clothes are now SOPPING WET.)
Yoinomyoujou: (*L* GREAT. ANAKIN IS HAVING A GREAT DAY.)

Whatever the reaction was to the repeating sound was hard to tell underwater, though whatever the diminuative Feen was inflicting on Anakin with the glowing ball continued as promised; the boy thrashed with sudden desperation, trying to hold his breath and shake off the effects of the attack. Bubbles leaked from his nose and mouth and his eyes were starting to roll back in his head. His voice was in her head, small and frightened and desperate.
make it stop please it hurts please i can't take this-

She couldn't take it, either.
Not pain to Anakin.
Padme released the aural control immediately and stood up in the pool, clutching Anakin to her with blaster extended in front.
New water dripped from her hair, halfway plastering it over one determined brown eye. Her fingers could feel the nasty gouges from the rock wall upon his bare back, and their ragged presence made her angry.
You hurt him, her gaze said, looking calmly down the barrel of the firearm towards Feen. You hurt him and made him small inside my head.
How /dare/ you.

Yoinomyoujou: (...sdfhfg I love her, I LOVE HER)
Yoinomyoujou: (SHE IS MY HERO)
AraiYasha: (SHE FIGHTS A NEXU)

The one called Feen gazed back at her calmly; beneath the mask, his eyes were odd-colored, one green and one blue. His thumb rested on the trigger of the object, and all around them the flunkies were straightening up, regathering their weapons, and aiming at her and Anakin. He said something in that strange language- his voice was either feminine or young, it was hard to tell.
"Put down your weapon," snarled the whipid. "This is finished."
Anakin leaned against her, trying to regather himself, and at last he straightened up, wavering, blood pouring from both nostrils, face very pale.

Padme did not.
She only held the boy close, protective.

"Down," said Feen softly, voice heavily accented, and he prodded the trigger of the object forward, just a little.
Anakin cringed, tensing, preparing for another onslaught, even as he whispered in a shaking voice, "Don't, Padme. Don't."

She leaned forward, fingers splayed supportively underneath his shoulderblades, murmuring softly into his ear, "I can't let them hurt you any more."
The blaster went down.

The youth made an angry sound low in his throat, but there was little he could to protest at the moment.
"Toss your blaster over here," the whipid said, as several of the thugs moved forward to put them both into binders. "We're going for a ride, all of us."