"Obi-Wan! Obi-Wan! Obi-Wan Kenobi! Ben! Bennie! Wan-wan-!"
"WHAT?" Obi-Wan finally turned around to look at her with a deep scowl, from where he was reading something – probably boring – on a holopad, crammed into the too-small bunk space in the sleeping quarters all the crew were sharing. Raiko gave him her best pleading smile, and swayed in place.
"Will you practice with me?" she asked. He kept scowling at her. "Please! Pleeeaassseee! Please – I'm not gonna leave 'til you say yes! – please, please, pleasepleaseplease-"
"Okay! Fine! Just stop!"
He met her outside in the blinding sun, squinting, but still with all of his irritation. He stomped over to her, sniffing at her bright smile. "How exactly are we going to practice anything? I've got a real lightsaber, and you've got…"
He trailed off as Raiko waved the hilt of a practice saber underneath his nose, the other swinging from her belt. "I was going to start practicing Jar'Kai, but this is better! Don't you think?" Obi-Wan took the proffered blade wearily, muttering.
"…Yeah, yeah… definitely better." Damn her and her saber dedication. If only she was so passionate about… meditation or something. Then he'd get a moments peace. He slid into his defensive position, and ignited the saber. "Hey-! This thing's tiny!" the practice saber looked ridiculous in his grip – yet as he looked down at the small girl grinning at him, he realised it was proportionate. To a child. "Tiny blade, tiny girl." He taunted, unable to help himself.
She rose to the bait magnificently, face contorting and body lurching as she leapt at him. He deflected her swing easily.
Obi-Wan would never admit it – not to a youngling – but he found himself… working to beat her. She was good at this, a natural, switching between forms and styles smoothly. Looking at her properly, he realised why – the smooth look of concentration on her face was much like the look he saw on his Master's when he communicated with the Force. Her speed had picked up – and though she didn't have the strength to properly match him yet, or the height – he found himself dodging swings more than once.
Soon enough though – her concentration waned – and Obi-Wan saw the opportunity, and feinted right, swinging left instead, and tapping her wrist with the blade of the weapons. She yelped at the faint sting – and both weapons shut down automatically. They were both panting in the heat.
She stared at him, and it took him a second to work out what she wanted. "Oh! Yeah. Good, I guess? Keep your concentration. Why'd you stop?"
Raiko looked suddenly frustrated. "I don't know! Everything was going so well – but then I, I don't know, I reached a little too hard and then it all went away!" she threw down her saber and he raised an eyebrow, feeling a sudden surge of amused vexation. Was this how Qui-Gon felt all the time? He hoped not.
"So stop trying so hard. From what I can tell, the Force seems to come to you easier when you need it, not when you want it. You need to need." Obi-Wan wasn't sure it made sense as he said it, but as Raiko nodded seriously, big violet eyes blinking up at him in adoration, he felt accomplished.
"So I need to kick your ass?" Her expression shifted to mischievous in an instant, and before he could blink, she had jumped at him – her surprise attack making him topple back. He felt sand enter his robes almost instantly, and then she was off of him, running back towards the ship and laughing gleefully, leaving him sandy and sweaty on the ground.
"Hey-! RAIKO!"
The next day when Obi-Wan was forced into accompanying her outside again, he decided to try something different.
"Nope." He shook his head at the proffered lightsaber. Her eyes opened wider, pleading. He narrowed his eyes. "No. Come on, I want to try something different with you." Raiko sighed dramatically, but flopped down next to him when he sat on the sand, shaded in the underbelly of the cruiser. "Lift that rock." He pointed at a chunk of sandstone sat in front of them. She shot him an unimpressed look. "Do it." He sighed.
Raiko squinted at it obediently. For a moment, nothing happened, and then it shivered in place. Obi-Wan reached out gently with his own Force awareness, brushing over the energy of the young girl next to him. As he suspected, she was hanging on too hard, reaching too deep too fast. It was like someone trying to hold water – the tighter she clutched at it, the more slipped from her grip. The rock rolled half-way over slowly before stilling, Raiko letting out a breath of frustration. "I can't." she said, voice low with irritation, and what Obi-Wan realised as she flushed green, was embarrassment.
"What did I tell you yesterday? Stop trying so hard – let it flow through you. It's not something you can want to use, not something you can hold and bend to your wishes." Obi-Wan said gently. In demonstration, he gently tugged at the Force, questioning, probing, and in response – the rock rose up a few feet. "You're young. You can't expect to have complete control and mastery over the Force right away. It takes a Master years to be able to access and use the Force at will."
Raiko was listening intently, and when the rock touched down again, she closed her eyes. After a moment, Obi-Wan revelling in the peace and quiet, her face took on the same smooth stillness it had in their fight. Trembling, the rock rose from the ground – and Obi-Wan felt satisfaction and something like pride unfurl in his chest. Raiko opened her eyes, the sudden flash of violet startling against her tan skin. A smile grew across her face as she took in the floating rock, even as it dipped unsteadily. "Thank you, Obi-Wan." She said brightly.
Obi-Wan couldn't help but smile at her infectious energy. She seemed to emanate her emotion for all the world to see. Maybe he could help her with that next. "It's alright."
"You're gonna make a great Master one day!" Raiko said, clambering to her feet, and Obi-Wan felt his heart skip a beat at the prospect. He'd never given much thought to the matter – he'd always thought he was destined to be a warrior, a negotiator – but at the warm pride simmering in his belly as Raiko skipped back onto the ship, he wondered what it would be like to be a teacher.