Ask Heavy Lifting

[Maxims Tionson]

The first chunk of many.

Such a task was daunting, not least because no one would ever really realize how intensive it was on them. People without the Force tended to think the Jedi had an infinite well of power to draw upon without issue and even those with the Force tended to think that feats could be accomplished with ease due to the nature of the Force. But this task? No, this task was nothing less than hard work that needed to be done.

"I'm an old man, I'm allowed to be nostalgic about my first Padawan." he teased her gently with a soft smile, "Especially when she has grown so much in such a short period of time."

It was as they were removing another of the major blockages that he spoke again.

"Nashyr I will be recommending you for the Trials of Knighthood soon." he announced, "I believe you are almost ready."

@Killa Ree

 

[Nashyr Ris]

She almost lost her focus when he spoke his last piece.

The massive boulder wavered, and she immediately focused once more, giving Max a sideways glance when they were finally able to set it down gently. She felt a little winded; this kind of concentration could wear on you, and the baleful sky above was deceivingly warm. "Did I just hear you right, or did that blast ruin my hearing?" she asked, head tilted.

"...You think I'm almost ready?" Surprise kept her in place. She blinked at Max, fully expecting the old Jedi to laugh and say he was joking, or something like it. More than anyone, she felt like she had the most work to go with her training... and she felt it. Though work was hard and steady, they'd have to take a break soon. Lifting heavy objects was nothing to laugh at; if she felt even slightly winded, she couldn't imagine how Max was faring any better.

@Nefieslab

 

[Maxims Tionson]

The way her concentration dipped was amusing and something he had accounted for with the Force so the chunk they were carrying didn't so much as dip as it fell mostly onto his shoulders for a moment while she recovered. When she recovered the load was shared once again, the way it was meant to be.

Had he told her this at that precise moment just to mess with her?

Absolutely.

There were few pleasures in the Galaxy that a Jedi could indulge in without fear that it could somehow go against their teachings but having a sense of humor was one of them. Even if his own sense of humor seemed to be 'groan inducing' or 'dad joke quality' according to those he knew and joked with regularly.

Smiling a little bit, Max patted her gently on the head, his fingers instinctively giving her a little scratch behind the ears. Years of having cats for pets as a child meant that he was a little bit expressive when he touched Cathar. Still, he led her over to a couple of rock chunks that were flat enough to sit down on comfortably.

"I wasn't joking and I didn't stutter, Nashyr." he assured her, "You heard me right and you know I believe it. Why is it so hard for you to believe it?"

@Killa Ree

 

[Nashyr Ris]

She blinked when he affectionately patted her head, even scratching behind her ears. She half chuckled, half grimaced at the affectionate gesture, patting him on the shoulder. "You're getting soft on me," she grinned, but it wasn't a complaint. Rather, she seemed... touched by his praises. When he offered her a place to sit she did, leaning back slightly to ponder his question.

"I'm always driven to do better," she finally spoke, tucking a curl behind her ear. "I feel like I still have a long way to go... anywhere. I feel like I haven't changed much since you met me on Nar Shaddaa, and when you said I was almost ready... it reminded me of how much time had passed." She gave him a small smile, then lightly shrugged. "I don't see what you see, Max. But if you think I'm ready... then I must be. I just gotta get used to that idea." She chuckled, then rose back up again, giving a long stretch.

"But! Time is young, and we're not." She smirked down at him, offering her hand. "Let's go conquer these bad boys."

@Nefieslab

 

[Maxims Tionson]

Was he getting soft?

That would imply he had ever been any kind of a hardass and they both knew how much of a lie that was. Max had always been a bit of a soft touch when it came to being a Master and being a person. When it came to being a Jedi he was a lot less of one but he could still never really be considered anything but soft.

How could he have gotten softer?

It was good that she didn't seem to have developed an ego to go alongside her hard work and dedication. Though the way she seemed to view herself as being less impressive than she was? Food for thought on that but she might have some self-esteem issues he would need to discuss with her to assist as much as he could. He wasn't going to say that just her Master's help would be enough to remove said issues (if they existed) but that could be discussed later.

"You'll see it one day." he assured her before taking her hand, "But back to the grind - let's move some more rocks."

/End Thread

Spoiler: OOC

Ending it here because there's not much to say except "they moved more rocks" over and over xD

@Killa Ree