Warning: the following story contains implications of a m/m
relationship. STOP NOW if you are below 18 years of age OR if
you are easily offended.
Disclaimer: all hail almighty Lucasworld and its attendant
minions. And also please note: this story is not for profit,
only written for the satisfaction of my readers.
Archive: MA archive?, personal homepage
Pairing: Qui-Gon/Obi-Wan
Rating: PG to NC-17
Warning: post A/U TPM (speculative fiction here)
Summary: Post TPM : this is basically speculative fiction. This
story picks up after the "Prologue". Anakin's first few days at
the Jedi Temple. Qui-Gon's vision. A proposal in the Council
chambers. Darkness. References to the SW Visual Dictionary and
to Earth ethnic festivals. Also the JA books.
Acknowledgements: a big thank you to those who wrote to me and
encouraged me to write more on the 'Lycanthrope' series! Also
to my Master BlackRose: thank you!
He sat in a corner, a lone figure shrouded by the night. He
watched silently, his hands holding a small white flower-shaped
container. Soft laughter and the occasional shriek of joy could
be heard.
A small smile appeared on his face.
"Ani," a gentle low voice startled him. A tall man, dressed in
former Jedi robes, walked towards him.
"Master Jinn." Anakin Skywalker dropped to his knees and bowed
his head, folding his hands on his laps.
"Why didn't you join the rest of the Jedi initiates at the
Stream?" Qui-Gon smiled warmly at the boy who shifted
awkwardly, looking surprisingly thin in his white initiate
tunic. The Jedi Master enjoyed the quiet night air, his
heightened senses taking in everything like parched earth
absorbing spring rain. The serenity in the Temple had made him
restless and he had to go for a walk, to work off the energy.
"I don't know," Anakin said in a soft voice." I just don't feel
like it." He shook his head and stared intently at his hands,
studying them.
A sigh came from the powerfully built man standing next to him.
A large hand rested on his shoulder, gripped it firmly. "You
miss your mother, Ani."
Almost immediately, tears brimmed in Anakin's eyes and he wiped
at them, half-furious, half-embarrassed, with the back of his
hand. What Qui-Gon had said was true. He missed his mother
terribly and though Coruscant was a whole new sparkling world
for him, he missed acrid Tatooine. The desert dunes, the dry
air, the clear cloudless blue sky.
And his mother's gentle smile. Her soothing touch on his burns
and cuts. Her cooking. He would gladly give anything for a
serving of her spicy ahrisa.
The Jedi Temple was huge. Imposing. There were so many new
faces to remember, new things to see. Coruscant with the silver
spires. The never-ending trails of small cruisers moving like
flotsam in the sky.
"Ani," Qui-Gon's tone was kindly. "Don't fret too much."
Blue eyes gazed straight at the Jedi Master. He felt the Force
ripple about the young lad like a corona surrounding the sun.
"When can I finally know if I am your Padawan?" Anakin asked
directly.
Qui-Gon went still. The Jedi Council had only very recently
granted audience. He experienced the same frustration he had
since felt the day he requested to take Anakin as a Padawan.
The Council was stalling as usual.
"I will speak to the Jedi Council tomorrow."
Anakin sighed, sounding strangely old for his age. "They still
think I am too old."
"Ani, you are not old." Qui-Gon said firmly.
"Obi-Wan thinks I am "
"Ani, you will be a Padawan."
The boy grinned suddenly and scrambled to his feet. "I will be
a Padawan." He said in such a confident manner even Qui-Gon
smiled to himself. Anakin sped to the Stream where he joined
the group of initiates placing flower shaped boats onto the
water. There were lit candles in the flower-boats and they
looked like tiny glowing stars, twinkling in the darkness.
They called the festival "The Festival of Lights". Qui-Gon
watched, padding up softly to the initiates. The children were
lighting the small candles, laughing. Anakin lit his own, his
expression intense. Nearby, the Jedi Master spied Obi-Wan
standing near the lamps, his arms folded across his chest.
"Care to join in?" Qui-Gon said teasingly. Obi-Wan gave him a
mock-glare.
"I am not a child anymore, Qui-Gon." The young man said dryly,
curling his Padawan braid around his right hand idly.
Qui-Gon smiled and brushed his finger tips across Obi-Wan's
cheek tenderly. He would make his proposal tomorrow, before his
peers.
He gazed at his Padawan. A Life Bonding ceremony would change a
lot of things.
There was shouting near the Stream and the two Jedi turned,
drawn by the sudden feeling of disappointment. For some strange
reason, Qui-Gon felt a chill wind whisper down his back.
All the candles had gone out. Once they were bright, shining.
Now, the fires had disappeared. The boats floated down the
Stream --- without light.
"Freak wind," Obi-Wan observed but there was a hint of
uncertainty in his eyes.
The Jedi Master shuddered. The hunter instincts in him stirred
ominously.
He dreamed.
He dreamed of a vast forest, covered with fog. He dreamed that
he was running in this fog-filled forest. His breathing was
ragged, his legs ached.
Still he ran.
Behind him, the fog solidified, assumed shape. He didn't look
back. He only knew one thing: run.
Leaves whipped his face, branches tore into his bare skin.
Ripped into flesh and pulled. He was bleeding but he continued
to run. His legs throbbed with pain; he was barefoot. His soles
were lacerated with cuts.
Behind him, something pursued him relentlessly. A
single-mindedness borne of desperate hunger and need. It was
gathering strength. He could hear its low growling, the
unsheathing of claws.
Suddenly, he was flung violently onto the ground. The impact
left him breathless and in agony. Then, there was pain. Hot
searing uncaring pain.
The creature had caught him. Its claws sank into his back like
knives.
He could see blood everywhere. Brilliant, life-giving blood.
Pooling beneath him, flowing out like a sunburst.
He dreamed that he saw himself being torn apart by sharp fangs.
The Jedi Council Chamber exuded tranquility. Peace. The circle
of Council members were silent, all personifying serene
contemplation. Their attention was focused on the two men
standing in the middle. Their gaze never wavered.
Master Yoda tapped the floor with his gimmer stick. "Listened,
I have. Your choice, you have made. "
Rumbling chuckle. "You read my mind well, Master."
Yoda grimaced, his ears twitching. "Still insolent, you are."
But there was quiet humour in the words.
"Let me train Anakin Skywalker. He has so much potential in
him."
The calm in the Chamber rippled, undershot with a current of
unease and tacit disapproval. Master Mace Windu lifted an
eyebrow, quelled the silent questions with a stern look. Adi
Gallia was frowning; others betrayed their disquiet with subtle
gestures like the folding of arms, the twitching of fingers and
the rustle of robes.
"Will you... uhmm ... revert back ...ahh... to your Alter
state?" Saesee Tiin asked, his mind already sifting out the
possibilities. His way of talking with the 'uhmm' and 'ahh' was
often disconcerting, especially to young Jedi and students.
"I have kept it under tight control."
Adi Gallia, her eyes flashing, spoke up. "You lost control a
few times, Master Jinn. Will it interfere with Skywalker's
training?"
"No." A curt answer, almost growling. Yaddle and Depa Billaba,
younger Council members, drew back in alarm when they saw the
blue eyes of the tall Master turn cold, hooded. He fixed them
with this predatory look, pinning them down with it with its
chill intensity. The young man next to him, his apprentice,
placed a hand on his arm and he visibly shuddered. The cold
hunter's eyes faded away.
"Will you guarantee Anakin's safety?" Mace queried softly. And
your own Padawan standing next to you.
"I will look after him. We will look after him."
"We?" Adi tapped her armrest with her fingers.
"I have a proposal to make. In fact, I will do so right now."
Turning to his bemused apprentice, Master Jinn said. " Give me
your hands." Obi-Wan did so.
Qui-Gon grasped the youth's hands, held them tightly. "I want
to initiate a Life Bonding with Obi-Wan Kenobi."
"Master I " Obi-Wan was tongue-tied. His blue eyes glistened.
The Council Chamber resonated with the murmuring of the
members. Surprise, outrage, amusement. Shock.
"Rebellious, you are." Yoda thumped his stick for silence.
"Rare, Life Bondings are. Even rarer, bonding with your own
Padawan. "
"There are instances, cases of Life Bonds in the Temple,
Master. I am profoundly surprised to see how scandalized the
Council is." Another chuckle.
"Arrogant!" Yoda banged the floor. His ears were down with
agitation.
"You mock the Council with your rebelliousness, Qui-Gon Jinn."
Depa Billaba shook her head, her beautiful visage drawn with
sorrow.
"I am not mocking the Council, Master Billaba."
Silence. Qui-Gon squeezed Obi-Wan's hand reassuringly.
"Well?"
"Already made up your mind, you have. Strong, your will is.
Even stronger, your affection for Obi-Wan." Yoda said softly.
He looked suddenly wan, frail.
"Affection, Master Yoda? I love him. He cares for me. He made
the effort to look for me when I left Coruscant. Can't you see,
Master?"
"You are initiating the Life Bond because you felt grateful to
your apprentice?" There was a ghost of a smile on Adi Gallia's
face. Depa Billaba too bore a slight smile.
"Yes. I felt grateful. I have realized one thing: we both need
each other."
This time, Depa Billaba chuckled aloud and Saesee Tiin flung a
questioning glance at her.
"Life Bonding, there will be. But, Qui-Gon!" Yoda's voice was
stern, hard. "Remember! Knighthood, Obi-Wan has to attain.
Trials, he has to go through!"
"He is ready, Master. He is prepared."
Obi-Wan bowed, acknowledging the compliment.
"So the Council has agreed. We will train Anakin and there will
be a Life Bonding."
Yoda nodded slowly.
He watched them leave the Chamber. One by one, the Council
members left their seats and headed for their respective
destinations, some to teach, some to meditate. Master Mace
Windu was the last to leave.
"Master Yoda?"
"Vision, Qui-Gon has. Vision, he saw." The ancient Master
carefully got off his seat, lamenting his aching joints. He
picked up his gimmer stick and hobbled towards the window.
"Vision?" Mace Windu said. He couldn't dispel the sense of
foreboding in his heart. Qui-Gon was his friend since they were
both children growing up in the Temple. The news of the Life
Bonding lingered in his mind. No doubt, the news would spread
through the Temple like wildfire.
The wizened Jedi Master didn't say anything, except to gaze at
the Coruscant sky solemnly.
"Did I shock you, Obi-Wan?"
The young man beside him stopped in his tracks.
"The things you have done, Master, are beyond shocking."
Obi-Wan said. He still couldn't believe his ears. Life Bonding.
Life Bonding.
"Am I that bad?"
Eyebrow lifting with mild amusement. "I spent twelve years
trying to figure you out. You are known to be rebellious.
Headstrong. You are bad, Master. "
"But do you want to be Life Bonded to me?" The question was
earnest.
Obi-Wan lowered his head. "In actual fact, please give me some
time to think it through."
"I know." Gentle smile, a twinkle of the blue eyes.
They walked along the corridor, each in their own worlds.
Obi-Wan halted. "Master?"
"Yes?"
"How about Anakin? Are we going to train him? 'We' as in 'both
of us '?"
"Yes."
An audible sigh.
"Obi-Wan, I know you still find him an unnecessary risk. But I
strongly feel that we can both train him. "
"But he's too old."
"Like you were too old to be chosen as a Padawan?"
"Master!" It was hurtful, raking up the past. He could remember
a thirteen year-old boy longing so much to be a Jedi Knight. He
wanted to find a Master to train him. The pain of rejection was
still surprisingly in him. When Qui-Gon finally accepted him as
a Padawan, he was immensely relieved. But his Master was a
difficult man, constantly pushing him away. Obi-Wan was stunned
that Qui-Gon would still use the memories of the past to tease
him. Painful memories, he reminded himself.
"Obi-Wan " There was regret in Qui-Gon's voice. "I have to
apologize."
"Don't do this to me again." Obi-Wan said stiffly and walked
ahead.
Anakin Skywalker sat tossing pebbles into the Stream. He felt
so lonely. The Jedi moved about him in their calm unruffled
way. Yes, he was impressed. He wished that Padme was here.
He saw Master Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan walking towards him.
He tossed the final pebble into the clear stream water. Qui-Gon
was calling him and Anakin stood up excitedly. He ran towards
the two men.
The pebble dropped into the water and it began to dissolve,
clouding the clarity of the water.
Senator Palpatine stood before the crystalline tank, holding a
bowl in his be-ringed left hand. The bowl contained huge
writhing red flesh-worms. He held a pair of bone chopsticks
with his right and he picked a particularly large worm.
Dropped it squirming into the tank.
The water bubbled and a huge reptilian head came spearing
towards the worm. The beak-like jaws opened, snapped and
severed the flesh-worm into two. Then the arrowhead reptile eel
swallowed its meal.
Blood, the worm's lifeforce, clouded the water.
Palpatine put the bowl and the chopsticks away.
The reptile eel would be kept hungry as usual. It enjoyed the
presence of food when it was starved. A good hunter was always
hungry, always searching.
The senator smiled to himself. He had his own hunting to do.
The dream was more vivid this time. He was still running. The
fanged creature was still chasing him.
Now, he was running knee-deep in red blood. No, he was wading
through the thick congealing bloody ooze, struggling, trying to
move.
There was so much blood. His face was coated with it. His
hands. His feet. His eyes. He had a feeling that the blood
wasn't his.
The only thing he could do was to pray and continue running.
The breeze sang across the Jedi Temple Courtyard, tossing the
remnants of the celebrations for the Festival of Lights.
A few of the flower boats clustered near a pillar, their
candles gone.
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