sixthiterationlogs | "I don't get particularly friendly with new people at first go .."

WHO: Jyn Erso
WHERE: The Inn
WHEN: February 9, early evening.
OPEN TO: Sansa, Claire
WARNINGS: None yet; will edit as needed.
STATUS: From aforementioned characters.

A routine has been slowly established: wake up at first light, comfortably and warmly nestled in Cassian's arms; begrudgingly force herself from their safety and from the bed; prepare for the day, sometimes with him if he feels like waking when she does; go to the Inn, visit Kira if he's there to check on him; if he's there, talk about their previous day, maybe have tea, maybe just sit and mope together; study the map on the wall and determine what new intel needs to be added. She hasn't yet begun to venture out to the boundaries of the town, not yet, but that day is fast approaching. It isn't that she's necessarily looking for an escape (the motivation to do so has waned she since's found Cassian, an underlying fear that if they do try to leave, they won't be able to do so together). It's more that it gives her something to do, something familiar and something like normalcy.

There's no threat of the Empire here. There's no planet killer, there's no Man in White. But she can't shake the anxiety from the back of her mind, where it's made its home. It's a constant gnawing at her gut, an ache in her side - a shroud stitched of darkness and fear and self-preservation. It makes her sometimes pull away from Cassian when he holds her, ignoring the pain, the hurt that flashes in his eyes when she does. It makes her withdraw into herself into silence, despite her tongue's protestations of wanting to move. It makes her lose herself in the crudely drawn map for hours at a time, and it's only the ache in her shoulders that reminds her it's time to go home.

For Claire
She's trying to plot the path she'll take when the expedition finally begins, but she's finding herself distracted by everything, unable to concentrate. She collapses into a nearby chair, fingers pinching the bridge of her nose to will away the pain that's beginning to split into her skull. A heavy sigh the weight of a boulder bursts from her mouth as she closes her eyes, trying to regain the focus she's lost.

For Sansa
She's lost in the imaginary expedition when she hears the distinct sound of slow, hobbling footsteps. There's a light thud as a body falls into a chair. The sounds are enough to draw Jyn's eyes away, for a moment, to see a young woman - girl? - sitting nearby, looking rather frail and possibly even injured. Jyn first notes the burning auburn cascading down her shoulders, then the pain-stricken contortion on her face. The part of her that wants to focus on the map tells her to ignore the girl, it's none of her business. The part of her that remembers the kindness Finnick and Kira showed her after her arrival makes her expression soften as she asks:

"You all right?"

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Claire is probably aware of the fact that she has annoyed the woman by interrupting her but she doesn't really acknowledge it either. She believes that the interruption is a good thing because it forces the woman to take a break and address her growing headache. It would be better to do so sooner rather than later, after all. Then, if needed, Claire will leave her alone again.

Watching as the woman tries to ease her headache by rubbing her temples first, Claire smiles a little to show her that she is doing it right but doesn't seem surprised that it isn't completely effective.

"Here." Shifting to turn in her chair so the woman can see the back of her head, she lifts her hands and presses her thumbs against the base of her skull on either side of her spine. "Rub here and tilt your head back a little while you do. It might not take a headache away completely depending on how bad it is but it should at least help the feeling that your eyes might fall out of your head if you continue staring at something."

Jyn observes the woman as best she can, though the ache behind her eyes is severe enough that she has to squint slightly. She takes her thumbs, finds what she thinks is the spot (it is), and begins to imitate what the woman had done before. She angles her head back slightly as instructed, closes her eyes.

As the woman predicted, it doesn't take the stabbing pain away entirely - but it does help, more than Jyn had anticipated. She exhales a tiny sound of relief as some of the pressure at her forehead and in her eyesockets fades, just a bit. She knows she hasn't been sleeping enough (for a woman who's had dreamless nights for the majority of her life, the nightmares don't stop here), she knows that the whole transition to the town has been - well, exhausting, to say the least. Not in bad ways, necessarily, but - exhausting all the same.

She opens her eyes, flits them over to the woman with a softer gaze now. Her lips twitch an appreciative smile.

"Where'd you learn all this?"

It's easy enough to see the moment when the technique works or at least works just enough to take the edge of the headache away. If she had them, she might have offered the woman some pain killers but she didn't have those supplies here.

"When I started my training as a nurse." She answers with a tiny bit of a shrug. "Not everyone likes to take something when their head starts to hurt, so a doctor friend I knew passed on a few tricks that I could share with them. If it gets really bad, I would suggest closing your eyes for awhile and resting so it won't get worse."

A nurse. Jyn's still adjusting to the concept of there being mostly humans who take care of these sorts of things, rather than med droids. There's something in the way the woman speaks, her nurturing nature, that vaguely reminds Jyn of her mother - but as quickly as the realization comes, she forces it away, back into the dark shadows of her mind. She knows that associating this stranger with anything like her mother will be a perilous path to walk along.

"Any suggestions for being able to sleep better at night?" She won't mention the nightmares, there's no need to, but the tone of her voice indicates that it isn't just a matter of falling and staying asleep.

The woman doesn't have to mention nightmares because there is something in her tone that leads Claire close to that option. Maybe it's because she understands having nightmares or trouble sleeping. She had thought it had something to do with her ability but even with it not working the same way? She still doesn't sleep as much as she should.

"Short of prescribing something we don't have?" She shrugs a little before falling silent and thinking. "I knew someone who would meditate whenever he couldn't sleep. Sometimes I would try warm milk but...I'm not sure we have milk here."

Then she offers a little smile. "Have you tried counting sheep?"

"- What are sheep?" Jyn asks, brows stitched together with utter confusion. She's been adjusting to the understanding and realization that the world she comes from - the galaxy she comes from - is very different from the one the others seem to have originated in. There are terms, creatures, foods, countries (instead of planets) that she's never heard of before - so it really shouldn't be a surprised at it anymore. It hasn't helped with her feeling vaguely like an idiot most of the time, though. "And why would you count them in order to fall asleep?"

"Oh....uh. They're farm animals that we get wool from. They kind of look like walking cotton balls, sort of." Claire blinks a little as she tries to think of how to explain something so simple but almost stumps her for a moment. Mainly because she is just used to people knowing what sheep are. She feels kind of silly for making the assumption now but she hopes the other woman understands. "I don't know, honestly? They just seem to be associated with sleep but I'm not sure I can actually tell you why. I was taught to imagine them jumping over a fence and counting them until I went to sleep."

She nods very slowly as her mind scrambles to try and comprehend what it is Claire's saying, but she mostly has no idea. Still, she appreciates the effort - and there's a light behind the jade of her eyes, a manifestation of her gratitude.

The latter comment makes the proverbial bulb go on above Jyn's head, her eyes widening with realization and recognition.

"My mother used to tell me something similar," she explains, "Though it was to imagine Loth-cats jumping over a force field." She pauses, realizes that Claire probably has no idea what a Loth-cat is, just as she (still) has no idea what a sheep is (or a cotton ball). "They're a creature we had in my galaxy. They originated on the planet Lothal. Two pointed ears, a very large mouth with sharp teeth, a thick tail, and very small eyes. They're usually tan with black or brown spots, white belly and muzzle. Some people had them as pets, but they were temperamental, from what my mother told me."

Jyn was right in thinking that Claire had no idea what a Loth-cat was and the blank look on her face pretty much confirms it until it switches to a look of understanding with the other woman's explanation. "Okay, they sound kind of like cats, maybe? Sort of."

Then she chuckles, tucking some hair back from her face. "But yeah, that is basically the same idea as counting sheep. Either way, I think it's a tactic to trick your kid into going asleep due to just being really, really bored. Unfortunately for me, it never worked. I kind of suck at things like that or meditation."

"Er, I assume so - seeing as they have the same use of the word 'cat' in their name. Perhaps your 'cats' are our 'loth-cats,' or the opposite." Jyn hadn't, for some reason, considered there'd be different non-humanoid creatures in various galaxies; of course, she hadn't thought much beyond the boundaries of her own galaxy before now.

A quiet laugh bursts from Jyn's mouth, which she quickly covers with the side of her hand by her thumb.

"I always assumed it had to do with the monotonous repetition - keeps the active, scattered mind in line and controlled. But your theory sounds much more plausible." A pause. "Meditation has never been a particular strong-suit of mine, either." She gestures vaguely back towards the map and then to her head. "Hence the headache."

"I don't get particularly friendly with new people at first go .." - Sanjay Dutt

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