On Rebels, A New Dawn, and surprising friends, old and new.

[morecivilizedage]

I am proud of Kanan. Or, perhaps, I am glad of what decisions he has made, and the decisions he continues to make.

Yes, I do remember him in that classroom, and I will never not be thankful for the idea to warn the Jedi away from the temple. Sometimes I wonder if things might have gone... differently, if us old masters were more willing to listen to the words of our students. ( There had been an uproar, he remembers, but he is glad that Caleb had asked, anyways. It was, time has shown, a question that needed answering. )

However, I do doubt much more of an appearance in what comes next. It is not my story, after all, though perhaps there are parts I simply don't remember. ( A wry smile. Old age is a great excuse for not knowing every last iota of canon dodging around memories that haven't "happened" yet. )

It was good to see Bail, given how last we parted... ( He still feels it, that echo of lives cut short so suddenly. It was almost like the Purge, and yet not. The Purge was alike stars dying, blinking out in the Force, each loss another phantom pain. Alderaan was instead a great pain that rocked him, and then to look up into the night sky and suddenly see nothing. Sudden and complete. But he will not dwell upon that now. ) Always up to things, my old friend. And R2-D2, of course.

But we will see. ( That enigmatic smile is back. Mun is torn between irritation and amusement. )

As for the rest, I confess, I was not expecting to find so many friends, old and new, here. It is... good, to have someone other than myself and the dead. ( Looking at you, Qui-Gon. ) I am glad of that, as well. So, I suppose I must forgive you for disturbing my peace.

Comments

[bewareyourheart]

He's tenacious, if nothing else. He's probably going to cause my future self a lot of frustration. [he sounds immensely pleased about this]

[angelofnaboo]

Yes, it is always good to see old friends, no matter the length of separation. [She smiles sadly, softly.] There is no better friend to ask for than Bail Organa.

Other than yourself, Obi-Wan.

[morecivilizedage]

Anakin, I suspect there are a great many things in the Galaxy that will give your future self a lot of frustration. ( He can name off the top of his head, oh, at least twenty. There's still a smile on his face as he says it, though. ) I confess, however, that I expect him to be very very good at it. Not unlike another young, reckless Jedi I used to know. One who would never stop when presented with the opportunity to do the right thing. ( hmmm wonder who that might be... )

I wouldn't blame yourself for things that have yet to happen, Anakin. Strive to change them, and if you cannot, accept that they are. ( And you are. Luke will show him that there was still something of Anakin in that shell after all, and there is nothing in the galaxy that can crush the hope in his heart for that. )

[morecivilizedage]

They say that separation can make the heart grow fonder, though I suspect more that such friends never quite leave us the way we fear they do. ( Have an equally sad smile from a very old man who has failed so many dear friends in so many ways. )

And how do you fair, now that I see you again? ( It has been such a long time. And a wry twist of lips. ) Much better, I hope.

[angelofnaboo]

I hope that is true, though I fear you may know the answer to that better than I do. I can only speak from my own limited experiences.

[Her smile fades a little and she takes a deep breath before speaking again.]

I fear that I can only be better since we parted, old friend. It was rather desperate the last time we spoke.

[morecivilizedage]

Your children are a great credit to you. ( It seems something of a non-sequitor, but it is something he has wanted to say for a long time. ) Both of you. I do not doubt that you have felt the same, but I thought it would be nice to hear it from a slightly less biased source. ( who does he think he's kidding, they are miracle children in his eyes, and he will never not love them. )

Some ills only time can remedy, or some times, only dull the ache. But I cannot say the reminder of such ills is wholly unpleasant, for the good memories they bring with it. ( He misses you, and your determination and brightness and charm. You were a dear friend, and he greatly regrets how much he had failed you. )

[angelofnaboo]

I had always hoped that they would do great things. [Her hands slid down to her flat stomach, feeling a deep pang in her heart over the loss of her children before she'd ever gotten to hold them in her arms.] With a father like theirs, I suppose it was inevitable.

And it is the good that we must hold onto. For that is what keeps us sane. And just like every person contains the possibility for ill, they hold the same for good. Even those thought lost.

[Her last words hadn't been for herself. No, they were for Anakin, and they always would be.]

[morecivilizedage]

Padmé Amidala, I doubt that there is a universe where your children would not be both brilliant and beautiful. ( Let's not give Anakin all the credit here. You're pretty amazing yourself: think about it. )

That is something I think he should hear. ( He knows exactly who you are talking about. ) And not from an old man with the sentiments of old age. ( Besides, he doesn't exactly trust Anakin to listen to him, when he speaks. At least not to listen and believe. There is still good in him. He owes his last sort-of-padawan many things, but the greatest is his thanks, for holding a faith that he had dared not. )

[angelofnaboo]

I had some small part in it, yes, but Anakin gave them so much just by being who he was.

[To leave her children behind as she had...that would always be her biggest regret. Her beautiful, headstrong daughter and her compassionate and giving son, what she would give to be able to have been with them.]

Anakin has much good left in him, but he has allowed the darkness to swallow him. It will take more that the words of a ghost to redeem him, Obi-Wan. Much as it pains me to admit defeat, my words haven't reached him for a long time now.

[morecivilizedage]

( Kenobi didn't have that much faith, but Luke did. Luke does, and he made all the diference. )

He redeems himself, Padme. He just needs to believe it. But we are not the ones he will listen to.

[spectreone]

[Advice he's glad to see Obi-Wan took, to be honest.]

Uh...

[Praise, Kanan. It's praise.]

Thank you, Master.

[It's been awhile since he adhered to old Jedi customs, but he's not going to go without a bow of respect. Especially for the one Jedi who took his advice. Who listened when everyone else cast a glare.]

[morecivilizedage]

( Kenobi is old, and it has been equally long, if not longer, that he has even been around other Jedi to choose to so structure himself. But it does him good to see the younger ones, and he smiles as he offers Kanan a bow in return. )

It is I who should thank you, Knight Kanan. ( He'd been a padawan, last Kenobi had ever heard of him, but after surviving the Purge, and what he has seen now of Kanan's actions... the man before him has definitely shown that he has passed his Trials: Skill, Flesh, Courage, Spirit, Insight. Not to mention training a padawan, young Ezra—and if the flashes of some of those moments remind Kenobi a little too painfully of Anakin, it is a good pain.

Indeed, Obi-Wan would not be surprised to see Kana become a true Jedi Master in his own right, before the end of his tale, and he hopes that someone will be able to grant him the title properly, when the time arises. )

You have saved a great many lives. ( And he's not just talking about the Beacon. ) And you have set yourself upon a difficult path, for the good of a great many—even those who would not thank you for it.

( Kenobi is proud. As proud as any Jedi can be, truly. He has had little part in Kanan's life, by his reckoning, but to see a young man grow up and into wisdom... He is very proud. And thankful. )

[spectreone]

Whoa, Knight?? Master Obi-Wan--

[His hands go up in defense, as if the jedi were giving him far too much credit for his own good. Sure, he'd survived--but it'd been achieved by giving up everything the Jedi were known for. To hide for survival. Knights...the knights HE knew, at least...they would have stood and fought. Not bounced from rock to rock, avoiding the Empire as it seeped its way through the galaxy.

Some of that had changed, with Hera and Ezra now in his life. The Force, like the nagging little tug at the back of his mind it had become, could not be eradicated from him forever.

In his eyes, he was still a Padawan.

He bites his lip at that statement, though. Figuring there's a more important matter at hand.]

It's doing what's right. Took me a long time to figure that out--but hey, even a guy like me can get a good idea sometimes.

[All it took was a crazed conspiracy theorist and a spark of a rebellion. There's a smirk as he plops himself down next to Obi-Wan, hand rubbing the back of his neck.]

I'm...I'm honoured, though. After you issued the order, I'd thought you--

[Died?]

Just can't believe you're actually here. Alive.

[morecivilizedage]

( And that right there, is part of what makes Obi-Wan sure that Kanan has deserved that title. Zaluna had seen all those little moments of unremarked, unconscious kindness, and Kenobi is very certain that there were more.

Even he has spent much of his time hiding who he is, in these dark times. That is a part of the Trial of Insight is meant to test, itself. To not die for foolish things, or preventable reasons. To know when to act, and when to wait.

Perhaps that is untraditional for him to believe, but there are many things that have had him questioning 'tradition' in the years that have come. He does not doubt that there are many knights who had stood, and fought valiantly, and died. He knows that several groups had thought to use his name to attract Vader's attention that they may attack and defeat him, and in doing so sought their own ruin. A'Sharad had been so consumed by his need to fight that Kenobi feared it would overtake him. Still fears it.

Kanan may not think himself a Knight, but that does not change that, to Obi-Wan's mind, he is one, but they hardly need to discuss that, now. Instead, he will offer Kanan an enigmatic smile, and relax, watching as Kanan settles himself. )

The right things are rarely the easy, and yet still you chose them. Even I have great difficulty in determining the right course, some times. ( Don't sell yourself so short, Kanan. You've come a long way, and are a better man for it. )

Hm, yes. It was a reasonable assumption to make given the fate of most of us, the Council in particular. ( And he will be dead... in about six or so years from now... at least, from a certain point of view. ) I only wish more had done so. ( Like... Vader, for instance, though he knows very well such a thing is an impossibility. They know each other too well. )

But, yes. I am here, and will be for a good while yet. ( There is Luke, after all.

He turns to Kanan, more serious than he has been. )

You are not alone, Kanan. Do not ever think that.

[spectretwo]

( Hera almost doesn't recognize Obi-Wan. He's older, and the last time she saw the Jedi had been on the holograms her father had of the Clone War. The rise of the Empire had made them dangerous to have, but rebellion and resistance ran in her family. Her uncle chose one way, her father another, and she had taken her own path.

But she does recognize him after a moment, and smiles slightly. )

We would be honored to run into you in the future, Master Jedi.

( As for Kanan - well. She's proud of him too. Not in the same way she thinks Obi-Wan must be, but she's seen him change over the six years she's known him. From someone who didn't want anything to do with her cause to someone she can't imagine doing this without. )

[morecivilizedage]

( He is much older, and careworn, but the sight of Hera brings just as much a lightness to him as Kanan has. )

As would I, Captain Syndulla. ( He offers her a polite bow, and a smile. ) Indeed, I owe you just as much thanks, I believe.

( For starting that spark that set Kanan's dampened embers ablaze again. For fighting the fight Obi-Wan can't. For "doing what's right", to echo Kanan's words.

He is proud of Kanan, in a different way simply based on differing knowledge of the man, but perhaps, not in so different a way as Hera might suspect.

And Obi-Wan is honestly just happy for them. Both of them. )

Even so, I suspect this will be the closest we will get to meeting. You have your own important stories to tell, and parts to play, and I doubt they will much intersect with mine.

( There would likely be little need or reason for the Spectre crew to stop at Tatooine, after all, and Kenobi has even less reason to leave it.

Besides, Kanan and Ezra need to grow on their own. They need to know that theycan. The way he knows, and Hera knows. )

[angelofnaboo]

Anakin has lost hope. That is not something that I can give him. Not now.

[She leaves that to both of her children, her beautiful, talented children.]

But he also needs someone to believe in the good in him.

maximum heartbreak go

[212th]

...

[He knew that he hadn't killed Obi-Wan when he had issued the Order. After working so long side-by-side, you just knew things about each other. Your breaking points, your thresholds.

It's a mix of relief and regret. A grey muddled mix of feelings, wondering if he should even say anything.

If he even deserved to.]

Your presence has always been a noticeable one, General.

[His head ducks at that moment, realizing that slip of the tongue. It seemed so natural, but...he couldn't really call him his General anymore, could he?]

[sandhate]

[ side stepping so many things, as you do. ]

You got old, Master. It's not a bad look. It makes you look wise— which you are, of course. You were always wise.

[ or try to do ]

[morecivilizedage]

( And there is yet another of his failures. The weariness of an old man, and a love that did not stretch so far as to believe for so many years. Obi-Wan had lost that belief. Or perhaps, would not let him believe, because the pain was too much to bear.

The result was the same iregardless, and Obi-Wan bows his head. )

As Luke did, far better than I.

wow rude so many feelings

[morecivilizedage]

I do seem to have a particular knack for drawing attention. ( Even his first settling out into the wilds of Tatooine had proved... rather notable, even when he was trying to be a good hermit and stay out of things.

The corner Obi-Wan's lips twitch upwards at the title, but he is an old man, and glad to see old friends, all the same. He has had a very long time to learn to deal with those initial feelings of betrayal, and in the end, Cody has likely trespassed the least against those Obi-Wan has forgiven. )

Perhaps less so, now. I seem to have finally mastered the art of seeming old, harmless, and just a little cracked. ( Which is, to be fair, a lot easier now, since he has always been one of those things, and the many years have since rendered him another.

His voice is warm, and welcoming, if perhaps a little tired. )

You, I am sure, have lead quite the auspicious life, Commander.

[morecivilizedage]

( His first instinct is to quip back, something teasing, like "And here I thought I would die before I heard those words from your lips" but, well... Those sorts of things are always less funny when they are painfully close to the truth.

So instead he smiles a soft, sad little smile. )

Not so wise as I could have been. ( It is hard; Anakin has made him proud and full of grief in equal measure, and there was quite a long time where even he had lost hope. That Luke had loved his father all the more, even without having known all the good that Anakin could do...

Obi-Wan had never been more glad to be wrong. )

Such things come with time, I have found. With age and wisdom, even sand has it's charms. ( There is that last bit of lightness, half a tease. A call back to a relationship that had once been. )

[212th]

Attention and blaster-fire, it seems.

[The banter's so familiar, despite Obi-Wan's clear signs of aging. He had to guess that he didn't make it as far as the old Jedi had--clones weren't blessed with the longevity most humans were. But no matter the difference, Obi-wan was still Obi-Wan.

In personality and morality.]

It...sounds relaxing, at the very least.

[There's an awkward shifting as his hands sit behind his back, at rest. The hint of a smile is comforting to him, at the very least, still walking on proverbial eggshells. Had he regretted his actions? Perhaps. But he was a soldier, in the end. And his engineered traits won the battle.]

I suppose you could say that. I'm in charge of training the new recruited troops.

[Cody, that couldn't have sounded more bitter if you tried.]

[angelofnaboo]

You shouldn't blame yourself, Obi-Wan. Anakin was responsible for his own actions, as you are well aware. Palpatine merely preyed upon what was already there.

[The Chancellor had used and fed problems that her husband had possessed in spades. And it had been the Jedi Council's idea to have Anakin watch over him in the first place.]

We both did what we could for him.

[It just...wasn't enough.]

Be proud of the other accomplishments you have earned. Be proud that you trained Luke and set him on the right course, my old friend.

[spectreone]

[Tradition was one thing Kanan had to remove from his life. Thankfully, he went into hiding at a young age, and the rules and regulations Jedi had didn't quite sink in permanently. Those were easy to remove. Maybe it was that luck that saved him, unlike the Masters who lived by the code to the letter. Obi-Wan may have been a living testament proving him wrong.

And it's one thing he's glad to be wrong on.]

Heh. [A soft chuckle as he looks back up, arms resting on his knees.]

No offense, Master Obi-Wan, but you always struck me as the Jedi with all the answers. Hard for me to believe you ever have trouble finding the right path. [A little hero worship, maybe, but then again, he had given young Caleb that chance, when he was a youngling. And seeing a Jedi after so long, who couldn't idolize him...slightly.]

But that's good to hear. Who knows, maybe we'll even run into you--sure could use some help with Ezra.

[Because as much as he's going to train him, he won't have all the answers. And his method now might be slightly different than he was taught. Depa could only influence him so much.]

...Master,I've got a question.

[His head shakes as soon as he says it, rather amused at himself. Just like old times...]