Qui Gon Jinn glanced fondly at the fifteen year old before him. Obi Wan was deep in the meditation technique the Master had recently taught him. His apprentice took to new tasks with earnest, whether it was a demanding kata or a mental exercise. His connection to the Force was deep and his trust in it was implicit. This allowed the boy to excel in most areas of his training.

With a rueful smile, Qui Gon recalled how he had initially rejected the boy as a padawan. After the betrayal of his first apprentice, he had no desire to take another. Particularly not Obi Wan, who at the time harbored hidden resentment and an over-eagerness to prove himself. The Force had other ideas and brought them together on Bandomeer. There, a series of alarming events made it plain to Qui Gon that the boy was meant to be Jedi, and he was meant to train him. Obi Wan was ready to sacrifice his life for the sake of others, a Jedi trait more important than one's midichlorian count. Never one to deny the will of the Force, the Jedi overturned his previous decision and took Obi Wan as his apprentice.

Nevertheless, the road had been difficult. For all his ability, Obi Wan still had to deal with hindrances his blindness caused. His "sight" was limited to what he could sense, which meant that they trained constantly to sharpen that sense and extend its range. In time, he hoped his padawan would be able to sense even the subtle contours of a being's face. At the moment, reading simple clues of facial expressions was impossible.

Then there was the problem of his inability to read the printed word. While the boy studied arduously to learn methods of tactile reading and writing, and the Counsel provided him with a headset that read aloud words on a data screen when plugged into the system, written words on a page were forever out of his reach. Drawings, paintings, and other forms of two-dimensional art were likewise unreachable.

Still, despite the challenges, Qui Gon could not regret his decision to train the boy, at least not for too long. Obi Wan was so determined, so quick witted, coming up with resourceful methods of studying, cooking, personal care and more. He struggled to adapt to a visually oriented environment, refusing to excuse himself as handicapped. In fact, even while on missions, Obi Wan normally will not mention his blindness to others, and many people he encountered never became aware of it.

Finally, his apprentice came out of meditation.

"I am having difficulty, Master." His unseeing gaze settled around the area of Qui Gon's mouth.

"My eyes, padawan," his master reminded.

Obi Wan raised his head so that his eyes would meet where he thought his Master's eyes should be. Qui Gon had been trying to break him of the habit of facing people's voice, since it was not common behavior for most beings. In truth, the greater impetus toward eye-contact training was the padawan's unfortunate habit of turning his eyes towards a person's heart, if he had not yet heard their voice. The heart was one of the clearest points he could sense in the Force and thus it was only natural that the youth would focus on it. Despite the innocence of his gesture, Obi Wan came to realize that most women did not appreciate having a teenage boy stared at their chest.

Having corrected his gaze, the youth continued. "I could not see it."

Qui Gon sighed. He had been unsure of whether to introduce this particular form of meditation. In this exercise the Force often manifested itself in a person's mind through color. He had attempted teaching it, reasoning that he could not know the result until they tried. "I suspected that you may not, my apprentice. There is no basis in experience, even in your subconcious mind, to supply the images. This proves you were born blind, rather than becoming so in infancy."

"I'm sorry, Master." Regret filled Obi Wan's voice, as though he felt he'd disappointed his mentor.

"Do not be sorry for things over which you have no control," Qui Gon admonished.

"But I am sorry that I can't be normal, that I make it so difficult for you to train me. It…" Obi Wan's words were stemmed by the solid grip on either shoulder.

"No padawan," He heard his master firm tone, one usually reserved for the most crucial of commands. "Do not regret who you are. You are an extraordinary young man. I would never wish you to be merely…normal."

Obi Wan lowered his head briefly before meeting Qui Gon's eyes again. A genuine smile graced his features. "Thank you, Master."

If Obi Wan were one to give into childish impulses, he would have hugged his mentor. But Qui Gon was not very comfortable with touch, a characteristic that the necessarily tactile apprentice lamented, yet respected. He never shared with Qui Gon the regret that he did not know the shapes of his own Master's face since he had never touched it, and he could not yet discern such precise detail in the Force. Rather than linger on the impulse to hug Qui Gon, he quickly changed the subject. "I don't really understand color, but I have been told that my eyes are blue. Is that so?"

"They are," the elder acknowledged, wondering at the non sequitur.

"And my lightsaber is also blue?"

"Yes."

"The Corusanti sky is blue as well, is it not?"

"That is so, my apprentice, but why do you ask?"

"Well, I'm trying to mentally categorize colors, Master. Would it then be correct to say that my eyes, my lightsaber, and the sky bear some similarity in appearance because they are the same color?"

Qui Gon smiled at his padawan's logic. "In a way, Obi Wan, but it is not that simple. All three of those things are a different shade of blue."

"A different shade?" Obi Wan's eyebrows furrowed. "I don't understand."

Qui Gon, after two years with an inquisitive apprentice, was now well-versed in inventing analogies. "A viol is an instrument with a distinctive sound, is it not? And yet there is a range of noises it can make. The sounds are different, but they are all the sound of the viol. Thus, blue can have different shades, and yet still be blue."

"That's interesting. I don't think I've heard color compared to sound before. Normally it's touch- hot and cold, soft and hard." Obi Wan's brows furrowed, his quick mind already working with this new puzzle. "Can colors be blended, the way sound can?"

"They can indeed, padawan. When colors are blended they generally form a new color." He then took the analogy a bit further. "Colors can also clash with each other or look pleasant together, the way instruments can clash or please the ear."

"Do you think, Master," Obi Wan began slowly, ponderously, "that I may be able to complete this new meditation technique by substituting sound for color?"

"I…have not heard of such an adaption." Qui Gon was surprised by the question, yet he did not wish the stifle the boy's resourcefulness. "But perhaps there is potential in exploring this option."

"It's my new project, then," Obi Wan asserted. "I shall let you know if it works."