The Senator And The Jedi

Chapter Thirty-Three: Confessions Amongst The Ruins

Ahsoka

After a few false starts, Lux and Ahsoka eventually found the path Padme had spoken of. It had many twists and turns and was very overgrown, as if it hadn't been used in several years, but Ahsoka didn't mind.

She had grown used to the destruction of war and constant presence of metal, so she found the untouched quality of the woods refreshing. The Force hummed and sang to her through the all living creatures surrounding them.

As they were approaching a large stone outcropping, Ahsoka let go of his hand. She leapt up into the air and used the Force to propel herself to the top of the rock. But as she took a closer look at the stone she stood on, she did a double take. There, underneath all the leaf litter and loose earth, was a smooth marble surface.

"Lux, this was made by sentient beings," she called back down to him. She kicked a dead bush out of the way, and, sure enough, the corner of the square boulder was finely carved with the images of flowers and plants. Although she could tell the whole thing was quite old, time had done little to wear the patterns down.

Ahsoka slid down the other side of the boulder as Lux came around on foot. "Ahsoka, I could be wrong, but... I think this is Lookout Rock. But if it was made by sentients, the maybe there are more ruins close by."

"Then let's go take a look," Ahsoka said, sidestepping a tall cluster of ferns.

There was no path here, but Ahsoka and Lux were able to find their way through the undergrowth well enough. It wasn't long before, just behind long slope, they came to a sunlit clearing where wildflowers grew around the ruins of an enormous old pavilion.

Its ceiling, as impressive as it must have been, was long gone, but there was still shade in the shadow of the two or three columns that remained standing.

"I'm tired," Lux declared suddenly, sitting down on one of the toppled columns. He unclipped a canteen of water from his hip and unscrewed the cap to drink from it. "Let's stop here and rest for a bit."

Ahsoka flopped down on the ground, propping her legs up on a nearby rock. But, when she moved one heel to a more comfortable spot, her eyes widened.

"Hey, Lux. Look at this."

He shuffled over to where she sat and rested his chin on her shoulder. Ahsoka's breath caught in her throat, and she hoped she wasn't blushing.

"This moss turns grey when you press down on it," she explained, pointing to the dark boot imprint in the vibrant pale green lichen on the rock opposite her. "You can write or draw something in it."

"Is that so...?" Lux smiled, turning her towards him to look into her eyes. "I have an idea. It's a game."

Ahsoka raised an eye marking. "What sort of game?"

"This stuff is everywhere, so... Look here." Lux pointed to the column next to him, the bottom of which was covered in moss. "You write something in it on this side of the column, and I'll write something on the other side. Then when we're done, we each have three guesses to figure out what the other person wrote."

"I'm going first," she said. She raised the tip of her finger to the moss that was to be her canvas, but before she could start writing, she faltered. She was suddenly struck by the most peculiar urge to write something deeply personal; to make it clear to him how she felt about him.

But, for decorum's sake, she shook the thought away and decided to start with something simple.

"Okay, go," she said.