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[She nods slowly, politely waiting as a good guest.]

Makes sense. I've visited places with similar traditions. Not all tea-related, but they were very big on their food preparation and symbolism connected to that.

[Good ole Tessaralia. She clears her throat.]

You never mentioned what it is you do in your world. I assume it's not all tea ceremonies.

[ He smiles, but the smile is directed at the table and the movement of his hands. It casts his eyes into shadow under ginger lashes, obscuring the sadness that lingers just under the surface of his carefully curated exterior. ]

No. I'm not from Naboo. I am a Jedi, and I lived until recently on a planet called Coruscant at the Jedi Temple.

[ This may be the first time he has used the term with anyone from outside his own universe. It feels strange, but good. Already, he realizes, he's grown accustomed to hiding what he is. He sits back and turns his attention to the bowling water. ]

[She doesn't miss the subtle shift of his expression, and there's a pause as she considers her words. There's a few concepts she's unfamiliar with here, why Jedi apparently do not come from Naboo, but it's clear that it might be sensitive ground being tread upon. Homesickness? Or something more.]

Forgive my ignorance about... everything really. There's a few words in there that I don't recognize. [She taps her fingers.] Is it a religion?

[She guesses, based on temples.]

[ Obi-Wan cants his head side to side with middling agreement. ]

The Jedi were Force users, Knights united in the quest to understand the mysteries of the Force and to serve as guardians of peace and justice throughout the galaxy. [ He sounds a bit scholarly, like he has taught this to others before. ] We ground ourselves in a spiritual existence and give up individual attachments in order to focus entirely on greater concerns.

[ Theoretically, anyway. He doubts the Jedi of the future will be able to hold to this doctrine the way peace had enabled them to do.

Pausing, he looks at Lucretia and offers a disarming little smile. ]

Normally I would offer you sugar here but I've not found anything remotely close.

[He smiles and she mirrors it back to him before she realizes that she's doing it. Heat creeps up to her ears and then even more so when she realizes that she's flustered for, what? Smiling back at a person? While drinking tea near a beautiful lake.

Glancing behind her to check on the staff (it hasn't gone anywhere) she lifts a hand and shakes her head.]

Not a problem. I like it just as well without.

[But The Force is a familiar statement and she hums and picks up her tea cup.]

Then you know mister Cal Kestis? I've met a few other people who came from the same world as others, so that's awfully lucky.

[ As she glances back at her staff, Obi-Wan goes about lifting the kettle from the smoldering flame to pour first for her then for himself. He makes no effort to point out the flush that's warmed her expression, lovely as it is, and turns to the topic at hand. ]

Yes, he was raised at the Temple as well, though I knew his Master better than I knew him.

[ He waits to take his first sip, watching Lucretia for her take on his incredibly rustic tea. The chief taste seems to be floral, ascribed likely to the little blue petals floating in the cup. ]

There are three of us here as far as I can tell. The third is Anakin Skywalker, my former Padawan learner.

[Masters and Padawans and Temples, all of this is reminding her a lot of the hanging arcanium. One of her favorite places that they'd visited during their long, long journey. She picks up the cup and lets it sit for a moment, watching the petals swirl and the heat from the cup warm her hands.]

That's fortunate, to have three of you here. I haven't yet met anyone from my world yet, although that's just as well-

[She punctuates that with a sip of the tea. A half beat and lips press together in an expression that isn't unpleasant, but surprised. She swallows.]

Damn, this tea slaps.

[ It startles a genuine laugh out of him, an expression that pulls his mouth wide. Obi-Wan may not know the terminology, but he can infer her meaning from the situation and her tone. ]

I'm glad you think so, given the circumstances. If I ever find some real tea out here I'll be sure to share it with you.

[ He gives her a moment to enjoy it before gesturing one hand in question. ]

Why do you say it's just as well?

You know, I'm not traditionally a tea person - unusual, I know, given that I'm an older woman. But I could get used to it.

[She's much more of a wine lady, but she's not going to talk about that and make herself look like a lush. Instead she takes another sip, eyebrow quirking at the question. Ah, she may have said too much.]

It's just that I work fine on my own. And there's important work to be done at home, so it's for the best that only one of us is indisposed.

[It's a clinical, thought out answer, although not untrue. She desperately wants to return home - if the Hunger returns before she gets back... no, she won't think about it.]

[ Obi-Wan twinkles at her after his first sip of tea, rather impressed with himself for his blending. ]

Something stronger next time, then.

[ He sobers some as the conversation continues, nodding in understanding. After all, his mission before finding himself here was... serious. ]

I have a feeling that perhaps it isn't quite so straightforward as that. You see, Anakin is from my past and Cal is from my future. I can only assume that there must be something else at play here.

[ His gaze finally roves for the first time, out over the lake. Now that he's aware of them, he can sense both young men that direction far in the distance. ]

I can only assume the Force expects something of us.

[ Because somewhere in the back of his mind whispers: Mortis. This isn't the first time he has been in this situation, plucked from time. He had assumed it was some kind of dream or hallucination. Maybe he was wrong. ]

Perhaps of all of us.

[Her eyes widen.]

You mean, time travel?

[Immediately she feels a prickling on the back of her neck. New worlds and illusions and the like were all strange, but anything messing with the flow of time...

She thinks of the Temporal Chalice. The chill of understanding that they would never know what havoc it wrought because no one can truly observe a change in time. How many histories had it wiped out?

Realizing that she's sitting frozen, she drags her gaze back down to the tea. Watches the ripples on the water.]

Aren't you worried you're going to change things. By having someone from the past here?

[ Aren't you worried you're going to change things?

The words sit between them, heavy. It is a reminder of what is perceived to be the good and proper choice — and the fact Obi-Wan is deliberately choosing the opposite. What he is worried about is being unable to change anything. To know this Anakin might return the same fall, the Empire rising, the slaughter of the Jedi. And all of this being fully aware he is actively changing the course of history. But how could he not? Knowing what genocide and despair will happen, how could he sit by? That isn't protecting peace. That isn't protecting the people.

That isn't protecting Anakin.

After a long silence, he turns to look at Lucretia again, his expression sad and grave. ]

I could not live with myself if I did not try to change things.

[She feels the weight of his stare - there's no way she can guess what it is he wants to change in his world, but she knows the burden of choice. Knows why time travel is one of the most dangerous powers to bestow upon a world.

There's a long beat and she breaks his gaze, looking out to the water.]

That bad, huh?

[She clears her throat.]

I'm sorry, this isn't a very light topic for a nice tea. My fault.

[ It is the most honest he's been with almost anyone here. He hasn't even divulged to Cal that he intends to change the course of time; not yet, anyway. ]

Your caution is warranted. I think for the most part, your point of view is the correct one.

[ But he shakes his head and shifts the conversation. ]

But yes, enough of this sad talk. What did you do where you come from?

[Is it? She thought she had a pretty good head on her shoulders, and she was staking an entire world on that guess. So she hopes so. But she's not here to judge Obi Wan for his choices. Many times there isn't just one, perfect option.

At his question, her smile goes a little skewed and she chuckles before lifting the cup to her lips.]

Per my screen name, I am the director of an organization called the Bureau of Balance. It's an organization devoted to removing dangerous artifacts from the world.

[Which normally her words would be turned to static about now, but she's learned already that the influence of the Voidfish doesn't reach where they are.

She takes a sip,] The most recent one was a cup that let the user alter the flow of time.

That is some important work.

[ Obi-Wan's brows creep for his fringe, openly invested in what Lucretia is telling him. ]

And explains why you would be so worried about my situation.

[Waving a hand, she shakes her head.]

Trust me, there's no judgement on my part. I can't say I haven't been tempted by the power to change the past, and there's some damn good reasons to do it.

[There's nothing saying the current timeline is any more preferable to any alternatives. And if she could have stopped the Hunger before all of it happened...

Hm. Would she have met her friends?]

The town we recovered it in had been frozen in a time loop for years. My agents certainly did some... meddling with the timeline. A product of necessity but worth it to set Refuge free.

[ There are enough key words in what she says for Obi-Wan to understand better what she does, and why. He nods along with her as he sips at his own tea. ]

Truthfully it's only a legend in my universe. Theoretical. I might be the first person who has any tangible proof that it's possible.

[ Not that it will do his life any good. Who would he tell? There was no one left to trust. ]

But it sounds as though you stumble across all kinds of strange and wonderful things.

[ And Obi-Wan sounds enthusiastic about this. He is the guy that wanted to take home a parasitic, mind-controlling worm so he could study it... ]

Oh yes. I wish I could show you some of them.

[The atmosphere lightens and Lucretia's posture relaxes some as she settles in more to enjoy her tea. Finishing the first cup and then glancing at the kettle to decide if it would be rude to refill it herself.]

My base might as well be the Strange and Wonderful thing center of the planet. Not all of them as destructive as the Flaming Poisoning Raging Sword of Doom.

[ He's grateful for the turn of topic, and refills her tea — though his attention is rapt on her, clearly ready to settle in for a long chat. ]

Oh, do go on.

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