I'm baaaaack~~~ This is a Direct Sequel to It Happened Quiet which has already been posted here. It is highly recommended you read it. It's long, I know, but it's fun, I think you'll like it. Even if it might throw you down seven flights of stairs emotionally as one lovely twitter user stated LOL

Thank you for your patience, I'm very excited to bring this to you. We have a lot of conversations here, some talk of visions and death, and all sorts of fun things. I hope you enjoy a little recovery and a few examinations of the Dark Side.

Mace sat with his fingers pressed together, listening quietly to the talk of his fellow Council Members, and nursing the beginnings of a headache.

It had been a long…and painful two weeks. Two weeks since one of their own had attempted to kill their younglings. Two weeks since their Training Droids had all been tampered with and turned into instruments of their own death. Two weeks since two of their Padawans had been killed, and a new young Knight had been killed as well, and so many were taken into the Halls that the Healers had begun to struggle.

…Two weeks since a Sith had nearly given his life to protect them.

In a way it was not unexpected. Said Sith had been in their custody for a little over a year by this point, had grown in their halls – quite literally as he was still quite young – and had found himself an unexpected ally. Unexpected for them, and for the Sith. Given the way that everything had started…

Given the way Mace had been standing there with his lightsaber at his throat, completely willing to kill him…

Some may have said that Maul's sacrifice was unexpected… They would not have been paying attention.

Mace had been. He had been there when Maul had first talked about what had happened, had first acknowledged that he had been a Sith from Birth… A Sith that had been given no other choice… A Sith that Mace had later learned had begged for the Jedi to come and save him through the Force…and had never once been heard.

There were few things that Mace Windu regretted as a general rule… This…this was definitely one of them. Particularly after he had learned more, after he had seen what Maul had come from, what he was growing into. Maul had not been given a chance…

And now that he had been given one he had thrived, repaying them with loyalty, and a desire to protect them that none of them could have ever expected.

Of course…Mace was worried about Maul's lack of concern about his own body, they all were. It took a particularly vicious sort of mentality, with a great lack of personal safety…that would attempt to kill a Jedi Master that wielded two saberstaffs, had four arms, and more than ninety kilograms on him while they themselves were unarmed. Yet he had done it…and Maul had won. Though not without consequence.

From what Mace understood Maul's recovery had been hampered because his abdominal wall had been cut open and cauterized. The cauterization was what was causing the biggest issue, as it had burned the nerves, as well as caused him much difficulty in moving. It was a hard and long recovery, even with the bacta treatments, and Mace knew that Maul, among other things, was going utterly insane with boredom.

Mace couldn't blame Maul. Maul was an active being, and similarly had often been seen falling into moving meditation, something that having his abdominal wall cut through had made difficult. Healer Che had been working with Maul since the beginning, as had Healer Tiq Nooz…a Rodian that Mace had grown to respect a good deal.

The Jedi had never seen much use for Mind Healers in the beginning. It tended to go against a lot of what they believed in, the idea of trauma sticking, the idea of something being too big to give to the Force through meditation and perhaps conversation with their elders.

Healer Tiq Nooz had been the Head Healer amongst the Mind Healers since he had inherited it from his own Master, one whose position and the Mind Healers themselves the Council had been considering disbanding.

Well.

Mace looked to the Rodian in question who had come up to debrief them on the effects of not just Pong Krell's betrayal, but Maul's own difficulty healing on the younglings that Maul himself had saved. There was also young Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi's mental state to think of, Obi-Wan having been the one to watch the fight between Maul and the late Krell through a Ray Shield, completely unable to get to them and help Maul…

From what Mace understood, the sight of Maul utilizing his own intestines had left quite a mark on his psyche, the realization that Maul had nearly died before he…

Grew too angry to die.

And that was another thing that the Council was discussing. The power of the Dark Side to prolong a life beyond when it should…and the way that it had left Maul potentially permanently scarred.

Even so…Mace would be surprised if Maul did not find a way to work beyond it. Indeed, he had heard from Healer Che that his recovery was going very well, better than she had even expected, regardless of how much was spent sleeping… As Maul grew more alert, more able to keep awake it was growing into a bigger problem.

But recovery was still slow, and Maul was going slowly insane.

So, the question as Mace thought it should be…was what could they do to alleviate that boredom? What could they bring or do…or perhaps even ask that would give Maul something else to focus on, something else to truly delve into. They had utilized books and holonovels, but Maul was at the point where it truly seemed like he would rather claw his own skin off than lay in that bed reading… He needed contact, he needed someone to talk to, and Healer Tiq was very busy with all of the younglings that needed him, and while Maul was bored he had at least ceased to have nightmares…

He had ceased to have visions.

And that was another point to think of.

But later. Bite at a time, Windu, he reminded himself… Bite at a time.

Mace had spent time talking to the young man, had taught him of the works of Wither Sententious, a Nightbrother that had been a poet and a playwright instead of what Maul had been so…certain that Nightbrothers had to be, and indeed, had even worked to help form Maul's mental shields once it had been discovered that his own…

Mace had to fight a grimace, thinking of the one thing that had fully encapsulated the brutality and the awful disrespect that had so gone into Maul's Apprenticeship to his now-dead Sith Master. The realization that Maul had holes built within his shields, shields that had been meant to keep his mind safe. Holes that had been so integral to the structure of the shields, that they could be unlocked, and his mind peered into by his Master at a whim…holes that needed to be there or the entire structure fell apart. With the right press of questions, all that had been within Maul could have been seen, and Mace had felt a great amount of satisfaction in helping Maul tear those shields down, and rebuild something that was sure, was solid…

And that brought him to a realization.

Mace had asked Maul once for a trade of knowledge. Mace would teach Maul how to shield… Maul would in turn teach Mace about the Wodza that had lain dormant in Mace's soul for so long he was not sure when it had gotten there, and similarly what it was like without it.

For as long as Mace could remember that whisper of flame, that burning hate had been at the bottom of his heart. A deep hatred for corruption of any kind, something that he had struggled with and finally got the better of. Something that Mace had created Vaapad to deal with…and had now gained a name for in an old Sith Word, an old Sith belief, an old Sith tradition.

A Wodza.

Intestines, Maul had called it, something that you hated so much it was intrinsic to your being, so different from the Chwûq, the embers of hate that could be fed into, and similarly different from Nin, from the petty hate of something that you couldn't let go of but was ultimately not worth your time.

Mace had wanted to know more about his Wodza, more about what it could do, and in the ensuing confusion, the ensuing destruction and attempts to heal themselves…

Mace had never gotten the chance to truly ask.

Here then, was the answer to the question of what Mace could bring to Maul to ask about. Something that Maul would not take as pity, and similarly would be interested in discussing.

Mace waited until Healer Tiq was done with his report and had bowed and left, returning to the Younglings.

Mace stood up.

"My fellow council members…" he said, drawing their attention. "I may have an idea."

Maul lay on the bed in the Halls of Healing that Healer Che had claimed was his bed…staring up at the ceiling, his stomach turning in knots within him, and the idle thought running through his mind that if he knew that recovery after having his abdominal wall cut through and subsequently using his own intestines to choke someone would have been this tedious…he likely would have just decided to die.

If the discomfort wasn't enough - and it was an awful sort of nauseating and stabbing that caused him to want to throw up, and then made him want to writhe - the inability to eat spice while his guts healed, the physical therapy that was working on bringing him up to full-strength and still hurt in a way it had no right to do so, and the daily injections before he ate made it into one of the most unpleasant tortures he had ever experienced.

And Maul had gone through actual torture.

What made it worse…in a way he absolutely could not fathom being the case and yet was absurdly true…

Even with all of the pain, all of the physical therapy, all of the bland food and the injections…

Even with all of that…the worst of it was Maul was completely and utterly bored.

He knew that this was likely why he was focusing so much on how utterly miserable he was, but it nonetheless did not change the fact that he was… Miserable. Though truly there were many reasons he should not be.

Healer Che had been working with him, and in her estimation he would not have to remain on the injections forever, and in fact was healing beautifully, quite a large part of that due to those injections… The physical therapy kept him active even as he was aware of the fact that he was… Maul was tired, and it was not getting better.

The Council and…more Jedi than Maul had met before this happened had attempted to visit him, but Maul was firstly quite certain that talking to him right now was a chore, and secondly he was doubly certain that they were busy. Their Training Droids had been compromised, their Temple turned into threat, and one of their own had betrayed them in a way that was…

Cowardly.

They had much else to see to, and Maul did not begrudge the lack of visits. The younglings had appeared a number of times, but always when Maul was asleep - which was a fear in itself. Maul had never slept as hard, but Healer Che denied drugging him, which Maul was not certain was true – and he always received a gift instead of their presence. They were trying not to tire him out, and Maul was tired…

Maul rubbed his face.

Maul was tired of being tired.

The sound of a knock on the door brought Maul's attention to it, sighing listlessly, and giving a brief call of, "Come in."

Mace Windu walked in, carrying a bag with him. The smile that had been on his face shifted a bit upon catching sight of Maul's expression, whatever that may be. Maul did not know.

Mace gave a soft hum, "do you mind if I sit?"

Maul gestured towards the chair next to him, pressing the button to raise himself into an upright position on the bed. He had attempted to sit up under his own power recently and the pain had been so bad he had nearly lost consciousness.

Using his own intestines to strangle someone…the most impressive and utterly disrespectful way to kill someone…awful in consequence.

Unfortunate.

…Would still do it again.

"You're not in the Council Meeting," Maul noted quietly, "I had thought that you were all meeting."

"We were," Mace agreed, "but my particular part ended early, and they all agreed I could do better elsewhere."

"Ah," Maul hummed, "and so you are here. Is this the elsewhere?"

Mace smiled, "Is it? Could you use the company?"

Maul hesitated for a moment and finally sighed. "Please," he said. "I feel more imprisoned than when I was actually imprisoned."

"Can't bounce off the walls this time," Mace noted with an expression that was of the utmost sympathy.

Maul wondered how much of that was feigned, but ultimately… "Yes," he said finally, "the inability to fall into movement is something that has caused me severe discomfort."

"Not a lot to take your mind off the pain, either," Mace sighed. "Well," he smiled, "I come with a potential solution."

"Do you?" Maul asked.

"We made a deal a while ago," Mace said, leaning forward, his fingers laced before him. "I would teach you how to shield, and you…"

"Would teach you about your Wodza," Maul breathed, staring at him with wide eyes.

Mace smiled. "I taught you how to shield. They're good walls, strong walls, and I'm very proud of what you have done with them. But you never had an opportunity to teach me," he said. "What with everything that wound up happening…we never had the chance. But I'm here now, Maul. I mean to make good on my deal. Will you teach me about my Wodza?"

Maul grinned at him, "I would love to."

"I thought you might," Mace said, and the grin on his face was warm. "So," he hummed quietly, "do you want me to give you an idea of what I understand and then go from there?"

"I think that might be a good idea," Maul hummed, frowning. "So, tell me, Jedi, what do you think you know about your Wodza?"

Mace smiled, warm, and tilted his head back slightly, clearly considering. "Well…"

Mace watched Maul as he sat back out of the corner of his eye. The Zabrak was eyeing him with an interested air, yet there was no doubt that Maul looked tired.

Maul was pinched and had nowhere near the amount of color he should have his skin just a bit too bright. Maul was in pain, and Mace could see it.

But he had been asked a question that Mace himself had prompted…

"Wodza is ultimately what makes a Sith a Sith," Mace said finally. "A Jedi can stumble into Chwûq, where they tie their angers and their grievances around their own throat, and it eventually leads to them Falling, but to be Sith is not so much a Falling as it is a belief system in the way of a Jedi. A Wodza allows a Sith to draw power even as the Chwûq within them may fizzle and burn out, or similarly may drive them to further feats of strength…but the Wodza remains. It is poison and it is bile, but it is also stable, and it is what keeps a Sith themselves. It is an intrinsic hate that cannot be shaken. Yours is Chains. Mine is Corruption." Mace tilted his head briefly, "is that right so far?"

"Correct," Maul agreed with a dip of his head, clearly thinking. Mace was patient, he remembered the first time Maul had attempted to explain. There was a lot that Maul had been trained in that was simply innate at this point, something that he had done from his earliest days. The ability to teach, to talk about it to another was not an ability that Maul had cultivated.

Maul had been alone, he'd had no one to teach.

Maul gave a soft hum, and then finally, "you have a Wodza, but you do not use a Wodza. It is not…enough to simply have it and then therefore be Sith," he paused, "clearly," he gestured towards Mace and Mace smiled.

"What, therefore, makes a Wodza Sith?"

"When it is a conduit of the Dark Side," Maul stated.

"Explain."

Maul frowned briefly. "A Sith…does not merely manipulate the Force, they hold it."

"How you broke out of the collar," Mace said softly. He paused. "Were you able to…?"

"No," Maul said, "before I found my Wodza I was still operating under Chwûq. Chwûq can seem like a Wodza, and I can utilize it, but…"

"Eventually it can burn out," Mace blinked. "Then…in giving you access to your Wodza we were giving you the means to escape your chains. You could have broken the collar…at any time."

"Not…entirely," Maul said, shaking his head. "While I had found it, I was often kept from it. It takes time to develop, it takes time to bind enough of the Force to your Wodza that you can break through something like that collar. I was kept from the Force and so I was unable to let it build… If that Sith Pretender had done it earlier, if all of you had not worked so well on convincing me to take the collar off more…if I had not started to habitually wind the Force around my Wodza, it is likely I would not have been able to."

Mace was silent for a moment, taking that in. Maul, in turn, was quiet, letting him process, clearly waiting for his questions.

"I am glad that you had begun to wind the Force," Mace said, "honestly I had no idea that you could hold it within you…" he frowned slightly, thinking. Maul's eyes had been yellow at points towards the end… The yellow of Sith, that inner furnace… "The Force to you is a fire, the Chwûq are the embers that spark, and burn and ultimately influence where your Wodza focuses, but the Wodza itself…is always burning." Mace was quiet for a moment. "I have a Wodza, but I have no Embers…I have no Chwûq."

"You have never allowed yourself to cultivate them," Maul said. "Your Chwûq requires cultivation. It is not Nin, it is not petty, it is not easy. Your Wodza, your…" Maul hesitated, frowning. "If Wodza had a physical equivalent it would likely be a furnace, and your furnace exists, you have all the components of it, you have what can allow you to circulate the rage, the Hate around the body, and similarly what can allow you to keep burning even if your Chwûq grows cold and silent, but it is cool. Even though it burns within you Hot, even though I can recognize it, you keep it isolated and quiet. It is not running. You have done nothing to turn it on."

"Whereas in you it underlies your very basic usage of the Force."

"Yes," Maul said. "It is also why it took me so long to weave it into me. I had to not only create a way to keep it contained, I had to keep it from sparking beyond what I wanted. You…I do not know if you could use it properly. Sticking with the furnace metaphor it may be that what should circulate the heat through you would instead crack under the pressure, and I rather think it would…"

"What happens if that is the case?" Mace asked. "What would it do?"

"You would lose control," Maul said, and the eyes that stared into his own were yellow and piercing and dark.

Mace was silent for a moment taking that in. "A Jedi cannot be a Sith because a Jedi neither cultivates their Chwûq - cultivates their rage, and if they were to somehow blindly realize the existence of their Wodza, if they attempted to fall into it, they would be overtaken. The Force to you is…dangerous. It is something you work to control."

"The Dark is dangerous," Maul corrected softly. "It is…" Maul paused for a moment, thinking. "I believe…in terms of raw power I believe a Sith would outpower a Jedi. One that…was at the same level of experience, at least. For a short time, I think that we would overcome. The problem, I believe, is in the idea of it becoming too much. The Force is big, and it is…" Maul paused. "You…are aware of the fact that I have a link to Eeth and Agen, are you not?"

"I am," Mace said, smiling. "Eeth said it was an accident. But it is not a bad thing. Zabraks tend to thrive on these links from what I understand."

"Yes," Maul said softly, thoughtfully. "But in that link I believe I glimpsed the Force as you see it, as you interact with it. A Sith seeks to contain an infinite. I do not know that it is truly possible…"

"And yet you still attempt to," Mace smiled.

Maul rolled his eyes at him, and Mace laughed. "I do not. Most Sith do not. Though there have been exceptions, and I believe…I believe the Wodza becoming unstable is what caused it."

"Explain?"

"Darth Nihilus," Maul said, frowning.

"Lord of Hunger…" Mace said, "but…wasn't he on the planet Malachor? You spoke of Malachor yourself; your Master took you there… There were ashes…"

"And he survived," Maul said. "He did not become a part of the echo, but he was given Hunger. He was exposed to something that unlocked his Wodza."

"The unlocking of…" Mace paused. "Darth Vectivus spoke at one point of making sure that you did not take more than what you could control, that the Dark would make you pay if you chose to feed upon it for so long…"

"I believe, I may be mistaken, but I believe…that Darth Nihilus was exposed to the infinite, and in this exposure wound up fitting that infinite around his own Wodza, and the Wodza is not built for that. We do not attempt to contain the whole of the Force, though I do think there is a tendency to get greedy, to attempt to grab more than you can, which can cause significant damage to a body, or…in the case of Darth Nihilus cause them to eventually be unable to relegate their own hunger. Darth Nihilus tasted the infinite and in his continued attempts to regain that…"

"Became a devourer of planets," Mace finished, the entirety of what that all meant resting upon him…and Maul nodded.

"Precisely," he said. "But…" Maul's expression twisted. "There is an element of guesswork involved for more than just the fact that I was not there. The Sith have lost…so much. There has been so much lost to us in the ensuing years of slaughter and death and…and the destruction of our artifacts. Our oral histories may be incomplete. They are in fact more likely to be incomplete. I do not know. Perhaps there is another reason for what happened to Darth Nihilus. Whatever the reason I do know that a Wodza has been something that was talked about among the very first of the Sith."

Mace was quiet for a moment, processing. "So," he paused, "how do you draw the Force to you?"

Maul grinned, and the look was sharp – "We feed it."

Mace stared at him for a moment, considering. "You…feed into it, and it feeds you back. You feed your Wodza with Chwûq."

"Yes," Maul said. "Chwûq are what causes the furnace within us to burn. That is what allows us to ultimately control it."

"And that in turn allows you to keep it within you," Mace frowned. "How often are you involved with this?"

"Sith Meditation is the feeding of the furnace."

Mace stared at him for a moment and then finally laughed. "Tiq asked what Sith Meditation was a while ago, I don't know that we ever got an answer, thank you, do you mind if I pass that along?" Maul shook his head in response and Mace smiled and then he paused. "In…everyday usage, how does it work?"

Maul smiled at him, and there was amusement and something sharp in the look. "Are you my Apprentice?"

"Mm…no," Mace answered.

"Then not telling," and the grin grew wider.

Mace found himself laughing again and nodded. "I did only ask to talk about my Wodza," he said. "Thank you."

"Do…you want to learn how to use it?"

Mace blinked, and for just a moment he thought. "You know, it's funny, but I had not expected that question," he said. "My knee-jerk response is no, but I am going to think about it, get the opinions of the other Masters and come back to you. It's nothing like our own philosophy and I do not know if I want to make that step."

"Understandable," Maul said.

"Now," Mace said, "I do have another question."

"Yes?"

"Do you believe that part of the reason your Wodza seeks to devour, seeks to overpower, and can overpower you if you aren't careful, if the reason the Force becomes dangerous…is because of what you feed it?" Mace asked. "Do you think that if you were to utilize something else as Chwûq for an extended period, do you think that you would be able to create something that did not attempt to devour? That could in fact be something that seeks to heal or save?"

Maul was quiet for a long moment, and finally, quietly, "I have wondered. But I am not in a state where I feel up for attempting. More…" his eyes closed for a moment, "I do not feel…like attempting to feed it with the good things that I have."

"You're in a lot of pain," Mace said, gentle, watching as Maul nodded.

"But…" Maul said finally, quietly, "at some point…at some point I hope to be able to give you an answer. I have noticed…that when I have attempted to utilize positive things…things like…like a hug, or Tiq calling my Master a bitch," Maul grinned roughly and Mace chuckled softly, "when I use those things it does feel different. I wonder if it would cause the Force to react differently as well. Perhaps we do not need to use something that is intended to devour…"

Mace nodded and reached out, putting his hand closer to Maul's shoulder than he usually would, Maul not having to lean overly far in order to lean into it, which he did. Mace squeezed.

"Thank you," Mace said, "for the lesson."

"You are welcome," Maul said. "Do you have anything else that you are meant to be doing?"

"Well," Mace hummed, "not really. Which brings me to another question," he smiled and pulled a game out of Dejarik from his bag, grinning, "do you want to play?"

"I will eviscerate you."

Mace laughed until he cried.

Maul in turn gave him a harder run than he had expected.

It was good.

"Oh," Maul said idly, raising an eyebrow at Obi-Wan imperiously from where he sat on the floor next to the bed. Obi-Wan would have been perhaps more impressed, or even hesitant, had he not heard Maul fall to the ground not even a few seconds before he opened the door. Obi-Wan did not make notice of Maul's position, or even of the way he shifted himself, the pained hand placed to his stomach as he levered himself further upright… "It is you," Maul concluded with that particular tone that he tended to use only when talking to Obi-Wan himself.

Obi-Wan had long chosen to be flattered at the distinction.

"It is me," Obi-Wan agreed, a smile on his face. "And it is indeed you. Do you mind if I join you?"

"The floor is free," Maul answered idly, gesturing, and Obi-Wan sat gratefully.

"Thank you," Obi-Wan said, smiling. Maul looked at him a bit like he hadn't expected Obi-Wan to take him up on it, which naturally made Obi-Wan's smile wider. Maul didn't seem to like that. Obi-Wan hummed quietly, looking around at the room that had been made into Maul's for however long it took before Vokara released him.

Obi-Wan had heard rumors of his release happening in a couple of weeks, but he had also heard possibility of a couple months.

He hoped it was a couple of weeks, the room really was rather…depressing. There were the presents from the younglings of course, but they had been delegated to one corner of the room, and the rest was very utilitarian and even… Well. That was why he had come to visit.

Obi-Wan looked at him for a moment. "Have you been healing well?"

"I am no longer experiencing tearing," Maul answered dryly.

"Tearing," Obi-Wan repeated, momentarily horrified.

"Tearing," Maul hummed, grinning, "due to the nature of the injury there were places that were…thin, perhaps, is a good explanation. And it was likely for these places to tear. I had a few days where there were spots of blood appearing. They were rather…alarming."

"I can barely imagine," Obi-Wan mumbled, "truthfully I'd rather not."

Maul was quiet, "I do not wish for you to. It is…it has not been a good time, in all honesty, Kenobi. I suppose I appreciate you reminding me what I was, but…I believe this has been the worst recovery I have ever gone through."

"I can't admit to being surprised," Obi-Wan said. "I do not know if it will help, but I am still periodically having nightmares about it."

Maul blinked at him. "Are you hoping that your discomfort will make me feel better?"

"…When you put it like that perhaps not."

Maul laughed.

Obi-Wan found himself grinning, tilting his head back against the bed, letting the silence finally settle.

The lights were dim and Obi-Wan had to wonder if it was because Maul had been considering sleep, or perhaps the Nightbrother merely preferred it like this… Obi-Wan wondered whether or not Maul would want a holoprojector or something. Perhaps he liked Dejarik? It wasn't right that Maul was so alone.

Not after everything he had gone through, everything that had happened to bring him to this point.

"You know…" Obi-Wan hummed, "if you think about it, you've come quite far."

"Oh, indeed?" Maul sked, "enlighten me."

"You started last year being in a cell…being our enemy, hating us… And now you are having a conversation with a Jedi and you're in our Healing Halls after saving our Younglings." Obi-Wan paused. "You are still a Sith," he grinned, and Maul rolled his eyes, "but…you have proven your hypothesis. You've proven what I didn't believe to be true. I admit to being wrong about the Sith, and I admit to being wrong about you."

Maul paused, eyeing him for a moment. "Is that supposed to impress me?"

Obi-Wan laughed. "Perhaps not," Obi-Wan grinned, "but I thought perhaps a bit of 'I told you so' would not go remiss?"

Maul hesitated. "I did tell you so," Maul sniffed. "But I am not at the point where I need your validation. I knew I was right. The fact that it took so long for you to realize that does not say anything upon myself."

Obi-Wan grinned, "well, I believe I know who I can talk to if I ever find myself succumbing to pride."

"Pride in what?"

Obi-Wan laughed so hard he cried. "Gracious, I almost regret coming in here, if I knew that you would merely insult me."

Maul grinned at him, seemed ready to say something else, and then his expression dimmed. "Perhaps you are right," he said softly. "Maybe we should talk about something else?"

"Oh, by all means, did you have anything you wished to say?"

Maul hesitated for a moment, clearly thinking, his head slowly tilting back. "I do not know if it is a wish," he said, "and I do not know what use it is…"

"Please," Obi-Wan said, "I am listening. You'd find if you let me that I am quite good at it."

Maul eyed him for a moment before smirking and returning his gaze to the ceiling. "Very well, Kenobi, I believe at this point I want to talk about death."

Obi-Wan looked at the young man who was perhaps eighteen if that, thought of all that Maul had been through, the scars that he could see even now lining Maul's face, thought of the one that he knew cut through Maul's middle, and gave a soft hum. "I could understand the desire to speak about that," Obi-Wan finally said, his voice quiet.

"I have seen it many times, watched it dance before me and caused it in so many others, but this is perhaps the closest I have gotten to it. Even after my Master lowered me towards boiling acid, and threw me out on the surface of a planet that was inhospitable towards me, and sent me to destabilize entire Criminal Empires…" Maul grinned roughly, "it is funny that it was a Sith Pretender that made the best attempt at it…"

"It's rather remarkable really that you wound up surviving," Obi-Wan said, his brows rising. "Even with my own encouragement…you stood up to a Jedi Master with two blades…four blades if you wish to get technical. Four blades…and none of your own."

"I did," Maul said softly, and there was a feeling of burning contentment in Maul's aura, the Heat that made him thrumming. "I certainly did…"

"But please, continue…?"

Maul hummed, and softly, "I have been put in a position where I find that most of what I can do is think, Kenobi, and among other things, the one thought I find myself circling around the most is wondering where I would have wound up if none of this had happened… If you had not slipped into the Dark, if I had not felt it…" Maul's gaze slid to his then, his head still tilted towards the ceiling, those two golden eyes piercing as they stared at him, yellow glinting bright. "If you had not managed to capture me, and I was not brought here, Kenobi…" and those eyes were dreadful, piercing, violent… "I think I would have died in a desert… And I think you would have killed me."

For a moment Obi-Wan's breath stilled in his lungs, the power of that stare, the quiet conviction of the words, the utter… Maul had visions, Obi-Wan knew. Maul was an uncommonly strong vessel for the Living Force, he had visions, Maul had seen the fight, was aware of the attack on the Jedi, he…

"Maul…" Obi-Wan whispered, "Maul how…how do you know this? Did…did you see it?"

Maul stared at him for a moment, and then his face split into a grin. "No."

And then, alarmingly, and yet equally relieving, Maul began to laugh.

"Maul!" Obi-Wan called out, "Maul, that's utterly…that's awful! I thought you were having awful visions again!?"

Maul seemed to laugh harder.

"I don't want to be the one that kills you?"

Maul fell over sideways, utterly cackling, and Obi-Wan found himself somewhere between amused and offended.

"That's terrible!" Obi-Wan managed again over Maul's pained hissings when Maul finally stopped laughing, rubbing at his stomach, but still smiling, "I can't…where did that even come from? Did you just make it up? Why would it be me that killed you? Why not my Master? Why the Desert?"

Maul snorted. "I do not know, Kenobi," he grinned, "at least…" he paused, "not about all of it. I do know…" Maul was quiet for a moment. "I would have killed Qui-Gon."

Obi-Wan blinked.

"I am sorry, but it is true," Maul said softly, "I could feel it when we were fighting. I do not…" Maul paused. "It is interesting now that I find myself accepting the fact that I have visions to a certain extent I begin to see them more often… I knew that I would kill your Master. You?" Maul looked at him for a moment. "The outcome was uncertain."

"Did…" Obi-Wan swallowed, "did you see a void?"

Maul smiled, "it was dark, but it was not…death, I do not think. It was pain. It was Dark." He shrugged idly. "Of all the ways, however, I still think being cut in half would perhaps be the worst. Though if you cut me in half, I would be quite mad at you."

"Maul…" Obi-Wan blinked, "if I had cut you in half, you would have been dead?"

Maul laughed, "how quickly you forget that I am too angry to die. If you had done such a thing, I would have found a way to cobble together a new lower half, and then I would have hunted you for the rest of my days~"

"Not mine?" Obi-Wan asked.

Maul's smile shifted, died. "I know what I was, Kenobi. I know where my weaknesses lay, and they were…more deeply engrained than I wish to admit. As I was…you would have eventually proven the victor… Though I would have taken much from you in revenge, I believe."

Obi-Wan was silent for a moment, taking all of that in, for a moment struck by the utter… Obi-Wan looked to Maul that was sitting next to him, the one that had closed his eyes after his small speech and had tilted his chin up towards the ceiling yet again. "That's…incredibly sad, I believe," Obi-Wan said softly.

Maul opened his eyes, blinked…and then blinked again, eyeing him with a frown. "Kenobi, I would have been trying to kill you."

"Perhaps," Obi-Wan said. "But I know you now…and more importantly I know what you came from and why you…" Obi-Wan paused. "It would have been a tragedy. I would have found no joy in it…at least…providing I knew, or learned the truth…"

Obi-Wan looked to the one that he had begun to see in the same way as some of his fellow Knights, a brother in an Order that they did not share, but nonetheless… A younger brother…someone to tease and yet also guide… It was a bleak picture Maul had painted, one that he found he did not wish to spend much time thinking about. It was not possible now, no reason for either of them to believe it would ever be the case.

Maul had given his physical wellbeing and health for the Jedi. Obi-Wan could not imagine that Maul would go back on that willingly.

And it was a lot of work to change Maul's mind.

And then he became aware of the way Maul was eyeing him, the fact that Obi-Wan had remained silent for so long, but before he could say a word to explain or apologize…

"I regret bringing this up," Maul stated primly, "it was supposed to be funny and now you are looking like you wish to hug me. The answer to that question is no, you may NOT."

Obi-Wan felt a grin spread across his mouth, "I would never dream of it while you are recovering."

"You cannot do so afterwards, either!" Maul snapped, and Obi-Wan could not help but laugh.

He laughed for that and the way that Maul was looking at him, the look almost imperiously annoyed, slowly shifting to something like bafflement, and finally, Maul sighed, and leaned back.

"I don't…" Obi-Wan swallowed, fighting back the laughter, "I don't know how you thought… Maul, really, you sat here and went 'I know what will be funny, I will make up a scenario where he's the one to kill me in the middle of the desert…that'll be…that'll be hilarious," Obi-Wan practically squeaked, and immediately fell into loud laughter afterwards.

Maul huffed, his head tilting up imperiously, "Clearly it worked, or you would not be laughing so hard."

Obi-Wan found himself laughing harder.

"Alright," he said, "I'll admit it, I did find that funny after the fact. But you perhaps shouldn't lead with that." Obi-Wan paused for a moment, looking at him, "Have you been dreaming of a desert?"

Maul frowned at him, before finally sighing. "It was an old dream. I did not know what it meant. I did not see anyone and felt nothing but…peace. And perhaps something…" Maul hesitated. "Something perhaps like hope."

"Why…why would you feel peace if you were dying Maul?"

"When else would I feel peace, Kenobi, when peace is a lie?"

Obi-Wan grinned. "An astute response, I should have seen it coming."

"Indeed," Maul responded, his voice heavy and unamused.

Obi-Wan huffed. "Well," he said, smiling, "I cannot blame you for being what you are. Though I would ask, do you think you would like there to be peace?"

"Peace only exists when you fight for it," Maul said. "Either that or you are dead. It is not something that exists in a vacuum…it is not something that is an innate state. Even the Universe ultimately fights to revert to chaos. It is the natural order of things. You may have passion enough to pursue peace…but you are certainly forcing it into existence."

Obi-Wan took in the statement, considering quietly, and finally had to smile. "I must say," he said softly, "talking to you always has proven to be most interesting. You have a perspective that I find refreshing."

Maul blinked at him. "I…" he paused, clearly unsure what to say, how to respond, and finally, "I do not know…how to respond to that."

"Well, there's certainly 'oh, thank you Obi-Wan, I find it interesting to talk to you as well, if only because it allows me to affirm my stance,' or 'thank you, Obi-Wan, I appreciate you taking the time to talk to me as well,' or, perhaps, 'thank you, Obi-Wan, I always appreciate watching you make a fool of yourself.'"

Maul blinked, surprise clear on his face, before that surprise pulled into a grin, and he finally threw his head back and laughed. Obi-Wan could see the pain that creased his face briefly, could see the way his hand pressed to his stomach, and felt a grimace pull at his mouth. He didn't like the fact that it was clearly so painful. "I perhaps might like the last option," Maul finally said, grinning.

"I thought you might," Obi-Wan smiled. Maul was clearly not worried about it. Obi-Wan would not be, either…unless Maul started bleeding again. "How are you recovering?"

Maul sighed. "I am…getting there. I have been approved for light exercise, and I have been attempting to do so…the problem is Healer Che's version of light and mine do not entirely align. I, of course, should perhaps be listening to her, but I…" Maul rubbed at his face. "It is hard."

"It is a lifetime of expectations weighed against a singular voice," Obi-Wan said. "It's understandable you'd find it difficult. You are walking though?"

"Yes," Maul nodded, "and running to a certain extent. My ability to touch my toes has been severely limited, however. As has my ability to jump just yet. I am no longer tearing, but we are attempting to get the wound a bit more healed before I am fully cleared to try and…" he paused, "well. Regain what I have lost."

"Will there be work to regain your flexibility, then?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Yes," Maul said, "first we need to work to soften the scar and it is…" Maul hesitated, "scar tissue is hard and in my case, it runs deep, but we have been working on healing it from the inside out. It is why there are injections, we are forcing the bacta to where it is needed. It's been slowly detaching the scar tissue from my abdominal wall as it heals. That's what we are working on the most here, and also why I am working to avoid doing heavier exercise. I can potentially aggravate it, and that would ruin all the work we have done."

"That sounds like an utter pain."

"It is," Maul agreed. "But…I am doing much better. Healer Che says I should be out next week."

"Next week?" Obi-Wan said, delight spreading, "I had heard it may be longer!"

"The full injury recovery will take longer," Maul agreed, "but I will finally be released from the Healing Halls next week. Healer Che is not allowing me out until she believes I am no longer in danger of splitting it open, and by that time it should have released enough of the tissue, and be solid enough that even if I push myself, it will not tear. I will still have injections, but it will not be as dangerous."

"That's wonderful!" Obi-Wan grinned, "I have to imagine getting out of here will be a relief."

"I am so very tired of these four walls, Kenobi," Maul sighed, and Obi-Wan nodded.

"I bet," he agreed, "you've been going from prison cell to prison cell for entirely too long. But! You will be able to go back to your own room, soon."

"It is true," Maul sighed, and Obi-Wan could see how much he wished for it. "Healer Che thought I might be too tempted to do something I should not in my own room… She was right."

Obi-Wan laughed, "she usually knows what she is talking about. Now…and I mean no insult, of course, but I could not help but notice…I do not think you wanted to be on the floor. Before I leave, would you like for me to help you up?"

Maul's expression turned dark, his eyes narrowing as he eyed him. Obi-Wan kept his expression even, not once allowing himself to appear as though he thought that Maul was weak in any way for it.

It was an easy thing to do. Maul was absolutely not weak.

Apparently satisfied, Maul sighed, heavy. "Please," he said, "I find it a bit difficult to rise without pulling something, and I am doing my best to avoid pulling. If you can help support me…"

Obi-Wan worked his arm underneath Maul's own, carefully helping him to stand up without bending, or utilizing his muscles as much as he would if he stood up on his own, taking most of his weight. When Maul was standing Obi-Wan let go, eyeing him for any hint of pain, and luckily finding none. Maul dipped his head in a thanks, and Obi-Wan dipped his head in turn.

"It was good to talk to you, Maul, I will be back soon. Do you like Dejarik?"

"I will destroy you," Maul stated, and Obi-Wan laughed.

"Very well! I shall bring it on my next visit," he smiled, "I believe Qui-Gon plans to bring Anakin soon, if you are up to it. I came to ask if you would mind, I know Anakin can be a bit…excitable, and I did not know how far along you were in your recovery."

There was a pause, Maul clearly thinking, and then he finally nodded. "I believe I will be up to seeing them. Though…can you ask him not to jump on me?"

Obi-Wan laughed and clapped his shoulder gently. "I will. It was good to talk to you, Maul, I will bring the game next time."

"I will beat you then," Maul returned and Obi-Wan raised a teasing eyebrow.

"We will certainly see," and left.

Obi-Wan smiled to himself as he left to talk to Qui-Gon. It had actually been a reasonably nice visit. He was pleased that Maul was healing, and really…Tiq had been right. The more he saw that Maul was alive and healing, the less the image of him lying in a pool of blood and the feel of his hands… Obi-Wan flexed his fingers briefly, working to banish the sensation.

Step at a time, he remembered, step at a time.

Maul was alright and so was he. The next time this happened Obi-Wan would do his best to make sure that he was not left standing on the other side of a ray shield.

Obi-Wan would hope, however, that whatever he would be facing would go much better for him.

As it was… Maul was doing better, and he would be released in a week. Obi-Wan had a few people to inform about that. It was definitely some of the best news that he had heard in a long time.