Obi-Wan nodded slowly, carefully listening to Allura's words and sensing her grief. She may or may not notice the same from him. A slight turning away of his eyes, the melancholy feel to his gentle expression, and the mushrooms thriving around their table. Just hints to a deeper grief that he largely keeps buried.
"Leia is something akin to family to me. And while I will only know her as a baby in my time, I can appreciate the woman she has become here."
He sighed softly as he considered his next words, his hand lightly scrubbing his beard.
"Anakin on the other hand, I have known much of his life. I raised him from a small boy and taught him in the ways of my people. He is like a brother to me. However, I can not deny he will do terrible things. I can sympathize with Leia because he will cause the extermination of my people as well. Not that far into his future actually. In fact he was on the verge of doing so when he was brought here. He was angry, confused, and desperate, but there was still a chance. I took that chance, and after months of work, with some set backs here and there, he has turned around."
She could only take his word for that though, and by what she has witnessed. Leia, after all, would argue that Anakin hasn't changed.
"Leia refuses to acknowledge that, as I'm sure you are aware. While it can't be expected for her to ever be on friendly terms with Anakin, she indeed holds on to an anger that is very dangerous."
"That's also similar; as I told Leia, the man who destroyed my home was once a good man: the king of his planet, the leader of the peacekeeping force my father and their three friends were part of, and a devoted husband and my father's best friend since before I was born. I can't imagine Leia having to interact with him knowing what he'll do in the future."
She sets her mug of tea down.
"All of that aside, my main concern now is how peace can be kept with two committee members having a very public argument. What's between them is between them to sort out, but at this point I don't see it not affecting the committee in some way."
"You are right to be concerned, and I would be lying if I said I hadn't thought of it as well."
All three of them were on the committee and he could foresee there potentially being problems.
"I would hope that Leia would be professional enough to not allow it to affect her duties as a member. Anakin, I'm fairly certain, will not be a problem unless provoked. Leia I'm not as sure of. During the last meeting they appeared to be getting along fine, which made this announcement seem rather sudden. However, and I dislike even suggesting it, if she does allow her personal feelings to get in the way of her duties then action may need to be taken. Perhaps even dismissal from the committee. We can not afford to have a divided committee, or members who are distracted."
"And the same should go for Anakin, if it comes from his side."
She HAD seen his temper before after all, on the Elios expedition, and some of the things Leia told her about his actions here do sound like cause for caution.
"But angry as she is, I don't think Leia will go out of her way to interact with Anakin either. In that case, a cold silence between them will be a victory. If it comes to it, though, I think both of them will be more likely to listen to someone other than me. I don't know Anakin well enough, and I already tried warning Leia about not letting it go out of control in the future, and she dismissed me as presumptuous."
She takes a sip of her tea.
"I do admit to being a bit of a busybody. And she is right on one point: similar as our pasts are, we're two different people, and I don't know the full scope of her situation. In the end, the only one that can change how she sees and acts upon things is her."
Obi-Wan dipped his head in agreement. If Anakin proved to be unruly then it should apply to him as well. He was not so foolhardy as to think it should only apply to Leia.
"Well... I'm afraid I'm not the best choice for a mediator either."
This said with a sip of his own tea and a grimace.
"Leia and I had our own disagreement following the announcement and it's clear she does not trust me to handle things in what she would consider an objective manner."
He sighed softly, looking just a bit distressed at the thought of it all.
"That is true for both of them. Only they can govern their feelings, and how they react to them. I only wish there was more that I could do."
But trying to make peace with Leia while defending Anakin was sadly an uphill battle.
"In that case, I best the both either of can do is watch and hope that intervention won't be necessary. And that it won't negatively impact the rest of the committee members too badly."
no subject
"Leia is something akin to family to me. And while I will only know her as a baby in my time, I can appreciate the woman she has become here."
He sighed softly as he considered his next words, his hand lightly scrubbing his beard.
"Anakin on the other hand, I have known much of his life. I raised him from a small boy and taught him in the ways of my people. He is like a brother to me. However, I can not deny he will do terrible things. I can sympathize with Leia because he will cause the extermination of my people as well. Not that far into his future actually. In fact he was on the verge of doing so when he was brought here. He was angry, confused, and desperate, but there was still a chance. I took that chance, and after months of work, with some set backs here and there, he has turned around."
She could only take his word for that though, and by what she has witnessed. Leia, after all, would argue that Anakin hasn't changed.
"Leia refuses to acknowledge that, as I'm sure you are aware. While it can't be expected for her to ever be on friendly terms with Anakin, she indeed holds on to an anger that is very dangerous."
no subject
She sets her mug of tea down.
"All of that aside, my main concern now is how peace can be kept with two committee members having a very public argument. What's between them is between them to sort out, but at this point I don't see it not affecting the committee in some way."
no subject
"You are right to be concerned, and I would be lying if I said I hadn't thought of it as well."
All three of them were on the committee and he could foresee there potentially being problems.
"I would hope that Leia would be professional enough to not allow it to affect her duties as a member. Anakin, I'm fairly certain, will not be a problem unless provoked. Leia I'm not as sure of. During the last meeting they appeared to be getting along fine, which made this announcement seem rather sudden. However, and I dislike even suggesting it, if she does allow her personal feelings to get in the way of her duties then action may need to be taken. Perhaps even dismissal from the committee. We can not afford to have a divided committee, or members who are distracted."
no subject
"And the same should go for Anakin, if it comes from his side."
She HAD seen his temper before after all, on the Elios expedition, and some of the things Leia told her about his actions here do sound like cause for caution.
"But angry as she is, I don't think Leia will go out of her way to interact with Anakin either. In that case, a cold silence between them will be a victory. If it comes to it, though, I think both of them will be more likely to listen to someone other than me. I don't know Anakin well enough, and I already tried warning Leia about not letting it go out of control in the future, and she dismissed me as presumptuous."
She takes a sip of her tea.
"I do admit to being a bit of a busybody. And she is right on one point: similar as our pasts are, we're two different people, and I don't know the full scope of her situation. In the end, the only one that can change how she sees and acts upon things is her."
no subject
"Well... I'm afraid I'm not the best choice for a mediator either."
This said with a sip of his own tea and a grimace.
"Leia and I had our own disagreement following the announcement and it's clear she does not trust me to handle things in what she would consider an objective manner."
He sighed softly, looking just a bit distressed at the thought of it all.
"That is true for both of them. Only they can govern their feelings, and how they react to them. I only wish there was more that I could do."
But trying to make peace with Leia while defending Anakin was sadly an uphill battle.
no subject
"In that case, I best the both either of can do is watch and hope that intervention won't be necessary. And that it won't negatively impact the rest of the committee members too badly."
no subject
“That is the hope. An uneventful meeting will be a good one. I’m glad to have spoken with you about it and that we are on the same page.”
It made him feel a little less alone in this whole ordeal. What with his own master deciding to have withdrawn from the whole thing.
no subject
"As am I. And I appreciate you talking about this with me; it hasn't been an easy process, learning to share concerns like this with other people."
no subject
"I'm also glad to have finally met you properly, Miss Allura. You can always bring your concerns to me in the future. I will do my best to help."
She has an ally in this Jedi, and someone who also wants the best for the committee and the Arehtei.