Office hours [all day]

[sith_happened]

Anakin was in his office as usual today, glaring angrily at the Christmas themed ads as they popped up on his computer screen.

"Can't I get through Thanksgiving first?" he complained aloud.

The door was open.

Comments

[sith_happened]

Anakin arched up his eyebrow. "I'm Ben's grandfather," he said. "I'm familiar with the 'concentrate on others to avoid thinking about myself' process."

[trigons_child]

Buuuusted.

"I have spent the past three days thinking of myself," Raven said, shaking her head. "I wish to focus on something else now."

[sith_happened]

"Don't push yourself too hard," Anakin counseled.

[trigons_child]

"I am more afraid of not pushing myself hard enough," Raven said. "I have fought the demon part of my soul before, but this was different. And it troubles me a great deal."

[sith_happened]

"Then would it not make more sense to concentrate on fighting that directly instead of worrying about other people's problems?" Anakin asked. "I am very familiar with the instinct to ignore issues you don't want to deal with in the hopes that they'll go away. They rarely do."

[trigons_child]

"But each time I use my gifts to help someone else, I am resisting my father," Raven protested. "I am doing the opposite of what he would wish me to do."

[sith_happened]

"And if their pain is more than you are ready to face just yet?" Anakin countered. "What happens then?"

[trigons_child]

"There is no pain that I am not ready to face," Raven said simply.

[sith_happened]

Anakin's eyebrows arched up. "And if I disagree?"

[trigons_child]

Not fair!

"I understand and greatly appreciate your concern," Raven said after a moment's thought, trying to decide how best to phrase this. "But I am not certain it is truly possible for any other person to know what I am capable of handling, any more so than I could know how much you or another person could take."

[sith_happened]

"Fair enough," Anakin said finally, "but don't push yourself. There are other people who are able to help them, too."

If only he'd known how busy his office was going to be...

[trigons_child]

"It is in my nature to help people," Raven said, managing a small smile. "I cannot not do so any more than I can not breathe."

[sith_happened]

"And helping people helps you," Anakin replied, nodding. "But it doesn't mean that you can do it instead of fixing yourself."

[trigons_child]

"What if I cannot be fixed?" Raven said. That had been troubling her since Kaeleer. I am you, Raven, her father had said. You are evil as I.

[sith_happened]

Anakin tried to meet her eyes. "You can be fixed."

[trigons_child]

"My father said we were one and the same," Raven said, lifting her gaze. "I know I should not believe anything he says, but what I felt then...it was not my own anger, or even Jaenelle's. It was just evil, and it came from within me, not without."

[sith_happened]

Anakin nodded, looking deadly serious. "There is evil inside all of us," he said softly, "as well as good. What matters is realizing that and making the choice every day to turn away from the evil."

[trigons_child]

"And that is why I heal," Raven said, nodding slightly. "I choose to use the powers my father's blood gives me to help instead of harm. I do not want to cause pain with them, I wish to defeat it."