The Little Things

The One

The (Chosen) One

–

Did I disappoint you or let you down?
Should I be feeling guilty or let the judges frown?
Cause I saw the end before we'd begun
Yes I saw you were blinded and I knew I had won
So I took what's mine by eternal right
Took your soul out into the night

–

Anakin braced himself as he approached Obi-Wan in the Jedi temple, who was gazing out at the eclectic skyscrapers of Coruscant through a translucent glass window. Obi-Wan admired the structures – they were all different in aesthetic but they followed the same patterns. There was order, architectural boundaries; nothing really out of the ordinary but always evolving in design. It reminded him of his own work ethic. He was always looking to improve, finding where he fits within the boundaries and outlines – gone were the days where he liked to test them... A work in progress. He had high standards but he lived up to them.

Anakin's need to knock down boundary after boundary, colour outside the lines, and recreate the recklessness he grew up in wasn't foreign to Obi-Wan. He was the older brother after all, hawk-eyed; the cynic – always wanting to prepare the younger one for the worst. But the criticism was arguably restrictive. Not all criticism was constructive but destructive. Anakin may have needed an anchor but while some anchors offer stability, others provide a feeling of entrapment.

Anakin was on the cusp of something unique, even though he couldn't quite articulate what it was. He knew there was something missing from the equation when it came to the Jedi. Their philosophy seemed misrepresented by its practitioners. Because it seemed to him, that without channelling any semblance of a dark side, no one would feel whole. Maybe that was the balance he needed to feel centered.

There is only one true way to be free and that is to transcend the comfortable by rebelling, penetrating through new discoveries. Another risk. Another execution.

Anakin huffed, catching Obi-Wan's attention. "Master, I'm not ready."

Obi-Wan turned around to face the 19 year old sporting a padawan braid and brown and black Jedi robes. Obi-Wan still hadn't quite reached the benchmark of true, devoted brotherhood. Right now Anakin was still the responsibility, not the friend. But age changes things... All siblings grow to love each other, eventually, by choice.

"I can't do this mission." Breathing out the dreaded words felt like finally breaking a bad habit, remoulding.

Obi-Wan's face was a perpetual question mark. Anakin was beginning to wonder if his raised eyebrow would ever come down... It did, as soon as his eyes relaxed.

"Anakin, I've had my doubts too but the council–"

"–send someone else." Anakin cut him off as gently as he could. "Someone good. Someone you know will protect her."

Obi-Wan dismissed him with a chastising flail of his hand, in no mood to sanction another one of Anakin's irreverent sprees. "Anakin–"

"And. . .you gotta give me a couple days off."

And there it is. Obi-Wan knew it was coming. Expect the unexpected with his Padawan.

Anakin fidgeted with an oblique glance, diagonal to Obi-Wan, trying to obstruct his nosy glare.

"I'm sorry." Anakin continued with a calm definitive stance while his hands were tucked in the sleeves of his cloak. "There's something I've gotta do."

Obi-Wan reluctantly met his eye-line "Anakin, this is hardly the time–" He said flatly.