"Is black your favourite colour, Buffy?"
Buffy sneaked a peek at the Jedi walking with her to find a taxi to take them to see this Dex. She wasn't sure if he was being sarcastic about what Andrew had called their Darth Vader outfits, although she wasn't wearing a phallic style helmet the fact she'd chosen it in this dimension was a bit worrying. Not that she intended to do any undersea heavy breathing impressions while she was here or go over to the Dark Side.
"I don't usually wear this much black unless I'm patrolling in graveyards at night, so no. Not much choice in the Jedi clothing store unless I wanted to do the brown look so grabbed this."
He raised an eyebrow at her comment, and knowing she'd spent hours arguing with the service droids in there teased her by saying, "I normally find plenty of choice and the droids go out their way to be very helpful."
She huffed and didn't answer, her attention instead on a male Jedi, with a coloured, moulded head tail thing going on, walking towards them carrying a small bundle. As they passed her she saw it was a young baby of the same species he was holding and she looked at him curiously.
She smiled at Obi-Wan and nudged him with her shoulder once the man had passed. "Is he going to confessional then?"
"What?" Obi-Wan looked round at the Jedi puzzled, then back at Buffy.
"Looks like he kinda broke his vows and got all emotional with someone and now he's got a kid?"
"Ah, no. They probably sent out someone of the same species to do the collection of the Force sensitive baby. The baby will be handed over to the droids to rear now in a nursery clan of about ten..."
"You got to be kidding me?" Buffy had stopped and grabbed his arm staring up at him with a indignant look, as if she was going to march back into the temple and demand the baby be taken back to the parents.
Obi-Wan could feel her agitation and building anger vibrating through the Force around her. It was odd that she being a void could effect the Force so much with her emotions, but he put that question to one side for now as he took in how upset she was becoming. Gently, he removed her hand from where it was clutching his arm and taking hold of it between both of his own tried to send soothing calm and warmth down the connection.
"A parent is never forced to give their child to the Temple, they are simply given the option and it's considered a privilege to have a child studying here..." he began.
"Yeah, and I bet they aren't pressurised at all into giving their babies to this cult. I can just imagine the speel... Give your baby to us or it will fall to the Dark Side and murder you all."
She was staring at the Temple with a horrified expression but when she looked at him, her face softened for a moment. "So, the sitch with you is.. they took you from your parents as a baby and raised you in a pack with other stolen kids by those weird Droids?"
"Well, yes I suppose it could be seen that way but.."
"Oh For Freak's sake Obi-Wan! What chance did you have to become a normal person or to lead a normal life once this lot had you in it's claws? I bet they tell you if you try to leave them you will turn into a Sith or something... This is seriously beyond The Bad, it's like a disgusting practice... I thought the old Watcher's Council was evil but at least the girls weren't reared by robots..."
Buffy's anger was reaching out through the Force and he could feel a slight turn in the currents as if the something in the Dark side suddenly sensed her and began to flow towards her.
He frowned, ignoring the Force for once in his life and concentrating on her. It seemed the Jedi practice of taking children from parents had echoes in her own life and he focused on this rather than defending the Council and his own upbringing. Still holding her hand in his he calmly asked, "Your council has the same practice?"
Buffy huffed, and looked down to where her hand lay sandwiched between his two larger ones.
"Yeah, the old Watchers Council and the Jedi Council were the same in a lot of ways. They took potential slayers as children and raise them away from family and friends. No emotional ties allowed, slayage only. Most slayers died within a year of being chosen," she said bitterly.
She looked up into the Jedi's tranquil blue eyes that were trying so very hard to calm her distress. "I'm the oldest slayer ever and that's only because they didn't find me until I was called. I lived with my family and had close friends who've helped me survive, without those emotional ties I'd have died and stayed dead..."
She pulled her hand out from between his two warmer ones and Obi-Wan felt the loss of their connection. "C'mon, let's go see your friend Dex," she said, still upset but purposely changing the subject.
Unsure what to say to make things better he nodded and simply walked besides her to the taxi.
sorry not much fun in that one but I wanted Buffy to understand Obi-Wan and the Jedi better. The Jedi practice of taking babies, rearing them in a pack by robots with no contact with the outside world for first few years is what I could find on the net.
I am far from being a Star Wars expert btw.