Hermit Shack in the Unexplored Wooded Area, Saturday Morning

[saddeserthermit]

After finding that stone last week, Obi-Wan had slept fitfully and well. Some days, perhaps, even too well. He had turned in shortly before sunset yesterday, struck by a sudden wave of exhaustion, and he had slept until the sun rose again the next morning.

Which was when he sat up in bed with so little warning that half his blankets went spilling to the floor.

His senses had just informed him of two things at once: one, that some strange Force entity had just set foot on the island, and two, that another, vastly more familiar presence had made itself known overnight and he had completely slept through it.

He cast his sheets off the bed the rest of the way, and got dressed quickly.

[[ for one, then two. ]]

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[sith_happened]

Anakin blinked. Small talk. Could he do small talk? "Oh, fine," he said. "Partnered up with Obi-Wan again, just like old times."

[not-foolhardy.livejournal.com]

One must never underestimate the power of small talk, especially when nothing was currently exploding. Especially since this was not exactly the most comfortable situation for her, either.

"I see," Satine said. "Like old times? I hadn't realized quite that much time had passed."

Obi-Wan cleared his throat. "It has been... several years since Mandalore fell. ... Your reign, I mean."

[sith_happened]

Anakin nodded. "We're in a different, less volatile galaxy right now, if you were worried about not recognizing much."

[saddeserthermit]

"This planet is called Earth," Obi-Wan said, "And its natives do not yet know space travel. Nor do they know anything of our galaxy."

[not-foolhardy.livejournal.com]

"I see," Satine replied. "And how long have you been here, and what are you attempting to hide from me?"

[sith_happened]

"I've been here almost ten years, and I'm not hiding a thing," Anakin said.

Other than two wives and four children.

[saddeserthermit]

Obi-Wan had a... slightly more accurate notion of what she was talking about. "As I said, it has been a long time," he said, "and what has transpired since is hardly relevant--"

[not-foolhardy.livejournal.com]

"Relevant?" Satine said pointedly. "Since when are you the expert on what is relevant to me?"

She could tell something was wrong - something worse than simply what her presence stirred up.

[sith_happened]

Anakin coughed into his hand to avoid grinning. He was sooo not getting in the middle of this one.

[saddeserthermit]

You were no use, Anakin. None at all. "All I am saying," Obi-Wan said, using the most placating tone in his arsenal (which sounded more patronizing than anything else), "...is that it has been a long time, and you will only be here for the weekend, so there is hardly time to storm off and fix the sorry state of the galaxy."

[not-foolhardy.livejournal.com]

"I am not going to storm off," Satine said, "Do you take me for a naive fool? You are far more transparent than you realize. And terribly mulish."

And not nearly as good at shielding as he thought he was.

[saddeserthermit]

Obi-Wan's gaze darted briefly to Anakin. "Yours is not the only death I've had to live with," he said, "and the Jedi Order is no more. That is all."

And there was precious little she could do about it. The best he could do was wait in the shadows.

[not-foolhardy.livejournal.com]

She followed the trajectory of his gaze and came to the wrong, if not entirely so, conclusion. (Which was his intention all along, of course.)

"Oh," Satine said, and visibly deflated. "I see."

She took a step closer to him.

[sith_happened]

Anakin chewed his lower lip and didn't try to block her way. He was trying not to be a jealous, overprotective jerk right now.

He was trying very, very hard.

[saddeserthermit]

Obi-Wan offered her his arm; it wasn't quite an instinctive gesture, but an old, familiar one none the less. "It is still good to see you," he said, "But I hope you understand I'd rather not linger on the complexities at the moment."

[not-foolhardy.livejournal.com]

Satine slid her arm through his, and gave his wrist a little squeeze.

Then she looked up at Anakin. "We were planning to have a meal," she said. "Master Skywalker could come with us."

[sith_happened]

Oh, that sounded like the worst date EVER. "I'd love to," he said. "There's some excellent coffee here that can almost count as caf."

[saddeserthermit]

Obi-Wan wouldn't frame it as a date, but if he had, he would not have been even the slightest bit surprised Anakin would jump at the chance to insert himself into it.

"I prefer to stick with the tea," Obi-Wan said. "But Anakin takes to the coffee by the gallons."

[not-foolhardy.livejournal.com]

"I will try both, and make up my own mind," Satine said firmly. "...Which way do we go?"

[sith_happened]

"Out past the pond and onto the main road," Anakin said, pointing.

[not-foolhardy.livejournal.com]

"Thank you," Satine said, with a regal little nod. "Past the pond it is, and we will see about this island of yours."

As Obi-Wan began to walk, so did she.

[sith_happened]

Anakin bit back a sarcastic "at least it's not raining fish" and trailed along.