DISCLAIMER: Star Wars and all publicly recognisable characters, names and references, etc are the sole property of George Lucas, Lucasfilm Ltd, Lucasarts Inc and 20th Century Fox. This fan fiction was created solely for entertainment and no money was made from it. Also, no copyright or trademark infringement was intended. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author. Any other characters, the storyline and the actual story are the property of the author.
The entire family stood in a ring in the main living area. There was Qui-Gon's Mother, who, as head of the household, held the place of honor near the hearth. Then Qui-Gon's older brother Hal and his wife Boni. They had five children, of which Keena was the oldest. Next to her stood her husband and she held her newly named son, Ti-kan in her arms. Qui-Gon's younger sister, Trela, and her husband Brakkan, stood with their four children. Some where amidst them all stood Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan. The Master noted with something akin to amusement that his Apprentice stood next to Fea'la, the pretty girl who was Hal's youngest daughter.
Once all were present, Mother Jinn raised her arms and spoke in solemn intonation.
"Be at peace, all."
The power behind the old woman's words surprised Obi-Wan and even the youngest children quieted.
"In the time-before-time, the Maker of All Things stood in darkness. And she spoke to the emptiness and said 'light' and the sun was born. But it soon grew lonely and asked for companionship. So the Maker of All Things brought forth the moons to be his lovers and the stars were the result of their union. But the twin moons grew jealous of one another and vied for the sun's affection. And the Maker of All Things separated them, so as not to end all she had made. The time the sun ruled was called 'Day' and the time the moons ruled was called 'Night'. And then the Maker looked at what she stood on, and called it 'Ground' and she separated it from the water and called the water 'Sea'. But she grew lonely, and breathed life into the air, water, and ground. And lo, she looked around her and knew that Creation was good."
"Let us give thanks," the group intoned. Obi-Wan was startled. Fea'la had told him of the ritual story telling, but not of the responses. She noticed his embarrassment and reached out and squeezed his hand.
Mother Jinn continued to tell of how the Maker of All Things had made creatures that ate other creatures and how this made her sad. Obi-Wan furrowed his brow. At the Jedi Temple, he'd learned many Creation stories from the different cultures, but he had noticed that they were all fairly similar. They all dealt with finding and defining one's place in the great scheme of things. It gave him some comfort to know he wasn't the only one who sometimes wondered his purpose in life.
When the story was finished, the entire group went outside, standing on the new fallen snow. A great bonfire was constructed and lit. Obi-Wan felt the flames heating his face, even though he was standing many meters away from it. The children began a complicated dance, singing as they moved their little bodies in sync to the music. The music came from a set of rude pipes and a drum that two of the older children played. Obi-Wan watched in amazement.
Qui-Gon stood somewhat back from the main crowd of his family, watching, arms crossed in typical Jedi fashion. Obi-Wan drifted slowly over until he stood beside him. Qui-Gon glanced down affectionately at his Padawan. "Are you enjoying yourself, Obi-Wan?"
"Yes, Master."
"Excellent, Padawan. I, too, am happy here."
"I can see why you like to come home a lot," Obi-Wan ventured, shyly.
Qui-Gon chuckled softly. He was about to speak again when Fea'la came bouncing over, dark braids flying.
"Come on, Obi-Wan!" She cried, taking his hand in her mitten-covered one.
"Where are we going?" He laughed, as he was dragged away.
"To dance," she answered.
Obi-Wan glanced at Qui-Gon, asking permission. The Jedi Master nodded, a slight smile crinkling his face.
Qui-Gon watched as Obi-Wan's Jedi coordination helped him quickly pick up the rhythm of the dance. The boy was not as clumsy as he had once been and he appeared to be having a good time. Not for the first time, Qui-Gon reminded himself to have a talk with the boy about Fea'la. He winced. It wouldn't do him any good to put it off any more, but he had no wish to go through with it either.
Obi-Wan smiled with satisfaction. After the dancing had finished, the children had grabbed sleds from the barn and spent the afternoon flying down the hill at breakneck speeds. When they were all exhausted, they had trooped back to the house. Fea'la's hand was snuggled deep in his own. They were walking at the back of the main bevy of children, dragging their shared sled behind them. They had steadily grown farther and farther away from the others.
As they entered the barn, Obi-Wan realized that they were now quite alone. His heart rate suddenly quickened. He turned to face Fea'la. Her cheeks were flushed with cold and her eyes were bright with excitement. He noticed she had some snow in her hair and reached up to brush it away with his hand. She closed her eyes briefly. Once he touched her hair, he couldn't bring himself to move his hand away.
She at him, and he found himself getting lost in her luminous brown eyes. He moved forward slightly and she moved towards him. They both closed their eyes as their lips met.
Qui-Gon was sitting in the living room, playing a game with two of his nephews when he stiffened suddenly. He blinked and then his eyes went very wide.
"Has anyone seen Obi-Wan lately?" He asked, trying to keep his voice neutral.
Hal looked up from the book he was reading. "Or Fea'la for that matter?"
"That's what worries me."
"You're right," said Hal, his bravado from the previous day gone. He stood abruptly.
"I'll finish the game later, boys. I promise," Qui-Gon said hurriedly to his nephews as he and his brother left the room.
"Where are they? Can you tell?" Hal asked his brother.
"They're close by, that's all I can tell." Qui-Gon looked at his brother, with a faint smile. "Where did you always take the girls when you were that age?"
Hal grinned and led the way to the barn.
"Ahem," Qui-Gon coughed loudly. Obi-Wan and Fea'la jumped apart.
"Uncle Qui-Gon! Daddy! Uh, I had something in my eye…uh, Obi-Wan was just trying to help me…" She trailed off.
"Master, I can explain."
Obi-Wan felt Qui-Gon's large hand take a firm grip on his arm. "You and I are going to have a long, long talk, Padawan."
Obi-Wan spared a glance in Fea'la's direction as he was dragged rather unceremoniously from the barn. She was getting a similar lecture from her father. He winced. He had a bad feeling about this…