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Aayla's always liked the easy atmosphere of the Temple on weekday afternoons.
It's lax but not completely still and quiet; most Padawans are still in classes, but some are out and about, many Masters are medidating, and she can hear the murmurs of Knights and giggles of younglings between each hallway she passes.
Master Vos, for his part, is out on a mission, so she's taking advantage of the empty spot on her schedule to go for a walk around the Temple grounds. Last time she did this, she discovered a hidden library behind one of the garden exits. Who knows what she'll find this time.
She ducks into a shadowed hallway somewhere between the Archives and the dorms, running a hand along the walls as she walks. This side of the hallway is textured and cold to the touch; it looks like it might be an engraving of some sort. One of the Sith Wars, maybe? No, wait, that figure's stance with the saber means it could be -
A slight sniffle interrupts her thoughts, and she looks up with a start. Is that. . . a Padawan in the corner?
She steps forward.
"Padawan Skywalker," Aayla says in surprise. "Are you all right?"
Anakin, who, upon second glance, is stuffed into a little nook between the wall and a strategically placed bench, wipes furiously at his face and glances up. This is far from the first time she's seen him around the Temple, but up close he seems. . . much younger than she expected. He can't be much older than ten.
"Padawan?" she asks again, taking another cautious step forward and shoving her hands into her robe pockets. "Anakin? What happened?"
"Nothing." Anakin flushes in embarrassment and tries to shove himself out of the little corner he's created. His eyes, now that she can see them, are slightly red-rimmed. She wonders if Master Kenobi knows he's here. "It's fine. Leave me alone."
Well, she can't in all good conscience do that.
Aayla carefully sits on the bench, a good couple of feet away from Anakin's corner. "I just want to help, Padawan." she says, "Please, you can talk to me. I won't tell anyone if that's what you're worried about."
"It's not that - " Anakin rubs at his eyes again, "it's just. . . nevermind, it's stupid."
"It isn't stupid if it's making you upset." she says gently, suddenly reminded of her creche master's favorite refrain. "Besides, I was the youngling who cried over my favorite tubers running out. I guarantee you it can't get much worse than that."
Anakin lets out an accidental giggle at that. "Really?"
"Really."
"I just. . . I miss my mom. A lot. 'nd it's stupid because I'm not s'pposed to, I'm supposed to be a good Jedi, but I still miss her so much and I can't tell Master Obi-wan because he'll be so disappointed in me but I can't tell my mom because she's not here and I'm just - " he shrugs helplessly.
Aayla had known that Anakin had come to the Temple late, but admittedly she doesn't know much about his life beforehand. Now that she thinks about it, that must have been quite an adjustment.
"That's just silly." she says instead. "Just because you're a Jedi doesn't mean you don't miss people. Jedi miss people all the time. In fact, I miss my Master right now."
At Anakin's look of confusion she adds, "He's out on a mission."
She leans back against the wall. "And. . . well, I think when you're feeling upset, even if it's silly, you should talk to your Master about it, even if it isn't something that can be fixed. It's your Master's job to teach you and help you. They can't help you if they don't know what's wrong, or if they don't even know that you're upset."
"You really think so?" Anakin asks, wide-eyed. "Obi-wan won't be mad?"
"Obi-wan is the nicest Jedi I know." Aayla says, thinking of all the times he'd stopped by the creche as a Padawan just to help out with the younglings. "Of course he won't be mad."
"Oh." Anakin says, sounding relieved, and she thinks she sees the beginnings of a smile crinkling at his mouth.
"In the meantime - do you have any classes right now, Padawan?"
"No." Anakin says, fidgeting with his sleeves. "It's s'pposed to be our lunch break right now."
"Well." She pauses. "Maybe it might help you feel better to talk about her. Would you like to tell me a story about your mother, Padawan Skywalker?"
Anakin looks thoughtful at that. He bites down on his lip and tugs at his braid. Suddenly his eyes light up.
"My mom used to love telling me stories."
"Really?" Aayla settles in a little closer.
"Yeah! One day I was out exploring, and that was super dangerous 'cause of Watto and the chip - " - the chip? - "but I found a pretty shell in the sand and I really wanted to show her! So when I got back I was scared she'd be mad, and she was kind of mad - and scared - but afterwards I gave her the shell and she told me that a long, long time ago, Tatooine was an ocean.”
“An ocean?” It makes some level of sense, Aayla supposes. She wonders if it's true, and what happened to the planet that rendered it to its desert state. In any case, Anakin seems much more relaxed and happier then before, and she doesn't have anywhere else to be, so she settles in.
"Yeah! And the sand was actually the ocean floor, and there were seashells like that one all over . . . "
It was a good walk, she decides to herself, watching Anakin continue his tale animatedly. A very good walk.
She should really take walks like this more often, no matter how her master might tease. Who knows what the next one will bring?