Sometimes Obi-Wan just wished the universe would make up its mind.
He had been enjoying the fall festivities in Folkmore with Leia and then all the sudden… he was somewhere else. Was the Fox playing tricks on him? Did she decide he didn’t need to be there anymore? Had he gotten his wish?
It kinda felt like he did because he woke up on a very familiar feeling bed. The feeling of others like him in the Force dealing over him like a warm and comforting blanket. He sat up instantly and looked around. This was his room… in the temple. He was home?!
She was flying when it happened. A sudden, unexpected pull in the pit of her stomach, like she'd suddenly been caught up in a wind. Ariadne thought she was tumbling, at first. Until she realized that she was holding perfectly still and the world around her was doing all of the turning. There was absolutely nothing in all of her experience she had that could compare to it, which, she supposed, ought to make her afraid.
Funnily, she wasn't.
Mostly, she was just kind of woozy.
It all stopped as abruptly as it began. With a thump and an unanticipated 'oof,' she felt a mattress creak under her, the bounce just enough to ensure she didn't break anything. Not that she would have noticed right away, with the wave of dizziness. She fell forward, cradling her head in her hands, trying to stop the spinning.
That ‘oof’ and the feeling of the mattress moving had him whipping around to see… a familiar face. He blinked and stared for several moments. Practically gawking until she said his name.
“Ariadne?”
It was her, right? Not… not the Queen from Naboo. Stars… he remembers all of that? And here he had been told he wouldn’t. Which made him wonder if they weren’t in some grand illusion in Folkmore still. But this felt… so real.
"Where's here?" she asked in return. She'd never visited Obi-Wan's home before, but the setting had all of the makings of a bedroom.
Well, not all of them. It felt a little bare, somehow. Obi-Wan was something of a minimalist, she knew. But she would have expected personal touches of some kind. Something that really spoke to who he was.
Still a little wobbly, she pushed herself up to her feet, turning in a full circle to take in the scene.
Something smelled...off. Except she didn't know what it was.
He’s still a bit in shock but he does his best to shake it off.
“This is… home. We’re in the Jedi Temple on Coruscant.”
He looks towards the nearby window. He could see the distant lines of air traffic. Speeders moving through the air in orderly fashion. It was definitely Coruscant.
She’s right though, his room is very plain. If she looked hard enough she might find a few personal effects, but not very many.
Ariadne immediately scampered over to the window, the view absolutely taking her breath away. After all the times she'd heard spaceships described, nothing could quite prepare her for how majestic and...unnatural they were.
Like gleaming, metal birds.
A part of her wondered if she could ever keep up with them. Probably not, but it would be fun trying.
Still, she supposed metal birds weren't the point of...whatever sort of trial this was. She turned back to Obi-Wan, bouncing on the balls of her feet. "Is this a memory, then?" she asked.
Unable to hide a grin as he watches Ariadne run to the window to look out, Obi-Wan just remains where he’s sitting. Just taking it all in. Visually and by reaching out into the Force.
“Maybe? I’m… not sure. But it feels so…”
And then there’s suddenly a brief musical tone that rings through the air. Obi-Wan’s face suddenly turning pale as he realizes there’s someone at the door. What… does he do?!
Why did the music make him want to hide? Was this some other Jedi tradition? Ariadne had to admit that she was struggling to fully understand the way they functioned, but she was pretty sure that knights didn't usually hide.
Ariadne wasn't sure how they could get in trouble in a memory, but the scent around her was still troublesome. Enough that she decided against arguing.
"All right..."
She looked around for someplace to hide. Normally, she would have jumped into the supports of the ceiling, but this room didn't have any that looked useful. Finally, with a bit of a huff and a shrug, she dropped down to her stomach and rolled underneath the bed, reaching above to pull the covers down, so they draped over her hiding spot.
Seeing her drop down finally, Obi-Wan let out a breath and composed himself then moved to open the door. It whooshed open and he looked up at the tall man on the other side.
“Master! … Master?!”
What was… What was Qui-Gon doing here? And alive?!
“Obi-Wan,” he says in his usual soft, mellow tone. “I’m here to to talk. To help prepare you for your trials.”
“My… trials?”
Qui-Gon raised a brow at him. “Yes. The ones we both agreed you were ready for?”
“Oh. Oh, yes, of course. Um.”
“Are you all right, Padawan?”
“Yes, yes of course master. I was just getting ready to meditate. To also help me prepare. Can I call you later?”
“Ah, yes. That is wise. Very well, I will wait for your call.”
“Thank you master.”
There was then mutual bowing and then Qui-Gon left, with Obi-Wan quickly closing the door.
Well, at the very least, Ariadne knew who it was. By reputation, if nothing else. And while her skin still prickled a little at the word 'master,' she was mostly just intrigued. She'd heard a lot about this Qui-Gon. Most of it from Obi-Wan. Although she could only see his feet--well, his shoes--she got a soothing sense from him. He sounded calm and reasonable. Steady.
Sort of like how she sometimes saw Obi-Wan, when he wasn't so busy beating up on himself.
As he was leaving, she dared to move the blankets aside with one finger, hoping to catch a glimpse of his face, but all she saw was the turn of a head with long, brown hair.
She waited until the door swooshed shut (how did it do that?!) before lifting pushing aside the covers fully, looking up at Obi-Wan with an uncertain expression. "I don't remember you ever mentioning trials before," she said.
Breathing out a sigh of relief, Obi-Wan now grappled with the emotions of seeing his master again. Alive and well even. But then Ariadne is peeking out from under the bed and his thoughts quickly switch back to her.
Moving over to the bed he bends down and offers a hand to her to help her out.
“Oh, well… every Padawan must undergo trials before being knighted.”
She grabbed his wrists, careful to avoid touching her palms to his, as she shimmied her way back out from under the bed. The floor was kind of scratchy and uncomfortable, but she supposed whoever designed the room hadn't imagined someone crawling around under the bed and what comfort they might need.
"Makes sense," she said, straightening out. "So is that what this memory is? Your trials?"
That seemed like the kind of thing Thirteen would want the Star Children to relive. To share. Something so crucial would certainly generate a high level of lore.
Oh the hand thing again. He had forgotten about that. Questions popping up in his mind but he left them for now. Instead he let her grab his wrists and helped pull her out.
“This… isn’t a memory. It can’t be. I haven’t had my trials yet and I certainly didn’t have such a conversation with Qui-Gon.”
Obi-Wan is not sure what to make of any of this. But if Ariadne was here it had to be one of the Fox’s trials. Right?
"It's not a memory." Well, that confused things a little bit. Not enough for Ariadne to dismiss the notion that it was a trial of some kind. At the very least, it was one she didn't fully understand, hadn't experienced yet. But that didn't set off any alarms in her head.
Not yet.
She took a deep breath, trying to think it through. That odd scent was still bothering her. It wasn't Obi-Wan. It was more coming from all around him. If anything, he was the one scent that made sense to her.
"Perhaps Thirteen is trying to show us the lives we should have known?" That seemed like her too, right? A perfect possible future could haunt someone as much as a memory of the past.
“… Maybe? If that’s the case she’s really outdone herself this time.”
Obi-Wan sat on the edge of his bed then flopped onto his back. Staring at the ceiling as he tried to think. What’s going on? What was he supposed to do?
Was it, though? Ever the sunny optimist, Ariadne failed to see too much of a predicament. More of an opportunity, really. She finally had a chance to see Obi-Wan's world, flying metal birds and all. She wanted to explore.
They were meant to explore. She was sure of it.
Trotting over to the bed, she tapped one of his knees. "Obi-Wan," she said. "What's wrong? Is there something you're ashamed of here? Or is it just that the memories are hard?"
"Me?" The thought hadn't even occurred to her. But the thought settled over her like a tired, old blanket. "You mean, because I look like that mighty queen you spoke of?"
She tried not to deflate too much.
It wasn't Obi-Wan's fault how she looked.
Actually, it was kind of her fault.
"Well," she said, taking a seat beside him. "I guess I could revert to my natural form." She didn't look thrilled about the idea. Mostly because she wasn't. She didn't like it when her friends saw that side of her. Even friends who had no idea what an Alastrian was or accused of being.
Ariadne tried not to laugh. She was kind of an expert at sneaking into places she wasn't supposed to be. Normally, she'd offer to climb right out the window but...the height was a little dizzying. And there wasn't much cover for her and her wings.
"Can't you have given me an invitation?" she asked. "No one saw us in here together. We could leave. Then it wouldn't be breaking any rules...would it?"
Going out the window is definitely not recommended, wings or not. He would be afraid she would get accidentally hit by a speeder or something and that would draw a lot of attention.
“Me?” He huffed a laugh and shook his head. “No, it doesn’t work that way. And it would bring on… questions. But… I might have an idea.”
He then got up and went to the closet. Hoping that what he had in mind was there. Yes! A couple of spare cloaks. He pulls one out and offers it to her.
She decided not to ask. The rules of court made her dizzy on a regular basis. No point in arguing with the Jedi right now.
Hesitantly, with a slightly pained exhale, she allowed her body to change. The colors of her skin and hair rippled. Watercolors bleeding into one another, swirling and changing. The shape of her face was the same. Her lips still full. Her eyes still bright. But now her hair was the green of the underside of a maple leaf, her hair blue like candy floss.
Ariadne shrank into herself a little, humiliated.
And she didn't meet Obi-Wan's eyes as she quietly rose and took the robe from him.
The way she wilted made him instantly feel terrible. He hated that she didn’t feel like she could just be herself.
“Ariadne…” he says quietly. “You have nothing to fear here in your true form. You’ll see. And once we’re out of the temple, you’ll have plenty of things to see.”
Doing his best to try to cheer her up. Though he winced slightly when she took the robe. Noticing instantly how his height was uh… greater than hers as the cloak was too long.
She pulled on the robe, dropping the hood over her head. Which was a little more reassuring than Obi-Wan's promise, at the moment. It wasn't that she didn't believe him. She absolutely did.
The self-loathing was just deeply engrained into her soul.
"Am I supposed to be a Jedi now?" she asked, lifting some of the slack to try to find her feet. "I'm not sure I'm going to be able to fool anyone. I don't know the rules."
He considers her a moment. Wishing she had some robes in her size. The rest of his clothes would surely swallow her up too. She’s probably right in that she wouldn’t fool anyone.
“You just have to blend in long enough to get out of the temple then we’ll figure out something else.”
He then had an idea.
“Actually… maybe just one more thing. Is it okay if I touch your hair?”
Perhaps for Humans it was a simple request. But for Alastrians, the touching of hair was a deeply intimate thing. Almost as intimate as touching hands, but not quite.
Coming from anyone else, Ariadne would have immediately said no, possibly shrinking back even further.
Strangely...she wasn't so afraid of letting Obi-Wan...
Well. That was a startling thought.
She cleared her throat. "All right," she said, keeping the tremor out of her voice.
With permission given he moves to open a small drawer and pulls out some threads and a tiny hair tie. With the accessories in hand he comes back.
“Okay just hold still for a minute.”
He doesn’t know anything about it being intimate for Alastrians but he wasn’t used to getting this close to anyone either. Definitely having to get in her personal space as he pushes back the hood enough so that he could get to her hair. Carefully taking several locks from right behind her right ear.
Holding the accessories between his teeth so that he could use both hands, he starts to weave the locks of blue hair. Part way down he uses some red thread and wraps it around the hair before continuing with the braid. Once he gets toward the end he wraps some yellow thread around the hair then ties it off with the hair band.
Ariadne had a hard time breathing. Every instinct inside of her body was warring with what she knew to be true: Obi-Wan Kenobi was a good man who would never hurt her. At the same time, the lessons of her mother were imprinted in her blood. Never let a humanoid near your hair. Never cede control of it to anyone, except the ones you loved. In other words, your own kind.
Closing her eyes didn't help.
Looking at him was even worse.
She settled for staring down at the floor. She forced herself to breathe. Obi-Wan's scent filled her sinus.
And that strange scent from before.
Suddenly, her eyes widened. She knew what it was. "Ozone," she said, looking up at him. "There's no ozone in the air."
He could tell she was uncomfortable and thus had tried to work quickly. Obi-Wan was well practiced at it at least and stepped back once he was done. Giving her, her space back. Though the sudden epiphany she seemed to have was unexpected.
“What?”
He could only blink and stare at that sudden remark.
He’s quiet for a moment. Uncertain. Because he wasn’t sure he was following her. He didn’t have the sense of smell she did after all. Obi-Wan didn’t know if that should be normal or not.
"Thirteen's trials always smell of magic," she said. Logic would suggest, therefore, that if she couldn't smell magic, there was no magic.
And if there was no magic...did that mean no trial?
No illusions?
No Thirteen?
Did that mean this was real? She'd heard of people returning home from Folkmore before. Except this wasn't her home. How could she be here? Why would she be here?
Ariadne shook her head. She didn't know. She didn't know anything. Except that trusting his feelings seemed to be the right thing to do. Since his feelings were right.
"Maybe Thirteen thought it was necessary?"
Her faith in Thirteen remained steadfast. Even if the rest of this made no sense whatsoever.
Well, it wasn't like Ariadne had any suggestions to offer. The only locations she knew were the temple itself and Lothal. And she understood just enough to know that they were nowhere near each other.
"I don't want to cause any trouble," she said, running her fingers down the little braid he'd put in her hair.
It was almost like she could still feel his fingertips there.
The prospect of exploring was a little less tempting than before. But only a little. She was sure they would figure it all out. They had to. Her relentless optimism wouldn't allow otherwise.
Although she wasn't sure about keeping her emotions so controlled.
She could pretend to be calm. She was very, very good at pretending.
She couldn't suppress her feelings beyond the surface. And even if she knew how, she wouldn't.
Hopefully no one would pay them much mind. As long as nothing seemed too out of the ordinary they might be able to pull this off. He had to calm himself too.
Taking a breath, Obi-Wan then opened and stepped out of the door. Waiting for her to come next to him before casually starting to walk down the hall.
It wouldn’t take long before they started passing other Jedi. Padawans mostly who didn’t seem to pay them any notice. Humans and… not humans. A young Togruta pass them by with her striped montrals and lekku.
She nearly shouted out "Ahsoka!" before stopping herself. It wasn't Ahsoka. But it was the exact same headdress.
Or was it?
Was that actually...her head?
Ariadne nearly turned in a full circle, looking over her shoulder to watch the stranger pass by. It was only Obi-Wan's presence that kept her from making a complete idiot out of herself. "Who's that?" she asked softly.
Obi-Wan can almost read her thoughts just from the feelings he felt exuding from her. Wincing slightly as Ariadne turns to look but glad that she manages to keep somewhat discreet.
“That’s definitely not Ahsoka,” he says softly. “I don’t think she’s even been born yet. That was Padawan Paala, I’ve spoken to her a few times.”
As they walked on and out of the Padawan dormitory, they started coming across Jedi Knights and Masters with Obi-Wan bowing respectfully when it was appropriate. Even a tall Nautolan with long green tendrils hanging from his head gave them a cordial smile. Obi-Wan holding his breath as he gave the Jedi Master a bow as well.
Well, manners were manners, no matter the context. Ariadne easily followed Obi-Wan's lead, bowing respectfully as seemed most appropriate. It was an awful lot of bowing though. Being a Padawan felt a little exhausting.
Also kind of silly, although she was sure they didn't waste time with formalities when something important was on the line.
There was the smallest spike of surprise when she saw the green man who looked like he had an octopus on his head. Just walking about. Like he belonged.
Obi-Wan smiled and leaned in to whisper to Ariadne when the Nautolan was out of ear shot. “That was Kit Fisto. He recently became a Jedi Master. I told you you’d fit in here.”
But yes, being a Padawan was exhausting. There were a lot of responsibilities, a lot of expectations. But he had always been up to the challenge.
“I want to show you my favorite place,” he told her. Then started walking down yet another hallway. There was a quicker route, but he wanted to avoid as many other Jedi as possible.
"He's green," she whispered back, her voice trembling with a little excitement.
She'd never met anyone green who wasn't an Alastrian. Who wasn't trying to hide, in one fashion or another.
Of course, she realized how funny that sounded, a slightly violet flush crossing the bridge of her nose. But if she ducked her head, the hood managed to hide it, for the most part.
"I thought you wanted to get out of the temple," she added, gently.
Curiosity won out over caution. As was frequently the case for Ariadne. If trouble found them, they'd find a way to wriggle free. They were good at that.
Well, Ariadne was good at it. She had no idea how slippery Obi-Wan could be.
"All right," she agreed, folding her hands into the long sleeves of her robe, as she saw a few of the passing Jedi doing. Practical, really. For a race that was very careful about touching palms.
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demonicbeauty) wrote2023-12-16 07:30 pm
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He had been enjoying the fall festivities in Folkmore with Leia and then all the sudden… he was somewhere else. Was the Fox playing tricks on him? Did she decide he didn’t need to be there anymore? Had he gotten his wish?
It kinda felt like he did because he woke up on a very familiar feeling bed. The feeling of others like him in the Force dealing over him like a warm and comforting blanket. He sat up instantly and looked around. This was his room… in the temple. He was home?!
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Funnily, she wasn't.
Mostly, she was just kind of woozy.
It all stopped as abruptly as it began. With a thump and an unanticipated 'oof,' she felt a mattress creak under her, the bounce just enough to ensure she didn't break anything. Not that she would have noticed right away, with the wave of dizziness. She fell forward, cradling her head in her hands, trying to stop the spinning.
At least the nearest scent was familiar.
"Obi-Wan?"
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“Ariadne?”
It was her, right? Not… not the Queen from Naboo. Stars… he remembers all of that? And here he had been told he wouldn’t. Which made him wonder if they weren’t in some grand illusion in Folkmore still. But this felt… so real.
“What… what are you doing here?”
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Well, not all of them. It felt a little bare, somehow. Obi-Wan was something of a minimalist, she knew. But she would have expected personal touches of some kind. Something that really spoke to who he was.
Still a little wobbly, she pushed herself up to her feet, turning in a full circle to take in the scene.
Something smelled...off. Except she didn't know what it was.
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“This is… home. We’re in the Jedi Temple on Coruscant.”
He looks towards the nearby window. He could see the distant lines of air traffic. Speeders moving through the air in orderly fashion. It was definitely Coruscant.
She’s right though, his room is very plain. If she looked hard enough she might find a few personal effects, but not very many.
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Like gleaming, metal birds.
A part of her wondered if she could ever keep up with them. Probably not, but it would be fun trying.
Still, she supposed metal birds weren't the point of...whatever sort of trial this was. She turned back to Obi-Wan, bouncing on the balls of her feet. "Is this a memory, then?" she asked.
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“Maybe? I’m… not sure. But it feels so…”
And then there’s suddenly a brief musical tone that rings through the air. Obi-Wan’s face suddenly turning pale as he realizes there’s someone at the door. What… does he do?!
“Quick, hide!”
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Why did the music make him want to hide? Was this some other Jedi tradition? Ariadne had to admit that she was struggling to fully understand the way they functioned, but she was pretty sure that knights didn't usually hide.
Least of all from music.
She stared at Obi-Wan blankly. "...why?"
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“Because if someone…”
And the doorbell rings again.
“If someone finds you in here we’ll both be in trouble!”
He’s now getting up and moving to the door, motioning for her to get out of sight.
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"All right..."
She looked around for someplace to hide. Normally, she would have jumped into the supports of the ceiling, but this room didn't have any that looked useful. Finally, with a bit of a huff and a shrug, she dropped down to her stomach and rolled underneath the bed, reaching above to pull the covers down, so they draped over her hiding spot.
It wasn't exactly a subtle spot.
And then I decided to go AU 8D
Seeing her drop down finally, Obi-Wan let out a breath and composed himself then moved to open the door. It whooshed open and he looked up at the tall man on the other side.
“Master! … Master?!”
What was… What was Qui-Gon doing here? And alive?!
“Obi-Wan,” he says in his usual soft, mellow tone. “I’m here to to talk. To help prepare you for your trials.”
“My… trials?”
Qui-Gon raised a brow at him. “Yes. The ones we both agreed you were ready for?”
“Oh. Oh, yes, of course. Um.”
“Are you all right, Padawan?”
“Yes, yes of course master. I was just getting ready to meditate. To also help me prepare. Can I call you later?”
“Ah, yes. That is wise. Very well, I will wait for your call.”
“Thank you master.”
There was then mutual bowing and then Qui-Gon left, with Obi-Wan quickly closing the door.
/thumbs up
Sort of like how she sometimes saw Obi-Wan, when he wasn't so busy beating up on himself.
As he was leaving, she dared to move the blankets aside with one finger, hoping to catch a glimpse of his face, but all she saw was the turn of a head with long, brown hair.
She waited until the door swooshed shut (how did it do that?!) before lifting pushing aside the covers fully, looking up at Obi-Wan with an uncertain expression. "I don't remember you ever mentioning trials before," she said.
Re: /thumbs up
Moving over to the bed he bends down and offers a hand to her to help her out.
“Oh, well… every Padawan must undergo trials before being knighted.”
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"Makes sense," she said, straightening out. "So is that what this memory is? Your trials?"
That seemed like the kind of thing Thirteen would want the Star Children to relive. To share. Something so crucial would certainly generate a high level of lore.
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“This… isn’t a memory. It can’t be. I haven’t had my trials yet and I certainly didn’t have such a conversation with Qui-Gon.”
Obi-Wan is not sure what to make of any of this. But if Ariadne was here it had to be one of the Fox’s trials. Right?
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Not yet.
She took a deep breath, trying to think it through. That odd scent was still bothering her. It wasn't Obi-Wan. It was more coming from all around him. If anything, he was the one scent that made sense to her.
"Perhaps Thirteen is trying to show us the lives we should have known?" That seemed like her too, right? A perfect possible future could haunt someone as much as a memory of the past.
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Obi-Wan sat on the edge of his bed then flopped onto his back. Staring at the ceiling as he tried to think. What’s going on? What was he supposed to do?
“This is quite the predicament.”
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They were meant to explore. She was sure of it.
Trotting over to the bed, she tapped one of his knees. "Obi-Wan," she said. "What's wrong? Is there something you're ashamed of here? Or is it just that the memories are hard?"
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Obi-Wan then sat up again so he could look at her properly. “I’m happy to be here. I’m happy to see my master again. But… this is also a bit jarring.”
He then shook his head.
“But that aside. Memories or not, I’m not sure how everyone will react… to you.”
Maybe everyone will just ignore her or maybe… maybe they won’t.
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She tried not to deflate too much.
It wasn't Obi-Wan's fault how she looked.
Actually, it was kind of her fault.
"Well," she said, taking a seat beside him. "I guess I could revert to my natural form." She didn't look thrilled about the idea. Mostly because she wasn't. She didn't like it when her friends saw that side of her. Even friends who had no idea what an Alastrian was or accused of being.
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“That’s a big part of it yes. And honestly, being in your original form is not a bad idea. Trust me, you’ll blend in better.”
Just wait till she sees all the different kinds of people walking around.
“And secondly… no one other than Jedi are allowed in the temple without invitation. Much less in a Padawan’s room.”
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"Can't you have given me an invitation?" she asked. "No one saw us in here together. We could leave. Then it wouldn't be breaking any rules...would it?"
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“Me?” He huffed a laugh and shook his head. “No, it doesn’t work that way. And it would bring on… questions. But… I might have an idea.”
He then got up and went to the closet. Hoping that what he had in mind was there. Yes! A couple of spare cloaks. He pulls one out and offers it to her.
“Try this on for size.”
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Hesitantly, with a slightly pained exhale, she allowed her body to change. The colors of her skin and hair rippled. Watercolors bleeding into one another, swirling and changing. The shape of her face was the same. Her lips still full. Her eyes still bright. But now her hair was the green of the underside of a maple leaf, her hair blue like candy floss.
Ariadne shrank into herself a little, humiliated.
And she didn't meet Obi-Wan's eyes as she quietly rose and took the robe from him.
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“Ariadne…” he says quietly. “You have nothing to fear here in your true form. You’ll see. And once we’re out of the temple, you’ll have plenty of things to see.”
Doing his best to try to cheer her up. Though he winced slightly when she took the robe. Noticing instantly how his height was uh… greater than hers as the cloak was too long.
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The self-loathing was just deeply engrained into her soul.
"Am I supposed to be a Jedi now?" she asked, lifting some of the slack to try to find her feet. "I'm not sure I'm going to be able to fool anyone. I don't know the rules."
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“You just have to blend in long enough to get out of the temple then we’ll figure out something else.”
He then had an idea.
“Actually… maybe just one more thing. Is it okay if I touch your hair?”
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Coming from anyone else, Ariadne would have immediately said no, possibly shrinking back even further.
Strangely...she wasn't so afraid of letting Obi-Wan...
Well. That was a startling thought.
She cleared her throat. "All right," she said, keeping the tremor out of her voice.
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“Okay just hold still for a minute.”
He doesn’t know anything about it being intimate for Alastrians but he wasn’t used to getting this close to anyone either. Definitely having to get in her personal space as he pushes back the hood enough so that he could get to her hair. Carefully taking several locks from right behind her right ear.
Holding the accessories between his teeth so that he could use both hands, he starts to weave the locks of blue hair. Part way down he uses some red thread and wraps it around the hair before continuing with the braid. Once he gets toward the end he wraps some yellow thread around the hair then ties it off with the hair band.
“There you are. You’re now a Jedi Padawan.”
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Closing her eyes didn't help.
Looking at him was even worse.
She settled for staring down at the floor. She forced herself to breathe. Obi-Wan's scent filled her sinus.
And that strange scent from before.
Suddenly, her eyes widened. She knew what it was. "Ozone," she said, looking up at him. "There's no ozone in the air."
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“What?”
He could only blink and stare at that sudden remark.
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Which was to say...whatever this was, it wasn't any sort of illusion. Not a trick. Not conjured by Thirteen's magic.
Not...Thirteen.
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“What does that mean?”
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And if there was no magic...did that mean no trial?
No illusions?
No Thirteen?
Did that mean this was real? She'd heard of people returning home from Folkmore before. Except this wasn't her home. How could she be here? Why would she be here?
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Obi-Wan took a few moments to digest that.
“I… already knew. Deep down. But I wasn’t sure if I could trust my feelings.”
So he was home, just as he had wanted. And while a part of him was elated, but he was also confused.
“But… then what are you doing here? And why do we still remember?”
He had heard they wouldn’t if they went back home.
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"Maybe Thirteen thought it was necessary?"
Her faith in Thirteen remained steadfast. Even if the rest of this made no sense whatsoever.
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“Well, regardless of the why, we’re here. And we definitely need to figure some things out.”
This one big confusing mess and he’s still just a Padawan that hasn’t been knighted yet.
“I think I can get you out of the temple but honestly I’m not sure where to go from there.”
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"I don't want to cause any trouble," she said, running her fingers down the little braid he'd put in her hair.
It was almost like she could still feel his fingertips there.
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“I’m going to figure this out. But first… at least let me show you around a little bit. Come on.”
He then moves for the door. Stopping to put up his hood over his head as well. Glancing back at Ariadne a bit uncertainly.
“Just walk beside me and be calm. The others will sense it if you’re too emotional.”
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Although she wasn't sure about keeping her emotions so controlled.
She could pretend to be calm. She was very, very good at pretending.
She couldn't suppress her feelings beyond the surface. And even if she knew how, she wouldn't.
"All right," she said, drawing up beside him.
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Taking a breath, Obi-Wan then opened and stepped out of the door. Waiting for her to come next to him before casually starting to walk down the hall.
It wouldn’t take long before they started passing other Jedi. Padawans mostly who didn’t seem to pay them any notice. Humans and… not humans. A young Togruta pass them by with her striped montrals and lekku.
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Or was it?
Was that actually...her head?
Ariadne nearly turned in a full circle, looking over her shoulder to watch the stranger pass by. It was only Obi-Wan's presence that kept her from making a complete idiot out of herself. "Who's that?" she asked softly.
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“That’s definitely not Ahsoka,” he says softly. “I don’t think she’s even been born yet. That was Padawan Paala, I’ve spoken to her a few times.”
As they walked on and out of the Padawan dormitory, they started coming across Jedi Knights and Masters with Obi-Wan bowing respectfully when it was appropriate. Even a tall Nautolan with long green tendrils hanging from his head gave them a cordial smile. Obi-Wan holding his breath as he gave the Jedi Master a bow as well.
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Also kind of silly, although she was sure they didn't waste time with formalities when something important was on the line.
There was the smallest spike of surprise when she saw the green man who looked like he had an octopus on his head. Just walking about. Like he belonged.
How...incredible.
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Obi-Wan smiled and leaned in to whisper to Ariadne when the Nautolan was out of ear shot. “That was Kit Fisto. He recently became a Jedi Master. I told you you’d fit in here.”
But yes, being a Padawan was exhausting. There were a lot of responsibilities, a lot of expectations. But he had always been up to the challenge.
“I want to show you my favorite place,” he told her. Then started walking down yet another hallway. There was a quicker route, but he wanted to avoid as many other Jedi as possible.
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She'd never met anyone green who wasn't an Alastrian. Who wasn't trying to hide, in one fashion or another.
Of course, she realized how funny that sounded, a slightly violet flush crossing the bridge of her nose. But if she ducked her head, the hood managed to hide it, for the most part.
"I thought you wanted to get out of the temple," she added, gently.
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Glancing around he nods at what she says next.
“I do but… there’s something I think you’d really like to see. And we can hide there for a bit.”
He might be pushing their luck, but he really wanted to show it to her.
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Well, Ariadne was good at it. She had no idea how slippery Obi-Wan could be.
"All right," she agreed, folding her hands into the long sleeves of her robe, as she saw a few of the passing Jedi doing. Practical, really. For a race that was very careful about touching palms.