Of Fire and Night
by nightshade468
Chapter I
"Zhane, you little junga worm!" With her typical lack of what her elders called 'decorum' ('stuffiness', according to the younger students), Sair raced through the Room of a Thousand Fountains after her best friend, leaving behind disgruntled Knights and Masters, who were all indignantly protesting the disruption of their meditation.
The Jedi Temple was typically known for its peace and serenity, but there were some things that even a Jedi could not be expected to tolerate.
In Sair's mind, hair-pulling was one of them.
Sprinting after her fellow youngling, the nine-year-old girl managed to impressively evade all obstacles, living or otherwise, in her path while not losing ground to her quarry. Suddenly, though, she felt herself yanked back by the neck of her tunic.
"Now what is such a promising youngster doing dashing about the halls like a mad thing?" a cool voice asked. Sair felt herself being pulled backwards, then turned and placed back on her feet, facing Master Windu.
She glanced up at the Council member and mentally sighed. She would dye Zhane's hair blue for this. "Well, Master Windu, I was…" She trailed off, lowering her eyes.
"Sahirah D'Jai." A cool hand lifted her chin, forcing her to meet the master's gaze. "Hold your temper, young one. Vengeance is not the answer to every problem."
Blushing, Sair smiled tentatively. "Yes, Master." How does he know? He always knows!
"Of course I know, young Sahirah. It is my purpose to know everything." Mace Windu winked at the gaping young girl and continued walking purposefully down the hall, nodding to other Masters as he went. Suddenly, he stopped and turned back.
"Sahirah, would you go to the chambers of Master Jinn? He has requested your presence."
Master Qui-Gon has returned from Naboo? I didn't know that. But why would he ask for me? Pondering this, Sair made her way towards the nearest lift, heading for the residential quarters.
"Sahirah, come in, come in," Master Jinn said distractedly. "Obi-Wan and I are to meet with the Council in a few minutes, and I need to ask a favor of you." Sair glanced over at Obi-Wan Kenobi, Master Qui-Gon's padawan, who gave her a friendly, if equally distracted smile.
"Yes, Master Jinn?" she responded politely.
"Anakin, come in here a moment!" Qui-Gon called into the other room. A boy of about Sair's age appeared, watching her quizzically.
"Who're you?" he asked, sounding curious.
"Anakin Skywalker, this is Sahirah D'Jai, a student here at the Academy. Sahirah, would you be willing to show Anakin around the Temple for me? I have some business to discuss with the Council before I bring him before them." Qui-Gon said all this very quickly, as he ran through what looked like a lot of information on a holopad, his apprentice, glancing through some files as well.
Sair nodded, a bit confused, but she agrees. "Sure, Master Jinn. D'you want me to bring him up to the Council later?"
"Ah, yes," Qui-Gon muttered. "Yes, bring him up in perhaps one and a half standard hours?"
Sair nodded, then beckoned to Anakin. "This way," she said, leading him in the direction of the lift. "Are you hungry?"
The boy shook his head. "No, we just ate."
She wondered what to show him first. "Want to see the fighter bays? Or the training rooms?"
"Yeah!"
Sair grinned. His excitement was contagious. "All right, then let's go!"