"Do all Shilli citizens use the tunnels or just the military?"
Obi Wan's question came from a place of caution rather than curiosity as General Rhok trudged on, leading them through the long red grasses dappled by spindly shadows. His help in navigating the village was invaluable if not a bit out of the blue. Still, the Jedi Master's guard had to be impervious. Especially since the two idiots behind him had yet to reconcile their little tiff at Kohma's. The tense bouts of small talk interspersed with the silence of snapping tree branches and scuffing dirt was far more excruciating than any interrogation Obi Wan could recall being subjected to.
"No. Hundreds of years ago, members of the Royal Court used to use the tunnels as a way to visit outlying villages without risking ambush from restless civilians," The General responded, forging ahead. Their new ponchos blended perfectly with the surrounding colour of the shrubbery. "Of course, there's been little need of them in recent years as our focus has been directed at external threats…"
"Yeah, no kidding," Anakin scoffed, quickly scanning behind them for any tails.
"Nobody followed us," Ahsoka assured him.
He sighed in response, refusing to look her way. "We can't be too careful." The awkward silence was quickly followed by Anakin rushing ahead to grill General Rhok about the details in their collaborated plan, insisting the need for better disguises.
The numerous skeptical looks they received when walking through the village was sign enough that even with their hoods, Anakin and Obi Wan stood out like Gundarks in a diner. It was clear that attempting to do it again in the next village for the ambush would go poorly.
Leaving the village had been difficult for them in more ways than one.
All of them had underestimated Kohma's influence. After discussing plans at the hut, General Rhok stepped outside to contact a few "recruits" to sneak a ship into the village and meet them at the rendezvous point outside the tunnel's entrance. Obi Wan was unsure if he'd be able to wrangle any of the soldiers from the night before but the general had earned his trust enough to give him the benefit of the doubt.
Kohma approached the three of them from the kitchen. Her body gently shook. Her eyes wide and shiny, staring down at the bundle of cloth in her hands.
"To keep you safe on your journey's..."
She handed them their ponchos with the utmost reverence. She started at Ahsoka, insisting on caping each one of them individually. "My child, you have done us all a great service. Take these words as a gift. Your resolve is your greatest asset. Should you forget where that strength comes from, look within to see without."
Ahsoka pondered on this but nodded all the same, gripping Kohma's hands before the woman swamped her in a hug.
"Thank you, Aunty," she replied, squeezing her eyes shut and leaning into the embrace.
The elder untangled herself from Ahsoka and shuffled over to the oldest Jedi present.
Obi Wan bowed his head, allowing the woman to swish the poncho around his shoulders.
"To you, Master Kenobi, I gift these words; the best path isn't always the right one." The chuckle lacing her voice gave way to a knowing smile as she locked eyes with him. "Sometimes, the only way to see it, is from a certain point of view."
He bowed his head before flinching as he was instantly crushed in yet another hug. He groaned, feeling his back crack. The woman's strength did not accurately reflect her age and he didn't need to force to know that Anakin and Ahsoka were enjoying his peril. But her presence felt...warm. Not just physically. He could feel her essence in the force radiating the same kind of energy he remembered from his old master; wise, youthful and light. From deep within him, the young padawan he once was basked in the feeling for a final time.
"Your kindness has been a blessing, Ms Tii. We won't soon forget it."
She waddled back and moved onto the last in line and arguably, her greatest challenge of the trio; Anakin.
Kohma outstretched the material and lifted her arms as vertically inclined as her body would allow. Noticing her struggle, Anakin quickly bent down onto one knee, making the whole thing even more ceremonial.
She draped it over him, holding his shoulders, her head tilted forward. The softness in her expression intrigued Obi Wan. In it, he recognised their shared melancholy. When she spoke, her voice was delicate. "You have great power, Master Skywalker and you use it to better the lives of those around you. Use your compassion with the same abundance, even for those you consider your enemies..."
For her final hug, she cradled his head into her shoulder as his arm braced her back. Obi Wan picked up a low muttering as she whispered something into his ear. He could feel Ahsoka lean in a little closer. An inkling of a frown crossed her face. Anakin pulled away, staring into Kohma's eyes like a lost little kid, causing a pang of concern to stir within the Jedi Master. In response, she gifted him a smile as genuine as he had ever seen. Obi Wan felt his presence in the force as a matte of aching emotions.
The moment was broken as General Rhok paced through the door. "My contact will meet us with a ship. But we must leave now."
Ahsoka looked to Obi Wan and he nodded at her. The two then turned back to face Anakin and Kohma.
"Now, now," she sniffed, brushing up Anakin's poncho and letting him stand again. "You three had best be on your way."
Even trekking through the forest, the event stuck with him. Her full tears and vigorous well wishes had caught him off guard and he realised how her attachment to them had grown within such a short span of time.
Of course, as a Jedi, attachment was frowned upon. But she felt so familiar to him, like how he remembered Master Yoda as a youngling. He'd always been able to tell the difference between non-attachment within the order and how others experienced attachment outside of it. As soon as Kohma had entered the fray, his point of reference became skewed.
The mild crisis he was in the midst of wasn't helped by his relationship to the attachment champion, Anakin Skywalker and Ahsoka's relentless questioning of their roles as Jedi. He rubbed his temples, already exhausted by his own brain.
"Are you alright, Master?" Without even realising it, Ahsoka had sidled up beside him.
"Yes, I'm fine. Just thinking," he replied, unprepared for Ahsoka's input in his internal debate.
She brushed a red and gold littered tree branch out the way, as she chuffed.
"About Anakin?" She laughed. Obi Wan glanced down at her bemusedly. "You've got a tell. Holding your head like that means you've either got a headache or that Anakin did something stupid."
A proud chuckle arose from him at her developing wit. She'd become far more observant than he gave her credit for.
"Well this time, it's not just Anakin."
"Kohma?" She supplied. He nodded, easing into the conversation a bit more. "I appreciated what she said. Her and the General."
"You two chatted for a while down there. And here I thought that was my specialty," he quipped back.
"Trust me it still is," she said. "We just... talked about home."
Obi Wan winced, the topic of attachment refreshing his previous dilemma. Not only that, but the Jedi Master noticed the sting of rejection that perhaps the young Padawan may have wanted to stay on the planet rather than return with them to the temple.
Sensing this, she nudged his arm to ground him. "The Order is my home. Kohma knew that too."
The sting immediately vanished and Obi Wan had to chide himself for the flurry of relief coursing through him. In the last few days, his mind had become far too cluttered, making it difficult to compose himself. He could sense Ahsoka's own thoughts become clouded.
"You heard what she said to Anakin?" He assumed.
"Just a bit of it." She lowered her voice, staring up ahead at the backs of their two other companions. Suddenly her voice was far younger than he was accustomed to. "But it didn't make much sense."
Obi Wan inched closer as a sign of trust as well as an eagerness to hear Kohma's last words wisdom to them. Several hesitant breaths passed between them.
"She said 'beware your heart'," Ahsoka said, hushed and looking to him worriedly. "But I don't get it. Isn't that what he said to him back on..."
The revelation rippled around Obi Wan Kenobi. Mortis. The Father... Did Kohma know or was it just coincidence?
The two Jedi barely had time to discuss the troubling information as they heard the snap hiss of Anakin igniting his light sabre. In an instant, Obi Wan vaulted over the remaining shrubs, an aggressive rustling of tall grass at his side as Ahsoka instinctively did the same. Ahead of them, a small clearing came into view. He could see the hint of blue light. His own lightsaber was un-ignited but ready in his hand. Obi Wan shouted at his former student.
"Anakin! What's -"
Ahsoka and Obi-Wan burst into the clearing, suddenly pumping the brakes as they saw the scene ahead of them.
"Well geez, we didn't have to come back all this way, y'know?"
Anakin lowered his sabre loosely at his side as they registered the two individuals in front of them, busy covering a starship in brightly coloured leaves. Obi Wan immediately recognised the human woman Vance, detangling a mess of leafy branches. Although their meeting had been brief, her no-nonsense attitude whilst trekking the palace tunnels was hard to forget. A Togrutan man a little younger than Anakin stood in front of his sabre, hands raised but seemingly more annoyed than afraid. Anakin dared to speak.
"Haki?"
Woo! Since last week was such a short chapter, I'll bestow ya'll with two chunky ones this week! As always, I love reading your reviews, it definitely sparks joy for me;)