9 Challenge Responses
Yay for getting caught up!
Author: patientalien
Title: Celebration
Challenge: SWMININANO2
Prompt: auspicious
Word Count: 149
Characters: Palpatine, Obi-Wan, Anakin
Rating: PG
Summary: Reflections of a celebration during TPM
-----
Cheers and bellows fill the square in front of Theed Palace. Senator Palpatine - no, Chancellor Palpatine, now - watches the celebrations with a mild sense of accomplishment. Everything has proceeded as he had forseen, though not, he admits, the discovery of the boy. He'd wanted the desert to mold him a little longer, to hone his bitterness and anger. He hadn't wanted the Jedi to ever get their hands on his apprentice-to-be, but now that they had, Palpatine knew he would just have to make sure that worked in his favor.
He watches the boy, wide-eyed, marvelling at the water and the pomp and circumstance, looking proud in his Jedi garb and new Padawan braid. He sticks close to Kenobi, who looks distant, numb. Palpatine knows, then, that Kenobi will never be the kind of Master Anakin Skywalker needs. And that, he knows, will be the Jedi's downfall.
Author: patientalien
Title: Damsels in Distress
Challenge: SWMININANO2
Prompt: homage
Word Count: 202
Characters: Anakin, nameless OC
Rating: PG
Summary: Mistaken identity and confusion during a "rescue"
Author's Notes: I'm sure this has been done before. Apologies for anyone I inadvertantly have ripped off.
-----
"Aren't you a little tall for a Clone trooper?" The Princess arched a perfectly-sculpted eyebrow as the aforementioned too-tall Clone trooper tilted his head in confusion.
"Wha? Oh, the uniform!" He pulled the helmet off revealing a pair of the bluest eyes the princess had ever seen. "I'm Anakin Skywalker, I'm here to rescue you!"
The princess was unimpressed and made it clear, crossing her arms over her chest and leaning back against the wall of her room. "You're who?"
The Clone-who-was-not-a-Clone let out a frustrated puff of air. "Are you serious?" he asked. "Look, come on, I'm rescuing you, let's go."
The princess laughed. "Rescuing me from what?" she asked. "I live here. I'm not a prisoner."
Anakin Skywalker, who was there to rescue her, stared at her. "Wait, but I thought... They said there was a princess and..."
"And you thought, of course, princesses need rescuing by manly men like yourself, right?" The princess snorted. "Go home, little boy. You're embarrassing yourself."
"But..."
The princess sighed. "Look, if I ever really do need rescuing, I'll know who to call."
That seemed to appease him, and he left, muttering darkly that he never hoped to meet another princess like her again.
Author: patientalien
Title: Craving Power
Challenge: SWMININANO2
Prompt: The Rule of Two
Word Count: 179
Characters: Darth Vader, Palpatine (mentioned)
Rating: PG
Summary: Reflections of a Sith Apprentice
-----
For the first day he existed, all Darth Vader could think about was the Rule of Two. He'd read about it in the Archives, before they'd burned, and he knew that within weeks he would be the one to embody power. But now, well.
When he'd gotten his first mechno, he'd been worried it made him less human. He'd gotten used to it, of course, even grown to use it as every bit of a weapon as the rest of him. He'd still worried what it meant, but he'd come to terms with it.
He didn't think he would ever come to terms with what he was now. Because now, he was most certainly not human, not in any way that mattered. And he knew, too, that for all of his vaunted power and the fear he garnered in his subordinates, he would never fully embody power. Not the way Palpatine did. Not the way he could have.
He'd spend the rest of his life (save ten minutes) craving power and never again thinking about the Rule of Two.
Author: patientalien
Title: I Know Who I Want to Take Me Home
Challenge: SWMININANO2
Prompt: Unfulfilled Challenge (Intoxication)
Word Count: 371
Characters: Anakin/Obi-Wan
Rating: R
Summary: A night out during a mission that already has Anakin's inhibitions lowered makes Obi-Wan distinctly uncomfortable - for a minute
Author's Notes: Companion/missing scene of "Fear Will Be Undone" Title and cut-text from "Closing Time"
-----
Obi-Wan Kenobi was not a 'nightclub' kind of guy, so the fact he was even here grated on him. Anakin, on the other hand, thrived in this kind of environment and if Obi-Wan could have trusted Anakin's judgement (which, given the nature of their mission and the role Anakin was playing in it, he couldn't), he would have just let the young man have his fun and get the job done.
"C'mon, Master." Anakin appeared suddenly over Obi-Wan's shoulder, interrupting the older man's un-Jedi-like brooding. "Come dance with me." His eyes were shining from the recent death stick use, his words slightly slurred from the drinks. Obi-Wan had to admit, this was making him nervous. Day by day, Anakin seemed to be forgetting the mission as his grip on reality - and extended sobriety - faltered.
"No," Obi-Wan replied, prying Anakin's fingers from his tunic and turning back to the bar and the drink he was nursing.
"It's for the mission, Master," Anakin replied, ducking his head close enough to Obi-Wan's ear that he could feel Anakin's hot breath on the side of his face. "Olek's watching. He already doesn't trust you. Dance with me."
Obi-Wan had no idea if Anakin was telling the truth, but this was Olek's club, so it was possible. He stood, scowling as Anakin reached over and drained the rest of Obi-Wan's drink. "C'mon," Anakin prompted, grabbing Obi-Wan's hand and dragging him to the dance floor.
The pulsing lights and rumbling beats gave Obi-Wan a headache, but Anakin was grinning, pressing his long, lean body against Obi-Wan's, writhing in time to the music. Obi-Wan tried to follow suit, but this was not even remotely his comfort zone. Still, Anakin's excitement was infectuous, to a degree, and Obi-Wan found himself falling into Anakin's bright blue eyes, his wild smile. "I love you, Master!" Anakin shouted over the din, inhibitions - and all semblance of Jedi restraint - drowned by his last drink.
Obi-Wan shook his head. "Anakin..."
Anakin looked at him from under lowered lashes, and suddenly their mouths were pressed together. Anakin shoved their bodies together, probing gently with his tongue. He tasted like whiskey and death sticks and excitement and Anakin, and Obi-Wan gave in.
Author: patientalien
Title: Dream Within a Dream
Challenge: SWMININANO2
Prompt: cannibal
Word Count: 262
Characters: Anakin, Obi-Wan
Rating: PG
Summary: "So, who are we going to eat first?"
-----
"So who are we going to eat first?"
The question was so far out from left field that, for a moment, Obi-Wan wasn't sure he'd heard it. When he realized he had, he snapped his head up to glare at his former Padawan. "Pardon me?"
"We're out of rations," Anakin pointed out. "And we're trapped in here. Who are we going to eat first? I think we should probably draw straws or something."
Obi-Wan was fairly certain his protege had gone mad from claustrophobia. Except Anakin wasn't claustrophobic, and they'd been in worse predicaments before. Not a lot worse, mind, but worse. "Nobody is eating anybody," Obi-Wan informed him.
"I mean, you and me'll probably be okay." Obi-Wan resisted the urge to correct the young man's grammar. "But the men need food. Oddball was looking a little weak, how about him?"
"We're not eating Oddball," Obi-Wan replied, sharply.
Anakin looked somewhat sheepish. "Uh, it might be a little too late. I thought you'd be okay with it, so I told them it was okay..."
Obi-Wan closed his eyes. When he opened them again, he was staring at a white ceiling under a mound of blankets. "What?"
"Master! You're awake!" Anakin sounded beside himself with relief. He sat next to Obi-Wan on the bed, which Obi-Wan suddenly realized was in the med-bay of a Republic cruiser. "I was so worried!" He scrutinized Obi-Wan closely. "You were dreaming. It seemed bad. Was it bad?"
Obi-Wan blinked, the last vestiges of the dream fading from his memory. "No," he said. "It was just a dream."
Author: patientalien
Title: In Hiding
Challenge: SWMININANO2
Prompt: The Works
Word Count: 144
Characters: Ahsoka, Anakin (mentioned)
Rating: PG
Summary: Post RotS, Ahsoka hides
-----
The Works. Just saying the words makes Ahsoka's gut clench with unease. Just being here makes it worse. She can feel the Dark Side all around her, for now she knows this place, these factories and dark empty warehouses, was used as a staging ground for the Sith. For, perhaps, the man she once called Master. But she doesn't know that for certain, doesn't know how long Anakin's spiral descent took, if he might have undergone Sith training while he was training her in the ways of the Jedi. Does not know how deep his betrayal ran.
The Works, now, are safe, at least for her. She hides in the shadows, skirting the light, waiting for her chance to get offworld, to escape, to find any others who might have survived. The Works reek of the Dark Side, but, Ahsoka thinks, so does she.
Author: patientalien
Title: A Thousand Mornings
Challenge: SWMININANO2
Prompt: domestic
Word Count: 207
Characters: Anakin, Padme
Rating: PG
Summary: More Anakin/Padme fluff! What!
-----
It's the clattering in the kitchen that wakes her up. Padme Amidala (only in secret can she call herself by her brand-new married name) rubs her eyes, stretches, and rises from bed, padding softly down to the kitchen where her husband of less than twelve hours is trying - and, from the looks of it, failing - to make breakfast.
"I thought Jedi could do anything," Padme lilts with a smile, taking the bowl from his hand and looking down into it. "Omelettes?" she suggests, and gently pushes him out of the way so she can finish what he started.
She can feel his eyes on her back, and she turns, smiling, as she lets the eggs bubble on the pan. "It's pretty simple," she says. "I can show you, if you want."
"No," Anakin replies. There is a long silence, and she wonders if he's said it because he thinks this is her job now, as his wife. Then, "I know how to cook, Padme. I just couldn't figure out where you keep your forks."
She turns, gawks at him. He grins at her, and she melts. The omlettes turn out burnt, but it doesn't matter. They have a thousand more mornings to eat breakfast together.
Author: patientalien
Title: Attachment
Challenge: SWMININANO2
Prompt: eunuch
Word Count: 140
Characters: Anakin
Rating: PG
Summary: Anakin can't follow the Code
-----
No attachments did not mean no sex. No attachments meant just that: do not get attached. Do not allow feelings for one impact the fate of others. It was, on the face of it, a simple thing. So basic, so easy.
It would have been so easy for Anakin to just denounce attachments, to sow his wild oats without a thought to relationships or love. But Anakin had been raised to love, had been raised to respect and cherish and be attached. The Jedi teachings, for all of their good intentions, did not speak to him on that level. They stifled, and punished and tried to take away the very thing that made him Anakin.
And even though he wanted to be a Jedi more than anything in the universe, he could not give up love. He would sooner die.
Author: patientalien
Title: Showing Weakness
Challenge: SWMININANO2
Prompt: injury
Word Count: 395
Characters: Anakin, Ahsoka
Rating: PG
Summary: Ahsoka tries to get Anakin to admit weakness
-----
The wound was deep, nasty, encrusted with its own blood, and dirt. Ahsoka did her best to clean it off, but Anakin moaned in pain and turned away from her, shielding his midsection with his arms and knees. "Master, you have to let me look at it!" she exclaimed, frustrated with his complete inability to let her help him. He was not a man who accepted help easily, she knew, but she thought he'd make an exception this once. Apparently not.
"I'm fine," Anakin groaned, closing his eyes and leveling his arms under himself to try and pull himself to his feet. His arms gave out and he collapsed with a grunt. "Just give me a few minutes, and I'll be fine."
"You've lost a lot of blood," Ahsoka pointed out, grabbing his shoulder and rolling him onto his back. His tunic was scorched, the area around the wound torn away. He was unnaturally pale, sweating, breath coming out in harsh gasps. The skin around the wound was red and irritated and hot to the touch, and Ahsoka felt an inkling of fear that he would succumb to infection before a medic was able to get to them.
"It's just..." Anakin pressed his hand against the wound, gritting his teeth. "It just needs some bacta."
"Which I don't have," she pointed out. Their supplies had gotten lost somewhere along the way, and she didn't really want to think about that. "I comm'd Coric, he'll be here soon, and in the meantime, you need to at least let me clean it."
"It's fine," Anakin snapped, churlishly. "Leave it alone!"
She backed off, suddenly realizing that he didn't want to admit how much pain he was in, that by letting her clean the wound, he would be opening himself up to more pain, to possibly displaying weakness. "You don't have to act so tough all the time, you know," she commented, gently easing his hand from his side and softly dabbing it with the wettened hem of his tunic, torn off for just that purpose. "See?" she said. "That's not so bad, is it?"
Anakin slit his eyes open and glared at her, but his gaze showed gratitude, as well. "I guess not," he offered, reluctantly. "Thanks, Snips."
She smiled down at him, glad that he had, for once, lowered his shields, however marginally. "Any time, Master."
Author: patientalien
Title: Celebration
Challenge: SWMININANO2
Prompt: auspicious
Word Count: 149
Characters: Palpatine, Obi-Wan, Anakin
Rating: PG
Summary: Reflections of a celebration during TPM
-----
Cheers and bellows fill the square in front of Theed Palace. Senator Palpatine - no, Chancellor Palpatine, now - watches the celebrations with a mild sense of accomplishment. Everything has proceeded as he had forseen, though not, he admits, the discovery of the boy. He'd wanted the desert to mold him a little longer, to hone his bitterness and anger. He hadn't wanted the Jedi to ever get their hands on his apprentice-to-be, but now that they had, Palpatine knew he would just have to make sure that worked in his favor.
He watches the boy, wide-eyed, marvelling at the water and the pomp and circumstance, looking proud in his Jedi garb and new Padawan braid. He sticks close to Kenobi, who looks distant, numb. Palpatine knows, then, that Kenobi will never be the kind of Master Anakin Skywalker needs. And that, he knows, will be the Jedi's downfall.
Author: patientalien
Title: Damsels in Distress
Challenge: SWMININANO2
Prompt: homage
Word Count: 202
Characters: Anakin, nameless OC
Rating: PG
Summary: Mistaken identity and confusion during a "rescue"
Author's Notes: I'm sure this has been done before. Apologies for anyone I inadvertantly have ripped off.
-----
"Aren't you a little tall for a Clone trooper?" The Princess arched a perfectly-sculpted eyebrow as the aforementioned too-tall Clone trooper tilted his head in confusion.
"Wha? Oh, the uniform!" He pulled the helmet off revealing a pair of the bluest eyes the princess had ever seen. "I'm Anakin Skywalker, I'm here to rescue you!"
The princess was unimpressed and made it clear, crossing her arms over her chest and leaning back against the wall of her room. "You're who?"
The Clone-who-was-not-a-Clone let out a frustrated puff of air. "Are you serious?" he asked. "Look, come on, I'm rescuing you, let's go."
The princess laughed. "Rescuing me from what?" she asked. "I live here. I'm not a prisoner."
Anakin Skywalker, who was there to rescue her, stared at her. "Wait, but I thought... They said there was a princess and..."
"And you thought, of course, princesses need rescuing by manly men like yourself, right?" The princess snorted. "Go home, little boy. You're embarrassing yourself."
"But..."
The princess sighed. "Look, if I ever really do need rescuing, I'll know who to call."
That seemed to appease him, and he left, muttering darkly that he never hoped to meet another princess like her again.
Author: patientalien
Title: Craving Power
Challenge: SWMININANO2
Prompt: The Rule of Two
Word Count: 179
Characters: Darth Vader, Palpatine (mentioned)
Rating: PG
Summary: Reflections of a Sith Apprentice
-----
For the first day he existed, all Darth Vader could think about was the Rule of Two. He'd read about it in the Archives, before they'd burned, and he knew that within weeks he would be the one to embody power. But now, well.
When he'd gotten his first mechno, he'd been worried it made him less human. He'd gotten used to it, of course, even grown to use it as every bit of a weapon as the rest of him. He'd still worried what it meant, but he'd come to terms with it.
He didn't think he would ever come to terms with what he was now. Because now, he was most certainly not human, not in any way that mattered. And he knew, too, that for all of his vaunted power and the fear he garnered in his subordinates, he would never fully embody power. Not the way Palpatine did. Not the way he could have.
He'd spend the rest of his life (save ten minutes) craving power and never again thinking about the Rule of Two.
Author: patientalien
Title: I Know Who I Want to Take Me Home
Challenge: SWMININANO2
Prompt: Unfulfilled Challenge (Intoxication)
Word Count: 371
Characters: Anakin/Obi-Wan
Rating: R
Summary: A night out during a mission that already has Anakin's inhibitions lowered makes Obi-Wan distinctly uncomfortable - for a minute
Author's Notes: Companion/missing scene of "Fear Will Be Undone" Title and cut-text from "Closing Time"
-----
Obi-Wan Kenobi was not a 'nightclub' kind of guy, so the fact he was even here grated on him. Anakin, on the other hand, thrived in this kind of environment and if Obi-Wan could have trusted Anakin's judgement (which, given the nature of their mission and the role Anakin was playing in it, he couldn't), he would have just let the young man have his fun and get the job done.
"C'mon, Master." Anakin appeared suddenly over Obi-Wan's shoulder, interrupting the older man's un-Jedi-like brooding. "Come dance with me." His eyes were shining from the recent death stick use, his words slightly slurred from the drinks. Obi-Wan had to admit, this was making him nervous. Day by day, Anakin seemed to be forgetting the mission as his grip on reality - and extended sobriety - faltered.
"No," Obi-Wan replied, prying Anakin's fingers from his tunic and turning back to the bar and the drink he was nursing.
"It's for the mission, Master," Anakin replied, ducking his head close enough to Obi-Wan's ear that he could feel Anakin's hot breath on the side of his face. "Olek's watching. He already doesn't trust you. Dance with me."
Obi-Wan had no idea if Anakin was telling the truth, but this was Olek's club, so it was possible. He stood, scowling as Anakin reached over and drained the rest of Obi-Wan's drink. "C'mon," Anakin prompted, grabbing Obi-Wan's hand and dragging him to the dance floor.
The pulsing lights and rumbling beats gave Obi-Wan a headache, but Anakin was grinning, pressing his long, lean body against Obi-Wan's, writhing in time to the music. Obi-Wan tried to follow suit, but this was not even remotely his comfort zone. Still, Anakin's excitement was infectuous, to a degree, and Obi-Wan found himself falling into Anakin's bright blue eyes, his wild smile. "I love you, Master!" Anakin shouted over the din, inhibitions - and all semblance of Jedi restraint - drowned by his last drink.
Obi-Wan shook his head. "Anakin..."
Anakin looked at him from under lowered lashes, and suddenly their mouths were pressed together. Anakin shoved their bodies together, probing gently with his tongue. He tasted like whiskey and death sticks and excitement and Anakin, and Obi-Wan gave in.
Author: patientalien
Title: Dream Within a Dream
Challenge: SWMININANO2
Prompt: cannibal
Word Count: 262
Characters: Anakin, Obi-Wan
Rating: PG
Summary: "So, who are we going to eat first?"
-----
"So who are we going to eat first?"
The question was so far out from left field that, for a moment, Obi-Wan wasn't sure he'd heard it. When he realized he had, he snapped his head up to glare at his former Padawan. "Pardon me?"
"We're out of rations," Anakin pointed out. "And we're trapped in here. Who are we going to eat first? I think we should probably draw straws or something."
Obi-Wan was fairly certain his protege had gone mad from claustrophobia. Except Anakin wasn't claustrophobic, and they'd been in worse predicaments before. Not a lot worse, mind, but worse. "Nobody is eating anybody," Obi-Wan informed him.
"I mean, you and me'll probably be okay." Obi-Wan resisted the urge to correct the young man's grammar. "But the men need food. Oddball was looking a little weak, how about him?"
"We're not eating Oddball," Obi-Wan replied, sharply.
Anakin looked somewhat sheepish. "Uh, it might be a little too late. I thought you'd be okay with it, so I told them it was okay..."
Obi-Wan closed his eyes. When he opened them again, he was staring at a white ceiling under a mound of blankets. "What?"
"Master! You're awake!" Anakin sounded beside himself with relief. He sat next to Obi-Wan on the bed, which Obi-Wan suddenly realized was in the med-bay of a Republic cruiser. "I was so worried!" He scrutinized Obi-Wan closely. "You were dreaming. It seemed bad. Was it bad?"
Obi-Wan blinked, the last vestiges of the dream fading from his memory. "No," he said. "It was just a dream."
Author: patientalien
Title: In Hiding
Challenge: SWMININANO2
Prompt: The Works
Word Count: 144
Characters: Ahsoka, Anakin (mentioned)
Rating: PG
Summary: Post RotS, Ahsoka hides
-----
The Works. Just saying the words makes Ahsoka's gut clench with unease. Just being here makes it worse. She can feel the Dark Side all around her, for now she knows this place, these factories and dark empty warehouses, was used as a staging ground for the Sith. For, perhaps, the man she once called Master. But she doesn't know that for certain, doesn't know how long Anakin's spiral descent took, if he might have undergone Sith training while he was training her in the ways of the Jedi. Does not know how deep his betrayal ran.
The Works, now, are safe, at least for her. She hides in the shadows, skirting the light, waiting for her chance to get offworld, to escape, to find any others who might have survived. The Works reek of the Dark Side, but, Ahsoka thinks, so does she.
Author: patientalien
Title: A Thousand Mornings
Challenge: SWMININANO2
Prompt: domestic
Word Count: 207
Characters: Anakin, Padme
Rating: PG
Summary: More Anakin/Padme fluff! What!
-----
It's the clattering in the kitchen that wakes her up. Padme Amidala (only in secret can she call herself by her brand-new married name) rubs her eyes, stretches, and rises from bed, padding softly down to the kitchen where her husband of less than twelve hours is trying - and, from the looks of it, failing - to make breakfast.
"I thought Jedi could do anything," Padme lilts with a smile, taking the bowl from his hand and looking down into it. "Omelettes?" she suggests, and gently pushes him out of the way so she can finish what he started.
She can feel his eyes on her back, and she turns, smiling, as she lets the eggs bubble on the pan. "It's pretty simple," she says. "I can show you, if you want."
"No," Anakin replies. There is a long silence, and she wonders if he's said it because he thinks this is her job now, as his wife. Then, "I know how to cook, Padme. I just couldn't figure out where you keep your forks."
She turns, gawks at him. He grins at her, and she melts. The omlettes turn out burnt, but it doesn't matter. They have a thousand more mornings to eat breakfast together.
Author: patientalien
Title: Attachment
Challenge: SWMININANO2
Prompt: eunuch
Word Count: 140
Characters: Anakin
Rating: PG
Summary: Anakin can't follow the Code
-----
No attachments did not mean no sex. No attachments meant just that: do not get attached. Do not allow feelings for one impact the fate of others. It was, on the face of it, a simple thing. So basic, so easy.
It would have been so easy for Anakin to just denounce attachments, to sow his wild oats without a thought to relationships or love. But Anakin had been raised to love, had been raised to respect and cherish and be attached. The Jedi teachings, for all of their good intentions, did not speak to him on that level. They stifled, and punished and tried to take away the very thing that made him Anakin.
And even though he wanted to be a Jedi more than anything in the universe, he could not give up love. He would sooner die.
Author: patientalien
Title: Showing Weakness
Challenge: SWMININANO2
Prompt: injury
Word Count: 395
Characters: Anakin, Ahsoka
Rating: PG
Summary: Ahsoka tries to get Anakin to admit weakness
-----
The wound was deep, nasty, encrusted with its own blood, and dirt. Ahsoka did her best to clean it off, but Anakin moaned in pain and turned away from her, shielding his midsection with his arms and knees. "Master, you have to let me look at it!" she exclaimed, frustrated with his complete inability to let her help him. He was not a man who accepted help easily, she knew, but she thought he'd make an exception this once. Apparently not.
"I'm fine," Anakin groaned, closing his eyes and leveling his arms under himself to try and pull himself to his feet. His arms gave out and he collapsed with a grunt. "Just give me a few minutes, and I'll be fine."
"You've lost a lot of blood," Ahsoka pointed out, grabbing his shoulder and rolling him onto his back. His tunic was scorched, the area around the wound torn away. He was unnaturally pale, sweating, breath coming out in harsh gasps. The skin around the wound was red and irritated and hot to the touch, and Ahsoka felt an inkling of fear that he would succumb to infection before a medic was able to get to them.
"It's just..." Anakin pressed his hand against the wound, gritting his teeth. "It just needs some bacta."
"Which I don't have," she pointed out. Their supplies had gotten lost somewhere along the way, and she didn't really want to think about that. "I comm'd Coric, he'll be here soon, and in the meantime, you need to at least let me clean it."
"It's fine," Anakin snapped, churlishly. "Leave it alone!"
She backed off, suddenly realizing that he didn't want to admit how much pain he was in, that by letting her clean the wound, he would be opening himself up to more pain, to possibly displaying weakness. "You don't have to act so tough all the time, you know," she commented, gently easing his hand from his side and softly dabbing it with the wettened hem of his tunic, torn off for just that purpose. "See?" she said. "That's not so bad, is it?"
Anakin slit his eyes open and glared at her, but his gaze showed gratitude, as well. "I guess not," he offered, reluctantly. "Thanks, Snips."
She smiled down at him, glad that he had, for once, lowered his shields, however marginally. "Any time, Master."