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[neverjedi]

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[justasmallfry]

That shut Anakin up for a moment. And he turned back to putting a few more piecing back into the pod. But he was clearly trying to work something out. And after a moment he'd gathered enough of his thoughts to try.

"How do you know Master Jinn will help us? Mom and I and you are just three people. That's not much more than your friend."

[neverjedi]

"I know that he will help you and your Mom if he can- if he can, Anakin - because he's a good Jedi and he's a kind of shitty friend but he's compassionate and helping you is the right thing to do." And it wouldn't cost Qui-Gon too much. Not if it happened after whatever was happening on Naboo.

[justasmallfry]

"And you, too?" Anakin asked, half mollified. Anakin cared a great deal about a lot of the slaves on Tatooine, they were his friends. But Obi-Wan didn't have anyone to look out for him if he and his mom were gone.

[neverjedi]

"We'll have to see. First step is you getting this together and winning the race, though!" He doubted he was going to be in the rescue plans. Or maybe he just didn't want to hope. Or maybe he really did believe he deserved it under the anger. Mostly though? Just not his priority.

[justasmallfry]

Anakin reach over to Obi-Wan, because Obi-Wan was a priority for him. "I'll make sure you do, too."

And working on the pod racer reminded him. "Sebulba is going to be really mad when I win."

[neverjedi]

"Yeah." This one he couldn't hide from Anakin. "But this is really important. Not just for us, but for everybody on Naboo. And it'll be okay in the end. I've got the Force." Couldn't manipulate his owner mentally but he could probably... mitigate a little, if things got too bad.

[justasmallfry]

"You could hide here after the race," Anakin said. But he knew that wouldn't do any good when they were chipped.

"Maybe I should be working on the chip finder instead?"

[neverjedi]

"Nah. We need to get them their parts and I really will be okay, Anakin. He isn't that bad." Yes, yes he was, but still. "Just win for me, okay?"

[justasmallfry]

Anakin knew it was the right thing to do. Saying he would help felt right like the same way it felt right when he listened to the Force while fixing machines or when he was flying and the Force prompted him to take an action.

Still didn't mean he wasn't worried about Obi-Wan.

"Maybe mom can come by later after the race to make sure you're okay." He didn't suggest himself, he was sure he'd have to stay away from Sebulba for a bit after winning. But maybe mom could sneak over to help Obi-Wan.

[neverjedi]

"Check for me in slave quarters first, but if I don't show up there you can send somebody to check on me. Though maybe someone from Qui-Gon's group instead of your mom." Safer, that way.

[justasmallfry]

Anakin thought about that. "Could Master Jinn help you with the Force? The way you use the Force to help you?"

[neverjedi]

"I don't know." He doesn't and he's not fussed. "Maybe. I don't really remember how much practice he had with healing. Or know what he would have had since then." He shrugs. "I'll be all right, Anakin."

[justasmallfry]

"We could ask him," Anakin said, seeing absolutely no problem with this.

[neverjedi]

"If you have to go looking for me, you can ask him anything you want. If you don't have to, then I don't need help anyway, right?"

[justasmallfry]

This bit of word play stumped Anakin for a bit.

"I guess..."

But he knit his brow together.

"Do you not want help from Master Jinn?"

[neverjedi]

He smiled, slightly. "I don't want much to do with Master Jinn, period. I just want him to do what's right and to help you. I'm still a little bit mad, even though it wasn't his fault."

[justasmallfry]

"If it wasn't his fault," Anakin asked, "then why are you mad?"

[neverjedi]

"Because emotions aren't rational and I'm a slave." He does not expect Anakin to fully grasp that and he's okay with it.

[justasmallfry]

That did stump Anakin again.

"You seem alright to me," he said, thinking Obi-Wan was trying to say there was something wrong with him.

And going back to something Obi-Wan said the night before- "Did you really choose to be a slave?"

[neverjedi]

"No. I just accepted it as a risk to what I did choose which wasn't going back with Qui-Gon." No he hadn't, but. It was a risk and he had taken it and it had happened.

[justasmallfry]

"But... how?" Anakin asked. "Was your friend a slave?"

[neverjedi]

"Because stuff happens and the universe isn't fair and sometimes the things we do make it more or less fair or stack or unstack the deck of cards we're given and the Force works in Mysterious ways, we need to get this thing finished."

[justasmallfry]

That made aboslutely no sense to Anakin and he screwed up his face at Obi-Wan.

But then he laughed and said, "Okay." And got back to work.

[neverjedi]

Not happy, Obi-Wan was not surprised to find out, was an understatement. Angry was too. Furious, enraged, seething, incensed-- there were a lot of words that could have applied much better than 'not happy' or 'mad'.

He made it back to his place in slave quarters, but only barely and only because he refused to allow anyone to risk his owner's ire in trying to check on him.

He lost consciousness not far inside the door, just fainted where he stood and fell to the floor. He was naked from the waist up, his back a mass of bruises and dried blood from shallow whip marks. There were abrasions and bruises around his wrists. One eye was swollen and bruised and his lip was split. He was badly sunburned where skin was exposed. He was dehydrated. All relatively minor things, in the scheme of things.

Not minor at all, there was a bruise so deep and nasty across one side of his rib cage that it was black rather than purple. His breathing was shallow, and periodically turned into a pained cough - that added a fresh layer of blood to his lips.

There was an attempt made at healing himself, there really was, but he just couldn't manage. Couldn't manage to stay conscious long enough and couldn't focus past how bad it hurt to breathe in those periods he was vaguely aware.

[justasmallfry]

Anakin's thrill of victory was short lived. It was amazing to finally win- it hadn't been easy, Sebulba was an excellent pilot, but not holding back had been wonderful, like he was stretching parts of him that had begged for movement for too long.

But his fears for Obi-Wan had been founded. When Obi-Wan didn't show, he all but threatened to go to Obi-Wan his own until the one adult he was sure was Obi-Wan's only hope agreed to help.

"He's hurt because Sebulba's mad that I won! I won to help you- you have to help Obi-Wan now!"

Qui-Gon finally agreed, and while he helped Obi-Wan to his bed, he told Anakin to get some water and then sent him home because it wasn't safe for Anakin to be caught there, given Sebulba's anger.

"Obi-Wan," Qui-Gon said directly, but still a bit gentle. He needed Obi-Wan to wake up enough to take water.