EAST OF EDEN ( anakin s. ) ✔️

013 | Thoughts Consume & We Devour..

━━━━━━ ༻ 🌄 ༺ ━━━━━━
" thoughts consume & we devour "
...
━━━ ༻ CHAPTER THIRTEEN ༺ ━━━

          "AS FAST AS I COULD I came. The emergency thank you for understanding," Master Yoda walked carefully, one step at a time, more concerned about the bundle of old robes he held in his arms than actually looking up at the person waiting for his arrival in the dead of night. Eventually, when his feet left the shuttle stairs, he lifted his wrinkle contoured gaze and tampered his expression in true joy, "Old friend, grown you have. Yes, hrrmmm."

Cay Lanshee smiled fondly down at the Jedi Master, "You're always welcome on Anope, but I admit, I do not understand why we had to keep your arrival a secret-"

"Infiltrated our sacred grounds darkness has. Hmm," Yoda interrupted Cay Lanshee without even the slightest hesitation to calling the situation for what it truly was. "Trusted no one can be..." His words murmured over the cooing sound joining the shuffle from inside the bundle of robes he held so carefully. 

"Is that...?" Cay Lanshee's eyes widened, mortified at the thought. 

"Found the child I have," Yoda admitted, shifting his hands and letting the Force slide off the baby's head. "No evil in her soul there is. None I could see. Down an innocent in fear I will not strike. Yes, hrrrm."

"And you brought her here?!"

"Strong in the Force she is. So young. Hmm," he thoughtfully nodded along, contrasting the absolute panic that had now knelt Cay Lanshee down to be on eye level with him. "Trained she should be and her in the light only you can keep."

"Why not train her yourself?" Cay insisted, even as Yoda stepped closer and passed into his arms the child. "Anope is not suitable for raising children, Master Yoda."

"No, no...," Yoda shook his head, entirely dismissive. "Too fragile to be a Jedi she is. Our life if she lived," he sighed his hesitation away, ghosting his right hand above the child's head before completely letting go, "die she would. Yes, hrrrm. Too much danger and evil... Raise her you will."

"And...," Cay's head bowed, managing to get a good glimpse at the child. She was so small, barely squinting through almost closed eyelids. With a gulp, Cay looked up only to find Yoda has already turned his back on them to return to his ship. "Master Yoda," he called, getting up and holding the child carefully, "you said there's darkness here too. Is it the Seer?"

Yoda hummed, seemingly planning to say nothing more than that inconclusive answer. 

"How would the kid be any safer here if the Dark Side found root on our planet? We are not allowed to resort to violence... I cannot protect her the way a Jedi Master could..." Cay Lanshee's voice died down the longer he combated the idea with his reasoning, because Master Yoda showed no interest in debating his decision. He didn't even stop walking away, nor even looked over his shoulder at the distress in the man peaking its intensity. 

Eventually, Cay Lanshee obliged with a final sigh, "Does she have a name?"

Only to that inquiry, Yoda paused. From inside his ship, he hummed in ponder. "Her Eden before she died her mother called. Yes..."

"Eden," Cay Lanshee repeated, lowering his gaze down to the child. With his head bowed he recalled that day as if it had happened mere moments ago, as if years had not passed and hardships had not been battled. He'd be a liar not admit at least to himself that he still understood very little of Yoda's judgment. It was beyond him how the Jedi Master thought Eden would be better off amongst Emissaries chained to eon old rules rendering them helpless, rather than with the Jedi Order which could have had an actual say, perhaps especially in the situation that he now found himself into.