A/N: The rest of this takes place around the end of season 2 of the Clone Wars and foreward.

Chapter Two

Ana Staphos was meditating in the Jedi Temple. It was a peaceful weekend, no Jedi had been called out for battle all weekend and it brightened people's spirits. Jedi were reconnecting with each other after long absences away from each other. She could feel the high spirits within the walls of the Temple, almost bouncing off of each one. Laughter and smiles were seen on every face.

But Ana had to find some peace, the Force longing her to centre herself in it again. Although there was some socialization among the Jedi, she had seen it in the Halls, she never got involved. Most people had their own conversations and she didn't want to interrupt, or she wouldn't be able to talk to so many people at once. The vibrantly red haired girl did not have very many friends, or at least people to talk to constantly. There were some, but only a handful who spoke her language and would give her the patience she would sometimes need in a conversation.

Feeling content, Ana got up off of the floor, wondering where to head to next. The library was always open, but she didn't know what to read there. Most of the books she had already read. She could go to the training room to work on her hand stand, but she wasn't in the mood for a workout or balancing act.

Deciding that she should eat something today, she made her way to the Mess Hall. It was partially full of a mix of clones and Jedi masters, learners, and padawans. She knew the names of all the Jedi members, but most of the clone names were a complete mystery to her besides the Captains and Commanders.

Getting in line, she filled a small tray before going to the corner of the least crowded table. Some clones nodded to her out of respect, to which she nodded back and gave them a small smile before they returned to their conversation, leaving her completely out of the loop as they turned their heads and she could no longer follow their conversation even if she wanted to. Sitting down, she looked at the food on her tray and ate it slowly, buying some time for what she could do. There wouldn't be any lessons this weekend she was sure. Nothing to really teach, nothing more to really learn. Both for her or the younglings she would sometimes teach for basics and take care of. She was a nineteen, almost twenty, year old who still wasn't a Padawan. That was the teaching she still definitely needed. Although she could try and get some type of job out of the Temple with their help, many didn't hire deaf people so that was an even harder option. But no one wanted her. Not yet at least. She was a bigger responsibility than most Padawans and many masters didn't have the time to train someone like her.

It was hard to have a deaf Padawan. It was even harder for a master to have a deaf Padawan in a war.

She could read lips and could talk well, or so she was told by many, but everyone she knew and grew up with had mostly left her behind. No one would communicate with her in her language most of the time, and she couldn't follow a large group of people talking. So she mostly kept alone, nodding and smiling to Masters. She could talk to most but there were some she found problems with; Master Plo being one. Although he did learn some sign language for when he taught her, she sadly mostly never talked to him. And she found it a shame since so many people looked up to him and she heard many good things about him.

Ana's training as a Jedi was not completely different than other younglings. There were certain lessons where she did them one on one with a Master so that it was easier for her not to get lost in chaos of what learning could be sometimes. And before she learned to talk she learned to sign and that held her back only slightly. She was smart and picked up on Basic and quickly caught up with the others her age and she did well in lessons as long as she could see the teacher's lips. However, group activities never were her thing.

What she couldn't keep up with though was Padawan training. The Jedi Master would have to learn sign language and that took time. And then a war started and that took up even more time that the Jedi didn't have. And in a war, a deaf person was a liability, as she had heard some Jedi Masters say.

She felt a young Togruta's presence coming closer to her and she looked up once to see Ahsoka. Giving her a smile, Ahsoka beamed back.

"Can I sit?" she asked.

Ana nodded, motioning to the seat across from her. Ahsoka was one of those people who she did consider a friend. She was also one of the handful of people she grew up with who made an effort to learn sign language to communicate with her. Ahsoka sat down before signing thank you.

Ana gave her a smile before Ahsoka asked, trying to sign though Ana could see she forgot most of what Ana taught her, even if it was very little. But Ahsoka never used it anymore really. She and Ahsoka never really talked a lot anymore, not since about two and a half years ago when Ahsoka became a Padawan of Skywalker: Bariss and I are going out today around Coruscant. Do you want to join us?

Ana shook her head, answering verbally, "no thanks. I'll probably just hang around the library."

The Togruta scrunched up her nose and Ana giggled. Ahsoka never did find solace like she did in reading. Ahsoka was more of a 100mph learner.

"It could be fun." Ahsoka told her.

Ana shrugged. She didn't really know Barriss. Despite being around the same age and training with her sometimes, the two didn't really talk. And Ana knew Ahsoka and Barriss were closer and she would just be staring at them talking to each other, making comments every now and then. And she would rather spend her day doing things that wouldn't make her feel out of the loop more than she already was.

"I'm fine, really." Ana answered.

She felt others come close and Ahsoka looked up and smiled, talking fast again. She looked around her and noticed some clones go around, talking as well. They sat on the other side of Ahsoka and Ana, giving her a smile as well, but Ana just smiled back awkwardly, not knowing exactly where to look as they all talked at once. There were four of them. She recognized them talking with Ahsoka before and she always assumed that they worked with her. She saw Ahsoka move her hand in the corner of her eye to catch her attention and Ana looked at her again. Ahsoka introduced, these are some of the boys of the 501st.

Ana nodded and looked over and gave them a smile, "nice to meet you."

She looked back at Ahsoka and she introduced them, pointing before signing each letter of the names so Ana wouldn't mistake them Echo, Fives, Kix, Captain Rex.

"Hi, I'm Ana," Ana told them.

Rex looked at Ahsoka and asked, moving his hands to try and mimic sign language, "what was that?"

Ahsoka looked at me and Ana smiled back as a silent thank you that the Togruta was letting Ana explain it.

"It's sign language. I'm deaf." Ana answered.

All of the clones looked confused and curious. Ana gave them a small smile.

"Deaf as in…can't hear anything deaf?" Kix asked.

She nodded. "That would be it," Ana answered.

The clones still made curious faces and Ahsoka grinned at them before Echo asked, leaning forward, pointing to his ear, "so…you don't hear anything? Like, at all?"

Ana shook her head, moving her red hair to show a white hearing air, "I can hear loud noises, like…a ship going off or an alarm very faintly but…other than that, no, nothing."

"So you can't hear my voice?" he asked.

Ana shook her head, putting her hair back down, "No. Not at all."

Rex looked between her and Ahsoka, a silent question going between them and Ana looked back at them before Rex asked her, "but…you can read lips I'm guessing."

Ana nodded, "yes."

Rex opened his mouth before closing it and Ana chuckled, already knowing the question he was debating about asking: "it's okay. I don't know how it happened. I was deaf when I was dropped off at the Temple when I was still a baby."

Rex nodded, looking as though some realization hit him. Slightly confused by the expression, Ana's eyes then flickered when she saw the other clones talking about something. She moved back to Rex and away from the distraction before she looked down at her tray and shrugged, looking back at Ahsoka, "I'm not as hungry as I thought that I was. I hope that you have a fun day out."

Ahsoka looked a little disappointed, even slightly distressed before she said, "I…you're still welcomed to come with us."

Ana shook her head and got up, "no, you have fun. I'll see you later."

Ahsoka nodded, offering her a last smile. Ana looked to the other clones and told them, "nice to meet you all."

They gave her a smile and nod before she left, putting the food in the trash before she set the tray on top of it. She looks back and sees that Ahsoka was already talking with the clones about something. Ana gave them one last wave, but didn't know if they saw it before she left. She weaved past some more clones going in before making her way to the library. As she got closer she she could feel less Force signatures around. It helped her feel more relaxed that she wouldn't be around so many people.

Going inside, Ana smiles at Madame Jocasta and the older woman smiles warmly back. After walking around a bit, Ana found a holobook to read, one of her old favourites, a collection of old tales from an ancient time of Coruscant. Getting comfortable in a chair, Ana sits comfortably in the corner, going to her favourite short stories.

The library always did provide solace for Ana. It was a quiet place with stories and knowledge, something that Ana had always searched for. It was here she could learn comfortably at her own pace and search out her wonder and knowledge. And it was a comfortably calm atmosphere. It was a place that where she had that time to herself. A library could always do that. With the blessing of Yoda and some other of her Jedi Master teachers, they allowed her out of the Temple to visit the grand, giant Coruscant library and it was one of the best days Ana ever had. She was there for hours, smiling as she went through the bookshelves, the floors and rooms full of old books and holobooks. She stayed until it closed and went back to the Temple, the biggest smile on her face. She didn't go often because she knew that she shouldn't leave the Temple while she was still considered a learner, but that library was one of her favourite places.

Ana had been in the library, curled up on the chair for hours before she felt a presence coming over to her. Recognizing the signature instantly, Ana looked up and offered Grandmaster Yoda a smile. The short Jedi Grandmaster offered her a smile back, moving towards her. Ana changed her position so that she was sitting right on the chair, her back straight.

"Knew I would find you here, I did." she saw him say.

"Yes, Master. I was…taking in some light reading." Ana answered with a smile.

The Grandmaster smiled as well.

"Talk to you, may I?" he asked.

Ana nodded, "of course, Master."

"Then come," Yoda told her. Ana got up from the chair and set the holobook pad down on the table beside it before she followed Yoda.

She looked down at him often to make sure that she would catch him when he wanted to talk to her. He would look back up at her to make sure she understood, but she didn't want to miss him when he did look up at her.

They walked out of the library together, going slowly. Ana walked with her arms behind her back, showing respect and patience for the Grandmaster. Yoda looked up at her and gave her a smile, "good news, I have to share."

She gave him a smile and found that he had a wide one back. Ana told him respectably, "I am eager to hear it, Master."

They walked down the Jedi Temple halls, passing some other masters who gave them smiles and curt nods. Ana did so back before turning her attention back to Yoda. After turning down another hall, Yoda looked up at her and explained, "very exciting, this will be for you."

"You are leading me with anticipation, master." Ana said with a smile.

She sees him chuckle and he explains, "talk of your apprenticeship, the Council has."

Curious, Ana was about to ask him something before she felt another presence coming closer. She already knew they were walking toward Obi-Wan Kenobi before she even looked up to find him. Obi-Wan offered her a smile and the two stopped in front of him. Ana gave him a small bow, "Master Kenobi."

She looks back up at him and he answers back, "Anallah. I hope that you are doing well."

The redhead nodded and turned back to Yoda when she saw him look back up at her in the corner of her eye. The Grandmaster told her, "time for you to become a Padawan learner, the Council has agreed."

Ana's eyes widen with shock as she looks at him. A Padawan learner? She was confused, but felt a growing pit in her stomach as some excitement started to run through her veins. She gulped and tried to keep her voice even, as she saw Yoda's smile widen, "Padawan Learner? Master…I don't understand."

"To take you as a Padawan Learner, Master Kenobi has agreed." Yoda explained.

She didn't think her eyes could widen more, but they did. Speechless, Ana looked up at Obi-Wan and the Jedi Master gave her a smile as well. Both masters could feel her excitement growing.

"If you will have me, of course." she saw Obi-Wan say.

Ana was still silent in her excitement for a couple of seconds more before she admitted, "I…I'm surprised. You have caught me off guard, Masters."

Obi-Wan smiled. She was slightly confused. It wasn't unheard of for Jedi Masters to take multiple Padawan Learners, but she was surprised that it was Master Kenobi who agreed to take her in. She wasn't particularly close with Obi-Wan, but then again she wasn't particularly close with any of the Jedi Masters. She did know Obi-Wan a little more than the others though because of his connection with Qui-Gon Jinn…however that was years and years ago. But here she was, being asked to apprentice one of the most respected Jedi in the order, even in the Council. What had she done to deserve this?

"What do you say?" Obi-Wan asked.

Ana smiled and let out a long breath, "I…if you are willing to take me as an apprentice then I accept, Master Kenobi."

The three of them smiled at each other.