what's left to protect [personal prompts + OTA]

[candor1]

WHO: Cassian, Veronica, Kay, Jyn, and YOU!
WHERE: De Chima [closed] + Maurtia Falls [OTA]
WHEN: Over a week, in this order for Cassian, but whenever's best for you!
WHAT: Catch-all log, and 'cause I'm me and have to have a theme, this one is: transitioning from HOPE to Haven.
WARNINGS:

1. exposition: Maurtia Falls [images + full descriptions for setting of #5]

2. De Chima 003 [closed to Veronica Sawyer]

3. De Chima 003 backyard [closed to K-2SO]

4. De Chima woods [closed to Jyn Erso]

5. Maurtia Falls, sidewalk [multithread OTA!]

Comments

[candor1]

He nods—gently, to avoid cracking their heads together. And to pause to appreciate the tickle of some of her stray hair against his face. "That's who was most attracted to the old place. Though we'd take anyone who came."

It's so nice (a) to talk about this aloud at last and (b) do so using the word we.

He hesitated. But Jyn wasn't someone from whom he had to withhold his thoughts before they were plans or certainties—even if he could. "I'm getting ahead of things… but I also thought… if any of them ever needed somewhere safe. For more than the duration of a class. Somewhere to stay or to hide or to find their feet or use as staging area before moving away. There's a back room. I thought it would be nice for you and I to have some amenities there so we wouldn't have to come home for a rest or a shower or if we ever needed to stay overnight. But if the rest works out, might be able to buy more footage from the nextdoor property, knock out a wall… make that part bigger."

A halfway house, or shelter. Not primarily… but securely.

…Which was directly related to… led him to the next point. Which… for several reasons, was a slight tonal shift. "…and I'd like to ask Kay to work there with us, too."

[kestreldawn]

"Of course; doubt we'd want to turn anyone away unless they posed a very blatant risk to all involved," she says softly, corner of her lip pursing with concentrated thought. Her gaze falls somewhere by his lips as she lets the idea of what this all means slowly slip into the cracks of her mind, watching the way they move as he speaks again before lifting her eyes to meet his.

"Sounds like the kids there could use it." There's a sorrow in her voice; children are vulnerable and victimized no matter the galaxy, no matter the universe. She was foolish to think or hope it might be different here. "Do you think we'd have to keep that bit more hidden? If - the kid or kids who are there are trying to stay hidden from someone?"

Mention of Kay doesn't freeze any of Jyn's features; in fact, she might look a bit softer at the idea.

"I never told you, did I?" she asks, her lips tugging into a playful smirk. "He and I are getting on much better. I think you'd be proud. We openly admitted we don't outright hate each other - not anymore, anyway," she adds with a laugh.

[candor1]

"Yes," he said, "that aspect would be hidden. Word of mouth only. Codeword… something like 'haven'."

(Or just like 'Haven'.)

His smile is meant to seem playful but is obviously genuine. "What?"

Cooling it, though still smiling, he adds, "He could be a great practice adversary in training, get to fulfill his combat functions without harming anyone." (More than he really got to with the Rebellion. Cassian wouldn't let Kay make a strike for him.)

A little more somberly, "And if we did need to activate Haven protocol, he could fulfill his security function too."

[kestreldawn]

"Fitting term. We might have to change it every so often, to help weed out potential threats who could catch wind of the term." Just like changing aliases or identities, though the longest one she'd ever used was Liana Hallik - mostly because she couldn't change it, not once she'd been thrown into Wobani under it. It was her least favorite, too.

"Mm. Thought it might surprise you," Jyn replies with a warm smile. "We aren't, you know - writing ballads about each other or anything, but it's a step in a better direction." She nods in response to suggestion of both roles for Kay. "Hopefully it never comes to the latter."

She pictures Kay, standing in the middle of a room, with a collection of children all screaming and kicking at his ankles. It makes her laugh.

"Think he'd agree to it?"

[candor1]

"I think he might," said Cassian. Thinking back to that conversation. "It should be more satisfying to his core programming than the Alliance ever was. And definitely more than his current daily existence. Laser tag excepted."