Obi-Wan is aging surprisingly well (obi1) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2014-09-05 18:39:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, obi-wan kenobi, verity |
Who: Obi-Wan and Verity
What: Obi cannot keep his eyes open
When: Sept 4, First Day of the Sleepiness Plot
Where: Obi’s law office
Rating/Warnings: Low, ‘cept for some nightmare-type images
Status: Complete
Coffee had been poured twice that morning, because the first dose had apparently failed to take; how he’d driven to work without incident was a miracle. It had no doubt helped that the roads were all but empty. Come to think of it, Obi-Wan couldn’t recall seeing another living soul all morning, but then again, his brain felt like it was functioning at half-power, like he’d been pouring the coffee down the drain rather than his throat.
In the end, sitting in his comfortable office chair did him in before the computer in front of him was fully powered. One minute, he was--no, not even a minute--one second he was slipping into the false leather cushioning and the next…
Fire. Fire and smoke and sulphur and the smell of death clinging to his charred Jedi robes. At his feet, a worm of a man screamed obscenities and cursed his name, a worm who at one time had been the boy he’d raised. Anakin. There were no words for the pain in Obi-Wan’s heart, in spite of the fact that his dreams had taken him here many times before. Each time this hellish vision was as searing as the first.
Verity had been reading about some strange things on Valarnet. Though Christina was demanding more and more of her attention now, she didn't have as much time as she'd like to read it. She'd finally buckled and hired a daycare service to help care for Christina while she was working for Obi, so she didn't have to bring the stroller with her anymore. Christina was almost a year old, and being stuck in the stroller at work was torture.
Verity dropped off Christina at the daycare place, then headed to work. Her heart was heavy with leaving her daughter in the hands of a stranger--but she had to remind herself that these were professionals. They knew what they were doing. Christina was in very good hands.
She headed into the office and dropped her purse in her desk drawer. "Obi? I'm here." There was a pause. She didn't hear him respond. "Obi?"
And Obi-Wan couldn’t hear Verity, although he witnessed something flickering in the fabric of the dream world. He frowned and noted the faint interruption in Anakin’s cries. All that he was truly capable of doing was stare into his friend’s yellow eyes and repeat everything he done had on countless occasions. He was a puppet and quite helpless.
Or...
Wait. How was it that he could be aware of this awareness at all? Obi-Wan’s frown deepened. He lifted his hand and stared into it. He took a breath of his own power. This dream… it was… lucid. The planet Mustafar was the same and yet…
It was then that Anakin wrapped his flaming hand around Obi-Wan’s ankle.
Verity was a little concerned when Obi didn't respond to her again. She moved through the outer part of the office and then leaned into his doorway. A little gasp escaped her when she saw him on his desk. ...sleeping? He must be sleeping. She stood horrified for a moment until she saw him twitch or breathe or something, and then she stepped inside.
"...Obi? Obi." She said, a little louder. "Are you sleeping?"
...what a ridiculous question. The moment she said it, she regretted it.
At the same moment, Obi-Wan's knee hit the underside of the desk. Whether it was Verity's voice or Anakin's white-hot hand sending shockwaves through him, there was no way to know. But no sooner was Obi-Wan awake than his head fell back against his chair, his eyes rolled up, and he felt himself plunge back into the dream world. Helpless.
Verity jumped, startled, at the sound of the knee banging into the desk. Then she rushed forward, almost afraid that Obi was having some sort of a seizure. She tried to remember what her sister-in-law had told her about seizures--Lizzy was a nurse, after all--but she couldn’t remember anything. “Oh, God, Obi?” She cried out, moving forward to lay a hand on his shoulder. “Obi!”
Again, this was enough to rouse him, but he was fighting to stay awake. Fear gripped him, but then he focused on Verity’s face. The fog started to lift. “I...must have...fallen asleep.” He scrubbed his face with this fingernails. Really, he was partially trying to cleanse his mind of what he had just seen.
Verity looked absolutely terrified as she leaned in a little to check his eyes. His pupils were dilated, but that could have come from the dream he was having, right? Or was it something else? “Are you all right? You looked like you were having a seizure.”
His eyelids were heavy as he waited out her examination. Keeping them open felt like something he had to force. "No, I was just having a bad dream. Something... frightened me."
"Oh." Verity's heart was still thundering, but it was slowing down. Now that she knew he was okay, she was calming. "...I'm sorry. Was it one of the Dreams?" She asked, wondering if he needed or wanted to talk about it. She wanted to be there for him if he did.
Obi-Wan massaged his forehead. He could sense that Verity’s concern was lingering. He didn’t like it when people worried about him, but he had to admit he was a little worried about himself. The way that he felt was like nothing he could say he had experienced before. It was like...like there was a warm, damp towel around his brain.
He nodded. “It was a bit different actually.”
“How so?” Verity asked, moving to lean against the side of the desk. She gave him space, but stayed close. Obi was like an uncle to her, she cared about him a considerable amount. The idea that he was distressed made her tummy twist into knots.
“It was…” he began slowly. The imprint of the dream was still present, like a stamp on his brain. “Well, to begin with, it was lucid. And it didn’t go the way it usually does, the way it’s supposed to.”
Verity took a moment to translate those words in her brain. She frowned slightly. “It was a dream you’ve had before, you knew you were dreaming, and it wasn’t the same as the last time?” She asked.
He nodded as he took to his feet, thinking it might be help to speed up the waking process. “Yes, that was it exactly.” He paused and turned back to face her, “Have you ever experienced anything like that?”
“No.” Verity said, shaking her head. Even the night that she’d conceived wasn’t like that. It was more real than the other Dreams, but she wasn’t lucid. “It sounds… terrifying. Can I get you a cup of tea?”
“Yes,” said Obi-Wan automatically. Then, he shook his head. “No. I already had one. I mean, I’ve had coffee. Twice. I don’t think any more caffeine would be a good idea.” As if to punctuate it, oddly, he stifled a large yawn.
Verity raised both eyebrows. “...do you want to go on a walk?” She asked. That was the only thing she could think of that might help wake him up that didn’t involve stimulants. “Because… and I’m being honest here… you look exhausted.”
Obi-Wan tilted his head inquisitively before turning to walk down the hall. There was a (very) small bathroom in the office, barely enough room for a toilet and sink, but there was a mirror. The man he found looking back at him was pale with purple circles beneath his eyes, like he hadn’t slept in days. For a moment, it occurred to him that he might be sick, very sick, and Obi-Wan felt afraid. He hadn’t expected that.
Verity waited in Obi’s office while he stepped into the bathroom. She wrung her hands, waiting somewhat impatiently while he checked himself in the mirror, then she moved back into the front room to collect her purse. “Come on, Obi.” She called out over her shoulder. “Ten minute walk. I think you need it.” They both needed it.
In an attempt to center himself, Obi-Wan placed his hands on the sink. He closed his eyes and took a breath, though no sooner than he did so, he began to feel the warm hands of sleep against his temples. Fighting back, his head snapped up and he all but leapt out into the hall.
“I’m right behind you…”