Anabeth: Spark Of Change

Chapter 6 - Making Progress

Upon entering Anabeth's room again Ahsoka was relieved to find the girl still sitting on her bed. I seemed that she might yet turn out to be trustworty, an unexpected but welcome turn of events. She offered Anabeth a plate of food which she gladly took, although she only started eating after smelling and taste testing it like she had previously done with the water they had offer her. The two teenagers sat in silence for a while, both focused on eating their lunch.

Ahsoka couldn't help but notice how Anabeth savoured every bite of her food like it was a five-star dish in one of Coruscant's finest restaurants. She smiled sadly at the girl, knowing that if she treasured a meal this simple she surely didn't have it easy back on Gandri. "Enjoying your food?" she broke the silence, her curiousity urging her to find out more about the girl. "It's great" Anabeth replied, putting more salad into her mouth. "Really? It tastes average to me. There are so many things I could think of that taste so much better than this. What were you eating back on Gandri?" Ahsoka said the disbelief in her voice clearly audible.

"The only people that were able to make an honest living on Gandri were shop owners and fuel miners. I lived on bread and ration packs I either aquired in black market deals or stole. It's do or die on that planet" Anabeth explained to her, getting Ahsoka's sympathy almost immediately. "And you never tried to leave that planet?" she wondered, not understanding as to why someone would spend their live in a place like the cities of Gandri. "We had a saying, you know: Someone doesn't come to Gandri, seeking to leave again. From my experince it couldn't be more true" Anabeth replied, still leaving the circumstances around her presence on Gandri a mystery.

"Then I take it you weren't born there" Ahsoka continued her search for information. But instead of giving a full answer like before Anabeth only shook her head. It looked like she was not fully blocking Ahsoka's atempt to make conversation though, so Ahsoke took a risk and kept on pushing the matter. "Where were you born then?" the brown eyes of the girl now met Ahsoka's blue ones for the second time today. "I don't know" Anabeth responded and Ahsoka knew that it was the truth, having heard the slightest hint of remorse in the girl's voice.

Yes, the cold distant girl with the emotionless gaze that had so far only tried to be angry at them and fear them had shown a glimpse of remorse about soemthing beyond Ahsoka's understanding. But before Ahsoka got the chance to push the matter any further Anabeth had already taken over the task of asking questions. "Where were you born?" the brown haired girl asked, her voice as distant as before, yet it had lost its inhuman sound it previously had. A sign that Ahsoka was making progress.

"I was born on Shili, the homeworld of my species. When I was three my village was attacked by pirates and the Jedi dispatched Master Plo Koon to settle the matter. He discovered I was force sensitive and took me back to the Temple with him once his mission was over" Ahsoka explained, trying to show Anabeth that she was willing to provide her with answers as long as she also provided some to her. "If my knowledge about the Jedi is correct each Padawan should have a Master that is assigned to train them. Who was assigned to you?" the was showing interest in her and how the Jedi Order worked. It was a slight surprise to Ahsoka, but seen as Anabeth would basicly have to abide by the will of the Order, or more specifically the Council, for now it made sense that she wanted to know what she was up against.

"Anakin Skywalker is the Master that is assigned to me, but I also work under other Masters sometimes. If you'd like I can bring you some data about the structure of the Jedi Ordr to read through after lunch" she offered. "I would be very interested in that" Anabeth accepted the togrutan's offer. Ahsoka slightly smiled at how Anabeth had tried to make her voice sound a little less cold during her last statement as a way of appreciating Ahsoka's efforts towards her. It was a subtle thank you she gave without droping her pride, but Ahsoka still managed to pick up on it.

The girls quickly finished their food before Ahsoka took both of their plates and got up to leave the room. "Ahsoka" Anabeth stopped the her, hesitating for a moment when the togrutan turned to face her. "How is your shoulder" she asked, catching Ahsoka by surprise. She looked a little startled, not having expected the girl's concern about the injury she had caused her. "It's fine, it's only a bruise. I honestly barely feel it. Besides, I've been through worse" Ahsoka responed to Anabeth's question. "Still, I'm...." the girl paused, clearly struggeling with getting out what she wanted to say. "....sorry" she finished, her voice quiet as she looked at the wall, not daring to face the togrutan. "Don't worry about it, I'll be right back" Ahsoka assured her, leaving the room to give the girl time to collect herself. It was obvious that it hadn't been easy for her to put aside her pride in the way she did, but it was a sign that she wasn't a lost cause. Her apology was proof that the girl was reasonable and that it would only be a matter of time and work until she would open up to them.

On her way back to Anabeth's room Ahsoka ran into Obi-Wan who, after scolding her for leaving Anabeth without direct supervision at first, quickly stopped when he heard about the progress the Padawan had made. To Ahsoka's surprise he even rewarded her by volunteering for what he called 'nightwatch', giving Ahsoka the evening off. She kindly accepted, but only after he promised that he'd call her should problems arise. The two Jedi entered Anabeth's rooom again, only to find her already awating them.

"Here you go Anabeth. The data I promised to get you" Ahsoka greeted her, putting the datapad down on the girl's bedside table as she and Obi-Wan took a seat again. "Please, just call me Ana" the girl insisted, picking up the datapad to take a brief look at it. "Well, Ana, if there's anything else you need that we might be able to help with don't hestitate to ask" Obi-Wan offered as a way of showing good faith. "You could start by telling me what you were doing on Gandri" Anabeth used the opportunity given to here. "The force lead me to the planet where I found you" he explained calmly.

"So you weren't actively looking for me?" the girl sounded distrusting and surprised. "No, I was returning form a mission on Turia when the force lead me to you. And it seemed that I found you just in time to save your life" The Jedi Master specified. "Why should we be looking for you? We didn't even know that you existed until a few hours ago" he added, hoping that she would answer this question. "It wasn't unlikely" the girl disappointed Obi-Wan with a simple phrase instead of an explaination.

Anabeth quickly realized that this was not the answer the Jedi had hoped to hear, but no matter how much she wanted to she couldn't bring herself to tell them the story they were after yet. "I know I'm not answereing your question the way you'd like me to" she started, her voice slightly compassionate and thoughtful. "But I can't really trust you yet. And if I ever tell you the story you are after you will all understand why"

The room went silent for a minute as both Jedi noticed the weak emotional glimmer that Anabeth was unable to keep out of her eyes now. It was a sign that the facade the girl had put up for her protection was starting to crumble, letting them see glimpses of the complicated person behind it and showing them that their efforts to get Ana to trust them were paying off.

Soon enough the three of them were talking again. As Ana read through the data Ahsoka had brought she continuosly asked the Jedi questions about the any aspects that, in her opinion, weren't explained well enough. They would frequently get side tracked as both Obi-Wan and Ahsoka told Anabeth stories about Younglings classes they had taught throughout the years. By the time they finished the datapad it became clear that they'd have to find more things for the girl to read about, seen as she was obviously quiet the intellectual.

When it was time for dinner Ahsoka wished Ana a good night before leaving the room with Obi-Wan who was going to get the girl's and his dinner. They discussed on what data Ahsoka should bring for the Anabeth to read in the morning, eventually setteling on a text about the Rebublic's political system often given to Padawan's for studies and a book about the galaxies most known star systems and their history, especially with the Jedi. They briefly bid each other good night before Ahsoka ran off to find her Master and Obi-Wan continued on his way towards the mess hall to get dinner.