Obi-Wan discovered that Anakin was far more tolerable when the boy was well rested and had a full stomach.

After the brief visit with Sienna, the pair had gone to find their hotel room and call it a night. Anakin had fallen asleep almost immediately (no surprise there, it had been a long day) while Obi-Wan made some notes for his report for the Jedi Council, before retiring to bed himself. In the morning, after a brief episode of confusion and anxiety at waking in a new environment, Anakin had insisted that they go visit Sienna again. He seemed to have forgotten how mad he had been at Obi-Wan the day before, instead buzzing energetically around the man and chattering about how this was the first time ever that he didn't have to go to Watto's shop.

Obi-Wan half-listened, humming at the appropriate moments while he checked in with the hospital staff. He got permission for him and Anakin to visit, and also arranged for a light breakfast for the two of them.

Twenty minutes later found them eating off of trays while a nurse checked Sienna's vitals. Anakin ate his breakfast quickly, scarfing it down as if someone might take it away from him, while simultaneously managing to look absolutely awed with every bite.

"Was dis wa cawed?" He asked through a mouthful of food.

"That is a Nilluk strip," a nurse told him.

"Wizard." The boy bit off another sizable chunk, his Force-signature glowing.

Obi-Wan found the scene somewhat entertaining, in that Anakin found everything so amazing, but also heartbreaking. Qui-Gon had, of course, explained to Obi-Wan that Shmi and Anakin were slaves, back when the Jedi had discussed plans for getting a hyperdrive. While the Padawan had not seen the conditions they lived in, he could see the evidence now in the way that Anakin hoarded the food close to himself, keeping it nestled in his lap where it could be easily defended. He had tucked a small piece of fruit and a wrapped ration bar into his pockets to save, probably out of habit of storing away morsels in case there wasn't anything to eat later. Obi-Wan ate his own Nilluk much more slowly and neatly, nibbling on the end and savoring the flavors. Hopefully, with time, Anakin would learn that he could enjoy his food and eat it as quick or slow as he pleased.

"Don't talk with your mouth full," Sienna mumbled. Her eyes were drifting closed again, and she seemed to be fighting a losing battle of staying awake.

Obi-Wan chewed and swallowed the last bite of his Nilluk and stood up from his chair. "Come, Anakin, let's let Sienna rest."

Anakin turned to glance at Sienna.

She offered a half smile, but her eyes were already shut. "Go have fun exploring."

Anakin patted her knee. "Have a good sleep!" He said cheerfully. He hopped off the bed and padded over to Obi-Wan, who opened the door and gestured for Anakin to walk through.

"Can we go explore outside the hospital?" Anakin asked.

"Sure."

"Yippee!"

Obi-Wan paused to ask a nurse for directions, and then the pair set off.

Anakin gaped at just about everything. As soon as they stepped outside the building he dropped to his hands and knees, pressing his nose to the grates that served as a walkway and peering down into the depths of the water below.

"I can't believe there's this much water in the whole universe!" He exclaimed. "And look, there's some kind of creature down there. Look!" He waved his hand, beckoning enthusiastically for Obi-Wan to come see.

Obi-Wan squatted down. "Yes, I see it."

"How does it breathe under there?"

"It has gills, most likely."

"What are gills?"

"Gills are a breathing apparatus. The animal pumps water over the gills, and the gills gather oxygen from the water."

"Wow. So it never comes up into the air?"

"It might, or it might not. Some creatures spend their entire lives solely under the water. Others can come up on land for a short time, but must return to the water. And still others live in the water but come up to the surface of the water to breathe."

"Wow." Anakin pressed his face further against the grate. "Hi there, animal!"

Obi-Wan's lips quirked up in a smile.

The sea slug swam away, and Anakin clambered to his feet again. "Let's see if we can find more!"

"Alright." Obi-Wan pushed up from his crouch and followed Anakin across the courtyard.

All traces of yesterday's crankiness were gone as the boy hunted for more slugs. In the Force he shone bright with energy and curiosity, a star in the midst of the Force-null Rodians. Obi-Wan suspected that even if he lost sight of Anakin in a crowd, he would be able to find him in a matter of seconds simply by following his blazing comet trail in the Force.

"Here's another!" Anakin shouted, dropping to his knees again.

"How do you know it's not the same one?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Cuz it feels different. Can't you feel it?"

"I can, yes."

"Sienna taught me that every person is different in the Force. Like fingerprints." Anakin wiggled his fingers to illustrate his point. "Did you know that?"

"I did. They're called Force-signatures, or life-signatures. What do you feel?"

"Well, this animal feels soft and sleepy. The first one was hungry." Anakin glanced up at Obi-Wan. "What do they eat?"

"I'm not sure," Obi-Wan said, "Why don't we ask a local?"

Anakin nodded and stood back up.

Obi-Wan glanced around and spotted a Rodian sitting on a bench, reading some kind of datapad.

"Excuse me," Obi-Wan said as he approached, Anakin trailing close behind.

The Rodian looked up curiously. "Can I help you?"

"My young friend is wondering about the sea creatures that swim below the city."

"Ah, the Kwazel Maw? The sea slugs?"

"Yes, I believe so."

"They're very interesting creatures. What would you like to know?"

Obi-Wan took a small step to the side to reveal Anakin, who was certainly not hiding behind the Padawan. "Go on, Ani. Ask your question."

"Um," Anakin twisted his hands together nervously. "I was wondering, what do they eat?"

The Rodian gave a kind smile. "Large fish and other aquatic creatures. Fish as big as you, even."

Anakin's eyes widened. "Wow, there are fish as big as me?"

The Rodian chuckled. "Bigger, even."

"Wow."

The Rodian chuckled again, and put his datapad aside. "Never been to Rodia before, huh?"

Anakin shook his head. "I've never been anywhere except Tatooine. There's nothing interesting on Tatooine. It's all sand."

"Oh, you'll want to see the can-cells then. Have you ever heard of a can-cell?"

Another shake.

"They're large flying insects. Big enough to ride, if you can catch one. You can see them from the edge of the city, where the swamps start."

Anakin tilted his head back to look up at Obi-Wan, his nervousness fading into excitement again. "Can we go look for them?"

Ob-Wan smiled down at him. "Sure." Then, to the Rodian, "Thank you for your time."

"No problem. Have fun, I hope you find some can-cells."

Anakin gave a little wave, and the Rodian waved back, and then Anakin and Obi-Wan set off again.

As they reached the edge of the courtyard and started to enter a busier part of the city, Obi-Wan felt a small hand in his. He was almost startled by the touch, but when he glanced down he saw that it was just Anakin. The boy was looking around at all the buildings and people with the same wide-eyed fascination as he had looked at everything so far, but he stuck close to Obi-Wan's side, clearly anxious in the strange city. Obi-Wan didn't blame him. Though he himself had long ago grown used to visiting new places, he imagined it must be a lot to take in for someone used to just seeing the same pale buildings and desert every day for nine years.

"Have you ever left Mos Espa?" Obi-Wan asked.

Anakin shook his head. "Nope. Not ever. Well, except for when I was a baby, before Watto won me and my mom from Gardulla the Hutt. But I don't really remember that."

Obi-Wan hummed. "You must know the city very well then."

"Oh yeah. I know all the streets, and all the people. There's Jira, she sells pallies, and Kitster, he's my best friend, and…"

Anakin chattered away about his home. He told Obi-Wan all about his friends and neighbors, and about which shop owners were nice and would sneak sweets to the kids, and which ones were mean and would hit you if you bumped into them on accident. He talked about the bounty hunters and pilots who would come into Watto's shop. He talked about Watto himself, and the shop, and all the things he had built or fixed. He told Obi-Wan about C-3PO, and about his podracer, which led to a dramatic retelling of the Bunta Eve Classic he had won. Anakin took his hand back for that, gesturing wildly and mimicking crashes and explosions with enthusiastic motions.

"And then BOOM-" he flung his arms wide, fingers outstretched, and accidentally knocked someone's purse off their shoulder.

"Oops, sorry." Anakin shrunk closer to Obi-Wan when the person said something angry in Rodian. "Well, anyway, Sebulba's racer exploded, and I won, and then Mister Qui-Gon picked me up on his shoulders and everybody cheered."

"That sounds very exciting," Obi-Wan said.

"It was! And I won sooo much money, and Mister Qui-Gon bought the parts for your ship, but there was still money left! And I gave it to my mom, she said she's gonna put it in a box to save so she can be free. She was saving money in the box my whole life and I didn't even know! It was gonna be for me, but then Mister Qui-Gon convinced Watto to let me come with him and be free. But he said Watto wouldn't let mom be free too. Stupid Watto." Anakin frowned and kicked at a pebble on the ground. This part of the city didn't have grates, it had regular streets instead. "But at least she promised that she'll be free soon and then she'll come visit me when I'm a Jedi. Mister Qui-Gon said I can be a Jedi. And when I'm a Jedi, I'll go back to Tatooine and free all the slaves. Slavery is the worst thing in the whole wide world."

Obi-Wan hummed. He could sense a lot of emotions swirling around the boy- sadness, anger, anxiety, excitement, determination. It was all a whirlwind, changing with every thought that popped into Anakin's mind and out his mouth. But there was a steady undercurrent of hope and excitement about the future.

Obi-Wan wondered what the Council would make of the boy. They would probably say he was too old. After all, he was nine, a whole five years older than the oldest children brought to the Temple. He'd never be able to catch up with all the learning he had missed, not in time to become a Padawan before the cutoff. Although, Sienna had taught him some things apparently, so maybe he wasn't that far behind. The Council would probably test his skills and knowledge. They wouldn't be happy that someone had trained a non-Jedi in Jedi ways, but they also probably wouldn't want a half-trained kid out and about in the galaxy for someone else to scoop up for nefarious purposes, so that might give him a better chance of being accepted into the Order.

All in all, Obi-Wan gave it a 50/50 shot. Qui-Gon really shouldn't have promised the kid that he would be a Jedi. Even initiates already in the Order weren't guaranteed to become Knights. Obi-Wan himself had been shipped off to the Agri-corps, destined for life as a farmer, and it was pure luck (well, probably the Force, and maybe some meddling from Yoda) that he and Qui-Gon ended up having to work together.

"What about you?"

"Hmm?" Obi-Wan realized that he hadn't been paying any attention to whatever Anakin had been chattering about, and now the boy was looking up at him expectantly.

"I said, do your parents ever visit you?"

Obi-Wan blinked. "Um, I actually don't know my parents. I was brought to the Jedi Temple when I was very young."

"Oh," Anakin said. "Well, that's ok. Plenty of people don't have parents." He smiled up at Obi-Wan and patted his hand comfortingly.

Obi-Wan stared at the boy for a second. That was a rather sad thing to say. But he supposed that in the Outer Rim, orphans were probably commonplace, and it was certainly a sad reality that many enslaved children were separated from their parents. "I suppose so."

It was nearing lunchtime by that point, so Obi-Wan paused at a street vendor to get something to eat.

"What would you like, Anakin?" Obi-Wan asked.

The boy stared at the menu with wide eyes. "Um, what are they?"

The very patient street vendor explained the different food items and their flavors. Anakin chose some meat strips, and Obi-Wan selected something that he hoped would give him a good amount of energy. He had a feeling he was going to need it.

They ate on a bench, then set out towards the edge of the city once more.

"Do you have a girlfriend?"

Obi-Wan choked on air at that question. "What?"

"Well, you're like, super old, right?" Anakin said. "Old enough to have a girlfriend?"

"I'm twenty-five," Obi-Wan said indignantly. He was not old. Heck, Qui-Gon still called him 'young padawan,' despite Obi-Wan's protests that he was a grown man, not a teenager.

"Wow. That's pretty old," Anakin said. "Even Sienna isn't that old."

"I assure you, I am far from being old."

Anakin giggled. "You're an old man."

"I am not," Obi-Wan said.

"Uh huh! You're oldddddddd," Anakin sang. "Old old old. Old man Obi-Wan."

Obi-Wan sighed. This was not a battle he could see himself winning. "Fine. I'm old. I guess twenty-five is a lot older than nine."

"Yup," Anakin said, popping the 'p.' "So, do you have a girlfriend?"

"No. Jedi normally don't have girlfriends."

"Why not?"

"Attachments are forbidden."

"What does that mean?"

Obi-Wan tried to think of the best way to explain it to a nine year-old who hadn't grown up with the concept of 'attachments.' "Well, being a Jedi is hard. Sometimes you have to make very hard choices. Like, say someone is in trouble, but if you save them it means a hundred other people die. You have to do what is best for the larger group. But if you were attached to that one person, you might let the hundred people die to save the one. Jedi are expected to save the larger group. So, we aren't supposed to get attached to one person like that."

"Oh," Anakin said, appearing to think this over. "Well, I'm going to marry Padmé someday."

Apparently that lesson on attachments had gone in one ear and out the other, but Obi-Wan decided that was not his problem and not his responsibility. "Oh yeah?" He asked instead.

"Yup."

"What makes you say that?"

"Padmé is the most nicest and prettiest girl I've ever met in my whole life!"

Obi-Wan huffed a laugh. "I see."

They reached the edge of the city and Anakin stopped in his tracks, jaw dropping at the sight of the swamp ahead of them. "Wow! Look at all those trees! They're everywhere. And the water! I can't believe there's so much. Is the whole planet covered in water and trees?"

"Pretty much. It is a swamp planet."

"Wizard," Anakin breathed. He dashed forward the last few paces, coming to a stop at a guardrail. He leaned against it, stretching as close as he could to the vast swamp that stretched on for miles.

Obi-Wan folded his hands in the sleeves of his cloak, smiling as he watched the boy, and then looked out at the landscape too. It was far from the prettiest planet he had ever seen, but something about Anakin's awe made him look at it a little more closely himself. Anakin looked at everything with such wonder, gaping at things that Obi-Wan normally didn't spare a second glance. It made him wonder about all the things he had grown accustomed to and took for granted. How much beauty did he miss on a day to day basis?

"Truly wonderful, the mind of a child is," Yoda often said. Standing here, Obi-Wan thought that he could see what the little green Master meant.

A burst of color filled their view. Beating wings stirred up a breeze, blowing Anakin's hair and rustling Obi-Wan's robes as a can-cell flew up past the edge of the city platform. It hovered there for a moment, then buzzed away across the swamp.

Somehow, Anakin's eyes grew even wider as he watched it. "Obi-Wan! Obi-Wan, did you see that? Look! It's a can-cell! Look!"

"I see it," Obi-Wan said. "They're neat, aren't they?"

"Super neat!" Anakin agreed. "And look, there's another down there. It's flying this way."

Obi-Wan moved closer to the guardrail and peered down. Sure enough, another bright red insect was hovering not even twenty feet below.

The Force rang with a warning, and Obi-Wan looked up just in time to see Anakin climb up on the rail and jump off the edge.

"ANAKIN!"

Obi-Wan flung out a panicked hand, gathering the Force to snatch the boy before he fell to his death, but then the can-cell rose up, and there was Anakin sitting on its back, laughing like a mad man.

Obi-Wan released a breath. Adrenaline coursed through his system, setting his nerves tingling, and he took a few more breaths to slow his racing heartbeat. "Anakin get off of there."

"Yippee! Look Obi-Wan, I'm riding the can-cell!"

"I can see that, now hurry and jump to me before it-"

"Wooooaaa!" The can-cell turned and buzzed away across the swamp, Anakin clinging to its back.

"-flies away. Kriff."

Obi-Wan leapt up on the rail himself, scanned the area, and jumped onto the back of another can-cell. It spooked and tried to buck him off, but he reached out into the Force and calmed its mind. He steered it after the one Anakin was on, urging it to fly as fast as it could. He would only be able to influence its mind for a short time before it threw him off, and he needed to get to Anakin before that happened. Or worse, before Anakin fell off his own giant insect.

"What is he thinking?" Obi-Wan muttered, crouching low over the creature's neck. If Anakin died out here in the swamp, Obi-Wan had no doubt that both Qui-Gon and Sienna would kill him. He did not want to face his Master's ire, and he was not at all interested in finding out what Sienna was capable of when she was angry. Anyone who got stabbed and responded with an attitude of 'eh, no big deal' was someone not to be trifled with.

The red can-cell up ahead zipped and zagged over the swamp. Obi-Wan urged his own can-cell faster. He could hear Anakin whooping and laughing, probably having the time of his life, sparing no thought to the heart attack he was giving Obi-Wan.

And then the insect stopped short and Anakin went tumbling over its head with a yelp and a spark of fear.

Obi-Wan spurred his can-cell into a dive. He flung out a hand and called on the Force, using it to snatch Anakin and pull him closer.

"Ahhh!" Anakin slammed into Obi-Wan, who caught him, but in the process lost control of the can-cell. It bucked and they were both flung off. Obi-Wan didn't have time to use the Force to soften their fall, instead twisting so that he was underneath Anakin to protect him from the brunt of the landing.

"Ngh!" Obi-Wan grunted as he hit the ground and rolled, Anakin held securely in his arms. Thank Force the ground was spongey muck and not hard pavement, or else he might have broken his back.

Anakin wiggled out of the other man's grasp. He pushed himself up onto his feet, wiping muck off of his knees as Obi-Wan took a second to catch his breath.

"That was totally wizard!" Anakin exclaimed.

Obi-Wan groaned. "It was absolutely not wizard." The Padawan sat up, hands sinking into the mud as he pushed himself upright. He wrinkled his nose. Great. He was probably going to smell like a bantha's behind for a week. He hated mud.

Anakin, on the other hand, seemed fascinated by it. He scooped up a handful, squeezing it between his fingers and giggling at the squelching sound it made. "Eeeew, it sounds like a fart."

Obi-Wan peeled his cloak up out of the muck. It wasn't even his cloak, he'd dropped his at some point on Naboo, this was one of Qui-Gon's. He lifted it up, looked at the amount of grime on it, and dropped it again. A soaked, filthy cloak wasn't going to be of any use. Better to let the swamp eat it.

Sighing heavily, the Jedi turned to look in the direction of the city. Luckily the samp wasn't too dense, and he could clearly see the dome between the gaps in the trees. The unfortunate part was that the swamp was more water than it was land, and there was no way to get back without doing a great deal of swimming. And Anakin probably couldn't swim. Plus there were those sea slugs and who knew what else out here that might make a snack of a Jedi and a boy.

The fact that this wasn't even close to the worst or weirdest predicament Obi-Wan had ever found himself in said a lot about his life.

"Well Anakin, welcome to the swamp," the Padawan said drily. "We are about to become very acquainted with it."

"Wizard." Anakin squeezed the mud one more time, letting it fall through his fingers, and then wiped his hands on his pants. "So, what do we do now?"

"We start wading."

"Wading?"

"Yes, it means walking through water or mud. In our case, both."

"Cool!"

Obi-Wan sighed again. Of course this desert child would find the prospect of wading through filthy swamp water fun. "We need to be careful. It's impossible to tell how deep the water is until we are in it, and you don't know how to swim. It is absolutely essential that you hold onto me at all times. Hold my hand while we walk, hold onto my belt while I swim. Understood?"

Anakin nodded. "Yes sir."

"Good." Obi-Wan untucked his tabbards and shed his outer robes, discarding them beside the ruined cloak. The extra layers would only hinder his movements, and it would be hard enough trying to swim and keep Anakin afloat. After a second of thought, he removed his boots too.

"Um, why are you taking off your clothes?" Anakin asked.

"It's harder to swim with them on, and I have a lot of swimming to do," Obi-Wan replied.

"Oh. Should I take off my boots too?"

"That's probably a good idea."

Anakin tugged off his boots and socks and squelched the muck with his toes.

Obi-Wan closed his eyes and took some deep breaths, letting the Force wash over him. When he felt centered and calm, he opened his eyes again. "Come on then, let's get moving. We don't want to be out here when it gets dark." He held out a hand, and Anakin took it, and then they set out through the swamp.

Anakin's enthusiasm for their new environment lasted for all of about thirty minutes. To his credit, he actually didn't do that much whining, but Obi-Wan could feel his souring mood in the Force. By the time an hour had passed, and then two, it was like walking next to a little storm cloud. Obi-Wan's own mood wasn't that much better, but he sunk into mission mode, focusing on making sure he and Anakin made it back to the city alive. He was starting to feel tired from dragging Anakin through the water and fighting through mud that tried to swallow his feet. Honestly, the only thing that had gotten him this far was the stamina he had built up from the past twenty-plus years he had been a Jedi. He found himself silently thanking Qui-Gon for those times when he made Obi-Wan run extra laps.

"I'm tired," Anakin grumbled, as Obi-Wan had to yank him free from a particularly deep and sticky mud puddle. "I don't like the swamp anymore."

"You and me both," Obi-Wan sighed. He set Anakin down on the most solid chunk of land he could find, and the boy promptly flopped on the ground.

Obi-Wan knew he should probably get Anakin up and keep moving, but instead he sat down beside him. A moment of rest would do them both good. It had been a very, very long day.

Movement in the water caught the Padawan's attention. He squinted at the murky swamp, an uneasy feeling creeping into his chest. So far, they hadn't encountered anything more than frogs and birds. But where there was prey, predators couldn't be far off. Obi-Wan slowed his breathing, stretching out his senses, scanning the area-

The Force shrieked in warning at the same moment that a large green beast lunged from the water. Obi-Wan's quick reflexes were the only thing that saved him from getting beheaded as sharp teeth snapped at the air where he had been only a fraction of a second ago. Anakin screamed and Obi-Wan dodged again, grunting as a three-clawed hand slammed onto his chest. He scrabbled for his lightsaber with one hand and pushed against the creature's neck with the other, trying to keep its snapping jaws away from his face. The claws tightened as the creature put more weight on its front limbs, and Obi-Wan felt them sink through the fabric of his undertunic and pierce the skin of his chest. His hand finally brushed the cool metal of his lightsaber and he grabbed it, shoving it up against the creature's scaly belly and flicking the switch.

The creature roared and reared back. Obi-Wan rolled out from underneath it and swung the blade again, slashing through the reptile's neck. It fell to the ground, dead.

Obi-Wan panted, letting his lightsaber drop to his side as he eyed the creature. He scanned the surrounding area, but he sensed nothing else. It must have been alone, either that or its roar had scared off its friends. Obi-Wan thumbed the deactivation switch and his 'saber blade disappeared.

A soft sob cut through the sound of blood rushing in his ears. Obi-Wan turned. His gaze landed on Anakin, sitting in the mud a few feet away, shaking like a leaf while tears fell from frightened eyes.

"It's alright," Obi-Wan soothed. "We're ok."

"I wanna go home," Anakin cried.

Obi-Wan sighed, running a mud-covered hand over his mud-covered hair. "I know. But we still have to make it back to the city. We're almost halfway there, Ani. We can do it."

"But there are monsters! It tried to eat you! We're gonna die!"

"We are not going to die."

"Yes, we are!"

"Anakin." Obi-Wan squatted down. "Look at me. We are not going to die. I have fought far worse creatures than a swamp serpent, and I'm still alive, aren't I?"

Anakin hiccuped. "B- but you're bleeding."

Obi-Wan glanced down at his chest. He was bleeding, and honestly he would probably need a couple of stitches, but he couldn't tell Anakin that. "Well, the nice thing about blood is that my body will make more of it. It's a nifty system we have. Quite useful, don't you think?"

Anakin hiccuped again, but he seemed to be calming down. "But what if you run out?"

"I am not going to run out of blood on our way back to the city."

"P- promise?"

"I promise."

Anakin eyed Obi-Wan like he wasn't sure whether to believe him, but eventually nodded in acceptance of that answer.

Obi-Wan gave him another minute to calm down. "Are you ready to keep going?" He asked, once the boy's tears had stopped.

A nod.

"Alright then. Come on." Obi-Wan reached out a hand.

Anakin took it, and Obi-Wan helped him to his feet.

By the time they reached the city the sun was setting and both boy and Padawan were thoroughly exhausted. Anakin started drifting off while Obi-Wan swam, and he ended up carrying Anakin on his back when they walked over the patches of muddy land. When they finally reached the city, Anakin was fast asleep, his head resting on Obi-Wan's shoulder.

Somehow, Obi-Wan found the strength to carry Anakin back to the hotel room they were staying in, bathe him, find him fresh clothes, and tuck him into bed. He tossed the dirtied garments in the trash, and was just peeling off his own shirt when his comm beeped.

It said a lot about how tired he was that he answered the call instead of letting it sit until after he had showered and put on fresh clothes of his own.

"Obi-Wan," the blue holo-image of Qui-Gon greeted. The older man opened his mouth to say something else, then seemed to do a double take as he noticed Obi-Wan's appearance. "What in the galaxy happened to you?"

Obi-Wan sighed heavily, lifting an arm to lean against the doorway to the bathroom. He glanced past the holo to where Anakin slept, safely wrapped in extra blankets. "It's a long story."

"Are those claw marks?"

"They are."

"You know, when I asked you to stay on Rodia, I had hoped you would keep Anakin out of trouble, not get into trouble of your own," Qui-Gon commented with a hint of amusement.

"He seems to have a knack for trouble."

"Hmm." Qui-Gon's lips twitched. "You two should be getting along well then."

"Master, forgive me, but is there a reason for your call? I would very much like to get the swamp muck off of my skin and sleep for a week."

"Of course, Padawan. I was just calling to see how you were managing. I had expected you to check in."

"Sorry, Master. Next time I'll tell the hungry beast to kindly wait a moment while I comm you."

Qui-Gon chuckled. "I shall take that as an indicator that everything is fine."

Obi-Wan hummed. "Sienna is recovering well, and Anakin has decided that he does not like swamps after all."

That earned another chuckle. "A pity."

"I spoke with the doctors earlier, and they said that Sienna's wound was not as bad as it looked. She is lucky that nothing vital was struck. She will be discharged tomorrow afternoon, and then we can set a course to join you all on Coruscant."

"That is good to hear," Qui-Gon said. "I will have the Council work with Rodia to arrange a ship for you. You will receive the details tomorrow."

Obi-Wan dipped his head. "Thank you, Master."

"Have a good night, my young Padawan. May the Force be with you."

"You as well, Master."

Obi-Wan placed the comm back on the dresser. He showered and changed, placing a couple of gauzes over his wounds to keep them from bleeding on his fresh tunic. As much as he wanted nothing more than to collapse on his bed right now, he knew that he needed to see someone about those scratches. He wasn't familiar with the swamp life of Rodia, and for all he knew the claws of that creature might carry some kind of poison. Although, if that was the case, he would probably be dead already.

He wrote a quick note for Anakin and taped it to the door, just in case the boy woke up while he was gone. The last thing he needed was a panicked Anakin running around the city trying to find him.

Luckily, their lodging was just down the street from the hospital, so Obi-Wan didn't have to walk far. It was a further stroke of luck that the place was practically empty, and someone was able to see to him almost immediately.

"Had a run in with a ghest?" The healer asked.

"If that's the name for a large, green, serpentine creature, then yes."

"That's a ghest," the healer confirmed. "But they live deep in the swamps. Where did you find one?"

"It's a long story," Obi-Wan said tiredly.

The healer didn't ask him any more questions after that, and Obi-Wan found he was grateful for the silence. Once he was stitched up and cleared, he made his way back to his hotel room. Anakin was still sound asleep.

Obi-Wan bent to remove his boots, only to realize that he wasn't wearing any. Right, he left those in the swamp. He wondered for half a second whether the healers noticed his lack of footwear, but decided he really didn't care, and flopped (carefully, so as not to tear his new stitches) on the bed.

He was out before he landed.