Accismus⋆౨ৎ˚⟡.• Anakin Skywalker⋆౨ৎ˚⟡.•

34.

'I'm going to scout out the island with Artoo,' she informed while looking between the Jedi with an effort to control her jittering fingers. 'I have my commlink on me. I can take one of the clones with me, but I don't think I have to worry about an ambush. Unless the porgs are known for getting hostile?'

'No, they're relatively docile,' Obi-wan said.

'Are you sure you don't want me to come with you?' Anakin inched forward, but seemed to stop himself once he remembered who was in ear shot. He looked down at Sol with his intense eyes, as if pleading for her to say 'yes', but he stopped when Obi-wan's presence created a rift between them.

'No, I think I'll be okay,' Sol replied, looking at Obi-wan for a majority of her reply. The bearded man nodded with a small smile, glancing at Anakin's side profile, before it returned to her.

'If you're not back in two hours, we'll send someone out for you and Artoo,' Obi-wan said.

Sol nodded and allowed one look to Anakin, who took a step back to be in line with his ex-Master. His lips pressed into a tight line, and he wanted to say more when Sol turned her back to him to head over to R2. He watched as she collected a water pouch from the supplies before she and the droid set off on the gravel path. He was glad that he saw a long over robe over her arm, meaning that if she got cold, she would have some coverup. But after the sudden appearance of a Force ghost back on the ship, Anakin was uneasy at letting Sol wander the island on her own.

'Mind your thoughts, Anakin. I can sense your worry through the Force,' Obi-wan said as he looked at the commlink on his wrist. 'We have a bit of a grey area around the lower side of the island. If we can't contact Sol at any point, she'll probably be there. But we have nothing to be concerned about for now, so maybe some meditation is in order for you, young one.'

'I'll find out what Rex has in mind, first. But I don't think I can meditate here...'

'Why not? I sense a strong connection in the Force. It might be because of this being the birthplace of the Order. Places can hold history, and I sense a lot of it here.'

'I'm assuming you didn't see anything about this on your patrol?'

'Surprisingly not. Perhaps it was because I wasn't looking for it.'

---

'I don't know, Artoo. But I still don't know what to do about Anakin. I thought that what happened in the hanger would make him... say something direct. Don't get me wrong, I appreciated his comments about the tent arrangements, but I'm still lost on what to do or say...'

R2 shuffled his hefty body over the rocky terrain in an attempt to follow after the rambling Jedi. While she was able to climb over rocks and stumble down hills to find an easier way around a path, R2 had to wheel himself over a flat surface, or resort to using his jets to propel him through the air. Sol squinted through the winds that rolled off the sea and let out her thoughts to the droid that replied with beeps and boops that she was beginning to understand.

'I know Master Ani, and in my time in his presence, I've learnt he has his own way of doing things,' Sol was able to make out.

'So, you think there's not point in trying to push it along?' she asked over her shoulder as she climbed over a rock.

'If I were a humanoid, I would leave him to make the move.'

Sol sighed and made it onto a flat path. While she waited for R2 to make it over the rocks, she looked up the hill that led to the top of the island's main mountain. She would like to head up to the top but didn't want to put R2 through the journey of such a heavy incline. She said to herself that if she were to do another patrol in the coming days, she would make her way up to look out onto the surrounding ocean.

The Jedi and the droid continued along the path and passed a nest of porgs. The orange and white animals were small with large black eyes and had long ears that flopped down their back. Sol thought they were cute but didn't risk trying to get close in case their nests were marked as territorial for the animals. R2 eyed the little creatures that let out squeaks, and they eyed the droid in curiosity, before R2 turned his circular head around to continue after Sol.

'I would also appreciate if you didn't repeat any of this to Ani,' Sol said, watching her feet as she walked along the gravel path. 'Even though it might progress our... situation, but it's like how you said, I would prefer if he would make his own way-'

A familiar scream was heard, and Sol stopped in her rambles. She whipped around and looked to where R2 used to be, only to see him uncontrollably rolling down the slope on the right. His scream was loud as his wheels gained speed and his head circled around to look at Sol pleadingly as he headed for the cliff's edge.

'ARTOO!'

Sol cried as she broke out into a sprint. Her feet slipped against the gravel and grass, but she tried to keep her balance as she ran down the slope. Her intent was to intercept R2 by heading to where he would soon be and stop him and herself from going over the edge of the cliff. She prayed that there wasn't the drop to the ocean below, and that they would only fall to another ledge of land instead.

When R2 reached the ledge, Sol realised that she wasn't going to make it. In her panic, she threw out her hand with a call to the Force. Her stomach yanked with the pull and R2 was held in his place, the droid letting out a flurry of beeps that conveyed his panic and fear.

'It's alright. I've got you!' Sol let out in her huffs. She slowed into a walk and was able to guide R2 backwards onto land.

The droid's wheels edged his body back so that he wasn't teetering over the edge of the cliff and Sol was able to let the Force go from around him. The tension that had built up around Sol's shoulders was soothed and she audibly sighed at the relief. She threw her hand down by her side and decided to peak over the edge, seeing that the drop was indeed the ocean below. She felt the weight on her chest at the feeling of the sublime and the sight of the large, jagged rocks that protruded from the ocean hinted to a painful death.

'Maybe you should keep in front, Artoo-'

Sol's attempt at sass was cut short at the sight of something in the waves. She estimated it to be at least a hundred metres out from the island and would have missed it in the crash of the waves if she didn't use the Force to centre her attention. A grey fin sliced through the ocean and Sol was sure that it wasn't an animal, as there were metal panels visible in a man-made mechanical sense. Sol watched the fin make its way west and before it sunk down beneath the dark blue mass, she saw the unmistakable hexagon shape of the separatists.