Dedication: This was an evil idea I had that all girls can relate to and possibly get a kick out of. Bwahhahaha!!
Jedi Padawan Apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi yawned and stretched as he opened his eyes to the morning light. At thirteen, almost fourteen, he had been the Padawan to Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn for almost a year now and he still found himself double-checking his memories first thing in the morning to make sure that it all hadn't been a dream. He smiled.
Suddenly, his stomach spasmed, tightening itself into a hard knot. Wincing from the unfamiliar pain that also happened to make his bladder feel three sizes too small, the young Padawan stood and staggered to the refresher. He glanced in the reflecting plexiglass as he passed it…and found himself feeling faint.
His reflection was not him.
The person staring back at him was a young Padawan the same age as him but her name was Layre'an Toshime and she was apprenticed to Jedi Master Taral Hia. Short, bouncy brown hair with the Padawan braid decorated in ribbon framed his oval face. Long, dark lashes surrounded slightly honey-brown eyes that were opened wide in terror.
"Layre'an!" Obi-Wan squeaked, spinning around, expecting to see the girl behind him but no one was there.
He paused to think this through. He slowly faced the glass again and once more found himself staring at Layre'an's reflection. There was no way. No possible way.
"Padawan? Are you alright?"
Obi-Wan gasped, hearing his voice turn to the higher-pitched smokiness of Layre'an's as he did so. He couldn't let Master Hia see him like this. He had to find Qui-Gon and explain…whatever it was that had happened.
"Layre'an?"
Clearing his throat, hearing the unfamiliar softness there, he hesitantly spoke up. "I…I'm okay, Master Hia. I…I'll be out in a minute."
Layre'an's going to kill me for possessing her body! Was the irrational thought Obi-Wan had as Master Hia's footsteps retreated. Closing his eyes, Obi-Wan forced himself to slow his breathing as he thought.
Okay, so he was somehow in Layre'an's body. Now. What to do about reversing it? Was Layre'an somehow in his body?
He gulped at another thought. He had…body parts that Layre'an didn't have, and visa-versa. Was he completely in Layre'an's body? Gathering his courage, he glanced down to look.
Two small mounds blocked his view from his lower regions. He wanted to scream but was afraid what the girlish sound would do to make Master Hia come in to check on him so he swallowed the urge.
His stomach churned again, tightening and squeezing. Unable to repress its call anymore, he hurried to do his business, resolved not to look down at the exposed parts of Layre'an's anatomy. It was strange having to sit down while using the refresher and he wondered if the bad pains in his stomach was something that all girls experienced as they did their business this way. Once he was finished, he paled. He would have to wipe, something he wasn't used to doing. Clenching his teeth, he quickly spanned out some paper and wiped, trying not to look down but curiosity overrode threats of what Layre'an would do to him.
Blood stood in the slightly tinted water of the refresher. Obi-Wan panicked. What did he do to Layre'an's body? Jumping up and pulling up his Jedi trousers, Obi-Wan bit his lip to keep from yelling. What did he do? What in the galaxy did he do, and why was his stomach still feeling like a rolling pin on dough?
"Layre'an? You must get out of there. We have sparring to do with Master Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi today. We mustn't keep them waiting," Master Hia's voice came from the direction of his door. "Hurry up."
Obi-Wan really panicked now. How would he react to seeing himself? Or was Layre'an in his body as he was in hers? How could he face her?
"I…I don't think I feel like it, Master Hia," he said in Layre'an's voice. "I…um, don't feel good." That was the understatement of the year.
Master Hia's voice came back concerned. "What is it, Layre'an? Do you need to go to the Healers?"
Obi-Wan emphatically shook his head, forgetting that the pretty female Jedi Master couldn't see him. "No. No, it's not that bad. I just…um, don't feel very well." His stomach tightened again as if to reinforce his point.
Silence answered him at first and he had a brief glance of hope that he might be able to convince the Jedi Master to let him stay in his rather frilly room. If Master Hai would ever find occasion to leave her adjoining quarters then Obi-Wan could sneak out and find Qui-Gon.
Finally, Master Hai spoke up in a no-nonsense tone of voice. "Layre'an, how many times I have told you that being on your menstrual cycle will not get you out of sparring or practices? You have an advantage over the boys, my dear, in that your added distraction of discomfort will help you learn to focus quicker. Now, get prepared and meet me outside shortly."
Obi-Wan gulped. His menstrual cycle? That explained quite a lot, actually. The stomach pains, blood, and…he sniffed, slight smell. Could everyone smell him too? No wonder girls always were snappish and in ill tempers when they were on their menstrual cycle. All that worrying about pain and smelling must erode their tempers pretty quick. But what had Master Hai meant about preparing? Did girls do something special when they were on their menstrual cycles? Wear thicker clothes? What was he supposed to do?
If Layre'an was used to dealing with this sort of thing, then there must be a clue in here somewhere about what she did to prepare. Obi-Wan began to search the little cabinets stashed in every tiny space. His search brought out two things: one was a long thin round object and the other had an adhesive backing to it and was flat. What was he to do with either one?
Not knowing what to do, and scared of finding out, he grabbed a bunch of paper and wadded it into his pants. If Layre'an was really him, then he could ask her when they sparred, if he didn't die from stomach pain first.