I'm back with another chapter of this bit of self-indulgent madness. If you're interested in seeing more, please favorite or leave a review. I understand OC's aren't everyone's cup of tea but I hope I can weave a compelling enough tale.
I did a little touch-up work on chapter 1. Nothing plot altering but I think I improved it a bit. So, if you want to go back and take another read through you might find it a little better.
Thanks for reading as always.
The lights were few inside Famina's and those that were present were sporadic neon blasts and dim house lights. The walls of the casino floor were lined with slot machines while sabac and pazaak tables dotted the floor. Currently Obi-Wan was camped out in the bar area, in one of the small booths scattered around offering the occupants the privacy to engage in whatever activity they fancied at the moment. The lights seemed even dimmer somehow, and the stage and dance floor close by produced enough noise to cover any conversation. Behind the bar, a yellow Devoronian poured drinks with a smile while keeping an eye on the clientele. A Wookie and two Trandoshans clearly acting as security weaved throughout the crowd along with the servers. Clad in flimsy metallic gold outfits that covered little, an aesthetic that was rote for the these types of places, attractive life forms of every gender flitted from patron to patron, keeping them well lubricated and entertained. Among them he recognized the green Mirialan from the day that Zee had arrived. Her name was Kyrsta, he'd later learned, and she was now one of Zee's neighbors, though they clearly had some association before. Another little mystery that might be worth unraveling. On the one other occasion he'd encountered her, she'd given him a cool greeting and eyed him with open suspicion, a certain amount of protectiveness for Zee being evident, it led him to assume their history was more than passing familiarity. Behind all the activity that swirled around him was an undercurrent of the thrumming bass of music that was just a little too loud.
Outlaws, mercenaries, and common thugs were no doubt mixed in amongst those who were simply looking to have a good time. An atmosphere that pulsed with unspoken menace and the wild abandon of those with nothing to lose was perhaps a risk to him that he should not be taking. But, he reasoned, he still needed to know what the Dathomirian was up to, and that required him to keep building up that trust she had shown him. It was admittedly also not a short trek into Mos Eisley. He'd taken up work in a small mining operation near Anchorhead, often renting a room for the night there when he didn't feel he could make it back to the cave. He still made sure to frequent the Lars farm to make clandestine stops to check in on Luke from afar. The further time he spent traversing the sands to conduct surveillance on Zee ate into his hours and cost him plenty of sleep. Occasionally, he had to find a safe place to rest for a while at the outskirts of the city, fending off exhaustion, before moving on. Despite all the drawbacks, he was determined to persevere and realize the payoff of rooting out her motives, and ensuring the safety of his charge. It was his duty, the last he'd ever been giving. The Jedi were gone, but this remained, whether or not he still considered himself one. Immediately he halted the dark line of thought and took a long drink from the glass in his hands.
The Devoronian was eyeing him and began to grow obviously impatient with the single drink he had ordered. Drawing a breath, Obi-Wan centered himself, bracing against the piercing stare and preparing to wait as long as needed. The din of the casino fell away as he inhaled and exhaled in a practiced rhythm, passing the moments until a voice pulled him out of it. "Ben!" He turned to the right of the small two-person booth he'd taken over and for a brief moment, he didn't realize who she was. Her exposed skin shimmered like silver under the club's light and he could see now that more geometric tattoos covered it, designs that only Dathomrians knew the meaning of. The skimpy uniform gave her figure a definition usually unnoticeable under her cloak, lanky and leanly muscled with very slight curves. Finally her face was now framed by a halo of red curls, the revelation of which he found shocking and incongruous with the ideal he'd had of her. Not that he'd really known many Dathomirans. "You came."
Words were lost to him for a moment. "I couldn't resist." He said hastily as he recovered before the pause was allowed to linger too long.
"Is that so?" A genial but cocky smile lit up her features. "Be right back." Turning around, she ducked behind the bar quickly. "I'm going on break, Malk." Reaching down and grabbing something, she shouted over to the bartender who looked grumpily at the glass he was currently cleaning and muttered something about how the staff were always all the same. "I won't be long and I'll behave myself I promise." She spoke in a conciliatory tone before walking away and sliding into the booth across from him with two glasses and a bottle which she immediately began to pour from.
"While I am certainly happy to see you, I think it's time you were honest with me." Her eyes were alight with triumph and he was suddenly not so confident in his perfect plan.
He swallowed hard, wondering how much she knew and when exactly she learned it. Muscles tensing he prepared to move quickly if necessary. "I don't know what you mean."
She passed a glass to him. "I have to be blunt? You haven't been running into me by accident, have you?"
Sitting back and taking a sip from her glass, she looked at him across the table triumphantly while inwardly he breathed a sigh of relief. "Perhaps." His voice carried just enough feigned reticence he thought. "I must admit I do find you occupying my mind at times." Just likely not in the way she was imagining.
The careful mask of flirtatiousness and bravado slipped away for a moment, but instead of revealing a victorious witch, there was only a woman slightly surprised by the sentiment being laid out so frankly. "Oh." They both looked away for a moment, taking a drink as they gathered themselves, but each for different reasons. "Ben, you are an interesting man. I can't say I'm not curious about you, even though everyone says you are a strange one, and normally don't take an interest in others."
"It's true enough, but perhaps I hadn't met the right person for me to take an interest in." As he spoke he continued to study her reactions.
"That's just flattery now. But I won't object too heavily to it."
"Zee!" Malk shouted from across the bar, "break's over!"
Turning in his direction, she yelled back, "hold on just a minute." A few words in a language Obi-Wan didn't understand were uttered from her as an exclamation as she looked back at him. "You would think it's his credits I'm wasting. Anyway, meet me after my shift tomorrow?'
Things were progressing successfully enough. "I wouldn't miss it for the whole Empire."
Ord Mantell, famous for poverty and lawlessness, how had she ended up there in the course of attempting to rebuild her Sisterhood? He wondered what exactly she found out there looking for other Nightsisters. Were there any left? Dooku and Grievous had believed them to be exterminated and would proudly proclaim it as their triumph. Although he had heard the Nightbrothers still were to be found roaming the desolate landscape of Dathomir, having not been the target of the assault. Was it possible that the formidable environment had sheltered more survivors and they had later left for new worlds?
With some chagrin, he could admit these weren't questions he'd really thought much on. Nightsister culture had never been something he had the highest opinion of, the near slavery of the Nightbrothers and the Witches's magic that drew on the dark side being anathema to him. His distaste for it had been something he couldn't set aside, even when she'd had good reason to expect it of him. It was her home and her people, and she loved them dearly. And now her quest to reclaim it may cost her her life.
The planet was clear across the galaxy from Tatooine, travel to it not something to be taken likely. The route he'd chosen would have several legs and avoid as much of the core worlds as possible. It would with any luck make it harder to track him if he were noticed and keep him out of the heart of the Empire. Knowing he was committing to a level of danger he hadn't seen in awhile, he paid a visit to the Lars farm before heading to the spaceport, from a distance of course. Owen still had not warmed to him, a fact that after this many years, he had resigned himself to. But still, he needed to make sure that Luke was safe and healthy as far as he could tell, only then would he be ready to face what was to come. The suns were just setting and Luke had been taking apart some old bit of machinery for some purpose or another. He watched as the boy begrudgingly left it aside when Behru called for him from the doorway, standing and shaking sand from his clothes that had gathered there in the hours he'd been out before heading inside. Wordlessly he promised him he would return soon. Obi-Wan's trust in his adoptive parents had grown over the years but he knew there would come a time when they'd be out of their depth and he would be needed. Satisfied that all was well for the moment, he continued on his way.
The docking bays of Mos Eisley were always surprisingly busy for a planet few would regard as an ideal destination. Though, of course, they were businesses that thrived as always among the desolate dunes, many of them unsavory. Some things had remained unchangeable even after years of Imperial rule. And of course, there were those who saw opportunities created by such enterprises, and would take their chances to grasp for more than what they had, stumbling their way into a nefarious lifestyle.
He'd managed to book passage on a freighter with room enough for some passengers. When cargo alone wouldn't suffice for a profit, the captain and crew were flexible. They didn't ask questions of those who boarded, preferring ignorance of anything more than the number in their party and how much luggage they would pay for, and leaving them to their own devices in a small area partitioned off for their use. All around him were the same expressions, tired and weary and a little bit afraid. The inclination of his nature was as it had ever been, to alleviate their burdens. He knew though that those times had passed and anything he would do could only endanger himself and possibly even them. Instead he settled in, and put distance, both metaphorical and real, between himself and them.
The freighter's ascent into space was smooth and routine, and the jump to hyperspace after it as well. The tiny passenger compartment began to fill with conversations that blossomed as he kept his silence, once again the hermit, on his own. Some curious looks thrown his way as they boarded indicated that he may have been recognized by some of his fellow travelers. Perhaps they had encountered Ben Kenobi somewhere in their lives. He didn't bother to acknowledge them though, assuming that without it they would move on and leave him be.
The passenger quarters consisted of a number of chairs and cots flung haphazardly around a section of the cargo bay. He'd posted up in a seat in the corner when he'd left the others to their own devices and now that he'd receded into the background of their existence, he closed his eyes. Concentrating, he reached out with the Force, searching for Zelena's presence. Clearly comm contact was a no-go after they had last spoken, and his concern for her condition had only grown in the tense hours since. Breathing in he pictured her as he had last seen her, reaching down into his memories and stirring up the ghost of her that lived in his heart. It was as though he could reach out and take her by the hand.
Emotions brushed up against his mind, irritation, impatience, anxiety. Some of them felt very much like her, others were disquietingly not like her at all. The impression that came to mind was of her pacing a room somewhere, uncertain of her future. Every part of him yearned to be able to comfort her. "I'm coming, Zel," he thought, projecting it out into the galaxy and toward that forlorn figure. As he did, he felt the emotions that touched his mind ignite with hope.
Regretfully, he broke the connection as his message made it through, an open door could always chance something else coming through. She was still alive, that's all he really needed to know for now. Opening his eyes, he shifted in his chair, trying to find a comfortable position in something that was clearly not designed with comfort in mind. The groups had merged and conversations broke out amongst adults while children scurried around their parents, expanding boundless energy. He suddenly felt old, the weight of years weighing down on him. It was accompanied though by a surety that it wasn't his time to rest.
Keeping to himself he occupied his chosen corner through an unremarkable journey to Ord Mantell. Carefully examining each stop the possible routes would make before departing, he'd settled on one with several planets scattered across the outer and mid rim, small and unremarkable, the kind of places migrants going to and from wouldn't be noticed. There were two outside the core worlds he'd been especially careful to avoid, Saleucami, as it had somehow earned a disproportionate amount of Imperial attention, and Mandalore. Though time had blunted his grief for the Duchess, he had no wish to see the place that would serve as a reminder of how he failed her, especially not at this particular moment. The past must remain behind him, the present and seeing Zelena to safety were what mattered.
The freighter stopped at each of its destinations in turn, exchanging both cargo and travelers, both of which could easily become indistinguishable from one another after some time. The same gray industrial crates, filled with supplies for scraping together a living from harsh atmospheres and people with the same tired, haunted looks. He continued to confine himself to his little corner, observing and talking little, until he was mostly forgotten by those around him. After days of faster than light travel and finally having concluded all other business, the ship dropped out of hyperspace over Ord Mantell. They descended into the planet's atmosphere without incident and settled into the Spaceport. The easy part was over, now the risk began.
The suns had long ago set, leaving the night sky of Tatooine filled with stars. He'd had an early shift at the mine and he knew he'd likely regret this late night diversion when he woke. This opportunity however, was too great to miss, another step on the path he'd laid out. So he found himself outside the back entrance to Famina's waiting for the Dathomiran to exit after her shift.
Though he was careful to not use the Force in any discernible way, he left his senses open, or tried to anyway, again it felt as if the lack of use was causing his connection to be frayed and tenuous. It worried him that perhaps this was the real reason he never detected any sorcery from her. Though admittedly she didn't strike him as careless so it was more likely she was being as cautious as he was. The door slid open interrupting his thoughts and Zee emerged. She'd thrown her cloak over her uniform, leaving the hood off so her tightly-bound curls shimmered copper in the moonlight. "Ben", she sounded pleasantly surprised as though she hadn't believed he'd keep his word. A soft smile appeared on her lips and he found himself distracted by the overt warmth she was showing him.
After an awkward moment of silence he answered. "Good evening Zee."
"I'm glad you came." Closing the distance between them she'd come to stand by his side, she was already tall, and the heels she wore with her uniform put them at nearly the same height. "I must admit I was a little worried you would forget."
"What, forget about the chance at some uninterrupted time with you?" He tried to match that open warmth but for the first time since he met her he felt off about what he was doing. She seemed so genuine and he hadn't noticed any deception from her, to go along with the lack of magic. It all didn't quite add up to what he'd been expecting. "So what did you have in mind?"
Holding out his arm he let Zee hook her's through it. "Honestly I'm starving and tips were good tonight. Mind if I buy you dinner?"
"Sounds lovely." He let her lead him a few blocks down from the casino. Famina's and other establishments of its kind had encouraged a whole host of satellite businesses to spring up around them, cheaper meals, cheaper drinks, places where silence could be bought if you'd offended someone and needed to hide out. The profits were slimmer and often they stayed off the Hutt's radar that way. Unless they managed to irritate a higher up. The dens of questionable taste were open until the morning hours, often relieving their patrons of the last of their credits that hadn't been spent elsewhere.
Zee pulled him into a stall with a row of metallic stools in front of an open counter. The smell of fire and char washed over them. "Zee, you're back!" The human girl with dark hair and tan skin behind the counter bubbled excitedly. "Oh, you brought company." Her disappointment was instant. "The usual?" Speaking in a clipped tone she hardly waited for an answer before turning away.
"Double up for my friend ." Zee shouted after her. "She always flirts with me and I keep telling her it won't happen." Her words were followed with a brief shrug and she seemed a little chagrined by the girl's behavior.
"But you keep showing up. Maybe it's not so one-sided after all." He spoke teasingly.
"Very funny Ben. The prices are cheap and it's not far from work." She was very nearly indignant.
A pile of skewers of grilled meat placed over grains and two cups of questionable ale were deposited in front of them and the jilted server went off to attend to new customers. Zee wasted no time before tearing into a skewer of what smelled decidedly like grilled Bantha. "You know I really am surprised by how this turned out. You were so awkward when we first met, it was almost like you were suspicious of me."
A shiver ran down his spine, either she was more observant than he had realized, or he was getting bad at this. "To be honest things have been a struggle for me since the end of the war. I apologize if I was off-putting, Zee."
She swallowed a drink of the ale and looked as though she were contemplating something. Leaning over she closed the distance between them with celerity and he nearly recoiled out of instinct. "Zelena." She spoke in a half whisper keeping those nearby from hearing. In return, he gave her a quizzical look. "It's…my name. I just mostly go by Zee these days. But I figured since we're being open with each other." Her words were rushed as though the act of speaking made her nervous, likely that name was not given to others lightly.
"That's a lot of trust for someone you barely know." It was what he had been waiting for, that trust, and yet he almost instinctively pushed it away.
"Everyone's always said I was a good judge of character and my instincts tell me that you're a good man Ben Kenobi." It was said with a matter-of-fact tone he'd heard her use before when she wasn't interested in discussing a point further, usually with the marker vendors. "So you said you came here after the war? "
He picked up one of the skewers and was fidgeting with it more than eating it, the feeling of misgiving growing. The thought of attempting to find an excuse to leave crossed his mind. What purpose would that serve though? He'd already gone all in on this game he'd been playing. "Yes I fought in it for my homeworld." Memories he normally kept locked away began to rise to the surface. He'd needed a backstory, something convincing, it had been his first instinct. Though now with the ghosts of years ago beckoning to him, he realized he should have come up with something else.
"It's a long road from the front lines to Tatooine." She said nonchalantly, entirely unaware of what was haunting him.
More customers pressed in, sitting at the ancient, rusting counter; dim, almost dirty lights washing over them. They all faded to the background, it was as though the only real things at the moment were himself and Zelena, who hovered at the edge of his awareness, while old pain threatened to overwhelm him. "I lost everyone." He managed before gripping the cup roughly and taking a drink of the bitter liquid inside while forcing back the pain.
"Ben." Fingers gripped his unoccupied hand, her voice was filled with compassion, drawing him back from the void. After a second, he raised his eyes to meet hers. "I understand you too well. My family, my sisters, all gone in a matter of hours."
Slowly his surroundings returned to him. "I'm sorry to hear that." He was well aware there was so much more than she was telling. Grievous had scoured Dathomir, destroying the Witch clans that had lived there, a whole people wiped out. Just another wound left by the war that was still raw and open.
Releasing his hand, she wrapped her arms around herself, eyes focusing off into the distance, as if she were watching the events she spoke of play out again. "And I couldn't do anything but run. I was useless." At the last word, her voice cracked. "I- I thought I could handle talking about this. I need a moment." Before he could respond, she'd stood and ducked out of the stall, disappearing from view.
In the space of a breath, an old instinct kicked in, one he'd been trying to bury, indiscriminate compassion. Gone, for the moment, were the thoughts of the dangerous sorceress, and the sense of detachment he'd been trying to maintain with the situation. Grief had been radiating from her, even his dull senses could feel it, grief he knew too well, its twin haunting his days and restless nights. Without thinking, he followed after her, out into the relatively quiet street. She'd walked a little ways down to an alley, and stood just at the line where the ambient light faded into shadow, arms still crossed and head bowed. "Zelena." Speaking softly, Obi-Wan rested his hands on her shoulders, that open wound had begun to bleed all over again it would seem.
"I'm sorry Ben, I didn't mean to bring things down. I shouldn't have said anything." The struggle to do the same as he had just done and fight back against her emotions was visible.
"You don't have to apologize, I just wanted to make sure you were alright. The war never stops taking does it? There's so many of us who still feel it." The two of them were more alike than most others though, the Jedi order was the same as her people, a way of life now functionally extinct. Mourning for her people didn't make her any less of a possible threat, he reminded himself, struggling to balance compassion and caution.
Before he could get himself centered however, he found her arms wrapped around him. "Thank you." Her head rested perfectly on his shoulder so that her words were muffled into his shirt. Frozen in shock, his mind was blank for a moment before he stiffly returned the embrace, the feeling of her real flesh and blood seemed so fragile compared to her presumed nature. Saying nothing, he let her compose herself, and shortly after, she let go, seeming back in control of those memories which plagued her. "I suppose we should finish dinner. Wouldn't want to waste the credits." She turned to head back.
"Right." He followed while his mind was spinning from trying to process the last few minutes. The duality of expectation and experience warred in his thoughts, lingering, like the sensation of warmth she'd left on his skin. It coupled with his own loneliness and the reality that tonight had been the closest thing to real companionship he'd had in so very long. That was all best buried though, his duty was clear.
Catching back up, he settled into his seat next to her. "So what made you choose Tatooine, if you don't mind me asking?"
"I suppose that's an easier subject. I traveled for sometime after everything. I met Kyrsta, and one day she decided that she wanted to get out of her life and start over. It sounded like as good a plan as any, and I didn't really have any attachments anywhere. Maybe it was the call of destiny." She shrugged and then smirked. "I did get to meet you after all."
"Do you believe in destiny?" What he really wanted to ask about was the Force, but destiny would have to do.
"I haven't really decided yet. Maybe if everything works out in my favor." It wasn't unnoticed that she'd avoided looking directly at him as she answered.
"Interesting philosophy." He said wryly, pushing the conversation along with lightness, while continuing to observe her.
"You think so? Well then, we should keep meeting like this, you could hear more of it."
"Oh, absolutely." Another step forward, from intriguing acquaintance, to possible friend, a successful evening with more in the future. He tried to keep himself focused on that, but he couldn't help noticing the way she kept glancing in his direction, her golden eyes soft and warm.