Chapter Ten
Daily Life
Following a delicious dinner and conversation that exhausted Obi-Wan to the point he nearly slept while walking through the small village, the older woman who greeted the visitors led them to a small wooden house.
"I hope you enjoy the guest home," she said. "Your packs should be inside. Tomorrow I will show you around, and you can see how we work." She looked at Obi-Wan. "Will you be staying with Neah or in the men's house?"
Obi-Wan glanced at Neah, who did not meet his eyes, looking intently at the ground.
"I…um…I would like to stay with Neah," Obi-Wan said, noticing a wide smile spread across the woman's face as she turned to look at Neah.
Obi-Wan felt like he missed some social cue, but voices outside drew the woman's attention.
"A moment," she said, exiting.
Neah looked up at him. "Are you sure about…ah…staying with me? People might think that…"
"Neah," the woman said, re-entering. "The head of furs would like to see you for a moment. Maybe schedule time with you this week."
"Of course," said Neah, leaving Obi-Wan alone in the small cabin.
Looking around, weary from the busy evening, Obi-Wan found a comfortable room, a fire with ventilation above warming the space nicely. The packs of supplies they'd divided between them sat against a wall, with four beds made up of furs and foliage around the space.
Removing his boots, Obi-Wan fell onto one of the beds, instantly feeling sleep start to come. Since they arrived, Obi-Wan's brain worked on overload, trying to keep up with the conversations around him. While just he and Neah conversing over the days-long journey allowed him to concentrate and learn, hearing dozens of conversations, all fast-paced, not intended for a learner, brought on fatigue after a while. At some point during the delicious dinner of smoked fish, fruit, and some root vegetable, Obi-Wan shut down in the conversation and simply observed. He knew Neah explained his situation to others, since they seemed to understand, not pressing him.
About a dozen people joined them for dinner around what appeared to be a central gathering area, a large fire surrounded by wooden seats. The people looked similar to those he first saw in the forest, with their black hair, dark eyes, and bronze skin, only now Obi-Wan saw people of all ages, even an infant in the arms of a young father, the mother sitting beside him, leaning lovingly on his shoulder regarding the child most of the meal. Obi-Wan found his gaze returning to them over and over, the tenderness of the scene calming him and warming his spirit.
Using the Force initially to boost his awareness and understand, he discovered through inference, and Neah's frequent translations, that she would be visiting with the different groups of the tribe over the next several days, her song and history performance after the return of some hunting party gone abroad. He knew from Neah that she often spent days and sometimes weeks with a group, learning their ways and teaching them things learned from other villages. When asked if he would be joining her by another elder of the group, Obi-Wan eagerly agreed, wanting to learn more, curious about these people on this planet he found so attractive.
They questioned him too, about the beyond, and Neah intervened after he bumbled through an answer, saying he still needed to learn the language. The people nodded and offered him more fish, which he gladly took.
Now lying in comfort, he distantly heard Neah re-enter the house after some time, but he drifted too far asleep and just murmured good night. He felt her hand on his cheek briefly, then heard her settle in herself, humming softly. The crackling fire, his full stomach, and her closeness, her own bed a few feet away, made him feel completely safe, and he soon surrendered to sleep.
The next morning, Neah and Obi-Wan spent several hours visiting the different people of the village, making introductions and inquiring about Anakin. Nobody knew anything about another looking like Obi-Wan, and after leaving the group in charge of the small community vegetable garden, Neah pulled the increasingly distraught Obi-Wan aside.
"Other people live within days of here, Obi-Wan," she said, stroking his arm. "When we leave here, we will continue our search. We will find your brother."
She turned from him to head to their next destination, leaving Obi-Wan staring after her, his heart beating fast, body suddenly quite warm despite the chill in the air. Our search. We. She'd included them both together. She wanted to continue with him, take care of him.
Take care of him. How nice it felt for someone to take care of him. He'd rarely been taken care of, except by the physicians at the Jedi Temple when he'd been ill on occasion. But then he'd return back out into the galaxy, taking care of others. Ah, but how wonderful it felt for someone to be looking after him, worried about him, helping him. He moved along after her, puzzling over this new sense of contentment.
The next several days, Obi-Wan integrated himself into the community, joining the different working groups to see how these people lived. Some work groups featured both men and women, and some were all of one grouping. As the storyteller, Neah gained admission into all the work sites, learning about the methods of the people and teaching them the knowledge she gathered from her travels. Obi-Wan followed behind, most people very curious about him. On the third day of their stay, he found she moved on without him, as he'd become quite engrossed with the work of the fishermen. He stayed there all day, enjoying the conversation with the men, the fresh, crisp, cool air, and manual labor of untangling nets and cleaning out the canoes, hooks, and spears. That afternoon, he worked on a wooden canoe with another man, younger, between his and Anakin's ages, named Akule. Obi-Wan found he enjoyed the work immensely, realizing he relied on the Force so much in his usual work as a Jedi Master. There was something quite satisfying about working with one's hands to create something new.
Chopping away, Obi-Wan wished he had his data pad so he could record his experiences with these humans. Branches of the Jedi focused on the anthropology of the galaxy, but Obi-Wan, being very powerful in the Force, always found himself on the warrior path since before he could remember. He wondered what he would have done if he had not been taken by the Jedi.
Such thoughts! But being away from home seemed to bring out more and more introspection and criticism, particularly since he'd been in a state of fighting most of his life. This gentle hum of daily life comforted him.
Quite intelligent, the humans themselves appeared no different than Obi-Wan, just this particular branch of the species seemed at a technological disadvantage. But then again, thinking what all the technological advantages got the humans in his galaxy, he began to think a simpler existence might just appeal to him.
Akule brought Obi-Wan out of his thoughts as they gutted the fallen tree for the canoe.
"I offer my congratulations to you and Neah," he said with a smile. "I was going to be a jealous brute to you, but now I see what a good man you are and…well, I just can't." He laughed jovially.
Obi-Wan stopped working and looked up, confused.
"I'm sorry, I don't understand," he said.
"Come now, everyone knows that when you did not arrive at the men's house that first evening you were Neah's chosen one, her mate," Akule continued. "I was planning on pursuing Neah when I heard she was coming back through these parts, but then she arrives with you, and you stay the night with her." He stopped, regarding Obi-Wan's increasingly shocked expression with a kind smile. "Do not worry. We will not make a big deal about it unless you announce it formally."
Did everyone think he and Neah were together? The odd moment the first evening came back to him, and he opened his mouth to speak, to correct Akule, then stopped. He liked sleeping next to Neah, being around her, found his feelings of safety and comfort depended on her presence.
But Neah had no mate, mentioned longing to settle down if she found the right person. Could Akule be that man? He studied Akule, who'd gone back to work with a sharp stone, cutting at the wood, casting it aside in a pile for the fire. His stomach churned slightly; he really needed to say something, set Akule straight, let him know Neah still sought out a mate.
But Obi-Wan remained quiet, working more diligently than before, and talk soon shifted to the species of fish in the region.
A few hours later, as Obi-Wan walked back to the guest house after working, he felt guilt over his lie to Akule. No, he didn't lie; he just didn't redirect the man to the truth. Why? This was very un-Obi-Wan.
He knew why, of course, but he had to deny these feelings. He was a Jedi Master, for goodness sake! But truth be told, he was falling for Neah…hard. He enjoyed their evening conversations together, when she would grill him on what he thought of this part of the world and laugh at his observations. She'd sing to him and encourage him to talk of his home. And he felt his body increasingly drawn to her like a magnet, finding more and more ways to be next to her, to brush his hand over hers.
Entering their room, he found her seated on her bed, rummaging in a small pouch he hadn't seen her bring out before. Neatly lying on her blanket, several strings of brightly colored beads shimmered in the light of the fire.
"I'm trying to decide which to wear for my performance. The hunting party should be back soon," she said as he sat beside her, his fingers gracing over the necklaces.
"I did something wrong," he blurted out suddenly, needing to get this guilty feeling off his chest.
"What?"
Taking a deep breath, Obi-Wan related his conversation with Akule to Neah. As he spoke, her eyebrows rose higher and higher and her jaw dropped slightly. Finishing his tale, he bit his lip, feeling a bit embarrassed.
"I…well, I will go now and tell Akule that…" he began, but Neah grabbed his arm.
"No!" she cried, then began to laugh. "Akule wanted me for his mate?!" She laughed harder, wiping tears from her eyes.
"Yes…and I misled him and…"
"Good!"
"What?"
"Akule is a boastful idiot," Neah said. "When I last visited, he picked a fight with my brother over a story we told about a group to the north bringing down the largest mammoth ever. He called us liars! Said he and his cousin brought down the largest mammoth and…" Her laughter continued. "Akule. Never…never."
"I should go to sleep in the men's house," Obi-Wan said quietly, and Neah stopped, regarding him.
"You do not want to stay with me?" she asked, her dark eyes suddenly sad.
"Yes…no…I mean I love being around you," Obi-Wan insisted quickly, then stopped short at his choice of words. A long silence fell between them as they intensely stared at one another. Finally clearing his throat, he continued. "I did not know about the men's house…that people were separated…"
"They do not do this in the beyond?"
"Well, some planets…um…tribes…I…" Obi-Wan stammered, then rose to sit on his bed. "Can we just…I…" He was bumbling along, and he hated this. He always had some quip, some clever remark. Where was his mind? "What is a mammoth?" he asked finally.
Her head cocked to the side. "Mammoth? You have never seen a mammoth?"
"No."
"They are the grandest beasts in the land. Huge, wooly, long snout, large tusks. They provide a lot of meat and oil and fur. Beautiful but difficult to hunt. They come through this area, in herds. Perhaps we will see them."
Obi-Wan nodded, grateful for the conversation change. Neah suddenly rose and began to pace.
"I'm really nervous," she said, wringing her hands in a way Obi-Wan never saw before.
"About what?"
"My performance," she said, turning to look at him. "This is the largest audience I perform for, and this is my first time here alone."
Obi-Wan nodded, knowing fully about self-doubt, even amongst those that appeared quite confident to others. He knew because he functioned like this most of the time, giving orders, putting up a strong front, when oftentimes his head swam with doubts and what-ifs. He could only imagine how someone who performed for others felt.
Obi-Wan rose. "You will do wonderful. Your songs…your voice…everything is perfect…beautiful." Before he knew it, he stood before her, his fingers running across her cheek and through her hair.
"You think so?" she said, barely above a whisper. "I'm…well, I suppose it sounds ridiculous to a warrior, but I'm afraid." She sighed, the sound gentle, soft, encouraging Obi-Wan to step slightly closer until he was right up against her. "These stories…they are important to everyone. I want to tell them right."
"You will," he whispered, his fingers gliding through her hair again, his mind falling into the depths of her deep brown eyes.
"Obi-Wan," she said. "Why didn't you correct Akule?"
He paused, his face mere inches from hers. Jedi Code be damned! He wanted his mouth on hers, their bodies together.
"Dinner time!" came a child's voice from outside the house, and Neah stepped back quickly.
"I'll…um…help me decide on a necklace later?" she asked, her voice shaking as she put the jewelry from her bed into the pouch.
"Yes," Obi-Wan answered, his voice breaking a bit.
He stood in the same spot as she put the pouch into her larger pack. She turned abruptly and walked back to him.
"I…I care for you, Obi-Wan. And…and…I feel…drawn to you…but…" she paused, wringing her hands again. "I've been alone long…and I have no people and…"
"Dinner!" came another voice, this time a grown woman.
"Kriff!" cursed Obi-Wan, and he shouted, "Yes, thank you!" He looked at Neah. "I understand…I…I've been alone as well." He sighed. "Even when I'm with my brother. And my people. I am alone."
She nodded and took his hand. "Then we'll see what happens." She guided him from the house to the central fire.
Obi-Wan could not answer. What he should do and what he longed to do deeply conflicted with one another. But knowing Neah felt a similar draw to him pleased him deeply, and he damned himself again for his weakening resolve. He wished to find Anakin, desperate to speak with someone over these conflicting feelings, as he certainly felt the opposite from the first line of the Jedi Code: There is no emotion, there is peace. Whoever first uttered these words obviously never met Neah.
Far away, Anakin breathed deeply, tasting the salt in the air. They neared the coastline, and he felt curious about seeing the ocean. Furthermore, Zolti's ship sat hidden in a cave, and the more Anakin spoke with the pilot, the more excited he became about seeing a vintage galactic yacht from a millennium ago, in prime condition.
Over the past several days journey, Zolti and Anakin formed a comfortable friendship, first talking about starships before breaching more personal topics such as work and family. Still, their conversation always returned to mechanics, both men quite the enthusiasts, and Anakin now formulated a plan based on Zolti's descriptions on what he wanted to do to get a ship up and flying. He planned to survey the damage to the Sith yacht, full of fuel but unable to fly, then poach engine parts from his and Obi-Wan's transport, empty, but with a working mechanism.
Plus, Anakin didn't care about the transport, one of about several thousand in the galaxy. To fly a vintage luxury yacht home…now that sounded more like it. Padme, who herself owned a top of the line elegant ship, would be impressed. According to Zolti, Lord Kaan purchased the ship brand new, added luxury features and weaponry, and only used it for transportation, never battle or even hosting other Sith Lords. The ship, Tenebris, sat in mint condition, except for the damaged engine, waiting for Anakin to arrive and fix her.
The two finally came to a tall cliff overlooking the vast sea, the sky clear above them, but a huge thunderhead off shore, seeming to head their direction.
"Tenebris is actually in a cave directly underneath us," Zolti said. "The climb down is not bad. Should be easy for a Jedi."
Anakin laughed softly, then stopped. A tingling in the Force seemed to emit through the ground. The Dark Side. He shuddered. Over the past few days, he simply thought of the ship as simply that, a starship. But now the reality he would be entering the personal yacht of a long-dead, powerful Sith Lord hit him. Anakin already teetered dangerously close to the Dark Side. Would entering Tenebris affect him further?
Shrugging off the abstract feeling of foreboding, he followed Zolti down a steep path toward the cave housing the yacht.
Author's Note: Next time, Anakin enters an ancient (but slightly brand new) Sith yacht. Also, Neah performs her new song, with an unexpected reaction from Obi-Wan.
Thank you for reading!