Saga Protégé: Padawans; Anakin, Dooku; 2nd in AU series (Ch. 5/5 complete 1/11)

Title: Protégé: Padawans
Authors: Persephone_Kore and Dreagoddess
Timeframe: Post-TPM
Characters: Anakin, Dooku, others
Genre: General, AU
Keywords: Dooku, Anakin, training
Summary: Sequel to "Protégé: Chosen." Dooku and Anakin begin learning to deal with one another, and Anakin meets the unexpected while seeking his lightsaber crystal in the caves of Ilum.
Notes: Anakin's early issues with gymnastics were probably inspired by one of Fernwithy/JediGaladriel's stories.

Previously in series:
Protégé: Chosen.

Chapter 1

Dodging a slung projectile when Anakin sent it winging across their quarters on his way through the door was not exactly challenging, but dealing with the action might be. Dooku ducked, stopped the flight of the errant circuitry with a pull on the Force, and sat up to arch his eyebrows sternly. "What was that display of temper about?"

"It's not temper," Anakin muttered, kicking at the floor with his feet. "Just...irritated." His datapad landed on the table with a clatter as Anakin divested himself of his remaining belongings.

"That would usually come under the heading of temper," Dooku pointed out. "Also, while I, the datapad, and whatever you threw at me remain undamaged, that wouldn't be the case for every possible target. Releasing your irritation into the Force would be more appropriate." He examined the thing he'd retrieved, didn't recognize it, and set it on the table. "That technique is still new to you, or I'd have you use it to calm yourself before answering this question, but meanwhile -- why are you irritated?"

"Nothing," Anakin growled. "I'm fine. They're all just stupid anyway."

"Padawan," Dooku said, "I somehow doubt that, although it is possible that 'they' are not behaving wisely either. Come sit down." He made his own words less sharp than he was inclined to, turning the command into an invitation. This time. "And please, explain a bit more clearly."

Anakin sat. And burst out, "I just went to class like you told me to! I wasn't doing anything wrong. I don't want to know all that stupid stuff anyway." He leaned back against the arm of the couch, his arms crossed obstinately. "They didn't have to laugh at me."

"Ah," Dooku said, and sighed. "No, they did not. And should not."

"It's not like turning flips on a high-wire is going to help anybody on Tatooine. Don't know why they expect me to do it." He sighed. "Can't I just train with you? I don't want to go to those stupid classes!"

"Thank you for the mark of confidence, but I'm afraid," Dooku said firmly, "that there are often tasks we must complete, and do well and calmly... despite the poor behavior of others. I can focus some of your instruction time apart from classes on the topics you need to catch up on, but you will still have to attend several of them and learn the material." He wasn't pleased with himself, either, for failing to realize that gymnastics would be a problem. It had always been so generally considered fun. But of course Anakin was starting from the beginning there too. He'd done most of his cavorting on Tatooine in vehicles.

Anakin blew out a breath and leaned his head back. "But I don't want to! They just laugh at me! No one wants to talk to me! I tried, but they won't." Another huff. "I don't know what I'm doing wrong!"

Dooku sighed. "Wrong? No." Well, at the moment he was being petulant, but Dooku thought it very probable that he'd approached his classmates in much the same way he'd approached new meetings on Naboo. "You're new, and different, among a group that has been taught together for over half their lives and had every reason to think that there wouldn't be anyone new coming in at this age. You know things they don't and don't know many of the things they do; you haven't been taught the same expectations they have. Jedi are trained to appreciate and seek to understand the unfamiliar, but we're no more naturally immune to being unsettled by it than

 

oh this is SO good! Keep keep going!

 

Dooku rather thought Yoda's temper might naturally be more like Anakin's.

I think so too, and I quite like the idea. I am also really interested to see how Anakin and Obi-Wan's relationship develops in this story's circumstances. Lovely work. You two are doing an excellent job teaching me about Dooku.

 

Nice! I like it

 

Nice to see an update to this intiguing AU. Thanks for the PM!

 

What an interesting concept! I love it.

 

Excellent story telling!!

I always like stories where Anakin is friends with Obi-Wan rather than a subordinate.

Love the Dooku portrayal as well!

Very very captivating!

 

Do continue. I want to see more. Both are such incredibly realistic characterizations.

 

Yay! Sequel's up! *bounces*

Love the beginning of this story. Dooku's style of teaching seems to work well with Anakin, and their beginning seems much more hopeful this time around. At least they don't have the death of a loved one standing between them.

*chuckles* I do feel a little sorry for Dooku, seeing him so utterly confused by Anakin's outburst. Poor man, I don't think he's had to deal with a child as young as Anakin before, has he? *g* Hopefully Obi-Wan will calm Anakin down a bit, and Dooku can gain some insight as to what is bothering him.

Again, wonderful start! Can't wait to see what comes next!

 

Awesomesause.

 

Great Update!

 

I've just finished reading the prequel of this piece, and I really like what you did here! Your take on Dooku is refreshing, and Anakin's little quirks and thought processes that hint at his upbringing is really insightful.

Could you please add me to the PM list? I wouldn't want to miss an update.

 

great start! er... continuation! er... whatever.

good job! can't wait for more!

 

Wow.

Dooku training Ani is such an interesting twist.

Superb writing. Once again, the attention to detail was outstanding.

Please add me to the pm list.

Thanks for a wonderful read.

 

This is great.

Add me to the list, if you would please.

 

Hi! I am so following this! This is great! Very insightful and yet the relationships are of comradeship even though there are differing viewpoints.

Do you have any books/comics/sources to recommend so I can get the official back story of Dooku? I am an eager fan seeking knowledge! Well done and very enjoyable!

 

Love the dynamic between Anakin and Dooku. Also look forward to seeing the differences in how Dooku deals with Anakin and his emerging power and ability to sulk, as to how Obiwan did. Look forward to reading the next part as and when.

 

JediKaren: Thank you, and we will.

Gabri_Jade: You know, a lot of the stuff that makes it into our posted work had been rambled over previously in discussion or even other scenes we were playing with, but I think the idea of Yoda and Anakin having basically similar temperaments (which, obviously, developed in rather different directions...) just popped in during this one. And you are about to see more of Anakin and Obi-Wan in the, ah, lower-pressure situation from this timeline....

EECHUUTA: Thanks, we're glad!

DountCooku: We're glad you're interested; thanks for asking for the PM.

VaderLVR64: Hi, glad you enjoyed it. Your boy is going to have an interesting journey shortly....

SHADOW_MASTER_W: Thank you for the comments. Obi-Wan is happier in this timeline because Qui-Gon is alive, and under less stress because he's not training an unexpected padawan.

darth_treyvah: Hey, I recommended one of your stories to someone recently. We're glad you're interested in this one. The story's actually written, along with a couple of sequels further on; the delay is that I (PK) am a slowpoke about editing and posting. I'm trying to do better.

AngelQueen: *grin* We appreciate your enthusiasm. Dooku's bewilderment is less because of Anakin's age, I think, and more because -- as Obi-Wan will shortly point out, actually -- he's used to Jedi kids. Obviously he knows Anakin is not only an individual but one with a very unusual background, and he has both a reasonable level of observational skill and the assistance of the Force... but this doesn't mean he automatically understands or can predict all of Anakin's reactions. In some ways this may be just as well. If he could anticipate and react to everything perfectly, he might have to pretend otherwise to keep Anakin from feeling too creeped out and "surrounded."

zonzo: Thanks.

MagicToo: Also thanks.

baru-chan: Thank you for reading! Our take on Dooku entertains us, and we like to share sometimes. Paying attention to Anakin's background tends to be important... it plays into a lot of both his virtues and his faults, in related ways. There's having been a slave; on the other hand, there's also Shmi. And we would be delighted to add you to the PM list.

darthtoad: The wait is over! And I hope it does work as both a start and a continuation. *grin* We wrote the overall storyline without really thinking about the posting process, so while there are some fairly obvious breakpoints for separate stories, it's important to think about whether they work both to catch a new reader's interest and to follow naturally from the previous section.

epithree: Well, first we had the notion of Obi-Wan asking Dooku for advice... which we played with for a while (and posted a bit of in Never Happened)... and the notion of Dooku popping up to invite himself along on the mission to Naboo. This is, on reflection, sort of an extension of both of those. And we'll happily put you on the list.

Cypher18: Glad you like it, and you're on it for the next chapter.

Dooku-Darklighter: We're glad you're enjoying it. Hopefully we can continue to do justice to some of the differing viewpoints even when some of the misunderstandings about them resolve. As for sources, we've talked about that some in PMs, and for a general overview I'd actually recommend the Wookieepedia article; it's pretty well maintained and you can look for the sources that relate to your favorite parts.

Darth_Nellie: Hee. You almost make the sulking sound like a superpower. Oddly, what you're actually about to get is how Obi-Wan deals with it when he's not the Sulk Target, but there will also be more of various other interactions.

 

Chapter 2

"Hey!" Obi-Wan called out as a body went streaking by him. "Calm yourself, youngling. Is there a fire?" Then he caught sight of the boy's face and smiled. "Ah, Anakin. It's good to see you. I didn't recognize you hurtling through the corridors like that."

"Hi, Obi-Wan." Anakin stopped. Obi-Wan still liked him. At least, he thought so. Or Obi-Wan had started liking him, one of those. "It's good to see you too."

Obi-Wan tilted his head a little and asked, "So where are you off to? Not late to class, are you?"

Anakin shook his head. "No, I... hadn't decided yet." Where had he been going? Most of the time, even with Master Dooku like he was now, his quarters seemed like the safest place to feel anything.

"You were certainly in a hurry for not knowing!" Obi-Wan smiled at him, then offered, "I was on my way to one of the gardens, actually. Have you had a chance to see much of them?"

"A little bit...." Anakin scuffed the floor with one foot. "I haven't really started catching up on... botany... yet." He hoped he'd gotten that word right. Tatooine did have plants, but people didn't talk much about studying them.

"Fortunately, plants are a subject you can enjoy without having to know much about them at all. Would you like to come with me for a little while?" Something about the boy seemed... troubled. Perhaps the peace of the gardens would help.

"Sure," Anakin said. "Thanks." Enjoying someething without having to have learned everything about it already seemed pretty good, really.

"No problem. Come along, then." Obi-Wan continued walking, this time with Anakin trailing in his wake. The boy seemed...subdued somehow. Obi-Wan wondered if he should call in Master Dooku. Well, perhaps a little quiet and friendly conversation was all he needed.

When they entered the gardens, Anakin's eyes lit up. "It's so green."

"Yes." Obi-Wan smiled. The Temple gardens were easy to enjoy, although he would admit that he wasn't quite as fond of some elements of the process (being elbow-deep in dirt and fertilizer, for instance) as Qui-Gon. "I don't know why, but it's about the most common color for foliage across the galaxy. And one of the most commonly viewed as restful." He laughed. "Maybe that's just because most people are inclined to like looking at plants."

"Makes sense," Anakin said, moving in. "Healthy plants means there's stuff to live on... oases...." He frowned. "Somebody told me once Tatooine used to be green, but something happened to it."

"That happens to many planets. Something strikes it, or the sun -- or suns -- grow hotter. Climates change. But life always finds a way to survive." Obi-Wan squeezed Anakin's shoulder and sank down easily to sit amid the greenery, beside an artificial river that curled through the plants and babbled peacefully. Anakin copied the movement, a little more awkwardly.

They sat quietly for a few minutes, and then Anakin said suddenly, "Coruscant's climate must've changed a lot."

"Over the years, yes. It's been a city-planet for centuries now. Everything's so regulated, I don't know how it remembers to be alive anymore. The Temple gardens are some of the only bits of natural life on Coruscant, other than the people."

"I wonder what it was like before it was a city," Anakin said. "Master Dooku says it was a lot smaller, because the buildings are all layered up, only then they dug down inside it too."

"Yes. As more and more people began to live here, they started building higher and higher. No one ever goes to the very lowest depths, not even the Jedi. I don't even know if people still live by the surface."

Anakin was brooding again now, though. He'd reminded himself about Master Dooku. Was he supposed to change as much as Coruscant? Could people even find the surface anymore?

After some moments of silence, Obi-Wan decided that this was not a peaceful silence, and said quietly, "Anakin?"

"I..." Anakin looked fixedly at his hands. "Can Masters...give up padawans after they've taken one?"

"Er... yes, technically, but only in extreme circu

 

Hello there.

That was truly a brilliant post. Bravo!

Every character interaction seemed believable to me. I don't know which to focus upon, due to the fact that they were all so good.

Well, the Obi/Ani conversation was fantastic. Well thought out, and innovative. Your explanation of how force bonds work was completely canon worthy.

I especially enjoyed the sparring match, where you had all of our favorite Jedi interacting with each other flawlessly. All of the information you supplied about combat styles sounded wonderful. Honestly, I was a bit mesmerized when reading that section. It was all so intriguing.

All comments from Qui and Dooku were quite enjoyable. Qui's little talk with Ani about the Sith was interesting.

Really liked the theories about Yoda's stick.

Anyway, I think it's safe to say that your writing style is captivating. The impressive pm list proves it.

Thanks so much for the pm and a stellar read.

 

loved it!

the anakin/obi-wan conversation and the anakin/dooku mental conversation were very amusing and well-written!

thanks for the PM, and can't wait for more!

 

Dooku makes a good master! Hopefully he can keep himself and Anakin off of the dark path. And I sure wouldn't mind receiving some lightsaber training from the master of Makashi himself.

 

Great update!

 

"In learning you will teach and in teaching you will learn"

I love that line from the Tarzan song. It also applies to both of them.

Good chapter. Try to update a little faster though!

 

Great story. Please add me to the PM list