The dark can be a terrifying thing, wandering aimlessly through its embrace one loses any perspective of time or distance. That is the gift darkness gives, at a price of one's senses and sanity, a world devoid of time- minutes, hours, days- merged into one monotonous black. As the two jumped between the worlds of consciousness and sleep, each trying to somewhat recover from their injuries, both physical and emotional, they were unaware of how long they had sat there, just that it was thanks to fortunes above that no other creature had stumbled upon them.

Satine jolted awake, the pained snores of the Nydak dragging her out of her restless sleep. The young woman panicked at first, unable to recall where she was or how she'd gotten there but, as she tried to push herself into a more stable seated position, the cold bite of the cave's surprisingly smooth surface told her all she needed to remember.

"Padawan?" His name came out simply as a hiss of air, her throat felt so dry she feared she wouldn't be able to speak but she tried again, and this time an inkling of the words seeped out of her mouth.

"Padawan Kenobi?"

"I'm here, Duchess." The youth's reply was raspy, but the slight scraping of material told Satine he was at least able to move, somewhat.

"We lost consciousness." Satine felt the urge to state the obvious, to get not only her mouth moving but her mind as well.

"I tried to stand guard but… it was a very unwise move from the two us." Obi-Wan tried for a low chuckle that came out more like a cough.

"Bo-Katan and your master would scold us mercilessly if they ever found out." Satine tried to laugh as well, possibly the first time the two had shared something that resembled a friendly joke, but the two simply coughed together.

"Let's agree not to tell them then."

"It will be our little secret."

Obi-Wan sighed and tried to push against the cave wall, standing on his stiff legs. Qui-Gon had warned before his departure that something bad was going to happen but never, in his wildest imagination, had he anticipated that this would be it. Qui-Gon had warned him, if such a thing were to happen, they should head to the ship but the Padawan felt reluctant to leave his master to his unknown faith, and surely, being a master, he'd have a better grasp on how to deal with the situation. He also doubted that Satine would leave without at least trying to find her sisters.

"We better get walking before we grow roots." He sighed, and he heard Satine struggle to her feet, he reached out instinctively to help her but almost jumped back at a sudden cold that pricked his fingers. It took him a moment to realise that this was Satine.

"You're freezing!" He gasped.

"And you're not." Satine observed, still too tired to sound surprised.

"The Force can keep me warm, to an extent." Obi-Wan, sheepishly, explained.

"Then lead the way, Hot Shot, let's see if we can find a way out of this forsaken place." And with little further discussion Obi-Wan, carefully, ignited his lightsaber in the narrow passage and began to lead them through the endless tunnel.

The pair walked in silence, each one captured by their own thoughts on what lay ahead as they continued on their journey. The tunnel seemed to slope downwards slightly, proving that any hope that this would take them to the surface, would have been misplaced. However, as they continued to walk, Obi-Wan focused on the tunnel ahead for unwanted visitors, and Satine strained her eyes to look at the wall of the tunnel they were walking within. Unlike the rest they'd seen, the walls here were smooth, almost shining, in the light, as if it had been freshly polished.

"I-I think water must have passed through here, at some point." Satine murmured, touching the tunnel's wall with shaky, numb fingers, it was also getting colder, the deeper they travelled.

"I was thinking the same thing." Admitted Obi-Wan, pausing to look at the Duchess. Satine studied the walls a little longer, her thoughts sluggish and slow as she realised the man had just agreed with her and she looked back at him, his body illuminated by the coloured glow of his saber. The Padawan appeared no better for wear, his usually neatly tied hair was coming loose, his robes were ripped in multiple places and, under some, she could see bruises and scratches barely visible in the blue light.

"That would also explain the cold." Satine sighed, rubbing her arms with her palms, trying to generate a little heat.

"It's handy the Force blocks it." Obi-Wan repeated, guilty of not feeling the cold as much as the Mandalorian, though it had begun to cause an irritating tingle across his bare skin.

"Lucky you." Satine commented as she continued to walk, the cold had started to seep through her shoes from standing still. "Let's keep walking for those of us not so blessed."

Obi-Wan only stopped when he heard Satine stumble behind him some time later. She was breathing heavily, her lips and skin indistinguishable in the light and her teeth seemed to be chattering lightly, though she tried to cover it up with shivering hands. How long had they been traveling? How long had it been since they'd fallen into these tunnels? Although they had practically passed out after being chased by the nydak they hadn't eaten or drunk anything since before the fall. Obi-Wan quickly patted his belt, he'd checked for his lightsaber but not the emergency supplies, his master would have scolded him for making such a rookie mistake in this situation. The small pouches of first aid and food seemed intact, and he even found his half full flask of water that still contained his ration of the day.

"We need to rest." He began, "we need to preserve some energy or we won't make it to the water- assuming there is any."

"If we stop now I think we'll freeze before we get there." Admitted Satine, stomping her feet and blowing into her hands. "Or at least I will."

"I may have a temporary solution for that." Casually said Obi-Wan, trying to remember his survival training from back at the temple and, reluctantly, he handed the hilt of the ignited lightsaber to Satine.

She took a step back.

"Just hold it." He commanded, already reluctant to part with it.

"I-I can't hold that! Do you not remember the blaster mishap that literally brought a cave falling down on us?" She protested.

"Just take it, and make sure to keep the blade- the big bright part- away from your face… and my face… and your limbs … oh actually, just keep it away from anything that can burn or get cut off." And, very reluctantly, as if she were holding a bomb, she took the blade from Obi-Wan, allowing its glow to warm her face slightly, the contrast in temperature causing her skin to tingle. Her eyes focused on the glowing blade for as long as she could, watching captivated, at the plasma light that danced before her.

"It's quite- what in the world are you doing?!" She yelled, her voice echoing as she saw Obi-Wan undoing the knot of his belt.

"It's a basic survival technique." He explained, as he carefully loosened his belt enough to be able to untuck the outer, dark brown robe as he shrugged it off. "When in such cold conditions, body heat is the best way to warm up and, " He continued to explain as if he were reciting a book, "with you already looking like an icicle and me being able to use the Force, I can warm the two of us up just enough to get us a little further."

Satine wanted very hard to argue, but she too had read such things in her books and couldn't find any viable reason to counter argue. But in the back of her mind she wanted to yell at the oblivious boy, she was the duchess of Mandalore! she couldn't just cuddle - for that was what it was- any man just to stay warm! She had a reputation to keep, but which would mean nothing if she froze to death... But she was the Duchess of Mandalore! But he was also a Jedi Padawan, sworn to celibacy, it was all purely harmless, a means of survival. The sudden warmth that rushed to her cheeks, however, seemed to tell her otherwise.

Obi-Wan, however, seemed oblivious to the duchess's internal struggle, or chose to ignore it, as he undid his undershirt and removed one hand from its sleeve, the light of the lightsaber further emphasising his surprisingly toned chest … and the even more surprising number for scars that lay across his skin.

"Are you going to come here or not?" Obi-Wan complained, the bite of the frigid air was even more piercing against his bare skin. "This isn't particularly comfortable for me either."

Satine hesitated as he looked at his outstretched hand.

You are the duchess of Mandalore. A little voice inside her head whispered but, seeing the scars across his arms, and the wounds he'd received from the fall, that were a heinous purple in the lightsaber's light, Satine pushed away her pride and childish feelings to lean against Obi-Wan's bare side, allowing him to drape the sleeve of his shirt over her, along with the other cloak. He shuddered slightly at her icey touch, taking a sudden inbreath in surprise.

"Sorry," The Duchess murmured, unable to look the Padawan in the eyes, as she pulled the outer cloak closer to her chin.

Ideally, given the situation, Satine also would have removed her jacket allowing for their skin to skin contact to warm the other more efficiently. However, ObI-Wan was not as oblivious as satine thought, he knew he couldn't ask a woman to do that, especially not the duchess of Mandalore.

"It's ok." He said, also adjusting the clothing to better cover the two of them as they sat on the cold tunnel floor. He couldn't even make a sarcastic comment, Satine must have been freezing and yet she hadn't complained once. If he hadn't told her to stop, they'd probably still be going as she lost her fingers and toes. For one who most likely had lived a pampered life, she didn't complain about such discomfort and inconveniences as the Padawan had anticipated.

It was also disturbing how small she felt beside him, the guard's uniform she always wore was big, but the stress of the civil war had worn her away quickly. She wanted to be strong and yet, to Obi-Wan, she looked almost as fragile as ice sitting besides him, one wrong move, and she would shatter. However, even if she were broken into thousands of shards, she wouldn't stop struggling for her sisters and planet.

"Don't complain." He said, trying to fill the awkward silence that had fallen between the two as he draped his bare hand around her shoulders, pulling gently and forcing her to rest her head on the crook of his neck so more of her body was forced into contact with his. "You'll warm up faster this way."

He was right, Satine could feel his chest rising and falling as he breathed, hear his heartbeat against the silence of the tunnel but, she highly doubted it was due to the Force that she felt a warmth slowly spread across her body.

Thanks so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed the chapter :D Feel free to drop a comment, next update will be on Tuesday.