3Week Challenge: So I lost two members of my family this month and all my other hobbies are not things I have been able to focus on. Star Wars has been my refuge and this fanfic is keeping my head above water.
My heart goes out to all of you and your loved ones who might be struggling with your own hardships. All I can say is life does go on, and even the darkest of storms must pass.
For this story, my goal is to reach 100K words in the next three weeks. Any and all feedback or reactions are really going to help keep me pumped. In other words, I'm asking y'all to be my patrons and for tips in the form of reviews, in turn, I will do my damndest to get this story rockin.
So toss a coin to your Witcher, because we're off on an adventure. (And I'll be posting another chapter tomorrow with Palps;)
Chapter 5 - If My Feet Had Wings
They were in one of the Master's practice rooms, which meant they had relative privacy. There were still places up above people could watch, and of course, others could walk in, but when in use these rooms were reserved.
Obi-Wan was alternating between watching Qui-Gon and Rey.
Rey looked more relaxed than she had done since arriving at the Temple. She wasn't a Padawan worried about impressing her Master, not like he himself had been at thirteen, no, Rey was centred in finally having a task to accomplish.
Qui-Gon was… Obi-Wan didn't have a clue what his Master had planned. He was very glad not to be the Master in this situation because he wouldn't have known what to begin teaching.
Maybe lightsabers?
But Qui-Gon was currently holding Rey's staff, he tested its weight and strength with a sharp rap against the floor.
"Good, this will hold up well."
Rey quirked a brow at him, "I know."
Qui-Gon handed it back to before raising a hand and a staff, somewhat longer than Rey's, came to his hand, it was made from some mixture of metal and synthetic material. A training staff that could have stood up to a training lightsaber or false Kyber.
Qui-Gon motioned and Obi-Wan moved forward to face Rey.
"This has been your weapon of choice for the majority of your life, but you've had no formal training in staff-work, correct?"
She nodded.
"Obi-Wan is trained in swordplay, mainly, but he will adapt and you will both find that he is the superior fighter despite how instinctual your staff is to you."
Master Jinn then twirled his staff, then delivered a sharp check to first Obi-Wan's calf then to hers. Obi-Wan, well used to his Master checking him, didn't flinch. Rey, however, did flinch, picking her foot up, but she didn't retreat.
Which meant she didn't believe Qui-Gon would truly hurt her. A good sign that.
The checks themselves stung but they weren't all that painful.
"That is as hard as Obi-Wan will hit you. For the first few weeks, I want neither of you to aim for the head. For most people, protecting the head is well ingrained, for a Jedi who is open to the Force, a head blow is one in a million. However, you can hit him as hard as you like." Qui-Gon turned to look him straight in the eyes as he handed over the staff, "Don't let her land a blow."
Interesting, Obi-Wan thought, taking the staff. He twirled it to get a feel for it. It was a fine weapon, solid. He found it interesting that he could only check her and he couldn't take a hit. He wondered if she would interrupt that as being told to take it easy on her, when the opposite was true.
Jedi were trained to spar, to be non-lethal in combat despite having weapons that could slice through nearly anything. He was honestly more used to delivering checks than cutting all the way through. And if he wasn't supposed to take a hit, he would have to use more speed to avoid her, which in turn, meant she would have to work that much harder to mount an offence.
Qui-Gon moved to step away, but Obi-Wan caught his arm, "Wait, Rey, undo the middle section of your hair."
She gave him an odd look but did as he asked without question.
Qui-Gon's voice came to his mind, Thank you, Obi-Wan. Before he stepped forward and gently separated a lock of her hair so he could braid it. It always amazed Obi-Wan how nimble Qui-Gon's large hands were. In moments, Rey had a long brown Padawan braid behind her right ear. Obi-Wan pulled the extra tie he kept on his own. Qui-Gon stepped back to give him the honour of tying off the braid.
"There, officially a Jedi Padawan," Obi-Wan said, bowing low to her. She mirrored him, her face delighted.
When she straightened, she pulled the remaining hair back into a bun. Her hand hesitating over the braid, its presence seeming to give her new courage.
It had been the same for Obi-Wan.
Going to the sidelines, Qui-Gon instructed, "Begin, Padawans mine."
Rey crouched, her staff in front of her as she had stood before Master Windu.
They circled each other, and Obi-Wan advanced. At first, he just did obvious strikes, their staffs meeting with satisfying clicks.
She was good, very good, more defensive than offensive. She had an excellent sense of where her hands were. No matter his blows, he never got a strike close to her hands.
Maybe an hour passed, when Obi-Wan felt Qui-Gon's urging in his head.
Rey seemed warmed up enough.
Having a better feel for the staff now, Obi-Wan pressed the attack.
Rey met his strikes, but she was backing up. And there, he saw his opening as she finally swung out against him in a serious blow. But she manged to pull the hit in order to guard herself.
Most people wouldn't have had the presence of mind to pull a strike like that.
But her training wasn't enough, Obi-Wan got a check in.
He saw her eyes blaze, but she didn't lose control, even as her footwork became more planted.
This gave him the advantage, and he delivered a sharp to check to her thigh.
Which is when he had to almost drop back to the floor to avoid being clocked in the shoulder.
He rolled to his feet, his heart racing, and he grinned at her.
No, she wasn't a warrior, but she had the makings of one.
They went on like this for another thirty minutes when Qui-Gon called a halt.
Rey stood panting and sweating, her limbs trembling.
Obi-Wan took the opportunity to wipe his own brow.
"Rey, Obi-Wan is going to touch your shoulder," Qui-Gon said, coming to stand by them He was looking over his new Padawan closely.
Obi-Wan followed the instruction, laying his hand on her shoulder.
She flinched.
She probably wouldn't have if Qui-Gon had told her to take a check instead.
"Breathe," Qui-Gon instructed, "you're not fighting, you're sparing. We will not allow you to be harmed."
She settled her breath, and Obi-Wan took his hand back, before she asked, "I thought you would treat training like it's real."
"Perhaps, but you need to be trained into shape first. Muscle memory will always serve your instincts best. And while you are healthy, we will be asking positions for your muscles that will certainly be protested." With that, he stepped back and they began again.
And so it went.
Hours passed, Qui-Gon stopping them whenever Rey's adrenaline seemed to be rising. She appeared only the slightest bit irritated by this, but she didn't protest Qui-Gon's methods of teaching.
Obi-Wan smiled to himself, perhaps they were more alike than he thought.
When they finally broke for lunch, she was still smiling.
They certainly couldn't fault her on energy. Toward the end, even Obi-Wan had been drawing on the Force to support him. They hadn't reached his limit, not by a long shot, but as Rey stretched before she went to the shower, he realized they hadn't even come close to hers.
"Your motions are jagged, a staff is not a sword, Obi-Wan. There is no reason to stop your motions, follow through, the back end is as much a weapon as a shield."
He nodded, he had noted the same but the saberplay was so deeply ingrained that in a long sparring match he fell back on those habits. "We haven't scratched the surface on her endurance, have we?"
Qui-Gon shook his head as they waited for her before going to lunch. Obi-Wan was sweaty too, but Qui-Gon had let him in on that they would be spending the rest of the afternoon running anyway.
And sweaty Padawans in the Padawan lunch hall was pungent normality.
"Her endurance is both a great asset and rather problematic. She will be sore, but I think her body is so terribly used to extremes, scavenging in the desert, on near-constant defence, and from the look of her, limited nitration. Which means getting her to the point that she must draw on the Force will be difficult."
"You know, if we duel with lightsabers, that would necessitate she draw on the Force."
But Qui-Gon shook his head, "She's too far behind. Lightsabers are incredibly useful, but the only reason a Jedi needs them is in the eventuality she comes across another lightsaber wielder. I would rather capitalize on her other talents. She has as much raw power in the Force as Master Yoda, yet she's younger than Yoda, her energy more abundant. Her telekinesis will make her formidable on any battlefield."
He wasn't kidding, Obi-Wan thought, in one blow she had taken down that carrier ship with hundreds of blasters that would have been pointed at them. In the instant, her telekinesis was more use to them even if she had been trained with a lightsaber.
Qui-Gon went on, "Training her like this is a double edged blade, the more she trains, the stronger she will get, which means reaching her true limits will take that much longer."
"Why not just push her harder?"
"One, because the training will do both of you good, until now you have been a well-rounded Jedi with a well-rounded training schedule."
Obi-Wan gave him a suspicious look, "Well-rounded?"
Qui-Gon's lips twitched, "I told the Council that we will be off assignments for a few months, and they agreed."
Obi-Wan got the distinct impression that Rey wasn't going to be the only one finding their limits. The implication that a not well-rounded training might involve near constant physical activity might have bothered many Padawans, Obi-Wan wasn't one them. Smiling, he asked, "And the second thing?"
Rey had emerged from the shower, her hair down, the Padawan braid visibly only for the small band.
Qui-Gon said before she reached them, "Because if she can reach her limits without being driven to an emotional extreme, she will fall back on her strength, on the Force, not her fear to survive."
Obi-Wan mulled that over as Qui-Gon greeted Rey with a smile, asking her about her thoughts on the day's sparring.
He didn't think anyone else could have trained Rey but Qui-Gon, because he was absolutely right on this path. It was the reimagining of the initiates training. There had been no fear, not really, for Obi-Wan. Not in his training at least, perhaps when he was battling for a position as a Padawan, but otherwise? No, he had been sparring as long as he could remember.
Rey had probably been fighting for her life and safety as long as she could remember.
If she was to be trained without aggression, without fear, they would have to push her forward without triggering her fight or flight responses. Which, if they were training with lightsabers instead of staffs, that wouldn't have been wholly possible.
Yes, there were training sabers, but they still burned, they still made noise and they were still beams of light when brought inches from ones face was sure to trigger some response.
Staffs could be dangerous, certainly, but they were mundane, and she was used to them. Also, Obi-Wan was pretty sure that within a few years she would a master of the staff in the way that some Guardian of the Whills were said to be masters.
Any mastery, in almost any weapon, was still a mastery. And if she one day followed Qui-Gon in his diplomatic efforts, she might not even have much cause to rely on a saber.
"I will see you both here tomorrow morning. Do not forget to stretch my Padawans," Qui-Gon said, drawing Obi-Wan from his thoughts.
They bowed.
Rey turned to him with a grin, "You're amazing, you know."
He smiled back, "Not so bad yourself. I think you're going to beat me with these staffs sooner rather than later."
She swung the strap of said staff over her shoulder, "I better, this is my turf, Jedi. But I'll let you be the reigning champion of lightsabers."
"Allow me?" he asked with a smile, as they began to walk.
Well, he walked, Rey was almost skipping at his side as she sassed him, "Sure, Master Jinn said I would do well to be mindful of my elders."
Obi-Wan scoffed, not that he disagreed, in the Jedi Temple, seniority was a major factor, but to hear that from Qui-Gon was another matter altogether. "And they say I'm the one with the dry wit."
She laughed, and the sound lifted Obi-Wan's spirits. Training Rey would be a challenge, but Rey herself was not a challenging person.
She would make a most singular Jedi.
oOo
Obi-Wan was relieved a week later when Rey began to drop off into sleep before he did at night. Their training took up all of their day except for meals, mediation after meals, and a space of time before where even Obi-Wan hardly had the energy to read. His endurance as it turned out, could not match Rey's, and Obi-Wan could only thank the Force that he hadn't lived a lifetime trying to survive in the desert with intensive physical labour the only thing keeping him between life and starvation.
But as he was a Jedi, he relied on the Force and never fell behind Rey, despite her best efforts to push that much further. But relying on the Force that constantly was both making Obi-Wan stronger and tasking his energy reserves. Rey seemed to take great joy in waking him up from a deep sleep with a pillow to the face each sunrise.
Qui-Gon had regimented their days completely. Sparring every morning, followed by various exercises in the afternoon, whether running, lifting, held stretching poses, or other forms of physical torture that were -in theory- extremely good for the body. They meditated after meals, giving them both time to digest and reset. Rey was as uncomplaining about mediation as she was their insane training.
Again he was sure most of their fellow Padawans would have protested.
But Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi was loving every moment of it. It was certainly better than archive homework. There was also the fact that Qui-Gon was present for the entire morning, every morning. Master Jedi typically had better things to do with their time, and while Qui-Gon had spent countless hours training Obi-Wan in the past, he had also given Obi-Wan time to practice alone.
Only initiatives needed supervision for the millionth completion of a sequence. But Qui-Gon was a constant presence in Rey's sparring, and it wasn't just she who benefitted from this. His Master had a tendency to call him out more for slips, no matter how slight, then he did Rey, and this was because she never got bored. When Obi-Wan was corrected, she took the pointer as well. It allowed their Master to be both informative and less harsh to the newbie.
This also meant Obi-Wan could get away with absolutely no sloppiness without being called out on it, and that Qui-Gon shared more of his own knowledge on weaponry than Obi-Wan had the opportunity to learn. After all, if one had limited time with their Master than Obi-Wan had always reserved his best for Qui-Gon's observation. He was good, but even Obi-Wan couldn't be on his best hours and days on end. Allowing Qui-Gon a chance to do an unprecedented amount of nitpicking, repetitively so.
In the afternoons, Qui-Gon let Obi-Wan take the lead. Sometimes Qui-Gon would give instructions to be followed, but mostly Obi-Wan decided what training routine they would complete. It was a bit like having a Padawan of his own, but as he had to do whatever he came up with too, while their actaul Master was off enjoying his evenings.
They had one day off a week, in which Rey and Obi-Wan spent with Qui-Gon in his rooms.
This was the day she assaulted them with an endless barrage of questions.
Qui-Gon answered all in his knowledge over a cup of tea.
"So the Separatists are against the Republic?" she asked one such day as she and Obi-Wan played cards.
Rey was still trying to learn the rules, and Obi-Wan had yet to let Qui-Gon join them. He wanted her to figure the game out before Qui-Gon started palming cards on her.
Qui-Gon sighed, "Yes, unfortunately. They have been a growing problem of late."
"But if it is the Republic's problem why do you sound so concerned, isn't the Jedi a separate organization?"
"Yes and no."
"So you have to mediate between the two parties."
"I wish that's what we were doing."
Obi-Wan flipped down a card, straightening the discard pile with a tiny shift in the Force, it was a frivolous use of the Force, but watching Rey's light up at the gesture was worth it.
She was a child at heart, and despite her own abilities, everything about the Force seemed to delight her.
Obi-Wan explained Qui-Gon's remark, "The Jedi rule themselves, but we work for the Republic."
She frowned, whether at the cards in her hand or at what he said, he wasn't entirely sure. She placed down a card, the one he needed to win before turning to Qui-Gon, "I thought you said Jedi serve the Force?"
"I do."
Obi-Wan snorted, "By which he means, he lives to disobey the Council."
"I don't always disobey the Council."
Rey cursed under her breath as Obi-Wan laid out his winning hand, and he said to his Master, "That's because you rarely talk to them to ensure they can't tell you no."
Rey chuckled, "Easier to ask for forgiveness than permission, is that?"
Obi-Wan laughed, "No, because that would imply he thinks he's done something wrong in the first place."
Her face sobered, "Are the Separatists actually bad people, or is the Republic failing them? I always thought it would be better than to be ruled by the Hutts, but I've been reading some of the Senate debate summaries, and it looks like they're being accused of following their own laws only when it suits them."
"Anarchy is not a solution," Qui-Gon answered, "the destabilizing of the Republic is not regarded to be a good thing, but as you say, the Republic has failed many peoples, both systems in and out of the Republic. System politics are complex enough but under a galaxy-spanning government body… there are no easy answers. But I disagree with Council-"
"Shocking," Obi-Wan muttered as he redealt the cards.
Qui-Gon didn't miss a beat, "that the Jedi should be the ones bringing systems back under Republic control. Many of the systems trying to break away have been dealing with internal problems that supersede the slow pace of the Republic's ability to act. I believe that the Jedi are needed more in such problems than enforcing the laws of the Republic."
Rey was quiet for a long time, her mind not on the cards in her hand even as she played them.
"What do you think, Padawan Rey?" Qui-Gon asked her.
She stilled, tapping her fingers on the cards, before looking up, "I think the Force is bigger than any government, and I don't think any government should be strong arming planets to abide by the Republic's rule if the Republic's rule isn't actually helping them during moments of crisis. What Queen Amidala did for her people, that makes sense to me, and it makes sense to me that the Jedi were there to help her."
Qui-Gon smiled, "The Republic had demanded she come back to Coruscant to make her case. Obi-Wan and I were instructed to escort her, not help her wage battle against the people holding her hostage."
She frowned, "Wait, she would have had to leave to plead her case? Would they have believed her?"
"Unlikely," he admitted to her, "The Trade Federation has bought out many of the representatives and has great influence in the Senate."
"Isn't there anything the Jedi can do about that? I mean there seem to be enough tech savvy people to investigate. If the Jedi were a respected independent third party then-"
Qui-Gon cut her off, his blue eyes bright, "Ah, but who's to say the Jedi can't be corrupted, some would say the Republic would get more done if we had a single leader."
Obi-Wan raised his brows, knowing his Master abhorred that idea, almost as much as Rey did it would seem.
"No," she said emphatically, "that is a horrid idea. It is much easier for one man to be corrupted than an entire democracy. And if the Jedi serve the Living Force first then I'd imagine it would be a lot harder to corrupt if we weren't serving the Republic."
Qui-Gon grinned at her, "I agree."
Obi-Wan sighed, and meeting his Master's gaze, he thought at him, Happy with yourself? Not a full two months into her training and you've successfully turned her to your ways.
Qui-Gon sipped his tea, thinking back, Hmm… and yet I had you at a much more impressionable age and its been years, I've still to successfully turn you.
Obi-Wan lifted his chin, One of us has to play nice with the Council.
Hmm… Was his Master's only reply.
Qui-Gon could not be more proud of his Padawans. Rey was a sunburst of happiness and energy. And Obi-Wan…
Qui-Gon felt very grateful to be given the opportunity to remain his Master a time longer. He was well and truly ready for his trials, but still Qui-Gon found himself still having to teach his Padawan. And even he was surprised by how much Obi-Wan was flushing with this type of training.
Jedi, as a general rule, were not soldiers, warriors, yes, but these days that was not their primary function. There was no need to train all day, every day.
But Obi-Wan was a young man, and as much as Rey was accelerating, he was matching her for equal measure.
Rey was more powerful than either of them, but as she hadn't as of yet been able to tap into that power, physically they were a match. As a woman, she was more flexible, but Obi-Wan had her beat on strength, and while he hadn't lived in the extreme conditions she had, he had also been training as a warrior his entire life. They kept challenging each other's strengths and weaknesses, growing more formidable both individually and as a team each day.
The Knight trials weren't going to faze him at all if they continued at this rate.
And, Qui-Gon might add, Obi-Wan was doing fairly well with the staff. Qui-Gon himself had been researching staff masters in his afternoons. The archives having quite the collection on the Guardian of the Wills regarding the topic, he had sought out a few of the temple guardians.
It amused Qui-Gon to give his Padawans the passed along knowledge he had learned and watch them figure it out. Rey had a sense for staffs that Obi-Wan would never have, but Obi-Wan knew how to digest complex and often vague fighting instructions and turn it into practicality.
A few of the Temple Guardians had indicated that they would like an opportunity to spar with them.
Qui-Gon agreed, almost certain Obi-Wan would be both delighted and horrified. Training an outlier Padawan was one thing, challenging a Temple guard was quite another. Of course, Qui-Gon had done it on his Padawans' behalf, which would likely embarrass Obi-Wan more.
Today though, he wanted to change up their routine. If Rey had the potential to be a Jedi who relied more on Telekinesis, then she needed to be as proficient with a weapon as without one.
Of course, she was so dedicated to her training, so abled in defensive fighting that Qui-Gon didn't think about how a girl from Tatooine would have fought hand to hand.
Neither, apparently had Obi-Wan. Qui-Gon had a split moment to realize Rey's apprehension had nothing to do with fighting a larger opponent and everything to do with not wanting to hurt her friend.
Because Rey didn't mirror Obi-Wan's fighting stance, she launched herself at him with as much aggression as a nexu. And instead flinging her off, Obi-Wan turned his shoulder to protect his centre.
Which in this instant, was a mistake.
Not a minute later they were on the ground. Rey wrapped behind Obi-Wan, a bent arm circling his neck, her legs tangled around one of his, bending it back in a way that significantly limited his leverage.
Rey looked determined but awkward, Obi-Wan looked surprised and at an utter loss how to get out of his current predicament without hurting her.
"Enough!" Qui-Gon called, both his Padawans rolled away from each other in relief, "My apologies to you both, I wasn't thinking."
Obi-Wan rubbed his neck, "Is that how you fought people on Tatooine? By the Stars, Rey, no wonder no one messed with you."
She shook her head, "If someone disarmed me and I wasn't able to run... No, I wouldn't have fought like that. I would have gone for your eyes, or just caused as much hurt as I could until you let go of me."
"In other words, you have no formal reference for hand to hand fighting," Qui-Gon concluded with self-reproach.
She looked up at him, a note of defiance in her gaze, "I always had my staff on me."
And Qui-Gon discerned that she had been hurt before she gained that particular weapon.
He was glad he reinforced her knowledge with her staff. Obi-Wan had been trained to believe that his lightsaber was his life. Rey had learned that her staff was not just her life, but her freedom and well being.
Qui-Gon offered her a hand up, which she took without hesitation.
"Come, I'll teach you how to spar without a weapon, as well as some Arturo."
Obi-Wan lifted his brows. He had kept his Padawan on the basics for years, now he was going to teach his new Padawan Arturo without a blade. But the acrobatics of Arturo would challenge her, push her to rely more on the Force than almost any of the other Forms, excluding perhaps the seventh forms.
Besides, Obi-Wan could teach her the basics without his guidance once he did introduce Rey to a lightsaber. But until then, he was seizing on the chance to teach what was perhaps the only Padawan in the Order who wasn't asking to be trained with a lightsaber.
He stood to her side and took a stance. So far he had been only watching, interceding where need be, stopping them to give Rey time to settle herself, even showing them a few motions. But this would be the first time he would practice with them.
He felt both Obi-Wan's excitement and distantly Rey's through their bond.
Qui-Gon began the sequences and they followed. Morning passed with few words between them but the connection between the three of them grew, the Living Force praising its growth.
oOo
One day, nearing the fourth month of Rey's entrance to the Temple, found Masters Mace Windu and Yoda joining Qui-Gon as he watched his two Padawan spar hand to hand.
Rey was starting to be able to infuse her strength with the Force, as marked by her occasionally able to toss Obi-Wan across the mats.
"Well, she does," remarked Yoda, "But more to being Jedi than fighting, there is."
Qui-Gon didn't remark, something was different today between his Padawans, he could feel that something was about to break. So he hardly heard Mace say, "Months of combat training and rumour has it she hasn't even held a lightsaber yet. The creche Masters are beginning to chastise the younglings with that."
Qui-Gon glanced at his friend, "And that is a problem because?"
"Because you've been training her for months, and one might think as a Guardian of the Whills rather than a Jedi. I know you spent some time with them, but if your Padawan ends up reflecting your beliefs about-"
Qui-Gon chuckled, "I wish I could take sole credit for it, but her own world view, as it so happens, seems to align well with mine, much to Obi-Wan's despair."
Yoda sighed, "Happy, the Force is; happy, I am not."
Qui-Gon bristled, "I thought you were with me from the start in her becoming my Padawan."
"Thought, I did, that Obi-Wan would influence her more, I did."
"Obi-Wan hasn't complained about your crazy training routine yet, has he?" Mace asked.
Qui-Gon smiled, watching Obi-Wan utilize an Arturo jump to escape Rey's foot sweep. "You know he's one of the most dedicated apprentices in the Order, did you really think he would?"
"Your attention, he seeks," Yoda noted, "To be a Padawan still, glad he is."
Qui-Gon nodded, "He's also training her as much as I am."
"And doing most of the work," Mace muttered.
"What can I say, Dooku taught me to never pass on an advantage."
Yoda tapped his cane, looking between the two sparring Padawans and Qui-Gon, "Something planned, you have. Ready to join them, you are. But true remains it that warrior not all a Jedi is."
"I told you that once, and you told me I was wrong. That the Jedi were more than the Republics soldiers." He sighed, "But dangers she will face and if we continue to throw ourselves into wherever it is the Republic doesn't want to sacrifice its own police for, then she has quite a bit of training to catch up on. Her safety must be paramount." Qui-Gon's focus was recalled back on Rey who was thrown by a frontal kick. She gave herself to the blow, and he felt her use the Force to soften the impact.
So close, they were so close.
"Trained her telekinesis, you have not," Yoda complained, but Qui-Gon ignored him.
Mace spoke and he didn't even hear him because just then-
It clicked.
A surge of victory swept through him, he rose to his feet, leaving Mace and Yoda behind, the Force calling to him.
Rey turned a startled gaze to him and Obi-Wan was grinning.
The bound between the three of them finally settling into reality.
It had taken him and Obi-Wan years to create this, but with Rey it had been there from almost the first meeting.
And what was more than that, Rey was riding battle meditation, her mind, despite her surprise at the new presence of the bond, was still fully immersed in the living Force. Qui-Gon motioned his Padawans, then began to teach them the sequences of Arturo without a lightsaber. With the bond between them open and active, Rey was able to follow himself and Obi-Wan exactly through the sequences. Sequences that took years to perfect, hours and hours upon dedication and practice.
She would still need the practice, but now either Qui-Gon or Obi-Wan would be able to teach her without or extraneous examples.
Dimly he heard Mace say, in a not so quiet voice, "Does he always have to be so unconventional?"
Yoda's response was just disgruntled, "Hmmm… work this does. Unexpected though it is."
Qui-Gon smiled, having the opportunity to prove himself, proving the Living Force right, was deeply satisfying, especially with those two as witnesses.
Rey didn't know life could feel like this, she didn't know this was possible.
In her mind shone two silver threads at the centre of a golden warmth. She could feel the actions of the world around her before it happened. She could sense Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon with a clarity that she could see the others. When Qui-Gon danced them through the forms, she didn't need her eyes to follow.
She felt his praise, she felt Obi-Wan's fond affection and his slight exasperation with Qui-Gon.
She laughed.
As they moved she felt herself sink deeper into a meditative state. Had someone been shooting at her, she would have felt it before the trigger had been completely pulled. And she knew it not just because she had the feeling but because Obi-Wan had skimmed her thoughts and answered, Yes.
From that day onward, training was more than fun, more than challenging it was…
Freedom.
She followed Obi-Wan through sequence after sequence, when she flipped through the air she felt weightless, as if she had wings.
Her feet seemed to hardly touch the ground.
AN: Thoughts, reactions, wishes, or lightsaber pikes? Pretty, pretty please?