Star Wars: The Chosen One || An Anakin Skywalker Story [COMPLETED]

Seventeen || The Cave

Narrator's POV

When Obi-Wan Kenobi initially spotted the snow cave around the bend of the ice planet Hoth, his first thought was that it would make for a safe spot to warm up his frozen companion, Anakin Skywalker. The boy had passed out from mild hypothermia and his limp body remained strapped to the tauntaun Obi-Wan had discovered and taken advantage of. The creature was tamed, and looked like it had gotten loose from somewhere nearby - it still had on its harness and warm saddle, for riders to accustom to the weather conditions. As a wise Jedi, Obi-Wan had trained himself not to panic in a situation like this, and rather focused himself on having a positive mindset. He had found a cave, a perfect place to warm his former padawan up.

Obi-Wan was very smart, thankfully, and was able to heave Anakin's frozen body up onto the creature and strap him tightly enough to cover enough ground with the creature and reach somewhere safe. Time was running out for the poor boy, Obi-Wan knew, and he had to get somewhere safe fast. And, he hoped that place wouldn't be a Sith base - reviving Anakin came first, then he would search for a base.

When he first noticed his limp padawan before him, Obi-Wan was greeted with a small feeling of panic, not exactly knowing just what to do with Anakin to ensure his survival. He brushed the feeling off, being a Jedi whom did not know panic. His eyes were stuck on Anakin; the padawan's wavy locks of brown hair were coated in frost, his eyelids practically glued shut as well.

Watching the boy slowly freeze to death, Obi-Wan grew more concerned about acting immediately, which is what he did. Before discovering the tauntaun, Obi-Wan thought about bringing Anakin back onto the ship, but shortly after, he discovered that the Starship's interior was just as cold as the outside. He also considered starting the ship up to generate warmth, but this thought dawned on him before realizing there was simply not enough fuel to keep the large ship running long enough.

His last resort was the tauntaun that came frolicking by, almost out of nowhere. It was like a miracle, as Obi-Wan enjoyed seeing it this way. He got the tauntaun's attention, making sure it was domesticated and able to be ridden - the harness and small saddle indicated its recent domestication instantly.

Using all his might, he was able to pull Anakin atop the creature and strapped him in. Obi-Wan craned his neck behind him to glance at the frozen boy and mumbled through a hefty sigh, "You'll thank me later, Anakin," before the tauntaun runs off under Obi-Wan's direction. Little to Obi-Wan's knowledge, the tauntaun was experienced in travel - but Obi-Wan wasn't. In truth, aside from having never visited Hoth, he had no idea what he was doing on the creature, and tried to connect with the Force, desperately seeking answers.

He rode for a great while, new thoughts occurring to him. The farther he got from the Starship, the more anxiety built up within his very soul - he knew Anakin would not be happy when he were to awaken. If he were to awaken, that is...

Then, at last, he spotted the cave. In such a desolate, extreme area, even the littlest shelter was the biggest deal, and Obi-Wan was relieved at his discovery. It might not have been what the Council and the entire Order expected him to find, but they would be thankful knowing he acted immediately upon Anakin's freezing. The boy really didn't know what to expect on an ice planet, did he now?

Obi-Wan stops the tauntaun and leaps off, his boots crunching in the soft snow beneath him. "Easy," he directs to the furry lizard-like creature with two wide feet and puny arms. Carefully, he unties Anakin from his ragdoll upright position, his mind having no control of his body's weakened actions. Anakin was completely out of it, and Obi-Wan couldn't ignore his urging worries.

Similar to the way Anakin carried Obi-Wan in their rescue of the Chancellor many months back, Obi-Wan is able to lift Anakin's body across his shoulders, letting him hang loosely as the boy was not very heavy. He left the tauntaun outside the cave, which probably wasn't the smartest idea, and trudged reluctantly through the snow and into the frozen cave. Luckily, Obi-Wan found it to be much, much warmer. In fact, the heat was almost unreal - it was as though there was something to the cave, keeping it this nice temperature, that Obi-Wan hadn't seen yet...