Beads of sweat trailed down Layna's temple as she sprinted to the parking lot, following closely behind the blonde Padawan who was just a tad faster than she was. Her eyes of dark brown closed momentarily as she attempted to sense Obi-Wan's presence, and visibly paled when she felt his presence grow farther and farther. They needed to hurry.
"Over here!" Anakin rounded a corner, with the younger girl following suit and she exhaled out a sigh of relief upon seeing the various parked speeders in the parking lot. Her older friend did not hesitate to climb into a yellow colored speeder nearby, and she'd normally stop to consider her options before borrowing a stranger's vehicle but she knew that there was no time to do so this time.
She hopped onto the yellow speeder, taking the seat beside Anakin and buckled herself in. Glancing to her left, she was met with Anakin's piercing ocean blue gaze and gave him a nod, which he returned. The Padawan then started up the speeder, backing up once it started up and exited the parking lot in a swift motion.
Layna definitely had no problems with flying, but this is probably the first time she has actually attempted to fly with Anakin as the pilot. She knew just how skilled the boy was with piloting, she has seen first-hand during his last podrace ten years ago. With such speed and mastery of the controls, Layna knew he could catch up to that droid immediately.
Layna felt the strong winds slap against her face, her hair whipping wildly in the wind as they zoom past the other cruisers stuck in traffic. She kept her eyes on the man holding onto the retreating droid, hoping that the auburn haired man would hold on just a little longer.
Anakin sped through the air, managing to avoid the other speeders hovering nearby as Layna kept a close eye on the bearded man, who was around a hundred feet away. She let out a gasp when the droid suddenly exploded, causing the Jedi Knight to fall from where he was flying. "Hurry, Anakin!"
Layna watched as Obi-Wan hurtled downwards, an anxious expression on her face as she worried for her old friend. She lurched to the right as Anakin swerved abruptly, towards the direction of the man plummeting a hundred feet through the air. She breathed out a sigh of relief when Obi-Wan landed on the back of the speeder, holding on tightly as Anakin continued to maneuver at high speed.
"Are you alright, Master?" the younger Jedi asked the man who plopped down onto the seat next to her. Since the speeder was only made for two people, Layna was practically pushed up against Anakin's side when the bearded man took the other vacant seat.
Obi-Wan nodded in reply, his gray-blue eyes peering over at the nineteen year old Padawan. "What took you so long?" he asked Anakin, whose lips twitched upwards into a smirk.
"Oh, you know Master, I couldn't really find a speeder that I liked," Anakin responded, causing Layna to roll her eyes. Her dark eyes found the speeding vehicle of the assassin, who was attempting his escape and pointed to it as Anakin continued to drone on about the vehicle they borrowed. "There he is!"
"If you spent as much time practicing your saber techniques as you do your wit, you would rival Master Yoda as a swordsman!" Obi-Wan practically shouted as Anakin increased the speed of the vehicle even further, the young girl growing to enjoy the feeling of the winds whipping against her.
"I thought I already did?" she heard Anakin ask, and she couldn't help but let out a loud laugh, turning to the older boy with an amused smile on her face. Anakin glanced over at the brunette for a few seconds, before turning his attention back to piloting the yellow speeder.
"As if," she reached up to pat his shoulder, grinning at the blonde boy as he shook his head with a faint smile on his pink lips. She felt her pulse pick up as Anakin maneuvered through the Coruscant traffic with such speed, a grin making its way onto her face as she enjoyed the feeling of having the wind whipping against her and her heart rate accelerating due to the adrenaline. Glancing to her right, she bit down on her bottom lip upon seeing the expression on Obi-Wan's face, knowing that the Jedi did not quite enjoy flying, at all.
Layna felt the speeder lurch downwards with high speed, a loud laugh escaping the girl as the speeder plummeted through the air. "Pull up, Anakin! Pull up!" she heard Obi-Wan yell through the harsh winds, with Anakin's laughter ringing to her left. "You know I don't like it when you do that!"
"Sorry Master," Anakin had a huge smile on his face as he apologized, glancing to his right to look at the auburn haired man, who looked like he was going to start throwing up any moment now. Layna had to place a hand to her lips to stop herself from giggling, turning away from the older Jedi Knight beside her. "I forgot you don't like flying."
"I don't mind flying, but what you're doing is suicide!"
Anakin let out another laugh as he glanced downwards, smirking as he nudged the brunette girl seated next to him. "Layna, could you take over for a bit?" Layna shot the boy a questioning look, agreeing nonetheless as she took control of the wheel, her eyes widening in surprise as Anakin pushed himself off the seat and jumped off the speeder.
"Anakin!" Layna yelled the blonde boy's name, taking the boy's place in the speeder as she stepped on the breaks. Once the speeder stopped completely, the Jedi girl took this time to check on the blonde boy who was still free falling.
"I hate it when he does that," Obi-Wan murmured from beside her, shaking his head as he pinched the bridge of his nose. Layna didn't think that Anakin would be such a rebellious Padawan, but then again, he was quite the rebellious soul when they were still both young. She liked to think that he picked it up from her, but she would have thought that he'd grow out of that mischievous phase, like she did years ago. But apparently he didn't, not yet.
The female Jedi breathed out a relieved sigh when she saw that Anakin had landed safely on the assassin's speeder, and the girl quickly stepped on the gas to follow Anakin and the assassin. She narrowly avoided the surrounding buildings and other speeders nearby, ignoring the angry yells aimed at her as she focused on the speeder Anakin was holding onto for dear life.
Her eyes soon found a familiar looking object flying through the air, and the Jedi Knight seated beside her quickly reached out to grab it, inspecting it with a small frown when he saw that it was a lightsaber. Layna rolled her dark eyes, seeing as there wasn't any other Jedi around, she could immediately tell that this was Anakin's. The Padawan was now left weaponless, dodging the assassin's laser blasts as he continued to keep a tight grip on the vehicle.
All of a sudden, the assassin's cockpit burst into flames and began to descend to the ground. Layna quickly maneuvered her way around the nearby structures and followed the crashing speeder closely, her eyes following the figure that fell to the ground. "Be careful, Anakin." she whispered softly as she tried to find a safe place to park the speeder.
"Here, I can sense that he's heading west," Obi-Wan pointed to the left, and the younger Jedi noddd her head, following her old friend's instructions as she parked the speeder near a rather crowded spot. She hopped out of the yellow speeder as soon as it powered down, sprinting to the direction of the Padawan running towards a building with a bright yellow sign.
"Anakin!" She placed her hands on the Padawan's shoulders, to stop him from entering the club. The blonde teenager turned to the younger teen, looking slightly disheveled with sweat rolling down his temple. His gaze lifted and he quickly pointed towards the club's entrance, the younger Jedi peering over her shoulder to look at her best friend's Jedi Master.
"She went into the club, Master!" Layna stepped to the side, clasping her hands together as she watched the tall Padawan approach his Master, his bright eyes darting towards her for a brief second before focusing on the blue eyed man sixteen years older than him.
"Patience, use the Force, think." The Jedi Knight instructed the young Padawan, who seemed to be catching his breath. Anakin nodded his head, placing a hand on his midsection as he took in deep breaths of air. "He went in there to hide, not to run."
"Yes, Master," Anakin nodded once more, his eyes trailing downwards when his Master presented him a rather familiar looking object. Layna pursed her lips as Anakin took the lightsaber from his Master sheepishly, his teeth biting down on his bottom lip as he placed the lightsaber back into his utility belt.
"Next time, try not to lose it. This weapon is your life." Anakin nodded his head as Obi-Wan walked towards the club's entrance, leaving the young Jedis alone with one another. "I try, Master."
Layna glanced over at her best friend briefly, sending a small smile his way before following after the Jedi who went ahead of them. "Why do I get the feeling that you're gonna be the death of me?" she heard Obi-Wan say, and within a few seconds, Anakin was walking right beside her with his head lowered, a tiny frown appearing on his face.
"Don't say that, Master. You're the closest thing I have to a father," Anakin replied, as the three Jedi step into the club's main area. Layna's dark eyes scanned the area of the club, immediately using her sharp senses to try and locate the hiding assassin. She realized that this would not work, as she never really saw the assassin nor was she ever close enough to get a actually sense the assassin's energy, and her focus soon dissipated as she shook her head with a frown.
"I can't locate the assassin," the young Jedi informed the two men. Anakin and Obi-Wan glanced over at the smaller girl, who folded her arms across her chest as she turned her head to study the faces of the people present in the club. "There's too many people."
The eldest of the three Jedi turned to Anakin, who was searching the room with his bright eyes. "Can you see him?"
Anakin had a look of concentration on his face as his light blue eyes scanned the entire room, and the young girl hoped that he could find whoever this assassin was quickly so they could finish the job as soon as possible. The sooner they find out who's trying to kill the Senator, the sooner she could relax as her friend's life is on the line.
"I think he is a she, and I think she's a changeling," the tall Padawan turned his head to exchange looks with his Master. Layna ran her fingers through her hair, a small pout appearing on her lips as she realized that the assassin being a changeling will make things much harder for them.
Obi-Wan's gray blue eyes flickered to the younger girl's, then back to the Padawan's, before nodding his head curtly. "In that case, be extra careful. You two, go and find her." The auburn haired Jedi started to leave, but Layna held an arm out to stop him from taking another step. Obi-Wan lifted his head to look at the young girl, his eyebrow raised as he peered over at her tanned face.
"Where are you going, Master?" she pursed her lips as she asked her old friend, who just gave her a small smile. She was genuinely curious as to where Master Kenobi will go if she and Anakin were to search for the changeling themselves.
"For a drink." Layna's dark gaze focused on the bar, nodding as she slowly withdrew her outstretched arm. Obi-Wan's light eyes lingered onto the teenage girl for a few moments, before he started to head towards the bar located at the center of the club. The brunette girl turned to face Anakin, and the two Jedi exchanged glances before heading off to the opposite direction.
Layna began her search, her dark eyes taking as much as possible as she and Anakin looked for the changeling they were looking for. She didn't exactly know what they look like, and she was hoping that Anakin could identify the assassin, so they could finish the job by tonight. Glancing over her shoulder, her dark eyes met with Anakin's bright ones, causing her breath to hitch ever so slightly.
"Do you see her?" Layna asked the older boy, whose eyebrows rose upon hearing her question. Anakin blinked twice, shaking his head as he tore his light blue eyes away from the brunette's chocolate brown ones. Layna watched as Anakin's ocean colored eyes narrowed as they surveyed the room for a moment, before turning back to her with a shake of his head. "We'll keep looking, then."
Layna continued to search the room with Anakin following closely behind her, and the younger girl tried to use the Force to at least feel where the assassin might be. If anyone had any malicious intentions, she would feel it almost immediately. She could feel the emotions of the people nearby, her dark eyebrows meeting when she felt peculiar emotions radiating off of the ones near her. They were emotions of curiosity, interest and... was that lust?
The eighteen year old studied the expressions on the women nearby as she and Anakin passed them by, and the looks in their eyes were not missed by the brunette girl. The female species of various types of lifeforms eyed the young Padawan as he walked behind the smaller girl, and Layna could feel a small flame of anger burning inside of her upon seeing the looks in the women's eyes. She didn't understand how Anakin couldn't feel the emotions radiating off of the women around him, it was blatantly obvious to the brunette girl.
Layna sensed a rather negative emotion radiate from someone nearby, and a premonition of danger was immediately felt by the young girl. She shoved the petty feelings she was currently having down, focusing on the task at hand as she locked gazes with Anakin once more. The blue eyed boy gave her a curt nod, which meant that he, too, sensed the imminent danger that was about to occur.
She heard a loud grunt from the direction of the bar, and her head whipped towards the center area of the club. She spotted Obi-Wan had his blue lightsaber drawn and was standing in front of a woman clad in black, who seemed to be missing a hand, no doubt the result of Obi-Wan Kenobi's handiwork. The twosome quickly made their way to the bar, just as Obi-Wan wrapped an arm around the changeling and lifted her up, knowing that she was already too weak to walk.
"Easy, Jedi business. Go back to your drinks," Anakin told the spectators, who stopped whatever they were going to see what was going on in the middle of the club. The auburn haired man carried the injured changeling outside the club for questioning, with the young woman and the young man trailing closely behind him.
Layna and Anakin followed Master Kenobi as he took the changeling outside, setting her down on the floor as she let out a grunt. Layna's dark eyes wandered downwards, catching sight of the woman's arm which now lacked a hand, and inhaled sharply, as she could never get used to the sight of seeing people getting dismembered during their missions.
"Do you know who it was you were trying to kill?" Obi-Wan began to question the woman, who looked up at him and let out a quiet moan, her breaths shallow as she tried not to let the pain get to her. Layna could feel the woman's inner thoughts, most of them about the excruciating pain she was feeling and the worries of what will become of her when her partner finds out that she has failed her mission.
"The Senator from Naboo," the changeling's dark eyes met Obi-Wan's, who had a small frown plastered on his face as he stared down at the woman lying on the cement floor. "Who hired you?"
"It was just a job."
Layna watched as Anakin leaned in closer to the pained changeling, and the female Jedi could feel the emotions stirring up inside her best friend as he stared at the woman clad in black lying on the floors outside the club. "Who hired you? Tell us," Anakin pursed his lips upon her lack of response, and Layna could feel Anakin's patience wearing thin with every passing second. "Tell us now!"
The woman visibly swallowed, fear welling up inside the changeling upon hearing the Padawan almost shout at her to get the information he needed. "It-it was a bounty hunter called-"
But she never got to finish that sentence, as something shot through the air and stuck into the woman's neck. The three Jedi turned around in alarm, searching for whoever or whatever interrupted the changeling's revelation. All three turned around just in time to see what appeared to be a man in a suit, blasting off using a jetpack to escape.
Layna focused her attention back to the changeling in Obi-Wan's arms, her eyes widening in surprise as the changeling began to revert to its original form, mumbling something in an alien language she did not understand before taking her final breath.
Obi-Wan plucked the small object lodged onto the changeling's neck, which seemed to be the cause of its untimely demise. His gray-blue eyes narrowed onto what seemed to be a dart of some kind, turning it over to examine it carefully. "Toxic dart."
Layna let out a groan as she folded her arms across her chest, huffing as she glanced up at the night skies of Coruscant, feeling absolutely drained, both physically and mentally. "Why do people like making our job so damn difficult?"
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mmm this entire chapter was a bit ehh tbh and it was boring but completely necessary
plus we got little layna getting all jealous of the female attention ani was receiving :)))