Memories - Ch. 4-4

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Anakin closed the door behind Tahiri, and looked down at the pile of boxes still sitting there. He let out a small groan.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

He gestured towards the boxes, and said, "I just have to unpack these things today."

She grinned up at him. "I'll help you!"

Then she turned slightly, and looked down the hallway, towards the bedrooms. Her head tilted to the side slightly. "Who's that?"

Anakin looked that way, and saw Sannah peering around one corner.

"Hey, Sannah." he called out. "Come here, I have someone I want you to meet."

Sannah slowly crept forward, looking as if she might bolt into her room at any second. When she got closer, Anakin gestured towards Tahiri, "Sannah, this is a friend of mine, Tahiri. Tahiri, this is Sannah, someone who's staying with us for a bit."

A wide grin appeared on Tahiri's face. "It's nice to meet you Sannah!"

Anakin grinned at the yellow-eyed girl. "And you can help me unpack too."

Sannah's face grew clouded, but Tahiri started bouncing up and down. "Yes, please help us, Sannah. We can have lots of fun!"

Anakin bent down and picked up a couple of boxes, and started carrying them towards his bedroom. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Tahiri and Sannah both pick up a box and follow after him. He pushed open his door and put the boxes he was carrying down on the floor. A few moments later, Tahiri walked in, her eyes wide as she looked around the room.

"So, this is Anakin's room." She quietly said.

Behind her, Sannah came into the room. She was hunched over the box she was carrying and as soon as she got into the room, dropped to the floor alongside the box. She looked up at Anakin. "That was heavy. I'm tired now."

Anakin shook his head slightly. "You only carried that one box."

She lifted her eyes at him, and Anakin sighed. Then he said, "Fine, the two of you start unpacking, and I'll bring the rest of the boxes over."

He walked out of the room and back down the hall to retrieve the next box. As he was returning, he could hear the girls' voices as they talked to one another. He grimaced, wondering just what sort of trouble those two were getting themselves into. As he stepped into the room, he saw the girls sitting on the floor in the middle of the room, each with a canapé in hand and happily chewing. The brown bag that Tahiri had been holding was a few paces away from them, discarded and forgotten.

Anakin sighed and set the boxes down. He then turned around and went to retrieve the remaining ones.

A few hours later, everything was unpacked and Anakin stood in the doorway, looking at his room, nodding his head in approval.

From behind him, he heard Mara Jade speak, "The room looks nice. I brought over a snack if anyone wants it."

Tahiri spun around, grinning happily. "Please!"

Mara turned away and walked down the hall, Tahiri happily skipping after her. Anakin began walking that way, and noticed that Sannah was still standing in the middle of his room, an odd expression on her face.

He turned to face her. "What's wrong Sannah?"

At the sound of his voice, the girl jumped. She focused her attention on Anakin and began shaking her head quickly. "Nothing. I'm just tired. I... I think I'm going to go lay down right now."

Anakin watched her as she slipped past him and padded softly down the hall to her room. She went in and closed the door with a soft snickt sound. For a moment, he watched her closed door, wondering if everything was all right. Then he gave a slow shake of his head and went into the kitchen to find Tahiri and Mara happily chatting.

As he entered, Tahiri grinned up at him, but it quickly faltered. "Where's Sannah?"

Anakin shook his head. "She was tired and went to take a nap."

Mara set a plate of small cakes and a pot of caf on the table. Tahiri's grin reappeared as she looked towards Mara. "Thank you!"

Mara Jade nodded her head and smiled at the girl as she helped herself to some. Anakin took a piece as well, and in between bites, asked Tahiri, "So, did you ever find your missing item?"

Tahiri's head dipped a bit as she slowly shook it. "No, I've not found it yet. But I will, I know it."

"Missing item?" Mara asked.

"Yeah," Anakin replied, while nodding his head. "She lost something. I'm not certain what it is, but she says it's something important to her."

Tahiri quickly nodded her head as well. "Yeah, and Anakin helped me look for it yesterday, so that's why I'm helping him today." She focused on Anakin. "So, was I helpful today?"

Anakin grinned at her. "Yeah, you were helpful."

She smiled happily at him. "Good. I wanted to make sure I was helpful, after all, if I said I would and then I wasn't helpful I would be a liar wouldn't I?"

Before anyone could answer her, she switched subjects and began talking about the stuff that Anakin had in his room. As Tahiri talked, Anakin glanced towards Mara, and noticed that she once more had a slightly haunted look on her face as she occasionally glanced towards Tahiri. As if there was something that she was trying to figure out or remember.

Anakin gave an internal shrug and put it from his mind. After the snack was finished, Tahiri helped clear the table and then glanced at the chrono on the wall. "Oh! I've got to get home."

Mara stepped out from behind the kitchen counter. "Thank you for visiting with us today. Come by anytime."

Tahiri waved and then walked towards the door, Anakin following behind her. She paused at the door and looked down the hallway. "I wanted to tell Sannah goodbye."

Anakin looked down the hall as well, and slowly shook his head. "I guess she's still taking a nap. I'll tell her for you."

"Thanks," she said, grinning at him and then she slipped out the door and into the hallway.

Later that night, Anakin dropped onto his bed, his muscles aching slightly from carrying the boxes around earlier. He sighed and twinned his hands together beneath his head, and stared up at the ceiling. A soft knock drew his attention and he grunted as he slipped off the bed. He went over to the door and opened it, smiling as he saw Jaina standing there.

"So, you made it back," he said.

"Yes," she replied.

"Are you here to give me a massage?"

Confusion flickered on her face for a moment. "No..."

"Ah, well then, good night," he said as he started to close the door.

"Anakin, wait," Jaina responded pushing the door back open.

He tried again. "Bye."

She pushed open the door. "Don't say 'bye.'"

He swung the door close again, this time saying, "See you."

She pushed open the door once more. "And don't say 'see you' either. I need my notes back."

This time it was Anakin's turn to be confused. "Notes?"

"Yes," she responded. "The notes that I let you borrow so you could understand what Master Horn was talking about during class? I need them back because I've got an assignment to finish."

Anakin thought for a moment, trying to remember where he had left those notes. Finally, he remembered. "They're at the academy. I'll give them to you tomorrow."

"Tomorrow is too late. My assignment is due tomorrow."

Anakin rubbed at his face with his hands. "Can we figure this out tomorrow then?"

She frowned at him. "No!"

"What do you want me to do?" he shot back.

"That's what I want you to tell me," she said.

Anakin sighed and started to pace. He stopped and looked at her. "Do you want me to go and get them form the Temple?"

She frowned for a moment, and then dropped her head, slowly shaking it from side to side. Anakin watched that happened and then remembered Kiori's words to him.

"Fine," he said. "I'll go and get them."

Her head snapped up and she grinned at him. "Really?"

He nodded. "Yeah, really. Kiori was on my case about being nice to you, so I guess I had better."

She threw her arms around his neck, wrapping him in a tight hug. "Thanks Anakin," she whispered into his ear.

He nodded his head as she dropped back to the flats of her feet, then walked around her and left the apartment.

In silence, he walked the path towards the Jedi Temple, allowing his feet to lead him on their own. Suddenly he found himself by one of the rivers which run by the Temple, with no real recollection of how found his way there. He frowned as he watched the dark water rush past, the babble of the river an oddly soothing counterpoint to the speed and urgency with which the water flowed.

A half memory flashed through his mind, paddling down a river while rain pelted him from above. He shivered as fear clutched at him. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he turned away and hiked up the bank and continued on his way to the Temple.

He arrived and stared at the stone edifice, noting how lonely it looked at night when there was no one there. The clouds parted and a shaft of silver moonlight highlighted the temple, giving it a bluish glow. Anakin shrugged and continued on into the Temple, quickly making his way to his classroom. He retrieved Jaina's notes and then made to leave.

As he walked through the halls, heading towards the exit, he heard a soft shuffle sound. As if someone was trying to move as quietly as possible. He frowned and looked down the hallway to his right, noticing an outline of a person standing by the windows that lined one side of that hall. The deep shadows of the night hid who it was, and Anakin stepped forward.

Then the clouds parted, and a beam of silver moonlight broke into the window, starting at the one nearest him, and moving towards the shadow.

The light reached her, and Anakin inhaled sharply. She was standing tall and straight and was dressed in some type of leather armor which left her arms and legs bare. A belt was strapped around her waist, and a long tooth was attached to it. In one hand, she held an ornate sword. The steel of the sword's blade gleamed in the moonlight and her red hair was braided into a single, long strand which hung down her back.

She turned towards him and her gray eyes flashed in the moonlight as she lifted the sword.

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