WALK AWAY || a.s.

13

training with a saber had grown to become one of marwen's favorite parts of growing in her jedi abilities. was she good at it? no, not really. the girl was sloppy and a little off kilter, but she was good at defenseive strategy, and much better at deflecting blasters. one of the weakest points in her combat, however, was sword to sword combat. she could hold her own, but it took months of going head to head with ahsoka to get to a decent point--- a point in which she at least wouldn't be cut in half.

ahsoka was good about training with marwen. she had still been about a year younger than the girl, but ahsoka's patience was beyond her years. she wasn't condescending towards marwen, despite the obvious distance between their skill levels, and had actually been diligent in catching her up in combat technique in a manner that was safe and effective.

marwen appreciated ahsoka for that; often times more so than she led on. there was a high level of respect present, a reflection upon the compassion of a sixteen year old togruta and how it seemed as though it was eons greater than that of some of the jedi masters holding a seat on the council.

the two had grown their friendship a little more throughout marwen's time at the temple. more often than not, ahsoka had been off at battle with obiwan and anakin, but on the occasion that she had been present, she had spent time with marwen, talking to her about the ins and outs of all she had learned in her schooling of the force and the jedi way.

it had been a warm evening in the temple dojo when ahsoka and marwen had been at it again. their session had gone on for a few hours at that point, and the two were obviously very tired.

"why....are you always.....hitting so....low?" ahsoka huffed, flipping off of marwen's weight and back a couple paces. marwen staggered a bit, catching her breath and replanting her stance.

"because," she blew a tuft of hair from her eyes, "you're always jumping up to hit me high." marwen gave a quick spin before lunging towards the other padawan. ahsoka quickly blocked and jumped out of the way.

combat with one sword against two was sometimes difficult. ahsoka was incredibly skilled with her lightsabers, and often used one of them as a distraction while the other struck hard. something that marwen had picked up from the girl was a good arm strength to shove off high attacks--- they seemed to be ahsoka's favorite. that, and her reversed grip. marwen gave it a couple tries, tossing up her techniques to find which one she fit well with. reverse grip ended up being a more comfortable fit, offering a bit of extra flexibility in her wrist.

amidst the huffing and leaping between the two girls, anakin had entered, wearing his usual expression of seriousness and arrogance that he created when around padawans and younglings. it offered him a sense of superiority, one that he was neglected of from the jedi masters.

"marwen," he called, approaching cautiously. the two stopped their training and turned to meet anakin. "we've gotta have a chat." anakin said. his demeanor seemed suspicious, at least in marwen's eyes. she closed her lightsaber and met him halfway, ahsoka shortly behind.

"we've just been putting in some good combat practice, master. always good to improve on." ahsoka explained with a chuckle. anakin only offered a small smile in response.

"what is it?" marwen asked, crossing her arms with a bit of nervous energy. anakin carried his usual aura, but something was a bit different this time. marwen feared its cause.

"i think it's best if we take a little walk." he said softly. marwen glanced at ahsoka, who had done the same. their eyes met, a nervousness exchanging between the two. "it won't be long." anakin assured. marwen nodded.

"i'll...be off at the cafe." ahsoka said with a nod. she watched them a moment longer before jogging off. marwen turned to anakin when she was out of ear shot, giving him a look to let him know that whatever it was that he was hiding needed to be spilled.

"let's go." he gave a sigh. now marwen was worried.

the two walked along the wall of the dojo and exited the far door, leading out towards the high balcony that extended over the upper levels of the city. marwen kept glancing at anakin, unsure of what was to come. but his eyes remained forward.

"i've spoken to padme." he said simply.

"and how is she?" marwen's tone was cautious.

"fine." anakin said. his head hung for a moment as the two stopped along the railing. "she's just come back from a visit to naboo." he explained. marwen angled herself towards him, frustrated that he was avoiding her eyes. "marwen," he started again. there was a pause, he was unsure of what to say, marwen could feel it. "marwen, it's your mother."

marwen felt her heart seem to twist, her stomach leaping up into her throat. she clenched her fingers into her palm. "what about my mother?" her voice was hushed now. this time, anakin did turn to her. he was uncomfortable, it was written all over his face.

"she's sick."