Fic: White Rabbits (Star Wars, 26/?)

[butterfly]

Title: White Rabbits
Chapter: 26/?
Author: Diana Michelle (butterfly)
Warnings: Spoilers for Revenge of the Sith.
Pairings: Anakin/Obi-Wan; Leia/Han.
Rating: PG/PG-13.
Summary: Wherein Obi-Wan notices flowers, moonlight, and bladed weapons made out of energy.
Author's Notes: So, in an attempt to be accurate with lightsaber-ness, I looked it up, saw the whole 'forms used in combat' thing and said, "Right, I'll use those when Lucas does". But I did really like one of the names of the forms, so I nicked it.
Disclaimer: Not Lucas, don't own a thing, not making any money.
Chapter Index

Chapter Twenty-Six -- In the Garden

After the endless white walls of the building, Obi-Wan felt an almost physical sense of relief when Luke opened a pale door to reveal not another hallway but, instead, the carefully cultivated color of a rooftop garden.

 

Obi-Wan walked out of the doorway, stepping onto a grey path that seemed to his eye to curve off into the distance, various trees and bushes carefully blocking its destination from view.

 

Anakin was half a step behind him and Obi-Wan could easily sense his impatience even without the aid of the Force. Something in that conversation with Luke had certainly gotten Anakin very wound up, in need of some kind of physical release.

 

Once they found a suitable spot, lightsaber training would help Anakin channel his emotions, so that he could let go of them, instead of having them rattling about in his head, making him think and do crazy things.

 

Obi-Wan followed Luke down the path, noticing that the garden itself was quite beautiful, though the muffled but still discernable sounds of air traffic on all sides made it somewhat less than serene.

 

The lights of Coruscant were dim here, the arching roof of the gardenhouse muting them from view, but they were replaced by the discreet placement of softly glowing colored lights located near the edges of the path.

 

The colors were well-chosen – here, where the path twisted around a Balowan Rainflower, a bluish-white light had been placed behind the bush, designed to shine through the branches and illuminate the hanging bell-shaped flowers so that each one looked as if a tiny blue sun burned at its center.

 

Over on the left, Obi-Wan saw a large placement of Gallinore Promise Irises. Half-buried in the middle of the plot was a pale yellow light, shining up through the thin blossoms, giving the impression that they were glowing from the inside, as they were reputed to do when given from the hand of one’s own true love.

 

At the next bend in the path, Obi-Wan couldn’t resist pausing to brush his hand over the uplifted petals of the domesticated Eyer’luom stationed on the left. The bush was lit with a slowly flickering soft white light, the flowers almost seeming to blossom anew every few moments, before fading away again to shadow.

 

“That’s the same kind of plant that you have in your room, isn’t it?” Anakin asked, standing just to the left of Obi-Wan. “Near the corner by the bedroom door.”

 

 “Yes, it is,” Obi-Wan said, still gently stroking the outside petals of the blossom nearest to him. The flower’s stem bent slightly at his touch, appearing far more fragile than it was.

 

The Eyer’luom was a deceptive plant. Without enough water, an Eyer’luom’s flowers dropped within days, leaving only dark green stems and tightly-furled leaves. Two weeks after that, and the color would fade, leaving what looked like a worthless bundle of sticks that one might as well just throw away. But, in reality, an Eyer’luom was almost impossible to kill by neglect – it had evolved in the harsh deserts of Haza’ak Prime and could survive for months without water, always ready to bloom again at the first hint of moisture.

 

“They’re pretty enough, I suppose,” Anakin said. “But I’ve always preferred flowers that smell nice. These don’t have any scent at all.”

 

“They don’t need one,” Obi-Wan said, looking over at Anakin.  “The Quaigula sandbird that pollinates them is drawn by color, not by scent.”

 

“Do you want one?” Anakin asked, glancing at Obi-Wan with a shy look in his eyes. Obi-Wan tilted his head, examining Anakin carefully. Anakin shifted, dropping his gaze down to the plant.

 

“What do you mean?” Obi-Wan asked.

 

“You like them,” Anakin said, reaching forward to touch one of the blossoms. “I could use the Force to seal off the stem, preserve the flower so that it stays fresh.”

 

“You want to give me a flower?” Obi-Wan asked.

 

“Never mind,” Anakin said quickly, pulling his hand away, the flower swaying in the breeze caused by his movement. “It was a stupid idea.”

 

He turned away from Obi-Wan, hurrying down the path after Luke. Obi-Wan watched him for a moment, his hand cupping one of the Eyer’luom’s blossoms. He had the feeling that he’d given Anakin some injury, and that wasn’t a pleasant thought.

 

It was certainly true that most human cultures in the Republic had a tradition of lovers gifting each other with flowers, but, despite Anakin’s actions earlier, that wasn’t at all the situation here. Anakin was married. If he gave anyone flowers, it would be Senator Amidala. A romantic action such as that simply did not fit into his friendship with Anakin. Surely, even Anakin had to see that.

 

Obi-Wan pushed away his sudden discomfort, continuing down the path after the others without pausing to look at any of the other plants on display.

 

The path wound around, and it was clear that they were moving in something of an uneven spiral inward. Anakin had hung back a few steps from Luke and Obi-Wan stayed a few feet behind Anakin as well. He wasn’t much in the mood for more conversation right now.

 

Just ahead, Obi-Wan spotted a tall grove of Sacorria evergreens, the tops of the trees gently brushing against the roof above, the trees placed closely together. The path diverged, most of it twisting around to the right, past the grove, while Luke followed the smaller side path that led to a small break in the trees.

 

“This is the place that I was thinking of,” Luke said. “Leia showed me this clearing a few months ago, the first time that I came to Coruscant to meet with the New Republic.”

 

The path itself ended just before the curving line of evergreens, and when Obi-Wan passed through, he could see a wide open, grassy area, completely encircled by the thick green foliage of the trees.

 

It was lighter here. The roof was made of transparisteel in this section, and when Obi-Wan looked up, he could see stars overhead, and the lights of Coruscant creeping in around the edges.

 

“It’ll do,” Obi-Wan said, gesturing to Anakin, who slipped his cloak off and tossed it to Obi-Wan, who caught it easily, draping it over his arm. “Luke, did I teach you the training forms?”

 

“You showed me a couple of exercises,” Luke said. “But we really didn’t have the time to get into any detail.”

 

“They’re easy enough,” Anakin said, slipping his lightsaber off his belt and igniting it, reflexively twirling it, the blade briefly describing a circle of bright blue. Obi-Wan’s hand fell to the hilt of his own lightsaber, and he felt a soft twinge in his chest when he realized that he couldn’t see the Force-ripples from Anakin’s sword. He’d known, of course, that he wouldn’t be able to, but still, seeing Anakin hold a ‘saber and not being able to feel the dazzling heat of Anakin’s concentration was… distressing. “We’ll teach you.”

 

“I’d suggest starting from the beginning, Anakin. Show Luke the first form,” Obi-Wan said, slipping his cloak off and dropping it on the ground. He sat down on the grass, folding Anakin’s cloak and carefully placing it next to his own. “Half-speed.”

 

Anakin moved slowly through the clean, simple movements of the first exercise, body and blade smoothly gliding to hit the precise marks of the form. Luke was watching carefully – he’d pulled his own lightsaber out, but hadn’t yet ignited it, concentrating solely on Anakin.

 

“Luke, did you catch that?” Obi-Wan asked, as Anakin reached the end of the form, falling back into the beginner’s ready position, blade held in a defensive diagonal in front of his abdomen.

 

“I think so,” Luke said, switching his ‘saber on. The blade gleamed a vibrant green, and Luke’s expression was focused but serene as he shifted his stance to match Anakin’s. “I’m ready.”

 

“Half-speed again, then,” Obi-Wan said, settling back to watch. He might not be able to see how they looked in the Force, but he could still learn about Luke’s technical prowess.

 

Luke matched Anakin, movement to movement, not a trace of hesitation in his steps. He was a fast learner, which made a great deal of sense – Anakin had always been better at dueling than most Jedi. One of the benefits of Anakin being so strongly attuned to the Force was that his ‘saber truly was an extension of his will.

 

“Anakin, second form,” Obi-Wan called out. “Do it once half-speed, then I want to see if Luke can match you at full-speed.”

 

Luke lapsed back into a ready position that was slightly more on his toes than most of the ones that Obi-Wan was familiar with, while Anakin snapped into the sharper, tighter movements of Makashi. Even at half-speed, the blade blurred as Anakin swung it into some of the more complicated blocks and cuts.

 

Anakin stepped into the final exercise in the form, twisted around in a half-circle and then slicing his ‘saber across the empty air in front of him, gracefully cutting his imaginary foe in two at the midsection. Obi-Wan heard a soft, distressed sound, but when he looked over at Luke, the boy seemed to be calm enough.

 

“Both of you, now,” Obi-Wan said. “Full-speed, and repeat the complete exercise three times.”

 

Anakin glanced over at Luke and then immediately restarted the form, catching Luke off-guard. Luke began half a step behind Anakin, but soon caught up and was again mirroring Anakin’s movements.

 

“The second form is also known Makashi,” Obi-Wan said, conversationally. “While the first form is about familiarizing yourself with your Force-connection to your lightsaber so that it is something more than just a pretty toy, Makashi teaches you how to use your lightsaber against another ‘saber. It is the training exercise taught to Pawadan learners before they officially spar with each other.”

 

Luke had a very good, instinctive grasp of lightsaber technique, easily echoing Anakin in the exercise. He held the ‘saber hilt tightly, as if it would fall out of his hands if he wasn’t careful, nothing like Anakin’s careless and certain grip.

 

With a grip like that, Luke had probably never accidentally dropped his lightsaber over the edge of a cliff. Or had it cut in two at a droid processing plant. Or had it eaten by a particularly smelly and wet jungle cat.

 

Obi-Wan had had to kill the creature to get Anakin’s weapon back. Well, and to stop it from eating them both, but still, Anakin could have avoided getting them into that situation at all if he’d just kept a firmer grip on the handle of his lightsaber.

 

“How does that feel, Luke?” Obi-Wan asked, as the pair executed the final move.

 

“Some parts of it don’t feel natural at all,” Luke said. “I can’t imagine using some of those moves in a fight.”

 

“If I were your teacher, I’d have you practice them until they did feel natural,” Obi-Wan said. Luke walked toward Obi-Wan, switching off his lightsaber. “But right now, Anakin and I are both just interested observers.”

 

“What did you think of Minister Mothma’s suggestion?” Luke asked.

 

“It’s nonsense,” Anakin said. Luke glanced over at him, and Obi-Wan could see an intensity of concentration on Luke’s face that reminded him strongly of Senator Amidala when she was listening closely to someone.

 

“What do you mean?” Luke asked.

 

“She seems to think that there’s a chance that we’ll stay here,” Anakin said. “And that isn’t going to happen. We’ll find a way back, and we will take it. We’re not staying.”

 

“I can understand why you want to go home so badly,” Luke said. “But maybe…”

 

“What?” Anakin asked, sharply.

 

“Both of you don’t have to go back,” Luke said. Anakin took a step towards Luke, his lips pressing together and his eyes hard. “Mothma’s right, Obi-Wan. We really could use your help.”

 

“If Anakin goes back, so do I,” Obi-Wan said, voice brooking no disagreement. “There isn’t the slightest chance that I would allow him to go back to fight the fall of the Republic alone.”

 

“But the Republic does fall, you can’t stop that,” Luke said, turning back to Obi-Wan.

 

“By that logic, Anakin and I must go back,” Obi-Wan said. “Anakin has children to father and I have you to train. If the past is immutable, then we will both return. And, for some reason, we will be unable to stop the Republic’s fall. If, on the other hand, the past is subject to change, we have no idea what is or is not possible. Either way, whatever Anakin and I do, we will do together.”

 

“I see why Minister Mothma called you the Negotiator,” Luke said ruefully. “You have a way of making it impossible to successfully argue against you.”

 

Obi-Wan inclined his head in acknowledgement.

 

“Master, do you think our room is ready by now?” Anakin asked. He had the slightest hint of a smug smile on his face, undoubtedly inwardly crowing about his ‘victory’ over Luke in Obi-Wan’s affections. Obi-Wan reluctantly resisted the urge to chide Anakin about it -- over their many years working side by side, he had yet to see any positive results from his continual admonishments of Anakin’s less appropriate behavior.

 

“Possibly,” Obi-Wan said, not getting up. “Are you particularly tired?”

 

Anakin’s lips twitched in annoyance, probably caught between the desire to look good in front of Luke and the desire to go off and sleep for ten hours. At least the smugness was gone.

 

“Not particularly,” Anakin said.

 

“Well, then, why not stay here long enough to get in a duel with Luke?” Obi-Wan suggested. Anakin shot a heated look towards Luke, the corner of his mouth turning up.

 

“Whatever you say, Master,” Anakin said, turning towards Luke and bringing up his ‘saber in an impromptu salute. Luke took his lightsaber off his belt again and ignited it, and the air hummed.

 

Anakin circled away from Obi-Wan’s position, moving out towards the center of the clearing.

 

“Ready?” Anakin asked, bringing his ‘saber up in his typical overhead ready position. Luke nodded, taking a careful step toward Anakin, his blade held out in front of him.

 

Anakin lunged forward, bringing his blade down towards Luke’s shoulder and Luke instinctively blocked, their blades clashing together with a crackle and flash of energy.

 

Luke broke off, backing away from Anakin. Anakin tensed and Luke cocked his head – he looked slightly surprised when Anakin leapt over his head and landed lightly on his other side, but managed to bring his ‘saber up in time to counter Anakin’s strike at his head.

 

They exchanged blows for a few moments, blue light thrumming shrilly against green, neither seeming to find the advantage. Obi-Wan narrowed his eyes as he noticed that, while most of Luke’s non-defensive strikes were aimed at Anakin’s arms or legs, every single aggressive move of Anakin’s was aimed for Luke’s head or torso, each one a killing blow.

 

Again, Luke was the one who broke off, circling away and to Anakin’s left.

 

Anakin leapt again, but this time, Luke moved toward Anakin’s old position while Anakin was in the air, leaving Anakin too far away when he landed to have the advantage.

 

Anakin and Luke circled each other around the center of the clearing, neither of them closing the space between. Under the starlight, they could have been any pair of Jedi sparring, green and blue ‘sabers held at the ready, all their concentration focused on sensing their opponent’s next move.

 

They rushed at each other, and Anakin’s downward blow hit hard against Luke’s blade, and this time, they stayed that way, blades pressing against each other, crackling and squealing in protest. Obi-Wan noticed Anakin shifting his weight to his right side half a moment before Anakin gracefully kicked up with his left foot, hitting Luke’s right arm an inch above the wrist.

 

Luke gasped, his lightsaber falling from his hand. Anakin twisted around, tunic swirling, as he narrowly missing being sliced by Luke’s still-lit lightsaber.

 

Luke had his left hand wrapped around his right arm, and then Anakin’s ‘saber was at his throat.

 

“Do you yield?” Anakin asked, with a cocky grin.

 

“You definitely won,” Luke said, looking slightly puzzled. Anakin switched off his lightsaber and clipped it to his belt. “How did you know?”

 

Anakin just held up his right hand, gloved like Luke’s.

 

“You both have mechanical hands,” Obi-Wan said. “How very peculiar.”

 

“It is interesting,” Luke said, still staring at Anakin. “I knew that my father had one, but for some reason, I’d assumed that it’d happened later on, when he turned to the dark side.”

 

“And you hadn’t had the chance before now to get close enough to sense it,” Anakin said. “Sure, it’s a one-time-only trick, but most of them are.”

 

“I’m going to want another try at this,” Luke said, and he had a smile lurking behind his eyes. From his defensive posture throughout this night’s fight, Obi-Wan had the feeling that Luke had been holding back, and Obi-Wan found himself hoping that he would get to see their rematch.

 

“Maybe tomorrow,” Anakin said, strutting over to where Obi-Wan was still sitting. Obi-Wan resisted the urge to sigh. This victory would make Anakin impossible to live with for the next few hours. Obi-Wan tossed both Anakin’s and his own cloak up to Anakin and then reached up with his hand, Anakin reaching down to clasp it in his own and haul Obi-Wan up from the ground.

 

“I look forward to it,” Luke said.

 

“And I look forward to falling into a soft bed,” Obi-Wan said.

 

“We’ll go find your suite, then,” Luke said, glancing over at Obi-Wan and Anakin before heading back to the break in the circle of trees.

 

It was only after Luke passed them that Obi-Wan realized that Anakin’s hand was still wrapped around his own.

~end chapter twenty-six~