POV: Anakin Skywalker

Ahsoka stared at me from across the table. I'd gotten her a tray piled with food because I had no idea what she wanted. The ladies in here were attracted to me, so everything I wanted was pretty much free. I could use that to my advantage with my new Padawan around.

Her stomach continued to growl, yet her food sat in front of her. It had been untouched for almost fifteen minutes. "Why aren't you eating?" I growled, growing angrier by the minute.

"I can't eat all of this…" she whispered sadly. She pushed the tray towards me. "Why don't you eat some first?"

I wish I could tell her that the food I required was completely different from what she was offering me. "Ahsoka, you're the one dying of starvation here." I gently pushed the tray back towards her. "You eat first."

She sat up straighter and her lips trembled. "Master…"

"I mean it. Eat."

She slowly looked down at the food and picked up a piece of something. It looked like a bunch of meat covered in gravy. To a mortal, it would look appetizing, but to an immortal, it looked like slop.

She eyed it nervously before biting her lip. "You're so close," I whispered. "Just eat it already."

Tears built up in her eyes and she slammed the meat down onto the tray. I sighed in frustration, rubbing my temples. "Look at me," I whispered.

She looked into my eyes and I began to compel her again. "Eat as much as you want," I commanded.

"I'm going to eat as much as I want."

My mouth twitched as I gave her a half smile. "Good."

I sat back and allowed the compulsion to wear off. She dove into the food, eating viciously. I watched in awe. It's been a while since I watched a mortal eat this way.

After ten minutes, half of the tray was cleared. I held my hands in front of my face, leaning my chin on my knuckles. She finally stopped eating and looked at me. I saw the blank look leave her eyes and life come back into them.

She clutched her head and I quickly stood up. "Are you all right?"

"I feel weird." She looked up at me, raising her eye markings. "Sit down, Master. You're a little too jumpy."

I chuckled, sitting back down on the bench. "How are you feeling?"

"Full. I don't know why I ate that much. I barely saved anything good for you…" she sighed. "I'm sorry."

I shrugged, taking the tray from her. "I'm not all that hungry anyway."

I stood up and began to walk towards a waste chute to dump the contents of the tray down. I heard her run to catch up with me. "Master, can I ask you something?"

"That depends on the question."

"I've… heard rumors about you. I don't want to hurt our Master and Padawan relationship yet, but I want to clear a few things up."

I dumped the tray and set it down on a small table before turning around to face her. I crossed my arms over my chest and raised my right eyebrow. "Well?"

"How old are you?"

"Twenty-two."

"Oh," she whispered. She looked away from me for a moment, biting her lip. "Have you ever… killed someone?"

"Yes."

She looked a little shocked that I answered her honestly, but this relationship had to be built from trust. "Have you ever…" she trailed off, biting her lip again. "Master, did you drink someone's blood?"

I lost every bit of composure and stared at her with widened eyes. "Why would you ask me something like that?"

"Someone claims that they saw you drink from one of the Knights…"

"Delusional child," I muttered, rolling my eyes.

She sighed in relief. "I'm glad to hear that's not true."

I gave her another half smile. I was just glad that I didn't have to think of a way to lie to her. She believed me by facial expressions.

I heard snickers in the hallway, so I spanned my hearing out towards the sounds. I heard the voices of the arrogant younglings from earlier. "She's so goin' ta get it when she comes out without Master Skywalker."

"Oh, yeah. She doesn't deserve to be his Padawan. I wonder what they're talking about anyway."

I looked up at the entrance across the hall and saw the two boys looking at us. Once their eyes met mine, they immediately backed out of view. "Hey, we need to be careful! Do you think he saw us?"

I glanced at Ahsoka. She looked a little tired and worn out. "I'll be right back, okay?"

She gave me a nervous look. "Where are you going?"

"I just… need to clear up some things with someone. Stay here, please."

She nodded and watched me walk away from the table. It took everything in me to keep up the human pace. Once I felt her thoughts travel elsewhere and her eyes off of me, I flashed across the hall. "I don't think he saw us. The guy is probably thinking about –"

"Do you two have a problem with the youngling in there?" I asked. I leaned on the doorway and crossed my arms.

They both jumped. "Master," they quickly greeted, bowing.

I cocked an eyebrow. "Well?"

"Master, may I speak freely?" Jarkael asked.

I shrugged and waved my hand for him to continue. "That youngling isn't what she claims to be. She's not a perfect Jedi. She's done a lot of things against the book and completed things by using her own methods. She's also not into men the way you think she might be. She's totally –"

"Are you going to continue spouting lies to me? If so, I might have to get Master Yoda involved. I know what you're doing to her. You'd better watch your back from now on, kid. Ahsoka's my Padawan."

"Did you make it official?"

"I was making sure she ate before I went back to the Masters."

I heard a squeal from inside of the mess hall. I glanced to the left to see the one boy gone. How did I let him go unnoticed? I turned around and ran back into the mess.

I flashed quickly over to the other entrance that she was being dragged out of. I leapt towards her and used a minimal amount of the Force to push Rutea away from her. She fell out of his arms and I quickly stepped closer to catch her. She gripped my arms and stared up at me.

"How did you get here so fast?" Rutea gasped, staring at me with widened eyes.

I growled at him, trying to keep my fangs from coming out too early in the day. I couldn't help it if my eyes looked a little too menacing.

"Stay away from my Padawan," I whispered through my teeth. I found myself wondering why I was acting so protective of her. Then again, it could just be the fact that she smelled wonderful. I watched her blood pulse in her neck as she was only inches away from my body.

I licked my lips and felt my fangs coming in. "I apologize, Master," Rutea said quickly, forcing me to focus on him once again.

Ahsoka put her hand on my chest and looked up at me. "Master, relax, please."

I closed my eyes and breathed through my mouth. "If I ever see or hear you tormenting her again, you will be in a galaxy of trouble. When someone gets on my list, they don't escape it very easily."

He backed away and ran. Ahsoka watched him run away in shock. She turned to face me completely and stared into my eyes. "Why would you do that for me?"

"You're my Padawan. It's my duty to protect you, isn't it?"

She shrugged. "I guess so. I'm not hungry anymore. What do we do now?"

I forced a smile, attempting to comfort her. I could hear her little heart beating quickly. She was anxious. "Well, I have to go tell the Council that I've chosen my apprentice. The rest of the day is yours unless you want to do something."

"I heard that you're trained very well with your lightsaber…" she trailed off. "Do you think we'd have time to practice at all today?"

"Sure."

I waved for her to follow me. "We've got to take care of other things first. I've got a few reports to fill out…"

She nodded and followed me out of the mess hall. We walked back down to the Council chambers to meet with Masters Windu and Yoda.

The two were speaking with Obi-Wan across the room. I held one finger up to my lips, telling Ahsoka to stay silent as I listened to what was being said. "What if he isn't ready for this?"

Obi-Wan sighed. "He is ready. He's been clean for nearly six months and he's been here for –"

"Three years," Windu growled. "Three years and he's still unstable. I don't want to send out a death letter to the girl's family."

My chest tightened and I frowned. I thought that they might actually start to respect me since I hadn't killed anyone recently, but I guess that didn't matter. "Master, what's wrong?"

I glanced down at her and realized that my teeth were clenched, as well as my fists. "Nothing's wrong."

"I can feel your anger," she whispered.

"He heard us."

I closed my eyes and crashed against the wall for a minute. I felt her hand touch my wrist. "Master, what's going on?"

I opened my eyes to see her concerned ones not too far from my face. "Never mind," I sighed. "Let's just get this over with."

I stood up and she backed away. I walked into the chamber and saw the three Masters facing me. I walked into the center of the room and bowed with a small amount of respect for them.

"Anakin –"

"Save it," I whispered, growling. Obi-Wan sighed and nodded. "I'm just here to inform you of my decision. I've chosen Ahsoka as my apprentice."

Windu and Yoda nodded thoughtfully and Obi-Wan smiled down at her. I glanced at her. She was standing beside me with her arms crossed in a nervous gesture. She looked up at me and her eyes locked with mine.

I couldn't hear her thoughts very well. It was probably because she was a Togruta. I could never really get a decent enough fix on their mind. I heard bits and pieces. The most I got from her mind were small screams and faint memories that haunted her.

Windu stepped forward and handed me a string of Silka beads. I turned to the expectant Togruta and motioned for her to spin around. Slowly, she spun in a circle, her back facing me now. I reached up to the beads that were at the top of her montrals. They hung over the back slightly.

I attached the Silka beads to the other line and hung them over her shoulder. I gently guided her shoulders until she faced me. I smiled warmly at her though it was forced. "It is a great honor to serve as your Master, Ahsoka. I hope to go on several adventures with you and teach you as much as I possibly can. I hope to see you become a talented Jedi in the future."

She smiled up at me and stepped forward. Her arms lifted slightly, but she quickly regained herself. She bowed respectfully. "Thank you, Master."

Once she stood to her full height, I smiled. I could see a bit of indecisiveness in her eyes and I wondered what she was thinking.

She closed her eyes and moved closer to me. Her arms wound around my waist tightly, fingers gripping my tunic just as tightly.

I stood there with my arms up in the air. I was surprised by the gesture, but I guess it was all right. I put my arms around her gently, not wanting to break her bones in the process.

It's been a long time since I actually hugged someone…