Fun times with Ventress and a psychologist, woohoo.
((Please dont feel upset if you're, I dunno, a psychologist or something. I just have a rather low opinion of the profession ((probably because it was used as a threat when I was younger: "If you don't stop that RIGHT NOW we're taking you to see a psychologist." Me: *stops*)) and so I have created a rather... psycho psychologist. Just enjoy this rather interesting character, because she will be coming back XD))
"I told you, it's because of the caffeine incident."
"I think they're just suspicious of me."
Obi-wan sighed. "That may be. But in all honesty, I don't blame them."
"I thought you were on my side here." Ventress gave him an intentionally hurt look.
"I am on your side. I trust you." Obi-wan trusted her. Even if just two days ago they'd fought. Perhaps he was foolish. But she liked it anyway.
"You trust me?"
"With my life." He confirmed.
She was silent for a minute. "Do I have to speak to him?"
"Her, and yes. Mace Windu's suggestions are not to be taken lightly. He wants you to talk to the psychologist. I'm not fond of visiting her either."
"I don't like telling people stuff."
"Why?" This was the exact kind of question Obi-wan would have to ask.
"I don't know. It makes me nervous."
"What could you possibly have to hide?"
Everyone already knew about her past as a Sith apprentice, of course, but no one knew much about her childhood, and her training with Master Ky, and she preferred it stay that way. She didn't like the past, and she didn't want to bring it back up. Not to mention her stupid emotional-ness towards her new master.
She avoded the question. "I have a headache."
"That, my dear, is called a 'caffiene crash'. You can't just drink that much coffee all at once when you've never had it before." At this point, they'd stopped outside a door with the words "Torin Vameo: Temple Psychologist" printed neatly on it. "Now, could you please just behave through the session with Master Vameo? It's only half an hour, and I'll be back for you then."
"I'm not a youngling."
"Yes, but you're still my Padawan, and telling you to behave is my job."
"I'm not that much younger than you."
"I know, I know. Call it habit then. Anakin hated the psychologist, and he used to try to hit her with her own graph-chart-type-thing."
"What a great Padawan he was." Ventress snorted, entering the room.
Sitting at the desk in front of her was a human woman who appeared to be in her mid-forties. Her hair was dark gray and was clipped short, and her eyes were deep green. She had a rather kind, sympathetic look on her glossed lips. "Ah, so you're Asajj Ventress, are you?" Her voice was sweet, rather cutesy.
No, I'm a dancing elf, Ventress thought sarcastically, though she refrained from saying it."Yes."
"So, tell me, why were you sent here?"
"I drank too much coffee this morning."
"And does your master know of this?"
"Oh yes, I hugged him just this morning when I was cranked up on caffeine."
"Caffiene?"
"Caffeine, yes."
"Please have a seat."
Ventress did as instructed, seating herself on the other side of the desk.
"Tell me about your childhood."
"How does this pertain to my caffeine episode?"
"It pertains to everything, deary." Obi-wan often referred to her as "My dear", which she guessed was based on habit, but this was entirely different from "deary". "Deary" bothered her. "My dear" was a completely wonderful name that only Master Kenobi was allowed to call her.
"I was born. I grew up. I became a Jedi. Now I'm here."
The psychologist's voice was suddenly sharp. "Does Master Kenobi teach his Padawans any respect?"
"Of course he does. Obi-wan's a great master." Ventress snapped rather irritated. It was one thing that this so-called expert asked her personal questions and annoyed her, but if this woman thought she could insult Obi-wan and get away with it, boy, she had another think coming.
"My experience begs to differ."
"You can't count Anakin against Obi-wan. Look what he had to work with."
"He has poor taste in Padawans then." The psychologist responded, scribbling on her notepad. Poor taste in… Oooo, she did NOT! Obi-wan's the only one who thinks I have potential, and he's the only one willing to train me. He's the best master anyone could ask for. Admittedly, I'm not the best Padawan. And neither is Anakin. Ok, maybe he does have poor taste in Padawans.
"Could we please get this meeting over with? I'm supposed to talk about my caffeine issues with you."
"Tell. Me. About. Your. Childhood." She insisted.
"I don't want to tell you about my childhood. I want to talk about the caffeine."
"Were you abused as a child?"
"No."
"Did you suffer any kind of trauma?"
Trauma… If by trauma she includes having your parents murdered, then yes. But she's not getting that out of me. "No."
"Did you ever feel unappreciated?"
"No."
"Unwanted?"
"Nope."
"Depressed?"
"No."
"Did you ever-"
"No."
The psychologist cleared her throat. "Alright then, we'll examine your more recent past."
"Why do you assume the problem is in my past?"
"Well, there aren't any problems in this exact moment of time, are there?" Torin smiled sweetly.
Yes, there's one sitting right in front of me. "I guess not."
"So, while working under Dooku, did you ever feel unappreciated?"
There's the understatement of a lifetime. Dooku still hasn't noticed I'm missing… "I suppose."
"Aha! Then there's your answer!"
"So I drank coffee this morning because I was unappreciated by Dooku?"
"Of course! You felt undervalued by your old master, so you're trying to make it up by pleasing your new master."
"Obi-wan?"
"No, a dancing elf." The psychologist replied snidely. "Of course Obi-wan. You feel as though you are not up to his standards, don't you?"
Ventress was disliking this woman more and more. "On the contrary, I feel I've done quite well in Kenobi's eyes."
Torin Vameo ignored her. "So that's why you've been drinking caffeine- you feel it will help you in your training. You strive to be accepted by Master Kenobi!"
Indeed, she did want to be accepted by Kenobi, but it had nothing to do with the coffee incident. "Well, no, I want-"
"You don't want to be accepted? Perhaps more than accepted?"
"More than… what?"
"Yes, it's very clear now. In your hopes that Kenobi would accept you as more than a Padawan despite your unappreciated past, you've taken to caffeine in the hopes that it would improve your outward demeanor!" Asajj stared at her for a moment.
"I didn't know it was caffeinated." She stated slowly.
The other woman looked shattered. "Um… your subconscious knew… which is why you wanted coffee. You subconscious was telling you-"
"I wanted coffee," Ventress interrupted, "because it tastes good."
The psychologist was silent.
"But I didn't know it was caffeinated. So now I have a splitting headache. And you are making it worse."
Torin sat there a moment, unsure of how to respond.
"You know nothing about my mind."
"I know about everyone's mind." She insisted.
"Well, my mind is not everyone's mind. And for the record, I don't care about being accepted by Kenobi, because I do not care about him. Got it?"
Torin grabbed under the desk for a cardboard sheet with a diagram of a brain printed on it. "But your subconscious…"
Ventress wrenched the board out of the psychologist's hands and bopped her over the head with it. "Ow!" The poor master yelped. "Kenobi! Control your apprentice!"
To Asajj's surprise, Obi-wan stood in the doorway, and perhaps it was just her imagination, but he looked a little hurt. Because she'd just announced very loudly right in front of him that she didn't care about him at all. She hadn't meant it. At least, she hadn't meant she didn't care about him, she'd meant that she didn't care about him as a… Oh dear Force this was complicated.
"Ventress, I told you to behave!" he exclaimed.
"She was bothering me!"
"You can't just hit people who bother you! And also, I'd recommend running now." Ventress whirled to see that Torin was pulling out a purple saber. She remembered at that moment that she no longer had sabers of her own.
"Whoops…" Asajj darted out of the room, pausing only to grab Obi-wan's hand and jerk him along. "Come on, you."
"Sorry, Master Vameo!" Obi-wan called over his shoulder as he and Asajj tore down the hallway hand in hand. The psychologist didn't chase them, thankfully; she stood outside her office and watched them go.
Finally they'd stopped running when they were way over by the swimming pool, both of them out of breath. "Never… trust…. A psychologist…" Ventress panted, bent double from a stitch in her side.
"Why not?" Obi-wan inhaled, straightening.
"They have…. 'psycho' right in the… name." She got out between gasps of air.
Kenobi found enough air left in his lungs to laugh.
Asajj Ventress: 1
Torin the Psychologist: 0
Torin will be back- most likely she's also the Temple's "councelor", which means she'll also try to fill the role of "relationship councelor" by asking Obi-wan embarrassing personal questions which Asajj will answer with her usual cluelessness. Because Torin is convinced there's a relationship there. ((And here we thought she was psycho- she's actually pretty perceptive!))
