Reluctance

by kaly (razrbkr@juno.com)

Homepage: Kalynn's Fan Fiction - XFiles, Profiler, Star Wars: TPM, Hercules, Young Hercules: http://www.geocities.com/kalyw/
Rating: G
Archive: want it? Ask, please.
Classification: very short
Warnings: post-tpm
Summary: A discussion between Master and student.

Feedback: Please, let me know what you think.

Notes: I was suffering from a horrible bout of writer's block months ago and this was me trying to work through it. This is very different from my usual thing.

Thank Yous: to Nicole and Kristi for reading over it and providing such . . . helpful title advice ;)

Disclaimer: Although no one is mentioned by name, even the physical characteristics aren't mine to own - even those probably belong to LucasFilm. There is no money being made here. *I am not the writer you are looking for, I may go about my fan fic. Move along.*

"Go to him you must."

He lowers his gaze, shaking his head. "I cannot."

"Your defiance, your own fear this is." The sharp words echo with the tap of wood on marble. "Nothing to do with the boy, is it."

"He is doing well, better than I might have asked." Spectral hands fold to lie hidden within flowing sleeves.

A nod. "Alone, he is."

"He has his own Padawan now, he is never alone."

Wizened eyes gaze up from under baleful lids. "His Master he lost. And more it does seem, lost a part of himself."

"And I shall always be near him, even if he is not to see me."

"Possible it is to feel alone among thousands." His large eyes close briefly, but open and gaze upward. "Close you were. Strongest of bonds did you have. Regret do you, this link?"

Brief fire lights up stoic eyes. "He was an exceptional student, my life's greatest joy. My only regret was that it took me so long to see what both you and the Force already knew - that his life was so interwoven with my own."

"Yet now, argue with us again, you do."

"He is a strong Jedi, and will be greater still." Sparks of contention shine in his sapphire eyes. "He has no need of my meddlesome interference any longer."

"Yes, very strong is he." A blink in agreement, but the other remains silent. "Yet, so sure are you, your attentions to be meddlesome?"

"He has his own path to fulfill. I have merely to stand aside."

"Again will it take the greatest of measures, to sway your opinions."

His lips curl up at the edges. "Always the teacher, my dear Master."

"And you, always the last to listen." There is the rough rap of his walking stick on the polished floor.

A fleeting laugh echoes softly. "If only to make your training a challenge."

Another nod, ears dipping low. "And the boy?"

He sighs. "A boy no longer, a teacher himself."

"You as a Master no longer sought guidance?" A harsh laugh. "I thought not. No longer in need of guiding, is he?"

"My failure will not be his, my Master."

Sorrowful eyes gaze into the swirling blue mist. "Yes, but shall he fail, will it be yours, my Padawan?"

End