Chapter 33

Author's note: This chapter contains a special goodie for you: Finally, the answer to the hairy question of what (aside from the obvious reason of making him look older) made Obi-Wan grow a beard, of all things! I hope you'll like my explanation for that.

Disclaimer: Possession is forbidden for a Jedi ;-P

oOo

Obi-Wan waited until the newly elected Chancellor was out of earshot before talking again. For some reason, that man made his skin crawl with uneasiness. Obi-Wan blamed it on a fit of irrational paranoia probably caused by Qui-Gon's death – why else would he get the feeling that the Chancellor of the Republic wanted to take over the whole Galaxy? How did that make sense when Palpatine already ruled the majority of it?

The Padawan tried to get through the Council Members who were effectively shielding Master Yoda. There was no way of approaching the venerable green Master respectfully when he would have to talk over Master Windu's and Master Mundi's heads to do it, not that he would have been able to do that, anyway. Unfortunately, there was also no way to squeeze through the seemingly impenetrable wall of Council Members respectfully. Obi-Wan, and therefore by default, also Anakin, were trailing behind them, distantly reminding Mace of lost dogs trailing behind someone who had a morsel of food in his pocket.

The intimidating Master slowed his step so that he walked next to Obi-Wan.

Mace had been shocked by Qui-Gon's death, too. The unconventional Master had been a very good friend of his, even though they had had quite a few quarrels since Mace had been appointed a seat on the Council. But Mace's sorrow paled in comparison to what the small boy at Obi-Wan's side was radiating, and the cool nothingness where Obi-Wan's bright Force presence should have been effectively told the Jedi Master all that the Padawan was hiding behind these strong shields of control.

That alone would have been enough to melt the daunting Master's heart. When he caught the despairing look in Obi-Wan's eyes, he felt like he had to comfort the grieving apprentice and the poor boy at his heels.

"Oh, stop looking like someone rained on your parade. You are a Jedi," he said in the softest, most comforting voice he could manage – which unfortunately was neither very soft nor very comforting. He had mean it as some kind of reassurance both for Obi-Wan and for Anakin, whose place within the Order had not been all that safe the last time they had spoken.

Anakin sniffled loudly, and Obi-Wan's shields only tightened further had his back straightened even more than it already had.

"Sorry, Master Windu," he instantly apologized. "I would like a word with Master Yoda, please."

"Of course, Padawan Kenobi," Master Windu answered. Then he raised his voice and shouted: "Oi, Yoda! Someone here who wants to talk to you!"

The ancient Master slowly turned around – and to both Obi-Wan's and Anakin's eternal surprise shouted back: "Oi, Mace! Who does?"

Before Mace and Yoda could continue their exceedingly and exaggeratedly loud conversation – they were only about five meters apart, and the other Council Members had stepped back once the exchange had begun – Obi-Wan quietly requested: "Master Yoda, may I please have a word with you?"

"Of course, have a word with me, you may," Master Yoda acquiesced, still talking a bit louder than strictly necessary. "Which word is it you want to have with me?"

For a moment the Padawan looked taken aback before he carefully answered: "Um, actually, it's more than just one word, Master Yoda. It's more like a few sentences, or rather a whole conversation, if you don't mind."

Obi-Wan was incredibly relieved when Master Yoda simply agreed to that without further complications.

"Use this room here, we shall," Yoda decreed, randomly pointing at one of the doors in the vicinity.

Anakin, who had been watching the exchange with curiosity and mounting frustration – to him, it seemed the whole Council was a bit slow on the uptake – shouted exasperatedly: "No, you can't go in there. It's the girl's bathroom. Men and ugly little green shrimpy thingies are not allowed in there."

Obi-Wan gave him an admonishing glare, but before he could say a word, Master Yoda started chuckling. It was a strange, gravelly sound, and it took a moment before Anakin could identify it as an expression of amusement.

"Right you are, young Skywalker," Yoda agreed. "But I think that not many would agree with your description of young Obi-Wan. Certain, I am, that call him an ugly green shrimpy little thingy, the handmaidens would not."

For a second, complete silence ruled in the hallway. The look of reproach on Obi-Wan's face turned into one of astonishment and embarrassment. Anakin's face split in a wide if still somewhat shaky grin, both for getting away with his insolence and because he imagined Obi-Wan as some kind of Yoda-like creature, but with a shock of red hair and a deadly serious expression on his pea-coloured face as he taught Anakin about the Jedi Code in the green Master's characteristic backward syntax.

Mace unsuccessfully tried to stifle a giggle, but he wasn't very successful – the sound that eventually escaped him despite his best efforts sounded like something halfway between a snort and a squeak. The other Council Members were shocked and outraged by this boy's impertinence to different degrees. While Master Mundi looked about ready to bite Anakin's head off for the remark, Master Yaddle was barely perturbed, probably because she was rather fond of ugly little green shrimpy thingies and besides, she was one herself, so she didn't consider calling people one an insult.

A loud "Harrumph!" from Yoda thankfully put an end to the dreadfully embarrassing moment.

"Go in here, then, we shall," the diminutive Master decided, and hobbled into the empty room he had indicated, dismissing the rest of the Council with a flick of his wrist and leaving it to Obi-Wan to follow him.

The Padawan quickly turned to Anakin and told him to find Padmé or her handmaidens, who had grown quite fond of the boy and thus would surely take care of him until Obi-Wan returned. Then, he hurriedly followed the venerable Master. If he had turned around, he could have seen Anakin skipping off towards the throne room, his sadness about Qui-Gon's death already replaced by elation. Obi-Wan had said that the handmaidens had grown fond of him! Anakin wondered if that included Padmé, too. Maybe there was still a chance of him marrying her, despite Obi-Wan's good looks and the magical attraction most females felt for him.

oOo

The room Yoda had chosen for their conversation was a high-ceilinged chamber with a stunning view over the spectacular landscape Naboo had to offer – a view that was entirely lost on both Obi-Wan, who was much too troubled to notice anything like that, and on Yoda, too, because he wasn't tall enough to look over the windowsills, although they were set pretty low in the wall.

Obi-Wan kneeled down near the middle of the pattern created by different kinds of marble artistically inlaid in the floor and respectfully waited for the old Master to start the conversation. It was a gesture of respect and humility towards Yoda – Obi-Wan imagined that it was not exactly pleasant to look up someone's nostrils if you wanted to look them in the face – and would hopefully keep the little green devil from whacking his shins with that infernal stick he suspected Yoda carried solely for this very reason.

Yoda shuffled around the kneeling Padawan a few times. There were quite a few important things he needed to tell Obi-Wan, and he wanted to do it right, with as little backwards talk as possible.

He harrumphed a few more times, thinking about what he should tell Obi-Wan, and how he should do it.

Then, he decided to buy himself some more time by letting Obi-Wan talk first.

"Talk to me, you wanted?" he asked, prompting the Padawan.

"Yes, Master Yoda. I wanted to talk to you about Anakin."

Yoda seemed not exactly pleased by Obi-Wan's choice of topic, but the Padawan was undeterred.

"With his last words, Master Qui-Gon asked me to train Anakin as my Padawan, and I intend to honour that promise," Obi-Wan said, glad that his voice didn't waver when he said his Master's name.

Obi-Wan was not exactly happy with the situation he found himself in. He was not even a Knight yet, and already he wanted to take on a Padawan. Qui-Gon must have had more of an effect on him that he had thought, because here he was, already getting in trouble with the Council when he had vowed that he had had more than his fair share of that as Qui-Gon's Padawan and would never deliberately incense the august Members of the Jedi High Council. If he could honour his Master's memory with his defiance, though, he was willing to even face the wrath of the entire Council.

This time, Yoda's harrumph sounded undeniably displeased. It was quickly followed by a resigned sigh. Now that Qui-Gon was dead, it was finally time to tell Obi-Wan. The reason for the prolonged silence about Obi-Wan's knighting, which had been way overdue anyway, was literally gone. Still, Yoda had no intention of letting him know that he had passed his trials a few years ago. The less Obi-Wan knew about that, the better.

"Confer on you the level of Jedi Knight, the Council does," Yoda finally blurted out. It was the truth, from a certain point of view, after all, though most certainly not in the way Obi-Wan would assume.

These words which Obi-Wan had anticipated for so long completely failed to cause the feelings he had always imagined would accompany them. Now that he had finally been knighted, Obi-Wan thought that he would gladly have stayed a Padawan until his hair turned grey if that meant he could have spent the years at Qui-Gon's side.

And didn't becoming a Knight require actual trials? To his knowledge, Obi-Wan hadn't passed a single one of them. When he said as much, though, Yoda simply waved his concerns aside.

"Passed your trials, you have. The fight with the Sith alone, count as trial it would," Yoda firmly stated, once again narrowly skirting around telling the young Jedi the complete truth. Yoda's stick rapped on the ground threateningly. Obi-Wan was quite sure that the next thing to be rapped would be his shins.

Obi-Wan was willing to concede that his battle with the Sith might count as the Trials of Skill and Courage – it was quite common practice that these traits were tested by a fight against the simulacrum of one or multiple Sith. Still, he hadn't felt very skilful during the battle, but more like an inexperienced youngling getting distracted by just about everything from the tiger's corpse to his own wayward concerns, and no matter from which point of view he looked at it, he couldn't find any skill in the way he had allowed the Sith to throw him into abysses not once but twice.

It had definitely been a Trial of Spirit, though. Obi-Wan had been faced with his two innermost fears, both of which centred around Qui-Gon. After the difficult start of their relationship as Master and Padawan, and especially after that episode in the Council Chamber where Qui-Gon wanted to replace him, Obi-Wan had dreaded another rejection by his Master. Still, that fear paled in comparison to the terror of losing Qui-Gon. Obi-Wan had certainly faced both of these fears again during the last few hours, but unlike that battle with the Sith, the battle with his emotions was far from over.

Also, if that fight should have been his Trials of Insight, Obi-Wan thought that he had failed abysmally. He hadn't seen the danger Qui-Gon was in, and he had only figured out the mechanism of the ray shields as it was too late. The golden plaque telling about the characteristics had gone completely unnoticed in the heat of battle, and only as he passed it the third time had Obi-Wan finally read it. If he had walked towards the fight more sedately, he wouldn't have been locked between the laser gates at all.

The most debatable one would be the Trial of the Flesh, though. Surely, a few bruises couldn't count as an appropriate trial, be they shaped like the sole of a Sithly boot or not.

When Obi-Wan objected and asked for the real, official trials, though, Yoda flat-out denied him. What the newly made Knight couldn't know as no one had informed him about it was that he had passed all of his Trials years ago, and so he couldn't retake them. Yoda had to think of something else to do, then, because he wasn't willing to tell Obi-Wan the truthful truth instead of the truth from a certain, very convenient point of view.

The ancient green Master hobbled to and fro a few times in front of Obi-Wan, sighing and harrumphing a lot. Suddenly, his eyes lit up.

He hobbled towards Obi-Wan, who was still kneeling on the floor, and asked him: "Really want to take young Skywalker as your apprentice, you do?"

Even before he had finished the question, Yoda swung his walking stick and forcefully hit Obi-Wan's shin with it.

Yoda thought that the loud crack echoing through the chamber sounded quite satisfying.

Obi-Wan begged to differ. He rubbed his aching shins, wondering what on Coruscant that had been for. Still, one could never be too sure of that with the wrinkly green one, and Obi-Wan had long suspected that Yoda got some twisted sense of sadistic pleasure from randomly thwacking people. It was probably one of the quirks he had developed with increasing age – and, as was sometimes whispered, with increasing senility.

Still rubbing his protesting shins, Obi-Wan simply answered: "Yes, Master Yoda."

The wrinkly face of Master Yoda got even more wrinkly when it split into a smile.

"Good," he said. "Shown determination, you have, in the face of great pain. Pass the Trial of the Flesh, you just did."

Obi-Wan didn't quite know what to make of that. But although he wanted to have real trials, not only because he hoped that then he would feel more like an actual knight, but also because then nobody – especially not he himself – could possibly ever doubt his status as a Jedi Knight, Obi-Wan decided not to argue with Master Yoda any more than absolutely necessary. Still, it seemed that arguing was in order anyway, since Master Yoda continued:

"But agree with your taking this boy as your Padawan learner, I do not."

Obi-Wan had feared something like that might happen. Suddenly, he found himself fighting to take on a Padawan when he was still unsure and unconvinced that he could deal with one.

He still had a very bad feeling about Anakin becoming a Jedi – but he had promised Qui-Gon. No bad feeling in the entire galaxy would keep him from fulfilling Qui-Gon's last wish.

"Qui-Gon believed in him," Obi-Wan countered. That, at least, was something he could say with conviction – unlike anything else pertaining to Anakin, of which Obi-Wan was not sure at all.

Yoda sighed deeply. It seemed that Obi-Wan was determined to follow in his Master's footsteps when it came to being a nuisance to both the Council as a whole and the Councillors as individuals. And Yoda feared that as Qui-Gon's Padawan, Obi-Wan had learned from the best.

"The Chosen One the boy may be," Yoda conceded, mostly because he knew that he couldn't really do anything against Qui-Gon's renowned obstinacy, not even if an echo of it lived on in Qui-Gon's Padawan.

"Nevertheless," he continued, "grave danger I fear in his training."

Although inwardly Obi-Wan could understand and even agree with Master Yoda's opinion, to the outside he still presented that cool façade of emotionless calm. He didn't want to argue with the head of the Council about something he was still uncertain of. He was also not convinced that it was a good idea to train Anakin, but since Qui-Gon's death that had become irrelevant. He would do it, and he would do his best in a situation that was new and confusing and that he was neither prepared for nor experienced enough to deal with.

"Master Yoda, I gave Qui-Gon my word. I will train Anakin!" Obi-Wan stated adamantly. "Without the approval of the Council, if I must," he answered to Yoda's grunt of disapproval.

There, he had said it. May Yoda chastise him for his attachment or scold him for his rebelliousness, he would not back down. The decision had been instantaneous, for once without thinking about the pros and cons and the consequences. He would fulfil Qui-Gon's last wish.

"I will do what I must," he added for good measure. He wanted this to be clear: if the Council didn't allow him to train Anakin, he would even leave the Order if that was necessary to fulfil Qui-Gon's last wish.

"Qui-Gon's defiance, I sense in you," Yoda remarked. Now was the time for the second thing Yoda needed to talk about with Obi-Wan. "Need that, you do not. Belong to you, it does not. Give it back, you must. Belong to young Skywalker, it does. Inherited it from Qui-Gon, Anakin has."

The emotionless mask on Obi-Wan's face disappeared and was replaced by a frown of bewilderment.

"What do you mean, Master Yoda?" he asked, clearly puzzled.

Yoda drew a rolled sheet of flimsiplast from his robe. Slowly, he unrolled it and loudly cleared his throat. "Qui-Gon's last will and testament, this is. State who gets which of his possessions, it does."

"I was not aware that Qui-Gon had written a testament," Obi-Wan said. Not that there were all that many possessions to bequeath, anyway. Jedi didn't have possessions except for the few odd personal belongings, and Qui-Gon had been no exception, except that maybe his personal belongings were a bit odder than the average.

"Yes, he did," Yoda affirmed.

Yoda handed the sheet of paper to Obi-Wan. Hesitantly, he took it.

Qui-Gon's scrawl covered most of the page; it seemed there were quite a few things the Master had wanted to say after joining the Force. Obi-Wan, according to the testament, had inherited Qui-Gon's lightsaber, for which he was grateful since his own weapon was oscillating somewhere between the two ends of the bottomless pit that spanned the whole diameter of Naboo. Also, he got Qui-Gon's collection of pictures of all the pathetic life forms he had picked up during his life, as well as responsibility for any Chosen Ones under Qui-Gon's care at the time of his death. Thankfully, that did not include Jar Jar, because Qui-Gon had never officially declared the Gungan another potential Chosen One. Obi-Wan thanked the Force for small favours.

A recent addition to the testament stated that Obi-Wan was also to get the deed for the time-sharing hut somewhere in the Dune Sea of Tatooine, to be used in about fifteen year's time. It seemed Ben the real estate agent had managed to sell that one after all, and for 20,000 Republic credits, no less. Obi-Wan wondered where a Jedi might have gotten that much money. Then again, since Qui-Gon had violated almost every single one of the Jedi tenets at some point, it was not surprising that he had ignored the one that forbade possession, too.

He read the next paragraph, which, despite the tumultuous emotions still raging inside him, made Obi-Wan stifle a laugh.

It seemed Qui-Gon had bequeathed his second-best wig to Mace Windu, his best friend on the Council, because the honoured Master was obviously a bit short on hair. His best wig was to be burned with him, so that Qui-Gon could look gorgeous and distinguished even in death.

Obi-Wan was familiar with his Master's second-best wig. It was a bundle of tangled, roughly shoulder-length and dull brown shaggy hair that looked more like the rear end of a Wookie than an actual toupee. Alone the image of Mace wearing that wig, a deadly serious expression on his darkly glowering face almost shattered Obi-Wan's self-control.

It seemed Qui-Gon did have a sense of humour, after all.

Obi-Wan's smile wavered precariously, though, when he read that Qui-Gon had also seen fit to bequeath his second-best beard – and not to Mace, either. The Jedi Master's best beard was well-trimmed, and gave him an air of distinguished authority and wisdom and power. The second-best beard, though, looked even worse than the wig. If he weren't so sure that no cat would ever touch that bundle of coarse, scratchy bristle, Obi-Wan would have said that it looked like something the cat dragged in after having dragged it through just about every muddy puddle imaginable between Coruscant and Dagobah. And what was worse, Qui-Gon decreed in his testament that his Padawan should wear it, because he had found that such a beard somewhat discouraged overly amorous fangirls and because it gave a distinguished and masterly look to anyone wearing it. Most people would not term the appearance of anyone who wore that beard as distinguished, though. Obi-Wan imagined himself wearing the hairy thing, which was probably more alive than dead, anyway, and that image made words like 'ugly', 'catastrophic', 'nasty to the point of being distrafolic' and 'OMG why is that guy wearing a dead rat in his face' come to mind.

Obi-Wan immediately decided to grow his own beard, so that he wouldn't have to come any closer to Qui-Gon's hairy heritage than was absolutely necessary. He hadn't planned on cultivating facial hair at all, he actually liked his face smooth and free of stray and unnecessary hair, but unlike with Qui-Gon's beard, he would at least grow used to it if it was his own beard.

Further, the testament decreed that Master Yoda got Qui-Gon's collection of books and the bigger fish. Apparently, a bigger fish actually existed somewhere in the dusty confines of the eccentric Jedi Master's cupboard. Also, Qui-Gin couldn't keep from asserting once again that there was always a bigger fish.

Finally, in a paragraph that had been added very recently, the testament said that Anakin would receive Qui-Gon's defiance, his obstinacy, his disregard for authority and his independent streak. That finally and very effectively wiped the last traces of the fond smile that had tugged at his lips just moments before from Obi-Wan's face. If Anakin lived up to Qui-Gon's expectations in that respect, it didn't bode well for the boy's apprenticeship. Obi-Wan didn't even want to begin to think about all the trouble Anakin would get in with Qui-Gon's stubborn and nonconformist attitude added to his innate inquisitiveness and emotional neediness and volatile temper. It seemed that already Obi-Wan was in for a hard time trying to educate Anakin.

The document concluded with a request that some of Qui-Gon's favourite sayings be added to the Jedi Code, and it proposed inserting "there is no fish, there is always a bigger fish" right between "there is no chaos, there is harmony" and "there is no death, there is the Force". Thankfully, Qui-Gon had refrained from assigning this task to his Padawan, or else Obi-Wan would have felt compelled to pursue that matter, too, never mind that he considered the idea hopelessly ridiculous.

Below that, Qui-Gon had scribbled a hasty "May the Force be with you" and signed with the usual barely legible scrawl that was supposed to represent his name.

Having finished reading the document, Obi-Wan looked up to find Yoda staring at him in an unsettling scrutiny. He shifted uncomfortably, and then dared bring up the topic of Anakin again.

"Master Yoda, have you reached a decision concerning me and Anakin?" he asked tentatively, prepared for another whack.

Thankfully, the only thing that Yoda did was sigh. Then, rocking from side to side which made him look like he was shaking his head and making it abundantly clear that he didn't agree at all, the little green gnome announced reluctantly: "Agree with you, the Council does." He turned around and looked at Obi-Wan. "Your apprentice, Skywalker will be."

It seemed that unlike Chancellor Palpatine, who was not the Senate (at least not yet, no matter what he might say to the contrary), Yoda indeed was the Jedi High Council, as he could make such a binding decision and speak for the whole Council all by himself without consulting the other members first.

Despite feeling divided about the subject of Anakin, Obi-Wan respectfully inclined his head. He had gotten what he had asked for. Except for a few formalities, Anakin was his Padawan. His Padawan. Until a few hours ago, Obi-Wan had been the Padawan, and now he was supposed to be a Master. And not just Master to anyone, least of all to a Padawan the Force had led him to when he was ready to take one on, but Master to Anakin Skyalker, who was both the Chosen One and probably the most atypical Jedi in the last thousand years, if not ever.

What have I gotten myself into? Obi-Wan wondered .

He was not sure how to deal with this sudden transition and all its repercussions, especially since he could no longer ask for Qui-Gon's advice, and it seemed that Yoda didn't intend to offer any counsel, either. The diminutive and ancient Master was, in fact, hobbling towards the door, muttering a half-hearted "May the Force be with you" between the tiny groans he always emitted when walking. Obi-Wan also expressed his wish that the Force be with Yoda, and suddenly he found himself alone in the room, the door closing after the small Master with a quiet swish.

Obi-Wan got up and shook some life back into his legs – this was the second time that day that they had gotten numb from kneeling on the floor for far too long. He looked out the window and saw the sun set in a glorious display of colours, almost as if Naboo wanted to show its beautiful sides, too. Until now, Obi-Wan had experienced the swampy side of the planet out in the marshes, the dumb side in form of the Gungans, and a hidden dark and horrible side down in the Museum of Oddities, though that could hardly be blamed on Naboo since it could have happened on every other planet in the galaxy, too. Still, Obi-Wan refused to have only bad memories of Naboo. After all, this was also the planet where he had spent his last mission with his Master, and where Qui-Gon had told him that he would make a great Jedi Knight one day. With a weary smile, he accepted the marvellous sunset as an apology.

Qui-Gon loved… had loved to watch suns set. He had always taken the time to marvel at the magnificent spectacle of nature on many a planet – which sometimes had had deleterious results. Often, it had been Obi-Wan's task to defend his Master because Qui-Gon had suddenly stopped dead in his tracks to admire the sundown, even when they had been chased by an angry mob once. Back then, Obi-Wan had been exasperated by his Master's odd behaviour, but now he spent the moment in fond memories of his Master's eccentricities until the last bit of the sun disappeared beneath the horizon.

He spent the first minutes of night in contemplation of the future as he had spent the sunset in contemplation of the past. He had a Padawan to consider now. Maybe he had not wanted to take on a Padawan already, but that hardly mattered now. He would do his very best with Anakin, even though he feared that his best would never be as good as Qui-Gon. Anakin had been ecstatic to learn that he was to become Qui-Gon's apprentice, and it must have been a bitter disappointment on top of the grief for him to learn of Qui-Gon's death. Obi-Wan was all too familiar with the feeling of wanting to be the great Jedi's student, and he, too, knew what it was like to be denied this wish. Only Qui-Gon had taken on Obi-Wan in the end, however reluctantly, breaking the vow of never training another Padawan he had made when his last apprentice had turned to the Dark Side. Now, he would never get the chance to break that vow a second time.

Still, Obi-Wan thought that he had gotten along all right with Anakin so far. He didn't know how to be a Master, but he did know what it had been like as a Padawan. He also remembered that no matter how much he had loved Qui-Gon, the Master had often acted distant and even cold towards him at times, especially in the beginning, and he remembered how much that had hurt. As much as he wanted to be just as wise and as kind and as gentle as Qui-Gon, he didn't want to put Anakin through the same cold, silent treatment he had received in the first weeks and months of his apprenticeship. There, he wanted to differ from his Master.

But Anakin also needed to be taught the way of the Jedi. He needed to learn to be in control of his emotions, and to let go of his attachment, and Obi-Wan thought that in this case, mollycoddling Anakin was not the right method of education.

The newly minted Knight decided to treat Anakin in a kind and reassuring manner. To make concessions to Anakin's unusual background – unusual for a Jedi, anyway – was also inevitable. Yet, it seemed a bad idea to pamper the boy. There would be enough people to tell Anakin that he was special. Obi-Wan didn't want to add to that or else Anakin's head might grow so big that his slender neck wouldn't be able to support it any more.

And aside from all the good intentions, Obi-Wan honestly didn't think he could summon any kindness or support right now. He feared that despite his best intentions, Anakin would probably feel mistreated and ignored. He was used to the undivided intention of his mother, and as a Jedi Obi-Wan was absolutely unqualified to become a surrogate mother to Anakin. They would be Master and Padawan, and given time, maybe they would become friends, too.

oOo

When the last traces of orange had vanished from Naboo's velvety black night sky, Obi-Wan finally turned away from the window. He had to arrange Qui-Gon's funeral, and there was still a lot to do. There was not a single log of wood to be found in the whole palace, and Qui-Gon was to be burned in the way Jedi had always been cremated since the beginning of the Order. They could hardly use propane, where would be the dignity in that?

Obi-Wan sighed wearily, this day was taking its toll on him. He sighed deeply, wishing for just a moment of reprieve. Then, he straightened again and walked off to find an axe and a few trees willing to donate a bit of wood.

oOo

Edited on 12th March, 2011