Barriss's fork seemed to drop from her delicate grasp in slow motion, as if she were dropping a feather rather than a pointed piece of silverware. It hit the ground making an echoing clang.

It was a sound Barriss had heard millions of times. It was the shot of a blaster, the combustion of a chopped battle droid, the clash of lightsaber against lightsaber. . .
Now it was a voice—one piercing the air with concern. . . and slight annoyance. It was her master's voice—oh force!

The Padawan jumped from her daydream back into the realm of reality. There she sat at an elegantly purple draped table traced with gold. Seated in front of her was the esteemed Rodian Senator, Senator Farr and her clearly irritated master.

"Padawan Barriss, what is the matter?"

Luminara's mouth was pursed ever so slightly as she spoke with an overwhelming sense of urgency.
"So sorry Master Luminara, Senator Farr—" She was tripping up her words as if bombarded by blaster shots. With a swift bend, Barriss reached under the table and used the force to guide her utensil back to her hand. She straightened herself and brushed down her Jedi robes before facing her dinner companions once again. "My apologies. I . . don't know what's the matter with me this afternoon. The Padawan looked at her master for some kind of sympathy, but instead all she found was a strong sense of disappointment. It stung her, and flustered she nearly dropped her fork a second time.
"Perhaps some fresh-air may um," Barriss's eyes seemed to cloud and she put down her fork ". . . clear my senses . . ."

Luminara was silent, but only momentarily. The Jedi Master sighed and waved a dismissive hand. This was enough of an invitation for Barriss, who politely stood, bowed, and walked hurriedly to the door.

"Barriss!" Luminara's sharp voice halted the Padawan just as she reached for the handle. Turning slowly, she spoke in a hesitant tone.

"Yes, master?"
"You shouldn't use the force so freely. It should be treated as a privilege, not as a leisurely energy which assists you in picking up your dropped…silverware."

There was no humor in her voice, not the slightest hint, even though the light smile traced across Luminara's lips reflected brightly into Barriss's eyes.

"Forgive me, Master. I—it won't happen again" Without further adue, Barriss swung open the door and rushed from the room, a heavy moisture weighing on her eyes which Barriss could only describe as tears.

Her Jedi Robes removed, Barriss let down her hair as it fell in a dark curtain around her tattooed face. With this and the silky pajamas she wore, all alone in the privacy of her own room, Barriss for the first time in what seemed like months was able to relax. She rubbed the back of her neck, trying to ease the tension stored there. She'd been so stressed lately; it was finally nice to just be alone-

A rapt at the door soon changed this.

Allowing herself to briefly mutter under her breath, Barriss cleared her throat and invited them in.
Her master opened the door, eying the Padawan before she closed the door behind her. There was a moment of silence in which neither spoke, simply stared.

"When you said you were leaving, I expected you to return."
Somewhere, deep down, Barriss felt a prick of anger. It was like being hit with an invisible arrow. "Sorry, I just…lost track of time I suppose. I thought it would be rather…rude to return and interrupt you and Senator Farr"
"You were rather rude to leave." Luminara paced to one side of the room to stare out the window silently. "It surprises me that you can be so capable out on the battle field, against the Separatists' front lines, but you cannot handle a simple dinner."

Another arrow.

"Furthermore, it's not just tonight. Lately you've been inexplicably unfocused, sloppy in your work, and slow. I don't understand why, but since you haven't consulted me, I did not think it was my place to worry. It seems I was wrong. If you're going to become a Jedi Knight, you're going to have to display a sense of trust and capability. I wish you would just tell me what's wrong."

"You want to know what's wrong?" Barriss's voice cracked, but she didn't stop to hide her anger this time. "It's this war! Every day I've been fighting non-stop, destroying droid after droid-when I was taught that Jedi were keepers of the peace, not warriors!" As her frustration increased so did her volume. Luminara opened her mouth to speak but was abruptly cut off.
"But now we're here, on this, this-diplomatic mission, sitting down at a table, having a. . .a civilized dinner-but who knows, the next minute we could be under attack! The suspense is killing me and all these people depending on us every day for our protection-"

"Barriss, I understand what you're going through. But this is not the way to-"

"How dare you-do you know what you put me through every day? Expecting me to be an example Padawan who follows her Master every day, not caring what I'm actually going through or, or how young I actually am, but have nearly died on several occasions." Barriss's was at a full on rant now. "But you don't care in the slightest! I'm so stressed, and you just make everything worse!"

Silence. Luminara's face was an utter mask of shock. Finished, Barriss's narrowed eyes drilled into her Master, until she realized what she'd just done. Sinking to her knees, she felt her head grow heavy as she begin to spill out apologies.
"Master Luminara-I am so sorry-I, I…" Tears welled in the corners of her eyes for the second time that day "I just want to impress you, and, well, show my love for you, but you expect so much of me, and-"

Kneeling down herself, Luminara caressed her Padawan's hair and rubbed her shoulders soothingly. "Shh…" She whispered into her ear as Barriss knelt into her shoulder and began to weep quietly, feeling pathetic and quite stupid. All the stress, problems, came crashing down…

"I know I expect a lot of you. I also know I shouldn't be as hard on you as I am, Padawan" Luminara coaxed "This war is hard on all of us."
Barriss looked up at her with the same affection she'd always had for her Master "Your…approval and…love mean a lot to me." Barriss blushed. Gosh, she was just talking too much tonight. "I just wish I could be as strict to the Jedi Code as you are."

For the first time, Luminara seemed to look offended, and a little hurt. The look stung Barriss with regret. After a moment the look faded away as Luminara used to force to guide Barriss closer to her, so that the two were closely pressed up against one another, their faces inches apart. A smug smile appeared on Luminara's face.

"Maybe I'm not as bound to the code as you think"

Eh. That took a while. Don't really support this pairing, but I thought that Barriss's need for her master's attention and approval was kind of sweet.

Next is Kit Fisto X Eeth Koth for my pal KitFisto'sGirl :)