The Temple's terraces were deserted.
Two hours left before his first confrontation with the Family…
He had been meditating for hours to keep himself centred. But tonight, the sight of the sun setting ablaze the myriad of angular surfaces of the city had not its usual soothing effect.
Obi-Wan Kenobi was sitting on the floor, motionless, leaning against a bright white wall, his hands resting idly in his lap.
A stripe of coppery light crossed his face. The clear colour of his eyes stood out dimly as he absently watched a bunch of crazed insects flying in circle up in the distance. On the surface, he looked calm. He knew what he had to do, what he had to say. But his partner… What to think of her? She had been true to her word and done her best to prepare him for tonight's meeting, providing all kind of useful information and advice. Yet there was something in her he could not fathom, like this habit of disappearing at regular intervals without giving explanations… He would have to do something about it soon.
"How are you feeling?" someone suddenly asked.
The low timbre of the voice got through his haze and his eyes slowly went back into focus. Nila Sohal was standing by his side, wrapped in the folds of her dark cloak. She was nervous. He could feel the ripples of her anxiety through the Force no matter how hard she tried to suppress it. The dull clench in his stomach increased slightly.
"Ephemeral," he uttered, drawing the syllables pensively and noticed with a half smile her puzzled expression.
But she suddenly smiled back in a deeply knowing way and squatted down beside him. "Nice way to describe it," she said simply.
She was sitting with her back very straight against the wall. Her dark eyes had taken a warm reddish gold shade in the sun.
"It's strange how your voice seems to belong to someone else," Kenobi remarked out of the blue, wondering at the same time where the Force it came from. "Sorry, it's abs--"
Nila had then a small chuckle which cut him mid sentence. "No, no. It's true, I've been told before." She shrugged lightly."I often imagine it's because I have been shaped up by many different people. The Centre, the Mob, the Jedi. Some elements in me clash and some blend together well."
"Did you know your parents?" he suddenly asked after a pause.
She shook her head slowly, closing her eyes as they met one of the pools of liquid light reflected on the countless windows panes. The day was almost gone; the city was starting to lose its sharp edges as the shadow grew imperceptibly.
Nila found herself wanting to push away the thought of what would happen that night just for a few more minutes to somehow ward off ill-fortune. So she talked.
"I looked for them when I was a padawan. I couldn't bear not knowing. My efforts paid off and I eventually found a name. My mother's or so I thought but it didn't match any ID file of the Archives. It seemed like no one alive or dead had ever bore that name. It was just no use. So I deleted all my research."
Nila finally turned her head toward him and saw that he was musing too. She shifted closer until he felt her lightly pressed against his side. Surprised, he looked down at her but her attention was elsewhere on the scenery. How long had it been since someone had last touched him? He wondered idly.
Closing his eyes against the bright light and memories, he chose to sit still and for once, to simply accept the silent strength she offered.