maskormenacelogs | Closed | I’ll make a Jedi out of you!

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† obi-wan kenobi | the negotiator

Closed | I’ll make a Jedi out of you!

WHO: Obi-Wan and Leia
WHERE: Maurtia Falls... Falls
WHEN: Late December
WHAT: Taking Leia to get her kyber crystal!
WARNINGS: Probably none

It was a cold crisp morning that saw the early rise of two Force sensitive individuals. The temperature was in the single digits and there was a thick swath of snow covering the ground, and more lightly falling from the sky. Weather that most would not be out in, and yet they were. In fact, this weather was perfect for what they were out here for.

Having learned the location, and gained permission from Luke, Obi-Wan was leading Leia to the waterfall that Maurtia Falls supposedly got its name from. The Jedi having bundled himself up against the cold with a warm parka instead of using only his normal Jedi attire.

To those who didn’t know it might seem strange that they were out here, but in fact it was with purpose. They were here to find crystals, or rather, a crystal. One specifically for Leia. So that she could begin the process of building her own lightsaber.

Once reaching the falls, Obi-Wan then came to a stop just a few feet from the water and the opening to the cave beyond.

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He'd managed to coax her out, somehow. It shouldn't come as much of a surprise, the man was skilled in negotiation. Leia would learn that for herself.

The part that was having a hard time letting go of what she'd done, she'd hesitated on accepting his offer to spend the day together and travel to the falls in Maurtia. She would've preferred to remain indoors with the idea that she wouldn't hurt anyone that way. Though she should've realized that it would take quite a bit to cause harm to a Jedi Master, especially one such as Obi-Wan Kenobi. He was by no means invincible, however to Leia, the man was strong in the ways of the Force.

Bundled in a thick wool trench coat and scarves, she followed him to where they had to go, pausing to take in the sight of the waterfall and the rainbow causing on the mist.

Her gaze slid over to him, hands curling in her pockets. "This is it? We just...go in?"

She needed to get out, to do something healing and meaningful. That was something he could offer, and he knew the sort of sadness and guilt she was experiencing. Obi-Wan wasn’t about to give up on Leia, and now here they were.

“Not quite.”

This said as he turned to her with a gentle smile.

“You will go in, and I will wait here. Finding a kyber crystal is a personal thing.”

His gaze then went a little distant, his expression reflecting a fondness that spoke of nostalgia. Good memories, though tinged with the sadness of knowing such things were now gone.

“It was a sort of rite of passage for Jedi initiates. To find a crystal and to build a lightsaber. Kyber crystals are stones that are so attuned to the light side of the Force that they are aware and almost sentient. You do not choose the crystal, but rather it chooses you.”

"What?" She wasn't expecting to hear that. Her brows went high up. "Then maybe this was a mistake after all. I should've stayed in."

Leia didn't like the sound of that, a crystal doing the choosing. She hadn't realized the Force would be so involved in this.

"I'm sorry you wasted your time, General Kenobi." She glanced at the cave and then back up at him, turning to head back for the path that had brought them here.

“Leia.”

Obi-Wan didn’t move from where he was standing as she turned to go. While his voice remained soft, there was a certain firmness to it.

“Those who face themselves, find themselves. You can not continue running from something that is a part of you.”

He had that same tone that Bail took with her, firm and quiet, patient. Willing to help her work through whatever was troubling her. Perhaps it was that, and the respect she had for him, that had her stopping after taking a few steps away.

Leia didn't turn. She lowered her head and pressed her face into her scarves, eyes downward.

"Choosing to ignore it doesn't mean I'm running. That part of me... It's not..." A slow breath was released. "There's both, inside of me. Light and dark. I felt it. I hurt people with it." Eventually Leia turned to face him again; she almost felt like a young girl again, that lost feeling back. "Does that not make me any better than him?"

“It’s in everyone, Leia, not just you.”

Folding his hands together, he continued to stand there patiently, recognizing and understanding her conflict.

“He gave into that darkness. You don’t have to. However, by clinging to your fear, you are giving it an edge.”

His gaze then turned to the cave, able to feel the presence of the crystals in the cave. Their songs resonating through the Force.

“The crystals are filled with light, and will reject any darkness. They will test you, and if your darkness is too great, you won’t be chosen. You can then walk away and forget about all of this. All I ask, is that you give it a chance.”

"I gave into something, that day, Obi-Wan. They say that they're alright but I can tell, they aren't. Poe had true fear in his eyes. I'll never forget it. I don't think he will, either."

It was easy to push that part aside, the incident, and focus on treating what friendship they had now as something more of a relationship between a general and her commanding officer. But Leia would never forgive herself.

"If the darkness is too great then all hope is lost."

It would lie in Luke, in what was left of the Rebellion.

“Perhaps you did, but the way you speak now, it is clear you have no desire to do so. I have seen someone consumed by the Dark Side, and you do not fit that.”

There was a huge difference between his conversation with a power drunk Anakin, and the confused princess who stood before him now.

“You are untrained, you have no knowledge of how to use the Force. However, it is not something you can continue to ignore. If you do, these incidents will only continue.”

Whatever happened, whatever it was that caused many to lose control of their powers, he knew if it happened once it could happen again.

“If I believed all hope was lost, I would have not brought you here.”

(If only you knew, Obi-Wan, that'd she been consumed.)

Her hands came out of her pockets and she rubbed at her brow. "I know. I know they'll keep happening." And Leia needed a teacher, badly.

Clearly, this was what she needed, he knew exactly that. Also, to hear those words, to be having this discussion.

Hearing that, she smiled, genuinely smiled, for the first time in...days. He believed in her, sincerely believed in her. The spark hadn't completely gone out.

"Then... I guess I'll have to do my best to not disappoint you."

(He doesn’t know and that’s probably a good thing. What matters though is she’s not right now.)

At her last words a smile returned to the Jedi’s face as well. Though what she had said before had sounded an awful lot like something her father would have said when he was a Padawan. It was almost endearing really.

“It’s not me you need to worry about disappointing.”

He glanced at the cave and then looked back to Leia.

“Trust in yourself. Trust in the Force. I will be waiting here for you.”

She followed his look to the cave.

"You make it sound so easy." Leia shoved her hands back into her pockets, taking a few steps forward. "How am I supposed to believe in something when it's caused me nothing but grief?"

And yet the princess was heading for the entrance, slowing once she reached it. She shot a look back over her shoulder, one last look.

"It's only difficult if you allow it to be."

He then watched as she started for the cave. Her look back being rewarded with a reassuring smile.

"Sometimes, one has to take a step of faith in order to move forward."

She stared at him for a moment, deciding that she didn't like the way he was smiling. It reminded her of a father who was encouraging his daughter to make a leap off of a cliffside, reassuring her that she would surely float and not sink, if she believed. Leia huffed behind all of her scarves, brows deeply furrowed, and then she faced the cave once again.

"Now I see why you and my father were friends, Obi-Wan Kenobi," her voice called over her shoulder as she was about to disappear inside, words echoing.

Leia would only hear a faint and distant chuckle at that. He would take that as a compliment! Once she disappeared though, Obi-Wan would be looking for a good spot to sit.

The sound of rushing water from the falls echoed in the cave, which only plunged into darkness the further she went in. Otherwise there was no sound, no movement, no light, nothing.

In fact, the further she went, the young woman would find that the sound would suddenly be gone completely. Darkness falling like a cloak to the point that she could barely see. In fact, if she looked around, the direction she just came from wouldn't be apparent.

As soon as the darkness overtook the cave, Leia slowed to a stop. It was as if someone had suddenly dropped a sack over her head, drowned out all of her senses save her hearing, heightening it. However, it would've been nice if she could hear past the deafening rush of blood pounding in her ears as her heart had decided to stick itself in her throat, adrenaline quick to pump into her veins as a panic took over.

Tentatively, a hand outstretched, as if to feel through the heavy darkness.

She felt cold, even in all of her layers, and a trickle of fear ran down her spine. What was this? Was this a trick?

Deep breaths, the princess told herself, resisting the urge to reach for her comm and use it as a source of light to see what was in front of her. He wouldn't encourage you to come in here if it wasn't safe to begin with.

This was a test, it had to be.

One more slow intake of breath and exhale and Leia closed her eyes (would it matter? She couldn't see to begin with).

Those who face themselves, find themselves.

The darkness was oppressive, heavy, and certainly would induce fear out of most anyone. There was a rush of wind, the kind of cold that chilled to the bone.

As Leia reached out though, she would feel a strange yet comforting warmth. Touching her fingers as if wanting to guide her, if she would only allow it.

Despite that small bit of reassurance, the chaotic and fearful environment only pressed in further. A sound then pierced through the silence, one that she might find familiar. The coarse sound of a respirator as it echoed through the black cavern.

She wanted to close her hand around that warmth and let it guide her. She wanted to put her trust in it, and almost had. Until--

Leia's eyed snapped open as soon as that sound reached her ears. No. NO.

Her hand drew back and suddenly it was fight or flight, breaths quickening, every muscle tight and ready. But where could she go? The fear ran like ice down her back and settled deep into her bones.

She wasn't afraid of him (or maybe she was), she was afraid of how powerless she would be, on her own, when she knew he could simply raise a hand and choke the bloody life out of her.

Would she die in here? What was the purpose of this, in using that monster against her?

"This isn't real," Leia shakily whispered, hands curled so tightly into fists that she felt her nails dig in sharp. "You're not real. You can't be. You're not real. You're not real."

He was her nightmare.

Edited 2018-01-03 18:44 (UTC)

When she opened her eyes, Leia would see a red glow shining from a tunnel in front of her. The light reflecting off the cavern walls as again the harsh sound of the respirator filled the air.

The darkness pressed all around her, threatening her, whispering doubt into her mind.

However, something pierced through it all. A song, light and gentle, calling to Leia. Beckoning her forward, toward the red light and the source of the harsh sound.

Would she follow that call? Or would she give up and surrender to her fear?

What you become, you become my nightmare. Her exact words to Anakin. Leia had meant them. She would never forget that day, and she was sure, after he'd experienced the memory for himself, he would never forget it either.

It should haunt him, the same way it did her.

The red illuminated the path ahead and on reflex, she took a step back, nearly tripping. She was on the very brink of turning back around and blindly trying to find a way out, knowing damn full well that going forward would be suicide. Barehanded against a lightsaber? Good luck with that.

Saying screw this was on the tip of her tongue. Feeling the press of the darkness threatening to smother her, choking her of breath, it could almost seep through her jacket and into her pores, if she allowed it. If she gave in.

Leia Organa, however, wasn't one to do that. She didn't just give up. There were times where she'd come to feel like all hope was lost, being here for a handful of months already, and then she was reminded, hope renewed.

The lull of that song was her reminder.

She'd faced down Darth Vader before. She'd openly sassed the monster in the black armor once already, why couldn't she do it again?

"I'm not..." A trembling exhale. One more try. Steady, you got this. "I'm not afraid of you."

Leia took a step forward, rather than back.

And with that single step, the song grew slightly louder.

However, the darkness didn't let up. The steady sound of artificial breathing continued to resonate through the cave. However, the closer Leia would go, the song would continually get louder.

Mist swirled around her feet with each step. The red glow getting stronger as well. If she ventured further into the tunnel, she would eventually see where the light was coming from. A large, dark figure looming over her. The light and the harsh breathing coming from that.

If she was brave enough, and got closer still, the figure was a dark and tall stone structure.

At it's feet though, she wound find a tiny crystal glowing with a pure light. Embedded in the rock and singing to her.

All Leia had to do was reach out, and take it.

Edited 2018-01-04 18:31 (UTC)

This feeling was different from before. It wasn't as overwhelming. There was more a hold over it than anything; this time, Leia didn't shy from it. She didn't doubt the Force, although that logical part of her needed the logic to back it up, like anything else.

One step closer. One more. The swirl around her feet drew her attention temporarily away from the evil before her. What did it mean?

The rasping breaths grew louder. Looking forward, the figure was as tall as she remembered. Well over seven feet, Vader had towered over her. Leia would always remember seeing her own reflection in the eyes of his mask.

Her hands shook. She could feel her entire body trembling in her jacket; fear or adrenaline?

A soft breath in, Leia pushed on, relieved and guided by that light. Believing in it. Her hand outstretched. The glow felt...warm. Reassuring, encouraging. One last upward to the stone figure (she would laugh about it later, afraid of a large piece rock, hah), she reached to snatch the crystal.

And just like that, as soon as she plucked the crystal from its mount, everything changed.

The red light and the mist suddenly vanished. Leaving only the tall dark stone standing there. The oppressive darkness lifting instantly, the distant sound of rushing water returning. As well as the wane light coming from the cavern entrance.

In her hand, the crystal rested, it's singing having stopped. Unless she listened closely through the Force. The tiny kyber glowing softly and changing its color as it bonded with her presence in the Force.

Edited 2018-01-04 19:58 (UTC)

The song wasn't what Leia heard. What she heard was the rush of the falls in the distant echoing at her back and the furious beating of her heart. Once everything returned to normal, a weakness spread through her knees as they shook and she dropped to them on the rocky ground. The shock of the fall didn't register.

Each breath rattled in her chest, her hand gripping the crystal tightly. The adrenaline was slowly seeping out of her muscles and leaving her shaking, worse than before.

Was that it? Was it over?

She pushed herself to her feet after several moments, could feel that her face was damp with sweat. Turning, the sight of the light at the entrance was so very welcome. Putting one foot in front of the other, one hand closed around her crystal, Leia wrestled with undoing her scarves, the cool air touching her throat such a relief.

The light blinded her the closer she got. She squinted against it and stepped out.

As soon as she was out of the cave, Leia would find Obi-Wan sitting on a nearby rock. His legs folded beneath him in a meditative posture as the snow continued to fall around him. He had been waiting patiently, monitoring Leia's progress through the Force.

"Congratulations."

This said in his calm, and yet pleased, way. Opening his eyes to look over at Leia.

She was out. The ground was wet from the mist. Leia made sure to be careful to not slip as she made her way to where the snow fell in thick white fluffs. Her scarves were hanging and the collar of her jacket was gaping, the hollow of her throat covered in a light sheen.

Look at him, calm and composed. Her, not so much.

Leia huffed, edge of her hand wiping at her brow, as her boots crunched the snow beneath them on her way over. "Were you waiting long?"

"Not too long."

And with that, Obi-Wan slid off the rock he was perched on and stood. Walking over to Leia with a smile on his face.

"How do you feel?"

He didn't really need to ask, Obi-Wan knew what she was feeling. But rather, he wanted her to look inside of herself and discover what she was truly feeling.

Leia was cold, tired, sweaty, and all kinds of other things. She didn't answer at first, tipping her head to lift her eyes to his. There was something about his smile...

She looked down at her closed fist, still felt the warmth inside, the edges of the crystal gently digging into her hand. Her eyes slid shut and she let out a slow breath— she let herself feel.

"Calm." At peace.

But for how long?

She would then feel a gentle hand on her shoulder.

“Good. You have taken your first steps on an important journey, one that every Jedi had to make as well. I’m very proud of you.”

This was no small feat, and Obi-Wan had even more faith in her now. Any lesser person would have given up and succumbed to their fear, but she did not.

“I want you to meditate on this as often as you can. And a few days from now, we can begin building your lightsaber. Parts will be a challenge to find here, but I will gather what I can for you.”

Her eyes opened as she felt the weight on his hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him and couldn't stop the smile even if she wanted to, hearing him say that he was so proud.

Leia missed Bail, greatly, in this moment, and wondered if he, too, would be just as proud of this accomplishment.

Some sadness crept in at the edges of her smile and she said nothing, nodding and looking away.

"Are the parts just odds and ends...?"

“Yes and no. The parts themselves are simple enough. However, building a lightsaber is a personal experience. For the Jedi it marked one’s official belonging to the Order. There is a ceremony involved.”

He then withdrew his own weapon to demonstrate. The lightsaber lifting into the air and hovering over his hands as it pulled itself apart.

“The main components are the handgrip, emitter matrix, the lens assembly, the power cell, and the focusing crystal that you already have. Choosing the parts of one’s lightsaber is not preference, but instead spiritual. I can provide pieces but you must let the Force guide your decision. If you find something that speaks to you beforehand, do not hesitate. Unfortunately, we may have to modify some existing technology or build them ourselves in this world.”

"I wonder how well an Order would work here, what with those the Porter's brought in from our galaxy." She has to wonder. They should all wonder. But considering how things went with the Order and the Jedi involved, the tales she'd heard of and biased opinions that didn't hold the Order in the highest regard, it might not have gone over so well.

Leia stared at the lightsaber. Unlike the time with Anakin when he'd brought his out to show her, she had no sliver of fear cut through her. She could trust Obi-Wan. After all, he'd just helped her acquire her crystal. She stepped closer to get a better look at the way the weapon was pulled apart.

"It shouldn't be too difficult? Seems there might be a lot more options in this place."

That question drew a raised brow and Obi-Wan put his hand on his chin thoughtfully. The other still keeping the lightsaber aloft.

“I’m not entirely sure, though it is a curious thought. Certainly not the same way of course as this is a different world and we have no where near the number of Jedi as there used to be. But then that wouldn’t be needed. The Jedi Order had a small and humble beginning thousands of years ago.”

His attention then returned to his weapon.

“That is entirely possible. Yours will certainly be unique at the very least.”

He then reassembled the weapon without even touching it. The lightsaber then alighting into his hands before being returned to his side.

“Finding what parts you can and bringing them to me is your next assignment.”

"Good thing we have all the time in the world here. Plus the resources." Though they wouldn't be what they're expecting, they could make it work.

Leia had a good feeling about this, and her feelings have never quite led her astray in the past.

"Also, I don't think there would be anyone here who would be in to the idea of a new Council. If anything, the idea would be met with more opposition."

He nodded at that, though he was uncertain about the time and resources. Anyone could be taken away as quickly as they arrived, and he wasn’t the most familiar with this world’s technology. They would likely have to improvise.

“Well, then I suppose it’s a good thing there are not enough of us here for us to make a Council.”

Though he sounded almost wounded at the idea of such opposition.

"You would need to make improvisations to the rules, I think." Not that she had any idea what those rules were. "But maybe it's something to consider in the future."

Something they can decide later, after speaking with government officials.

“Maybe... but it may just be better to not have an order here. This is a world that doesn’t know or understand the Jedi.”

He sighed quietly, thinking back on the times before the purge.

“You see... the Order was in a sense my family. I’m perfectly content to simply surround myself with others that are already Jedi or force sensitive. I can be satisfied with that.”

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Closed | I’ll make a Jedi out of you!

TO DEFEAT THE HUTTS

DID YOU SEND ME PRINCESSES, WHEN I ASKED FOR CHOSEN ONES

YOU'RE THE SADDEST BUNCH I EVER MET

BUT YOU CAN BET BEFORE WE’RE THROUGH

MISTER, I'LL MAKE A JEDI OUT OF YOU

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