Accismus⋆౨ৎ˚⟡.• Anakin Skywalker⋆౨ৎ˚⟡.•

43.

'I heard Jedi Knight Skywalker has a Padawan, now!'

'That is the luckiest Padawan in the galaxy, I tell you.'

'It's Tano. That Togruta somehow landed him even though he's not even a Master yet!'

Sol gripped the edges of her tray as she made her way through the cafeteria. With the hum of fellow Jedi, clones and Padawans low, the voices of the giggling female Padawans was all that Sol could focus on. With their bright teeth gleaming behind their cupped palms, the Padawans barely ate their tiny breakfasts as they gossiped. Sol had half a mind to give them a scare like she had previously done when she heard their conversation topic, but confronting them a second time could prove suspicious. 

Why did she care that Padawans were giggling about Anakin? Sol had to be careful when it came to defending her co-worker, as that was all he was in the eyes of the Order.

With a roll of her shoulders and a strained huff, Sol continued to her table and took a seat on the bench facing the sliding doors of the exit. This way, she could avoid looking at the giggling Padawans who had picked a different table from last time. It was an ideal people-watching spot, and after returning from the mission to Ahch-To, Sol had done a lot of the sport in the Jedi Temple.

After they blew up the underwater base, the party resurfaced and was greeted by Master Obi-wan's congratulations. He and Commander Cody's legion had watched the explosion from the island, where water burst into a sprout of splashes . Without a base, any battledroids that had left the base powered down from the loss of the connection. Ahch-To was saved, and the Jedi could return to Coruscant accomplished and proud.

'Well done, you two,' Master Obi-wan had said once Sol and Anakin had climbed out of their ships.

'Ahsoka also had a hand in it,' Sol made sure to mention the Togruta who took down the enemy before the final blow to the base. Ahsoka had attempted to be modest, but didn't shy away from the acknowledgement as she stepped forward to be next to the Jedi Knights.

'After some push, Snips was helpful in the end,' Anakin had said, and despite its back-handed tone, Ahsoka beamed.

'So, you'll train me?'

Sol knew that the blank expression that Anakin gave Ahsoka was playful. After a tense moment, Anakin's lips curled into half of a smirk, and he clapped a hand on his new Padawan's shoulder.

'Only if you can keep up.'

Sol scooped her oatmeal into her mouth and stared at the grey table beneath her tray. To those around her, she appeared to be staring absently and was assumed to be in her world. And this observation wasn't completely wrong, as Sol was in her thoughts and would be ignorant if someone were to call out to her from across the room.

Since arriving back on Coruscant, Sol had been invested in the gathering of information about Satele Shan. The claimed Jedi Force ghost was yet to appear to the woman again and her dreams were yet to be invaded by some vague conversation from someone else's memories. Sol assumed this could be because of her departure from the first Jedi Temple on Ahch-To, where there was a strong connection with the Force.

The last time Sol had seen Satele's ghostly form was during the battle with the droids before Obi-wan arrived with reinforcements. She remembered how Shan's appearance had distracted her and caused Sol to lose focus while in battle. The blaster burn that Sol had gained from Shan's distraction had healed from the bacta patch, but the reasoning for the ghost's appearance still intrigued the female Jedi.

'Commander Sol? Are you okay?'

Sol blinked in surprise. She was pulled back into the large cafeteria in the Jedi Temple, where her oatmeal was half eaten, and Ahsoka Tano was sat staring at her from across the table.