Knocking on his own door like an erring child, Obi-Wan listened for her call to enter. A tiny noise came to his ear, and he felt
her on the other side of the door. It opened on her, a thoughtful look on her face. Raen pulled him in by his braid, and shut the
door behind him.
    " I was hard on you, I'm sorry." she mumbled, and he stared at his boot tops a moment.
    " I spoke before I thought, again," he admitted, and raised his head enough to look up at her through his lashes, trying out the
puppy dog eyes for the second time. She gave a short laugh.
    " I suggest you practice that on someone who can't hear you thinking." she smiled, and he knew all was forgiven.
    " A late lunch? " he suggested, and she took his arm.
    " When do you have to be at a class, or training, or whatever?" she asked.
    " Not for another hour," he answered, and she squeezed his arm.
    " We can eat, then you can help me figure out how to navigate in this rabbit warren you call a Temple."

    Master Eeth Koth was quietly making his way from the council chambers toward a well deserved, if late meal, when he was
accosted by a pair of grinning humans, One a padawan, the other not.
    "Master!" Raen cried, out of breath and giggling.
    " Miss deMarcos?" he nodded, taken aback.
    " I'm sorry, Master Koth, but she demanded to see you, said it was imperative," Obi-Wan said apologetically, bowing to the
council member.
    " I needed to ask a favor, and I was going to ask the whole council, but you were the only one we could find," Raen asserted,
" I wanted to ask if I could call a meeting with all the kids who'll be in my classes. Informal, just a chance to meet them and lay
some rumors to rest."
    " I think that would most likely be a smart move," Koth allowed, letting his earlier annoyance slip away. He came to a swift
conclusion that he may grow to like this individual. " I'll bring it up when the council re-convenes this afternoon. Tomorrow after
noon meal will be acceptable?" it was more a statement than an interrogative, and both Raen and Obi-Wan nodded in
synchronization.
    " Very well. You will be notified as to the outcome, and the location, if the meeting is agreed upon with the crèche master and
the Masters of the older padawans. By the way, your droid will be at Master Jinn's apartment by the eighth hour tomorrow
morning to show you to your apartment, and then to your studio. It will also have your credits card."
    Raen bowed very low, her nose almost touching her knees, murmuring, " Thank you, Master Koth."
    " That should teach you to flee before the secretaries can get their digits on you," Koth actually cracked a smile as he flowed
off down the hall , his gait so smooth he appeared to float.
    Obi-Wan was caught with his mouth open for the second time in as many hours. He'd been at the Temple for years, and he'd
never seen Master Koth show so much as a raised brow in front of anyone.
    " He's so cool." Raen sighed. He stared at her as if she had sprouted horns, like Master Koth's.
    " Pardon?" he asked, and she gave him a look.
    " He's nice." she told him, and he continued to stare.
    " Master Koth is ...is...stoic. He doesn't...mingle." Obi-Wan informed her.
    " He seemed just fine to me," Raen scowled. " Maybe he's shy."
    " Shy?" he snorted, and grabbed her hand to pull her along, away from the councilor's area. " I have dueling practice in one
quarter of an hour. Want to watch?"
    " Hell, yes. I love watching you." she grinned, her steps quickening. " Hey, Obi, is there a track, or a running course here?"
she asked as he towed her thru the Temple.
    " Of course. After practice, I have to run every day. " he said, avoiding a group of padawans with that uncanny agility, making
sure she avoided them as well, and greeting them all by name as they passed.
    " Is it all right if I join you sometime? I need to start running again, get my wind back."
    He stopped, and she did as well, coming within millimeters of his back.
    " You ran?" he demanded, " I didn't see that in your mind."
    " Then I guess we do still have to work on that opening thing. So, d'you mind ?" she pressed, and he shrugged.
    " It'd be great to have someone to run with who could keep up," he said wistfully, and Raen laughed.
    " I doubt I'll keep up, at least not at first, but I can try. Maybe my competitive nature will resurrect itself."
    " Sure. You can change into some of your favorite ratty clothes to join me," Obi-Wan ducked her half-hearted swat, darting
away.
    Raen watched him move with impartial eyes, an idea forming.
    An hour into his saber drills, her idea was gaining form, and substance, and a great deal of personality. She smiled to herself,
and resolved to keep it from Obi-Wan as long as humanly possible, and continued to study the way his body moved as he
changed his focus and tempo from shadow fighting to dueling as another padawan, tall and gangly, engaged him in a sparring
match. Her eyes full of her lover, soon to be her unwilling student, she failed to note the approach of Qui-Gon Jinn, until he took
a seat on the bench next to her and touched her arm.
    " Shit!" she hissed, jumping, and immediately began apologizing, before she was even sure who had arrived.
    " I keep forgetting you can't sense my approach," he began, and she looked down.
    " Look, I'm sorry about that scene earlier." Raen said quietly, embarrassment plain on her face.
    " Don't be. I instigated it. I even planned it." he rebuffed her words.
    "Why?"
    " I needed to know if the opening of the bond you described had affected either of you to a significant degree. I like you,
Raen, but Obi-Wan is my padawan, my apprentice, and he is my first and only priority besides being a Jedi. Perhaps even
before my duty to the order, I hold my duty to him sacred. I needed to assure myself that he is still a distinct and separate entity
from you." the Jedi Master told her gently, and she ducked her head, muttering.
    " What was that, Raen?" he asked, not catching her comment.
    " I said you could have asked," she repeated, and he smiled indulgently.
    " I suppose I could've, but I didn't. And he really could use some refreshing in the area of dance. He truly detested that
particular course."
    Raen chuckled, her eyes again searching out and settling on Obi-Wan.
    " Why are you watching him so intently?" Jinn asked, studying her study him.
    " I've got an angle." She breathed, leaning forward, elbows on knees, her gaze predatory rather than proprietary.
    Qui-Gon wondered if she'd somehow been damaged by her transition to Coruscant, or if she'd gone a little mad from being
linked with his apprentice, but her quick, frank grin belayed those thoughts.
    " Now I have the key, I know how to make him dance. Care to make a wager, Master Jedi?" she challenged, a twinkle in her
eye.
    " Young lady, you should never make a bet with a Jedi, especially a Master. Of course I'll wager with you. What's the bet?
And the stakes?"
    " Three weeks, Master Jinn. I bet that three weeks is all it'll take to not only teach Obi to dance, but to make him eager to do
it."
    " Well, Instructor deMarcos, I know my padawan, and I accept that wager. Name your stakes." Jinn was prepared to be
magnanimous, assured of his victory.
    " If you win, you may have my services for one month as laundress, cook, housecleaner, hairdresser, footstool, whatever."
she claimed, and his eyebrows rose toward his hairline at her audacity. " Don't get previous, Master. That's only if you win. If I
win..." she eyed him gleefully, pausing.
    " Yes? If you win?" he prompted, and she grinned fit to crack her teeth.
    " If I win, Master Jinn, You have to take the beginning class, with the littles. And I mean it."
    " Oh, ho, Raen, you are a glutton for punishment. I can dance." he came as near to a smirk as she'd seen yet, and she wasn't
even fazed.
    " Take it or leave it, Master Jinn," she said, and was glad he couldn't get inside her head. She was congratulating herself as he
shifted on the bench, revealing that perhaps he wasn't as sure as he let on.
    " I think I might fancy having a servant for a month," he mused.
    " I think I might fancy making a Master go thru his paces in front of a roomful of prepubescent trainees." she responded, and
they shook on the deal.
    Raen set herself to mentally cataloging every move Obi-Wan made as he leapt and spun, dodging, feinting, and lunging. She
measured the angle of his legwork, the rhythm of his movements, and the joy in his bearing as he excelled at the physical and
mental stimuli in and around him. Her grin became a low laugh, and Qui-Gon very quietly began to wonder exactly what he'd
gotten himself into.
    Raen excused herself to go change into something suitable for running, asking Qui-Gon to tell Obi-Wan if he should inquire
that she'd be right back.
    By the time she'd found her way to the apartment and back, Obi-Wan was stretching out and waiting, chatting with Qui-Gon
and another Master, an older woman with short white hair and eyes like currant berries, shiny and black.
    " Ah, this must be the young woman who loathes the infirmary," the old woman said in a voice that could chip ice. Her tone
was soft, her manner warm, but that voice...!
    "Yes, ma'am," she replied straightforwardly, and the unintroduced Master gave a caw of mirth.
    " She's got manners," came the rasp in Qui-Gon's direction, but those bird bright black eyes never left Raen.
    " Raen, this is Master Vanya, one of our senior healers. She was inquiring about you." Master Jinn hurried to make up for his
lapse .
    " Master Vanya. I want you to know, I have nothing bad to say about healers, or medics in general. I just don't do well with
the poking and prying." Raen gave her a correct little bow, but remained aloof, not venturing any nearer to the woman than the
far side of Obi-Wan, positioning herself so that he stood between the two women.
    " Perhaps we shall see each other in passing, Raen, and then we might become better acquainted," Vanya said softly in her
travesty of a voice, and Raen nodded, watching as the healer walked away.
    " She just wanted to meet you, Raen," Obi-Wan had a small frown between his brows.
    " I was polite, Obi. I'll keep trying. Okay?" she dropped to a deep squat, then stood again, pulling first one, then the other
foot up behind her, stretching. When she was done and ready, she looked expectantly at him, then at Qui-Gon, fully expecting a
further reprimand from at least one of them.
    " I think she'll get over it." Qui-Gon said with a strange look on his face, and sent both Raen and Obi- Wan off to the running
course, which was halfway across the compound of the Temple, and a simulated environment, with hills, trees, and streams.
Raen was impressed.

    Legs shaking, diaphragm heaving, and body drenched in sweat, Raen was very happy she'd lasted as long as she had, which
was almost two miles. She waited for Obi as he completed his further three miles, occupying herself with complicated spins and
twists, walkovers, and other semi gymnastic moves, working things over in her mind. Not the least of all was her bet.
    " What bet?" Obi-Wan asked, walking up to her, obviously finished with his run.
    " I made a bet with Mas...Qui-Gon. My time as servant for a month against him having to take my class with the kids."
    " Are you insane?" he balked.
    " You keep asking me that. I don't think I'm gonna lose." she grinned at him.
    " What's the bet?" he dreaded her answer, even without having a peek into her thoughts. She was finding ways to hedge him
out.
    " You." she cast him a sly glance, daring him to open her up.
    " I'm not falling for it," he stood close to her, pushing sweat damp hair behind her ear, then running one finger down the side of
her cheek. She leaned into the caress, and her hands rested comfortably against his waist.
    " I guess you found out how to worm answers out of me," she sighed, as his hands continued to trace lightly over her face and
throat.
    " Hedonist," he breathed, and she pressed a kiss into the center of his palm as it glided near her mouth.
    " Damn right," she agreed, catching his thumb in her teeth.
    " You still haven't told me what my part in this bet is," he reminded, retrieving the digit from her teeth and running his fingers
teasingly over her bottom lip.
    " I bet that in three weeks, not only would you be an incredible dancer, you'd love doing it." she gave in, and he groaned,
backing off from her.
    " You're mad! There is no way!" he barked, and she felt the momentary anger before he let it go.
    " Obi..." she said coaxingly.
    Reluctantly, he stepped into her spread arms, and as she embraced him for a few seconds, she whispered, "Trust me," then
she let him go and started to walk toward the course exit. He trailed along behind her, then, making up his mind, caught up.
    " My Master, taking the class with the children, huh?" he questioned.
    " Yup," she looked at his face sidelong, and saw the beginnings of a grin.
 

    Qui-Gon entered his home to the sounds of thumping, flesh slapping, and a groan. He sighed, hoping for a relaxing evening,
but resigned himself to having to listen to yet another round of Padawan in Heat. Just before he'd made it to the sanctity of his
bedroom, Obi-Wan's mental 'voice' trickled into his mind.
    * Master? Come join us*
    " What in the..." he was immediately aware that no overt sexual activity had been going on, and that the invitation was not
overshadowed by anything of the sort. Curiosity piqued, he followed his apprentice's mental signature to the source.
    The balcony. Thankfully, the enclosed balcony, because Raen was standing on Obi-Wan's shoulders, her forehead resting
against the transparisteel 'window', her stunned expression priceless.
    " Raen, what in the name of sanity are you doing?" he demanded, and she jerked, losing her balance. She started to topple,
but shifted, pushing herself off of Obi-Wan's shoulders, and he caught her with the Force, cushioning her descent.
    " Nice entrance," she sniped, picking herself up and dusting herself off. " I'm thinking I need to wear a sign that says' No, I
can't sense you, don't sneak up on me'."
    " I apologize, again. Perhaps I should take to stomping around in jackboots?" the master asked helpfully, earning an
exaggerated sigh from Obi-Wan.
    " We were trying out some of the karate I learned as a kid," Raen announced, blushing for no reason Qui-Gon could think of.
    " I had asked about martial training on her world, Master, and she was trying to explain, but all I could see in her mind was
what she called 'chop-socky' movies, so she dredged up the few classes she could remember from her childhood. Together,
they formed a...well, a not too demented surreal image. I wish she could remember more." Obi-Wan informed.
    " I meant, why was Raen standing on you, leaning out over Coruscant?" Jinn persevered.
    " Oh! I had to see what it looked like from up here." Raen giggled, and made a a hasty exit.
    " Obi-Wan..." Qui-Gon restrained his padawan from following.
    " Yes, Master?"
    " Have you heard about the bet?"
    " Of course, Master." a grin formed on his expressive mouth.
    " I don't hear the expected 'but, Master'." Jinn was wary.
    " Of course not, Master." he smirked, and ducked around the taller man, following Raen.
 

    Forty-three eager young faces looked up at Raen, human, humanoid, and not at all human, all eager to please, all dreading the
moment she'd say, " Everyone, find a partner."
    Raen was in the council chambers, just after noon meal. The day before, it had seemed such a good idea, this meeting. Now,
she glanced over the children's heads at the attendant adults: Masters, the entire council, and a few of the crèche attendants.
Master Koth gave her a barely seen nod of encouragement, and she felt the echo of Obi-Wan's amusement at the edges of her
awareness.
    " Hi, I'm Raen." she began, and caught a glimpse of a few of the adults frowning at the informal address.
    " Ladies and gentlemen, I understand that you don't like dance class. I think I know why," she gave the assembled young
people a conspiratorial wink, and a few shifted, one or two giving a weak giggle.
    " I was a kid not too long ago, and I still know how to make things fun. If you'll give me a chance, I know we can get this
project to fly." She had their complete attention then, since none of the other instructors talked to them like that. A hand shot up.
Raen nodded.
    " Instructor deMarcos, will we still have to do the annual recital?" piped a thin, high voice.
    " Of course. But I can pretty much guarantee it won't be like any that came before it. And, just so you know, I prefer to be
called Raen." she angled her gaze to the attendees, who almost all wore disapproving looks.
    " Instructor deMarcos, it's highly irregular..." one master said, but she glared at him for his efforts.
    " Is this or is this not my class, to teach as I see fit?" she asked, hanging onto civility by a thread.
    " Your class, it is. Hired you we did. " Yoda acknowledged solemnly, and the silent tension in the huge chamber lessened.
    " Thank you. I will be called Raen, and I can be reached at home after class hours if there is any one who feels left behind or
confused. Beyond that, I hoped we could get to meet and greet before things got out of hand." she promptly ignored anyone
over twelve and dropped down to sit on the floor, surrounded by children.

    "Oh, my God, what have I done?" Raen slumped onto a bench, not even caring if someone saw her. The usual noise in the
commissary was absent, only a few late eaters, and none of them seemed in a great rush to make conversation with her. Raen
silently thanked her lucky stars, and tried not to bother Obi-Wan with her fuzzy mental misgivings. A shadow fell across her legs,
and she looked up.
    " Greet the new instructor," Raffe's voice poured over her like warm oil, and she repressed a shiver.
    " Hullo, Raffe." she returned without much enthusiasm. He took the words for an invitation to join her, settling his long body
close to her on the hard bench. His hot, long fingered hand brushed over hers for a brief instant, and she forced herself not to
jerk it away.
        " What can I do for you, Raffe?" she asked, wishing he'd go away.
    " This lowly padawan would entertain you, Raen," he leaned in closer, his breath fanning across her cheek in a sweet scented
rush.
    " I'm sorry, Raffe. My time isn't free, just now. I have plans for this evening, and they cover many future evenings, as well."
she tried to be pleasant, but he pressed his leg against hers, his presence shrouding her.
    " When you tire of Kenobi, let me know, yes?" he husked, as if unaware that his attempt at firing her blood was having the
opposite reaction. His low, thrumming voice set her teeth on edge.
    " I'll be sure to do that." Raen gritted, jaw clenched. He nodded, and rose, looking down on her as if she were some untried
new pastry, and winked.
    When he'd gone, she heaved a sigh of relief, and took her leave as well, hoping to find her way back to Qui-Gon's apartment
with a minimum of effort so she could collect her meager belongings, her droid, and her rapidly fraying nerves, and install all of it
in her new quarters.

    " Tell me something, Impy," Raen stopped just outside her new place.
    " If I am able, Mistress Raen." came the stolid reply from the droid, loaded down with her belongings. It was a very light load,
she noted with some dismay.
    " Where's the best place to go shopping for clothes around here, and how do I get in touch with a padawan?"
    " The best opportunities for purchasing items on Coruscant are always changing, and the only way to contact a padawan is to
leave a message at their residence, at least until or if you have received their private comm code." Impy responded with formal
precision.
    Raen opened the door with her palm print on the lock plate, and stepped into her home. It was remarkably similar to
Qui-Gon's, but less one bedroom. It was remarkably dull, with nothing but furnishings, all in neutral, drab earth tones.
    "Oh, HELL no." Raen stated flatly, staring around her with disgust. " How am I supposed to entertain guests in here with
nothing to look at but creme and beige?" she demanded.
    " It..." Impy began, but she interrupted him.
    " It was a rhetorical statement, Impy," she sighed, and headed straight for the comm.
    Two hours later, after innumerable rounds of comm tag with the central temple operator, Raen received a call from Tisa, who
bubbled with glee at the prospect of shopping.
    " So I'll see you tomorrow, after noon meal?" Tisa asked, preparing to cut the channel.
    "Yeah. We'll figure decorating stuff, and you can fill me in on fashions and things," Raen replied, and finished with a happy
"Good-bye,"

    Obi-Wan paused for a moment outside the door of Raen's apartments, hesitant to disturb her. He felt her presence inside ,
and raised his hand to the chime. The door whisked open before he could activate it, and he jumped slightly.
    "Howdy," Raen called to him from the bedroom, not even bothering to poke her head out to see who was there.
    " Raen, you shouldn't leave your door on open setting. Even though we're in the Temple, it's not a good practice to start." he
began, gazing about the spartan chamber, immediately comparing it to the cozy layerings of her previous dwelling. The apartment
was achingly empty. Raen entered the living area, dressed in a tunic that had once belonged to him. She was toweling her hair,
and grinned at him in greeting.
    " It's not set to open, Obi. I had Impy help me with the lock settings. It opens automatically for me, you, and Qui-Gon. I
asked him if that was okay, and he said,' Of course, young lady. You know our home is always open to you, as well '." she
laughed at her own impression of the master, and Obi did too, before sobering.
    "I heard about Raffe in the dining hall," he began, but broke off at the look of pure disgust on her face.
    " Eeeww. That guy makes me want to bathe after his shadow touches me. I wish he'd just piss off." she groaned, and
Obi-Wan had to stifle a very unseemly giggle.
     " I was going to say that I could talk to him and ask him to leave you  alone, but perhaps  that would be presumptuous of
me..." he teased, and suffered a pillow in the face for his effort.
    " You are such a toad, sometimes." Raen hissed, and stalked him around the couch. Obi-Wan had enough sense to keep the
furniture between himself and the thoroughly worked up Earther, until she took a flying leap over the low hummock that
protected her quarry, tackling him and bringing them both to the floor in a tangle of limbs, Obi-Wan on the bottom. Raen sat up,
straddling his belly.
    " So. We're on the floor again. What do you think we should do about that?" she grinned down into his surprised eyes.
    " You cheated," he huffed, hamming it up.
    " No such thing. A direct frontal assault is a tried and true military tactical maneuver," she responded airily, bending low  to
brush his lips with hers. She forestalled his reciprocating, however, by getting to her feet before he could wrap her in his arms.
    " Huh?" he questioned, propping himself up onto his elbows to stare at her.
    " Not that I wouldn't mind spending several hours rolling all over this floor naked with you," she began, casting him a sultry
look, and several sweltering mental images," but-- we have a bet to win. Up. Get up and help me move the furniture."
    Obi-Wan shook his head to clear it of the aftereffect of the images, and rose gracefully, adjusting his clothing. "You've got to
be joking. You cannot be seriously suggesting that we begin dancing lessons here and now."
    "I would, I could, and I am. I've been studying you, Obi. I've been committing to memory how you move, how you react to
certain stimuli, and what your physical rhythms are. You need to dance, you just don't know it yet." she informed him, pushing
the couch toward the edge of the room. He followed her lead, shoving everything away from the middle of the room.
    "Impy, play the selection I specified." Raen called into the kitchen. The only response was a soft melody that wound around
her, begging her to move. She did, leaning into Obi-Wan and pressing her body against his.

    "Mace, you have got to hear this," Qui-Gon Jinn caught up to his old friend as he was exiting the council chambers.
    "You're too slow, Master Jinn. The only people who don't know about this bet are off planet right now, and I wouldn't even
be too sure of that." Mace Windu grinned at Qui-Gon; seeing the look of shock on his face was priceless.
    " Oh, no..."
    " Oh, yes. Even Master Koth is in on the betting this time. That's how momentous this thing's become. We're considering
opening a temple-wide betting pool, with regulated odds. What do you think?" Windu needled.
    " I wonder if it's too late to call the whole thing off?" Jinn moaned.

    "Nice as this is, Raen, it's not dancing." Obi-Wan stated, his arms wrapped loosely around her waist, moving to the rhythm of
the music.
    "All dancing starts with synchronized movement, matching that to sound. All you need to do is trust yourself, and trust me."
she replied, releasing him and stepping away. " I'm going to call out some of the routines I've watched you doing for your
training. I want you to do them exactly the same as ever, but try to stay with the music as you move. Impy, fifth selection,
please."
    Obi-Wan found himself listening to a fast but seductive piece of music, alone in the center of the room. Raen stood in front of
the door, arms folded over her chest, watching him, and rapped out,
" Third Kata, on the lunge."
    He obeyed the instructional tone without thinking about it, his body moving through the familiar patterns of his training with
fluid ease. He stopped in a guard position, the end of the kata, holding it as the last note of the piece died away.
    "Again." she moved to stand beside him, copying his movements precisely as the music started up again, like his shadow. At
the end of the routine, he looked at her appraisingly, then flung off his over tunics and belt, sash and tabard, till he stood only in
his pants and boots. Raen returned the look, and concentrated. He felt the mysterious link open, meshing them together, and
both of their voices chimed, "Again,".
 

    Qui-Gon Jinn sat comfortably alone in his quarters, languidly stretching after having read some of his favorite poetry. He set
the antique scroll gently aside and rose to his feet just as the door opened and in fell his padawan.
    "I hadn't planned on seeing you this evening, Obi-Wan." he commented, taking in his apprentice's out-on-his-feet appearance.

    "Oh, sorry, Master. I didn't mean to disturb you. I just came by to pick up a change of clothes. Raen's been driving me like a
first year trainee all day. We were going to eat out, but I needed something clean to wear." he explained as he headed for his
room.
    " I don't know if I even want to inquire any deeper into that subject, padawan." the Master chuckled, and was rewarded with
a slight flush to his student's cheeks.
    "Master, we were working on my dancing," Obi-Wan protested, standing by the sofa, a set of spare tunics and trousers in a
bundle under his arm.
    " Is that what they call it these days.." Jinn mused, grinning into his teacup.
    "Master..." Obi-Wan sighed, and then headed out the door, calling back over his shoulder, " See you tomorrow morning for
third form duels, Master."
    " Don't be late, padawan, and have a good time 'dancing' ." Qui-Gon returned, enjoying the returning quiet.
 

    *Chime*         *Chime*  Raen hopped out of the shower, wrapped her body in a huge bath sheet and ran to the door,
punching the command code in a few desperate strokes. The portal slid open, revealing Tisa's smiling face.
    "Hel-lo!" she grinned, almost obscenely cheerful, and Raen stepped back, dripping, to allow her entry.
    "Hi," Raen returned, giving her visitor a tiny, embarrassed smile in return. She gestured to the spartan furnishings, still pushed
against the walls. "Make yourself comfortable. I'll just be a few minutes," She hurried into the bedroom, emerging shortly in the
clothing Master Windu had given her.
    "The first thing to do is find me some more clothes." Raen muttered, dragging a comb thru her hair before tying it off in a high
ponytail.
    " I know just the places." Tisa approved, rising from the couch and watching Raen struggle with the high, soft black boots, so
different from her own regulation Jedi issue.
    "I would love to get my hands on some F.M. boots like yours." Raen sighed, and Tisa gave her a considering look.
    "That's doable. I was thinking the same of yours."
    Raen grinned suddenly, and sprinted back into her bedchamber. She returned with a pair of lower, slightly worn boots in a
dun color.
    "When I packed, I brought three outfits, underwear for a week, and these. I don't think Ugg boots are available here, so if
these fit you, wear them well." she handed them over to the astounded padawan, who took them with almost reverent awe.
    " I couldn't! Could I?" she gaped, and sat down quickly on the edge of the couch, unbuckling her own footwear and dragging
them off before pulling the soft sheepskin boots onto her feet.
    "Of course you can. Who can stop the trading and sharing of clothes between two girls? It's got to be a universal constant."
Raen giggled, and asked, "Well?"
    "They're snug, but they feel good." Tisa stood, stomping around for a moment to get the feel of them.
    "Call them an incentive to put  up with my shopping woes," Raen grimaced," and they're yours."
    Tisa enveloped her in a huge bear hug, jumping up and down. She calmed almost immediately, and looked Raen in the eye.
"all right, let's go shop. You need clothes, and personal bedding, and boots, and decorations, and jewelry, and..."
    Raen gave a joyous peal of laughter, and stowed her credits card in her belt pouch.
 

    "How long are they going to be?" wondered Obi-Wan, loitering in Raen's main room between sessions, glancing at the wall
chronometer. It was just after evening meal, and still no sign of either Tisa or Raen. He huffed and walked out, coding the door
to alert her to the fact that he'd been there. He planned to stop by after his evening tutorial.
 

    It was late. Tisa set down her huge armload of packages on the ground and took Raen's equally enormous stack so she could
open the door. With a tired but heartfelt whoop, the women shoved the small mountain of purchases into the apartment and
collapsed onto the furniture, giggling, unaware of the room's other occupant.
    "Did you two have a good time?" Obi-Wan asked, amused and put out at the same time.
    Raen jumped, and reflexively flung a pillow at him, "Don't do that!" she squawked, and Tisa began laughing as soon as her
hearts began beating again.
    "Didn't you sense me? Either of you?" he demanded, a look of anticipation on his face.
    "NO!" they chorused, and leapt on him in tandem, pillows at the ready. When the melee had quieted, he stared at them with a
smug look on his face. Raen glared at him.
    "Spill, Obi. We both know you're dying to ."
    " I got masking down. I didn't think it'd work with Raen, but I guess it did," he was grinning ear to ear, and Tisa grumped.
    "Show off," she grinned to take the sourness from the epithet, and hugged him." I always find myself two steps behind you."
    "You only do because you started after I did," he reminded her, and grabbed a handful of Raen's tunic, pulling her down to his
lap. She squirmed a moment, just enough to get his immediate attention, then settled.
    "Tomorrow is a restday. I was thinking of a little get together." he smiled slyly, tugging lightly on a hank of Raen's hair.
    "Love to, Kenobi, but I have a date. Mayna just got back from a mission with her Master, and we haven't been together for
months." Tisa responded, a light in her eyes.
    "When do I get to meet her?" Raen was bouncing on Obi-Wan's lap, making things difficult for him.
    Tisa eyed her a moment, then shrugged." I guess soon,"
    Raen looked to Obi-Wan, questions popping into his head. He shook his head 'no'.
    " What's the matter?" Raen was confused.
    "Mayna's my lover." Tisa said with an air of resignation.
    "So? What's the big deal?"
    " She's not human." Obi-Wan clarified, waiting for the expression of distaste in  his mind. The confusion he felt from her
remained.
    "Okay, take it slow for the Earther, and use small words. What's the big deal? That Raffe doesn't strike me as mainline human
either, and nobody seems to care about his business." Raen had a look of definite distaste now, and Obi-Wan could feel the
disgust like a worm in his gut.
    "She's a Wookiee." Tisa reported crisply.
    " Oh. "
    Tisa stood to leave.
    " So, when do I get to meet her? Does she like shopping?" Raen was mentally organizing for a massive dinner party,
wondering how much a Wookiee ate, and what she could manage on short notice.
    Tisa stared at Raen for a moment, then cut her eyes to Obi-Wan, who nodded serenely, a smile on his face, his arms
tightening around Raen.
    " I'll ask her tomorrow. Hey, Kenobi, keep this one." she smiled, and let herself out.
    "You really don't care that Tisa's in love with a Wookiee." he stated, nuzzling her hair.
    " Why should I? They're both adults, right? This Mayna loves her, too, right?" Raen was even more confused.
    "Of course, to both." he replied.
    "So where's the big to do?"
    "A great lot of individuals, even here in the Temple, have a problem with the disparate nature of the two species. Raffe is one
of the people who disapprove." Obi-Wan watched her closely.
    " Well, then. That alone should tell you Tisa's relationship is a good thing. Even if I had thought it odd before, the fact that
Raffe doesn't like it would be enough to make me start trying to get them married." she huffed.
    " What is it about him that sets you off so?" Obi-Wan questioned, now knowing without a doubt that any ill feelings he had
caught from her were directed solely at Raffe.
    " He..." she paused, trying to sum up her intense loathing for a being she had barely met. Obi-Wan felt the waves of frustration
and disgust rolling off her.
    "He's like a slimy politician and a used car salesman, bunched together. There's something false in him, something wrong. I
can't put my finger on it." she finally spat, and slid off his lap.
    "He's a padawan, Raen. He can't be all that bad. And what's a used car sales man?"
    "Help me put away all my new stuff, braid-boy, and I'll explain," she gave him a look over her shoulder, bending to collect a
big armful of packages. He was off the couch in an instant.
    "Braid-boy?!" he demanded, taking offense, but collecting the remains of her shopping day from the floor.
    "Paddlewan?" she queried, shrieking at the look on his face, and racing for the bedroom, Obi-Wan hot on her heels.
    " I'll show you a 'Paddlewan'..." he growled, tackling her, both of them landing in the middle of the huge bed. With practiced
hands, he made short work of her pseudo Jedi tunics, pressing her breasts together and burying his face between them. Raen
gasped, then egged him on with more lewd words and suggestions. He growled at her again, dragging off her leggings and boots,
his motions fiery and quick as he divested himself of his own clothing. Then he pounced. Raen welcomed him with abandon,
meeting his bruising kisses with bites of her  own, her nails leaving tracks down his back as he pushed her legs wide and buried
himself in her to the root with a hiss of pleasure.
    "Want it hard....and ...fast," she gasped, her hips snapping up to meet his, her heels pushing  hard on his buttocks as though
prodding a reluctant horse.
    He replied with a gasp and secured his grasp, pushing his hands down under her hips, lifting her from the bed. With a pull and
a twist, he held  her knees over his shoulders, his hips never slowing.
    Raen bucked under him, her hands pinching and twisting her own nipples, then his. Her head thrashed on the coverlet, face
red, crying out his name. Obi-Wan convulsed as he felt her orgasm, both around his shaft, and in his mind. He shot hard,
collapsing on her.
    As he caught his breath, he wondered aloud," Where in Sith Hell did that come from?"
    Raen giggled, spitting his braid out of her mouth. " I have no idea, but it sure was fun." she wriggled under him, and he rolled
to the side, staring dazedly at the ceiling, his hand sliding softly up and down her ribs.
    "That's gotta be some kind  of record for the fastest I've ever come," she murmured, and he snorted.
    "You? I lasted longer in your shower, Raen. Gods." he sighed, and she rolled over, lying across his chest. Her fingers played
with his wet braid.
    "Think we should research the phenomenon?" she breathed in his ear.
 

    The comm unit was appallingly loud in her ear. Raen fumbled the device into operation, " ' Lo?"
    "Ms. deMarcos, there are several deliveries here for you. Shall I have them sent up?" the receptionist at the main Temple
lobby asked , perky.
    "Mmm, yes, please," she responded, trying to be polite. Obi-Wan's hand trailed lightly over her back and rump as she closed
the channel.
    "Mmmmorning," he yawned, and stretched.
    "Deliveries are here," she announced languidly, then shot upright in the bed, "OMYGOD! Deliveries are here!" she jumped
out of his arms, out of the bed, and out of the room, then dashed back in, grabbing the first article of clothing she came across,
his outer tunic, which she flung on. Obi-Wan watched her with a grin of amusement.
    "Don't just sit there! Get up, get dressed. The new stuff is gonna be here..." she began rooting around in all the packages for
her new bathroom supplies.
    "You look adorable with bed hair," Obi-Wan opined, sitting up, the sheets rucked about his waist, a sleepy smile on his face.
    " I do not. But you do," she walked over to him, ruffling his short spiky hair, and he captured her wrist, pulling her back into
bed for a long, full body hug.
    He released her, rising behind her and following her to the bathroom naked. "Mind company?" he asked as he stepped into
the shower with  her.
 

    Qui-Gon looked up from his datapad as his padawan entered the apartment again, Raen in tow. He smiled greeting, and went
back to his reading.
    "Master, since this is a restday, we wondered if you'd like to join us for dinner. If you're not busy this evening." Obi-Wan
began, getting little shoves from Raen.
    "Yeah, boss. We're having Master Windu, Tisa, and Mayna. We thought maybe you'd like to join the festivities, kind of like a
housewarming party, since I just got settled in." She prompted, grinning at the master around Obi-Wan's back.
    "As it happens, I have no plans for this evening. I would be happy to attend. Uh, Obi-Wan's not cooking, is he?" Qui-Gon
asked, glancing back and forth between the two of them.
    " No. I am." Raen snorted a laugh at Obi-Wan's expense, elbowing him in the ribs, but gently.
    " Then I shall see you at dinner hour?" Jinn smiled, rising from his seat to see them out.
 

    "No, Master Yoda, she said she couldn't find you. Of course we'd have room for you. And Master Koth. Of course. No
problem. See you then." Obi-Wan looked hopelessly at Raen as he set down the comm unit, sighing heavily. "That's a total of
eight for dinner, Angel. Can you pull it off?"
    "No problem. I originally thought of a buffet kind of arrangement, so it'll work out fine. What did you do to get Tisa and
Mayna to agree? I thought they were gonna do some 'quality time' thing."
    "Actually, it was Mayna's idea. The two of them don't get invited to many gatherings together, and she wanted to meet you.
She's been gone with her master since long before you got here, and she's aching to get the lowdown on everything she's missed.
Tisa was really moved by your acceptance, and told her all about it. I guess they'll do the couples thing later." He relayed as he
hung a painting for her over the couch, as she had requested.
    "I hope none of the food insults anybody's traditions, or anything," she said, walking out of the kitchen to watch him, wiping
her hands on a small towel. She surveyed her domain with a critical eye, liking what she saw. The original furniture had been
transformed by colorful fabric covers, lush throw pillows, and a huge area rug that looked like space as seen thru a transport
window. The walls were adorned with abstract paintings in bold, complimentary colors, and the three large dolls took up a
special shelf that Obi-Wan had installed, jokingly complaining all the while. The middle of the large room was still bare, only the
area rug now needing to be moved to facilitate the dancing lessons.
    "You know, Obi, I really kind of like it here," she mused, throwing the towel over her shoulder and hugging him lightly. He
returned the loose embrace, brushing his chin across the top of her head.
    " Good. I'm glad you don't regret your decision to come here."
    " I miss my friend sometimes, and my house, and all my things, but all in all, I'm happy. I have new friends, a new place, and
I'm soon going to be a teacher. What's not to like?" she beamed up at him, smiling. Raen gave his braid a tug and headed back
into the kitchen, calling, "Can you see if Impy's ready with the entertainment?"
    " Of course," he said, muttering under his breath," as if I or anyone else could fathom a droid's choices for entertainment."
    " Heard that, Obi," she sung out, and he shook his head, wandering into the bedroom in search of the teal droid.
 

    Master Yoda was the first to appear early in the evening, with a calm Master Koth in tow.
    " I feel out of place, Yoda," Koth reiterated, for perhaps the third time since they had started their walk to Raen's quarters.
    " Repeating yourself, you are, Eeth. Invited, we were, to see how Raen is settling in. New to the Temple, she is, but also new
to this culture, this way of life. Accepted her, we did. Responsible for her, we are. Yes." Yoda harrumphed, and banged his
stick on the floor, indicating that Koth should activate the door chime. He did, and stepped back, looking down at Yoda, one
brow raised in mild pique.
    " How you talked me into this, I'll never know. You know I don't care for mingling. It makes me uncomfortable." he said,
sotto voce.
    " Council member you are, Eeth. If uncomfortable things you do not, too comfortable you will become." Yoda replied
equably, nodding to himself. "More sociable you should be, so that others find you approachable, hmmm? Yes."
    The door slid open, then, and Obi-Wan's grin invited them in.
    "Masters! Welcome. Raen is just getting ready. Come in...can I offer you some tea?" he was the essence of politeness, and
Yoda gave him a hard look.
    "Padawan, if smile any harder, you do, crack your face will." he informed, and was rewarded with an expression of
consternation from Obi-Wan, and a scandalized glance from Koth. Obi-Wan laughed ruefully.
    "Sorry, Master Yoda. I'm not too sure how to act in this situation." Obi admitted.
    " Your master has entertained in your quarters before. This is a social occasion. Relax." Master Koth said quietly.
    " Nervous, you are. Settle, you must. " seconded Yoda, making a circuit of the room, taking in the decor.
    " Yes, masters. It's just that I've never been to a small party that involved masters, padawans, and instructors. It doesn't really
happen that often."
    " Protocol dictates that during such an occasion, social and class dividers are softened for the length of the event, and such
strictures do not apply. The rules of polite discourse are heavily maintained, of course." Impy instructed, entering the main room,
a tray of drinks at the ready,
    "Know now, why she requested that droid," Yoda remarked drily, and Obi squelched a giggle. Koth merely sighed, accepting
a drink and seating himself on the sofa.

    Raen emerged a short time later, wearing one of her new outfits. It was a snug, form fitting unitard, much like the one she
brought from earth, but in a soft dusky rose color, covered with a filmy several layered wrap that came to mid calf. The wrap's
layers were each of transparent black, as were her new Jedi issue high boots. Her magenta hair was done up in a twist, with
tendrils curling down to frame her face.
    "You look wonderful," Obi said, staring, then caught himself, and blushed.
    " See, can I, who is teacher's pet." chuckled Yoda. "Correct, however. Hmm." his eyes sparkled with mischief.
    "Good evening, Raen," Master Koth rose from the couch, bowing fractionally to her. She returned the bow, much lower, and
came up grinning.
    " I'm so glad you both made it. When your assistants said you were both unavailable earlier today, I thought you weren't going
to." she drew them all to the seating area, engaging them in conversation.
    By the time the rest of the guests had arrived, drinks were flowing, appetizers were passed around, and some of the initial
discomfort had dropped away. Raen drew Qui-Gon aside and grinned up at him, " Master, don't drink the fruit punch. Obi-Wan
swore he knew just how to mix it, but I think it could be fatally sweet. "
    " I'll take that under advisement," he smiled down on her, blue eyes twinkling with merriment.
    Mace Windu sidled up to them, wondering aloud, "What are you two conspiring about?"
    "The punch is Obi-Wan's traditional death by sugar," Qui-Gon informed him, in a very pleased tone of voice. Mace quirked a
brow at him, and nodded.
    Qui-Gon suddenly asked Raen if she'd mind if he monopolized Mace for a moment.
    " No, not at all, Master. I have to get the ball rolling here anyway," she scanned the room for Impy just as Mace took her
hand in his, brushing a courtly kiss over her knuckles. She started violently, blushing and looking at him as if he'd sprouted
hooves and a tail.
    " Wonderful gathering, Raen," he dimpled, winking at Qui-Gon, who led him away, muttering about instigating.
    Raen shook her head, wondering idly if it were a requisite for being on the council to be slightly odd. Obi-Wan obviously
caught the thought, spewing some of his own concoction as he choked on a laugh. Tisa's lover, Mayna leaned over him
solicitously, patting him on the back, her innate Wookiee strength nearly knocking him over. Then the entertainment began.
    "Where did you get this music?" Master Koth demanded, not displeased, but surprised.
    " Impy found a very old music archive in the Temple library, Master. I've been going through it to find things I can use in class.
I came across this selection, and had to have a copy for myself." she swayed slightly to the hypnotic music.
    " It's from my homeworld. Very old," he informed her, and she waved quickly to the droid to shut it down.
    " I'm terribly sorry if I offended you, Mas.." she began, but he touched her shoulder gently.
    " It's quite all right, Ms. deMarcos. Please, continue playing it. It's lovely. I was just surprised to hear Iridonian religious music
at a party. " he unbent enough to give her a rare, genuine smile before drifting off to converse with Master Windu. Raen breathed
a sigh of relief and motioned to Impy to continue playing. Yoda sidled up to her and she dropped to one knee to give him her full
attention.
    " Like this padawan Tisa Rekk, do you?" he asked, voice low.  At her nod, he continued," Like you her companion, Mayna
as well?"
    Raen eyed the diminutive green master a moment, then answered, "Yes, Master, I do. I'd like to consider them both my
friends."
    " Good. Need staunch friends they do. Some here in the Temple are trying to influence the council to ban their relationship,
and the others like them. Like this turn of events, I do not. Find it distasteful, I do, that others meddle in affairs of the heart."
    Raen frowned, an angry look coming over her face. "Raffe." she whispered, and Yoda nodded.
    "Good guess, that was. But control your anger, you must, Raen, or control you, it will." he patted her cheek in a paternal
fashion.
    "Master, why is it he can blithely seduce, or try to seduce anything that walks or crawls, but he maneuvers to hurt other
couples, and it's overlooked? Has no-one noticed that there's something off about him?" she confided her fears.
    Yoda drew her to the kitchen for privacy. " Exudes a powerful amount of charm, does Padawan Raffe. Exclusive of the
Force it is. From his species it derives. Feel it, did you?"
    " It grates on my nerves, Master. I feel slightly ill when he tries to cozy up to me." she replied, kneeling on the floor, her head
bowed near his." Obi thinks I'm making too much of it, but then he was under Raffe's spell at one time."
    "Knew this, I did. On most, his glamour works. On some, it does not. Show up, it did not, until after puberty." Yoda informed
her, then raised one finger to his lips as Obi-Wan entered the kitchen with Mayna in tow.
    "This is where you've been hiding," he laughed, his concerned expression belying his flip tone. Mayna chuffed softly, looking
down at the Council member and the hostess with curious, limpid blue eyes.
    " Teacher's pet now I am, padawan," sniffed Master Yoda, smiling at Obi-Wan.
    "Sorry to interrupt, but it's time to serve dinner." Obi said, moving to the counter to retrieve a warming dish with pot holders
and carry it out to the living area. Mayna uttered a soft inquisitive sound, gesturing to another chafing dish.
    Raen nodded with a smile, saying, " Thank you." She turned back to Yoda when they were alone again. " I think I need to
talk to you about this some more, Master. This is really starting to bother me."
    "Yes. To my quarters, you will come, tomorrow evening. After mealtime." he gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder, and
exited the kitchen. Raen straightened, brushed her clothes smooth, and collected a dish from the counter to carry out.
    Her culinary feats were met with grateful announcements of surprised pleasure.
    "Difficult to find, good food truly is. Pleased, delighted, I am to have found a good cook." Yoda announced, claiming seconds
from the serving platters.
    Mayna agreed, gleefully making serious inroads on a dish Raen dubbed Swedish Meatballs. Tisa rolled her eyes, "You know
I'm gonna have to learn how to make those, now, don't you?"
    " They're easy," Raen returned, and glowed happily at the success of her housewarming.
    Qui-Gon regarded her over the rim of his cup, then set it down, clearing his throat.
    " I think I can speak for all of us, young lady, when I say 'Thank You' for this charming evening."
    "Here here," seconded Windu, raising a glass of Obi-Wan's punch in a toast.
 
 

    Raen saw the last of the guests out graciously before falling onto the couch next to Obi-Wan with a huge, heartfelt sigh.
    " The party was a success. Mission accomplished." she looked over at him tiredly.
    "I think yes. There is something I need to talk to you about, though." he caught her eyes seriously.
    Raen turned to give him her complete attention. Obi-Wan cleared his throat, unsure as to how to begin. He decided to just
plunge ahead and sort out the damage after.
    " You know I caught the gist of your conversation with Master Yoda." He began, but she held up her hand.
    "Yeah. I know. I think he did too. I'm going to talk to him tomorrow night. I know you think I'm just being paranoid, or silly,
but I need to talk to somebody." she said quietly, not breaking eye contact with him, her every line speaking of earnestness. The
link yawned open again, and he was swamped by her need to make him understand what she was feeling. He lost his grip on his
sense of self for a moment, reflexively relying on the force to bolster his consciousness. Raen figured out what she was doing,
and tried to pull back, to separate from him. The effort worked, but the aftermath left them both weak and sweating, too shaky
to talk. Obi-Wan rested his head on the back of the couch, breathing deeply.
    "I'm so sorry," Raen gasped, turning watering eyes to him. He clumsily grasped her hand, shaking his head negatively.
    "It's all right. I'm all right." he returned, squeezing her fingers. When he felt in control of himself enough to form whole
sentences, he told her," I think I know how this link works, now. It's clearly empathic. It's feelings, Angel. Emotions. The
thoughts are just carry over from me. That's why you can't hear anyone else, and no-one can hear you but me. The empathy is
mostly you, the telepathy is mostly me, and together we make a full circuit. Hell of a way to figure it out, though."
    " Agh. No kidding. My whole head feels like someone's been using it for a punching bag." she grimaced, leaning forward with
her elbows on her knees, head in her hands. She groaned, and Obi-Wan rubbed her back in commiseration.
    " At least now we know...well, I think we know. We'll have to talk to my master about it soon. I know he wants to be kept
abreast of the situation." Obi-Wan grimaced guiltily.
    " I wondered what he meant when he wanted to know if you were still 'a distinct and separate entity'. Now I know. Jeez, that
was scary." she cuddled up against his side, taking shelter in his strong arm around her shoulders.
    "Listen. About your meeting with Master Yoda, I think you should see him. After feeling what you've been feeling from Raffe,
I admit to being a little worried. I just don't know how much of your feeling is opinion." he rubbed his cheek over her hair.
    "Neither do I. I never cared much for people with his attitude, so maybe that's coloring my judgment. Hell, who am I to judge
anyway? Don't you Jedi types have a slew of empaths? And I thought I was singularly empty of the Force! How did I get the
empathy?" she demanded, her impassioned speech somewhat less than forceful since it was delivered into his chest and tunic,
where her face was pressed.
    " As I said, we need to work through this with Master. Hopefully, he can help us test my theory in a bit more structured and
controlled a manner. I have catch-up lessons tomorrow, and I have to sit in on a practice, non- Senate debate in the afternoon.
You have to set up your classroom so you can begin classes day after tomorrow. And you have to meet with Master Yoda in
the evening. I doubt we'll see each other much past dawn, that is, if you still feel up to having me stay tonight." he waited for her
to reply.
    " I'd rather not be alone after that particular escapade, thank you. Of course I want you to stay." she swatted him
halfheartedly on the belly, and he chuckled.
    " Then let's to bed. Impy's already taken care of most of the cleanup, so the rest can wait for morning. Come on, Angel. It's
late." he slid to his feet, pulling her unresisting form with him, and led the way to her bedroom, calling to Impy to shut down for
the night.
 
 

    Master Eeth Koth stood in the main room of his own apartment, feeling something was amiss. He relaxed and let his mind
flow with the Force, letting it control and direct him. Nothing. He could sense nothing wrong, but the nagging feeling would not
leave him. Knowing he would be unable to sleep, he glided to the kitchen to prepare himself a cup of warm milk, and pondered
his formless worry. It was not the first time the incident had occurred.
 

    Settled in his bed, Qui-Gon felt a brief but powerful disassociation from his padawan. He was out of the bed and halfway out
the door before his student's mind brushed his, absently letting him know he was well, and he'd make a full report in the morning.
Qui-Gon sighed deeply, hiking his sleep pants up from where they'd slipped down his hips. With a stern *See that you do*, he
made his way back to his sheets, slipping into them and wondering if he'd be able to sleep without meditation to purge the
sudden shock of fear for his student from his system.
 

    Raen's day passed in a kind of work induced haze. She briefly wondered if she had told Obi-Wan that his private dance
lessons would begin after her regular classes the next day, then dismissed the thought. She could find him easily enough if she
hadn't. A message left with Master Qui-Gon would get the job done. Sighing, she stood and stretched her back, arms high
above her head. Impy interrupted her moment of hedonism with yet another stack of music selections.
    "Mistress Raen, shall I input all of these, or would you prefer to select specific pieces?" he asked, and she rolled her eyes.
    " Impy, I want you to input every single piece of music you can dredge out of the archives, past and present, then catalogue
them. I would like them in groupings according to category: tempo, then form, then minutiae- as instrumental, vocal, both,
occasional, popular, etc. Got it?" Raen ticked the points off on her fingers, and at the droid's nod, she headed to the other side
of the room, where her desk was situated.
    She spent a few quiet moments going over the notes she had written out on scraps of paper, reminding herself to get, and
learn to use, a datapad. The door whooshed open, startling her.
    " Classes don't start until tomorrow.." she began, but stuttered to a stop as she looked up. Master Koth stood in her
classroom doorway, serene and silent.
    "Good day, Ms. deMarcos. I trust you are well?" the polite words were spoken in his soft tenor voice.
    Raen stared for a moment, unsure as to what was wrong, then she recalled her manners," Master Koth. I'm fine. And
yourself?"
    " I have had a disconcerting night, Ms. deMarcos. I felt he need to check on you." he returned bluntly. Raen sat stunned for a
moment. She had anticipated some polite small talk, not direct communication.
    " I'm sorry to hear that, sir, but I'm fine, honestly. I don't understand why you wanted to check on me."
    "Neither do I, young lady. That is the nature of my unease. I felt something out of place last night after I returned to my own
quarters, but the cause was elusive. This morning I felt it again, but again The Force showed me nothing. I have not lived as long
as I have, nor attained the position of Council member, by ignoring my feelings. By logical deduction, since the Force cannot
pinpoint the source of the disturbance, I sought to eliminate possibilities exclusive of it." he spoke quietly, eyes never leaving
hers.
    " I assure you, Master, I am well. Obi-Wan and I had a bad moment last night with the link, but it was over in an instant, and
there has been no reoccurrence." Raen tried to be as calm and businesslike as possible, but inside she was roiling with nerves.
Master Koth's wording, 'exclusive of it ', had triggered her memory of Yoda's words the night before. She shivered, reminding
herself to inform Yoda of the entire conversation when she met with him.
    Master Eeth Koth watched Raen with hooded eyes, well aware that she was holding something back. Her shudder confirmed
the theory. He resolved to discuss it with Yoda at their meeting that evening after dinner. With a slight bow, which she properly
returned from her seat, he exited the room.
    Raen slumped into her chair, rubbing at her eyes. she felt ridiculously tired.

    Obi-Wan's day had begun pleasantly enough, with him curled snugly around Raen. It had gone downhill from there, starting
when he'd entered the apartment he shared with his master. Said master
was already awake and pacing the moment he walked in the door. He had found himself pinned by the dark blue lasers his
master called eyes, and felt himself staring into them not unlike a womp-rat in a speeder's headlights.
    " Master?" he had managed, weakly, before the reckoning rained down. For a full hour his master had grilled him about the
episode the night before, picking his theory apart for flaws, then picking the flaws apart for more. In the end, though, Jinn had
conceded that the explanation had as much merit as any, and possibly more than most because of Obi-Wan's ability to touch the
link, to examine it. Qui-Gon had sent Obi-Wan on to his shower, and then on to his make-up tutorial with the closing words: "
Padawan, if you ever frighten me out of bed like that again, your reparations will make the tales of the Sith seem like joyous
vacation anecdotes. I am concerned enough about you on a regular basis; I don't need any more silver in my hair."
    Obi-Wan had moped through his tutorial and most of lunch, feeling horribly guilty, until Tisa and Mayna had joined him,
halfway through the meal.
    "Obi!" she yelled, launching herself past a group of other padawans to deposit her tray beside his. She swept him into an
enormous hug, which Mayna completed from his other side, chuffing into his hair.
    " We had the best time last night!" she positively glowed, and he found himself grinning in return.
    " Yes, but tell me, how did you like the party beforehand?" he cracked, and Mayna cuffed him lightly in the shoulder, barking
with laughter.
    "Brat," Tisa laughed." You and Raen have to come to our place, I mean Mayna's next week. You know how since her
Master's a nitrogen breather, she has her own rooms. We wanted to thank you both for the wonderful time."
    Mayna rumbled a few comments into his ear, one long arm thrown around his shoulders, and he giggled in response.
    " No, Mayna. The bet is off limits to participants. And no, there is no way I'd lie just to help Raen win, even if I could. If she
can prove her point, well and good, but I'll not cheat. Besides, Master would know if I lied, even if no-one else did." he said
softly. Mayna hugged him roughly and mussed his hair, laughing until she caught sight of Raffe approaching. She stared at him
over Obi-Wan's head, her hackles rising, a low, dangerous growl rumbling forth from her chest. Both Obi-Wan and Tisa calmed
and shushed her before he arrived.
    "Greet you all," Raffe's voice poured over them like molasses, sticky sweet. Obi-Wan, fresh from his all too close meld with
Raen, watched him with fresh eyes, but offered a courteous enough greeting.
    "Raffe. Can we help you?" he spoke for all three of them, not moving from his place between the two females.
    " Was hoping to find the lovely Raen, but alas..." he trailed off, his eyes drifting across the dining area. " Keeping other
company now?" he queried, his gaze riveting back onto the three like a targeting sight.
    Obi-Wan stiffened, recognizing the tone in Raffe's voice, but Tisa's boot stomping down on his kept any reply from escaping
him. She answered for him, instead.
    " Just at the moment, yeah, but we'll give him back later." she smiled slyly, and Raffe's eyes narrowed. With a start, Obi-Wan
realized he wanted to be back on Raffe's good side, a part of his string of admirers again. He had no idea why, and shook off
the unpleasant thoughts, but slapped a dumb smile on his face, feeling with the Force for an attempt at tampering with his mind.
He found none.
    " Mind if I ask her out, Obi?" Raffe asked silkily, as if he were asking Obi-Wan out instead.
    Obi-Wan smiled as he replied," Please, feel free."
    Tisa gave him a horrified look, but caught his wink as he turned away from Raffe on the bench. Mayna was watching the
whole interplay with silent concentration, committing the whole thing to her eidetic memory. She caught the triumphant, gloating
look that crossed Raffe's perfect face when he thought he was unobserved. He bowed mockingly to the three seated padawans,
and sauntered away.
    "What the hell was that?" demanded Tisa, aghast that he'd approved Raffe asking Raen out. They all three knew he planned
to woo her, win her, and bed her in one fell swoop, throwing her off the instant something new caught his eye, or came of age,
whichever came first.
    " Raen loathes him, completely and utterly. He makes her skin crawl. I can't wait till she hears about this." Obi-Wan shared,
and the corners of Tisa's mouth turned up.
    " I don't know what he was trying to do, or how, but I get the feeling he was influencing my opinions." Obi recalled his almost
change of heart toward Raffe.
    Mayna barked a sharp affirmative, her glare volcanic with righteous indignation.
    "Temper, love," Tisa said softly, and Mayna smoothed the long hair back on her head and neck, settling her hackles.
    " I think this needs looking into." Tisa's merry eyes went dark and considering.
 
 

    Evening meal caught Raen in the dining hall, finishing her early dinner. She had planned to eat quickly and get cleaned up
before her meeting with Yoda, but she was not quick enough. The skin between her shoulders tightened, a chill creeping down
her spine. A hand touched her shoulder, the heat from it making her flinch. She turned as she rose, her tray in hand, which she
positioned between Raffe and herself.
    "Raffe. What a surprise." she said in a polite but completely unwelcoming tone. He nodded in return, and she felt her stomach
churn against the food she'd just eaten.
    " Instructor. Greet you. Looked for you at lunch, but only found your padawan and his two new playmates." she felt, more
than heard the insinuation in his words, that Obi-wan had taken up with others, rather than her. She waited for him to continue,
keeping a look of bland interest on her face.
    " Kept him occupied. Was with Tisa and her pet. Cozy." he smiled a little sadly, and she knew what was coming next.
    " Keep you company?" he asked, conveying commiseration, his long fingers drawing along the side of her jaw. Raen's gorge
rose, and she clenched her teeth to keep from losing her dinner all down his front. She considered it for a moment, then
disregarded it as a bad move in public. Instead, she swallowed the bile in her throat, composed herself, and smiled at him.
    " What he does is his own business, Raffe. I don't hold a leash on him. I wouldn't want to. Too much work. Sorry, about
tonight, but I've got plans." she said blithely, and enjoyed immensely the thwarted look in his eyes.
    "Not with Kenobi." he watched her predatorily.
    " No. Someone else." she smirked, and walked away from him at the most sedate pace she could manage, dropping her tray
off at a reclamation chute on her way. She felt his gaze on her back all the way out the door.
 

    Yoda let Raen in a half hour after the evening meal, watching as she instructed the droid to wait for her outside. She entered
his apartment, bowing to him, then dropping to her knees, her clothing one of the outfits she'd brought with her, although it was
the least disreputable one. She blew out a breath, then smiled at him. "Hey, Master Yoda," she sighed.
    " Raen," he nodded in return, and turned partly away to speak to someone else. Raen looked up, saw Master Koth, and
scrambled to her feet to bow to him also.
    " Informal, this is, Raen. Concerns we all have, and related, they are, I am sure." he nodded to himself, and Raen cautiously
followed him into the living area, where he waved her to a seat on a very old, very comfortable looking chair. She sat, relieved
when Master Koth and Yoda also took seats.
    " When I came to you today, Ms. deMarcos, I had no idea you'd spoken to Master Yoda already. Nor did I know you'd be
joining us this evening." Koth looked faintly disapproving, but Yoda made a rude noise at him.
    " Bosh. Involved, she is, and to the bottom of this, I mean to get!" he spoke sharply, and Raen winced. Then she remembered
that Obi-Wan had told her that even Yoda got angry, he just didn't act on his anger. She relaxed somewhat.
    "There are things going on in this Temple that I cannot explain. A feeling of wrongness that has never been here before. It
began a year or two ago, just occasionally, but then more often, perhaps once or twice a month. I don't like it. I cannot find a
discord in the Force, and all else seems normal." Master Koth stated in a static, uncomfortable fashion.
    " Known this, I have. Raen, speak of your feelings, you will- names matter not at this point." Yoda encouraged, and she
cleared her throat, trying to organize her thoughts.
    " I get feelings around a certain individual, unpleasant, flesh-creeping, nauseous feelings, but only when certain things are said.
I don't get these feelings when I am discussing the individual with others. Then I just get angry." she blushed furiously when she
admitted the last sentence.
    Yoda beamed at her, saying," Managed, anger can be. A Jedi you are not, so expected to be serene you are not. Only civil."
    "What does this have to do with the feelings I have experienced? I know you have thoughts on the matter, Master Yoda, or
you would not have brought us together in this manner." Koth sat forward in his chair, intent.
    " Suspicions, conjecture, I have. Test the waters, I must, before any conclusions I draw." Yoda stared at nothing for a
moment, then his gaze speared Raen. "With young Kenobi you are linked. Insight into the nature of the link you have recently
gained, yes."
    " Yes Master Yoda." Raen took a deep breath and launched into Obi-Wan's theory, and a brief description of the effects felt
each time the link opened, though she left out the particulars of what had led to the openings. When she had finished, she
glanced at Master Koth, who sat still as a statue, his fingers laced together and pressed to his lips. He showed no judgment in his
expression.
    His staring was beginning to make her squirm when he finally spoke. " Ms deMarcos, this bond you share, is it always
accessible?" he asked, dark gaze firmly on her own blue-grey.
    " To some extent, sir. Right now he's bored out of his mind." she replied, head cocked to one side.
    "But you can't hear his  thoughts?" Koth pressed.
    "No sir. Not right now. When we're closer to each other, sometimes I hear him, whether he wants me to or not. Usually we
just feel each other's uhh, surface feelings?" she hesitated and looked over at Yoda, a shrug and a frown speaking of her
difficulty in expressing her thoughts. Yoda's ears tilted up and forward in encouragement, but he said nothing.
    "I see. And this bond is entirely exclusive of the Force?"
    " According to  your tests, I'm pretty much midichlorian-free. I wouldn't know the Force if it reached out and kissed me." she
said, to Yoda's great amusement. He giggled, and Master Koth cleared his throat.
    " Hmmm. A true empath, we should find, to test this. A control, we need." Yoda ruminated, head bent.
    Raen looked confused again. She asked, with some trepidation," Don't you guys have empaths?"
    "Force sensitives, we have here, child. Some, adept at empathy. Others not. Mostly healers, the empaths are, but all use the
Force." he answered her, before falling into a deep quiet. Master Koth also remained silent, so Raen followed their lead, wishing
Obi-Wan was there so she'd be able to fake whatever she needed to be doing by reading it from him.
    After interminable minutes, Yoda's head came up, and he winked at her. " Raen, time it is to name names. Tell you will, what
you suspect."
    " I don't want to point fingers, Master. What if I'm wrongfully accusing someone innocent? What if, like Obi says, I'm just
letting my personal opinion run away with me?" she hemmed, and slouched into the chair.
    "Sit up straight, you will." he rapped out, and she did, without thinking. Her eyes were wide. "Speak now, you will. Second
your opinion, I already do!" he would accept no delay.
    " It's Padawan Raffe who makes me feel ill. He spoke to me after dinner this evening, and after a few minutes, I was almost
sick all over him. He insinuated ...no, he made comments that felt like insinuations. I pretended not to notice, and walked out as
soon as possible, but I could feel something, like worms crawling on my back." she shuddered.
    " And you feel this every time he is near you?" Koth inquired, both brows raised.
    "No, sir. Only when he's right in front of me, talking to me, or if he touches me."
    " And you don't feel this with anyone else?"
    "No, sir. Not since I was little." she answered.
    "When little you were?" Yoda prodded gently, leaning toward her.
    " A man walking down the street scared me very badly when I was five or so. He didn't try to talk to me or touch me or
anything, he just looked at me, but I'd never been so scared in my life. I still have nightmares about it, sometimes."
    "Aha. Does Padawan Raffe resemble this man?" Master Koth asked, trying to make a correlation.
    " No, sir. The man who scared me was older, maybe mid forties, balding, and wearing a suit. He looked like a businessman."
    Master Koth nodded, his thought shot down before it could be voiced.
    Yoda hopped down from his seat and headed for his comm unit. He took his conversation into the kitchen, leaving Master
Koth alone with Raen.
    " Master," she began, and he met her gaze." I was wondering why some interspecies couples were frowned on at Temple,
while others are ignored, or just taken for granted."
    Master Koth sat back in his chair, obviously giving the matter some thought before answering.
    " I honestly couldn't tell you, Ms.deMarcos. It completely baffles me. Unless a pairing is detrimental to the health or training of
one or both parties, or unless one of a pair were under the age of consent for his or her species, I cannot think it would fall under
anyone's purview but the couples'." he finally replied, then asked," You were referring to Tisa and Mayna, were you not?"
    " Yes sir, I was. I understand they've been somewhat ostracized for their choice in each other."
    " Yes. It has been brought to the Council's attention that the affair has been alienating them from the other padawans. We had
thought to look into it." he studied her expression.
    " I... well, I'm probably overstepping, here, but maybe you should look into who's making the allegations. If it's Masters, find
out who their padawans are, then find out who those padawans are tight with." Raen said quickly, amazed that she had the
temerity to advise a Councilor.
    " Tight with?" Yoda echoed, having come out of the kitchen and followed most of the conversation.
    " Who their closest friends are. I'd lay odds that the Masters who are bringing the subject up to the Council all have
padawans who are part of Raffe's set." Raen was almost certain she was about to get a harsh reprimand from Master Koth, but
he merely sat quietly, evaluating what she'd said.
    " Explain your reasoning." he commanded.
    " It's not that long since I was in school. I know how cliques work. If Raffe has been influencing opinions, it would probably
be mostly the people in his group, and they'd then tell their masters, who'd see something wrong with the way the pair was not
part of the group, and bring it to the council. It's not necessarily pretty, but it is a logical progression. It's a mathematically sound
way to influence a large group by starting small, and letting the ripple effect take place."  Raen looked like she was ready to faint,
but she held firm to her convictions.
    " I don't like the picture you've just painted at all, Ms.deMarcos, but it makes far too much sense to dismiss. Trust that I will
look closely into the matter before it goes any further." Eeth Koth said firmly, in a bleak tone of voice, his expression suggesting
that he'd just had a very bad taste in his mouth.
    "Thought she was foolish, did you?" Yoda asked softly, " Jumping at shadows, you thought I was, as well, Hmmm?"
    " To be honest, I came here tonight with a fairly nebulous complaint, and I seem to have fallen into a war against a conspiracy.
In the Temple!" he was obviously upset, then the smooth mask dropped back in place. Koth glanced at Raen, then at Yoda. " I
have no idea how we are to proceed with this. With a Force user, proofs would be easy enough to obtain, but this...how are we
to move even ourselves beyond suspicions, let alone the rest of the council?"
    " Old friend, spoken have I to Master Vanya. Knows, she does, the help we seek. If it can be found, find it she will."
    Raen glanced back and forth between the two masters." Excuse me. Have you thought that maybe he's not totally aware of
what he's doing? That, since it's not the Force he's using, he isn't aware of the damage he's doing? Maybe it all started because
he developed this thing, and no-one noticed, and taught him the right way to use it, or not to use it at all?"
    Master Koth took on an expression of total dismay." If that has happened, then the whole order is to blame. We will have
sinned against ourselves, and one of our own, if that is the way of it."
    Yoda nodded solemnly.
    "Isn't that a little arrogant?" she ventured. Both the master's heads snapped up, identical padawan-withering instructor glares
focusing on her. She pressed on." I'm terribly sorry if I offended you, but that's saying you allow no room for error in yourselves,
that you put yourselves above making mistakes. Nobody's infallible, no matter who they are." she gulped, prepared to be
forcibly ejected from the room, dismissed from her teaching position, and possibly yelled at. For a moment, there was dead
silence, then a strange gurgle come from the region of Master Koth. It was repeated. Yoda stared at him in alarm and surprise
as he doubled over laughing. He seemed unable to stop, and slumped in the chair, holding his sides. Raen wondered if she was
supposed to be calling the healers.
    "Oh oh oh ...This is too much," he wheezed, gasping for breath, and Yoda moved to his side, concern evident.
    " Laughed outright you have not since you were a padawan yourself." He remarked with a bit of nervousness in his tone.
    " I have never been in a situation so obscenely ludicrous. Look at us...masters who help to decide the course of the whole
Republic, being tutored by a slip of a child from some obscure system Gods only know how far away....and she's right! How
much more bizarre and disturbing can the evening get?" Koth choked, sitting upright. If he'd had external tear ducts, he's have
been wiping moisture from his cheeks. As it was, his eyes were overly bright, and his face was flushed.
    Yoda snorted something in a harsh language, chuckling softly." To bed, we all should go. Late, the hour grows, and younger
we are not getting. All too soon will tomorrow come."
    "Yes, Master." Raen was shaken, and darted out, collecting Impy and making good her escape before either master could
change his mind and make her eat her words.
 

    Obi-Wan paced in his room for quite some time before he went to bed, his perceptions of Raen's emotional state fluctuating
between amusement and outright terror. When the sensations stopped, it was all he could do to keep from grabbing up the
comm and demanding to know if she was all right. She'd been with Master Yoda! of course she was all right. He lay down in his
bed, trying not to think about how lonely it felt to be stretched out in it by himself. He informed himself he'd gotten used to
sharing space with her entirely too quickly, and flipped onto his side, punching the pillow into a more pleasant configuration
before putting it over his head and trying to sleep.
 

    " Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to dance class." Raen smiled from the front of the room. The children made
polite replies, and stood waiting for the axe to fall.
    " Okay, kids. Here's the deal. You're here to learn how to dance. I'm here to teach you. Can we make a bargain?" she asked,
and twenty one bright pairs of eyes were locked on her.
    " I'll try to keep the boring, annoying, embarrassing stuff to a minimum, if you try to let yourselves enjoy the time here. Sound
good to you?" Raen waited expectantly, and one hand shot up at the back of the room. "Yes?"
    " Why do we have to learn to dance?"
    " At a guess, I'd say to start you with a sense of balance and rhythm so you'll have the confidence needed to proceed with
your physical training as you get older." she replied, off the cuff.
    Another hand was raised, and she nodded.
    " Are you going to keep giving us real answers?"
    "I certainly hope so. Now, let's get down to business..."

    By noonmeal, Raen was giddy and exhausted by turns. She headed to the commissary at a stroll, wanting to have plenty of
fuel for the other twenty-two students she'd be in charge of in the afternoon. Obi-Wan met her outside the door of the dining
hall.
    "You don't want to go in there, Angel." he said quietly, catching her eye.
    "Oh, lord. Master Yoda and Master Koth are kicking me out of the Temple, right?" her heart dropped to her stomach, and
she started breathing like a winded bantha. Obi-Wan took hold of her shoulders, shaking them lightly.
    " No, love, just some fairly poisonous rumors about you and your whereabouts last night. They range from you being involved
in a live cabaret show for a group of senators, to you trying to bribe Master Windu with your charms for some unspecified gain."
he didn't for an instant expect her to laugh when he broke the news. He had expected tears, or rage, or depression, but not a full
out belly laugh.
    " Ohhh... Master Koth's gonna lose his horns over this." she finally gasped, leaning heavily on him. Master Jinn rounded the
corner at a good clip, having been on his way to lunch when he mentally heard his padawan call out.
    "What is it, Padawan?" Jinn demanded, and Obi-Wan nodded helplessly at Raen, who was still chortling  in his arms.
    " I'm worried about her, Master. I just broke some bad news to her that could affect her reputation, and she began howling
with laughter, saying that Master Koth'd lose his horns, and I can't feel anything but amusement  and resignation from her."
Obi-Wan said, and Qui-Gon reached out, taking her chin in his  hand to turn her face to his.
    "Raen...Raen! he called, and she lifted her vastly amused gaze to his.
    "Yes?" she replied, catching her breath.
    "Are you all right, Raen? You're scaring my padawan." he asked, looking steadily into her eyes.
    " I think I need to see Master Yoda again." she smiled, and fumbled at her belt for her comm.
    "Yoda? What's he to do with this? And what could damage her reputation, Obi-Wan? " Jinn fired the questions rapidly, but
no satisfaction was immediately forthcoming. Raen clicked the comm off and put it back in her pocket, smoothed her hair behind
her ears, and looked from master to apprentice.
    " Are you both hungry? I am." she said, and went to enter the dining hall. Obi-Wan caught her arm above the elbow.
    " Did you not understand what I said?" he asked, his concern growing.
    " Obi, I promise, I'll explain while we eat, Yoda said I could. I need to find out myself how bad the rumors are. You two
might not want to sit with me, though. We can still discuss it between ourselves if we're in the same room." she took a deep
breath and plunged into the mess hall.
    Conversation stopped for a moment, then began again in lower tones as she passed through the room, both Obi-Wan and his
Master close behind her. None of the three looked right or left, but collected their lunches and carried their trays to a table with
room for them. The other occupants quickly left, though they made polite greetings to Master Jinn.
    "Explain this situation." Master Qui-Gon Jinn instructed, his patience at an end.
    " It started at the party..." Raen began, her voice low. In the simplest possible way, she outlined, very briefly, the events of the
past few days, glossing over most of the details. She paused to confer silently with Obi-Wan a few times, who relayed the
information to his master just as silently. They were in one such silent mode when a long shadow fell across the table.
    " Good day, Raen." Mace Windu said quietly, and all three looked up at him. He did not appear to be happy.
    "Uh,Oh." she said quietly, dropping her knife and fork. "Hi, Master Windu," she greeted, rising a bit to sketch a quick bow,
borrowing from Obi-Wan for etiquette on how to have your lunch interrupted by the co-chair of the Council.
    " I have some things to discuss with you." he said ominously, and Raen swallowed to ease her dry throat.
    "Pardon me, Master, but Yoda said to refer you to him if you came to see me." she said softly. Her trembling shook the
bench she sat on, and she kept her hands under the table top to hide their shaking.
    " Indeed?" he raised a brow at her elegantly, not moving his attention from her. A moment later, he nodded once, and said, " I
will expect to see you in Council chambers immediately after your afternoon class. Padawan Kenobi, you will accompany her.
Master Jinn, you are invited to be present." he turned abruptly and walked away.
    " Gods, Raen, what kind of mess have you landed in?" Obi-Wan breathed, and Master Jinn was staring at her in
consternation.
    "From your explanation, I hadn't thought the problems this severe." Jinn said, staring off into space.
    " Neither did I." she muttered, regretting her involvement. She felt as though she should have just ignored the whole thing.
Obi-Wan jostled her with an elbow.
    " Come now, Angel. You've Master Yoda to support you. It won't be bad as all that. I have a good feeling about this. The
end of it, anyway." he amended.
    " At least you can both look forward to being in the same place after class today. Obi-Wan will be joining  you." Jinn smiled,
setting his napkin on his tray and rising.
    Obi-Wan groaned. His master patted him on the shoulder and took his leave and his tray.
    " Don't feel so bad. At least you don't have Master Mace ticked at you, half the temple thinking you're the Whore of Babylon,
and Master Koth laughing at you." Raen said to jolly him and herself.
    " The whore of what? And Master Koth doesn't laugh." Obi-Wan lifted his head out of his hands to glare at her.
    " Come on. I'll tell you all about it on the way to class."
 

    Mace Windu strode into the Council ante chamber and searched for Yoda. He spied him talking quietly with Master Gallia,
and hurried over.
    " Excuse the interruption, Masters. I need to speak to Master Yoda privately," he insisted. Adi Gallia acceded with a small
bow and drifted over to a group of interns at the other side of the room.
    " Went to Raen, you did." Yoda said without preamble.
    "Of course. I had heard a few unpleasant rumors today, and as you know, when rumors surface, the first being to confront
with them is the victim. It didn't help my calm at all that I was mentioned in at least one of them. I'm afraid I frightened her.
Again." Windu shook his head, less than pleased with his own performance.
    " Indeed. Knew that Eeth and myself met with her last night, you did not. Knew what we had discussed, you did not." Yoda
cast him a sidelong glance.
    " Why is it that you can make me feel like a first year trainee with that look?" Windu demanded, hands in sleeves, cowl up,
and head down.
    " Practice, I have had. Practice." Yoda replied smoothly, and tapped his stick on the floor.
    " I ordered Raen and Obi-Wan to come to the Council chamber after the afternoon class was finished. Qui-Gon will probably
be here as well."
    " Bother. Wish you had asked first, do I. Plans, I had, and involving the whole council they did not!"
    Master Windu pulled his composure about him and said," I haven't spoken to anyone else about this yet. I can pull them aside
when they arrive." he paused, "You know, if you weren't being so secretive, I might have avoided this whole disaster."
    Yoda laughed shortly. "If. If told you I had, still in this disaster you would be. Moves in annoying ways, sometimes the Force
does."
 
 

    "We never got to bounce around like a bunch of puppies when I was in the crèche dance class." Obi-Wan confided in Raen
as they put away the mats after class.
    " That's probably why you didn't like it in the first place. No fun." she retorted, grinning at him
    " A Jedi craves not fun," he quoted back to her, wrinkling his nose up.
    " Probably a myth. Serious and capable looks better on guardians of peace and justice than silly and giddy." she stuck her
tongue out at him, then tucked her hair behind her ears. " I guess this is it. Zero hour." She straightened her clothes and told Impy
to go to her apartment and wait for her. Raen grimaced, gave a nervous smile to Obi-Wan, and caught up the hand he offered in
her own, and walked out the door.
 

    An aide met them in the ante-room, bidding them wait in a side chamber until a master came for them, and to speak to no-one
while they waited except Obi-Wan's master, should he arrive. He did, just as the aide was giving the instructions, and was
ushered into the room with the two younger people.
    " I should have brought a deck of cards," griped Raen, and Qui-Gon shot her a look of incredulity.
    " Has it escaped your notice, young lady, that Mace Windu has called you here to discuss something  that has made him
unhappy?" he asked, and she immediately dropped her gaze to the carpet.
    " No, Master Jinn. It hasn't. But I haven't done anything wrong. I was with Master Yoda and Master Koth, and I know
exactly who started those rumors, or at least planted the seeds for them." Her tone had started out even, but got hotter with each
syllable that escaped her mouth. Her eyes were bright with fury, and her breathing had increased dramatically.
    Jinn sat back in his chair, silently wondering how she'd gotten so angry so quickly.
    " This has been building all day, Master," Obi-Wan interjected, and explained," In fact, it's been building for a few days, I
think she's done a very impressive job of holding her temper." he smoothed his hand down her back as he spoke to his master,
and, with visible effort, Raen got ahold of herself. She forced a brilliant, though brittle smile onto her face and sat back in her
seat.
    " Better to be a little flip than a lot bitchy," she noted, and rose as the aide came to announce Yoda's arrival.
    "Raen. Heated up, the situation has." he ambled directly over to her, but nodded to the two Jedi who sat at either side of her.
" Mistaken, was Master Windu, in calling you here. Disturbed, he was, by the ugly things said about you. Forgot, again, did he,
about the frailties of others," he informed, and Raen dropped down again to his eye-level.
    "Master, this has got to stop. Have you got any ideas?" she begged, and he patted her on top of her head.
    "Ideas, yes. An empath who uses not the Force, not yet. We wait, still. Informed, has Master Windu been, of the
circumstances. Called, you will be, when more we know." he smiled, and nodded again to Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon, then shuffled
back in to the Council chamber.
    When the door had shut behind him, Qui-Gon turned to Raen and said, " Perhaps you'd care to join us for dinner. There are
things we need to talk about."
    Raen nodded glumly, accepting the invitation with a heavy heart.
 

    " You realize, of course, that everything I tell you needs to be kept between us?" Raen began, perched on the edge of
Qui-Gon's sofa, rubbing her palms agitatedly up and down her thighs repeatedly. Obi-Wan sat close beside her and captured
her hands, stilling them.
    " So Master Yoda implied. I will abide by his dictates- for now." Master Jinn said solemnly, sitting across from them in a low
chair, a cup of tea in one huge hand.
    " I guess that's as good as I can hope for." she sighed, and launched into a narrative of her dealings with Raffe, from the first
time she met him, until the events of the previous night. Raen then proceeded to give a nearly verbatim account of her meetings
with both Masters Yoda and Koth. She omitted nothing, trying to put her feelings into words, and finally threw her hands in the
air in disgust.
    " Relax, Angel. Let's try something new. You can't explain how you feel. We need to deal with the bond. Let's try to
accomplish both at the same time." Obi-Wan suggested softly, still holding her hands, his thumbs brushing over her knuckles,
soothing her with the repetitious movements.
    " Are you high?!" she nearly screamed, jerking her hands away from him, eyes round and horrified." You know what almost
happened last time! I can't trust..." she was silenced by Qui-Gon's touch on her shoulder. He moved back, resuming his seat.
    " I concur," he told her.
    " But Master-" he shushed her with a raised hand and a shake of his head.
    " Trust us, Raen. This has got to be done. This bond is powerful, and potentially dangerous for the two of you. You must
learn to control it, or it will go rogue on you, as it did the other night. "
    Raen hung her head, and nodded.
    " I had thought to link strongly with you, Master, and then have Raen give me her feelings, though, preferably a bit less
aggressively than the last time." Obi-Wan said, and Qui-Gon nodded. Raen looked hard into Qui-Gon's eyes, and there was no
mistaking the fear he read there.
    " I will keep Obi-Wan centered, Raen. There will be no chance to lose himself." he promised.
    A moment of silent communion, and Obi-Wan turned to look Raen in the eye. " Do it," he instructed. She stilled her internal
quaking, shored up her will, and poured her every feeling into him, trying to envision the process as pouring water into a jar,
slowly, carefully. She kept pouring until her head felt as if it were in a vice, and the water seemed to explode back out of the jar,
into her. The vision she had constructed went completely to lights, and she blacked out.
 

    Raen opened her eyes to dim lights, a comfy pillow under her head, and some very gentle hands
caressing the sides of her face at an improbable angle. She roused herself a bit more and realized the pillow was Obi-Wan's
thigh, and relaxed again. His hands stilled, and he looked down into her face with an expression of discomfort.
    " Are you all right?" her voice came out scratchy, and she cleared her throat.
    " I've been better, my Angel. My head hasn't hurt quite this much...oh, ever," he tried to smile, but it came out a grimace.
    " Oh, shit," she moaned, and tried to sit up. Immediately dizziness and nausea made it clear she shouldn't, and she lay back.
Qui-Gon entered her field of vision, looking none too steady himself.
    " My sentiments exactly." he said quietly, and sat near them.
    " What happened?" Raen finally asked.
    " You were doing fine. I could see what you were doing thru Obi-Wan, as well as feel everything you were conveying, but the
sharing was too much. I was overloaded, and instinctively tried to raise a shield. Obi-Wan tried to stop me, knowing it wouldn't
work, and the balance was lost. You must have sensed it through him, somehow, and the whole connection went to hell. It all
backlashed through him onto you. I beg your forgiveness." the last words sounded at once sincere, and like a ritual. Even around
the incredible agony in her head, she reached for Obi-Wan to see what to do. She saw that he was trying to keep his own
counsel, but prayed she would forgive.
    " Of course I forgive you, Master. Everybody screws up once in a while," she felt Obi-Wan sag in relief behind her, and
wondered about the whole thing.
    " Master was in control of the experiment. He was responsible for our safety, and the whole thing went balls up." he explained
quietly, and she noted that he looked very fetching upside-down.
    " Thank you, Raen." Qui-Gon said gravely, and she snorted.
    " I don't think I can stand any more seriousness tonight, but I need to know, did you understand?" she demanded, trying not
to move her head.
    " Yes. We both did. And now, if you'll excuse me, I am going to call a healer so we can get something for the pain. Then I still
owe you dinner." the faint smile was back on Qui-Gon's face, and he left the two of them alone.
    " What the hell was that forgiveness thing?" Raen immediately asked, and Obi-Wan closed his eyes briefly.
    " As an instructor, technically, you had the right to bring him up on charges with the Council for letting the experiment get so
dangerously out of hand. It could have been ugly."
    " Oh, yeah, like I would have done that, ever. And like I don't have enough creepiness going on with the Council already. It
was a risk. We all took it," she said, sighing.
    " The thing is, we talked you into it. It was at our instigation, and the blame is ours." Obi-Wan insisted.
    Raen frowned, " I forgive you. Both of you. Now shut up about it, please. He was right. It needed to be done; you were right
, it worked." she rubbed at her temples, which were pounding.
    " As much as mine hurts, I know yours is worse. I know you got the worst of the backlash; it just went through me." he said in
sympathy, his long fingers taking over from hers, soothing her, sliding into her hair, stroking her head gently. Even with the pain
Raen began to relax, nearly purring at his touch.
    " What color is your hair, really?" he suddenly asked, and she stared at him.
    " About two shades lighter than my pubic hair- almost the same color as yours. Where in the world did that question come
from?"
    " Your roots are starting to show, and I couldn't quite make out the color from them," he answered, his voice somewhat
dreamy, his hands still stroking.
    " Are you sure you're all right?" she looked up at him suspiciously, taking in his blissed out expression.
    " I am so tired, I can't fathom thinking anymore," he sighed, and let his head fall back on the cushion behind him. Raen sighed
and let her eyes close, drifting into sleep with him.
    Qui-Gon entered the room with dermal patches from the healers, his gaze coming to rest on the still forms of his padawan and
Raen. Silent as a ghost, he moved to stand close enough to adhere the patches to their throats, then whisked the blanket from
Obi-Wan's bed and tucked it in around them with a judicious use of the Force. He smiled down on them with unalloyed
affection for a moment before he doused the lights completely and left the apartment.
 

    Master Mace Windu was looking askance at Master Koth as he stood on the balcony overlooking the inner gardens, lower
level.
    " I don't like this situation any more than you do, Mace. In fact, I despise it. However, I can see the need to clean our own
house, as it were." Koth said quietly.
    " Damn. Why didn't you come forward with these misgivings earlier? " Windu asked, forehead furrowed with thought.
    " And what would I have said to the Council? Oh. and by the way, I think something's wrong, but there's not even a vague
stirring in the Force, and I have no idea what else to look for?" the pale Zabrak scoffed, and turned to face him.
    Mace glared at him for an instant, before giving out a snort of harsh laughter. " I see your point. So what do we have?"
    " No proof, have we." Yoda said from behind them, coming onto the private balcony silently, followed by Master Jinn. "
However, new findings from Qui-Gon, we do have."
    " I first want to say I let the situation escalate to dangerous conditions with my student and Raen. They are well, but in need of
rest, and unable to join us." Jinn looked abashed, and the others stiffened a bit at the news, before letting it pass to get to the real
information he brought.
    " Go on," Windu instructed.
    " I felt, thru Obi-Wan, what Raen has sensed from Padawan Raffe. It is a most unprecedented and unpleasant sensation, and
I can relay it to you. Prepare yourselves." he gathered the Force, calming and centering himself, then reached out and shared the
sense memory with the other Masters. The tenuous sharing was a far cry from the tidal wave of emotion that had come originally
from Raen, but it sufficed. The hastily made connections between the men were just as quickly dropped, and they each spent a
few minutes collecting their thoughts and stilling the nausea that threatened.
    " That was vile." Koth was the first to speak, his outrage sparking briefly before being squelched as he pulled the Force
around him like a blanket to shield him from his own negative emotions.
    " Indeed," Yoda's eyes were huge and slightly unfocused. Mace merely rubbed at his forehead, blinking rapidly.
    " I think we need a second opinion. I trust Obi-Wan, and he told me briefly of his own confrontation and subsequent
inexplicable change of opinion concerning Padawan Raffe, as well as the very short duration of the change. Padawans Tisa Rekk
and Mayna were with him at the time. I think they should be interviewed separately about the incident." Qui-Gon settled his
voluminous robe more comfortably across his shoulders and looked expectantly at Yoda.
    " Good idea, that is. Enlightening, this information is, but essentially useless, unless found a control can be. A non-Force
sensitive empath we need." Yoda ruminated, pacing.
     Windu spoke up from the shadows he had been sheltered in, " This is deeply disturbing, and it needs to be dealt with in a
decisive manner. I concur with the need for hard evidence, whatever form it takes, either witnesses, mental or otherwise, or
enough circumstantial evidence to warrant a tribunal. Great care must be taken that nothing is left to chance. There will be no
more mistakes."
    " This may take time, but every course of the investigation will be followed to its end." Koth intoned, and exited the balcony,
hood up and head bowed.
    "Tell Raen and Obi-Wan that the matter is being taken care of. Aside from recording fully any and all interaction with
Padawan Raffe, they are to try and forget the matter even exists. We will tell them when we need them." Windu followed Koth
back inside the Temple, leaving Yoda and Jinn in solitude. Yoda gave out with a small grunt of satisfaction, and Qui-Gon gave
him an odd sideways stare.
    " Forget not to tell Raen 20 credits I have placed on the bet. Expect, I do, that she not forget about it." Yoda shuffled inside,
leaving Master Jinn choking on incredulous laughter.
 

    "Mayna!" Tisa called out, entering her lover's quarters. She strode across the carpet of the main room, her newly acquired
Ugg boots making no sound. A light from the bedchamber urged her in that direction. Slightly rumpled, Mayna emerged from
her 'fresher cubicle and lounged in the doorway, a quizzical tilt to her head. Tisa laughed and wrapped herself around the tall
Wookiee in a quick but heartfelt embrace. It was returned eagerly, and Mayna lifted her easily to nuzzle at her neck. She
growled a soft query.
    " Well, not exactly a social call. I had more of a study party in mind." Tisa relaxed her hold around Mayna's neck, and slid to
the ground, Mayna's arm still around her.
    " Can you still hack into the Temple's datanet?" Tisa suddenly asked, avoiding looking into her mate's brilliant ice blue eyes.
    Mayna stared down at the top of Tisa's head for a long moment, then admitted that she could.
    " I know you don't like breaking the rules, love, but this is a special circumstance. Too many things are happening all at once
to be coincidence, and I could never resist a mystery. Will you help me?" Tisa leaned into Mayna's side as they walked into the
main room, and she held her breath while she waited for Mayna to decide.
    A series of low rumbles and hoots came quietly to her ears, and she grinned, hugging her beloved.
    " I knew you'd figure it out before I did!" she cheered, dashing to turn on the lights and drag an extra chair to the desk set in a
corner of the room.
 

    Master Jinn watched the two curled up on his couch for a moment. They had changed position, both curled up around each
other, with their heads near the armrest, the blanket cocooning them. He stifled the urge to just let them sleep themselves  out,
and gently brushed Obi-Wan's mind with his. He smiled as his apprentice wiggled and murmured, " Five minutes, Master,
please," his nose scrunched as it had years before when Qui-Gon had needed to summon him from oversleeping on occasion.
    He didn't know what imp of the perverse caused him to call," Padawan! Awake or you'll miss your breakfast!"
    Obi-Wan was off the couch in a flash, but the result was less than stellar, since both Raen and the blanket were wound
around him. They both ended up on the floor in a tangle of limbs and fabric, Raen cursing quite impressively. When they'd finally
sorted themselves out, Obi-Wan was red from chest to ears, and Raen was as close to hysterical laughter as she'd like to come.
    "Master!" Obi-Wan cried, thoroughly chagrined.
    " Apologies, padawan. I couldn't resist." Jinn chuckled, glad to have the seriousness of the past few hours pushed aside for a
little while.
    " Master Jinn, you are a very bad man," Raen informed him with no heat, and grinned.
    " My dear young lady, I am a Jedi," he responded, and she broke up, her pain a fading memory.
    " What's for dinner, Master?" Obi-Wan yawned, stretching.
    " Whatever you fix, my apprentice," Qui-Gon smiled, and enjoyed the cringe his pronouncement engendered.
    " Oh, joy." Raen headed for the 'fresher, leaving the arena.
    " Master, what now?"
    " Patience, Obi-Wan. We wait. Master Windu said to report any interaction with Padawan Raffe, and otherwise ignore the
situation until we are called by the Council." He glanced up at Raen's return, making sure she'd caught the instruction. At her
nod, he continued," And Master Yoda said to tell you he'd a 20 credit wager on us, and you're not to forget it, Raen."
    "Oh, hell, the bet." she grumped.
    "Oh, hell, indeed, Instructor deMarcos. I think I could really use a cook for a month," Smirked Qui-Gon.
    " Dream on, boss." she fired back, and Obi-Wan headed for the kitchen, keeping his head low.
 
 

    For the next two weeks, a routine evolved for Raen. Mornings, whether or not she awoke with Obi-Wan in his bed or hers,
or alone,  she would hurry through her toilette, throw on her clothing, and rush to class. Her days were a blur of activity, first
with the children, then lunches with any combination of Tisa, Mayna, Obi-Wan, and a few other padawans who mostly stopped
by out of curiosity, then afternoons with her second group of children, including Obi-Wan every other day. The littles adored
having a padawan so close to his trials share their class, and he acted like the largest child she'd ever seen with them, never a hint
of condescension in him. Then, in the evenings, if he'd no evening tutorial, the two of them would alternate running on the course
together, eating and spending time with Master Jinn, or other friends, and private dance lessons.
    Obi-Wan's private dance lessons began as an extension of his regular kata practice, with him going through his regimen with
Raen as his shadow, in his mind and following the motions precisely. He joked that she wasn't teaching him to dance, she was
using him to become a fighter, cutting out the steps of beginner and going straight for adept. She'd grinned, and said," Maybe,"
before using his own moves against him, full speed, to land him on his ass halfway across the room. He got up, dusted himself
off, and critiqued her style. After that. She challenged him to match her, in her mind, shadowing her movements as she'd done
his. He was amazed to find himself dancing, very well, a complicated and beautiful pattern that he'd seen her do in the audition
she did for the Council.
    " I didn't think it was possible," he panted, cooling down.
    " And now you've used me to become a dancer, bypassing years of training, yadda yadda..." she'd teased, and he'd laughed
heartily. After that, the lessons became a doorway into a new world for both of them, half the time devoted to shadowing each
other, katas or dances, and the other to fierce competitions, seeing who could match or best whom, in either. The time flew by.
     By the beginning of the third week, Tisa wondered out loud," What the hell happened to Raffe?"
    " I neither know nor care," responded Raen from her perch at Mayna's elbow, reading over her shoulder in the monitor
screen as long, furred fingers flew over a keyboard.
    They sat comfortably in Mayna's rooms, Raen and Mayna working on the Republic standard reading and writing that Raen
was picking up rapidly from Obi-Wan, and Tisa sitting on the floor between Obi-Wan's knees  as he tried to comb out and
rebraid her padawan plait that had grown out.
    " You know, you're going to have to solo in front of half the Temple to complete the bet." Tisa informed him, and his fingers
stilled.
    "I know." he responded, fingers continuing their work.
    " You could practice on us," she nudged, and he sighed.
    " I know you're as curious as it's possible to be," he began, and Raen finished the sentence from across the room, " but you'll
just have to wait; patience, padawan." She used Obi's distinctive inflection and cadence, not to mention his accent.
    " Now that was scary." Tisa said flatly, and Mayna chuffed in startlement and agreed.
    " Not to worry. We were just practicing like Master Jinn told us. We can control the damn bond a lot better, now, since
we've been actively, consciously using it, rather than letting it come and go." Raen said, winking at Obi-Wan. He grinned back.
    " I think Raffe got stuck with transport supervision duty with his master," offered Obi-Wan after a moment of thinking. "It was
his turn, after all."
    " Eeeww. I've always hated that duty," Tisa scrunched up her face in disgust.
    "Hate leads to suffering," came a three part harmony in basic and Wookiee. Tisa cringed.
    " Ack." she said succinctly, and blew a raspberry at the them all.
    Obi-Wan tied off the braid in the requisite sections with the requisite colored string, and patted her on the shoulder, trading
places so she could attend to his.
    " So, what's going on?" Tisa demanded, her nimble fingers working at the thin lock of hair, unbraiding, brushing, rebraiding,
tying.
    " No damn clue," huffed Raen, and strolled over to them, tugging on Tisa's braid and Obi-Wan's ponytail as she sank down to
sit next to him on the floor. " I do know that the other instructors feel that I'm entirely too cozy and informal with the likes of you,
though. I'm not uptight enough to be counted in their ranks." she sighed, then giggled. "As if I would enjoy being so tight-assed
that I squeaked when I walked."
    The others laughed with her, and Mayna joined them after she shut down the system, lounging on her couch beside Tisa.
    " I'm just waiting. It's been too quiet. Something's bound to happen." Obi-Wan opined, and was firmly swatted upside the
back of his head by three women. "Hey!" he yelled, holding his  head.
    " Jinx! You just jinxed us all!" Raen yelled back, and Mayna roared in irritation, swinging a pillow at him. Tisa attacked,
tickling mercilessly, and Raen joined her. The impromptu melee was cut off by the door chime.
    They immediately stopped, and Raen hissed, "See?"
    Mayna answered the door, staring down at a young aide. She barked a question, and the aide backed up a step.
    " I'm here to find Instructor deMarcos?" he quavered, and Raen stepped up to the doorway, flicking a bit of pillow stuffing
out of Mayna's fur before answering.
    " Yes?"
    " You are requested to join Master Yoda at Senior Healer Vanya's quarters in one half hour," he recited, and she swung to
glare at Obi-Wan.
    " Jinx!" she hissed again, before turning a bright smile on the aide and sending him off with the message that she'd be there.
    " I'm gonna get you for this, Obi." she grunted, fixing her clothes. She shuddered. "Ugh. Healers,"
    " Master Vanya is a wonderful lady," Tisa sniffed, annoyed at Raen's reaction.
    " It's not her, Tisa. Raen just has a problem with healers." Obi-Wan closed down the link between himself and Raen, allowing
her the privacy to scream in her head, before he let it open again.
    " Are you ready?" he asked.
    " No," she smiled, "but I'm going anyway."
     Obi-Wan smiled at her, hugged the other two padawans, as did Raen, and they left together.
    "If I didn't like them both so much, I'd have to beat them senseless on a regular basis," Tisa said softly to Mayna as the
Wookiee gurgled with amusement and pulled her into her arms.

End Part 3.
 

Note:
It's been brought to my attention that I've neglected to adhere any disclaimers to this fic(Parts 1 and 2).
Righty. George( Lord God High King) Lucas owns just about everything, most certainly all things Star Wars. Obviously. That
said, let me clearly state that this is in no way meant to infringe copywrite of any kind, and I make NO MONEY from it. There
now, are we all lit? (grin) Can I go now? Oh, the story is mine, and so are the adjunct characters. Anybody who wants this, or
the other two, go for it, just tell me, please. Thanks, Rabid@cnmnetwork.com