There are few stories that are told among the Jedi Order long enough to become myth. Legend. It takes importance to stand the test of time that way. A lesson has to be learned.
Anakin and Circe's story is told for generations long after they are go...
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Circe feels the buzz of anxiety in her all morning. Anakin has been gone since first light, long before she had been awake which is a rare happening, and even rarer that he didn't comm her once while he was away.
The Temple walls feel smaller than usual, the sweet smoke of incense more of a choking smog than a cleansing property. She longs to be out, to get on a ship and travel somewhere new. But the Council is unusually reserved in mission assignments, spooked from the Ahch-To attack.
They need something to take their minds away from the tragedy. Circe needs something. But it will be hard to convince the Council of letting them take the Younglings out again. She feels the tension all throughout the walls, in every conversation she overhears, falling like dust over everything.
She thinks of the loss of life, all the years that were cut down so quickly. It sickens her—the thought of just how many lives Separatists have claimed. And it sickens her even more knowing that there are hundreds more bounty-hunters out there, eager to kill if it means they'll get a few thousand credits. Her thoughts stay with her well into the afternoon, when Anakin finally makes himself known.
When he does, she notices a change in his attitude. An air of satisfaction in the way he holds himself. If she weren't so glad to see him, she might inquire more directly, but she's happy just to be in his presence. Her mind has stopped spinning for the first time since she woke to find him gone.
"You've had a good day," She guesses, falling in step with him as he travels down the glossy hall.
"I don't know what you mean?" He says.
She sees through him as one looks through a pane of glass.
"Don't lie, Anakin," She says, "You're a bad liar."
"What! I was just out for a walk."
She cocks her brow. "Really. A walk? Anakin Skywalker wasting the day for a walk. I don't believe it."
He scoffs jokingly at her. "Oh, taking time to be one with nature is unbelievable to you?"
"We live on a planet-sized city."
"There are trees along the street!"
She shakes her head, swelling with joy at the fact that they're back to joking with one another. He is there, brighter and warmer than the sun, and she is relieved.
"Fine, keep your secret outings to yourself," She says, clasping her hands behind her back. "But I want to talk with Obi-Wan and propose another trip."
"No, we should rest while we can," He says, to her surprise.
Anakin wants to stay until he knows whether the Council will hand the bounty-hunter over to the Chancellor, but he can't tell Circe that, even if the words are trying to jump out of his throat. He can't say anything. He has never been a good liar, she is right, and his secret is begging to be told.
