Archive: Yes
Archive Date: February 3, 2002
Author's Webpage: https://www.squidge.org/~pumpkin/
Disclaimer: Lucasfilm, Lucasfilm, Lucasfilm.
Feedback: is always appreciated
Pairing: Q/O
Rating: G - NC17
Summary: The date listed is the date the 'snapshot' was
written/posted. Each piece is a segment within the same
universe, but they are not in any sort of order. Each piece
stands alone. The snapshots will run the gamut from G to
NC17. Some may be several pages long, some only a couple of
paragraphs; some will contain smut, many will not; they will
be different styles with different voices.
August 07, 2001
"What's all this?" asked Obi-Wan as he entered the quarters he shared with his master. There were brightly coloured streamers hanging from the ceiling and the table was set for two. Obi-Wan could plainly see that his most favourite dishes were ready to be served.
"Happy Birthday, Padawan."
"But it's not my birthday," protested Obi-Wan.
"No," agreed Qui-Gon. "Your birthday was five months ago while we were on the mission to Yenar. You spent it under heavy attack, defending a group of refuges during the stormy season as I negotiated in the dry, warm comfort of their great hall." Qui-Gon turned and gestured at the table. "I realise this is hardly the party a fifteen year old boy would want, but I wanted to do something..."
"It's wonderful -thank you, Master," Obi-Wan replied with a quiet smile.
August 15, 2001
Obi-Wan was hopelessly lost, he knew that. He was trying not to panic as that would be counterproductive, but really, if his master had to rescue him from the palace hallways on one of their first missions together... well, it would hardly be an auspicious beginning.
He rounded a few more corners before stopping -- either the halls all looked alike or he was moving in circles. Quite possibly both. Sighing, he rubbed his hands together, wishing he'd put on his robe, as well as his boots. Stone that was refreshingly cool during the overly hot days became quite chilly under the moon's cold face. It was a good lesson to learn, and he truly believed he understood it now, thank you very much.
Closing his eyes, Obi-Wan took a deep breath, trying to centre himself as he had been taught. He let the worry of being lost fade from his thoughts. With his second deep breath, serenity settled over him. Serenity smelled an awful lot like cinnamon and dark sugar.
Figuring the kitchens had to be nearby, Obi-Wan followed the scent of baking; he would ask one of the cooks how to get back to the guest rooms and no one ever need know how lost he had been.
The sweet smells soon got stronger and in short order he found himself in a bright, warm room. Two boys were busy at one end of a long table, rolling out dough, while a girl filled the flat pastry with fruits and spices. At the far end of the table sat an older woman with a well- floured apron and across from her sat his master.
"Ah, Padawan, I see I'm not the only one called to a night-time snack."
"Yes, Master," Obi-Wan agreed, happy to have an excuse for his presence as relief flooded through him.
The old cook cackled and stood. "Come and eat, boy. A couple of sticky buns and a glass of molo to put some flesh on you, eh?"
She laughed again, poking him in the ribs as he accepted her seat gratefully. He sighed, his extremities beginning to warm again.
"Eat up and then we'll return to our rooms," suggested Qui-Gon with a wink. "Tomorrow's a busy day and it really is far too late for us to be up and about, wandering the corridors."
August 26, 2001
Checking out your quarters.
It was a bit of a ritual. One that Obi-Wan had quickly developed when he'd started going on missions with his master.
Sometimes it was a matter of circling a small room, deciding which half of the stone slab was yours.
Sometimes it meant exploring room after room -an entire wing of a great palace at your disposal, where to sleep a choice among a dozen beds, each more decadent and luxurious than the last.
Sometimes it meant discovering that your hosts were avian in more than just appearance and your quarters were more bow than bower.
Whatever the circumstances, it wasn't truly his until Obi-Wan had decided where he would sleep and where to put his lightsaber while sleeping.
Once that was done -- hovel, palace, or something in between -- he was home.
August 27, 2001
The clouds on Fortius Prime are painted by some trick of the atmosphere. Green and pink fight with yellow, brown and red. It is an angry, clashing combination and Obi-Wan found it startling every time he steeped outside or looked out one of the large windows that lined the government buildings.
It was, perhaps, as startling as the Fortians themselves. Skin as dull as their sky was colourful, they were nevertheless more than a match for their world's atmospheric pyrotechnics. They were volatile, prone to rapid and violent changes of mood, their feelings almost appearing linked to the strident colours that rode across the sky aboard their cloud carriers.
Indeed, the more he thought about it, the more Obi-Wan was convinced there was a link between the people and their environment. If he could figure out the secrets the colourful clouds hoarded, he would have the key to solving the problems that had plagued the piece negotiations from the start.
He turned to study the clouds once more.
August 28, 2001
Obi-Wan watched as the mist rose through the trees, rising into the sky like ghosts on the air. His padawan stood beside him, a quiet presence that had become familiar, comforting in the months they had been together.
Without warning, the mists shifted, changed, and the air grew charged. Anakin drew in a sharp breath and Obi-Wan put a soothing hand on his arm, nodding. He felt it, too.
They watched together, remaining silent as the mist slowly dissipated.
At length Anakin broke the quiet. "That looked like..."
"Yes," agreed Obi-Wan, "it felt like him, too."
August 29, 2001
I stand among the trees on the mountainside. Waiting. The Force is all around me, large and small -living and animate, inanimate. I feel it, I feel him.
It's coming soon.
I wait.
The mist, tiny drops of water, invisible on their own to the naked eye, coalesce together, form mist as they rise, rise at the call of the sun, the call of the Force.
I wait and the mist slowly rises from the ground, surrounds me, envelops me until I cannot even see my hand in front of my face.
I am lost.
In the mist's embrace.
I am found.
I miss him.
August 30, 2001
Obi-Wan held still as long as he could before shifting with a sigh. "This would be easier if I could meditate, Master."
"That isn't the point of being here," replied Qui-Gon.
"What is the point?"
"To enjoy nature. It has a beauty all its own and if you are still and quiet it will come to you, speak to you."
"Oh -the Living Force," Obi-Wan said, rolling his eyes. "You could have just said so instead of doing that Mysterious Jedi Master thing."
"Mysterious Jedi Mas-? Never mind. Padawan -this has nothing to do with the Force. Certainly it is present, a constant in your life, but what I'm talking about is quite different and doesn't require the Force to feel."
Obi-Wan looked sceptically at his master. "What is it I'm supposed to be feeling?"
"It's...it's... It is rather elusive -just sit next to me and enjoy the quiet, the beauty, the small and large noises that nature makes."
Obi-Wan sighed. "Yes, Master."
August 31, 2001
Obi-Wan looked at the boy in front of him. The padawan in front of him. His padawan. He looked at his padawan, wondering what to do first. Things had been so different when he'd become Qui-Gon's padawan: they'd been at the temple, he'd grown up there his whole life, knew all the basics, the foundation. He didn't know if Anakin even knew how to meditate.
"Do you know how to meditate?"
"No, sir, I don't."
"You don't have to call me sir," said Obi-Wan, kneeling in front of the boy. "You may call me Master Obi-Wan, or simply Master. All right?"
"Yes s- Master Obi-Wan."
Obi-Wan smiled. "Good. All right then, lets start at the beginning. Sit so that you comfortable, but not so comfortable that you fall asleep." He waited until Anakin had copied his own pose. "All right, now close your eyes and breathe -slowly in and slowly out, slowly in and slowly out, let your mind empty -all there is is my voice..."
The teaching had begun.