Memories Ch. 11

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A Dream...

The day that the dream lost its end...

In the same way, at the same place, for so long, I can only wait. There is nothing else.

That's why... that's why I continue to wait.

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Anakin placed the last book onto the shelf and then straightened up. He slowly surveyed the room: the closet door was slightly open with her clothes hanging there, the shelves which held the holonovels that she loved, and her bed which had been made for the first time since she had moved in.

A sharp pain lanced through his heart, and he inhaled through clenched teeth.

A small rustle drew his attention, and he turned to the doorway to find Mara and Jaina standing there. Both of them watched him, concern in their eyes.

He turned away from them again, to look at her room. "I think I'm going to leave this room like this for now."

"Are you sure tha-" Mara began but Jaina interrupted her.

"I think that's a great idea, Anakin."

A short while later, Anakin and Jaina were walking down the path, heading towards the Temple.

"Hey Anakin," she began. "Are you starting to remember the past?"

"Huh?"

"Well, you remembered Sannah, right?" she went on. "So maybe something else came back."

Anakin thought for a moment and then shook his head. "Nope. Everything I remembered was about her. Everything else is either fuzzy or just blank holes." They drew nearer the Temple gates, and he glanced over at her to ask, "Didn't you have practice this morning?"

She shook her head. "No, I took the day off. Everyone needs a break every now and then."

"Ah," he said, looking down at her. "So does that mean we can walk home together after school?"

"Sure," she replied with a smile.

Together they went the rest of the way to their classroom.

As they entered, Kiori and Raynar look up from a book on Kiori's desk.

"Good morning," Anakin called to them.

Raynar straightened up from where he was leaning over Kiori's desk and walked towards Anakin. "Ah, I see you've finally decided to rejoin us. And you're still wearing those shabby clothes of yours."

Anakin smiled at him and then laughed. "Well, I like my shabby clothes. They're comfortable. Though, I would prefer it if you wouldn't wear such bright things to class. The colors are distracting you know."

Raynar smirked at him. "I would, but these are the colors of the House of Thul. I've got to wear them and try to bring a bright spot to your otherwise dull existence."

Kiori looked towards Jaina. "Those two sure are weird when they're together."

Jaina giggled. "Yeah, they're almost made for each other."

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Anakin sat on the low wall that surrounded the meditation garden. Beside him sat Nelani, her customary shawl wrapped tightly around her shoulders.

"Is your cold all better?" she asked.

He nodded his head. "Yes. And just so you know, I didn't catch it from you."

Nelani giggled. "That's good to know."

"How about you? Are you staying home like you're supposed to?"

She giggled again and shook her head. "No. It was boring not being able to see you."

"Ah," Anakin said.

Suddenly, Nelani's stomach gurgled, and her cheeks flushed a bright red. "Uhm... it appears that I'm hungry."

"Well, if you're hungry you shoul-"

"No!" Nelani interrupted an obstinate look appearing on her face.

"I haven't said anything yet!"

"You want me to go home, don't you." she accused, her brows knitting together into a frown. "You want me to be good and try to get better, right?"

"Of course!" he replied. "You don't get better because you keep coming here."

She looked down, the expression on her face falling slightly. "I hate people who say stuff like that."

"I don't care," Anakin shot back. "Go home."

Her head snapped back up, the obstinacy once more shining brightly in her eyes.

Anakin sighed. "What am I going to do with you?"

"Sorry," she replied, allowing her chin to lower to her chest. "I'm pretty selfish, aren't I? Yet, you always seem to worry about me."

Anakin looked at her, noticing the slight flush still on her cheeks. Finally, he looked away. "So, is there something you'd like to eat?"

"Eh?" she said, looking up at him.

He turned to face her, a half-grin coming to his lips. "You're hungry right? I'll go buy you something to eat."

A smile instantly brightened her face. "Anakin!"

Feeling his own cheeks start to burn from a blush, he said. "Hurry up and tell me, before I run out of time."

"Okay! Then I'd like some ice cream."

Anakin nodded his head and darted inside. He headed towards the cafeteria and bought a small container of ice cream. Then he returned to her side, and handed it to her.

She smiled happily as she opened the container and took a bite.

"Shouldn't we at least go inside?" Anakin asked.

Nelani shook her head. "No, if one of the Masters saw me, I'd get in trouble."

She took another bite. Anakin watched as she ate happily and then turned to face the Temple again.

"That... and..."

He turned back towards her, wondering what she was going to say.

Instead she just shook her head, and turned her smile on him again. "Oh, never mind." She took another bite. "This is good."

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"Anakin."

Jaina's voice cut through the darkness. Then he felt a finger pressed hard against the side of his head for a moment, before that sensation disappeared. He cracked open his eyes, to find Jaina leaning over him.

She grinned at him. "It's lunch time."

He stretched and straightened up in his seat. "Yeah, I know."

"So," Raynar began. "Are we all going to eat in the cafeteria or what?"

Anakin shook his head. "Sorry. I have something to do."

He walked out of the class, hearing his friends behind him wondering who he always ate lunch with. Smiling to himself, he went to the Grand Audience chamber, and then up the small stairs behind the stage, heading to the small landing where he had so often ate lunch with Tenel Ka and Eyrl. He frowned as neither of the girls was there yet, and the blanket they ate on was folded neatly in the desk where they stored it.

He looked around for a moment. "I wonder if they went somewhere else?"

Shrugging his shoulders, he went back down the stairs and began walking around the Temple looking for the two girls. He turned a corner, to find a group of older trainees looking at a large piece of board attached over a broken window.

Frowning, Anakin glanced up and down the hall, recognizing it as the one where he often found Tenel Ka in the middle of the night.

Snippets of conversation floated from the group of students.

"I heard she broke it again." "She's an odd one, that's for sure." "She should be expelled soon, how many times is Master Skywalker going to forgive her for doing this type of stuff?"

Anakin clenched his fist, angered by the gossipy nature of the other student's murmurings. He turned away, and continued on down the hall. Finally, he found Eyrl.

She was leaning against the wall, across from his uncle's office. Anakin walked over and stood beside her.

"Is Tenel Ka in there?" he asked, gesturing with one hand to his uncle's office.

She nodded her head.

"What happened?"

Eyrl looked down for a moment, and then back up at Anakin. "A few years ago, Tenel Ka returned to finish her training. On the first night she was here, she knocked down a wall and broke a window and tore up a classroom. Even when I asked, she wouldn't tell me why. Ever since then, whenever something gets broken, she gets blamed."

Anakin frowned again, and then asked, "Do you think she did it?"

Eyrl sighed. "I don't know. She didn't tell me that she did, and if she did do it, I'm sure that she has a good reason to do so. So..."

Then the door to Luke's office opened, and Tenel Ka stepped out. She closed the door behind her, as Eyrl took a step forward.

"Tenel Ka," she began. "How was it?"

Tenel Ka turned to face her. "I got reprimanded."

"That's all?" Eyrl said, sounding slightly amazed. "No suspension?"

"No."

Anakin let out a sigh of relief, releasing a breath he hadn't realized that he was holding.

"Eyrl?" Tenel Ka said.

"Hm? What is it?"

"I'm hungry."

Eyrl grinned at her. "Okay! Wait at the usual spot. I'll bring the food."

Then Eyrl turned away, running down the hall towards her classroom.

A few moments after Eyrl left, Anakin and Tenel Ka turned the other way and headed towards the Grand Audience chamber and the small ledge where they usually took their lunches.

They passed a couple of Jedi trainees, two human males that Anakin didn't recognize. As soon as they had passed, he could hear their conversation.

"Hey, she's the one."

"Oh her isn't it."

Then they were too far away for Anakin to hear anymore. After a few more steps, he glanced towards Tenel Ka. "You're pretty famous here, aren't you?" He thought for a couple more minutes. "If we don't do something, it could be pretty bad, right?"

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Anakin stared out the window of the classroom, one hand propping up his head as he watched the clouds pass by. He was not really paying attention to the view, merely lost in his own thoughts. Then Jaina leaned over his desk, and said, "Anakin, class is over."

"Right now," he replied. "That doesn't matter at all to me."

"Yes it does. We're going home together today."

"Who is?" He asked as he lifted his head from his palm, and turned to face his sister.

"Anakin is."

"With who?"

"With me."

"Why?"

"Because you promised."

"Who?"

"Anakin did."

"With who?"

"With me."

"Why?"

"Because you promised."

"Who did?"

"Who's going to deliver the punch line?" Raynar asked. Anakin leaned back in his seat as Jaina straightened. He looked up and found Raynar standing by his desk, his arms crossed over his chest as he watched the two of them.

Anakin smirked at him, and replied, "We were hoping you would."

Jaina tilted her head slightly. "You're not going home yet, Raynar?"

"Kiori has a club to attend," he replied, a smile flickering onto his face. "So I'm waiting for that to end."

Just then Kiori walked past the open door to the class, and waved in their direction. "Okay, I'm going home now. See you all tomorrow."

Shock registered on Raynar's face. "Hey! Wait up a second! Hey! Kiori!" Then he was running from the room, chasing after her.

Anakin watched him for a moment, the smirk still on his lips. Then he glanced towards Jaina, the smirk turning into a full fledged grin. "Let's go home, big sister."

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Anakin and Jaina walked down the hallway side by side.

Movement along the wall up ahead, drew his attention, and he glanced that way to see a piece of plastic covering a hole in the window. The window Tenel Ka was accused of breaking. He frowned at it for a moment, and then turned towards Jaina.

"Hey Jaina, what do you think is the secret to being popular?"

"Secret?" she replied, turning to face him, a confused look on her face.

"Yeah, everyone's all over you, right?" he asked, a half-grin appearing on his face. "So teach me what someone has to do to be popular."

"I don't really know. I'm not really that popular at all."

Anakin sighed, and they walked a few more steps in silence as he watched his feet and chewed on his lower lip.

"Well then..." he began as he raised his head. "Is there a way to make a girl... well, look more like a girl?"

Jaina's frown deepened. "I... I don't think I understand what you're saying. Don't I look like a girl?"

"No! I'm not talking about you. Uh, I know, is there some way to make a Kowakian monkey-lizard look like a cute girl?"

"Does this girl really look like a monkey-lizard? If so, I kind of want to see her."

Anakin scratched at the top of his head. "Well, no... She doesn't look like a monkey lizard."

"Well then..." Jaina said, bringing her head to face Anakin fully, her lips twisted into a mischievous grin. "Is she cute?"

"Well..." Anakin replied, rubbing the top of his head slightly.

Then his shoulders slumped and he sighed.

Jaina suddenly stopped walking. After a few steps, Anakin stopped as well, and turned to find Jaina pointing to a flyer posted on one of the bulletin boards. He glanced at it, noticing that it had a base color of a bright pink, and was decorated with flowers and sweets.

"You could enter her in this," Jaina said.

"A poster about tooth decay?"

Jaina pushed against his shoulder, "Tooth decay? How? What are you talking about?"

Anakin looked closer at the flyer, this time making the effort to read the writing on its face. "Dance festival?"

"Oh no!" Jaina suddenly said as she straightened up. "I left something in the class. I'll catch up to you at the main entrance."

Then she turned from him and ran back down the hall. Anakin watched her for a moment, and then turned back and read the poster again.

"A dance huh..."

He then yanked the poster down from the wall, and took off at a run, heading deeper into the Temple, towards where Tenel Ka had her classes. He finally found Tenel Ka and Eyrl, and slid to a stop, shoving the poster into Tenel Ka's face.

"Tenel Ka, here! Look at this."

"Too close." she replied, calmly staring at the flimsie he continued to hold next to her nose.

Eyrl looked around Tenel Ka and saw the flyer. "Ah, the Dance Festival. The one that the Student Council is sponsoring."

"It is too close to see," Tenel Ka said again.

Anakin still ignored her, and turned his attention to Eyrl. "I'm making Tenel Ka participate in this."

Eyrl's mouth dropped open.

"It is too close to see," Tenel Ka said again.

"Oh," Anakin replied, and pulled his arm back slightly.

Tenel Ka took the flimsie from him, and began to read it.

"It's an effort to improve Tenel Ka's image," Anakin began. "If she dresses up and joins in on the fun, then more of the students will like her, and they won't say bad things about her."

Eyrl nodded her head slowly. "That might be a good idea." She then turned to Tenel Ka. "Tenel, let's try it!"

"I do not have a dress," Tenel Ka replied.

"You can just borrow that from someone," Anakin said happily. He then glanced over at Eyrl, asking, "Say, do you have one?"

Eryl shook her head. "I don't, but I'll ask someone I know. Could you help search as well?"

Anakin thought for a moment. "Aunt Mara might have something... anything Jaina has would probably be too small..."

Shock rolled through him. "Shavit!" he exclaimed as he suddenly remembered that he was supposed to meet up with Jaina at the main entrance.

A few minutes later, he pulls to a stop in front of her, his chest heaving with the exertion of running through the Jedi Temple.

She looked up at him with sad eyes. "Liar."

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Anakin sat across the table from Jaina, watching as she happily ate the large desert in front of her. It came in a tall, wide cup. At the base was a chocolate cake, resting above that was various fruits. Topping the fruit was a scoop of ice cream, and then hot fudge was drizzled over it all.

"You feeling better now," he asked.

She nodded her head. "Yeah, I love these things."

He arched an eyebrow at her. "I'm surprised that you can eat so much of just that."

She grinned at him. "I think I'd be okay with three more." She then took another bite, closing her eyes as she savored the flavor.

Around an hour later, they step out of the cafe and onto the street of the business district. Anakin looked right and then left for a moment. Finally, he focused once more on Jaina. "Hey, do you or Aunt Mara have a fancy dress?"

"A dress?" she asked, confused.

"Yeah," he replied. "That girl I was talking about earlier, she signed up for the dance, but she needs a dress. And well, since it was your idea, I figured you could help her get one."

Jaina rolled her eyes. "Even if you do say that, I don't think Aunt Mara has one, and everything like that that I have is on Coruscant."

Anakin sighed, and shoved his thumbs into his belt. "Well then, in that case, where else can I look?"

Suddenly, someone slapped his shoulder from behind. He turned to see who it was, and finds himself looking at Tahiri as she smiled brightly up at him.

"Anakin!"

He frowned and shook his head. "I don't think so."

"What are you talking about," she asked.

"Just to be sure," Anakin replied. "You don't have a dress do you?"

"A dress? Why?"

Anakin frowned at her again. "Haven't you been listening? A dress for the dance festival."

Tahiri shook her head slowly. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"You're our last hope," Anakin said grabbing her hand in both of his. "And still, you're all like, 'I don-'"

"Anakin" Jaina interrupted, causing Anakin turned his attention from Tahiri to Jaina. "You're getting harder and harder to understand."

Tahiri pulled her hand from him, and moved from where she was standing to beside Jaina.

"That's right," Tahiri began. "I've not seen you in such a long time, and when we finally do meet, you start saying such weird things."

"Not to mention," said Jaina. "That that was a really rude way to speak to someone."

"That's right Dummy! You're so rude and mean."

Then both of the girls, turned to face one another and smiling, at the same time said, "Right?"

After a moment of smiling at each other, matching frowns appeared on their faces, as they once again spoke at the same time. "Who are you?"

Anakin could only hang his head and sigh.

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They stepped into their shared apartment, Tahiri peering around them.

"Aunt Mara! Are you here?" Jaina called out. "Tahiri's came over to play with us!"

Mara comes strolling out of the kitchen, a bundle of white fur cradled in her arms. "Jaina, Anakin, look! Ikrit came back."

Jaina's face lit up, and she stretched her arms out, and began walking towards Mara, saying "Ikrit!"

Anakin jumped in front of her, checking her movement. "Idiot, don't forget you're allergic to him."

From behind him, he could hear Tahiri. "Ah, that's the animal that stole the canapés."

Anakin glanced over his shoulder at her, saying, "So, he's your accomplice."

She stomped her feet, and balled her hands into fists. "I don't have an accomplice!"

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Anakin was settled on one of the couches, Jaina beside him, glaring at Tahiri who sat across from them, petting Ikrit who was sleeping on her lap. He glanced at his sister, and stifled a laugh that he knew she wouldn't appreciate, and then turned back to Tahiri.

"You still haven't found what you're looking for?"

"No. But I'll find it one day. I know I will," Tahiri replied, a smile on her face.

From beside him, Jaina interjected, "I want to pet Ikrit..."

Anakin glanced at his sister again, and the turned his attention back to Tahiri. "Hey, you want to eat with us?"

Tahiri's eyes widened slightly. "Are you sure it's okay?"

"Of course, but if it'll make you feel better, you could always ask Aunt Mara."

The three went into the kitchen and make the request. In response, Mara arched one eyebrow and turned towards Anakin. "Does this mean you think I'm spending too much time over here?"

Anakin laughed, shaking his head. "Not at all, it's just that she wanted permission."

Mara turned back to Tahiri. "I don't have a problem with it, but you should probably com your parents. We don't want them getting upset when it gets too late."

Tahiri nodded her head once, and rushed over to the com unit built into the wall. She punched a code into the base quickly, and listened to the chime coming from the unit. After a few moments, she frowned. "That's odd, no one is answering."

"Maybe they're out doing something?" Jaina supplied.

Tahiri's back straightened in surprise. She glanced up at Mara who was standing beside her and then over towards Jaina.

"I just remembered, my family is off planet right now."

"Really?" Mara asked and Tahiri looked up at her.

"You can't forget something like that," Anakin said, drawing Tahiri's attention away from Mara.

"Really," Tahiri said, more to herself than to the others. "Why did I forget that?"

"Hey, I got a great idea, Tahiri," Jaina suddenly exclaimed. "Why don't you stay here with us until your family gets back?"

"Huh?" Tahiri replied.

"That's a good idea," said Anakin. "Especially for someone like you."

Jaina smacked him on the shoulder. "That was uncalled for."

"But..."

"It'll be all right," Mara interrupted. "There's plenty of room here."

Tahiri just kept glancing between them all, and Anakin smiled at her. "Just take the offer." Then his smile became more mischievous. "Or are you okay being all alone at night?"

Her eyes snapped open wider in fear. "I'm not okay!"

"Then it's decided," Jaina said with a smile on her face as she clapped her hands. "You'll be staying with us, starting today!"

Tahiri sighed and looked up at Mara. "Are you sure it's okay?"

Mara nodded her head.

Tahiri looked down, and Anakin could see a blush coloring her cheeks. Almost inaudibly, she whispered, "Thank you..."

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Anakin sat in one of the conform chairs in the living room, staring at, but not reading, the datapad he held loosely in one hand.

"Hey Anakin?" Tahiri's soft voice seemed to float from behind him.

He stretched his neck, turning to glance at her, "Yeah?"

"What happened to Sannah? I thought she was staying with you."

Anakin frowned and then turned his attention back to the datapad. "She... she went home."

"To her house?"

Anakin closed his eyes for a minute. "Something like that. Just... she's gone. We'll never get to see her again."

"Oh," was the reply, her voice soft and introspective. "I had wanted to talk to her again."

Before he could think of something to say to that, he heard the soft sound of her feet as she padded away from him. With his free hand he scrubbed at his face for a moment, wondering once again just what Sannah's fate ultimately was.

Jaina came out from the kitchen, and dropped into the seat across from him. He looked up at her, and smirked as she smiled at him.

"Well," he began. "You seem happy that Tahiri's going to be staying with us for a bit?"

Jaina looked away, towards the corner of the room. "Yeah. Well, with Sannah not being here anymore, it was getting kind of lonely and well..."

Her voice drifted off, and he watched as she stared at the wall for a moment. "Aunt Mara may seem gruff, but she's happiest when she has someone to look over. She's actually a lot like Uncle Luke that way. Besides, the way you bring home girls... it's... it's almost like you're bringing home pets."

Something about the way Jaina said that last bit resonated through him. He looked closer at her, noticing the shine of a solitary tear as it tracked down her face.

Her lips twitched into a smile. "And I think I'll end up being good friends with Tahiri. She's lively."

Anakin snorted. "You've been thinking hard about this, haven't you? And here I thought you were all spaced out, and unaware of things."

Her eyes narrowed, and an angry flush came quickly to her cheeks. "That was uncalled for." She quickly stood up. "I'm going to bed."

Then she stormed from the room. He watched, a wry grin tugging at one side of his lips. After he heard the door to her room close, he tossed the datapad onto the small table beside the chair and stood up, glancing out the windows, looking out at the night.

"Well then," he said to himself. "I wonder if she's there."

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He stepped out of the lift, and walked down the corridor. Turning a corner, he found Tenel Ka staring out into the night, her sword held loosely in one hand.

"You've not learned your lesson yet, huh?"

She continued to stare out at the night. Ignoring him.

"I've not come here in a while, I know. But... it can't be helped. I was with Sannah this whole time."

He noticed her eyes flickered towards him as he had said Sannah's name. Then she spoke. "How is she?"

He shook his head. "Long story." Then he reached into the bag that he carried, and pulled out a sandwich. "But first, let's eat."

He smiled at her, watching as she eat the sandwich. "You don't even let your guard down while you eat, huh? I know-why don't you fill me in on just why you're here, fighting all alone."

She swallowed hard. "Even if I say it, no one will believe me."

Anakin shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "I don't think that's true. At the least, Eryl will listen to you."

Tenel Ka shook her head. "I don't want to make her worry."

"Well, I can understand that, but why do the demons always attack you? What's their purpose?"

"I... I do not know."

He frowned for a moment. "If you beat the demons, will you find out?"

"Perhaps."

Silence settled on them for a few moments, before Tenel Ka spoke again. "About that girl..."

"You mean Sannah?"

"Yes. You were nice to her?"

Anakin smiled. "Yeah. I was."

She turned back towards the night, and finished eating her sandwich. Anakin collected the trash, and then turned to go. "Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow then."

The next morning, he stepped into the kitchen, to have his nose assaulted by a burnt smell. He looked down at the table, to find a dozen plates, filled with blackened, unidentifiable foods. Tahiri sat at one of the chairs of the table, a perplexed look on her soot covered face. Jaina stepped up beside him, her nose twitching slightly at the smell.

"Did you do this?" he asked Tahiri.

She looked up at him for a moment, and then back towards the plates of food. "Yes. It was supposed to be a 'thank you' for letting me stay... but... I… I kind of messed things up."

Jaina picked up one of the plates, raising it so she could inspect it better. "Is this supposed to be sunny-side-up eggs?"

Tahiri's face lit up with a smile. "Exactly! You could tell!"

"This isn't the time to be impressed!" Anakin yelled at her.

She lowered her head again, saying, "Sorry."

A short time later, Anakin and Jaina were running through the streets, heading towards the temple.

Jaina glanced over at him. "Hurry it up, little brother, or we're going to be late."

"Well, it's your fault for making us help her clean up that mess."

"Idiot, she was trying to be nice to us."

Anakin just shook his head, and then turned the final corner, and ran through the gates of the Temple. Anakin leaned over, his chest heaving from the exertion, and he glanced at the chrono attached to his comlink. "Hey, we got ten minutes left."

"Really?" she replied. "That's a new record for us."

"Yeah, it's a miracle."

"Listen to the two of you. The way you talk, you would think that miracles are common place." Kiori said from behind them. They turned, finding her standing there, arms crossed over her chest, an odd expression on her face.

Anakin shrugged his shoulders. "We had to run here so having ten minutes to spare is a miracle."

"Miracles," Kiori said as her face darkened slightly. "They don't happen that easily."

"Huh?" Anakin said, confused.

"I'm going on ahead," Kiori said, pushing between them. "See you."

Anakin watched her storm away for a moment, and then turned to Jaina. "Is there something wrong with Kiori today?"

Jaina frowned for a moment, still watching her friend. "Looks like it."

Later, Master Horn was lecturing and writing on the board. Anakin glanced over to find Jaina sleeping at her desk. He looked behind her to find Kiori staring at the board, transfixed and ignoring everyone.

He sighed to himself, and then looked out the window. Out in the garden stood Nelani, wrapped in her customary shawl, staring up towards him. She seemed to notice his attention, as she suddenly waved at him.

He found himself grinning despite the tension pouring off Kiori, and he waved at her in return.

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At the first break, Anakin was seated next to Nelani in the small garden they always meet in. He glanced at her. "Do you have a dress?"

"A dress?"

"Yeah. If you have one, I need to borrow it."

She thought for a moment, and then shook her head. "Nope. Sorry. I don't know where to get one. And if I did, I don't think it would fit you..."

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Anakin stood next to Kiori, over Jaina's desk, as she slowly shook Jaina, trying to wake her up.

"Jaina," she said. "It's lunchtime."

Anakin shook his head. "It's no use, she's out cold."

A voice drifted from the doorway. "Is Anakin Solo here?"

Anakin looked up, to find Eryl standing there. As he straightened, Raynar grabbed his tunic, and pulled him around to face him. "Anakin! Explain to me just how it is you know such a pretty girl?"

He smirked, and brushed his arm off. "Sorry, I'm in a hurry. See ya."

Raynar sighed. "It's just not fair. Such a beautiful girl."

"So," Anakin heard Kiori say. "She's your type huh?"

"No," was Raynar's quick response. "I prefer you."

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They were all seated in their usual places, the food laid out on the mat between them.

"So, you were able to get a dress?" Anakin asked, slightly amazed.

Eryl nodded her head. "Yeah. I was able to borrow it from someone I know. I wanted to tell you as soon as possible."

"Yes!" Anakin exclaimed, a smile on his face. He then turned towards Tenel Ka. "Isn't that great?"

She continued eating; the only sign of emotion a small twitch to her lips.

Anakin frowned, and slipped around behind her. "Hey, now, you should be celebrating. Like this." He grabbed her arms, and raised them straight up and shouted. "Hurray!"

Eryl's smile grew larger. "And I was able to get a dress for me and some formal clothes for you."

"What?" Anakin said, lifting his head over Tenel's, so that he could see Eryl. "I'm going to the dance to?"

"Of course!" Eyrl said with a giggle. "Tomorrow night, all three of us will get to have fun. Together. Right Tenel Ka?"

Tenel Ka nodded her head once.

That night, Anakin once more stood in front of Tenel Ka, holding up the package he had purchased at a small shop that stayed open all night. "Tonight's fare is extravagant and I'm pretty sure it was made sometime within the past two years."

Her nose twitched. "What is it?"

"It's gyoodun. Bantha meat, noodles and juice. Usually, it's tasty stuff."

She did not take it from him.

He frowned at her. "What's wrong?"

"I ca not eat it."

"Do you dislike it?"

She shook her head as she replied. "I do not dislike it."

"You can put the sword down, you know."

She looked at him, then at her sword and sighed. Then she leaned the sword against the wall, propping the hilt against the window sill, and took the gyoodun from him. He dropped to his butt, and leaned against the wall, eating the food he had bought for himself.

"Has Eyrl really not noticed anything?"

"Should not have," Tenel Ka replied.

Anakin looked up at her, a frown flashing across his face for a moment.

"You..." he began. "Don't laugh do you? You could brighten up; we're supposed to be showing off your good side tomorrow."

Tenel Ka ignored him, and just continued to eat.

His frown deepened, and then twisted into a smirk. "All right! Then for 'yes' you'll say 'honey-bear.'"

Her face snapped towards his, her eyebrows lowering.

"Responses, responses," he taunted, ignoring the look she continued to give him. "So, 'yes' is 'honey bear' and for no we'll say... 'baby bantha.' By doing this, everyone will think you're cuter."

Suddenly, she thrust her bowl of gyoodun towards him. Instinctively, he took it a second before she let go. Then she was grabbing up her sword and rushing down the hallway.

"Hey, Tenel Ka!" he called out after her.

Then his mouth opened in shock, as he saw a shimmering something, quickly advancing towards them. He wasn't sure if it was a trick of the moonlight or some alien life form that he had never seen before. Tenel Ka raised her sword and jumped forward, slicing through the shimmer. Then the blade snapped back up through the same space, and the shimmer was suddenly no longer there.

Anakin blinked, trying to decide if he had imagined it or not. Cautiously, he stood up and walked towards her. "Tenel Ka? Did you get it?"

"It goph vay," she replied around a mouthful of food.

Anakin shook his head. "Swallow before you speak."

A moment later, she repeated, "It got away."

"Ah," he said.

She turned away from him, lowering her sword and hanging her head.

---

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