Obdurate Heart – VII

Sorry, another pretty short chapter here. A tad drabbling. Thanks for continuing to review!

"Regardless of how much patience we have, we would prefer never to use any of it."

-James T. O'Brien

Obi Wan leaned his cheek into a fist as he peered out over the railing of his balcony, watching as the evening blurred into a soft blue around the edges of his world. The day had been no day of ease. Yesterday, Maul had awoken for the first time, and despite various attempts to persuade him into speaking, the prisoner had barely uttered a word. Qui Gon was ever patient, but Maul was not, and by the end of things, he had developed the utmost hatred for the Jedi master. Unwilling to furl himself into another pointless banter with Maul, Obi Wan had only stopped by but once this morning to ensure that he was indeed still breathing. Beyond that, he wasn't sure he cared to know much more. Let the guards see to his personal care, if they must.

In all honesty, he was trying very hard not to think about the situation. Not about the complications, the ironies, and certainly not about those cryptic four words that had marked his final encounter with the beast. He had already rationalized all possible meanings for that statement, so why was he still musing over it? Did it matter what he had meant? No. It was foolish to dwell on something that had no real pertinence in the immediate scheme of things. Obi Wan sighed and grunted, rubbing his forehead. Why, then, did he dwell? He ruffled a hand over his spiky auburn hair, his shoulders raising a little as he heard footsteps by his side. He registered the presence immediately as Anakin's.

"Hey Obi Wan." Said the boy casually as he pulled himself up onto the rail and perched to sit and watch the older Jedi apprentice.

"Hello Anakin." Obi Wan almost muttered, not looking at him.

Anakin looked around and leaned over to try and get a glimpse of Obi Wan's face, swinging his legs. "Whatcha doin'?" he asked probingly.

"…Just thinking, I suppose…" he answered.

"About what?" Anakin continued to press, and Obi Wan found himself missing the silent and obedient behavior that remained a standard for most youngling Padawans. "Are you thinking about Darth Maul?"

Obi Wan looked at Anakin now, a tad put off. "What makes you say that?"

Anakin shrugged. "Master Jin says that you're supposed to be watching him. You know, until they take him away."

Obi Wan nodded slowly. "Yes."

"So tell me how you beat him." Anakin demanded next. Obi Wan should have been expecting this.

"…I struck him with my saber." He replied simply, not really wanting to get into the details of things when he had, just moments prior, been trying to avoid this particular subject himself.

"I know that." Anakin said in exasperation. "I mean how did you do it?"

"I don't think that's really the point. Do you?" he said, catching his tone just in time to stop himself from sounding terse.

Anakin didn't press for another while of silence, and he was tempted to hope that the boy had given up on his inquiries. "Why didn't you kill him, Obi Wan?" he asked, so very innocently.

Obi Wan clenched his hands around the rail he was leaning on and chewed his tongue. "Victory isn't about killing."

"I know." Anakin looked down, examining a shoe. "I just meant...since Darth Maul's evil, and since he killed so many people…well, isn't it better that you just kill him?"

"I don't know, Anakin." He replied honestly.

"I would've killed him." He said in a matter of fact fashion, and Obi Wan was beginning to become irritated.

"That's fine, Anakin." He almost grunted. "If such had been the case, we might have no opportunity to learn who it is his services are loyal to."

"Doesn't look like you're gonna get that anyway." Anakin shrugged again and snorted.

Obi Wan looked to him with narrowed eyes, irked considerably by this point. "I'm not a killer. That's why I didn't kill him. Alright?" He said gravely, and this time when Anakin met his eyes, he didn't dare retort. The two were quiet for a long period of time after that. Obi Wan was unsure of what to say, wondering if he had been too quick-tempered, while Anakin was surely silent so as not to provoke another outburst. "Don't you…have somewhere you're supposed to be right now?" Obi Wan asked at last.

Anakin gave a short sigh. "Nope." A pause. "Don't you?"

Obi Wan returned with a longer sigh, gazing out at the blue that was slowly but surely melting into blackness. "…Nope." He answered. And really, he wished that were true.