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The Temple was quiet, a lull in the midday coming and goings of the beings who called it home, and Trouble was enjoying the sun from her usual afternoon spot. She was in ‘loaf form’ in the middle of the living space floor soaking in the warmth from the small window. As the day progressed she would move inch by inch to follow the glow. Her round face was tipped up, whiskers spread to their maximum radius and her dark eyes squinted shut both from pleasure and the dazzling radiance. She was purring softly.
Obi-Wan stepped over her automatically on his way to the kitchen. Trouble was like a piece of furniture now; an overstuffed pillow with free will. She reached out halfheartedly to bat at his foot but he had anticipated her move and had stepped wide enough her attack fell short. This was their game; one of many.
Face still buried in his data pad Obi-Wan hunted for a snack to help him focus on the lofty subject of hyperspace metaphysics. Food always made technical subjects more bearable. Aimlessly he opened and closed cupboard doors, dissatisfied with his findings. His soul longed for something sweet and ah ha right where he left them- some berry filled pastries he had nicked from the dining hall yesterday.
Trouble watched The Boy with interest as he rummaged the food area. Her cone like ears followed his every movement hoping he would open the place holding her food. Trouble was always hungry, as the wildling in her resisted conforming to set mealtimes. She preferred The Boy or The Man to feed her, but she had ways of feeding herself should her stomach require it. It would be nice if she didn’t have to go find a snack post midafternoon sun worship and she gazed hopefully at Obi-Wan. He remained oblivious to her silent scrutiny while securing his own treat.
The door chimed. Trouble’s head and ears rotated in an instant, something more interesting than food was afoot.
Obi-Wan paused mid bite; he wasn’t expecting anyone. With a dismissive wave of his hand Obi-Wan used the Force to open the door. Also his mouth was still filled with pastry so there was no calling enter. Still chewing he turned to see who interrupted his study time, but no one was there….
“Wha-?” his question was muffled by food.
Obi-Wan saw empty air because he was looking on the wrong level. Trouble however spotted their ‘guest’ and was a blur of motion. The Hunter had awakened, and the prey had no idea what was incoming.
Obi-Wan was still staring into the vacant hallway beyond the now closing door when the most horrible sound he had heard in ages erupted from the floor. Startled he looked down in time to witness the previously sedentary Loth cat tackle something. She made contact so hard with the whatever it shrieked and was bowled over, skidding along the stone floor a good three feet with Trouble attached to it by all four paws.
The second of pure shock wore off and Obi-Wan realized the frantically spinning object was a MSE-6 droid. Mercilessly Trouble was battering the shiny black droid into pieces. It managed to get its ‘feet’ under it and scoot away from its antagonist but Trouble was fast and very good at giving chase. The pair of combatants began a rampage around the living space, knocking into tables and chairs, sending a stack of Qui-gon’s paper books tumbling to the floor. Trouble finally got her claws deep into the droid and flipped it up into the air causing it to land on its back utterly defenseless.
The cacophony of sounds- Trouble growling and hissing, Obi-Wan screaming for mercy, and the droid squealing in mechanical terror- was enough to wake the dead on any world. It was certainly enough to raise the interest of anyone passing by in the hallway.
“Trouble! Stop!” Obi-Wan commanded for the fifth time, rushing to the droids aid, “That’s not a toy!”
Oh yes it was, better yet it was something that fought back, and that excited Trouble. This was no discarded sock, bare toes exposed under the covers or (her favorite) crumpled up piece of plastisheet; this was something that could die. Trouble was, for all her cute looks and soft coat, a wild animal and at the moment a self-fulfilling prophecy.
The MSE-6 was frantically spinning its wheels trying to get enough traction to get upright again, but Trouble easily, by both size and weight, kept it pinned to the floor while ripping at the outer shell of metal and plastic to expose the tender innards she knew where in there. Obi-Wan was beyond coherent words and was just shouting over the droids increasing volume of distress signals. All the noise further excited Trouble and she redoubled the efforts to murder her prey.
Some part of Obi-Wan’s brain was noting some frightening things about his Loth cat pet as her previously unnoted scimitar like claws shredded into the droids cover like it was flesh and not durasteel; or how ungodly long her fangs where as they ripped and tore a small wheel from the exposed underside and sent it flying under the couch. The same part of the boys mind noted he should absolutely under no circumstance put his own hand in the vicinity of any of those things.
The battle was reaching a fever pitch now and it was painfully clear the droid was about to lose. The whole scene was unbearable, particularly the noise, and Obi-Wan reached his limit.
“Trouble! Let it go!” He shouted at the top of his lungs. He threw his data pad at the pair, but it flew wide and ignored to skitter across the floor much like pieces of the droid which were also currently airborne. Muttering dark curses learned from interesting places Qui-Gon might have wanted to question him about the origins of; Obi-Wan leapt to the sink and filled a glass of water.
Trouble had one weakness- she loathed being wet or even damp. Two quick strides and Obi-Wan was on top of the still roiling mass of droid and cat. Without warning, and with a little help from the Force, he sent the contents of the glass sailing through the air and directly on to Trouble’s head.
The noises from before were nothing compared to the sound that ripped from the Loth cat as she flew straight up into the air and straight into another room without one paw even touching the floor. Like a bad spirit she was gone. Obi-Wan took a second to breathe while the poor droid whimpered at his feet.
“So sorry little friend,” he gently righted the messenger and winced when it tried to roll away from him in a hail of angry beeping but couldn’t, “Don’t worry. I can get you fixed up.” He didn’t dare leave the wounded unattended, so tucking it under his arm he went to fetch his repair tools.
He needn’t have worried, Trouble was deep under Qui-Gon’s bed licking her wounds and grumbling to herself, which would have been quite menacing if anyone where there to hear her complaints. Obi-Wan collected the various bits and pieces of the droid from around the living space, including an inelegant stretch to retrieve the wheel (and some other Trouble made treasure deposits) from under the couch.
Seated on the floor he began careful reassembly of the still very clearly ticked off machine. His muttered apologies died down as the repairs became more complicated and he needed to focus. Trouble peeked around the doorjamb and watched from a safe distance.
It was in this very strange tableau Qui-Gon found them all when blissfully unaware of the chaos which awaited him, he entered their quarters.
One glance took in all, Obi-Wan on the floor, the totaled droid in his Apprentice’s lap, Trouble skulking in his own room- “What in all worlds happened in here?” he asked not without some amusement.
Obi-Wan looked up startled, but was relieved when it was only his Master. “Oh. Trouble caught a Mouse.”
“Is that so?” Qui-Gon raised an eyebrow then glanced at Trouble. She took his eye contact as an invitation to rejoin humanity and she trotted over to him chirping excitedly. Obi-Wan gave her a wary look and he felt the droid shudder.
Qui-Gon reached down to give her a gentle pat on the head, “I suppose you were only doing your job.”
“Master! She destroyed this thing!” Obi-Wan protested holding up the mostly reassembled MSE-6 which beeped angrily in agreement.
“You can’t blame her for doing what comes naturally, she is a wild animal Obi-Wan,” Qui-Gon countered. Currently a very soft, purring and ingratiating one as Trouble wound around his feet and rubbed against him; but an instinctual killer never the less.
Obi-Wan sighed and set the finished droid down to run a reset test. Trouble’s ears perked dangerously.
“No.” Both Jedi commanded her.
Obi-Wan was not up for another round of Loth cat and Mouse droid. Trouble’s tail twitched in obvious annoyance but she obeyed and stayed seated at Qui-Gon’s feet. She stopped purring and remained ready to spring at a heartbeats notice.
The droid finished its reset and buzzed loudly indicating that it had a message to deliver. In all the anarchy of before it totally escaped Obi-Wan that the droid had come with legitimate purpose, not to become Loth cat fodder. “It’s for you.” He gazed up at his Master.
“Alright then friends, let’s have some tea to settle ourselves and see what news this intrepid droid has brought us.” There was no way Qui-Gon was handling any more of this insanity without tea. He was horrified to find the kitchen had not been left unscathed during the battle- the sink was running full bore…
“I can explain that,” Obi-Wan said sheepishly, running over to turn it off.
“I really think you should walk me through this whole event,” Qui-Gon chuckled, “I think I may have missed something truly exciting.”
Trouble slunk after them, giving the Mouse a wide berth and a low growl. The droid cowered and rushed to the safety of Obi-Wan, bumping into his heels as he stood at the sink filling the tea kettle. “Trouble,” he warned in a low voice.
Satisfied her dominance was reestablished the cat returned to her sun patch to watch the humans and the inedible intruder. Her hunt had not yielded satisfactory results; she would need to seek other prey to fill her rumbling belly. She had time, the day was still young, and who knew what would come through the door next.