Mini Nano, Day 25

Adventures in Middle Earth! *big grin* Obi-Wan would like to understand elves. Elves would like him to speak something intelligible.

So, Obi-Wan meets Tauriel, and deals with spiders, if not in that order:

The tall aliens have made short work of the rest of the spiders, and Obi-Wan disengages his lightsaber as he stands, smiling hopefully when their attention turns to him. It doesn't last long, as one of them draws back a bow, an arrow nocked and aimed at his face. The others move to surround him, a few leaping up to take positions on the branches above him. Not neglecting the idea of vertical, then, and not taking chances with his escape.

The one who'd aimed the first arrow in his direction speaks, the language unfamiliar. It sounds like a question, and Obi-Wan assumes he's being asked what he's doing here, or what his name is. Either one is reasonable, though he really doesn't like having weapons aimed at him that he's not sure he can deflect. At least not enough of them.

"My name is Obi-Wan Kenobi, and I'm afraid I had a little accident with my ship. You wouldn't be able to tell me where the nearest space port is?" He smiles, hoping there is a space port somewhere, and that the aliens speak Basic, or he's going to have more trouble than he likes to think about.

He gets a momentarily blank look before the red-haired alien snaps out orders in what sounds to be a different language than before, another of them lowering their bow and approaching him cautiously. At least they're not trying to kill him, and Obi-Wan clips his lightsaber to his belt before he spreads his arms, showing them he's unarmed and means no harm. Although when the alien tries to reach for his lightsaber, Obi-Wan takes a step backward, dropping one hand to the hilt.

"I can't let you take that." Even if they don't understand his words, Obi-Wan is not going to let them remove his lightsaber.

Mini Nano, Day 26

More adventures in Middle Earth. *very big grin*

Obi-Wan is not letting his lightsaber out of his sight:

He frowns when they grab his upper arms, and shifts, reaching out with the Force to grab his lightsaber. Letting the red-haired alien have it while he's being escorted somewhere is one thing. Leaving it in the hands of an alien who doesn't know what they're holding, and who he might not encounter again is not nearly so acceptable.

Obi-Wan draws in a deep breath as his lightsaber smacks into his palm at the same instant the red-haired alien's knife comes to rest against his throat, and holds very still save for wrapping his fingers tightly around the lightsaber hilt.

"I mean no harm."

None of the aliens speaks, though he can feel their tension. Obi-Wan isn't certain quite how long it takes for the alien monarch to call out to the red-haired alien something that makes her remove the knife from Obi-Wan's throat. He relaxes slightly, smiling as he hooks the lightsaber to his belt once more, though the movement is slightly awkward with his hands bound.

A chuckle draws his attention back to the alien monarch, who smiles at him a moment, before tilting their head without a word. Acknowledgement that the lightsaber should remain with Obi-Wan, he hopes.

---

Meanwhile, on the road west of Bree:

"What was that?" Bilbo can't stop staring at the sky, where it had seemed a star streaked over their heads, thunder in its wake loud enough to rattle the ground beneath their ponies. He thinks the only reason his pony hasn't carried him off is the sheer luck of having Gandalf grab the bridle and draw the pony to a halt as he did his own.

"I do not know."

"A portent."

Gandalf's quiet confusion mingles with Óin's firm certainty, though neither answer actually tells Bilbo what the roaring thing was. Although as it doesn't appear to have returned, nor is followed by another of similar sort, he supposes it doesn't much matter what it is unless it proves to have caused a problem on the road ahead of them.

---

And on Coruscant:

Qui-Gon wakes with a start, a shout echoing in his ears that it takes a moment to realize had been his own. He lifts a hand to flick the light on with a touch of the Force, letting himself see that he is still in his room at the Temple, and not in an escape pod fleeing from a disintegrating ship. The dream clings, images too-bright around the edges like he's been staring too long at one place. It takes several minutes for him to bring his breathing back under control, and the images to settle.

"Master?" The sleepy voice comes as the door to his room is opened, Anakin standing there, brow furrowed as he looks at Qui-Gon. "You were shouting."

"I'm sorry I woke you." Qui-Gon summons a smile that he hopes hides the niggling dread creating a knot in his chest. "It was just a dream."

"Dreams aren't always just dreams." Anakin comes over, the door shutting behind him, and climbs up on Qui-Gon's bed to lean against him, like he hasn't in the last year and a half. "Master Yoda says sometimes dreams are a way to see things we can't see awake."

Qui-Gon wraps an arm around Anakin, feeling the worry through the training bond. More, perhaps, than can be explained by Anakin being woken by his dream-induced shouting. "They can be."

"Obi-Wan's in trouble, isn't he?" Anakin's question makes a chill run down Qui-Gon's spine, too close to what he was thinking about the dream.