#BUT ITS HARD TO MAKE A HUMAN INTO A GOOD NAUTOLAN

[chaoticevilbean]

When the Force doesn't know what a kid should look like

SW BI 3

Anakin's brow was starting to sweat. He knew he could keep it up a little longer, but Obi-Wan was already suspecting him and there was another 10 minutes of class. If anyone saw him- they wouldn't kick him out. Would they? No, Jedi were nice. Good.

5 minutes... 3... 1... Anakin heard the teacher dismiss the class and lunged from his seat, his pile of things barely stowed away as he dashed off. He rushed down the halls, leaping around other beings in his haste. He could feel his resolve sliping, but he could see the right hallway, see Obi-Wan's door-

A hand pulled him back by his shirt, lifting him off the ground and destroying all hopes of reaching safety. Anakin had time to register Master Tiin holding his shirt, Masters Fisto and Windu clearly accompanying the Iktotchi. Then he slammed his hands over his ears, his eyes closed, trying to curl up as several sensations and urges kicked back up.

He forgot about the tail.

"Padawan-" Master Windu's voice stuttered out, and Master Fisto began emitting a few high-pitched noises that made Anakin cringe. The Nautolan swiftly stopped, but then there was shouting , and the heat of more bodes, the scents. He was lost in a sandstorm of chaos, he couldn't think, couldn't breathe-

Something warm wrapped him up, enveloped him in familiar. There was someone's robes around him, darkening the world. The tail tried to flick away when a hand pulled that under the robes as well, but Anakin appreciated the gesture.

The familiar face of his mas Obi-Wan looked down into the robes.

"Better?" Anakin blinked languidly up at the man, shrugged, and gave into his instinct to burrow deeper into the darkness. "Anakin, I would really prefer a yes or no of some sort."

An ear flicked into his face in response. Then the other. Both stood straight up for a moment before flattening. Anakin was busy finding out that closer to Obi-Wan meant both warmer and darker. And when the Human pressed into his torso, the Jedi automatically wrapped his arms around the smaller being.

"Master Prix, do you know what's going on?"

"Not necessarily, but I have a theory. If he's been pushing down certain traits, then they might be returning full-force. It happens quite often when one of my people enters a foreign place. Too many unknowns of how another will react to them"

"Does that mean he's responsible for the scratches I keep finding under the sofa?"

"That rat had it coming," Anakin growled out, trying to see if he could go deeper. Sadly, it seemed that was impossible.

"Anakin, do you mean the mouse droid?"

Anakin ignored the question. He knew he wasn’t supposed to scratch things, but he also knew that his hunting instincts had come that day. Although he wondered how his mas Obi-Wan had found the marks.

“What should I do?”

“Make a den, incorporate different training exercises in your day, try to be receptive to any open affection.”

“I meant right now, not that that isn’t helpful.” A den did sound nice. Like the one under his mom’s bed.

Something poked the robes. Anakin’s attention honed in on the movement, ears perking back up and tail starting to twitch. The thing came again, poking enough to nearly touch him before retreating quickly. Obi-Wan's arms withdrew as his Padawan tensed up, the movement moving the robes somewhat.

The third time the thing came, it made its way through the layers, and Anakin immediately pounced on it. He barely realized it was a furred hand before it had grabbed his shirt and started pulling him out of the darkness. He hissed, trying to turn and quickly grab onto Obi-Wan, only to have the traitor pull away from him.

The light in the hallway had been dimmed, and there was only three other people in it. Anakin didn't care much, as he was busy trying to fight off the grasp of an unknown, very furry Jedi in beige. Whoever they were, they knew what they were doing. Faster than even his mother could, Anakin found himself turned around and pinned in a tight hug, someone's head nestled atop his own, right between the ears.

He started growling. He didn't like it. He didn't like losing to some stranger who someone won Obi-Wan's loyalty.

The person started rumbling in response.

Anakin amended himself. They were amazing. His growling turned to purring in an instant, and despite all his logical mind telling him not to, he went practically limp in the hold.

"Think of it like dealing with a loth cat or a dire hound. Hunting instincts will be strongest at first, but they should eventually fade into the background. That is, if he doesn't feel the need to push them down again."

"Hush," Anakin mumbled at the voice, leaning back into what he realized was quite warm fur. Even warmer than Obi-Wan. Another robe wrapped around him, this one belonging to whoever was holding him. His eyes were drooping fast, but who cared? He felt safe for once. Completely and undoubtedly safe...

~ ~

Anakin awoke to find himself still wrapped in something warm, but not the same thing. His The ears flattened for a moment before relaxing at the scent. Obi-Wan again. He decided to forgive the man, for the reasoning of the stranger not being an actual competitor and the twice-over of getting hugs.

His eyes opened to the dark room where Obi-Wan usually slept alone. They closed again, content with knowing where he was and ready to sleep himself, like the calm person next to him.

He shot away from the other at the return of his logical instincts. No, at his instincts. Anything else wasn't him. And he'd let them take over before. In front of the Jedi, in front of Obi-Wan. How long had he slept? Did he miss any of his classes?

What was he going to do now‽ He couldn- would he just continue like before? He couldn't! Could he? What if they wanted him to-

He froze at the sudden weight around his shoulders. It took a moment for his brain to restart enough to react. He tried to dart away again, but the weight just starting pressing down a little and he froze once more, waiting. The weight moved a little, shifting until he finally realized what it was.

"Kriff you."

"That's hardly language befitting a Jedi apprentice, now is it?"

"You son of a Hutt."

"I don't know what I did to deserve such name-calling. Care to inform me, dear Padawan of mine?"

"You motherkarker."

"Anakin!" Said boy giggled at the offended tone of his mas Obi-Wan, who retaliated by pulling him into a hug.

"Wait, no!" He struggled to pull himself away, to no avail. He grumbled as he flopped back, resigning himself to being stuck.

"I know you don't want to talk about this, seeing as you went as far as you did to hide it, but I would like to discuss it at least partially."

Anakin tried to free himself again. He failed again. He decided it was more annoying that he was so weak than that he was getting hugs. Was he getting the hugs because he was getting annoyed?

"Please?"

"Fine," Anakin sighed, settling into his mas Obi-Wan's chest. "What do I need to tell you?"

"Why did none of this come up in Master Che's check-up? Or did it and you didn't tell me? It's alright if it's the latter, I simply wish to know."

"It came up, ish. She did all the stuff and then asked if there's anything I should tell her, and I told her I was hiding it, but she doesn't know anything besides I have them."

"And what is 'it'?"

"Uhm..." Anakin thought for a moment, mentally going over his list of features. "Physical stuff, like the tail and the ears. Mental stuff, like the, uhm, the 'hunting'. Other stuff, but I don't really know what."

"And how does this 'hiding' work? According to Master Prix, it seems less like hiding and more like suppressing your... quirks."

Anakin tried to squirm away from his mas Obi-Wan. He sighed when it worked as well as before. He knew how to explain it all. His mom had helped him learn it so he would know if it came up. But knowing and doing are very different. And it's all a habit and habits are hard to break.

"Uhm, just- I just tell myself to wait? Like, until I sleep or get somewhere... safe?" That was awful.

"And what was earlier? Master Windu said that you were sprinting and just.. popped out a tail and all that."

"I- well, there's- rrrr." Anakin let out a short growl as he attempted to sort his thoughts. He was a Padawan. He could do this. He took a deep breath, trying to translate it all into the right words.

"On Tatooine, it's hot in the day. And it's very cold at night." He paused. Obi-Wan said nothing, waiting. He needed to figure out a way to thank his mas Obi-Wan. "And no one does much during midday, and no one does much during midnight. Around that, people like to head inside and start to adjust." Was that right? Yes, he was sure he hadn't mixed up the opposites again.

"So when it starts to get closer to midday or midnight, everyone sleeps. But on Coruscant, most people sleep once. And all the Humans sleep once. Once during a cycle," Anakin clarified. Obi-Wan made a noise of understanding, prompting his Padawan to fall silent and wait.

"So, if I'm understanding correctly, the reason you were in such a rush to make it back to our quarters was so you could stop hiding." He got a small nod in affirmation. "And the reason you were struggling to hide is because you are used to sleeping twice every cycle, for shorter times. Therefore, you are used to shorter periods in which you feel the need to hide." Another nod.

"Anakin why do you hide? I understand doing so on Tatooine, given its shifty nature. But you have been at the Temple for a month. Surely you understand you are safe here."

"Habit."

Obi-Wan said nothing to the short answer for a moment. Then he stood up, pulling his Padawan up with him. He turned the boy around, staring into the eyes that were both so different and so much the same as the ones he'd been seeing for a month.

"We don't have to go over everything now, but... do you want to break this habit?"

"...yes."

~ ~ ~

[Should I do more?]