A/N Thanks to everyone who's reviewed so far! Hope you like the next part. This story will get darker as it goes on.
denotes telepathic speech.
"Master! I found the supplies you..." The boy fell silent in amazement at the sight before him. Qui-Gon Jinn was kneeling on the forest floor, and standing in front of him, placid and apparently utterly unafraid, was a beautiful, delicate creature with dappled brown fur, huge dewy eyes, and slender, tapering legs. It stood perhaps as high as the thirteen year old Padawan; thus it was dwarfed, like Obi-Wan, by the tall Jedi Master. Despite this, it gazed at Qui-Gon without fear, and with something very like adoration.
Obi-Wan froze, not daring to go any closer, for fear the animal might bolt. Qui-Gon, however, looking up, beckoned to his Padawan, stroking the lovely creature's soft nose with his other hand. Tentatively Obi-Wan approached, moving slowly and quietly, his gaze riveted to the beast. Reaching his master, he stood shyly by, watching as Qui-Gon petted his new friend.
"Touch her." The master suggested. Obi-Wan hesitated; he doubted somehow that the lovely thing would like him as much as it seemed to like Qui-Gon. Without waiting for the young man's reply, Qui-Gon took his apprentice's small hand in his own and directed it towards the animal's muzzle. The creature turned its large eyes calmly to Obi-Wan, gazing at him for a long moment, as though judging his worth. Then, slowly, it lowered its head and allowed itself to be petted once more.
"She seems to like you." Murmured Qui-Gon, softly, in the boy's ear. Obi-Wan smiled, still not daring to speak in case he frightened the creature away. After a while he knelt on the ground, as Qui-Gon did - the doe nuzzled his shoulder in a friendly way.
"Did she just...wander up to you?" Whispered the apprentice, finally daring to speak. The doe twitched her ears toward him but did not appear alarmed.
"She was drawn to me through the Living Force." Qui-Gon whispered back, his beard tickling the young man's ear. "She was kind enough to remain here in order to give you a lesson, my young Padawan."
"What sort of lesson, Master?"
"A lesson which cannot be taught in words, or even in thought. A lesson which can only be learned implicitly, and only understood through experience. As you move your hand over the doe's fur, Obi-Wan, reach into the Living Force and try to find her there."
Moments filled with only heartbeats passed, as Obi-Wan tried to do as his master instructed. After a while, he frowned.
"Master, I don't think I understand..."
As he spoke, the doe jerked away from him, and with a last long look at Qui-Gon, disappeared into the forest. Confused and saddened, Obi-Wan gazed helplessly at his master. He felt that Qui-Gon must be disappointed in him. But the man was smiling.
"You did well, for your first real attempt at understanding the Living Force; our friend chose to remain with you, and clearly saw something special in you. You are strong in the Unifying Force, Obi-Wan, but there is more to being a Jedi than that, and more to life than books and training can teach you. To understand life, my Padawan, you have to embrace it, and *live*."
Live.
Qui-Gon's deep voice faded out slowly, and a new voice, neither melodic, nor familiar, nor loved, began to fade in.
"Not yet!" It snapped. A cold, female voice.
"I just want to see him..." *This* voice was familiar, and welcome, despite its whining tone. The angry sound of a cocky young man denied that to which he considers himself entitled.
"He is healing. You will leave him alone, boy, and remove yourself!" The woman growled back.
"Just for a minute..."
"Certainly not! Go away. I do not have time for the foolishness of children."
"I'm not a child!" A definite whine now, making a mocking irony of the claim.
"Anakin..." for a moment, despite Obi-Wan's realisation that this was one of Kreanon's houses of healing, the young knight was certain he was hearing Qui-Gon's voice once again - but only for a split second, before he recognised the bass tones of Sendar Varen. Another familiar, welcome presence.
"Your master needs to rest." The deep voice went on, soothingly, calming the irate boy. Remaining still and keeping his eyes closed, Obi-Wan reached out through the somewhat unstable training bond he had with the youth, and gave it a gentle twitch to get Anakin's attention.
Master...?
Do as Master Varen tells you, Ani. I will speak with you soon. In truth, Obi-Wan felt that extensive speech was unlikely for some time - his throat was sore, his chest aching. He wondered how long he had lain here - perhaps only a few hours, judging from the rawness of his injuries. But Anakin was safe, his boisterousness apparently quite unaffected by his experience, and that was the most important thing.
Obi-Wan remained inert until Anakin had (reluctantly) left the room, then waited patiently for the hard-voiced female healer to remove herself as well. When finally he was left alone with Varen, Kenobi opened his eyes.
And immediately closed them again against the sudden explosion of colour. Apparently Kreanon healers had a much different idea of what constituted a soothing way to paint a sickroom than the Jedi healers Obi-Wan was used to.
"How are you feeling?" Varen asked, keeping his voice to a low, calming pitch.
"I've been better, which does not give you an excuse to coddle me." His voice, as he had feared, was a croaking travesty of its normal smoothness. Obi-Wan daringly opened one eye. The horribly painted walls had not, unfortunately, been a product of his imagination. Was there something wrong with his visual system?
"Everything's...pink." He muttered.
"Yes." Agreed Sendar, seemingly unconcerned.
"Hmph."
The older Jedi smiled slightly. "It's been seven hours since the tragedy. You had us worried for about half an hour - but these healers really know what they're doing, even if they are a little unapproachable."
"The First Family?" Obi-Wan managed to mutter.
"Dead...except for Kohhlius' second son, Kohhlianus. He's severely injured, but alive - at the moment, at least. He has a fifty-fifty chance of survival."
"So much destruction." Obi-Wan whispered. "Purposeless..."
"I know. Try not to speak."
Obi-Wan, despite the slight haze caused by the healer's drugs, was careful to avoid the subject of Lanna. He knew she must be dead - even had he not seen her broken form, the grief radiating from Sendar would have told him. But that pain was too new, too raw to be shared. Varen must find his own path through sorrow before he could express it and release it into the Force.
Taking a deep breath with difficulty, Obi-Wan managed a final question.
"Arik...Rayoo?"
"Arik's fine - he never ceases to amaze me. He has more self-possession than any Padawan in the Temple. As for Rayoo...he's still unconscious, but he'll make a full recovery." Varen stopped short of mentioning Lanna, of accepting that he would have to tell a thirteen-year-old apprentice that his master was dead. Obi-Wan, understanding, nodded briefly in acknowledgement. It was becoming increasingly difficult to keep his eyes from closing. Gently, Sendar patted the younger man's shoulder.
"Go to sleep, Obi-Wan. I'll keep you informed of any developments, don't worry."
Another nod, and a faint, grateful smile, was all Kenobi could manage before he drifted back into dreams. Sendar Varen stood gazing down at him with relief and affection for a few moments before tucking the horrendously coloured bedclothes around him, and slipping silently from the room.
Unsurprisingly, Obi-Wan's young Padawan was hovering outside, hopping from foot to foot with his typical youthful energy. He stared fixedly at Varen as he closed the door, his face eager.
"Is he okay? Can I see him now?"
"Not yet, Ani. He's sleeping."
"I know, I can sense it."
Sendar smiled to himself at this evidence of the increasingly effective training bond between young Kenobi and his apprentice.
"Of course you can - and I suppose you can also sense how tired your master is, so perhaps we'd better leave him to get some rest, hmm?"
"I wasn't going to wake him up." Muttered the boy, a little sulkily, but he gave up arguing anyway. Arguing with Varen was something like repeatedly running headfirst into a brick wall. If it came to it, Varen would give up on logical debate and simply fall silent, smiling and shaking his head as though he knew something the other person did not, until his opponent gave up in despair.
Sendar put a hand on Anakin's shoulder and steered him in the direction of the quarters the boy had been allocated, since their rooms in the Senate building had, of course, been destroyed. They walked in companionable silence, Anakin having apparently forgotten any animosity. As Varen was about to leave him at the entrance to his rooms, the boy looked up shyly.
"Master Sendar? I'm really sorry about Master Lanna."
Sendar swallowed, struggling to keep the emotion from his voice as he replied simply,
"Thank you, Ani. Go and get some rest now."
The boy gave him a sweet, sad smile, and disappeared into the small but functional room he would share with Obi-Wan, if he ever managed to escape the healers. Sendar, who had originally planned to seek out his own Padawan and enquire how the young man's interviews with Kreanon's Panel of Lesser Ministers were progressing, found himself heading back to the solitude of his own rooms. Once inside, he fell to his knees beside the bed, and sought the peace of meditation.
It refused to come - the only thoughts which flowed willingly into his mind were of Lanna, Lanna who had been his Padawan, ten years ago; Lanna, who had been so excited about taking on her own first apprentice; Lanna, who now lay still and cold in a mortuary on an alien world where she was unknown, and unloved.
Clasping his hands together, vision blurred by tears, Varen murmured, "The precious gift given by the Force has returned from whence it came. May you find peace in the undying unity of the Force, my Padawan."
This said, meditation came more easily, and for a while Varen was able to suppress his grief, if not to forget.
A/N please review - by the way, the switch from Obi-Wan's to Sendar's POV was intentional, and will probably happen quite often. Sorry if it's a little confusing, it seems to come as a feature of the style!
I'd especially like to know what readers think of Sendar Varen, so far. We meet Arik and Rayoo in the next chapter.
denotes telepathic speech.
"Master! I found the supplies you..." The boy fell silent in amazement at the sight before him. Qui-Gon Jinn was kneeling on the forest floor, and standing in front of him, placid and apparently utterly unafraid, was a beautiful, delicate creature with dappled brown fur, huge dewy eyes, and slender, tapering legs. It stood perhaps as high as the thirteen year old Padawan; thus it was dwarfed, like Obi-Wan, by the tall Jedi Master. Despite this, it gazed at Qui-Gon without fear, and with something very like adoration.
Obi-Wan froze, not daring to go any closer, for fear the animal might bolt. Qui-Gon, however, looking up, beckoned to his Padawan, stroking the lovely creature's soft nose with his other hand. Tentatively Obi-Wan approached, moving slowly and quietly, his gaze riveted to the beast. Reaching his master, he stood shyly by, watching as Qui-Gon petted his new friend.
"Touch her." The master suggested. Obi-Wan hesitated; he doubted somehow that the lovely thing would like him as much as it seemed to like Qui-Gon. Without waiting for the young man's reply, Qui-Gon took his apprentice's small hand in his own and directed it towards the animal's muzzle. The creature turned its large eyes calmly to Obi-Wan, gazing at him for a long moment, as though judging his worth. Then, slowly, it lowered its head and allowed itself to be petted once more.
"She seems to like you." Murmured Qui-Gon, softly, in the boy's ear. Obi-Wan smiled, still not daring to speak in case he frightened the creature away. After a while he knelt on the ground, as Qui-Gon did - the doe nuzzled his shoulder in a friendly way.
"Did she just...wander up to you?" Whispered the apprentice, finally daring to speak. The doe twitched her ears toward him but did not appear alarmed.
"She was drawn to me through the Living Force." Qui-Gon whispered back, his beard tickling the young man's ear. "She was kind enough to remain here in order to give you a lesson, my young Padawan."
"What sort of lesson, Master?"
"A lesson which cannot be taught in words, or even in thought. A lesson which can only be learned implicitly, and only understood through experience. As you move your hand over the doe's fur, Obi-Wan, reach into the Living Force and try to find her there."
Moments filled with only heartbeats passed, as Obi-Wan tried to do as his master instructed. After a while, he frowned.
"Master, I don't think I understand..."
As he spoke, the doe jerked away from him, and with a last long look at Qui-Gon, disappeared into the forest. Confused and saddened, Obi-Wan gazed helplessly at his master. He felt that Qui-Gon must be disappointed in him. But the man was smiling.
"You did well, for your first real attempt at understanding the Living Force; our friend chose to remain with you, and clearly saw something special in you. You are strong in the Unifying Force, Obi-Wan, but there is more to being a Jedi than that, and more to life than books and training can teach you. To understand life, my Padawan, you have to embrace it, and *live*."
Live.
Qui-Gon's deep voice faded out slowly, and a new voice, neither melodic, nor familiar, nor loved, began to fade in.
"Not yet!" It snapped. A cold, female voice.
"I just want to see him..." *This* voice was familiar, and welcome, despite its whining tone. The angry sound of a cocky young man denied that to which he considers himself entitled.
"He is healing. You will leave him alone, boy, and remove yourself!" The woman growled back.
"Just for a minute..."
"Certainly not! Go away. I do not have time for the foolishness of children."
"I'm not a child!" A definite whine now, making a mocking irony of the claim.
"Anakin..." for a moment, despite Obi-Wan's realisation that this was one of Kreanon's houses of healing, the young knight was certain he was hearing Qui-Gon's voice once again - but only for a split second, before he recognised the bass tones of Sendar Varen. Another familiar, welcome presence.
"Your master needs to rest." The deep voice went on, soothingly, calming the irate boy. Remaining still and keeping his eyes closed, Obi-Wan reached out through the somewhat unstable training bond he had with the youth, and gave it a gentle twitch to get Anakin's attention.
Master...?
Do as Master Varen tells you, Ani. I will speak with you soon. In truth, Obi-Wan felt that extensive speech was unlikely for some time - his throat was sore, his chest aching. He wondered how long he had lain here - perhaps only a few hours, judging from the rawness of his injuries. But Anakin was safe, his boisterousness apparently quite unaffected by his experience, and that was the most important thing.
Obi-Wan remained inert until Anakin had (reluctantly) left the room, then waited patiently for the hard-voiced female healer to remove herself as well. When finally he was left alone with Varen, Kenobi opened his eyes.
And immediately closed them again against the sudden explosion of colour. Apparently Kreanon healers had a much different idea of what constituted a soothing way to paint a sickroom than the Jedi healers Obi-Wan was used to.
"How are you feeling?" Varen asked, keeping his voice to a low, calming pitch.
"I've been better, which does not give you an excuse to coddle me." His voice, as he had feared, was a croaking travesty of its normal smoothness. Obi-Wan daringly opened one eye. The horribly painted walls had not, unfortunately, been a product of his imagination. Was there something wrong with his visual system?
"Everything's...pink." He muttered.
"Yes." Agreed Sendar, seemingly unconcerned.
"Hmph."
The older Jedi smiled slightly. "It's been seven hours since the tragedy. You had us worried for about half an hour - but these healers really know what they're doing, even if they are a little unapproachable."
"The First Family?" Obi-Wan managed to mutter.
"Dead...except for Kohhlius' second son, Kohhlianus. He's severely injured, but alive - at the moment, at least. He has a fifty-fifty chance of survival."
"So much destruction." Obi-Wan whispered. "Purposeless..."
"I know. Try not to speak."
Obi-Wan, despite the slight haze caused by the healer's drugs, was careful to avoid the subject of Lanna. He knew she must be dead - even had he not seen her broken form, the grief radiating from Sendar would have told him. But that pain was too new, too raw to be shared. Varen must find his own path through sorrow before he could express it and release it into the Force.
Taking a deep breath with difficulty, Obi-Wan managed a final question.
"Arik...Rayoo?"
"Arik's fine - he never ceases to amaze me. He has more self-possession than any Padawan in the Temple. As for Rayoo...he's still unconscious, but he'll make a full recovery." Varen stopped short of mentioning Lanna, of accepting that he would have to tell a thirteen-year-old apprentice that his master was dead. Obi-Wan, understanding, nodded briefly in acknowledgement. It was becoming increasingly difficult to keep his eyes from closing. Gently, Sendar patted the younger man's shoulder.
"Go to sleep, Obi-Wan. I'll keep you informed of any developments, don't worry."
Another nod, and a faint, grateful smile, was all Kenobi could manage before he drifted back into dreams. Sendar Varen stood gazing down at him with relief and affection for a few moments before tucking the horrendously coloured bedclothes around him, and slipping silently from the room.
Unsurprisingly, Obi-Wan's young Padawan was hovering outside, hopping from foot to foot with his typical youthful energy. He stared fixedly at Varen as he closed the door, his face eager.
"Is he okay? Can I see him now?"
"Not yet, Ani. He's sleeping."
"I know, I can sense it."
Sendar smiled to himself at this evidence of the increasingly effective training bond between young Kenobi and his apprentice.
"Of course you can - and I suppose you can also sense how tired your master is, so perhaps we'd better leave him to get some rest, hmm?"
"I wasn't going to wake him up." Muttered the boy, a little sulkily, but he gave up arguing anyway. Arguing with Varen was something like repeatedly running headfirst into a brick wall. If it came to it, Varen would give up on logical debate and simply fall silent, smiling and shaking his head as though he knew something the other person did not, until his opponent gave up in despair.
Sendar put a hand on Anakin's shoulder and steered him in the direction of the quarters the boy had been allocated, since their rooms in the Senate building had, of course, been destroyed. They walked in companionable silence, Anakin having apparently forgotten any animosity. As Varen was about to leave him at the entrance to his rooms, the boy looked up shyly.
"Master Sendar? I'm really sorry about Master Lanna."
Sendar swallowed, struggling to keep the emotion from his voice as he replied simply,
"Thank you, Ani. Go and get some rest now."
The boy gave him a sweet, sad smile, and disappeared into the small but functional room he would share with Obi-Wan, if he ever managed to escape the healers. Sendar, who had originally planned to seek out his own Padawan and enquire how the young man's interviews with Kreanon's Panel of Lesser Ministers were progressing, found himself heading back to the solitude of his own rooms. Once inside, he fell to his knees beside the bed, and sought the peace of meditation.
It refused to come - the only thoughts which flowed willingly into his mind were of Lanna, Lanna who had been his Padawan, ten years ago; Lanna, who had been so excited about taking on her own first apprentice; Lanna, who now lay still and cold in a mortuary on an alien world where she was unknown, and unloved.
Clasping his hands together, vision blurred by tears, Varen murmured, "The precious gift given by the Force has returned from whence it came. May you find peace in the undying unity of the Force, my Padawan."
This said, meditation came more easily, and for a while Varen was able to suppress his grief, if not to forget.
A/N please review - by the way, the switch from Obi-Wan's to Sendar's POV was intentional, and will probably happen quite often. Sorry if it's a little confusing, it seems to come as a feature of the style!
I'd especially like to know what readers think of Sendar Varen, so far. We meet Arik and Rayoo in the next chapter.