Office hours [all day]

[sith_happened]

Anakin was in his office after his weekly meeting with Ben, per usual, but this time we was sitting cross-legged on the floor putting together a very large, synthflesh-covered nanny droid.

No one had ever accused him of having a normal home life, no.

The door was open.

Comments

[sith_happened]

Anakin nodded thoughtfully. "But slowly," he warned. "Too many feelings at once and you'll be overwhelmed."

[trigons_child]

"You believe it is safe to try?" Raven said eagerly. "I told Karla I would have to seek your guidance about this. I am not without feelings, but all my life I have had to ignore them and deny them for fear of my father using them to control me. But if Azar was mistaken...."

[sith_happened]

"I'm no fan of seeing the future," Anakin admitted, "but if those are the choices you have, I prefer the one where your father isn't ascendant. We will start very, very slowly. You'll need to work on feeling something and then putting it aside. At no point will they control you."

[trigons_child]

That would probably be easier said than done. "Yes, of course," Raven said. "I would not want to be overwhelmed. That would be too dangerous a risk to take."

[sith_happened]

Anakin nodded. "It'll be like Jedi mental training," he said.

Only hopefully better than how he'd done with that particular discipline...

[trigons_child]

What could possibly go wrong?

"How shall I start?" Raven said. Eager as she was, she was also somewhat nervous about opening up.

[sith_happened]

"Start with me," he said with a small smile. "Right now, I should be fairly emotionally neutral. Reach out and confirm that. Work on keeping your personal shields up at the same time."

[trigons_child]

Raven had to open her shields to reach out to Anakin, but kept the core of herself protected. She had to do that when she healed lest the pain overwhelm her, so it was not an unfamiliar action. "Yes," she said.

[sith_happened]

"Good," Anakin said, letting some of his pride and confidence in her leak through his shields. "Now what do you feel?"

[trigons_child]

Something stirred inside Raven at the taste of pride, but she was not conscious of it. "I feel pride," she said, soaking it in. "Certainty in myself."

[sith_happened]

"Exactly," Anakin said, smiling more broadly, then re-establishing his shields. "Emotions that people feel strongly will be easier to notice. Unfortunately, you live among teenagers, so those will be of anger, humiliation and hormones."

[trigons_child]

"I want to feel everything," Raven said. "Not all at once, but there is so much I do not know."

[sith_happened]

"Some of the emotions won't be pleasant," Anakin said. "Either what you feel in yourself or what you pick up from others."

[trigons_child]

Raven nodded. "I know," she said softly. "I have felt them from others before, but they have never been my own."

[sith_happened]

"Don't be afraid of it, the first time you get angry," he said. "The combination of the two emotions could be disastrous."

[trigons_child]

"I will remember that," Raven said solemnly. "What may happen?"

[sith_happened]

"I'm not sure," Anakin admitted. "There are a number of unpleasant alternatives."