This is the next installment in my "Generations" arc. I am not finished with Dooku, but his and Qui-gon's will begin to have some overlap as far as the time in which they take place, so I decided to begin Qui-gon's. Hope you enjoy! :)
This youngling is… bouncy. It is not a word that one would expect to hear an old Jedi like himself use, and Yoda admits that he is a bit surprised that he just used it. It is true, though. This little one, still no more than a year old, is positively bursting with life. The signature surrounding him is fluttering about, being tossed this way and that like the foam on top of a sea. Or like a leaf on the wind, like a snowflake in a blizzard falling softly to the ground and jumping up again once the wind takes hold, like the rays of the sun, blasting through the city scape in their attempt to reach every nook and cranny still subject to the weight of shadows.
The sun. That's what this child reminds him of. Warmth and heat and brilliant color all packaged into a shape too small to hold it all in.
He uses the Force to nudge a stool into place and then climbs it, gingerly balancing his stick in the space left by his feet. Being that much closer to the boy, so close that he can feel the physical warmth from the blankets wrapped around his small form, almost knocks him back down the stool. Without the practiced control of even the youngest initiate, little Jinn is almost unbearable in presence. His signature, while soft and inviting in nature, is nonetheless powerful enough to be clearly felt.
"Wild, you are," Yoda murmurs, stretching out a scraggly hand without thought. He has always enjoyed being in the presence of innocent younglings not yet tainted by the darkness.
He really shouldn't be surprised by this one's boldness, but he is. A small, soft hand reaches up to meet his own in mid-air, latching on with surprising strength. The jolt that runs up his arm the instant they touch is remarkably light. His eyes flick down from the hand to two brilliant blue eyes. The boy is staring at him and not looking away, not intimidated, not scared, only curious.
Or perhaps not, as little Jinn giggles a little bit, squirming as much as he can in his tightly wrapped cocoon. Yoda starts a little, suddenly recognizing the jolt that he'd felt as something similar to what the healers use on frightened padawans. It is a touch meant to comfort and reassure.
Could one so young know the brooding and desperate thoughts that he often harbored? That he had, in fact, harbored before he'd entered the crèche? Certainly not, and yet the Force says otherwise. The child's own signature unconsciously reaches towards his own even as his soft little hand remains firmly around one of his gnarled digits.
Yoda can't help it. He lets his shoulders drop a bit, relaxing into the touch, finally allowing a small smile to grace his features. "Try to heal me, will you, hm?" he asks, only half-joking. Those blue eyes look as if they are seeing entirely too much. It takes more than a gentle shake to free himself, and when he finally does break free, Qui-gon's eyes don't waver. They remain firmly locked on his own, no longer curious.
The boy is daring him to stay it seems. Little Jinn is literally helpless, fully dependent on Yoda right now for everything, and yet Yoda is the one that feels like he's been broken and put back together in just a few short minutes.
Yoda wants to stay. He really wants to. He wants to feel that touch again, the comforting warmth that only a few close friends have earned the right to offer. This baby is a stranger, and yet… Yoda gives the boy one last small, rueful smile. "Dangerous, you are," he tells him, lightly chuckling.
He hops down, shoves the stool back against the wall and makes to leave, pausing only when he hears a soft little mumble from the crib. It's indecipherable gibberish, but the soft nudge against his own signature is clear enough. I dare you, the child seems to be saying.
I dare you to be wrong…
Yoda glances back at the crib, reaching out with his own signature and allowing just a little bit of the boy's warmth to trickle in. The youngling is nowhere close to dark, but this warmth that is bubbling inside of him is not the light that he's known for so many years. It's different somehow. Brighter? No, he's seen what brighter looks like, has felt it before…
The child picks that moment to start giggling and the soothing touch grows warmer. Yoda knows that if he doesn't leave soon he will be in danger of laying himself bare before this helpless little baby, of exposing the infant to all manner of shadows and evil and good and light and violence and the sheer volume of memories and experiences that he carries within himself. He desperately wants to be rid of the weight of all of it, but he knows this little one can't take it yet. He's not old enough, not strong enough, not practiced or disciplined enough.
Little Jinn is simply not enough. Not yet.
The giggles quiet down to gentle murmuring and the boy's signature pulls back just a little. Yoda takes it as his cue to leave even though he knows it isn't.
I dare you to be wrong.
"Dangerous, you are…" Yoda murmurs as he hobbles down the silent hall. It's the middle of the night. The only Jedi who are up are those young enough to still see imaginary demons hiding in corners and those old enough to have seen the real ones.
And one tiny youngling with a light different enough to expose the demons in the darkness and render them powerless.
Review if you would like! :)