Chapter 45
Carefully Meri threaded her way through the crowd of Jedi that surrounded the arena floor. She made her way to her Master's side, a water flask in one hand and a towel in the other.
The weeks since the "incident" with Cillian marked a return to normalcy for Meri. Master An-Paj had finally allowed her to return to sparring with Alex, albeit, limited to light exercising. However, she was not allowed to participate in the tournament. As An-Paj had explained, a Jedi had to be at his peak during the battles, and the Master healer was concerned that one twist of her ankle and she would be back on her back again.
She couldn't say she was unhappy that she wasn't permitted to fight. Being a spectator offered her a whole new perspective on lightsabre tournaments. Meri'd been able to watch her Master wipe the floor with the other knights he'd be set up against.
With that thought in her mind, a lingering smile found it's way to her face as she approached Alex, as he sat resting on a bench.
He glanced her way, his lips turning upward in a familiar grin in answer to the smile she wore.
"That was impressive," she said proudly, taking a seat next to the sweat- soaked knight and handing him the water flask and towel.
Alex merely grinned boyishly at her words and took a long drink of the water. Letting out a content sigh, he wiped his face with the towel and then wrapped it around his neck.
"Thank you, Padawan."
Meri elbowed him playfully. "For what? The water or the compliment?"
"Both, naturally," he said giving her an answering shove with his elbow.
Meri gripped the bench to keep from sliding off and laughed. "Well don't get used to it."
Alex smirked. "I wouldn't dream of it."
"So who do you flatten next?" she inquired, eyes on the arena floor.
Alex leaned back on the bench in a position Meri could only call a sprawl, his legs stretched out in front of him and one arm thrown carelessly across the back. "No one, except the obligatory student."
"Ahh, yes. The honor of fighting a Jedi Master who has won in his own circle," Meri murmured. The apprentices fought against each other, in different age groups. The winner of each group then had the "honor" of coming up against a Jedi Master.
Meri glanced at her Master and saw an odd, satisfied gleam in his blue eyes. //Hmm,\\ she thought suspiciously. He was up to something. Perhaps it had something to do with Cillian. Alex had taken no action against the errant apprentice, an act, or the lack thereof, which greatly surprised her.
"Do you know which student will have the honor?"
"Mmmph," Alex answered in the back of his throat, one hand sweeping back the damp strands of hair across his forehead.
She wasn't sure if that was a yes, a no, or an 'I don't know', but she certainly saw it as avoiding her question. "Riight," she said dryly. She leaned back against the bench, only to feel Alex's arm resting comfortably against her shoulders as well. She leaned forward a bit, an action that did not go unnoticed by the tall knight.
"Well, I promised that I'd visit Obi-Wan, in prison."
"Prison?" A brief frown of confusion wrinkled his brow, then smoothed out after a moment of thought. "Ah, he's in the infirmary again. How did he manage it this time?"
Meri stood up grinning. "Well, actually it wasn't his fault. A couple of crèche children got a hold of a two training sabers, and, well they got a little rambunctious in their play fight and Obi-Wan just happened to be in the way and …" she trailed off seeing Alex wince at the thought. She continued. "Actually, I think he was trying to stop them, " she grinned.
"I don't see why. It sounds like something you and he would've gotten up to at that age. Did he not get to fight then?"
Meri gave her Master a 'look' for his first comment. "Yes, this was after his round. But it looks like he won't be getting the honor of fighting a Jedi Master. He'll be in the bacta, in and out all day, or so I've heard. He has a large gash in his leg."
Alex was trying vainly to keep an amused grin from his face, "Well, give him my regards."
"I'll do that. You're going to behave yourself, right?"
Alex's eyebrows shot upward in question. "Behave myself?"
"I have a feeling I know who the student will be who gets the honor of fighting you," she said wryly.
"Ohh, well," the knight murmured, his gaze trailing away from her and out over the arena. He was unsuccessfully fighting a smile.
"I don't know whether or not to feel sorry for him."
"I didn't say who it is, and truthfully I am not certain of who it will be," Alex stretched and then sat forward, his elbows resting comfortably on his knees.
"Well don't be too hard on whoever it is," she turned to leave, then paused and glanced back with a grin. "Why do I get the feeling I'm going to miss quite the show?"
The Jedi Master simply shrugged with a grin and waved her off.
She obliged with a laugh. Perhaps she should cut short her visit with Obi- Wan, though the other padawan had a tendency to get rather fidgety when confined to the infirmary and her presence seemed to keep him occupied for a time.
**
Just as she thought, Meri ended up spending more time with Obi-Wan than she'd first intended, so it was she had no idea what happened back at the tournament.
She first heard about it from two healer apprentice's talking rather animatedly in the corridor outside Obi-Wan's room.
She and Obi-Wan paused in their talk to listen.
"… you know how flashy Cillian is?" this was apparently directed at the other apprentice who must have nodded. "Well, he flipped over Master Arieh's head, trying to put space between them …" Here a snicker was heard and Meri wanted to stick her head out and demand to know what happened. "Master Arieh spun around, and as Cillian landed he," more giggles. Whatever it was, the sight must have been hilarious.
"What happened?!" the other girl demanded.
"Well, as he landed, Cillian tried to dash away from Master Arieh, but he didn't move fast enough," the student's voice was thick with amusement. "Master Arieh slashed him across his buttocks," peals of laughter interrupted the story and Meri looked aghast at Obi-Wan who wasn't trying to hold in his laughter.
"His pants tangled around his ankles and he fell, which gave Master Arieh the kill point! You should have seen it, my Force! It was the funniest thing I have ever seen. Master Arieh was standing with his sabre pointed at Cillian's neck, the picture of serenity and Cillian was squirming on the ground his bum exposed to all eyes an angry burn across it," more peals of laughter ensued.
Meri sat gaping for a moment as the voices moved down the hall then slapped a hand across her mouth, laughter exploding in a burst. She couldn't stop laughing, every time she looked at Obi-Wan, they would exchange a glance and then she'd be off again. She began to laugh so hard tears streamed down her face.
Finally, they managed to control themselves, but barely and by avoiding each other's gaze. Meri was still smothering giggles when Alex walked in, exuding a look full of satisfaction.
Both Meri and Obi-Wan glanced at Alex then each other. At the same moment they dissolved into laughter, leaving the Jedi Master to look at them in amusement, one eyebrow arched in question.
"What?" he asked in all innocence, just as they paused for breath.
With another glance at each other, Meri and Obi-Wan exploded into laughter once again.
Carefully Meri threaded her way through the crowd of Jedi that surrounded the arena floor. She made her way to her Master's side, a water flask in one hand and a towel in the other.
The weeks since the "incident" with Cillian marked a return to normalcy for Meri. Master An-Paj had finally allowed her to return to sparring with Alex, albeit, limited to light exercising. However, she was not allowed to participate in the tournament. As An-Paj had explained, a Jedi had to be at his peak during the battles, and the Master healer was concerned that one twist of her ankle and she would be back on her back again.
She couldn't say she was unhappy that she wasn't permitted to fight. Being a spectator offered her a whole new perspective on lightsabre tournaments. Meri'd been able to watch her Master wipe the floor with the other knights he'd be set up against.
With that thought in her mind, a lingering smile found it's way to her face as she approached Alex, as he sat resting on a bench.
He glanced her way, his lips turning upward in a familiar grin in answer to the smile she wore.
"That was impressive," she said proudly, taking a seat next to the sweat- soaked knight and handing him the water flask and towel.
Alex merely grinned boyishly at her words and took a long drink of the water. Letting out a content sigh, he wiped his face with the towel and then wrapped it around his neck.
"Thank you, Padawan."
Meri elbowed him playfully. "For what? The water or the compliment?"
"Both, naturally," he said giving her an answering shove with his elbow.
Meri gripped the bench to keep from sliding off and laughed. "Well don't get used to it."
Alex smirked. "I wouldn't dream of it."
"So who do you flatten next?" she inquired, eyes on the arena floor.
Alex leaned back on the bench in a position Meri could only call a sprawl, his legs stretched out in front of him and one arm thrown carelessly across the back. "No one, except the obligatory student."
"Ahh, yes. The honor of fighting a Jedi Master who has won in his own circle," Meri murmured. The apprentices fought against each other, in different age groups. The winner of each group then had the "honor" of coming up against a Jedi Master.
Meri glanced at her Master and saw an odd, satisfied gleam in his blue eyes. //Hmm,\\ she thought suspiciously. He was up to something. Perhaps it had something to do with Cillian. Alex had taken no action against the errant apprentice, an act, or the lack thereof, which greatly surprised her.
"Do you know which student will have the honor?"
"Mmmph," Alex answered in the back of his throat, one hand sweeping back the damp strands of hair across his forehead.
She wasn't sure if that was a yes, a no, or an 'I don't know', but she certainly saw it as avoiding her question. "Riight," she said dryly. She leaned back against the bench, only to feel Alex's arm resting comfortably against her shoulders as well. She leaned forward a bit, an action that did not go unnoticed by the tall knight.
"Well, I promised that I'd visit Obi-Wan, in prison."
"Prison?" A brief frown of confusion wrinkled his brow, then smoothed out after a moment of thought. "Ah, he's in the infirmary again. How did he manage it this time?"
Meri stood up grinning. "Well, actually it wasn't his fault. A couple of crèche children got a hold of a two training sabers, and, well they got a little rambunctious in their play fight and Obi-Wan just happened to be in the way and …" she trailed off seeing Alex wince at the thought. She continued. "Actually, I think he was trying to stop them, " she grinned.
"I don't see why. It sounds like something you and he would've gotten up to at that age. Did he not get to fight then?"
Meri gave her Master a 'look' for his first comment. "Yes, this was after his round. But it looks like he won't be getting the honor of fighting a Jedi Master. He'll be in the bacta, in and out all day, or so I've heard. He has a large gash in his leg."
Alex was trying vainly to keep an amused grin from his face, "Well, give him my regards."
"I'll do that. You're going to behave yourself, right?"
Alex's eyebrows shot upward in question. "Behave myself?"
"I have a feeling I know who the student will be who gets the honor of fighting you," she said wryly.
"Ohh, well," the knight murmured, his gaze trailing away from her and out over the arena. He was unsuccessfully fighting a smile.
"I don't know whether or not to feel sorry for him."
"I didn't say who it is, and truthfully I am not certain of who it will be," Alex stretched and then sat forward, his elbows resting comfortably on his knees.
"Well don't be too hard on whoever it is," she turned to leave, then paused and glanced back with a grin. "Why do I get the feeling I'm going to miss quite the show?"
The Jedi Master simply shrugged with a grin and waved her off.
She obliged with a laugh. Perhaps she should cut short her visit with Obi- Wan, though the other padawan had a tendency to get rather fidgety when confined to the infirmary and her presence seemed to keep him occupied for a time.
**
Just as she thought, Meri ended up spending more time with Obi-Wan than she'd first intended, so it was she had no idea what happened back at the tournament.
She first heard about it from two healer apprentice's talking rather animatedly in the corridor outside Obi-Wan's room.
She and Obi-Wan paused in their talk to listen.
"… you know how flashy Cillian is?" this was apparently directed at the other apprentice who must have nodded. "Well, he flipped over Master Arieh's head, trying to put space between them …" Here a snicker was heard and Meri wanted to stick her head out and demand to know what happened. "Master Arieh spun around, and as Cillian landed he," more giggles. Whatever it was, the sight must have been hilarious.
"What happened?!" the other girl demanded.
"Well, as he landed, Cillian tried to dash away from Master Arieh, but he didn't move fast enough," the student's voice was thick with amusement. "Master Arieh slashed him across his buttocks," peals of laughter interrupted the story and Meri looked aghast at Obi-Wan who wasn't trying to hold in his laughter.
"His pants tangled around his ankles and he fell, which gave Master Arieh the kill point! You should have seen it, my Force! It was the funniest thing I have ever seen. Master Arieh was standing with his sabre pointed at Cillian's neck, the picture of serenity and Cillian was squirming on the ground his bum exposed to all eyes an angry burn across it," more peals of laughter ensued.
Meri sat gaping for a moment as the voices moved down the hall then slapped a hand across her mouth, laughter exploding in a burst. She couldn't stop laughing, every time she looked at Obi-Wan, they would exchange a glance and then she'd be off again. She began to laugh so hard tears streamed down her face.
Finally, they managed to control themselves, but barely and by avoiding each other's gaze. Meri was still smothering giggles when Alex walked in, exuding a look full of satisfaction.
Both Meri and Obi-Wan glanced at Alex then each other. At the same moment they dissolved into laughter, leaving the Jedi Master to look at them in amusement, one eyebrow arched in question.
"What?" he asked in all innocence, just as they paused for breath.
With another glance at each other, Meri and Obi-Wan exploded into laughter once again.
