Author's Note: Inspired by the novel Yoda: Dark Rendezvous. I definitely recommend it. For those of you who haven't read it, the book takes place in the Clone Wars timeline, about six months before the Temple Massacre. This story takes place about six years before that.
Disclaimer: Star Wars is not mine.
1: Red
"Whie, what's your favorite color?"
The first time someone had asked him that, he hadn't understood what it meant. Colors were colors. None of them were any better than the others.
Whie frowned. "I don't have one."
He was seven, waiting for morning class with Master Yoda. It was a sunny day in early spring, and the air was fresh and damp-smelling. The Master was late that day, and the other children, bored of waiting, were all involved in their own pastimes. Whie sat quietly on a rock, his legs crossed. He observed the courtyard from a safe distance, preferring to watch rather than participate.
A few of the younger ones sat on the ground, making little piles of twigs and stones, laughing and squealing at the bugs they unearthed. Some boys, about Whie's age or a little older, were playing Force Tag, shouting and dodging each other clumsily. Nearby, a group of girls clustered, gossiping excitedly amongst themselves. A Chagrian girl was doing most of the talking, her forked tongue going at a mile a minute. He couldn't make out what she was saying, but it must have been funny because two seconds later a laugh burst out from one of the others.
Whie started, and glared at the second girl. Did she have to laugh so loudly? Grinning, the girl tilted her head back and the sun flashed off her hair. He stared unabashedly, forgetting his irritation. It was red, a deep golden red that reminded him of the color of leaves in the fall. It was short too, much shorter than the other girls'. It swung jauntily above her shoulders as she turned back to talk to the people he assumed were her friends. She had a lot of friends… Whie looked away.
He scuffed absent-mindedly at the dirt, drawing circles with his feet. He was partway through his fifth circle when he heard a loud gasp. Mildly curious, Whie glanced back over at the girls. The one with the red hair was standing rigidly, her hands clenched in fists. She wasn't grinning anymore. Her hair fairly bristled as she glared across the group at another girl, an Arkanian with a supercilious expression.
Whie frowned. He knew from sparring with her that the Arkanian was fast, nimble, and reasonably talented with a lightsaber. Fairly strong in the Force, but nothing special. She certainly wasn't good enough to justify her haughty attitude. He smiled slightly, anticipating the red-haired girl's response. But instead of flaring up, the girl looked down, hunching her shoulders, her jaw clenched. Even the glow of her hair seemed to dim. Whie frowned. His eyes closed as he sank into the Force, trying to find a current. The Arkanian sniffed and turned on her heel, opening her mouth for a final parting shot. Whie made a small tugging motion with his hand.
Twenty feet away, the Arkanian fell flat on her face with a squawk.
The girls tittered, and the younger children laughed out loud, pointing at the spectacle. Mortified, she stormed off, dirt all over her clothes. The Chagrian nudged the red-haired girl in the ribs and snickered. The red-haired girl smiled back at her friend and her hair blazed triumphantly in the sun.
Pretty.
"Enjoying yourself you are?" inquired a crackly voice mildly. Whie turned around guiltily, still perching on the rock. There was the Grand Master Yoda himself, from his rumpled ears to his gnarled green toes. Whie assumed an expression of utmost innocence.
"Strong in the force you are young Whie, yes?" said Yoda.
"If you say so, Master Yoda," said Whie cautiously, wishing that the Grand Master's gaze weren't so penetrating. Yoda snorted.
"Yes. Say so do I!" exclaimed Yoda. "Also say this do I. For harming others your power is not," he said, eying Whie beadily. Whie hung his head.
"Yes master," he said in a low voice.
"However," Yoda continued, his eyes kind, "For protecting others your power is. As bonus," he said gleefully, his green eyes twinkling, "made funny noise she did!" Whie nodded, a little dazed.
"Master Yoda! Master Yoda!" The other children gathered, clamoring around their teacher.
"Hey, Master Yoda!" called a confident voice. Whie glanced to his right. "Very late you are!" said the red-haired girl, smiling sassily.
"Late I am not." Yoda harrumphed. "Always arrives exactly when he means to does Yoda, cheeky Scout!" The class started back towards the courtyard, and the red-haired girl glanced over at Whie. For a moment their eyes met. Then she turned to walk in front of him, her hair shining in fiery defiance.
"Whie, what's your favorite color?"
Whie smiled.