#SO much energy between obiwan and ani

[queenlua]

mace windu: confirmed Thomas Hobbes stan

[inkognito97]

What if obiwan was the son of Kurama or the ninetailsw

@mostie01

The sound of a firing canon was loud in the air. A heavy body collided with his own and dragged the young Padawan down, before settling on top of him. Even without the Force - his former captors had given him a drug that blocked his connection with the Force - he knew that it was his Master, who was lying on top of him, protecting him from physical harm as much as he could. 

A huge wave of smoke and debris ran over them. The older man’s arms tightened and his whole body tensed. Only after it had passed them, did Qui-Gon release him somewhat.

“Obi-Wan, are you alright?” he managed to said between coughs.

“Yes,” the ginger haired boy answered automatically. In truth, he was anything but. Without the Force, he felt lost. Only his other senses, that were much more advanced than that of a mere human, were keeping him sane. Also, his whole body hurt from what his captors and tortures had done to hi. He should probably count himself lucky however, had they known about his kitsune nature, they might have done so much worse things to him. 

“Come on Padawan,” the long haired man sounded panicked and he literally dragged the smaller male up. His grip on the fox demon’s arm was painful and Obi-Wan had to force himself not to cry out. He knew his Master was not aware of the bruises under his sleeve, or he would be more careful. His Master would never hurt him intentionally.

“Master!” Obi-Wan cried in panic, when another detonation happened close by, sending the two Jedi flying. Qui-Gon made painful contact with the hard ground, his lightsaber landing far away from him. A pained grunt escaped the tall Jedi, when he tried to stand up and the Padawan knew, without checking, that he must have suffered from either a broken ankle or a broken rib.

Obi-Wan struggled to his feet and stumbled towards his Master, but collapsed after only a couple of unsure steps. His eyes met the pained midnight blue ones of his Master and not for the first time, did he wish that Qui-Gon had never agreed to this mission. He had warned his Master, he had felt that something was very wrong, as soon as his teacher had told him about the mission, but as usual he had been ignored. They were paying the price now. It didn’t look good, not at all. As soon as they had entered the system, the trap had snapped and had easily caught them. Their transport had been damaged and they had been forced to land on the unknown planet, far away from the nearby city. Both Jedi had fallen unconscious due to the impact and their enemies had kidnapped Obi-Wan. They had intended to get as much information out of the Padawan as possible, needless to say, Obi-Wan had revealed nothing. He would not betray his Master, especially not to a man, who was an old enemy from the time when Qui-Gon had been a fresh Knight himself. And now, that Qui-Gon had saved him from their clutches, it seemed that this enemy was still holding all the cards. 

Obi-Wan’s gaze darkened. No, this man, this Quint Ardross, was NOT holding ALL the cards. Obi-Wan still had a joked in his sleeve and if he decided to use it, it was clear that he would win. At least he would win this battle and Qui-Gon would survive… but what would he lose? His humanity, his place in the Jedi Order? It seemed very possible. Was he truly ready to face that. A brief glance towards the beaten Jedi Master told the ginger haired male anything he needed to know. Yes, he was ready to face the consequences, as long as his Master would survive to see another day. It was worth it, he decided then and there.

Once more did Obi-Wan get to his feet, but he made no effort to get to his Master again. Instead, he turned to face their enemies, to face Quint Ardross, who was standing near his man, laughing in malice. The Padawan’s eye narrowed. He would pay for what he did, but it wouldn’t be revenge. No, Obi-Wan would make sure that his Master was safe, that was all. Jedi did not do revenge… and neither did he.

“Padawan,” the voice was trembling, as if it was afraid. Never before had the ginger haired man heard such a tone in his Master’s words. He must have come to the conclusion that they were to die this day. He would be right, were Obi-Wan just a mere human or even a simple kitsune. But he wasn’t. He was not just any fox demon. He was the son of Kurama, the ninetailed fox demon of old times.

The young Jedi in training traveled deep into himself, to a place he usually avoided. It was not like he was afraid of it, just that he was careful. He did not like to lose control over himself and over his body, but this is, what it feels like, every time, he allowed the fox demon inside of him to leverage. But he had to put that behind him, otherwise he and his teacher would never get out of here.

Deep inside his own body and mind, Obi-Wan broke the last seal, therefore allowing the chakra of the fox to merge with his own. He may not have any connection to the Force right now, but at least the chakra, the energy that ran through every being almost like the medichlorians, was answering to his call. Distantly, he noticed how his teeth grew and became sharper. His hands and feet turned to claws. he knew his eyes had changed too, they had turned blood red with a slit for the pupil. Then, the chakra slightly left his body, forming a protective cloak around him, a cloak in form of a fox with three tails. Three would be enough for now, Obi-Wan could always raise the numbers one by one. He just did not want to overdo it right now.

With a deep breath and a last glance at the startled male, who was still cowering on the ground, he dashed forward. His intention and destination was clear and even the men’s best efforts, were in vain. There was no stopping an ancient power, there was no stopping him. He may be only the son of Kurama, therefore he held only a small part of the power his father once held, but it was more than enough. Even with three tails, the destruction and death he left behind, was great. One tailed beast bomb - that was what the ball made purely out of chakra was called - was enough to destroy half the landscape. The fight was over, before Obi-Wan had really begun.

With mixed feelings did Obi-Wan look over what he had done. He had not yet turned to look at his Master, not knowing if he could bear it. He himself did not know what to feel, how was his Master supposed to know after all. A sigh escaped him and the Padawan let the chakra return where it came from, deep within himself. At least he had not lost his mind, that was a small consolation. But had he lost his place in the Jedi Order and more importantly, his place at Qui-Gon’s side?

[inkognito97]

Please write when obiwan's vampire nature awoke and quigon had to teach his padawan how to hide his fangs and care for himself.

Sorry it took so long… somehow my muse had decided to take a brief vacation!

He lookeddown at the wide and incredulous looking blue-green eyes of the small boy ofperhaps three years that he was holding. The boy looked innocent enough, withhis chubby cheeks and the thumb he was sucking one. Qui-Gon realized that thiswas a habit that would need to be broken at some point. The tall Jedi Masteralso knew that the look of this one was quite deceiving.“You cannot be serious?” Qui-Gon eventually said and turned his midnight blueeyes up at the Council members in front of him.Mace Windu looked as serious as ever and Yoda’s gaze held no room for argumenteither. The other Masters did not interest the long haired man right now.“Serious, we are. Young Kenobi’s guardian, you will be,” even the green troll’svoice held no room for any protest.“Qui-Gon,” the Korun Master chose a calmer tone, “the Council has talked and itdecided that this is the best solution.”“Is it now?” he snarled right back, causing the little one in his arms to shiver.Immediately he tightened the arms around the boy with the short ginger hair andsent comforting energy to him.“He is of your kind,” Plo Koon joined the conversation. “You are best suited toteach him everything he needs to know.”“I have already made it clear that I do not wish to take on another apprentice,besides, he is way too young. Why are you presenting him to me now anyway?” Heturned his focus to the green Master, whose ears dropped just a little. HadQui-Gon not been the green troll’s Padawan a long time ago, he would mostlikely not even have noticed it in the first place.“Showing signs he is. Needs you NOW, he does.”That caused the stubborn Jedi to blink. Curiously did he peek down at thesilent child, who was still watching him in a mixture of wonder and awe. Andnow he even noticed that Obi-Wan was indeed not sucking on his thumb, butchewing on it, as if… “As if he is trying to lessen the pain from growingfangs,” did he mumble to himself.“What was that, Master Jinn?”Qui-Gon ignored the female Jedi. Instead he turned back to Yoda. “This is toosoon, he is too young.”“In mysterious ways, the Force moves,” hummed the Order’s Grandmaster. “Do you now understand why we have called you?” asked the dark skinned Councilmember.“Yes,” and he did indeed. This was changing everything. He was still not keenon taking care of such a young child, but at least he had a solid reason to doso now. Up to this point he had been the only vampire in the Order, his kindwas rare and usually did not leave their clans and planets. It was onlylogically to assign him to take care of one so young, who still had so much tolearn. He only dreaded the day, when Obi-Wan would be old enough to become hisPadawan, especially since he had sworn to never take on another one, not afterXanatos’ fall.“Decided this is then,” the wise Master hit the floor with his walking stick,bringing this topic of the session to an end.“We are already sending everything you require for raising a Youngling to yourquarters. Also crèche Master Kalma will accompany you and inform you of themost important things,” Mace Windu explained.Midnight blue eyes barely looked at the Mirialan Jedi who had stood beside theclosed doors of the Council chamber. Accepting his fate, he nodded and bowed his head, before taking his leave. The Mirialan,whose name he had not bothered to learn, trailed right next to him, but onlyafter she had tried to take the boy from his arms. Obi-Wan had not allowed it.She then had begun talking about the caretaking of children, but Qui-Gon wasnot paying her much attention. He knew all this anyway.He was focused on the bright being in his arms instead, who had yet to make asingle sound. Out of instinct did he reach out to him with the Force and he wassurprised that already a fledgling bond had formed between them and that in thefew minutes he had held the boy. He reached out with his free hand and gentlyyet firmly pulled the boy’s digit out of his mouth. The Youngling made a soundof protest and over the beginnings of their bond, Qui-Gon could feel thepainful pressure of the emerging fangs on the boy’s gums. The tall Jedi ignoredthe protest and instead put his own thumb, as well as his forefinger, into theyoung one’s mouth and started massaging the gums. A satisfied purr was hisanswer and the Master could not help but smile down at the boy. In the privacyof his own mind, he could even admit that the child was rather cute.“Master Jinn,” what-was-her-name-again protested, “with all due respect, youshould stop encouraging this behavior.”He turned furious eyes at the Mirialan, who immediately took a step back. “Youmay be an expert on the care of young Force sensitive children, but when itcomes to vampires, I think I have the advantage. So you will excuse me and stopinfluencing my methods.” He had let his own fangs appear, just for show and itdid the trick. The green skinned female became a few shades paler and hurriedlyexcused herself, before vanishing back to the crèche.Qui-Gon retreated his fangs again and grumbled under his breath when a touch oftwo small hands brought him out of his dark thoughts. During all the commotion,he had forgotten to keep massaging. To his surprise however, the small childpushed his hand away. Qui-Gon looked down.“You my new Master?” it sounded as if he was saying ‘mostah’ instead of‘master’.“It is 'Are you my new Master’ and yes, I am.”The boy nodded against his chest. “I like you. You warm.” He snuggled closer tothe tall Master.“You ARE warm,” he corrected. Qui-Gon distantly remembered his own turning, though his had started when hewas already ten. This was also a rather young age by his kind’s standards, butQui-Gon had never heard of a case where the child was turning at the tender ageof three. No wonder that the boy was so small.The long haired man enveloped his new charge with his other arm too. The boywas shivering. This was completely normal. When the body was turning, itreduced certain activities – like holding the right temperature for an instance– in order to make the necessary changes. The senses would become sharper andbetter, the muscles would change, allowing the vampire to become inhumanly fastand strong and of course the fangs as well as the conversion to blood drinking.The increasing senses would most likely cause irritation, perhaps evendizziness and disorientation, but that would come much later. ‘Much’ wasrelative, especially in the eyes of a vampire, but Qui-Gon knew that he stillhad enough time to prepare for then.

Qui-Gon wasglad that he had finally reached his quarters. Obi-Wan had started nibbling onhis fingers instead of his own thumb. The Master mentally added a chewing toyto the list of things he would need. It would most likely look utterlyridiculous, but it would help. Also, his furniture would be left alone.

“Are youhungry?” he asked aloud. The child nodded. “Very well.” He sat the child downand gave him an encouraging swat on the backside, allowing him to take a lookaround.

Of courseQui-Gon had seen the countless cartons that were standing in the entrance tohis rooms. He wondered what things he would find inside, it looked so much.Thankfully the boxes were labeled and he did not have to search long to find asmall baby bottle and a heater for it. He guessed that the boy was not in themood to have something to eat that he actually had to chew, his mouth mostlikely hurt too much for that. So he quickly heated some milk, while his newcharge inspected his new living place.

“Do youlike it?” he asked, when the boy entered the kitchen.

Obi-Wannodded, his blue-green eyes gazed up at the tall man. “It’s lively, lot ofplants,” he explained.

Qui-Goncould not help but chuckle at the innocent delight. Xanatos had never reactedthis well to the countless exotic plants that occupied his quarters. “I am gladyou think so little one. Though I fear that I should warn you, there might bemore in the future.” He had a tendency to bring strange life forms with him,plants included.

“It’salright,” the boy shrugged, “As long as I don’t have t’ share my bed.”

“Don’tworry,” the long haired man laughed. When had been the last time he hadlaughed, truly laughed that much? “I promise not to touch your room, unless youwant me to.”

Obi-Wanlooked as if he wanted to say something else, but the beeping of the finishedheater caught his attention.

“Whatthis?”

“What ISthis,” he corrected, “And this is your meal. It’s not much, but once I haveunpacked all those things in the hallway, I can make you something proper,alright?”

“Kay,” heseemed satisfied enough.

AfterQui-Gon had checked if the warmed milk was not too hot for the three year oldInitiate, did he hand the child the bottle, who happily started sucking on thebottle’s nipple after he had thanked the tall male. He quickly grimaced andpulled away again however.

“Yucky.”

The sightwas comically, but Qui-Gon furrowed his brow. The milk was not expired, he hadchecked that and it had not smelled spoiled either. So, what could be theproblem?

“I wonder…Obi-Wan, can you give me the bottle for a moment please?”

“Kay,” hisscowl turned into curiosity and his blue-green eyes watched in interest, whenQui-Gon opened the bottle again and set it on the counter, before opening therefrigerator.  

A tuggingon the Jedi Master’s pants made Qui-Gon aware of the tiny boy, who was standingon his toes to peek – very unsuccessful – onto the counter. Without muchthought, he picked the child up, who gave a delighted squeal upon being lifted,and sat him on top the counter, so that he could look over the whole kitchen.

Obi-Wan washumming a small melody, his head moving from left to right and back again andlegs swinging forth and back, while watching how the Jedi Master put – from hispoint of view – strange red stuff into the milk. Immediately the white fluidturned pinkish.

“Tryagain,” the Jedi encouraged.

This time,the boy DID like the food and Qui-Gon had the feeling that nothing couldseparate his charge from the bottle, not even the Force itself. He shook hishead and put the synthetic blood back into the refrigerator so that it wouldstay cold. It was unusual for young vampire to already consume blood, especiallywhen their fangs had not yet fully appeared. Then again, Obi-Wan seemed to bequite the unique child. Qui-Gon liked that, it would make his life much moreinteresting, perhaps even more challenging, but he was a Jedi, he was born toface all kinds of situations.

“Master?”he had already consumed half of the bottle.

“Yes, youngone?”

“Why areyour teeth so funny?”

“Are they?”he turned to stand in front of the ginger haired boy and gave him a toothysmile. The boy’s brows furrowed in confusion. Qui-Gon decided to take mercy onhim, at least for now and let his fangs come out. The effect was immediate.Blue-green eyes widened to an impossible size and he even forgot to keepdrinking. A small hand reached out and Qui-Gon gently took it and allowed theboy to touch one of his fangs.

“Becareful, they are sharp.”

Obi-Wandrew back in awe. “Why… em…” he did not seem to know what he actually wanted toask, but Qui-Gon guessed it nevertheless.

“I am avampire young one, I need them to drink blood.”

“Like me,”he gave the tall man a broad grin, presenting his own white teeth.

“Yes,exactly.”

Then theInitiate’s features turned thoughtful. “Will I get them too?”

“Youalready are,” Qui-Gon explained patiently, “that’s why it hurts here.” Hemotioned to his own gums.

A scowlappeared on Obi-Wan’s features. “Don’t want it to hurt,” he pouted.

“I know,”his voice was gentle and he reached out to ruffle ginger spikes affectionately.“It will get better.”

“Promise?”

“I promise,now drink.” The Initiate did as he was told.

A littlewhile later, Obi-Wan lay sleeping in the Jedi Master’s own large bed. Qui-Gonhad not found the time to set up the young one’s own. He would do thattomorrow.

With a fondexpression, that was rather unusual for Qui-Gon nowadays, did he watch therhythmic rise and fall of a small chest and a sudden realization hit the longhaired Master.

“Damnmeddling troll, damn Force,” he grumbled under his breath. He should haverealized that the fledgling bond had just been a sign for something greater.Not that Qui-Gon would ever admit it aloud, but he was overly excited when hethought about their future. He couldn’t wait for the days, when he would teachObi-Wan how to hide his fangs and how to use them. He couldn’t wait to teachthe bright child the ways of the Force, as well as the ways of their kind.

Perhaps,just perhaps, he was already a little bit too attached for his own good. Hecould already feel the mostly painful memories of his former apprentice, fadinginto nothingness. But it couldn’t be that bad now, could it? Not when the Forceso obviously approved. Besides, it was about time to move on, wasn’t it? Afterall it was him, who always preached to live in the here and now.

(five yearslater)

“Master!Master!” an accented voice yelled loudly from the other end of the hallway.Qui-Gon had barely enough time to turn around, before a small body collidedwith his own with inhuman speed.

“Padawan,”gasped the older male out, when the boy’s body met his own.

“HelloMaster,” the ginger haired Jedi looked up sheepishly. He knew that he was notsupposed to use his vampire speed inside the temple and especially not totackle his teacher.

“What hasgotten you so excited?” Qui-Gon asked instead of scolding his apprentice forhis lapse in control.

Blue-greeneyes were inflamed with excitement. “Master, do you remember the lesson aboutmy heightened senses?”

“You meanthe one from last week? How could I forget, with your constant complainingabout the smell of our apartment?”

The boyflushed in embarrassment and he cleared his throat, “Well, that was last week,but I have got it better under control now.” Qui-Gon only raised an eyebrow atthat, challenging his Padawan’s claim. “I can prove it, here. Remember how youtold me to concentrate, to focus on one single thing at a time before seeingthe whole? Well, I did.”

“That isgood to hear young one,” he praised.

“That’s notall,” he quickly cut in, “I was in the Room of a thousand Fountains you see andI was practicing this technique, when I suddenly detected the slight stench ofblood in the air. It was weak, very weak, but still there. I found itquestionable that the Fountain room smelled of blood, but since the Force hadnot given me a warning, I decided to investigate. Guess what I have found.”

“I have notthe slightest idea,” he was not worried, the Force was absolutely calm and ifObi-Wan were in danger, he would know.

“This,” hepresented what he was holding in his right hand that had previously been closedlightly. It took a moment for Qui-Gon to recognize the being for what it was,but then he couldn’t help but chuckle.

“A leech?You found a leech?”

“Yeah, hewas the reason, why there was a minimal trace of blood in the air. See, it’sall full and squishy.”

“Indeed,your little friend has feasted on this fine day and was probably holding adigestive sleep before you interrupted it.”

“I do notthink there is anything that could disrupt it,” Obi-Wan deadpanned. Hehesitated a moment, one of his fingers from his left hand, absentmindedlystroking the little bloodsucker. “He is a lot like us, isn’t he?”

“SHE sharesa few of our quirks, yes.” Were he not Master of the Living Force, then hewould not have known that the little bloodsucker was truly a ‘she’ and not a‘he’.

“Shedoesn’t have fangs though,” the Padawan grinned.

“No,”Qui-Gon agreed, “but she needs blood for surviving and she usually does notleave the place of her birth. And our kind usually does not leave their clansand families either.”

“But youdid… and I too… why? Did they not like us?”

Qui-Gonsighed, “I don’t know Padawan.”

The boylooked thoughtful for a moment, his gaze resting on the leech, he was stillpetting the little animal, which seemed to enjoy it. “I think it doesn’tmatter.”

“Oh?”

Blue-greeneyes sparkled with mirth, when he looked up into his Master’s face. “You are myfamily now, you and Master Yoda. And I wouldn’t have met you, had I been kepthidden.”

“If you seeit like this, then I too am grateful that I was given away,” he smiled down atthe ginger haired boy. “Now come young one, let’s see if we can find a placefor your little friend.” Obi-Wan obediently trotted after him.

Jeeny, asObi-Wan had called the black leech, had soon found a new home in theJinn/Kenobi quarters. The tall vampire had found an old and unused aquarium,which he and his student had prepared for the leech. After Obi-Wan had promisedto take care of her, had the older Jedi even allowed the boy to place the nowinhabited aquarium in the living room.

During theset up, the long haired Jedi Master had gotten the feeling that Jeeny would notbe alone for very long, but strangely he did not seem to mind. He always had aweakness for pathetic life forms and if his Padawan adopted this strange aspectof his personality, then that was fine with him.

True to hisword, the Padawan did indeed take very good care of the leech. It had actuallygrown. Qui-Gon was not bothered about it, not about the leech. He WAS howeverbothered, that his apprentice was spending more time with his strange pet thanwith anybody – himself excluded – else. When the Jedi Master had asked hisPadawan if he didn’t want to spent time with his fellow Padawans or perhaps theInitiates, the boy had evaded the topic. It left the Master more concernedthough. And he was more determined than ever to find out, what was really goingon. Little did he know that he would find the reason for his student’sisolation only a few days later.

(severaldays later)

Qui-Gon wassparring with Mace Windu this day. It had been a while since they had last foughtand since the taller male had beaten the Council member, something that neededto be rectified immediately. They had already run through the whole warm up andwere already engaged in their duel. It wasn’t too serious at first, they had toget used to each other again, but it would soon turn into a hard work out forthe both of them.

Maceattacked, Qui-Gon parried. Another attack, this time the tall Master dodged andmissed his mark by mere inches. Again did the Korun Master dash forward, Qui-Gonwas already prepared and ready to counterattack, but sudden pain that camethrough his bond with Obi-Wan, made him freeze. Mace, who had not expected hisfriend to freeze in the middle of their workout, ran right into him and bothJedi Master tumbled to the ground, dignity going down with them.

“By theForce, Qui-Gon!” Mace exclaimed, “What was that?”

But themale with the midnight blue eyes did not listen. He was mechanically pushinghimself up from the ground, his eyes were distant and his focus was elsewheretoo. “Obi-Wan,” he breathed out, before coming back to himself. He fully pulledhimself back to his feet and began to run at an inhuman speed, following hisbond with his apprentice, his lightsaber was forgotten on the ground of thetraining hall. Mace Windu, who was more than baffled by his friend’s strangebehavior, picked the discarded weapon up and ran after his comrade. Even withForce enhanced speed, did he have no chance of keeping up with the vampire.

Qui-GonJinn was not amused by what he found, when he had finally reached his Padawan’slocation, not amused at all. Actually, he was beyond furious and only his longtraining as a Jedi, did keep him from lashing out right then and there.

Obi-Wan waslying on the ground of one of the Initiate’s training halls, cornered by threeInitiates, all taller and bigger than him. The leader of the small Initiategroup had an ugly grin plastered on his features and he ran his hand throughhis white hair, confident and arrogant.

“What is itOafy-Wan? Aren’t you going to defend yourself?” asked the white haired boy,causing his two sidekicks to snicker, “Or do you think yourself above us, justbecause you are a Padawan?”

“Yeah,” theboy to the leader’s right cut in, “You are nothing Kenobi, just a freak.”

Qui-Gonheard his boy whimper, he wouldn’t have noticed it, hadn’t it been for hisadvanced hearing. A foot collided with the ginger haired Padawan’s body andthis time, the pained cry was loud enough.

The leaderlaughed cruelly. “You freaks aren’t as scary and tough as you claim, are you? Ibet you and your Master could not even hurt a fly.”

“Care totest that theory?” Qui-Gon spoke up, causing the Initiates to turn around, eyeswide in fear that soon turned to terror, when they saw what was awaiting them.Qui-Gon had allowed his blue eyes to turn red – the standard color for vampireeyes – and his fangs to emerge in all their pride and glory. He growled deep inhis throat, just for show, but the effect was worth it.

The threeInitiates stumbled away from him and from Obi-Wan, they were shaking in terrorand it looked like they were about to faint. Were they not Jedi, they probablywould already have. Qui-Gon knew he could look terrifying when he wanted to.

“Go and ifI EVER see you insulting or bullying my Padawan again, I will NOT hold back,Jedi Order and Jedi Code be damned,” he growled. As if death itself was behindthem – and in a way it was – the three Initiates ran out of the hall, theirfeet making loud sounds on the wooden floor. Qui-Gon gazed after them for awhile, listening to their retreating steps, before he turned to his injuredstudent.

Careful and slow, so that he would not startle the young vampire, did heapproach Obi-Wan. The boy had curled himself into a tight ball, facing awayfrom his Master. It was a reaction born out of instinct and Qui-Gon kneeleddown to look and appear less intimidating.

The youngerJedi’s shoulders were shaking, small sobs and whimpers escaped him, which onlyincreased, when Qui-Gon bend over him.

“Padawan,”he laid a hand on ginger locks and softly patted the young boy’s head, only tostop in his movement, when he touched something hard that was not supposed tobe there. With furrowed brows did the Master inspect what it was and in horrordid he realize that his precious boy had been bound with a muzzle. Fury aroseonce more in the tall man. How dare anybody treat his Padawan like this? Theyhad no right, none of them. Obi-Wan was no monster, no animal that could betied and caged, just because he COULD pose a threat.

“Holdstill,” he said as gently as he could. He was not sure if Obi-Wan even heard,the boy was most likely trapped in his own little world.

Nevertheless,the older vampire leaned down and captured the leather between his fangs, whilehis fingers found their way into the small mesh around Obi-Wan’s face. ThePadawan’s breath was quick and warm against Qui-Gon’s finger and moredetermined than ever, did the Master make short process with the hated device.

He tossedit somewhere over his shoulder, but was stunned when the metallic bouncing juststopped. He looked around and found himself gazing into shocked brown eyes of acertain dark skinned Council member. His vampire nature prompted him to actbefore his brain could. The next moment, Qui-Gon found himself positioned rightover his Padawan, his larger body protecting the smaller one from view. Hisfangs were completely out, red eyes blazing in fury and warning and he openlyhissed threateningly at one of the most powerful Jedi in the whole Order.

“Qui-Gon,”there was a small tremor in his voice that indicated fear.

Qui-Gon didnot care. This human was a threat to his young one and he would not allow himanywhere near his charge. Neither did he care that he was actually acting likea FEMALE vampire, who was protecting her child. He was a Master of the LivingForce after all, he was allowed to be overprotective and sometimes veryemotional.

“Qui,” theKorun Master held up his hands, in one of them rested a lightsaber that was nothis own, “it’s ME, Mace Windu, your friend. I am here to help you, remember?”

The longhaired vampire did, but he would not take a risk, not with his little one insuch pain and distress.

“Be gone,”he growled, still presenting his razor sharp teeth.

The darkskinned Jedi swallowed heavily, Qui-Gon could hear his heartbeat quickening,causing the blood in his veins to run faster. “Alright… see?” he took slowsteps back, his eyes never leaving Qui-Gon, “I am just going to put yourlightsaber on the ground and then I am going to leave, alright?”

The tallvampire did only relax, when he could not feel the Council member anywhere nearhis charge. His lightsaber remained forgotten on the wooden floor, it too, didnot matter right now.

“Littleone,” his voice was warm and comforting.

“M…Master,”sniffed the Padawan.

The brownhaired male took this as an allowance to lift the small and injured body up andto hold Obi-Wan close to his chest. The ginger haired boy hid his face in hiselder’s neck, his hands fisting into beige tunics.

“Whathappened?” Two small fists tightened their hold. “Please,” he tightened hisembrace and sat back against the wall for support, “I am here now. Nobody isgoing to hurt you anymore, I promise. I’ll keep you save, but you have to tellme what happened.”

A whimper,“We were sparring,” his voice was barely above a whisper and hadn’t it been forQui-Gon’s close proximity and increased hearing, he would not have understoodthe boy. “Bant, she’s an Initiate in my group,” another sniff, “She wassparring with me and fell on bench. She had hit her head and was… wasunconscious and… and bleeding.”

The smallbody tensed. “Sshhh, it’s alright now, little one. What happened next?”

The youngPadawan turned his head and his wide blue-green eyes looked pleadingly up athis elder. There were still blood tears escaping his eyes and they were leavingred marks on pale skin. Also, the collar of Qui-Gon’s tunic was red too.

“I couldn’tcontrol it,” there was panic in his voice and the words escaped him faster andlouder than before, “They just appeared.”

“Who appeared?”

“My fangs,”cried the boy. “I didn’t want to bite her and I didn’t want to drink her blood,you have to believe me. It didn’t even cross my mind.”

“I dobelieve you, little one,” he guided his charge’s head back to rest against hisshoulder again. “But I guess that someone didn’t?”

Obi-Wanshook his head, “Bruck and his friends…”

“Bruck?”interrupted Qui-Gon.

“The whitehaired boy,” the Jedi Master made sure to remember THAT one VERY well. “He sawmy fangs… and he said that I had attacked Bant. I would never attack her, she’smy friend… my only one.”

“But shewas unconscious and couldn’t tell the truth?”

“Yes,” theginger haired Padawan nodded.

“And yourteacher?” He had a good guess on how this story was going to continue.

“She saidthat she had always known that this was going to happen. She said that she hadprepared herself and she… she…” his voice broke off, interrupted by sobbing.

“She forcedthat horrendous thing upon you,” Qui-Gon finished.

“Y…yes,” henodded, “I ran away then and hid, but Bruck and his friends found me.”

“I see,” hegently laid on of his large hands on wet and slightly bruised cheeks and wipedthe tear stains away, not caring about the red spots it caused on his fingers.

“I’m… I’mso… so sorry, Master.”“Hush now, there is nothing to be sorry about. You are at the beginning of yourlife Obi-Wan, you will gather experiences and you will learn. Don’t worry, I amgoing to help you get your fangs under control…” he hesitated, “Perhaps a visitto my biological family is in order. It might do you good to live among ourkind. Who knows, perhaps even I can learn from them.”“I would like that very much,” the Padawan admitted.

“Then it’ssettled.” In theory, he would have to ask the Council first, but Qui-Gondoubted that his old Master would say no and even if, Qui-Gon would just defyhim.

He also hada certain Jedi to visit and teach HER a lesson or two. Nobody touches his boylike this, make him a monster and someone to laugh at. The tall Master knewfrom experience how terrible a muzzle could be and he would keep Obi-Wan savefrom such things, as best as he could.

“Come on,let’s get back to our quarters, shall we?”

Obi-Wan simply noddedand after Qui-Gon had called his lightsaber to his hand and made sure that atleast his fangs were hidden, did he leave the training hall…