Hair cuts

[for_everyone]

It's morning, bright and early.

Hera rubs the sleep from her eyes, still finishing up brewing the first of the day's cups of caf.

When, of course, a terrifyingly tangled horror emerges from his cabin, similarly sleepy.

"Um. Kanan?"

Comments

[for_everyone]

There's a momentary pause as Hera absorbs that response.

" . . . really?"

He said himself that she knows nothing about human hair.

"You don't get to grumble if I make a mess of it, though."

[notallofus]

His mouth twitches into a smile.

"Are there things I do get to grumble about?"

[for_everyone]

Hera smiles back, a little slowly.

"You'll know when I tell you about them," she offers, reaching out to take back the vibroblade.

"Do I just start hacking at this? Or do you usually plan some kind of strategy first?"

[notallofus]

"I usually just..."

He reaches back again, quickly wrapping his fingers around as much of his hair as he can. "... hold it together and slice it off."

Not exactly an elegant method, but Kanan hasn't worried much.

[for_everyone]

Hera quickly stifles her sudden, startled laugh.

"No, no, that's very efficient. And a good explanation for me to follow, considering."

She shifts position so that she can wrap her own hand around his hair, just above and almost on top of his own hand.

"I still don't understand how it gets like this."

[notallofus]

"It... grows?"

Kanan sighs. "I probably don't take great care of it."

[for_everyone]

"Do you have to feed it, or something?"

It almost sounds like a pet, except not at all.

"Here, tilt you head back this way and I'll make the cut."

[notallofus]

"It's not an animal."

He starts to tilt his head back, but then, "Maybe it'd be easier if I sat down."

[for_everyone]

"Oh, we're going for easy now?"

She doesn't disagree, however, though she also doesn't let go of his hair. Not yet, anyway.

"But I think you're right. If you fell over I might take off something that's not just hair."

[notallofus]

He leans back up again, easing her hand off his hair.

"It's how it usually works," he assures her. "If someone else is cutting your hair."

[for_everyone]

Hera takes a moment to stretch out the hand that had been holding Kanan's hair. It was a lot less springy than she expected, given the . . . volume.

"I can see how some leverage with the blade would be useful."

Though surely every human doesn't use one of those.

[notallofus]

Kanan leans over, pulling a stool out from under the table and taking a seat.

"I'll trust you not to nick my ears."

[for_everyone]

"I'll do my best to be worthy of that trust."

Hera moves to stand behind Kanan, gathering up his hair in her fist again.

"Maybe you should lean forward a little, this time? That way I can use your neck to check the length."

Though --

"I promise not to nick that, either."

[notallofus]

"Good idea."

This time, he does lean his head forward, eyes falling down at his knees.

[for_everyone]

She doesn't cut immediately, testing out several angles for the blade before she commits.

Hera was serious about not nicking Kanan's anything.

"Here goes," she says at last, and drags the blade through his hair just below the edge of her hand.

And then she's left standing behind Kanan, hair in one hand, knife in the other, not sure of what to do with said hair now she has it.

"What do you think?"

[notallofus]

Unable to see it, Kanan just reaches back, again trying to smooth down his hair with his hand, and again failing, though at least there's less of it to fail with now.

He shrugs. "It's shorter?"

[for_everyone]

"I'm claiming victory."

Hera moves up beside him, and deposits her handful of his hair into his hands.

Or his lap, if he refuses to take it.

"Now it's your turn."

[notallofus]

Kanan does take the hair, as he rises from the stool, though he looks rather perplexed at this.

"My turn to what?"

[for_everyone]

"Claim victory. Either by taming the hair on your head, or disposing of the hair in your hand, or both."

Hera smiles at him, a little crookedly.

"I'd prefer both."

[notallofus]

"Right."

Beat. "I'm just gonna throw this away."

And with no ceremony, Kanan heads for the trash compactor.

[for_everyone]

"Make sure you're awake enough not to fall in after!" Hera calls.

Because it's still early, caf or no.

[notallofus]

After a few seconds, there's a series of loud banging noises from down the hall.

Then -

"Just kidding!"

[for_everyone]

Hera is not going to admit to the very brief moment in which she was actually concerned.

Instead --

"Just for that, next time I'm definitely asking Chopper to help out."

[notallofus]

"Yeah, yeah."

Kanan's already tying his hair back as he reenters.

"I'll just have to make sure it doesn't get so long again."

[for_everyone]

"Can you stop it from growing?"

That sounds fake, but maybe not.