Chapter Text
The temple was burning, the men in white armour had betrayed them, someone who he loved now hated him and Obi-Wan couldn’t stop crying.
He’d had another vision, his Crèche Master always told him the future isn’t set in stone but he had to focus on the present. But how could he when everyone was going to die! He sniffed again and pulled his blanket around him a bit tighter. He shouldn’t have run out of the Crèche in the middle of the night, now he had no idea where he was!
It didn’t help that it was dark now too, dim lights along the corridor made everything look creepy. Obi-Wan couldn’t help but think about Quinlan’s story of ghosts haunting the lower parts of the temple. He sniffed again, using the corner of the blanket to wipe at the tears slowly escaping. He couldn’t cry, he was going to be a Jedi knight, he had to be brave.
Shuffling along the corridor Obi-Wan peered around the corner, whimpering when he didn’t recognise the next corridor. Why was the temple so big!
“Now, what is a youngling doing all the way out here?”
Obi-Wan jumped and almost screamed. Turning at the voice behind him and looking up to a very imposing looking Master.
“I-I’m lost!” Obi-Wan hated that the tears started falling faster and attempted to wipe them away before the Master noticed and told him he wasn’t being a good Jedi.
Instead, he heard a soft cooing noise as the master knelt down in front of him.
“Now now young one, no need for tears.” The master pulled a soft handkerchief out of a pocket Obi-Wan just stared as the master wiped his face clean, the handkerchief seemed to have hand sewn patterns around the edge, far too nice for him to use to dry his eyes. The shock of this more than anything else seemed to stop Obi-wan crying.
“Feeling better young one?”
“Y-yes thank you Master,”
The master in front of him slowly stood, carefully brushing off the dust from his knees before reaching for Obi-Wan, settling the young boy on his hip as he started to walk back the way Obi-Wan had come from.
“Now, let’s get you back to the crèche, I’m sure your master must be worried.”
“Sorry,” Obi-Wan mumbled, “I don’t mean to be a pain, I’m sure you have better things to do.”
“Nothing more important than helping you at this time young one. Might I know your name?”
“Oh, I’m Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan Kenobi.”
“It is a pleasure to meet you young Kenobi, despite it being far too late for younglings to be out and about. I am Master Dooku.”
“P-pleasure to meet you too,” Dooku chuckled softly at Obi-Wan attempt of copying the polite greeting.
“Now, what exactly had you wandering around the halls this late?”
“I didn’t mean to, I just didn’t wanna wake anyone else up.” Obi-Wan muttered.
“Hm? And why, pray tell, would you wake others up?”
Obi-Wan leant into master Dooku’s hold, “Keep having visions. I don’t mean to wake everyone. Master Peiia says I’m too loud in the force and I don’t release my feelings well, and it wakes everyone up. I know I have to do better, and focus on the now and not visions, but but -“
“Shhh little one, take a deep breath.”
Obi-Wan did as he was told, trying to get rid of the rising panic as he thought about the visions again.
“These visions, you have them often?” Master Dooku asked.
Obi-Wan nodded. “Y-yeah.”
“Hmm, are they always the same?”
“Mostly. Sometimes there’s more details than other times.”
Obi-Wan started to recognise some of the halls they were walking down, they were now near the Room of a Thousand Fountains. Master Peiia sometimes brought his Crèche clan here after lessons had finished.
“Would you like to talk about them? Maybe I could help with them.”
“But, but Master Peiia says I shouldn’t focus on them.”
“And has that helped?”
“N-not yet. But I’m not very good at meditating,” Obi-Wan admitted, feeling ashamed at not being good enough and having to tell the master how bad he was.
“You know, I use to hate meditating as a youngling, in fact it wasn’t until after I was Knighted that I started to enjoy it.”
“Really?!”
“Indeed, I used to sneak out of as many meditation classes as possible. My master managed to find out every time though. He always made me do handstands as a punishment.”
Obi-Wan giggled at the thought of this stern looking master sneaking out of classes and getting caught.
“How about this, you tell me about the visions, I promise to help in any way I can with them, and then I’ll sneak you back into the crèche so not even your Crèche Master will know you left.”
“Y-you won’t tell them I ran away?”
“No, it’ll be our secret.”
“O-Okay, thank you Master Dooku.”
They pair detoured into the Room of a Thousand Fountains. Master Dooku taking them to a small section of the room which was mostly secluded from any passers-by. Not that there was many this late at night, but it did make Obi-Wan feel a bit more secure that no one else was watching. The pair settled down, both kneeling on the soft grass. Master Dooku making sure that Obi-Wans blanket covered the young boy properly before speaking.
“Now then youngling. Tell me about this vision of yours.”
“Well, it normally starts with a big group of armoured humanoids. They’re all wearing painted armour in different colours and, and -” Obi-Wan faltered, not having spoken about his visions to someone in a while and not use to someone properly listening to him.
“Take your time.”
Obi-Wan took a deep breath before continuing.
“It’s strange, I know there’s years between all the visions but they all feel linked? Like dominoes, one happens which leads to the next then the next and so on.”
“And these men in armour is the start of it?”
Nodding Obi-Wan continued. “Yes Master, they’re all killed.” Master Dooku raised an eyebrow, “all but one, I think? The Jedi killed them but they were all innocent, it was a trick! It was the men in the black and blue amour who set it all up.”
“Jedi killed them?”
“Y-yes, I couldn’t make out faces, but they were fighting people with lightsabres. The Jedi were used to get rid of them. Like, like attack dogs!”
“Easy little one, do you think you could show me what these armoured men look like?”
Obi-Wan frowned. “I, I think so? We haven’t done much about that in our lessons yet, and I'm not very good at it.” The last part was added quietly, hoping the Master didn't hear him.
“I will guide you, not to worry.”
Dooku held out his hand and Obi-Wan laid his palm over it, he could feel the force presence of the master in front of him and, as gently as he could, he imagined himself sending over the image of the armoured men. He’d been told he could be too loud and forceful when using the force before so he focused hard on doing everything properly, he didn’t want to give this Master any reason to dislike him.
A few seconds later and Master Dooku's force presence retreated. “Very good, that was well done young Kenobi.”
Obi-Wan blushed, “T-thank you,”
“This is not the only vision you have?”
“N-no. Sometimes I see us all fighting in a war. I-it’s a big war, everyone’s in it. All the Jedi and so many more as well. And there’s lots of men in white armour, and I know that in the vision I trust them completely. But then they turn on us. I don’t know why; they were our friends.
“After that, the temple burns and everyone with it. There’s nothing left. There’s so much pain and fire and suffering. And someone screams at me. They, they h-hate me. But I can feel that I love them. I know I shouldn’t Master, Jedi aren’t meant to have attachments and -“ Obi-Wan felt tears starting to fall again
“Hush little one, who told you that we cannot love.”
“Master Peiia, she said that we can’t have a-attachments coz it’ll make us fall. I don’t want to fall!” Obi-Wan was crying properly again now and frantically trying to wipe his eyes.
Master Dooku shifted, pulling Obi-Wan close for a hug.
“Well Master Peiia is wrong. Jedi are allowed to love. But you must be careful with it. You cannot love possessively; it becomes a problem when we cannot let go. If you have to choose between saving the person you love, or doing your duty as a Jedi and saving planets or groups of people? If you use the force to trick or coerce the people you love into staying? There are multiple reasons why love for a Jedi is dangerous. But that does not mean it is not allowed.”
“O-oh, t-that makes sense. So, I can love my friends?
“Yes, as long as you don’t become possessive with that love, there is no problem with it.”
“T-thank you master.”
“It is no problem young one. Now, is there anything else about these visions?”
“J-just one more, I’m alone, in a desert. It still feels like everything’s burning but more like the force is still burning. But it’s all dark in the force, I can’t feel anyone! I-it’s just me and I think I’ve been alone for a l-long time and in the vision I’m so sad Master. I-I don’t think I want to live that life, not if everything hurts that much.”
Obi-Wan leaned into Dooku’s hold on him, the Master slowly rubbing his back as he wrapped his force presence around him attempting to comfort the boy.
“It does indeed sound like a disturbing set of visions. And you have told your Crèche Master about them all of them? How often do you get them?”
“Maybe a few times a week Master. It's not always all of them, but it always starts with the armoured men. I tried telling Master Peiia, she said I have to focus on the present so I’ve never told her all of them before, I didn't want to disappoint her.”
“Hmm, that is one way of dealing which minor force visions, but often does not work with much stronger visions. A close friend of mine, Master Sifo-Dyas, often has excessively strong force visions, I will ask him for some advice.”
“R-really?!”
“Yes, now. I believe it is far past your bed time young one.” Master Dooku said right as Obi-wan attempted to stifle a yawn.
“Yes master, I think so.” Standing up without letting Obi-Wan go Master Dooku returned to their previous journey of heading to the crèche and true to his word, easily snuck into the dorms without alerting any of the Crèche Masters.
“Sleep well Obi-Wan.”
“You too Master Dooku, thank you for helping me.”
“It was my pleasure little one.”
Obi-Wan watched as the man crept back out of the dorm without making a noise before quickly falling back to sleep.