Here's the long-awaited next chapter! Sorry it took so long! The computer that had all of my stories crashed and I lost everything, and now that same stupid computer won't connect onto the blasted internet!!!!!! AAAHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Uh, anyway, here's the next chapter!
The sun seemed to drag a little bit as it crept over the horizon, barely making an appearance through the cloudy haze. Although Coruscant's weather was mainly temperate year-round due to tall of the technology, it would, occasionally, break through and release its rage.
Most of the time when the weather actually differed from warm, semi-moist days, it would either be cold and cloudy, or give off a soft drizzle. There were only about two or three thunderstorms a year on Coruscant, but when they came, they were ravenous.
Luckily, today only brought a gentle drizzle which kissed the skyscrapers of Coruscant as Kita shook herself to get rid of all the water in her fur; she didn't want to leave a trail of water all over the Temple.
Qui-Gon Jinn was a Padawan learner now, Padawan to Dooku.
Kita sighed. Dooku had hardened over the years; practically the only living being that he wouldn't be stiffly formal with was her. Qui-Gon, particularly with his connection to the Living Force, needed more love and attention than Dooku would offer. That thought alone made Kita sad. She had seen many Jedi grow distant as they grew older, but Dooku was a pretty bad case.
Dooku wasn't a bad Jedi. It wasn't that at all… it was just… Kita didn't quite know how to explain it. He obeyed the code perfectly, but he was so… stiff. It was almost as if he were headstrong. Maybe he was.
Kita shook her head. Either way, it wasn't good for Qui-Gon; it was a Master's job to do things that are in the best interest for their Padawans, not their reputations.
Today was Qui-Gon's twentieth birthday. For non-Jedi, this was a very important birthday because a Human reached legal adulthood at the age of twenty… well, mostly.
The average Human lived to be about one hundred ten to one hundred twenty. This wasn't always the case, but because of the technology nowadays, it was perfectly natural to live over a century. Because this change has lasted for such a long time, Humans actually take longer to grow than other sentient beings.
When it came to younglings, Humans were just about in the middle range for maturing. By the age of twenty, a Human pretty much had everything they would need their whole life, but the fine-tuning for this would last until they were about twenty-four or twenty-five. In other words, Qui-Gon had about five more years of hormones and growing to go.
Still, turning twenty allowed a Human to become a legal adult, although in most cases they still had to have a guardian watching them until about twenty-five. This made turning twenty a very important birthday for girls and boys alike.
Since coming of age was actually depending on when one became a Knight in the eyes of the Jedi, the twentieth birthday wasn't quite as important, but still significant enough to garner more attention than other birthdays.
Kita had to think of something that she was going to give Qui-Gon, particularly since she was worried that Dooku wouldn't do anything for the boy on his special day. What could she possibly give him, though? Kita hadn't seen him too often because her duties were for the younglings, not the Padawans.
Kita had asked around for Qui-Gon's likes and dislikes, and she even considered going to Dooku to ask him what he planned on doing for Qui-Gon.
As Kita wandered around, she saw Qui-Gon's closest friend, Tahl. Perfect!
Tahl, wait up! Kita called out through the Force.
Tahl paused and turned around, focusing her golden striped eyes on the Corellian Noblon. "Oh, hey, Kita,"
Are you getting Qui-Gon anything for his birthday today? Kita asked.
Tahl smiled. "Of course I am. He and I are going out for dinner tonight and then we're going to see a HoloNet feature."
That sounds like fun, Kita commented.
"Yep," Tahl leaned against the wall casually. "What about you?"
Kita looked away awkwardly. I wasn't too sure what he would enjoy… I didn't know his plans. Do you know if his master is planning on doing anything with him?
Tahl's smile vanished. "Probably a 'happy birthday' and a pat on the back,"
Oh, Kita said stupidly. Well then at least let me get the cake for when you two go out.
Tahl clapped her hands delightedly. "That would be great, Kita! You remember what his favorite kind of cake is, right?"
Kita barked, which was pretty much her equivalent to an excited laugh. How could I forget?
Tahl smiled once again and then waved, running off to do some duty she had to attend to.
Kita then turned and headed down towards the youngling area. She needed someone's assistance to do this; there was no way she could make a cake by herself, and she definitely couldn't go to a street vendor and ask for one.
When she arrived, most of the younglings were simply playing around with each other. Where's Xanatos?
"He's over there," a four-year-old Wookiee pointed out.
Xanatos was playing with some starfighters, pretending to be in a dogfight against a Rodian boy.
Oh, Xanatos… Kita said in a sing-song voice.
Xanatos jumped and dropped a starfighter that he was floating. "Kita!"
Come on, Xanatos, Kita told him. We need to do a few chores.
Xanatos hopped up and immediately followed Kita out of the room, bouncing the whole way.
"Where are we going, Kita?" he asked excitedly.
We're going to go out into the city, Xanatos, but you have to promise me something, okay?
"The city?!" Xanatos didn't even pay attention to the second part of Kita's statement.
Kita rolled her eyes. We're not going unless you promise me that you won't wander off.
"Okay!" Xanatos yelled happily, hopping onto Kita's back when she crouched for him.
Hold on tight! Kita ordered him before taking off, running down the stairs all the way to the main level and out of the entranceway.
Xanatos ducked his head as the soft drizzle pelted him and Kita. She ran for about three minutes before reaching a bakery and entering.
"Sorry, no pets allowed," the clerk said dully.
Kita narrowed her eyes and growled at the man, and pulled her first Force-related trick she had ever pulled before: a mind trick. You will let me stay.
"But, of course, you can stay if you want to," the clerk agreed.
"Wow!" Xanatos gasped. "That was wizard!"
Kita giggled. Now, let's take a look at these pastries!
The four-year-old boy bounced over to the counter, but needed to clamber back onto Kita's back to see the treats because of his height. Kita looked over the cakes and saw the perfect one for Qui-Gon: a two-layered Alderaanian chocolate cake with Nubian chocolate frosting.
There were three main varieties of chocolate in the galaxy: one that grew on Alderaan, one on Naboo, and one on Kashyyyk. Kashyyyk's chocolate was a light brown but was the bitterest out of all three. Nubian chocolate was light blue because the Nubians mixed milk into their chocolate, making it the sweetest chocolate out of the three. Alderaanian chocolate, however, was deep brown and rich, the most expensive and the most filling out of the three, often used to make Alderaanian fudge. A cake that had Nubian and Alderaanian chocolate put together was the perfect match for Qui-Gon's humungous sweet tooth.
Kita motioned to the cake. Buy that one, Xanatos.
Xanatos nodded and took out a money pouch that she had handed to him before. "I'll take that cake, please."
"What would you like in the message?" the clerk asked.
Xanatos looked over at Kita, unsure how to answer.
Kita thought about it for a moment. What did she want to tell Qui-Gon? Kita's mind whirled as she tried to come up with the message as quickly as possible. Tell them to put in…
Xanatos relayed the message and the clerk walked back into the kitchen area, making the cake.
This was the typical way to buy a special birthday cake. One would go to the bakery, pick out a model, and then the baker would actually make the cake in the back just for the customer. With droids helping and technology the way it was, it would be made within the hour. Then, on the cake, a message in icing would say "happy birthday" and the person in question's name.
The message that the clerk had asked about was a tradition that had been in existence for millennia. While making the cake, the baker would put a small holographic chip inside, baking it with the cake. The holographic chip would hold a special message in there from the person who bought the cake, and supposedly, whoever found the holographic chip would be brought good luck that year.
The Jedi didn't believe in luck, but it was still a fun tradition to implement when they had birthday cakes.
While they were waiting, Kita let Xanatos buy some brownies as a reward for helping her out. Xanatos munched away happily as he sat waiting for the cake to be ready.
About half an hour later, the clerk came back out with the cake, nice and fresh. The smell of the chocolate made Kita's mouth water, but she and Xanatos controlled themselves. Xanatos held onto the cake while Kita trotted back towards the Jedi Temple.
When they arrived, Kita dropped Xanatos off back with the other younglings (thanking the Force that the masters trusted her to take care of the younglings) and went to find Tahl.
It took her the rest of the day, but she managed to catch the nineteen-year-old humanoid.
"Hey, Kita," Tahl greeted her.
Here's the cake, just as promised, Kita said, using the Force to make the cake float into Tahl's hands.
"Wow," Tahl admired the cake. "I can't wait to see Qui-Gon's face when he gets a look at this thing. It's going to be delicious!"
Kita barked happily and Tahl hugged her in thanks before running off, promising to save a piece for her.
Qui-Gon Jinn sighed as he looked for his fourteen-year-old Padawan. Where had Xanatos wandered off to?
While walking down a rather empty corridor, Qui-Gon caught sight of Kita, his good friend. Smiling, Qui-Gon walked up to the Corellian Noblon.
"Kita, have you seen my Padawan around here?" he asked the dog.
Kita shook her head. Sorry, I haven't a clue where he is.
Qui-Gon blew out an exasperated sigh. This was going to be a long day.
After Qui-Gon walked off, Kita's ears perked up, listening intently, but through the Force. She knew that feeling all too well. That was the nervousness of mischievous Padawans who got themselves into trouble.
All right, what are you guys up to? She asked as she rounded a corner, spotting a group of teenage Jedi talking softly to each other.
"Kita!" Xanatos shouted in surprise. "What—what are you doing here?"
I was just walking when I ran into your master. He's looking for you, you know. Kita told him calmly.
"Oh," Xanatos mumbled. "Um, well, I'll be there in a moment."
Kita narrowed her eyes suspiciously. What are you all up to?
"Nothing!" they said all too quickly.
Suddenly, there was a strangled yell of shock from the nearby refresher. Caught off guard, Kita looked down the stairs into a large chamber to see Jedi fleeing from a refresher as gigantic mounds of soap suds chased them. What in the…
Behind her, the soft sound of the teenagers taking off down the carpeted hallway could be heard. Kita turned around just in time to see them scatter in all directions, running for their lives. What did they do?
Kita sighed. Why was she always around when a youngling, Padawan, or Knight decided to get in trouble or do something careless?
Just as she turned around, she gasped. The soap suds that had come out in mounds now started coming in waves, filling up the entire chamber and quickly climbing up to the raised hallway Kita was standing in.
Now running for her life, Kita tore down the hall, belligerent soap suds directly behind her.
Help! She called out, not knowing what else to do.
Nearby, she sensed Qui-Gon rushing in her direction to figure out what the source of the disturbance. No, Qui-Gon, don't come back here!
It was too late; Qui-Gon didn't hear her in time before he saw the wall of soap suds behind her, his eyes widening in shock. "What the—"
The rest of his statement was replaced by gurgles and gags as he and Kita crashed into each other and were quickly being tossed around by the tsunami of soap suds. Now they were both yelling for help.
After what seemed an eternity, they finally felt the raging ocean subside. They literally had to slip and swim to find a stairwell to get out of there, but they managed. As the two climbed out, other Jedi slid behind them.
"What happened?" Mace Windu, a Knight and friend of Qui-Gon's, asked as he walked over.
"I haven't the slightest idea, Mace," Qui-Gon coughed as he got up.
What happened next was amusing beyond belief to Kita. As Qui-Gon stood up, any grace in his presence quickly vanished as he danced madly to maintain his balance, arms flailing and feet hopping, before he fell unceremoniously back onto the floor before being knocked sliding across to the other side of the hall by some poor Jedi Knight who had just stumbled out of the ocean of soap suds below.
Qui-Gon yelled as he went sliding on his backside right into a closet, brooms, mops, and light machinery landing on top of him in a heap. Some Jedi laughed while others tried to rush to his aid.
Then a real mess came. The Jedi who did try to help were either covered in soap suds themselves or toppled over each other as they slid on the slippery wet trail Qui-Gon left behind. Then they all went flying right into where Qui-Gon was desperately trying to regain his footing, causing them all to crash into the closet with a magnificent "kersplat".
To top it all off, a bucket that was in the closet went flying and landed directly on Mace's bald head.
Unable to control herself, Kita burst into laughter at the whole scene, along with some other Jedi.
Suddenly, Qui-Gon seemed to sense something. "XANATOS!"
Xanatos peeked around the corner, looking terrified. "Uh, y-yes Master?"
"What did you do?" Qui-Gon panted from underneath the entangled group of Jedi and cleaning tools.
"Uh…" Xanatos muttered. "I kind of busted a water line connected to the laundry."
"Really?" Mace asked with sarcasm so evident in his face as well as his tone that a deaf person would know.
"…Yeah…"
Kita literally rolled on the floor laughing as the Jedi who were in the mess snarled, forgetting their Jedi patience.
Kita made sure to leave before the Jedi exploded, heading over to a refresher that didn't have a busted pipe line and cleaning herself off before going to visit the younglings.
Kita played around with the younglings and then headed over towards the nursery, entering quietly since it was naptime.
As she looked over the infants, she came across a new one. Looking at the name, she smiled. This one was a cutie, she could tell… and he had such a great name, too. She could tell he would become a great Jedi.
It would sound so lovely to hear his name attached with the honorific title of Jedi Master… Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi.
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