He stood on the top of the temple staring out into the trees. Opening himself to the Force, he reached out and felt the forests of Yavin IV teeming with life as the sun rose. Having grown up on Takodana until the age of fifteen, when he had been whisked away by Master Skywalker to join his new Jedi Academy, Seth Brennan felt the most at peace in the forests surrounding the temple. His life had changed so drastically since meeting Master Skywalker that the forests were one of the only places he felt at home.
"Seth?" a voice behind him interrupted.
"Yeah?" He turned around to see Ben Solo climbing up onto the top of the temple with a young girl hanging onto his back, arms firmly latched in front of Ben's neck.
"Have you seen my uncle this morning? He isn't in his quarters."
"Haven't seen him. He probably went running or something, I'm sure he'll be back later," Seth replied, secretly hoping that Ben would be satisfied with that answer and leave him to meditate.
"I guess we're teaching the students today, then?"
"I'd say just let them do her own thing as usual. They're all old enough to start branching off on their own without our direction. You know Master Skywalker likes to let them forge their own paths and discover their unique skills at their own pace."
"I've always thought that was just a way to get out of teaching himself. You know how he's been since Mara passed away. He hardly comes out of his quarters anymore."
Seth shrugged his shoulders. "If the love of your life died and left you alone with a young daughter, all while being the Grand Master of the new Jedi Order training a new generation of Jedi from the ground up, then I'm sure you'd feel the same way."
He felt a quick spike of annoyance in Ben, but it disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.
"I think you give him too much of a break," Ben said after a few seconds of tense silence. "He's a father and, like you said, the Grand Master of the Jedi Order. He has responsibilities."
"I think he deserves time to grieve," Seth replied evenly. "He's done enough. We have to pick up the slack at some point, so why not now?"
"He's had a year. That's enough time," Ben replied shortly.
"Then tell him yourself," Seth snapped, "and maybe you should leave his daughter out of it when you do." he nodded at the girl on Ben's back.
They continued to stare at each other for several seconds before Ben turned and walked over to the edge of the roof without another word. The girl on his back looked back at Seth and waved, grinning widely.
"Bye, Rey," he smiled and returned her wave as they disappeared over the side of the temple.
Seth turned back around to face the forest and closed his eyes. Ben was always moody in the mornings, and more often than not in the afternoons and evenings as well, so he paid the encounter no attention. Ben was especially argumentative when it came to his uncle's style of teaching and the direction he was taking the Jedi Order while Seth preferred to let the Master grieve and come to terms with his wife's death at his own pace, which led to a very strained relationship between the Academy's older students.
Seth was also the only person at the Academy who Master Skywalker had deemed a Jedi Master, and Ben had always felt slighted. This was hardly helped by the fact that his own uncle hadn't deemed him a Master when he was both older than Seth by two years and had been studying under Master Skywalker longer than Seth had.
Jealousy is a stepping stone on the path to the Dark Side, which certainly didn't encourage Master Skywalker to recognize him.
Of course, Seth frequently questioned his own abilities. He had only been training for five years, and even though he had trained rigorously and grown powerful, did he really deserve to be called a Master? How was he any different from Ben? If anything, Ben should be more powerful than him due to bloodlines alone. What did the legendary Jedi Master see in him, an orphan who grew up on Takodana among the scum of the galaxy, that he didn't see in his own sister's oldest child?
And then there was the matter of Ben's younger sister. Seth knew nothing about her other than that her name was Jaina and her father refused to let her come to the Jedi Academy. If she ever did join their ranks, what would that mean for her relationship with Ben? He was jealous enough of Seth to the point where they had almost come to blows on several occasions, but how would he handle it if his younger sister surpassed him?
Don't borrow problems from tomorrow. There are plenty for today.
Master Skywalker had always said that Seth's greatest weakness was constantly thinking about the future, or "looking to the horizon" as he called it. Seth had overcome many things in his years with Master Skywalker, but it felt like some things would never change. There had always been something in his life that was missing, but he had never been able to identify what it was, and no amount of "looking to the horizon" had helped the matter.
Maybe some time away from the Academy is what I need. Seth opened his eyes and pushed a hand through his unruly brown hair. We have that banquet on Coruscant in a couple of days that Master Skywalker wants me to attend for some reason. Maybe some time away will help put things into perspective.
He sighed heavily and walked over to the edge of the temple and began the climb down. These thoughts would frequently make themselves known when he was meditating and instantly ruin any chance he had to clear his mind and submerge himself fully in the Force.
Their trip to Coruscant couldn't come soon enough.
