Maul came back near sundown, covered in blood. He took off his heavy cloak, shirtless underneath, and hung it on a hook by the front entrance. The hut smelled strongly of cooking meat.

"Good evening," Obi-Wan greeted from the doorway, a fire crackling a few feet away, outside of the hut, "Are you hungry enough to eat now?"

Maul growled softly to himself, still feeling the aftereffects of the slaughter almost two hours previously. He turned to his new roommate, wiping specks of blood from his face. "I suppose so, yes,"

Obi-Wan nodded. "That's good." He studied Maul carefully, noting the various, striking pattern of black tattoos covering his body. "Perhaps you should clean yourself before you begin eating tonight. The refresher is just in the next room."

"I am fine, Kenobi," Maul snapped lightly, reaching up and brushing more dried blood from his body. "This blood is not my own."

"I see," Obi-Wan nodded again. "To whom did it belong to?"

"To a group of scavengers," Maul said with a slight smirk, glee shining in his eyes, "Jawas, in fact."

"Why would you do such a thing?" Obi-Wan asked calmly, his voice even. "Surely they had done little to harm you."

"Their eyes reminded me of all that I have lost," Maul snarled in remembrance, "They caused memories of my Master's betrayal, and my brother's slaughter by that same hand, to surface."

"It is unhealthy to continue to let your negative emotions fester within you," Obi-Wan advised patiently, "You must find a better way to deal with them, and you will feel better once they are completely released."

Maul growled loudly in response. "I do not require such ludicrous methods, Kenobi," he said, staring at the Jedi with hate. "Your teachings are simply worthless to me. They are just words. They mean nothing."

Obi-Wan sighed. "I suppose I am to assume there were no survivors from your outburst?"

Maul smirked and glanced around the hint in a distracted manner. "Your assessment would be correct. All were freed from their pathetic existence."

Obi-Wan looked at Maul with pity. "You are unwise to assume that they had no purpose in the galaxy," he said sadly, "All creatures brought into the universe have some kind of role to fill."

"Not everyone." Maul snarled at him, "Some of us are destined to destroy, and the rest live meaningless lives, unaware of how completely worthless they are. Others still would relish the mere chance to run towards the slaughter, like your Jedi friends."

Obi-Wan narrowed his eyes at the mention of his dead fellow Jedi, but chose to ignore the verbal jab. "Your temper must also be controlled if you ever wish to be around other creatures for long periods." He gestured to Maul's lightsaber, "You must also learn to live with the absence of your weapon."

The saber flew off of Maul's belt nd into Obi-Wan's hand, being stored in the Jedi's cloak. "This will stay with me until you have learned to control your anger. Once that is accomplished, it will be returned to you the following day."

Maul snarled and stared at Obi-Wan with fiery rage. "It is not your place to decide how I will live, Kenobi! I will do as I wish!"

"I know of how powerful you are with the Force alone," Obi-Wan mused, "You will not need your weapon to survive out here."

"As factual as that may be, I still require it to defend myself against potential enemies," Maul argued, crossing his arms and glaring at the Jedi. "You are depriving me of necessary protection."

"Fighting and chaos are not alway the answer, you know," Obi-Wan pointed out calmly, "There are always more peaceful, non-violent methods to getting what you want."

Maul didn't bother with a response, instead entertaining the nearly uncontrollable urge to attack the older human, but swallowed his burning rage and stood up, turning away and trudging off.

"Are you not going to partake in this meal with me?" Obi-Wan said, sitting down by the fire and nursing the flames. "It is nearly ready to be eaten."

"The fire will not last much longer without energy to feed it," Maul said over his shoulder, "I will go and get more."

Obi-Wan shrugged. "Very well. Return soon, I do enjoy your company. You are making excellent progress."

Maul growled to himself, shaking his head, wanting to scream at the Jedi, but decided that now was not the time for another argument. He continued on his journey, wandering until he found a few dead trees near a cliff face.

He grabbed a thick branch on the tree and pulled, grunting with the effort. He reached for his lightsaber to cut the tree down, but remembered that Obi-Wan had taken it from him.

Maul sighed and reluctantly admitted to himself that the former Jedi was right, he was too dependent on the weapon. So with no other options, he extended his hands towards the tree and concentrated, crouching and using the Force to feel the weight and fragility of the dead, bare tree. It was fairly weak, and could probably be uprooted easily if he tried hard enough.

Maul closed his eyes and began the process, feeling the Dark Side surrounding him and flowing through his veins.

The tree cracked and groaned as it was slowly uprooted from the ground, roots snapping and detaching as it steadily rose out of the sand.

Maul was nearly finished when he was interrupted by the loud shrieks of Tusken Raiders approaching his location. He opened his eyes and saw four of them on the top of the cliff, pointing thier blasters at him.

The Zabrak pressed himself agianst the partially uprooted tree for cover as the Raiders began firing at him, whooping and hollerIng, speaking to each other in their native language.

Maul used the Force to pull one of them down from the cliff, and the creature hit the sand with a groan, laying still and quiet. The other three continued firing, their blasterfire striking the large tree and raining bits of burned bark onto Maul.

He summoned more of his strength and extended both arms, choking two of them and flinging them hard from the cliff. The two Tuskens went flying through the air, yelling in fear. They hit the ground face-first. Maul heard a faint snapping sound, and both Tuskens went quiet.

The last one was still firing at him, and Maul choked this one as well, but memories of his fight with Sidious on Mandalore ran through his mind at that moment, filling him with burning rage as he remembered how mercilessly his former Master had slaughtered his brother.

Maul snarled with rage and clenched his fist tighter, the Tusken's face turning purple as they started gagging. The Zabrak continued with this torture, increasing the pressure.

The Tusken squealed as its head exploded, and Maul released the body, letting it drop heavily onto the sand.

He sat down on the tree, surveying the chaos he had now caused. He felt satisfaction filling his body, and he allowed himself a small smile.

Maul continued uprooting the tree, and snapped off an armful of thick branches once that task was finished. He began walking back to Obi-Wan's hut when he was satisfied with the amount of firewood he had amassed, and dumped the pile beside the fire when he returned.

Obi-Wan stared at him questioningly, though briefly. "You were gone longer than I expected," he said, taking a bite of his food. "The meal is ready to be eaten if you would like to indulge yourself."

Maul sat down, silently picking off part of a leg of whatever creature Obi-Wan was cooking today, and began to eat, thinking of the past, and what could have been.

He desperately wished that Savage was still alive so that he could talk with him.