The Hermit Shack in the Woods, Thursday Evening

[saddeserthermit]

Truth be told, Obi-Wan had seriously considered not returning to Fandom island; the risk to Luke was too great if Vader or another Imperial officer came back and chose to follow him to Tatooine this time. But there were certain obligations he felt too guilty about bound to that he could not simply shirk. Speaking to Kanan was one of these. (Picking up the eopies was another.)

He was certain Anakin could handle Ethics fine without him.

He arrived back on the island early into the evening. He found Rooh nibbling at the grass just outside his hut, and for a moment, he had to smile. Then he sighed, and rubbed his brow, and went to speak to the animals. At least they were comforting.

[[ expecting one, but open for SP! ]]

Comments

[saddeserthermit]

"I wonder as well."

Obi-Wan set his tea aside for the last time. It was simply cold water with a faint flavor at this point.

"Of course, it has been two weeks, and I've yet to see any new Stormtroopers on the island."

[uncertain_dume]

"That just raises more questions," Kanan sighed. "There's no way Vader could have come here and not realized that there are Force users on the island, is there? And even if he managed not to notice, I have a whole new sort of respect for Mara if she looked him right in the... creepy mask... and still managed to not crack and tell him everything she knows."

He frowned and shook his head.

"And from there, we don't even know what she knows for certain, do we?"

The Caleb in him had questions, apparently.

[saddeserthermit]

"No," Obi-Wan said. "And neither does Anakin, I assume. Unless he's still insisting on withholding information 'for our benefit'."

Which it wasn't, Anakin.

By the way.

[uncertain_dume]

"Not much point in asking him, then." In either case, really. Kanan frowned. "I wonder how Mara would react if she was approached about it."

He sounded sort of dubious about the idea, if only because he still wasn't sure if she'd pieced together that he'd been nervous around Vader for reasons beyond just that Vader was karking intimidating. If she hadn't, he wasn't too keen on the prospect of outing himself, either. But the not knowing was terrifying, too.

[saddeserthermit]

"That may be a terrible idea," Obi-Wan pointed out. "Feeling threatened may motivate her to finally go to the Emperor, if Vader did not manage to do the job."

[uncertain_dume]

Kanan grimaced at the thought.

"So... the trick is to be non-threatening," he hedged. "I mean, when Vader was talking to her in the diner, she asked me to stick around. Which, in fairness, could just be so that she could point at me and use my messy death as a distraction while she ran if things got messy, but it's better than nothing."

Marginally.

"It's the not knowing," he added. "I don't want to shake her down or anything, but she has to at least already realize we know there's more to her than the 'dancer from Imperial Center' story that she's been throwing around."

[saddeserthermit]

"Perhaps it would be best if it came from you," Obi-Wan said, after a long pause. "I unfortunately suffer from a spot of fame..."

Which had been fine during the Clone Wars, but was something of a problem now that there was a kill-on-sight order for all Jedi.

[uncertain_dume]

"Whereas I never got the chance to become even so much as infamous," Kanan supplied, his lips pulled into a wry smile. "Yeah, I get it."

He didn't have to like it, but he got it.

[saddeserthermit]

"I can stay near," Obi-Wan said.

He did not particularly enjoy having to send Caleb... Kanan out on his own.

[uncertain_dume]

Kanan shrugged.

"If there's some way to do so without being obvious about it," he replied. "I mean... there's a decent chance I'm going to end up teaching her again at some point. She's already been in my classes before. But if we have no idea what to expect from her..."

Yeah. He could see why the prospect of a half-trained Padawan tackling one of the Emperor's pawns didn't exactly seem like a great idea.

[saddeserthermit]

"Speak with her somewhere out in the open," Obi-Wan said. "It'll be easier for me to conceal myself - and she will be less inclined to make a scene."

[uncertain_dume]

Kanan needed to take a moment to picture Obi-Wan huddling in the bushes in the park, watching him strike up a conversation, and for a brief moment, his mouth pulled into a flicker of a smile.

Okay. He'd needed that.

"That could work," he agreed, if only because of that wonderful mental image. "Now the trick is either being patient until I can bump into her on purpose by accident, or figuring out how to ask her for a conversation about it without intimidating her."

[saddeserthermit]

Obi-Wan's eyes narrowed, but he could not quite catch Kanan's thought processes by sheer force of will.

Yet.

"Perhaps you can arrange for a class outside, and keep her after."

[uncertain_dume]

Kanan sighed and shook his head. Right back to depressing reality, then.

"No good," he replied. "She was in my class when I first started teaching, but she's not actually one of my students this semester. I could aim to try to teach something that she'd feel obligated to take, next time around, but by the time we make it that far, it could be too late."

[saddeserthermit]

There was a pause.

"She is," Obi-Wan said thoughtfully, "Attending Ethics, however..."

[uncertain_dume]

That one got a slow blink out of Kanan, right there.

"... The class you're co-teaching with Skywalker?"

Because Kanan could do 'substitute teacher' or even 'guest lecturer' if it came down to it. Hell, he could even tolerate Anakin if it meant knowing for sure whether or not they had just cause to fear for their lives. But that would be one hell of a class all the same, wouldn't it?

[saddeserthermit]

"Yes," Obi-Wan said. He looked wry. "Ironically, she has been one of our more well-behaved students."

Probably to avoid drawing attentions.

"We could host an outside class, one where you would have an excuse to be present... and I would have an excuse to remain in the area."

[uncertain_dume]

Kanan pursed his lips a little at that, in thought.

"Well, it's Ethics, right? You could do some kind of community charity project, maybe. I'm not sure what exactly there's a need for around this tiny place, but it would be relevant, at least?"

Force, that actually seemed doable.

[saddeserthermit]

"We can certainly look into it," Obi-Wan mused. "Stop by the school before our class next Thursday?"

[uncertain_dume]

"Next Thursday. I can do that. Feel free to put me to work however you need to," Kanan replied, nodding. "You'll let me know what's up then?"

He wasn't even going to be petty and say something like, 'just keep me away from Skywalker.' Lookit him. Almost actually behaving like a functional adult sometimes.