Title: HSU: Photographs and Memories
Author: Julia
Rating: More cavities ahead!
Follows: Emmy and Dande's...shoot..whatever the last one they wrote was (sorry!!!)

I stare at the long rope nested carefully in the box and smile, looking up at Qui-Gon questioningly.

He nods and I carefully uncoil the braid from it's nest, holding it up in the morning light.

Brownish, red-gold highlights, a shade almost as impossible to pin down as his eyes.

I run my fingers lightly over the braid, trying to imagine how many years it took to grow that long...and all that happened in those years.

The red and yellow bands are a bit faded.

How carefully Obi-Wan's master preserved this.

Kept this momento of the time they shared together.

A symbol of the pact and dedication to one another, and to the Force.

I doubt either of them ever felt so strongly about the Order as a whole. They both have strong convictions that drive them to different courses, deviating from those the Order would dictate.

Smiling, I caress the braid one last time before carefully coiling it back into its nest in the box.  "Thank you for showing me, Qui-Gon." With an instinctual motion I bow slightly as I hand the box back to him. Possibly I've watched too many hours of anime.

Probably.

It's all right though. He smiles as he takes the box back and carefully returns it to a chest.

I can't help wondering what else is in that chest. What other wonders this Jedi Master has kept from his travels and missions.

Who would have guessed he was such a sentimentalist?

He pulls out another object and I lean forward, grinning in anticipation.

All of this from just asking Qui-Gon if he would tell me a little bit about what it was like to be a Jedi.

Yes, I've talked to the General also. Listened to his voice as he spoke of missions and treaties gone wrong...of what it was like to be hated simply for what you believe.

Jedi aren't so different from Earthers after all.

Qui-Gon's memories are different, of course. More varied. He has had a life as a Padawan, a Knight and a Master. His voice is quiet as he talks, filled with very little pride. His gaze goes distant, and I imagine he is reliving the moments in his mind.

"Knowing how you love photography and pictures, you will appreciate this." He smiles, dark blue eyes warm as he hands me the holo.

I unwrap it and a smile blooms slowly on my face.

Master and Padawan, probably taken when Obi was around...eighteen. Commeradely arms around one another, huge grins wreathing their faces.

Muddy faces.

Rusty colored mud on their boots, leggings, tunics, robes.... Coating Obi-Wan's braid, dappling his face and neck. Obi has one boot on. Qui-Gon's hair, darker then, looking almost red from the mud in his beard and hair.

I chuckle, wondering who in the world managed to capture such a moment in time.

It isn't often one sees a Jedi smiling so carelessly -- apart from HSU.

"This is wonderful." I shake my head and look up. "Who took the holo?"

Qui-Gon smiles slightly and leans back. "We did. For whatever reason Obi-Wan brought a holocam on that mission. It was the rainy season on Sadges. The clay turned to mud, almost sucking the boots right off our feet." Shaking his head, his gaze returns to me. "Obi-Wan had the misfortune of slipping, lost a boot to the mud and grabbed me as he was falling."

It's a great holo.

A wonderful memory.

"Once we were on our feet, he pulled out the holocam, levitated it out and snapped the holo."

I nod. "I'll have to talk to him about his abilities as a photographer. This is good work."

Qui-Gon chuckles and shakes his head as I start to hand the holo back. "I have the memory vividly etched in my mind. You keep it."

"Me?" It comes out as more of a surprised squeak than I would prefer, but I am shocked. "But -"

"What good does it do in a box, hmm?" He smiles and reaches out to rewrap the holo, pressing it into my hands. "You will appreciate it."

I nod, realizing the subject is closed. "Thank you." Another bow. It will most definitely be a treasure.

"Now." Qui-Gon unfolds himself and stands as I jump to my feet. "I believe Wishpuff has tea and probably enough pastries to feed all of the campus ready..."

"Did he have to walk the entire time with only one boot?"

We walk towards the main room where Dande is beaming a smile just for her Mahstah and gesturing for us to sit.

I can almost hear "mangia, mangia".

Maybe she's thinking it.

"Until we reached town, yes." Qui-Gon kisses Dande's forehead and sits. "He wasn't happy."

"An understatement, no doubt." I grin, gesturing for Dande to sit. She does, finally and we get down to eating the feast she put out.

Thoughtful pause as Qui-Gon looks at me for a long moment. "If you are interested..." He hesitates. "I...I haven't spoken much of my past as a Jedi, but...if it interests you -"

"Yes!" I grin. The journalist in me sparking at the thought of a good story. I hold out my hand. "You tell me, I let you read anything I write first.  We go from there. Deal?"

"Deal." Qui-Gon shakes my hand and we all go back to eating, laughing as Fred and Daphne come gamboling in, tumbling over puppy feet as they swarm the table in a collie invasion.

END