Verboten

Grip

Ahsoka's hand gripped the Back of Barris's head with solace, as the two padawans came closer together; neither person dared breath in this fleeting instant. It was as if the wind hung still, a symphony of Crosets rested upon one note, the ever shifting clouds became lifeless never venturing to obstruct the moon and it's glow glistening down upon the padawans. In no more than a second that moment ended but for each of them it had been a lifetime.

Ahsoka's grip loosened as she came back taking a deep breath. Once the two young Jedi left each other's embrace the world spang back to life. A chilling breeze brushed past, the rustling of leaves became audible, and the sky awoke with life. Barris retreated briefly staring at the ground, until she stole a glance upward into Ahsoka's gaze. The glimmering glow of the remaining coals caused her bright blue eyes to reflect light in such a way that they became the restless waves of the Umbaran ocean. Barris was surprised at how simple it had been to drown beneath those shifting waves. For so many years she had coiled away never dipping a toe in the sea in fear of a ripple, but now she lie here with Ahsoka in the eye of a hurricane.

For the first time in years neither padawan was certain of what to say. Normally in a tense situation Ahsoka could crack a joke to defuse the tension, but now all that was on her tongue were the salty tears of relief from moments earlier. Reaching upward Barris's fingers brushed away the tears on Ahsoka's cheek, and as her hand fell it clutched Ahsoka's shoulder. Suddenly Ahsoka shifted her position forward grabbing Barris's waist and in one swift motion Barris was laying down on the soft grass with Ahsoka on top of her and together they rested in each other's embrace.

At first when their lips met again it was a gentile soft kiss, but soon the trickle of water became a stream of emotions. They were gripping each other so tightly that Ahsoka's hand clutching Barris was driven through the grass into the dirt. Barris's gentle touch met the back of Ahsoka's neck, and her fingers could almost glaze over the skin. Even by the fire the chilling breeze of the wind made every bead of sweat ice cold, the only real warmth that either of them could feel was each others body heat. Gripping the small of Barris's back and feeling the padawan clutch her neck harder in response Ahsoka disregarded the Jedi order's first teaching, and gave into her burning passion as she brought her hands upwards from the waist to rest upon Barris's supple breasts.

Barris's clenched hands let go as she sat upwards saying," Wait."

Ahsoka paused for a moment before she rushed off to the side moving closer to the fire, wearing a look of fear. Her gaze met the ground as the other padawans had. It was as though she had suddenly found a deep pit in her stomach, pulling on her insides. That feeling and the fear brought with it quickly became anger. An anger towards herself for ruining everything. Her world had been turned upside down and was being pushed right side up in no time. It was as though her mind was confused and every emotion became lost in a whirling storm of doubt. In an effort to muster an apology she muttered, "Sorry, I um I guess I just thought..." her words trailed off in anguish as she brought her arms and legs together in front of herself, trying to make the ground stop spinning.

For a moment the wind hung eerily still, the leaves were motionless petrified in fear, and the racing clouds life died away. Shielding her face from the moonlight Ahsoka became a crouched silhouette in the darkness. Tentatively Barris scooted over towards her and gently unclasped her hands until their grips were clenched into one. Slowly Barris gathered her thoughts before she tried to express in words this hurricane inside of herself.

"Listen, um this, this right here is a whole new thing." Ahsoka stole a glance upward and saw how soft, and kind Barris's expression was as she spoke. "I never really expected this before, and it's truly amazing, but since it's so new maybe we should be cautious. You know, take things slow for a bit."

Ahsoka paused for a moment but then met Barris's gaze, the eerie wind became warm, the trees began to dance once more, and the sky came back to life. A faint smile reached Ahsoka's lips as she responded,"Sure, slow and steady never killed anybody, unless you were in a fire."

Relief quickly swept over Barris, as she started to giggle. The thick blanket of complicated emotions was cast aside and for a second they were just there, in the perfect moment again.

Suddenly over the rustling foliage, and the echoing laughter reverberating off of the walls surrounding them an authoritative voice accompanied by a blindingly bright light boomed throughout the courtyard, "Who ever is out there show yourself!"

For a split second Ahsoka almost gasped but then realized what that would mean. There were no more sounds of laughter, only a crisp breeze that seemed cut the back of Barris's neck. Several seconds of roaring silence went by, whilst the Padawans crouched beneath the fire pit hoping that somehow what they had heard was just their imaginations. Every doubt was cast aside when they heard the same booming voice repeat himself, "The Jedi temple's curfew has well past more than several hours ago, so whoever I sense out there come out now or you will receive further punishment."

Ahsoka stole a glance at Barris and could tell that she was considering revealing herself, but before Barris could make any motion Ahsoka grabbed her hand and stood up. Before Barris even knew what was happening her and Ahsoka were racing towards the distant glimmering lights of the city, which now appeared as no more than a blur.

A roaring voice shouted, "Stop!" and although the padawans dared not turn around they might have guessed that the Jedi had made a forceful gesture. Suddenly a mound of benches and chairs amassed directly in front of them. There was no where else to run, and in a flash together Ahsoka and Barriss used the force to push themselves upward, going over the mound of wood in front of them. For a moment they each let a grin reach their cheeks before they realized how far they had gone.

By jumping off the edge of the courtyard they might have evaded anyone who could have caught them, but they also plummeted away from safety. Down, story after story they descended with each story passing faster and faster. Every hint of the sweet fruit they had been enjoying before was gone and all that they could think about was the torrent of wind tearing at their skin. The only thing each padawan feared even more than the fall was what awaited at the bottom.

Ahsoka looked into Barris's eyes riddled in fear, and gave her a look of reassurance. A thought raced through Barris's mind so quickly that she barely had time to make the gesture to Ahsoka before they had reached the decisive moment, and just before they reached the pavement Barris pushed downwards with the force to break the fall.

Ahsoka understood what Barris had meant only a fraction of a second to late, and although she attempted to do the same as her friend she fell onto the pavement. Beyond the howling wind the first thing Ahsoka heard before she could feel the pain was a snap.

It took everything inside of herself not to scream. The searing pain infected every corner of her mind, and the cold breeze felt like nothing in comparison to the warm blood coursing rapidly through her leg. Adrenaline rushed to her head, and Ahsoka lost all ability to think. The distant glow of the city skyline became blurry and then faded to black as Ahsoka passed out from the pain leaving her friend alone underneath the moonlight.