Anakin was running late. Again.
She had spent the whole morning practising lightsaber techniques under the watchful eyes of her Master and Master Drallig who had just finished teaching a class of soon-to-be padawans. The said Master - who was a great friend of Master Windu as they liked doing sparring sessions together - had taken a liking to participating in her lightsaber training. After all, Anakin had always shown interest in Drallig's classes.
(But she still thought that it was because she was the Chosen One). However, she didn't dwell on the thought since she had no reason to distrust or dislike the Master.
Since her childhood, she has always shared a deep and special bond with the Force. So, when the Force had told her that she had no reason to worry about the swordmaster, she naturally listened to them.
Anyway, here wasn't the true reason for why she was running late.
After doing some small talk with the two masters she excused herself and rushed out of the training room to get ready for lunch. Maybe the masters thought she was extremely hungry - which wasn't entirely false - but that wasn't a problem.
When she returned to the quarters she shared with her Master, she quickly went for a shower. Her lightsaber practice had left her all sweaty and she couldn't meet her friends like this. Her Master would have been ashamed.
When she got out of the shower and took a look at the clock on the light brown wall she started to rush even more as she realised she was already ten minutes late.
Aayla and Darra were going to be mad.
They had arranged to meet at the Temple's canteen for lunch. Apparently Aayla had something to show them which made Anakin even more excited to hang out with her friends.
But here she was running late because her lightsaber practice had taken longer than expected and she had to clean herself right after.
To avoid arriving even more late than she already was, she started running in the corridors, getting some complaints from the masters on her way.
When she arrived, her two friends were waiting for her at the entrance. When they saw her they immediately waved at her. Anakin could already feel that they were going to have a good time together.
Aayla and Darra had always been two of her only friends ever since she became Master Windu's padawan. Most of the time she hung out with her Master's ex-padawans or Obi-Wan.
But one night, Master Windu had to tell her to try to make some friends with the other padawans. That's when she told him about the other kids' distrust and fear that they felt toward her. Her Master had tried his best, that night, to convince her that all of the padawans in the Temple weren't always like that and that if she agreed to talk to them - rather than run away every time someone tried to start a conversation with her - she would see that and make some friends.
In the end, she succeeded in making at least two friends. Darra Thel-Tanis and Aayla Secura. Even though Aayla was older than her and had been taken, just like any other padawans at an early age, they still got along very well to the point of becoming best friends.
Regarding Darra, she already knew her before they became friends. Well, it was more like she knew who the girl was but they hadn't talked until they were in the same healing class with Master T'ra Saa. That was when they had first talked. Soon after their first class together, they quickly became best friends much like her and Aayla.
That was why Darra, Aayla, and her formed a solid trio as they practically spent all of their free time together (most of the time doing some mischief).
This day wasn't an exception apparently, as Aayla led them to their favourite spot in the Temple right after they had taken their food.
The teenagers walked quickly so as not to knock food off their trays but so they could arrive at their spot sooner.
The spot in itself was the roof of a small building (compared to the rest of the Temple). You could see a small section of the Room of Thousand Fountains from there.
They loved it here because it was - most of the time - calm and nobody was there so they could organise their pranks without having people eavesdropping.
Once installed, Aayla immediately started the conversation with what she had to tell them.
"Are you free tonight?"
Darra and Anakin looked at each other wondering what their friend was up to but both nodded cautiously. Aayla noticed the worried stares.
"You don't have to make those faces you know." She teased them.
"Well, excuse me, if I think that it's only natural for me and Darra to be worried when you start a conversation like this." Anakin continued in the same teasing tone.
"Com'on! Everything I propose to do is not *always* that bad." the Twi'lek tried to defend herself.
"Humm... If you consider the glitter prank on our masters a success, then I can see why you think this."
"Anakin is right. You're lucky to have a tolerant master, because believe me, you don't want to face an angry Master Antana." Darra said remembering her Master's face after she had discovered her room covered with pink glitter, a grimace visible on her face.
Aayla and Anakin laughed at their younger friend. Though, Anakin couldn't argue with the traumatised expression on Darra's face.
She still had Master Windu's mad look tattooed on her mind. He was so mad that day that she had run to Obi-Wan's quarters to hide. She had explained to him the current situation in a rush, provoking a chuckle from her brother.
Thinking of it, it had been one of the few times Obi-Wan had taken her side in front of Master Windu. But she wasn't mad that he rarely did, Master Windu could be terrifying, trust her, she knew.
She was shaken from her thoughts when Aayla called her. "Hey Anakin, are you with us?"
"Sorry Aaya, I was thinking." she said, a smile making its way on her face.
With both Anakin's and Darra's attention, Aayla started to explain her plan for the night.
"So I was thinking..." she interrupted herself as she took a bite of her sandwich. "We could go down into the underworld tonight." she said happily.
But Darra looked worried "Why would we go hang out in the underworld when we could hang out here?"
"Because we could have even more fun there!"
Anakin studied her friend before asking "What's actually on your mind? What would we do once we get there?"
Aayla took her time before answering Ani's questions. "Well... I thought that maybe we could get a tattoo together." she said but her voice lacked confidence.
"You want us to get tattooed?" Darra sounded surprised but a bit of excitement could be heard.
"That would be so cool!" Anakin exclaimed with her usual excitement whenever she had decided to do something that wasn't allowed.
Well, tattoos were not forbidden for the Jedi but it sure was for Padawans.
Of course, it had been quite some time since Anakin, Darra, and Aayla had become padawans so they weren't that young anymore. To say, Anakin was now seventeen, on her way to her eighteenth life day, and Aayla was even older than her. Darra was only a year older than Anakin.
When Aayla saw Anakin's excitement and Darra's barely contained enthusiasm, she immediately felt confidence surge through her. After all those years wishing to have a tattoo one day, she was finally going to get one; and her best friends wanted to do that with her!
Well, it wasn't really a surprise that the two other padawans were thrilled about going into the underworld to get a tattoo. After all, Anakin was always the first one to go, whenever they wanted, to do something that would get them in trouble. Besides, she would be lying if she said that she hadn't been planning on having a tattoo.
For her, tattoos meant a lot and she loved them, that's why she had spent quite some time drawing in her journal some tattoos that she hoped she would get later. She was definitely going to choose one of those.
Darra was thrilled, as she was whenever they did something that would make them forget about the strictness and harshness of the Jedi training. The three of them loved being a Jedi - some more than others - but the training wasn't easy as they had come to learn the hard way.
So a moment of "madness" like this one, as some would say, was always welcomed by the three terrors as Depa called them.
After the three friends planned their night out in advance, they separated and finished their day full of excitement about their nightly outing in the underworld.
When the time came for Anakin to leave her room to join the others, she tried to make as little noise as possible to not disturb and wake her sleeping master.
She unlocked the door that separated his and her room as silently and slowly as she could. The room was plunged into silence. Only Master Windu's snoring could be heard - how many nights did she find herself awakened by his loud snorings? -.
The crossing of his room felt endless but she still managed to get out without waking him up.
She had decided to keep her lightsaber with her, just in case, and change her Jedi tunic into something more civilian to go into the underworld. She didn't want to bring any attention because she was a Jedi.
She had also taken some credits that she'd won in a bet to pay the tattooist.
She was no stranger to the underworld. Darra, Aayla and she often went out. They even had contact with some underworld inhabitants.
When she arrived at their meeting point her two friends were already there. She waved at them and walked with a hurried pace to them. She couldn't sprint, it was in the middle of the night and a master could hear them.
"Are we ready to go?" Aayla asked them excitedly.
"Always." They both responded with matching excitement.
"Then let's go."
The three teenagers left the Temple through a small secret passage known to practically all padawans. It was one of the only ways not guarded by Jedi guards to get out of the Temple.
Thanks to their passage, they soon arrived outside of the Temple, next to one of the entrances leading to the underworld.
They now had to take public transportation to go down. Besides, the ticket was cheap.
"OK. So, Quinlan told me about a good tattooist who works on level 357. We could go there. It's not too low and if it's from Quinlan then it's sure." Aayla explained how their plan would work out.
"You consider Quinlan a reliable source?" Anakin snorted. "That man is the last person I would trust if my life was threatened."
"Maybe, but your life isn't in danger right now and I believe him. He never gave me a reason not to trust him." Aayla defended her Master.
"Whatever you say." Quinlan Vos had always been a source of debate between them. Aayla got along very well with him and trusted him with her own life whereas Anakin's mind was conflicted regarding her best friend's master.
The man may have been Aayla's master and Obi-Wan's best friend - if nothing more - he still hadn't earned Anakin's trust. Admittedly, he was funny but that didn't change the way she felt about him. Besides, the Force felt weird whenever she was near him. It was the complete opposite of Obi-Wan and she didn't feel safe. She interpreted what the Force told her about him as a warning.
But she couldn't change how Obi-Wan and Aayla felt about him.
"Anyway, are you both OK with this plan?" Aayla asked them.
Darra and Anakin looked at each other and then nodded.
Once the public transport arrived at the station they boarded it. The transport went down into the lower levels.
During their journey, Anakin immersed herself in the Force. She could feel every being and their feelings around her. She loved doing that, it always brought her some peace whenever the Force would wrap around her, not in a protecting way but in a way that allowed her to feel everything that surrounded her more deeply.
Her meditation was soon over when Darra announced that they had arrived at the 357th level.
She felt a rush of adrenaline and joy at the thought of getting her first tattoo ever.
She knew it wouldn't be the last time. Anakin had always desired to get tattoos. It was a way for her to stand out. Being a Jedi meant living humbly, and blending in with the others as well as with the Force. Demarcation wasn't encouraged among the Jedi but it didn't mean they weren't allowed to stand out. It's just that it did not please traditional Jedi who lived by the book.
But Anakin didn't care. As a slave, she had always been considered an object, a commodity, so it was not possible for her or any other slave to stand out. Therefore it was perfectly and rightfully natural for her to want to stand out now that she was free.
She had already started to do it with her clothes. Normally, the traditional Jedi tunics were mandatory for padawans but, as a senior padawan, she had recently disregarded the rule and went for a much less traditional outfit.
When she had informed Master Windu about her desire to stop wearing her traditional robes, he immediately dismissed her and refused. In the end, after much discussion, she was able to choose her Jedi outfits.
Now she was finally getting a tattoo.
The three friends walked through the streets, trying to find where Quinlan's tattooist was.
They finally arrived at a small tattoo shop, in a currently busy street. The lower levels were often busy at night.
When they entered the shop, they were welcomed by a tall pink-skinned Mirialan. They wore a very revealing outfit as Anakin could see the majority of her skin. Several tattoos covered her skin which, Anakin thought, was normal considering her job.
In the room, dozens of drawings (probably tattoos that the young woman had made herself) were hung on the walls.
Now, Anakin understood why Quinlan had recommended her and told Aayla that she was the best tattooist in the lower levels. The drawings were spectacular.
"Hi, how can I help you?" the woman turned towards them.
"Hello, my friends and I would like to get a tattoo. I already have my design in mind." Aayla spoke first.
"Me too, I have my design prepared as well." Anakin added.
"Do you have enough to pay me?" the tattooist asked.
"Enough, yes." Aayla responded by showing a bag of credits in her hand.
"Then, I'll start with you.". She gestured to Aayla to come with her and draw her design.
Anakin did the same while Darra thought of something to tattoo. She hadn't thought about what to do so Anakin helped her find something while Aayla was getting tattooed.
Aayla's tattoo was a bird from an exotic planet that Anakin couldn't remember the name of. The tattoo was drawn on her left thigh.
After Aayla got her tattoo, it was Anakin's turn. When the Mirialan started to tattoo the design she had drawn, Anakin released the pain into the Force while maintaining her mental shields up so that Obi-Wan or even her Master wouldn't feel the pain through their bonds in the Force.
Once it was done, Darra took her place on the seat. Meanwhile, Anakin went to the nearest mirror and took another mirror in her hand to have a better look at the tattoo on her back.
The twin suns of Tatooine could be seen on the middle of the top of her spine. She may not have liked Tatooine because of the life she led in slavery and the coarse sand but she was deeply linked to its culture, but most importantly the slave culture.
As much as she wanted to forget about the past, she couldn't ignore the other slaves and their culture that her mother, Shmi Skywalker, had spent so much time explaining.
She had been raised in the Tatooine slave culture and she couldn't, wouldn't, forget this. That's what her mother had said before she left the planet. Don't forget where you came from.
So she decided to tattoo the twin suns which had significant importance in their culture.
Then, the tattooist finished Darra's tattoo which was a biological heart.
They paid the tattooist and left the shop happily.
Before going back to the Temple, the three girls decided to stop at Dex's to get some food.
She was really glad to be able to call Aayla and Darra her best friends.