Guardian | Obi-wan's new padawan

Chapter 4: Welcome to Coruscant

Obi-wan was like a distressed mother hen the following day, bustling around me worried beyond all hells as I tried to gather my things. I didn't want to leave my little hollow in the state it was in now, with holes in the ceiling and dirt everywhere, so I tried my best to tidy up as well and plug up the worst of the holes. Obi-wan was having none of it.

The hollow was now bathed in the cool air of the night as the reflected sunlight bounced off the planet in the sky, peeping through the roots above our heads. The claw marks on my shoulder had scabbed over but were still very sensitive to touch, and Obi-wan told me I'd probably suffered a mild concussion, seeing as a permanent headache had made its home behind my eyes.

"Maxine you should be resting. We don't want that wound getting infected because you were rolling around in the dirt." He berated me after seeing me up and about after he'd come back from foraging.

I frowned at him. "Then, by all means, help me out with this blasted ceiling."

Was I sore all over? Was there a headache blooming behind my eyes as we spoke? Yes. But I'd felt worse before and didn't want to be coddled.

And so Obi-wan forced me to sit down, handing me some fruits, as he set to work on plugging the holes. I couldn't help but feel gratitude. It wasn't like he needed to help me out at all, yet here he was fixing the home I would be leaving in a couple of hours just because it made me feel at peace.

It shouldn't be long before Obi-wan's apprentice would arrive, he'd probably be here just after sunrise. My eyes spied my meager pile of belongings, which consisted of my bow, knife, and a spare shirt, waiting just beside the entrance, dutifully put there by the same man now stuffing leaves between the roots. It was strange to see. Your entire life until then, laying on such a small pile. Ready to leave at a moment's notice. "This is going to be so weird."

Obi-wan turned to me, seeing me stare, before smiling slightly. "I'm sure you'll be fine."

"How was it for you? Going to the Jedi order for the first time?"

He cocked his head to the side slightly. "I'm afraid I don't really remember. I was very young when the order took me in. But I was never alone, my fellow clanmates were always there to support me."

I smiled slightly, a small bundle of excitement settling in my chest. I wouldn't be on my own anymore.

There was the usual change in the air, the bird singing of the morning taking over the insect chirping of the night. The roots around us dimmed from their glowing purple and blue to deep browns and greens. Obi-wan grunted in satisfaction when he filled the final gap in the ceiling.

And, as if on cue, something new entered the planet, a new connection shining so brightly it was almost blinding. The force of it made me perk up, exhaling as the energy of it coursed through me before linking to the earth.

Obi-wan perked up as well, smiling as he did. "There you'll have him."

I stared at him. "That's your apprentice?"

"Sense it that clearly do you?" He joked.

"It's kind of hard not to." I rolled my eyes.

The bundle of excitement grew as the sounds of a ship's engine overtook everything, but as I looked around me, I couldn't help the sadness peeking through. Obi-Wan noticed, and he gave my uninjured shoulder a reassuring squeeze, before moving with me to the entrance. He helped me gather my things, knife at my hip and bow on my back, before he jumped out, and held out his hand for me to grab. I looked back one last time, fireflies twinkling warm glows, and touched the crystals around my neck.