Her limbs felt like a squashed gizka as she forced them to move back to her room, the sun setting in the distance of Yavin 4 as she finally completed her training. Her hair was matted from the dirt and sweat of her workout during the hot day and her palms were aching due to holding her lightsaber, and as she trudged back through the jungle she made a note to modify the grip of her weapon.
She was almost near the Temple and just about to shut her mental systems down when she noticed a familiar pull in the direction of the river she and her friends had swam in earlier that morning. Recognizing the feel, she pitted her curiosity against her fatigue, and as always in the case of Jaina Solo, curiosity won out. She forced the two hunks of meteorite that were serving as her feet for the evening in the direction of the call, hands cautiously batting away the heavy leaves and vines.
She saw him before he saw her, which was next to inevitable with the garish scarf he wore over his Jedi robes, the scarlets, purples, and golds standing out like a beacon in the green and brown foliage.
"What are you doing all the way out here?" Jaina blurted before she could stop herself, "It's getting dark out."
Raynar turned to look over his shoulder at the intruder for a moment, before moving his stare forward again. In that brief moment, she wished she could have been surprised at the forlorn expression the usually haughty boy wore, but Raynar had been falling into a deeper and deeper depression since the disappearance of his father Bornar.
"I just…wanted some time by myself," his tone was heavy, even warbling towards the end, and Jaina realized with embarrassment that Raynar had been crying earlier.
She needed an exit strategy, and quick, before he knew she knew. Raynar was the last person to show vulnerability to someone- his bravado wouldn't allow that- and a twisting feeling overtook her guts when she realized she had overstepped his privacy in such a large way.
"Oh, well, I have a power converter to work on," Jaina said, rubbing the back of her neck and desperately wishing she had inherited her mother's social tact, "So I'll leave you to your thoughts."
Raynar didn't look behind him from his spot on the ground, his fingers idly uprooting blades of grass as his eyes trained themselves to the river, distant and cloudy, "I'll leave you to that then, Jaina."
She found herself unable to turn around, not when the cocky, brash Jedi apprentice was so…unlike himself, "My brother's snake got loose again," she offered abruptly after a few awkward moments of hesitant silence, wincing after the stupid opener as she shifted her weight from leg to leg.
"I thought you had a power converter to work on?" Raynar said dully, still not looking at her.
"It can wait," she said, coming to a decision as she took a seat next to Raynar on the bank. Her own brown stare landed on the slow, calming movement of the river, "…I could use some time alone, too."
Raynar snorted, his fingers twisting the blade of grass around itself, "We're hardly alone if we're together."
"That's true," Jaina said, her tone pointed, and when Raynar turned to look at her, he only saw her profile, "We're not alone if we're together."
Raynar's eyes widened slightly when Jaina slipped her hand into his, and the blade of grass dropped to the ground. His skin was softer than hers, and idly he wondered if the dirt and engine grease caked under her nails ever came out, but when she turned to look at him, she had his complete attention.
"We'll find your father Raynar, don't worry," she squeezed her hand around his, "After all, we Jedi have to look out for our own."
He tried to cover up the shocked expression on his face from hearing such a comforting statement from the least approachable Solo twin. Although he failed miserably, he still managed to muster a watery smile.
"Yes," he agreed, for once feeling something lighter in his chest as he squeezed back, "We're all in this together."
Jaina gave him the lopsided grin she had inherited from her father, before turning back towards the river. Raynar followed suit, thankful for the warmth her hand provided.