Just in answer to some review questions. Yes, the little green mite was a Grogu appearance. He may make another in the story, some time in the future.
"Okay, now do it with this one," Emily said, plucking a small green pava fruit from Obi-Wan's plate. She held it out on her open palm towards Anakin.
"It'll just be the same as before," Anakin said, laughing. Still, he reached out his hand, and Obi-Wan felt a shimmer in the Force as the fruit was drawn into the air. If there was one thing his padawan enjoyed most, it was showing off his Force abilities to anyone who would be impressed by them. And Emily - well she had run through the full gamut of reactions so far; from disbelief to scared to impressed, and was currently at the incredulous questioning stage.
"It just doesn't make sense," Emily said, waving her hand underneath the fruit. She poked it with a finger. "How is it even…"
Just as Emily reached out to grab it, Anakin pulled it towards him. The fruit shot out from under her hand, flying straight into his waiting mouth. Anakin laughed as he chewed, incredibly pleased with himself. Emily grinned back at him.
"Now the spoon!" she said, pulling it out from her untouched bowl of paste. He could already feel his padawan reaching out with the Force towards it.
"Anakin, that's enough," Obi-Wan said. He'd already lost half of his evening meal to this game. Besides, it wasn't right to be using the Force so casually, especially in the dining hall, surrounded by so many other Jedi.
"She's the one asking me, Master!"
"Yeah, I'm the one asking him-" Emily said, her smile turning impish "-Master Kenobi."
Obi-Wan could remember dreaming as a youngling about being a fully-fledged Jedi Knight. How he'd do all he could to embody the wisdom and patience and dignity he had seen from all the other distinguished Masters in the Temple around him. He imagined himself in their position; and how he would be addressed by those around him as Master Kenobi, with all the respect that comes from such a title. He had not, even for a moment, thought that it would be used to mercilessly tease him. Since Emily had learnt what that title meant - and that he was held in high regard by his peers - she seemed to take every opportunity now to use it, usually when she was mocking him for being 'ridiculous'. He would be inclined to complain about it more, but the way she said it always sent a pleasant curl of heat through his stomach.
Emily feigned looking up at the ceiling, her hand slowly pushing the spoon towards Anakin, the metal scraping loudly against the table as she acted like she couldn't hear it. "Do it," she mouthed. Anakin was full on laughing now.
"You can't even pretend to be subtle, can you?" Obi-Wan sighed, fighting a smile. While the dining hall wasn't very busy at this hour, a few of the other Jedi in the room were sending curious glances their way.
"I have no idea what you mean," she said, eyes going wide with possibly the least innocent looking expression he'd ever seen. Obi-Wan motioned his hand, using the Force to slide the spoon back until it was beside her bowl.
"Is it too much to ask, that I be allowed to eat one meal in relative peace?"
"Fine," Emily said, rolling her eyes. She picked up the spoon and scooped some of the paste into her mouth, pointedly making a show of chewing. Obi-Wan was considering going back up for a second portion of pavas, to replace the ones lost to Anakin's stomach, when he felt a presence at his back.
"Kenobi!" a familiar voice burst out behind him. Obi-Wan groaned, just as a strong arm clapped down across his back, and a muscular body wedged itself onto the bench beside him, shoving him to the side. "Long time no see, huh?"
"Vos," Obi-Wan sighed, shifting up to make room, his chance for a quiet meal suddenly and irretrievably tossed out the window. He turned to see the familiar dusky skin and yellow tattoos of Quinlan Vos, as he settled himself down, snatching one of Obi-Wan's few remaining pava fruits and popping it into his mouth.
"Hey, Chosen One," he said to Anakin, mouth full, reaching across to pat him on the shoulder. "You bring balance to the Force yet?"
"Uh," Anakin said, caught off guard. "I'm working on it?"
"Good to hear," he replied, slapping a hand down on the table. "Let me know how that goes. And you…"
Quinlan's gaze settled on Emily, who was staring back across the table at him, eyes wide, spoon half way to her mouth. "You're not what I was expecting, I'll give you that. Hey Kenobi, you not going to introduce us? That's kinda rude."
"Vos, this is Emily," Obi-Wan said reluctantly. "Emily, this is Master Quinlan Vos."
"Bumped into Pei this morning, just as I got back," Quinlan said, eyes intent on Emily. "She told me about all the crazy stuff that's been happening here. Kinda sad I missed it - sounded fun."
"Oh yes, terrible airship crashes. Life threatening injuries. Horrifying medical experiments. It's been wall to wall fun for Emily," Obi-Wan deadpanned.
"She seems to have come out alright from it."
"I thought you were tracking illegal weapons shipments near the Outer Reaches," Obi-Wan said, trying to change the subject.
"I was," he replied. "Then I found them - and now I'm back here."
"You won't be staying for long, I suppose?" Obi-Wan asked, trying to keep any hint of hope from his voice.
"I dunno," Quinlan replied, with a loose shrug of his shoulders. He was leaning on the table, his slouched posture had him practically halfway across its surface in Emily's direction. He didn't take his eyes from her. "Depends on whether there's anything interesting happening here."
"Oh well, I'm afraid you'll be disappointed then," Obi-Wan said. "The Jedi Temple is the same old peaceful, relaxing sanctuary that it always is. I'm sure you'll be bored within an hour."
"Do you speak Basic?" Quinlan asked Emily, ignoring Obi-Wan. "Can you even understand what I'm saying?"
Emily was looking back at him, absentmindedly stirring the spoon through her paste. She hesitated, and Obi-Wan was about to reply for her, but she beat him to the punch.
"Does anyone?" she asked, slowly. Obi-Wan coughed to cover a laugh. While Emily had come on leaps and bounds in understanding Basic, she still lacked confidence in speaking it. That didn't stop her from using the few words in her limited repertoire to devastating effect. Quinlan burst out laughing, his dark eyes sparkling through the wide band of yellow across his face.
"Pei said you were a fiery one," he said, pushing back a dark lock from his face. "Which, coming from her…I knew I'd like you." His eyes dropped. "That's an interesting stone you got there, mind if I take a look?"
Emily shook her head, and Quinlan leaned forwards, his bare arm stretching out in the space between them. Thick fingers gently lifted the pendant from Emily's chest. Then his muscles locked, eyes glazing over, and after a few seconds he blinked and shook his head. Quinlan dropped the pendant and leaned back in his seat, rubbing a hand over his forehead.
"Man, you really have been though a lot, huh?" he said, his voice going soft. "You've got your grandmothers eyes, by the way."
Of course, Obi-Wan knew that Quinlan was a gifted psychometric, it was one of the skills that made him such an excellent tracker. But he'd never felt as envious of that gift as he did now. What had Quinlan seen in his vision? Had he glimpsed pieces of Emily's life before the crash? Seen brief snippets of the world she had come from? Obi-Wan had only a taste of those things from the drawings Emily had produced, but he would have loved to have experienced the reality of them, if only for a few moments.
A silence stretched out as Emily and Quinlan regarded each other. Obi-Wan cleared his throat. "We were just finishing up our evening meal."
"Oh yeah?" Quinlan said, breaking eye contact. His gaze dropped to the bowl, and Obi-Wan felt a tug as Quinlan reached out with the Force and pulled both it and the spoon into his hands. He bent over, taking a sniff, and pulled back with a raised eyebrow. "What's this meant to be?"
"It's a protein paste," Obi-Wan said, lifting the bowl out of Quinlan's hands, but not before he had shoved a spoonful of it into his mouth. He chewed it for a second, his face unimpressed.
"Tastes of nothing," he said, chucking the spoon down onto the table as Obi-Wan sat the bowl back in front of Emily. The last few months had seen her finally gaining weight, the sucken angles of her face and sharpened joints on her body starting to fill out and soften. There was a healthy flush to her skin now, and a brightness in her eyes. Each day that passed, Emily was steadily looking healthier, and Obi-Wan thought that perhaps he was now seeing something of the woman she had been before the crash - and she was striking.
"Yes well," Obi-Wan said, taking the spare spoon from his own plate and putting it in the bowl, "considering all the other food had her vomiting everywhere, this is better than the alternative."
"Yeah, but that was before, right?" Quinlan said, picking up the last pawa fruit from Obi-Wan's plate and popping it into his mouth. "Pei said that she's adapting to things now. Maybe it's time for her to start trying out different foods. She can't just be eating that gunk for the rest of her life."
"That's all very well in theory," Obi-Wan said, "but as I'll probably be the one getting vomited on like before, I think it's best we leave the experimentation for another day."
"Where's the fun in that?" Quinlan said, pulling himself up to his feet. He winked at Emily. "I'll be right back. Hey kid, wanna come use your Chosen One powers to help me pick out some food?"
"Sure," Anakin said, getting up to follow him as Quinlan strutted across the dining hall towards the recessed service window. Obi-Wan stared down at his empty plate, scrubbing his hands through his hair. That man was impossible, and Obi-Wan could already feel a tension headache starting up behind his eyes.
"Is he a friend of yours?" Emily asked in English. Obi-Wan lifted his head to see that she was sitting there, watching him, with a small smile on her face.
"It would take too long to explain," Obi-Wan admitted. And it was true. Quinlan was a few years older than Obi-Wan, so while they weren't creshmates, they were still within the age range that training would at times overlap while they were younglings and beyond. Quinlan had been wild and unpredictable even then; barely ever listening to or following instructions, always just going by instinct but, amazingly, those instincts always seemed to guide him well. It had always disconcerted Obi-Wan, how much Quinlan seemed to get away with, even now as a Jedi Knight. Obi-Wan doubted he could get away with even half as much; not that he'd even want to in the first place.
"I like him," she said.
"He breaks rules, disregards orders and has, on several occasions, very nearly gotten me killed-" Obi-Wan listed off "-of course, you would like him." Emily just grinned.
A heaving tray, overflowing with bowls, plates and glasses landed on the table with a rattling thunk. Quinlan started haphazardly scattering the dishes out around the table, while Anakin quietly slid another, smaller tray in a tiny patch of empty space.
"We got some roasted nuna. Some Sorsun mudgrubs. Scrambled blurrg eggs. Fral. Even got a few more pawa fruit, seeing as Kenobi's ate all his," Quinlan said, tossing the tray to the floor as he settled down. Emily craned her neck to peer over the dishes. She recoiled back when the Quarren Sea-Porridge trembled and shifted.
"I am not sure," she said in Basic, her skin going a little pale.
"Hey, this stuff is delicious, trust me," Quinlan said, grabbing up and tearing a Cushnip in half and putting it down in front of her. Emily picked it up, taking a sniff before breaking off a tiny piece and putting it in her mouth. Obi-Wan felt a shiver run through the air around her, a feeling of something that wasn't quite unpleasant, but wasn't exactly enjoyable either.
"Man, you're loud," Quinlan said, a huge grin on his face as he watched her eat.
"I didn't say anything," Emily replied, confused, swallowing down the small amount of food she had eaten. Obi-Wan felt himself brace for the worst. He already had an eye on an empty bowl he could call on, should she need it.
"You don't need to," Quinlan said. "Can damn near taste that myself, you're feeling it so loud. Here, try one of these jeffra berries."
"Oh, I'm not sure-" Obi-Wan started to say, but then the bright orange berry popped in her mouth, and a split second later, Emily's face twisted in a grimace, the Force practically recoiling with the bitter sourness that trembled through it.
"Oh my God!" Emily choked, coughing as she tried to work the flavour out of her mouth. Anakin burst out into laughter beside her, and Quinlan's smile was nearly splitting his face.
"This is going to be so much fun!"
That's how it went for the next hour or so, as their table slowly started to attract other Jedi from around the room. There was something fascinating about the experience of eating food, through the reactions and feelings of someone else. Even foods that Obi-Wan knew the flavour and texture of, were something completely new, felt second-hand through Emily's perspective. The ripples of utter horror when something would wiggle or move, would cause an eruption of laughter through the room. Some Jedi brought over their own meals for her to try, watching with fascination as the Force shuddered and wavered in the air. And Emily, seemingly knowing that she was now an attraction, was surprisingly good humoured in trying each thing, even when her apprehension was written all over her face.
She called it time when she'd went to eat a Chronger Nut, and the eight spidery black legs unfurled out of it, just as it approached her mouth. She lobbed it across the room in fright, and started waving her hands in the air. "Okay, I'm done. I'm done, no more please!"
"You did great!" Quinlan said, popping a Chronger Nut in his own mouth, Emily's expression of horror as he crunched down on it causing another wave of laughter around them.
Their audience eventually moved away, going back to their meals, though a few Jedi stopped to speak further. Emily had been a curiosity for many in the Temple, though most of the Jedi were unsure of approaching her. Obi-Wan was happy to see that uncertainty fading, and had to admit, Quinlan's idea had helped tremendously. The last remaining Jedi took their leave, with promises to come over and speak again next time.
"You know Kenobi," Quinlan said, clamping a hand on his shoulder with an easy smile. "I think I might hang around for a while longer."
Obi-Wan sighed, shaking his head. "I was afraid you might say that."