The Padawan and the Rebel

The Padawan: Purpose over Passion

A/N: The theme song for this chapter is Let Somebody Go by Coldplay and Selena Gomez. Sorry, I don't make the rules ;)

Obi-Wan sorted everything out for Adhara for her time away from him and Master Skywalker and Ahsoka. She was, of course, immensely grateful.

So why did it feel like her heart was breaking?

Obi-Wan wrapped her in a fleeting hug the morning he was to depart, while Anakin, Rex, Adhara, and the other clone troopers were to leave to Umbara.

"Do you think it's wise to send me off with Master Skywalker?" Adhara asked him.

Obi-Wan grimaced. "Would you think less of me if I wanted to separate you and Ahsoka as soon as possible?"

Now Adhara was the one grimacing. "Not at all, Master."

"I am planning for you to work with other Jedi asides from Anakin and myself, but this was the best way I could separate you two on such short notice. But I've spoken to Master Secura, and she's agreed to have you shadow her for a couple of weeks once you get back."

Adhara nodded, a smile pulling across her face - perhaps the first one in days. It would be nice to finally shadow a female Jedi. "And what about the Force Cloak? How do I master that?"

Obi-Wan began walking, and Adhara fell into step beside him. "It'll be tricky," he admitted. "You have to understand, you're the only one we know of with this ability. Try to focus on doing it again in Umbara and while training with Master Secura. If you can get a hold of it by yourself, that's great. If not, Master Yoda has agreed to help you master it."

"How long do you think this will take?"

Obi-Wan shrugged. "It's hard to say. Two months, maybe three." His gaze sharpened as he looked at Adhara, at how she wrung her hands in front of her.  Adhara was the one who was half Echani, but Obi-Wan seemed able to read her just as well as anyone from Eshan. "Do you think that will be enough time?"

"I hope so," Adhara muttered, her heart twisting inside of her.

********

"What do you mean, you're leaving?" Ahsoka snapped as Adhara shoved clothes in her bag. Adhara's eyelids flickered shut, and she forced herself to inhale through her nose, even though her legs trembled.

Somehow she had blinded herself so well to how Ahsoka made her feel, because now she was only a few feet away and it was sending Adhara into disarray. Her whole body felt like coming undone.

She had refused to look at her emotions for Ahsoka, but now that she'd seen, she couldn't look away.

Perhaps that's why her heart felt like it was splintering, lodging shards into her lungs and her throat and her soul.

She'd wanted to leave without seeing Ahsoka, to make it hurt less, but of course it couldn't happen that way. the Galaxy was spiteful, it seemed, because for whatever reason it was finally getting it's petty revenge on her.

Adhara couldn't look at Ahsoka as she continued packing. "I have been Master Kenobi's apprentice for some time, and I have learned a lot from both him and Master Skywalker. Now he thinks it's time I learned from another Jedi Master for a while."

"But you're leaving with Master Skywalker."

"Yes, because Master Kenobi asked him to take me. But as soon as I get back from Umbara, I'll be working with Master Secura and maybe Master Yoda."

Ahsoka exhaled hard through her nose. "I don't want you to go."

"Oh come on," Adhara said, shooting daggers at the Togruta with her eyes. "It's not like you have never gone and trained with another Master, Ahsoka."