Summary: Young Obi goes on a field trip. Because he's Obi,
(minor) chaos ensues.
Feedback: Pretty please with chocolate on top.
Disclaimer: Lucas owns all, including my time and sanity.
Notes: This is just something that my muses (Sithbegotten spawn
that they are-- I have enough to write already, without new
stuff...) dumped on me last night. Thanks to Mac for help with
this.
/This is not,/ Obi-Wan tried to remind himself, using a mental
echo of a Proper Jedi Master's voice, /proper behaviour for a
Jedi./ He knew it wasn't. Jedi didn't bounce, didn't grin
widely, didn't giggle at themselves. Jedi were like Master
Qui-Gon, or Master Windu, solemn and serene and unflappable.
But he couldn't be like that, not right now.
Some of the other initiates were pretending that this was a
Real Mission, that the fate of the galaxy rested in their
actions. Really, though, it was just a field trip, a place
outside of the Temple where the Force was strong. Strong enough
to tickle, almost, and certainly enough to make Obi-Wan happy.
There were several Adults along on the trip, three Knights and
a Master, to instruct the initiates and make sure they didn't
get too far into trouble. Obi-Wan knew that he really should
sit still and be quiet and try to impress one of the Adults.
Sure, this field trip was just what they called an Educational
Experience, and anyway he wasn't nearly old enough to be a
Padawan. But everyone knew that you had to get a Master or a
Knight to like you, before you were chosen. And Obi-Wan really,
really wanted to be a Padawan.
Still, he couldn't help having a slight bounce in his step.
This place was fun. And more than that, not only did he
like the Master, but the Master liked him. That was good.
Master Qui-Gon was supposed to be a really good Jedi, and a
really good Master. Suddenly, being a Padawan didn't seem so
far off. /If I'm good, and don't get into trouble, and do
everything Master Qui-Gon says, maybe I can be a Padawan soon.
Maybe I can be his Padawan./
Grinning, Obi-Wan scrambled up a ridge. It had rained recently,
and the ground was muddy and slippery, but he didn't care. This
planet-- Darakht, Master Qui-Gon had called it-- was a lot
prettier than what Obi-Wan was used to. The Temple was mostly
metals and hard, cold, Forceless materials. The gardens helped
but they were few and not really Real. This place, though...
Vibrant colors stretched everywhere. The soil was a beautiful
deep blue, like the Coruscant sky after sunset but before true
night. A soft furry plant, low but just about everywhere, lay
like purple fuzz over the landscape. Trees stretched up to a
clear sky, red trunks spreading into yellowed leaves. And
everywhere there were animals, small furry creatures that leapt
among the trees, felines that watched Obi-Wan with careful
glowing eyes, hovering insects with magical multicolored wings,
and large birds that soared high in the sky. The Force thrummed
through it all, making Obi-Wan feel like he could fly.
He wasn't stupid enough to try-- even if floating on the Force
counted as flying, he didn't have enough control to really do
it-- but he did the next best thing. Arms out, letting his
sleeves billow and flutter like wings, he ran as fast as he
could down the hill. Halfway down, he slipped on a slick patch
of mud and tumbled; but the purple fuzz was soft, and the mud
was smooth, and he laughed going down.
Life was good. Very, very good.
He wasn't really supposed to go off on his own-- but the group
was right behind that ridge. He wouldn't go that far away. If
he got into trouble, he had a small comm unit in his belt
pouch, but he wouldn't get into trouble. He was far too happy
to get into trouble. Gleefully, Obi-Wan tackled a passing
feline. It escaped with a streak of blue mud down its back
where Obi-Wan's hand passed. Obi-Wan squealed and followed it,
zigzagging through the trees. When his 'prey' went out of
sight, he found another one, a pink-furred six-legged creature
with large eyes that ran like the wind in front of him.
It wasn't until the sun was almost down that he realized he was
lost.
At first, it was just a nagging sensation at the back of his
head, but by the time the large sun was a shimmering and
slightly lopsided part of the horizon, Obi-Wan knew that he had
no clue even which direction the camp was in, or how far, or
anything.
He also knew that when he got back, Master Qui-Gon was going to
kill him. This certainly didn't count as staying out of
trouble. At any rate, he wouldn't be allowed to leave the
Temple for the next twenty years.
Frowning, almost pouting, Obi-Wan picked a direction and
started off. He had to act like he knew what he was doing.
Maybe that way he wouldn't get in too much trouble. But
nothing was looking familiar, and the sky was getting darker.
For all he knew, he was going in the exact wrong direction.
Something, somewhere, howled, a long and drawn-out sound that
made Obi-Wan shiver. What if he never got back? What if the
Adults, deciding that Obi-Wan didn't want to go home-- or,
worse, deciding that Obi-Wan didn't deserve to go back--
left without him? What if he'd be alone the rest of his life,
or until he got eaten by some night beast with big drooling
teeth?
Sudden terror gripped him. Almost too scared to cry, he
scrabbled for the comm unit. "Master Qui-Gon?" Static. "Knight
Ell-kalil?" Static. "Somebody? Anybody?" He sniffled and tried
to keep his lower lip from jutting out. "I'm lost and I need
help, please answer?"
Static, and a glop of blue mud dripped out of the comm unit.
The tears brimming in Obi-Wan's eyes spilled out and down his
cheek. Desperately, he reached out with the Force. He didn't
have a bond with anyone, but maybe they could sense him. He
didn't know how to send words, but he sent his desperation and
a feeling of intense lostness. /Please hear me,/ he thought,
biting his lip. /Please let me not be too far away./
Through the Force, a feeling of concern washed over him,
followed by reassurance, and what felt like a wordless promise
that someone would come. Obi-Wan sniffled, wiped his face with
a muddy sleeve, and tried to send back shy thanks.
There was a tree nearby, large and spreading, with a thick
smooth trunk and branches that spread out above like welcoming
arms. Obi-Wan curled up against the tree, one hand flat on the
trunk. Logically, a tree couldn't really protect him, but he
felt safer there. The tree was strong and sturdy, an unchanging
presence.
Like Master Qui-Gon, he realized sleepily, and smiled.
Darakht's twin moons rose, casting a silvered glow over
everything. Obi-Wan half-dozed, waiting; and then Master
Qui-Gon was there, backlit by moonlight, and Obi-Wan scrambled
up and into his arms.
"Obi-Wan! Are you all right?" Qui-Gon asked.
Obi-Wan burrowed his face into Qui-Gon's robes and nodded.
"Yeah. M'fine. Just..." He swallowed and blinked back a
threatening tear. /Jedi tell the truth,/ he reminded himself.
/There is no pride./ "...scared," he finished, and waited for a
lecture.
"You should not have wandered this far," Qui-Gon said, "not
without knowing your way back, and certainly not alone."
"But it was...well, it was pretty," Obi-Wan mumbled, realizing
that it was a stupid excuse.
"Still. You should know better, especially in an unknown
place." Master Qui-Gon's stern expression melted into a softer
smile. "It's all right to be scared, though."
Obi-Wan sniffled and unburied his face from the Master's robe.
"It's not un-Jedilike?"
"All of us get scared, at some point or another." With a gentle
finger, Qui-Gon brushed away the tears streaking Obi-Wan's
face. "You just learn to go on anyway, and do what you need to
do."
"Oh." Obi-Wan thought on that for a while, and then filed it
away in his mind as Something To Understand When He Was Older.
He couldn't think of Master Qui-Gon as being scared. Master
Qui-Gon...just was. "My tree," he murmured, snuggling against
the larger Jedi.
He could feel the Master's smile. "Do you have any objections
to going back to camp, initiate?"
"No." Obi-Wan held up a hand, examining it. The mud looked
black in the moonlight. "And I need a bath."
Master Qui-Gon's laugh vibrated against him, like the stir of
wind in a tree, and Obi-Wan smiled, content.
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