The gardens were normally somewhere Anakin loved to go. All the greenery and life was a nice change from the dull browns of the Jedi. The ceilings were so high you could actually feel like you were outside. The East garden was especially natural-feeling, with its tall trees forming a canopy shading everything below.

Anakin was not exactly happy to be here today, however. He allowed himself to tread along the main dirt pathway lazily as he glanced around for a sign of Master Yoda. When the old Jedi was not in immediately plain sight, Anakin stubbornly sat down on the mossy roots of an old tree and resolved to wait. If the little troll wanted to talk to him, he'd come out of hiding. Anakin wasn't about to make any extra effort to look for him. Maybe, hopefully, Yoda wouldn't find him before it was time for his piloting lesson.

Of course, it was a joke to call it a lesson. Everyone knew he was the best pilot in the Temple. They weren't about to teach him anything new. It couldn't be taught, anyway. It was instinctive. The lessons gave him a chance to fly, though, and for that it was worth all the nonsense of being "taught" to fly. At least it wasn't as boring as most of the other lessons and exercises at the Temple.

He wondered if today they would be using the open airspace around the temple or working through some of the lower city. Last time they'd gone there, he'd gotten in trouble for getting out of scope range of the instructor. Anakin had apologized even though it had been his plan to get "lost". The disapproving look Lena had given him afterwards let him know she was on to him. Thankfully, his friend had been good enough not to-

"Ah!" Anakin exclaimed as something hit him dully on the top of the head. His senses immediately returning to him, he sat up, twisted around, and grabbed for his assailant. Master Yoda was just as alert, if not more, however, and easily pulled his cane out of the way of the padawan's reach. Anakin fell onto his side, propping himself up with one elbow.

"Padawan Skywalker," Yoda said disapprovingly, "never is your mind on what you are doing."

"I wasn't doing anything," Anakin grumbled as he sat up, brushing bits of moss off his leather tabards. "I was waiting for you." His tone was disrespectful, he knew, but he couldn't help it. He was upset with Yoda over the whole situation, and wasn't going to hide it. Obi-Wan would not have been pleased had he been there. But he was not, so Anakin's conscience was somewhat spared.

"Waiting you were. Looking, you were not," Yoda said significantly.

Anakin had a feeling this was supposed to relate to some bigger point the Jedi Master was trying to make. That's usually how it worked, but he rarely understood what Yoda was getting at and had mostly given up on it. Master Obi-Wan's lessons didn't always make sense to Anakin, but at least he didn't talk backwards and in riddles.

"I didn't expect you to be hiding," Anakin said. "Master Obi-Wan told me you were going to instruct me."

"Difficult it is to instruct one who does not listen," Yoda replied.

Anakin didn't know whether to roll his eyes or grit his teeth, so he did a little of both. It sounded very much like something Obi-Wan would say, which brought the burning question back to mind. "If we're not going to be on missions, why isn't my Master being given this time to instruct me?"

"Agree with this arrangement, Master Kenobi did," Yoda said, picking up on the accusation.

"I know he did," Anakin replied glumly. Of course Obi-Wan had agreed. When the Council said 'jump', Obi-Wan's reply was invariably, 'Is this cliff high enough? And please excuse the mess in advance.' It made Anakin angry and frustrated, but it also made him sad. He hated seeing anyone give in to supposed authority so easily.

"And need rest, you both do," Yoda added.

"Shouldn't I be resting, then?" Anakin asked.

Yoda raised a brow. "Tired, are you? Difficult have your missions been of late."

Back-peddling, Anakin replied, "No. The missions have been fine, Master." He added the honorific for good measure. In fact, he much preferred being out on missions to sitting around here. It gave him something useful to do.

Yoda chewed on his gimmer stick thoughtfully, staring at Anakin in the way Council members did when they 'saw through you'. Sometimes it was possible to hide things, but without knowing what the Jedi Master had taken exception to in him, Anakin didn't know what to be wary of revealing.

After a moment, Yoda broke his reverie and kept whatever he was thinking to himself. His tone switched from thoughtful to instructive. "Up, up," he motioned for Anakin to stand.

The boy rose, towering over the small Jedi. He stood still, awaiting Yoda's instruction. Better to get this over with than to suffer through confusing conversations.

"Stand on the branch," Yoda said, indicating a limb just above Anakin's head and about as wide around as his leg.

The padawan easily jumped up into the tree, taking only an instant to find his balance. He stood with his legs shoulder-width apart. Yoda remained below, commanding him to stretch his arms out to the side and to stand with his back straight.

With a flick of a clawed hand, Yoda sent three stones roughly the size of Anakin's palms floating gently up towards him. The Jedi Master guided one onto each of Anakin's upturned hands and placed the third on the top of his head.

"Stay still, you must. Do not let them fall."

Unable to move his head now, Anakin glanced down at Yoda with his eyes, looking for a hint of further direction. Was he really just supposed to stand there? It didn't seem that challenging. But the Jedi Master was not looking at him now.

So Anakin simply stood, wondering what in the galaxy the point of this was. The Jedi used static poses for strength and balance building, but that couldn't be what Yoda had requested to see him for. If it was, it was an enormous waste of time. As soon as the young man's arms showed the first signs of muscle fatigue, he simply bolstered them with the Force.

After several minutes Yoda spoke. "Doing something, are you?"

"No, Master. I'm staying still just as you said."

"Yet doing nothing, you are not. Standing, you are. Breathing, you are. Using the Force, you are," Yoda commented.

"Should I not do those things?" Anakin asked. Was this one of those exercises where he wasn't supposed to use the Force for better physical conditioning? He hoped not. He'd never liked those exercises. It wasn't as though he were in bad shape. Besides, his ability to tap into the Force was never as compromised by fatigue as other Jedi apparently were.

Yoda knew his thoughts. "Using the Force, you are, but listening to it, you are not."

"I don't have a reason to listen right now," Anakin replied, a bit confused. It wasn't as though he were pondering some deep personal question at the moment. He was standing on a tree branch with his arms out to his sides and a rock on his head.

"Speak to us the Force does, even when listening we are not." Yoda paused. "Meditate on your feelings, you should."

Anakin made a face, even though Yoda could not see it. The doubtful expression was echoed in his voice. "Right now?" he asked. This seemed like an odd meditation position.

"Consult the Force, do you, only when no other concerns have you?" Yoda made a disapproving noise. "Learn to hear the Force at all times, you must."

"But I do use the Force, Master. And I do my best to think. But you can't waste time thinking when you're trying to save someone's life, can you?" Anakin asked, sincerely wanting to hear Yoda's response. The last several missions he and Obi-Wan had been on allowed little time for personal reflection.

A sigh escaped the old Jedi. "Make too many excuses, you do. Meditate, you must." More quietly, he added, "Much anger I sense in you, though hide it you do," Yoda asserted.

Anakin was quiet, unable to deny the resentment he felt. But even that was Yoda's fault. Before he'd decided on these lessons, Anakin had had nothing to feel resentful about. He was doing fine- more than fine, if anyone bothered to read of his growing skills in the mission reports. Why did the Council suddenly feel an urge to fix something that wasn't broken?

"Meditate, you must," Yoda said with gentle resolve.

There was no way to trick Master Yoda into thinking he was meditating when he wasn't. He inhaled deeply and let out a sigh. It had always been difficult for Anakin to reach a peaceful state of meditation. He was usually either distracted or simply didn't know what he was supposed to be feeling.

Obi-Wan had tried everything he could to help, but nothing had worked. Apparently Yoda had decided this would help. Anakin always had thought Master Yoda was a little mad.

Forcing his eyes closed, Anakin reached out for whatever it was he was supposed to find.