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[She shakes her head once the waitress has left them.] No, I don't believe so. I was only considering your son, and wondering if that could have been another reason. I suppose I don't really know Han that well to be certain of his motives in the manner. [Men were silly creatures at times, but perhaps not without reason, one would hope.]

[Not without reason, but sometimes that reason is just incredibly ridiculous. Leia shakes her head at Eleanor's suggestion, a slight cold breeze wafting through a she does so.]

No, Han and I haven't seen Ben in around a month. Unless he's missing him, and that's why he's wanting to spend more time with me in response.

Hmm... [For some reason, that suggestion seemed even less likely. Something she didn't want to think about, perhaps.]

Well, it seems to me that you'll have to ask him yourself in that case. [That's a shift in emotion she can sense immediately, though she's a little confused as to why.]

But he probably just wasn't used to having someone take care of him like that and wanted to make the most of it.

[She misses Ben, and wants things between them all to be different. As complicated as everything is, especially knowing what he's done to the galaxy and to Han himself, Leia still wants nothing more than for the three of them to be a family. But there's a time and a place for that, so Leia decides to not dwell on it--for Eleanor's sake.]

I'll have to remember to ask his friend back home how he managed to deal with Han for so many years before we met. I have a new perspective for the struggles he must have gone through.

[poor Chewbacca, we know not what you suffered, stuck on a ship with Han Solo for however many years.]

[She chuckles lightly at Leia's words.]

That's an idea. Either way, you seem willing to endure his quirks. That's just love, isn't it?

[She'll fall a little quiet, to try and eat some of the small meal.]

[She smiles at Eleanor's assessment, a bit self-consciously, but a smile nonetheless.]

It is.

[And it took the both of them long enough and more than enough dangerous situations for them to realize that. Part of her wishes they could've gotten over themselves sooner, but she also knows that would've been next to impossible.]

And as ridiculous as he may be, I'm grateful for it. He may be stubborn and think he needs to go to extreme lengths for my attention, but he treats me like he'd treat any other person.

[well, minus the being in love part, she'd like to think that part is special for her.]

Oh, is that what attracts you to him?

[Lightly teasing again for the younger woman's benefit, but it was clear enough to Eleanor that Leia wouldn't have put up with so much from the mechanic if there wasn't something deeper about their connection.]

[She appreciates the lighter tone, honestly, because even if it's teasing at her expense, it makes it easier to talk about things like this. Feelings aren't something Leia is always comfortable discussing, even with someone she feels a certain closeness to like Eleanor.]

I'm sure it's not what he tells himself. But honestly, I'm not sure I want to know his explanation.

[Well, she assumes it's something like "well of course she loves me, I'm a handsome and dashing guy, it's only natural."]

The minds of men are best not traversed when it comes to topics like these.

[In a tone that's expressed all too knowingly. Putting her own marriage woes aside, it had been a long time since she had a conversation that was close to light girl-talk, such as it was. It was a bit refreshing.]

[She can't disagree with Eleanor there. There's a lot in Han's mind that she honestly does not want to know, as much as she loves him. But with that input, she feels she may as well press forward with an actual answer--kind of--to her question. Maybe not the entire explanation, since there were things even Leia couldn't adequately explain, and there's more than just how he treats her as a person rather than a title that attracts her to Han, but enough to satisfy Eleanor's curiosity.]

Han is a person that doesn't care much for title or decorum. It's a big contrast to how I was generally treated back home.

[and as much as it frustrated her at first, she's grown to like it, since not many people see her as just "Leia." She's either a princess or higher ranking member of the rebellion or anything else than just a person.]

[Even the little bit that she imparts is enough to shed a little light on that matter for Eleanor, particularly given her own lesser-talked about background. She's still smiling, though she drops the teasing as she nods to the explanation.]

Ah, yes... it sounds like he's able to pierce right through to who you are, without letting what you might represent get in the way. As long as he respects you, I can certainly understand why that's appealing.

He does.

[Well now, anyway. When they first met, not so much, but Eleanor doesn't need to know that story just yet.]

But we've been talking a lot about me. How have you been?

Oh, have we? [Of course they had been, because she had wanted it that way.] I suppose I've been... fine, all things considered.

[The arm. Living under the natives' scorn with Pride back in town. Issues with her husband that she hadn't spoken about. That amounted to "fine" these days, as much as she had gotten used to it.] I had been thinking of taking a trip down to Shaarnath sometime, and see how it is there for myself...

[Leia frowns--just barely--at the hesitation before Eleanor responds with "fine." Because it sounds to her that perhaps things weren't just fine, and she didn't want to share details. But before Leia can press the issue, Eleanor presses on with her comment about Shaarnath, so the moment to say anything has passed.]

If you'd like, I don't mind visiting Shaarnath with you sometime. There's a lot down there I still haven't seen.

[Just as planned. Though the new topic isn't without it's pitfalls for her.]

Would you? That would be lovely. I've heard so many good things about it, as much as I've put off visiting, myself.

As warm a winter as we're having up here, it's much warmer down there. If you're looking for nicer weather, it might be the place for you.

[Of course, it's dry and desert-like down there, too, but well. Trade offs.]

Well, I haven't a complaint about the weather save what it does to my garden, but I had been considering the change of atmosphere.

[Which meant, there would be less people to immediately form a judgement about her on sight, depending on how much news was spread about certain incidents involving her son here.] And perhaps getting samples of some of the food. [Given Pride's interest in it and all, not that she wanted to bring his name up where it could be overheard.] I have to keep myself from getting so used to my own ways that I neglect that there are other sights out there within reach.

It's an important thing to keep in mind, especially with our unique situation here. Being guests of this world, we can't allow ourselves to forget our reality here and get lost in routine.

[It's something that Leia occasionally has trouble remembering, given all the drama with her family here, but she does her best to keep it in mind.]

I don't think I could ever forget that, Leia. [As much as she'd like to bury herself in simple routines, life here was just so entirely different from what she was used to in every way that there was always some reminder of it, family drama aside.] But you're right. Learning more about what's available in this world and having new experiences can only help it in the long run... at least, that's what I hope.

Whether it helps this world or not, I feel like we owe it to our hosts to learn more about their world and be better guests.

[Since she knows that in the past, they may not have been the best guests here, with how the locals occasionally treat the otherworlders.]

Shaarnath is very different from Verens, and not just in terms of weather. It's good for a change of pace, though.

[On that note, Leia might be preaching to the choir. But Eleanor appreciates her impassioned perspective, as it only speaks more for the sort of role she was brought up in, her relationship with Han aside. But she says none of that, only nodding to her words after a considering sip of tea.]

Yes, I've heard that as well. It sounded like culturally, they might have different expectations, and styles...

[But there's a slight distraction in her gaze, her mind on something else even with her intentional shift of subject.]

[She notices that distraction, it would be hard not to. And with the way Eleanor trails off, it's not something that would seem odd for her to bring up, unlike the last comment Leia had wanted to say something about. So--]

Is something the matter?

Hm? [She gives her head a slight quick shake.] Ah... no, not exactly. It serves me right, for mentioning the place... I was thinking about the person who first told me about it. It's where... my husband has been staying, all this time.

Your husband?

[He's probably come up in conversations before, but in all honesty, Leia didn't know much about the man. Which was probably a deliberate choice on Eleanor's part.]

What has he been doing down there?

Mmm... [Almost everyone had taken some of her downturns in mood as being part of the situation with her son, and she hadn't gone out of her way to correct them. The situation with her husband... she kept the more complex details about it close to her chest, simply due to how dizzying sorting it all out was.

But... perhaps that wasn't fair, not when Leia had grown to be one of her more consistent confidantes here. A chill creeps up, freezing the liquids in their cups.]

... He's... trying to build a fresh start for himself, while waiting for me... to finish sorting out how I feel about everything that's happened between us. He's been down there for months. I only just saw him again in Theasthai...

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