On the Wings of Valkyrie

Chapter CXXXVII

"Luna, you really shouldn't be—"

"Padmé," Luna began, her voice sharp enough to split hairs all on its own. She took a moment to pause and recollect herself to turn the blade into something much duller. Like a bat. "I'm perfectly capable of walking on my own."

And she was. Vader had recovered for the most part, and with his recovery, Luna's own health had left flu-like stages for a manageable and rather annoying cold. She was still weak and her head hurt like nobody's business, but she could walk just fine. Padmé simply didn't seem to understand that and had been the embodiment of a mother hen ever since Shu-Torun.

To say Luna was losing her patience would have been an understatement. In fact, she might as well have thrown her patience out the airlock days ago. The girl had thought Ahsoka was bad, but no, Padmé was far worse. Only halfway good thing about it was that she knew Vader was also suffering from the same treatment. It was amusing to watch from the way Ahsoka and Luke described it, not that Luna had seen it in person considering the Togruta kept her from doing much when Padmé wasn't around. Still, at least Luna wasn't suffering alone.

Though to be far, Vader probably needed it on a number of levels, and perhaps he even enjoyed it considering up until this point the couple had barely been on speaking terms. It was good for more people than just Luna to make it clear that he ought to be concerned about his own recovery. If she said anything now, it'd probably just seem self-serving considering the fact her health was tied to his was a known fact between the two of them—especially after their latest mental conversation when he was guiding her out of the base. Yes, the girl was affected by his injury, but she shouldn't have pointed it out so blatantly, making it sound like his fault.

It was cruel of her to do that. And so what if she was feeling the side effects? Luna had been far more concerned about Vader. The fact her health took a turn for the worse when the Sith gained injuries had never truly bothered her. Luna had just seen it as another tool to gauge her Master's well being and a way to know he was well regardless of how far apart they may be. If she was still on her feet; he was well. If she had problems breathing; the respirator was damaged. If a limb was burning or felt broken or like it was falling off; something was wrong with the corresponding prosthetic. Such things had allowed her to have the medbay prepared for his arrival and generally briefed on the issue. Luna used it as a tool, because she knew if Vader had his way nothing to very little would be done unless functionality was an issue. After all, the girl was rather sure that if it hadn't been for her constantly prompting him, the Sith would have forgotten to take care of himself for at least seventy percent of her apprenticeship.

Again, Vader probably needed Padmé levels of mother henning. Luna, however, did not. She had never needed it in any shape or form. Ever. Dealing with Ahsoka was bad enough. Hell, the only level Luna was comfortable with would have been Vader's usual treatment while she was recovering from an injury, and even his over protectiveness could get annoying after a point. With Padmé it felt like Luna was suffocating under the unprompted and unwelcome attention, and it didn't help that the girl was still completely clueless as to why she was receiving it in the first place! Like was it a character trait or something? And if so, why her? And why didn't she remember Luke getting it after losing his hand when they went to the future?

"You're still not fully recovered." For a very, very brief moment, Luna allowed herself to entertain some dark images of how to shut Padmé up before she forced herself to focus on other matters.

"Padmé, it's just a cold," the girl stated, her voice firm and impossible to argue with, as much of a lie as it was. "I'll be fit as a fiddle in a few days, so stop worrying."