A/N: This will be the last chapter of this story posted to this site. For further updates, please see Archive of Our Own (my username is Starf there as well). Thanks for reading!

"What are we doing today, Master?" Anakin asked, his eyes on the library seat normally occupied by Eraan. Today it was empty. Anakin was not too surprised. After all, Eraan no doubt needed a day to rest and recover. But surely he'd be back?

Obi-Wan had returned to their usual table with a stack of books in his arms. He set a large tome in front of his apprentice without comment.

"Oh," Anakin said distastefully. "This?"

"Yes, this," Obi-Wan replied. He sounded tired.

"What section?"

"What do you think?" Obi-Wan asked him.

Anakin looked down at the book in front of him, It was titled Character Development for Young Jedi and it was one he was intimately familiar with because Obi-Wan made him hand copy text from it almost every time he was annoyed with him about doing something impulsive. He sighed. Somehow he'd hoped that Obi-Wan would think that Anakin's feeling bad about what happened with Eraan would be punishment enough. But adults didn't always see things that way.

"I guess prudence?"

"A reasonable guess," Obi-Wan replied.

Anakin suppressed a groan, but opened the book to the correct spot and reached for a few sheets of flimsiplast to start writing. This was an exercise he was intimately familiar with. Obi-Wan had probably made him copy out the section on prudence about fifteen times, more than any other section, though the section concerning patience was a close runner up. Anakin had practically memorized both chapters.

It was dull work, but in a way better than regular lessons, which would have more painfully reminded Anakin that Eraan was not there. It still hurt when he thought about their last meeting. Eraan hadn't yelled or anything..he had just not wanted to talk to Anakin at all. Had turned away and not even wanted to look at him. And Anakin had understood why. He had lost control the other day. Had gotten angry when Eraan had landed a hit to his arm. He hadn't expected that, and had let his emotions get the better of him. He was glad Obi-Wan had not been around to see that.

At least Obi-Wan didn't seem mad. His demeanor was a little preoccupied, as if his mind had already moved on to other, more important things. Anakin was glad that his master had chosen to stay with him in the library instead of leaving him alone.

He stole a glance over at Obi-Wan, who had three books open in front of him, and seemed to be looking from one text to the other as if comparing them.

"What are you reading?" He asked, not able to help himself.

"Have you finished yet, Anakin?" Obi-Wan asked, not looking up.

"No, Master."

"Well, you'd better finish then, don't you think?" Obi-Wan said, now giving him a pointed look.

Now burning with curiosity, Anakin swallowed a reply. When Obi-Wan gave him that look, there was no use arguing. He returned to his copying, mouthing the words to himself as he wrote. At last he finished, and slid the flimsiplast toward his master for him to inspect.

Obi-Wan gave it a quick look. "Anakin, your handwriting really is something else." He set the sheets aside.

"Can I have that back?" Anakin asked.

Obi-Wan looked confused but handed the sheets back. "Why?"

"I started saving them so I could compile them into a book to give you when I'm knighted," Anakin said.

"You are impossible," Obi-Wan sighed. But he smiled.

"Will you tell me what you're reading now?" Anakin asked.

Obi-Wan looked for a moment like he was thinking that he didn't want to, but then his features softened a bit. "Kenji is ill. I'm doing some research that may help Healer Eldris. Though I fear this may be beyond both of us."

"What's wrong with him?" Anakin asked. He got up from his chair to go stand next to Obi-Wan's and peered down at the text in front of him. It was in a language he didn't understand. "What is this?"

"He becomes ill when he attempts to connect to the Force," Obi-Wan said. "We suspect it may have something to do with that cave you and I visited. Kenji went in there alone a while back -"

"It made him sick?" Anakin asked.

"We don't know for sure. I'm trying to get a better sense of the place. These books are accounts from the first few centuries of the Jedi presence here. I'm hoping to find some answers. I wish…" He trailed off.

"What do you wish, Master?" Anakin asked.

"Just that...well, Qui-Gon knew more about this place than me. He probably even read all these books. It would be..helpful if he were here."

Anakin nodded. He felt a little sad for his master, though he didn't exactly know why. Obi-Wan always seemed to carry a bit of a weight, but today he sensed that it pressed on him more heavily than normal. He felt bad now, suddenly, for giving him a hard time the night before. His master hadn't done anything to deserve it, and had barely even retaliated (besides the tickling, which had been funny.) He wondered why Obi-Wan was often so patient with him.

"Can I help?" He offered.

Obi-Wan pushed a book toward him. "This one is in Basic. It's a bit archaic but you should be able to read it easily."

Anakin took it gratefully and opened it. It was an account of ancient farmers, some of the first on the planet, and the accounts of their dealings with the tribes that had settled on the planet centuries before. Mostly it was dry, accounts of various conflicts and trade dealings. There were only a few mentions of Jedi at all, and nothing about the Force.

As he read, he began to think about Eraan again. This seemed like the type of thing that Eraan would like, and he probably knew more about the planet than either Anakin or Obi-Wan did. And surely he couldn't still be angry with him. They hadn't been friends long, but Anakin could already tell Eraan wasn't the type that would hold a grudge. He'd been raised in the Temple, after all, where kids were taught that kind of thing from an early age.

"Master?"

Obi-Wan looked up.

"Can I go find Eraan? I want to see if he's okay."

"Yes," Obi-Wan said. "But don't go running off. We'll still have lessons this afternoon and Declan has some tasks for you."

Anakin promised he would. He had a feeling Obi-Wan was going to be keeping a closer watch on him after the sparring incident, and he wasn't thrilled about that, but knew he couldn't do much about it except be patient.

Anakin was heading down the path near the main storehouse when he heard the unmistakable sound of blaster fire in the distance. Instinctively, he put his hand to the hilt of his 'saber, feeling himself spring into ready mode. But he came to his senses quickly. The blaster sounds were even spaced and well controlled, not the quick chaotic bursts one might expect in a real conflict. He relaxed again, but curious, headed off in the direction of the noise.

He came to the edge of a slight hill and peered down to see the lone shooter who was in fact the boy Anakin had been hoping to find - facing a stone wall - probably all that was left of an ancient building long since gone to ruin. On top of the wall various pieces of scrap metal had been placed in a row. He grinned and ran down the hill to meet his friend.

"Eraan!"

The boy turned to face him, his expression serene. He still wore a bandage on his temple. His left arm too was bandaged, his finger in a splint. Anakin felt bad. He hadn't even realized Eraan had broken his finger as well.

"Are you feeling better?" Anakin asked.

Eraan nodded. "Yeah. Kind of have a headache, but I didn't want to be drugged up all day."

"Why didn't you come to lessons?" Anakin asked. "What are you doing out here?"

"Target practice," Eraan answered. He turned back to the wall and raised his blaser again.

"Why do you carry a blaster anyway?" Anakin asked, a little annoyed that Eraan hadn't answered his question about class. "Isn't a lightsaber enough?"

"Declan wanted me to carry it," Eraan said. "We still get pirates and raiders coming through here sometimes. Not since I've been living here, but it could happen. Most farmers carry blasters and you're more likely to get messed with if you don't have one. Don't know if I'd ever really shoot anyone though." He raised his weapon and fired, hitting a large can squarely in the middle and sending it hurtling backwards through the air.

Anakin decided to cut to the chase. "Are you coming back to lessons then? This afternoon?"

Eraan didn't look at him, but raised his blaster again and sent another can flying. "What's the point, anyway?"

Anakin stared at him. "What do you mean, 'what's the point'? Don't you want the training?"

Eraan lowered the blaster now, and looked at him. "I'm not going to be a Jedi. So what's the point? If I was gonna be a good Jedi they wouldn't have sent me out here. I don't want to waste any more time pretending."

"Is it because I hurt you? I'm sorry about that. I just got..carried away."

"No," Eraan sighed.

"Then what is it?" He thought for a moment. "Obi-Wan's not mad at you, you know. He knows it's all my fault. I told him."

Eraan laughed then, but it was a joyless laugh. "You don't let up, do you?"

"I have a feeling you're not telling me something." Anakin took a step closer to his friend. Eraan was right. He didn't let up. He needed to understand.

Eraan was silent for a while, but Anakin willed himself to be patient. At last his friend spoke.

"When I was in the infirmary last night, Kenji told me everything about what happened...you know, with his master. He never really talked to me that much before you know? But it was strange…"

Anakin frowned. He didn't see what Kenji's master had to do with anything. He'd only heard bits and pieces about the former padawan. He probably knew much less than even Eraan did, only that he'd been killed on a mission some years ago.

Eraan continued. "I was so..well, I was really scared to hear about it. And just being that scared..I don't see how I could be a Jedi, if just hearing about that makes me feel this way. When he was talking to me about it, it was almost as if I was there. Like I could see everything."

Anakin searched for words to reassure his friend, but none came. He understood the dismay Eraan must be feeling. But he would have never let himself feel that kind of fear. He just knew he would just never let anything so horrible happen to Obi-Wan as what had happened to Kenji's master. He'd never be that weak.

"See," Eraan whispered, the blaster now hanging limply at his sighed. "I'd make a terrible Jedi. The masters at the Temple were right."

"Well, I don't think that's true," Anakin said stubbornly. "Why don't you come back with me to lessons? Obi-Wan can help."

Eraan glared at him, suddenly angry. "I don't need him to help. He doesn't know me."

"Yeah, but..." Anakin began, but then stopped himself. Obi-Wan was right. Eraan probably just needed some time. He was upset. How many times had he himself said things he didn't mean in the heat of the moment? "He does care about you. But, okay. You don't have to do anything you don't wanna do."

Eraan visibly relaxed a little. They stood in awkward silence until Anakin gestured toward the blaster. "Think I could try? I haven't used a blaster in a long time."

Eraan held the weapon out toward him. Anakin held it in his hand for a moment. A long time ago, before he became a Jedi, he'd always wanted a blaster. Slaves weren't allowed weapons of course, which made him want one all the more. Knowing that he had no way to protect his mom, and that the means of protection were forbidden had made him feel so helpless, and so weak. So angry.

He raised the weapon and after aiming squeezed the trigger, feeling satisfied as the burst of laser screamed out of it, blasting a hole through the metal plate on the wall. He turned to Eraan. "But this is too easy. You should throw something in the air for me. Something small."

After a moment of thinking they began to gather up some of the small, hard fruits that had fallen from a nearby tree. Eraan flung them into the air one at a time, as hard as he could, and Anakin blasted them neatly, only missing one, and then Eraan took his turn to shoot. The game was satisfying in an apologetically savage kind of way, and for a few moments he forgot his frustrations.

"Now I kind of want a blaster," he said after they had run out of fruit.

It was then he felt Obi-Wan's presence nearby and turned to see his master walking down the hill toward them. Had he really come looking for Anakin? Had they been shooting for that long?

"Target practice?" Obi-Wan asked.

Anakin nodded and held the blaster out toward him. "Want to try?"

He wasn't sure if his master would take it. He'd never seen Obi-Wan hold a blaster in his life and it was hard to imagine him shooting anything. But Obi-Wan reached out to take it. Eraan scrambled for more fruit and managed to find a couple, though they had blasted most of what they'd found already. Anakin watched as Eraan flung it up into the air and Obi-Wan casually raised the blaster and fired, blasting it to pieces. Eraan moved to throw again, but Obi-Wan handed him his blaster back.

"I hope you boys had a good talk. Eraan, are you feeling well?"

Eraan nodded. "Yes, mostly."

"Well, I hope you go easy on yourself for a little while." He turned to Anakin. "We should be getting back to work soon."

"So, are you coming?" Anakin asked Eraan. Maybe he'd fold now that Obi-Wan was here, standing with them. But Eraan's jaw clenched with stubborn defiance.

"No. I told you no."

Obi-Wan stood looking at them calmly for a moment and assessing the situation. "Eraan, you're free to join us when you're ready." He turned and motioned for Anakin to follow. "Come on, Padawan."

"Master, Eraan said he didn't want to train with us anymore. Can't you please tell him he should come with us?" Anakin said, unable to help himself. In his opinion, this was for Eraan's own good. Obi-Wan should have seen that.

"Leave it, Anakin," Obi-Wan said.

"But-"

"Don't try and use your master to tell me what to do," Eraan huffed, and without waiting for Anakin's response, turned and stalked away in the direction of the woods.

Ashamed and angry, Anakin looked at the ground. He should have been able to say something that would have made Eraan come back. He should have said that Kenji was sick, and Eraan needed to help. He wanted to run after Eraan, but there was no way Obi-Wan would let him.

"He's not obligated to come with us, Padawan," Obi-Wan said softly.

Anakin knew that, but he still hated it. And now he'd made things worse. Obi-Wan put his hand on his shoulder and squeezed gently.

"You have to let him go."

Anakin couldn't bring himself to agree. He'd heard about letting go a thousand times, about a thousand things. It was the Jedi way. But it was hard to say 'yes,' to it sometimes.

"I'll speak with him later. For now, we have work to do," Obi-Wan told him, his tone a little less gentle now. Without waiting for Anakin's response, he began walking back up the hill. There was nothing for Anakin to do than to follow him.