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[sith_happened]

Anakin had dreamed about Padmé again last night, feeling an almost irresistible draw back to the island (which he had damn well resisted, thank you very much. He was here because he had a job, not because the island wanted him), and was feeling guilty and cranky Anakin wasn't one to trust feelings of calm, warmth, and love. He wasn't really used to feeling them.

And the feel of waiting that the island seemed to be exuding had set the skin on the back of his neck crawling. His hand kept twitching toward the lightsaber he wasn't wearing on campus.

The door was open, but be wary of the twitchy Jedi.

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[sith_happened]

"I'm happy to have you back," Anakin said. "Let's keep the ceremonies with creepy men in cloaks to a minimum for a while, okay?"

[trigons_child]

"I did not expect the Justice League to interrupt as they did," Raven said, frowning. "I had gone to them once before for help, before I came to Fandom, but...as you could see, they believed me to be evil."

[sith_happened]

"They were ignorant, stubborn, short-sighted and poorly dressed," Anakin decided. "I wish I had punched more of them."

[trigons_child]

"Their blindness has cost me my mother," Raven said quietly, twisting her hands together. "And made me see more of my father than I had ever wished to."

No, she wasn't referring to the loincloth, thank you.

[sith_happened]

Anakin chose to focus on the loss of the mother, too. "I am very sorry for your loss," he said quietly. "How are you handling it?"

[trigons_child]

"It was difficult at first," Raven admitted. She crumbled the tissue in her hand and tried to will herself not to tear up again. "But it has become a little easier to bear. Part of me cannot believe that she is truly gone." She forsook everything she believed in for me and Azarath and the Earth."

[sith_happened]

Anakin nodded. "I lost my mother when I was not much older than you are," he offered quietly.

[trigons_child]

"How long did it take for it not to hurt so much?" Raven asked. Maybe less time if she stopped blaming herself.

[sith_happened]

"Honestly?" Anakin gazed into her eyes. "Years. I'm not very good at letting things go."

[trigons_child]

"I do not want to keep feeling this way," Raven said, shaking her head. "I have tried to distract myself, but as soon as my mind quiets then I think of Arella and there is so much pain and sorrow and guilt." She dabbed at her eyes again and managed a tiny half-smile. "This is not an emotion I wished to learn."

[sith_happened]

"It's not one to avoid, either," Anakin said, holding his hand out to her. "Emotions aren't always good ones."

[trigons_child]

"With the good must come the bad," Raven said, taking his hand with a sad smile. "I have been tempted to dream of her to see if she would come as the stone promised, but I think that would be too dangerous. Her spirit is needed where it is now."

[sith_happened]

Anakin went a little pale. "A stone promised you to bring back the dead?"

[trigons_child]

Raven nodded. "I felt it. It was radiating such a strong aura of hope and peace that I had no trouble finding it in the woods, though it disappeared when I looked away. It spoke to me and said that if I dreamed of my mother, she would come, but I had to refuse."

[sith_happened]

Anakin had felt it too, and hadn't gone near it. Anakin was sometimes a giant wimp.

"You don't feel there is anything left to say?" he asked.

[trigons_child]

"There are," Raven said, biting at her lower lip. "But my mother now guards the way so Trigon cannot invade this dimension. If I were to call her to me, much as I wish I could, that could allow my father to enter this world again, and I cannot allow that to happen."

[sith_happened]

He squeezed her hand. "Both of your sacrifices are noticed."

[trigons_child]

"I hope that one day I will be able to see her again, somehow," Raven said. "I was never able to tell her I loved her. I always did, even if I was not allowed to express it."

[sith_happened]

"She's a mother," Anakin said with a tiny smile. "She knew. And she loved you too, as much as she was able to."

[trigons_child]

"She still feared that learning emotions is dangerous for me," Raven said quietly. "And she is not entirely wrong. Anger and fear are difficult for me."

[sith_happened]

"They're difficult for many people," Anakin said. "Jedi teach that those emotions are of the dark side."

There was a slight pause. "Have you seen Aphrodite lately?"

[trigons_child]

"I have not," Raven said, shaking her head. "I left her a message asking to speak to her but she has not responded. I am not certain what to make of that."

[sith_happened]

"Would you like me to talk to her?" Anakin asked.

It would probably not involved much talking. Yelling, yes. Talking, not so much.

[trigons_child]

"I do not think that is necessary," Raven said. Because she knew that would go over so well. "I merely wish to make certain she is back to being herself again. And that seeing that other side of me did not frighten her."

[sith_happened]

Anakin looked a little irked. "If it did, it should be enough to remind her why messing with the students of Fandom is not a good idea."

Full of sympathy, that Anakin.