Toxic Chapter 3: Envy
Anakin hated the silence that surrounded him. Not that the Temple was ever the nosiest place on Coruscant, but the hush that now sped up and down the large halls was depressingly eerie to the Padawan as he made his way to his third class of the day. Over one hundred Jedi had passed into the Force after the battle on Geonosis, and their presence was sorely missed.
The Temple's code called for a certain refined quiet, but it was never truly silent. There was always someone to pass if you strolled down the halls, but today there were none.
Anakin walked a little quicker, the silence forcing him to centre himself on his dream. What did it mean? Was that his future?
~Who was that breathing?~
Determined, he firmly pushed it out of his mind. ~It's just a dream, after all. It's not like it meant anything, after all . . .~
Speeding down the long winding corridors that led from one part of the Temple to the other and rushing up stairs to different levels, he cursed, not for the first time, the person who set up his lesson schedule and put his first lesson in the North Tower and his second in the West Tower. He grinned slightly to himself. He was nearly there. Just a little further . . .
hurrum shoom
{He was looking out over the twin suns setting over Tatooine, but it was different. No, He was different. It wasn't him, just someone who looked a lot like him. And he was standing in front of a Moisture Farm, but why was that so familiar?}
The breathing once again sliced through his skull, this time joined by a vision, just as he rounded the corner that led to the corridor the door to the lecture room was in. He stumbled and gripped the wall for support. Briefly, he considered calling out to his Master for help, but quickly discarded the notion, remembering how they had parted that morning.
~Keep dreaming if you think he'd help you after the way you treated him earlier on~ he thought, despondent. The contradicting voice flared to life at the back of his mind again, ~True, but he did deserve it, and admit it, watching him bleed was fun . . .~ The thought was quickly squashed.
Down the corridor a group of girls stood and giggled, but as soon as they saw him they fell silent and just stared. He straightened, and with head held high, walked past them. He felt eyes bore into his back as he stepped into the room, but heard them resume exited, hushed whispers as soon as he passed. Inside the room it was no different. It would usually be filled with noisy, joyful chatter and laughter, and had been so, but the moment he stepped through the door silence ruled.
~What are they staring at? Do I have my clothes on the wrong way or something?~ He thought, concerned. He checked surreptitiously and, happy that everything was on the right way and done up, slid into a chair, three rows from the front. As quickly as it descended, the heavy silence lifted in a burst of noise. The teacher scurried in a few minutes later, with a large crate of holo-sets. A delighted murmur sped round the room.
"Hello, Class and welcome to today's History lesson. As you know, we start a new Module today," She began, beginning to walk up and down the rows of Students, handing out the small, silver, boxes and visors with her many hands. "The Module's title is 'History of the Jedi Temple and it's relation to the Sith'."
Anakin looked up quickly, interested. No-one ever willingly discussed the Sith in the Temple, unless it was to adonimish the littlest Initiates in the nurseries, in 'If you don't go straight to bed then the Sith will come and get you'. Maybe, this way, he'd get a few answers.
"As I'm sure you all know, the Sith were believed to be extinct until ten years ago," she continued, handing Anakin a holo-set and giving him a sympathetic look. She paused in front of him momentarily, and gave him and apologetic smile. "When one was discovered by a Master and Padawan team on a mission to the Planet Naboo. It was subsequently killed. Today's lesson is going to be focussing on the Jedi Knight who slew the Sith, and his life. For homework today I want you to write an account of the duel from this Knight's point of view." She finished handing out the sets and returned to the front of the room. "I understand this assignment will be easier for some than others," She said with a grin directed towards Anakin, "And I have no more to say, so please start your Holo-Disks." She sat down at her desk. "Enjoy learning about Obi-Wan Kenobi, everyone."
Anakin felt several pairs of eyes snap to stare at his back, but he steeled himself to ignore them, and started up his Holo-Disk. After a few seconds, a picture and some text blinked into focus in front of his eyes. He stifled a snort of laughter at some of the pictures, Obi-Wan, despite being naturally photogenic, hated having his picture taken, and most were 'candid camera' shots of him toweling off his hair after a shower and just walking round the Temple. Some of the expressions on his face were priceless. Amused, Anakin scanned through information about his Master's current life at the Temple, and brought up a three hundred and sixty five degree picture of their apartment, and took a guided tour, a silly expression on his face for the entire time.
Beside him, he heard a contented, happy sigh from one of his fellow students. Pulling his visor up slightly he looked at the blinking light on her box, which told him which section of the Holo-disk she was on, and turned his own disk to the same section in interest.
A picture flicked up instantly of he and Obi-Wan. Anakin paused, thoughtful. He remembered the day that this picture had been taken. It was one year after he had been taken as Obi-Wan's apprentice, and they had just been on their first mission together, to help reach an agreement between two planets in the same system, both of which thought their name for the system was the right one. The disagreement overcome quickly, the team had been invited to a huge party in the main city of the larger of the two planets.
At the time of the picture, Obi-Wan had only just begun growing his hair out of the Padawan cut he was so used to, and it fell into his eyes in the kind of messy organization that Anakin always connected to his Master. The ends were slightly curled, due to his hair lacking the weight that pulled it straight like it was today, and it's golden gingery colour was picked up under the lights. He was looking over his shoulder and grinning cheekily at the camera. Anakin, on the other hand, was like an eleven-year- old idiot, showing nearly all his teeth and pulling on his Padawan braid with youthful exuberance.
Anakin sighed sadly, wondering if it would ever be all right between he and his Master, after his actions that morning. He had considered it from every angle, but yet he didn't understand his own actions. It was like there was someone else controlling his mind, but that was impossible. It was just him. But yet, there was a small part of him that had delighted in watching someone so powerful reduced so something so helpless and hurt as Obi-Wan had bled from the glass shards.
Shaking himself out of his reverie, he returned to looking at the information on the disk, studying the story of the battle with the Sith again, despite knowing it all already.
Today was going to be a long day.
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Anakin hated the silence that surrounded him. Not that the Temple was ever the nosiest place on Coruscant, but the hush that now sped up and down the large halls was depressingly eerie to the Padawan as he made his way to his third class of the day. Over one hundred Jedi had passed into the Force after the battle on Geonosis, and their presence was sorely missed.
The Temple's code called for a certain refined quiet, but it was never truly silent. There was always someone to pass if you strolled down the halls, but today there were none.
Anakin walked a little quicker, the silence forcing him to centre himself on his dream. What did it mean? Was that his future?
~Who was that breathing?~
Determined, he firmly pushed it out of his mind. ~It's just a dream, after all. It's not like it meant anything, after all . . .~
Speeding down the long winding corridors that led from one part of the Temple to the other and rushing up stairs to different levels, he cursed, not for the first time, the person who set up his lesson schedule and put his first lesson in the North Tower and his second in the West Tower. He grinned slightly to himself. He was nearly there. Just a little further . . .
hurrum shoom
{He was looking out over the twin suns setting over Tatooine, but it was different. No, He was different. It wasn't him, just someone who looked a lot like him. And he was standing in front of a Moisture Farm, but why was that so familiar?}
The breathing once again sliced through his skull, this time joined by a vision, just as he rounded the corner that led to the corridor the door to the lecture room was in. He stumbled and gripped the wall for support. Briefly, he considered calling out to his Master for help, but quickly discarded the notion, remembering how they had parted that morning.
~Keep dreaming if you think he'd help you after the way you treated him earlier on~ he thought, despondent. The contradicting voice flared to life at the back of his mind again, ~True, but he did deserve it, and admit it, watching him bleed was fun . . .~ The thought was quickly squashed.
Down the corridor a group of girls stood and giggled, but as soon as they saw him they fell silent and just stared. He straightened, and with head held high, walked past them. He felt eyes bore into his back as he stepped into the room, but heard them resume exited, hushed whispers as soon as he passed. Inside the room it was no different. It would usually be filled with noisy, joyful chatter and laughter, and had been so, but the moment he stepped through the door silence ruled.
~What are they staring at? Do I have my clothes on the wrong way or something?~ He thought, concerned. He checked surreptitiously and, happy that everything was on the right way and done up, slid into a chair, three rows from the front. As quickly as it descended, the heavy silence lifted in a burst of noise. The teacher scurried in a few minutes later, with a large crate of holo-sets. A delighted murmur sped round the room.
"Hello, Class and welcome to today's History lesson. As you know, we start a new Module today," She began, beginning to walk up and down the rows of Students, handing out the small, silver, boxes and visors with her many hands. "The Module's title is 'History of the Jedi Temple and it's relation to the Sith'."
Anakin looked up quickly, interested. No-one ever willingly discussed the Sith in the Temple, unless it was to adonimish the littlest Initiates in the nurseries, in 'If you don't go straight to bed then the Sith will come and get you'. Maybe, this way, he'd get a few answers.
"As I'm sure you all know, the Sith were believed to be extinct until ten years ago," she continued, handing Anakin a holo-set and giving him a sympathetic look. She paused in front of him momentarily, and gave him and apologetic smile. "When one was discovered by a Master and Padawan team on a mission to the Planet Naboo. It was subsequently killed. Today's lesson is going to be focussing on the Jedi Knight who slew the Sith, and his life. For homework today I want you to write an account of the duel from this Knight's point of view." She finished handing out the sets and returned to the front of the room. "I understand this assignment will be easier for some than others," She said with a grin directed towards Anakin, "And I have no more to say, so please start your Holo-Disks." She sat down at her desk. "Enjoy learning about Obi-Wan Kenobi, everyone."
Anakin felt several pairs of eyes snap to stare at his back, but he steeled himself to ignore them, and started up his Holo-Disk. After a few seconds, a picture and some text blinked into focus in front of his eyes. He stifled a snort of laughter at some of the pictures, Obi-Wan, despite being naturally photogenic, hated having his picture taken, and most were 'candid camera' shots of him toweling off his hair after a shower and just walking round the Temple. Some of the expressions on his face were priceless. Amused, Anakin scanned through information about his Master's current life at the Temple, and brought up a three hundred and sixty five degree picture of their apartment, and took a guided tour, a silly expression on his face for the entire time.
Beside him, he heard a contented, happy sigh from one of his fellow students. Pulling his visor up slightly he looked at the blinking light on her box, which told him which section of the Holo-disk she was on, and turned his own disk to the same section in interest.
A picture flicked up instantly of he and Obi-Wan. Anakin paused, thoughtful. He remembered the day that this picture had been taken. It was one year after he had been taken as Obi-Wan's apprentice, and they had just been on their first mission together, to help reach an agreement between two planets in the same system, both of which thought their name for the system was the right one. The disagreement overcome quickly, the team had been invited to a huge party in the main city of the larger of the two planets.
At the time of the picture, Obi-Wan had only just begun growing his hair out of the Padawan cut he was so used to, and it fell into his eyes in the kind of messy organization that Anakin always connected to his Master. The ends were slightly curled, due to his hair lacking the weight that pulled it straight like it was today, and it's golden gingery colour was picked up under the lights. He was looking over his shoulder and grinning cheekily at the camera. Anakin, on the other hand, was like an eleven-year- old idiot, showing nearly all his teeth and pulling on his Padawan braid with youthful exuberance.
Anakin sighed sadly, wondering if it would ever be all right between he and his Master, after his actions that morning. He had considered it from every angle, but yet he didn't understand his own actions. It was like there was someone else controlling his mind, but that was impossible. It was just him. But yet, there was a small part of him that had delighted in watching someone so powerful reduced so something so helpless and hurt as Obi-Wan had bled from the glass shards.
Shaking himself out of his reverie, he returned to looking at the information on the disk, studying the story of the battle with the Sith again, despite knowing it all already.
Today was going to be a long day.
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