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[Theodosia Acatia]

[OOC| 0605; Pantora; Theodosia's Hearth ]

The morning was well on it’s way. The Pantoran was already awake and drinking her morning java. The livestock called outside, the sun on the marshy moon of Pantora was rising steadily, it’s rays just grasping the touches of the bogs.

It was much more temperate here than her home planet, Theodosia appreciated that much. The colder season was still not as harsh. Some moments, she missed the cold, bitter land of Orto Plutonia. Was it really only six years ago she had left? The woman was well accustomed to Pantora by now, and did love the planet. The neighbors were rural folk like her and did various trades. One even promised to fix up an old droid for her.

After sipping her java, Theodosia got up and went to her room and changed. She loved her little place. Unfortunately, she could she would have to leave it soon. But, her friend was coming. In her peace, the usually dissociative woman flitted around her loft. It opened to a quaint living room/kitchen/dining area, then a short corridor to her room and hygienal areas. It was made with sturdy metal installations. But, today, is where her life would change. She tried to remain positive.

The goatish creatures made their sounds for feeding, Theodosia tended to. Now, it was time to wait for her new acquaintance to show up. It was a few days after the first steps of a journey, enough time for Theodosia to regroup and regain some composure. Her eyes were still puffy from the amount of crying that had taken place, and her blue skin looked like it had aged (enough for the young woman to notice). Theodosia didn’t like the first impression she left (or had) from the woman, but now it was time to change that. She waited.

@Valen Pelora

 

[Aurora Blackwood]

Pantora was swampy. The moon was more bog than solid ground. A never ending sea of muck and stench. Just the kind of place Aurora did not want to visit. Oh, she had never lived a life of luxury. Her time was spent hopping from world to world, but there were some things she deeply disliked. Swamps were very high on the list. There were so many worlds in the galaxy, why the kriff would anyone decide to live in a swamp. Frankly, she couldn’t remember if she had been to Pantora before or not. After so many decades it all began to sort of blend together. Aurora liked to think she could have remember such a distasteful planet.

She tired to silence her mind as she trekked toward the coordinates Theo had given her. Aurora was here to start a very long journey. The young girl had insisted on coming home before beginning her training. Something about animals and caregiving. She would not begrudge the child’s good nature, so she agreed to meet her here. A decision she was starting to regret. The mud really put her in a bad mood. She resolved to help the girl. There was no doubt Theo was a lost soul. Aurora knew those feelings and was determined to make a difference. The Force had mashed them together for a reason.

Finally, she saw the small homestead. It was everything Aurora imagined, including the strange livestock milling about. Oh, they had a long way to go. She wasn’t exactly silent in her approach. In no time she was standing before her future student. Her robes were covered in mud, her boots turned brown, and her face sour. “So, this is where you live?” The Force was decidedly more neutral this time around. Theo was more in control. “How long do you need to pack up? There was work to be done, and it could not be done here. @Iridescence

 

[Theodosia Acatia]

Theodosia did enjoy the sour look on Aurora’s face as the woman trudged up. She tried to stifle the laughter. “This is my home, indeed, welcome. How was the trek?” Theodosia bowed, a smirk on her lips. She lead her to the stairs. “Not too much more, I honestly do not have much stuff. Where are we going again?” She asked the woman, looking back at her. The stairs creaked. Theodosia had honestly never had someone who wasn’t Pantoran in her home. This was a new experience for her, she was actually a little nervous.

The tunic she wore was sewn up in many patches. Theodosia didn’t struggle by any means, but she was raised in a colony where buying clothes wasn’t an option and lived on the rural side of a mud of a planet. “Would you like anything to drink or eat?” she offered the older woman, her mother had taught her hospitality.

The livestock complained loudly outside about something and she rolled her eyes as she sat down. “Needy creatures they are, unless they have food constantly at their mouths,” Theodosia commented, crossing her legs. Per usual, she was barefoot. The Pantoran was quite used to the mud and the bogs, and stopped bothering to put shoes on years ago.

@Valen Pelora

 

[Aurora Blackwood]

She fought to keep her frown from deepening. The fact that Theo was taking such pleasure in her discomfort was annoying. Foolish girl. “I don’t think you could possibly live farther from the spaceport.” She brushed some of the mud from her robes. “And my home on Vestar was two days away from the nearest one.” Aurora tried to take in as much of the homestead as she could. Frankly she was impressed. By all accounts Theo was alone in the world. Young and alone. Aurora hadn’t needed to fend for herself until well into her thirties. The young girl managed all of this. A small grunt escaped the Jedi. Perhaps, she had underestimated the Pantoran.

“So many questions. Food and drink would be fine.” She resisted the urge to run a hand through her hair. Her head was the only part of her body mud free. “We are going away from here. Somewhere we can both focus.” Aurora raised a hand. “You’ll know when the time is right, just trust me.” She had an idea of where they needed to go. The Force flowed strongly through some worlds. Worlds forgotten by the Sith, and nearly forgotten by the Jedi. That was where they needed to start. Aurora raised an eyebrow and pointed at the animals. “You know you can’t bring those? The shuttle is large but not that large, my dear.”

Aurora could only imagine the bleating that would follow them through the journey. Something she certainly did not want. One or two maybe, a heard? No. She needed to know more about the young girl. More than Theo would like to tell. “How long have you lived here?” Her Master had once said he never stopped training her. Every moment, every conversation, was a chance for learning. She tried to live by that tenant. @Iridescence

 

[Theodosia Acatia]

“I like living this far out. The Empire does not snoop around here like some places and neither do many locals,” Theodosia stated, staring at the woman. Theodosia was often found strange by some of her neighbors, luckily they lived farther away. There was a small family spitting distance away, they were nice and pleasant. However, she was not going to tell them where she was going.


What was that grunt for? Theodosia wondered, raising her eyebrows for the second after she heard it. “And they are polite questions, I would hope,” she responded, getting up from her chair and flitted to the kitchen. “Water or any sort of tea? I also have some rum, but I do think it is a bit too early in the day for that, yes?” Theodosia reached to grab a mug. “As for food, I have some biscuits and some product of the herd.” The Pantoran was in a much better mood, so she found herself talking more.


Theodosia narrowed her eyes at the woman. “I know I cannot bring them. It is incredibly dangerous and they do not prefer traveling. They get sick.” The younger one knew that this was not the reasons Aurora wanted to hear, probably because the woman wouldn’t want to worry about droppings, bleating, etc. Theodosia suddenly felt a pang of sadness, a reluctancy for the new journey she was about to embark on. “I am releasing them before I leave. They can fend for themselves,” Theodosia answered, looking out the window at the absurdly-shaped noses of the livestock. They were hardy creatures. If they could survive this new stretch of life, so could Theo.

The young woman tried to protect her face from scrunching up at being called my dear. Pet names often made Theodosia quite uncomfortable, but it was oddly soothing. "I lived here for about five, going on six, years. It was my first and only home other than Orto Plutonia." As she prepared the plate for Aurora, she thought. "And how long have you been...basically a nomad?"

@Valen Pelora

 

[Aurora Blackwood]

Aurora nodded at the mention of water and biscuits. That would be fine. She mostly just observed Theodosia. How one behaved in their natural habitat was important. She had only seen one side of the girl on Vestar. The side wrought with pain and guilt. Aurora had known there was more to Theo, but it was critical to actually see it. She cast an eye towards the goat like creatures. “You know, you don’t have to abandon them.” Her hand appointed around them. “You can keep your home, your animals, your things.” She smiled softly. “I can’t say how long we will be gone but there is no harm is having a place to call home. Especially, with the road we are about to walk.”

The Jedi who had lived when the Order fell had preached vigorously against attachments. Even personal belongings could be seen as a path to inappropriate feelings. Things were much different now. There was value to having something to call your own. Value in not feeling lost in the galaxy. “I am not a nomad.” She shook her head. “You make me sound like a vagrant.” Aurora waggled her finger. “I have homes across the Outer Rim. Places that are safe, hidden, and secure. Just enough of a place to sleep and find some small measure of peace.” She thought bake to all her years moving across the Outer Rim. “I have lived this life for seventy-three years, but that is over now.”

The galaxy was changing and Aurora changing with it. She had agreed to return from the Outer Rim, to end her watch and begin teaching students again. She had agreed to join the Galactic Alliance. Whatever the kriff that meant. “Times are changing. I can’t stay hidden forever.” She didn’t know when it would come, but the day would come where the galaxy knew the Jedi lived. @Iridescence

 

[Theodosia Acatia]

Theodosia had hoped that was the case, that she was allowed to have a home, mainly because she made no moves to do anything with her belongings. “I had hoped that was the case, because I might get tired of you and want to run off,” she commented with a smile. “I know I do not have to get rid of them, but they are very timid creatures and it took two years to gain their trust. They would rather starve then let take food that has been touched by a sentient species, specifically by someone they do not know. So, they would fend just as easily, if not better, in the wild rather than I let someone come and take care of them.” Theodosia was speaking as she prepared a plate for her guest. “The biscuits might be a little dry,” she said, making a face, “so just dip it in the animal grease.”


It was quite the thought of becoming vegan, but the Pantoran figured it would be counterintuitive as she did live as a farmer. “Seventy-three years...how old are you?” Her eyes widened, the woman didn’t look a day over thirty. Theodosia had heard of species having long life-spans, and she never talked to anyone enough to learn their age.


As a child, her grandmother sang and told stories and ballads about Knights who taught the ways and practices of the Force. Apparently, a distant ancestor was one. Theodosia never took it to heart, or gave it much thought, as they were apparently all dead and gone. What were they called again? A lightbulb went off, and she turned to Aurora. “Oh, kriff!” Theodosia exclaimed, “that is what all that mumbling about, you are a Jedi, are you not?”

@Valen Pelora

 

[Aurora Blackwood]

Aurora was certainly not going to be dipping anything in animal grease. That was just, no. She did take the plate and glass with a smile. The walk out here had not been pleasant. Frankly, she wasn’t surprised Theo was a little shocked by the revelation of her age. Aurora appeared to be a run of the mill human. Her Morellian heritage bred no special quality besides a long life. Not a bad trait, and the Force extended her good health. “I am seventy-five, seventy-six in a few months.” She smiled slightly. “The lighting of your hut is kind to me.

She took another sip of water and chewed on the biscuit. Both almost flew out of her mouth when Theo mentioned Jedi. It was only decades of practice that kept her calm. She didn’t even twitch when those words were uttered. The Empire preached that the Jedi were dead and gone. Extinguished for five hundred years. The Order was nothing, the Empire ruled supreme. Most, couldn’t even truly tell you what a Jedi was. What the kriff did Theo know? Aurora was not ready to speak those words, she did not know Theo well enough.

She carefully swallowed the biscuit. “Jedi are a myth. The Jedi Order is dead.” The Order was dead, and they were little more than legends. “The Empire is right, the Jedi as they were, were eradicated five hundred years ago. She shook her head slowly. “There is only the Empire now. Her eyes drifted to Theo. “You would do well to remember that and be careful with how you use that word. The galaxy may have forgotten what it means, but Empire has not. They have killed for less.” This was what Aurora feared. The enthusiasm of youth leading to their discovery. @Iridescence

 

[Theodosia Acatia]

The tone in the room had suddenly gotten very dark. Theodosia, for a few moments, did not know how to respond. She scratched her face, as a curious tick, then stared at Aurora. “So, is that a yes?” She responded, with a sly smile. “I know Empire should, but they do not scare me. I have seen scarier things, dealt with scarier things than a government that is a little too full of themselves. And, death itself does not scare me.” It was simple to Theo. Change began with words spoken. It always worked when she was younger, why would it not work in an entire Galaxy?

“My grandmother had said an aunt or a cousin of mine was a Jedi senator or something like that. Saint? Some word with an ‘S’." Theodosia flung herself into a chair, crossing her legs, chewing thoughtfully. She tried awkward silences and a somber setting before, she didn’t like it. So, she would keep talking.

The sun had risen more already. Theodosia got up. “I am listening. Just gathering my stuff.” The hallway to her small room was short. Her bags were already packed except for a light jacket for her to carry. The Pantoran actually not had a clue as to where she was going next, but she was going to save questions for later. She quickly changed, cladding herself in a nicer tunic and chaps. The Pantoran spun around, her bag still on her shoulders. She sauntered back in, goats bleating in the background and she tried to hide the sadness on her face. ​

@Valen Pelora

 

[Aurora Blackwood]

Aurora blew out a puff of air in frustration. That child was insufferable. She couldn’t risk Theo just blurting out Jedi while they traveled, even in the company of other members of the Rebellion. This was not exactly how she planned reveling she was one of the few Jedi left in the galaxy. In her mind, Aurora told Theo in some grand gesture while the young Pantoran began her journey on the same path. So much for that. She slowly shook her head. “I am not a Sith, nor have I ever touched the Darkside. I was taught to use the Force a different way.”

Aurora paused for a moment. “The Jedi were a people, an Order that spanned a galaxy. I call myself a Jedi but we are hardly that. We are less than a handful, who hide in the shadows so that our way may survive.” She raised her eyes to look at Theo. “My hope was that you might be part of a new generation who is not trained in secret, but with that attitude I am beginning to question my sanity.” She smiled and flashed one bright smile.

Aurora absentmindedly ran a hand through her blonde hair as Theo packed. “Don’t expect much wisdom from me or the others kid, this is new territory.” There was one thing Theo needed to know. “The Empire is more than just a government. They maintain their power through mastery of the Darkside of the Force and they should not be underestimated.” Aurora knew first hand the strength of the Empire. It was no accident they had ruled for five centuries. Their power was absolute but it was waning. “By the Force you pack slowly, and I have expected at least a few questions.” She smiled again. She did like the girl and there was tremendous potential if Theo could harness her abilities. @Iridescence

 

[Theodosia Acatia]

“You could have said that in a lot fewer words,” Theodosia commented towards Aurora, her backpack on her shoulders. Of course, she was joking, but it was going to be long training if she was going to be lectured towards, even if she needed the wisdom. Did she really puff air out at her? The Pantoran farmer took out a small datapad and clicked once. As she looked out the window, the gate opened with a steady pace. The livestock stepped towards it, curiously. When the leader found that it was safe, the herd followed. Theodosia grinned. May the Force be with you guys.

Theodosia made a face. “You have sanity?” She asked, with a playful smile. She was still standing, inching towards Aurora. She took her plate, and ran it back to the kitchen and dropped them in the sink. Huh. Guess she didn’t necessarily need to do the dishes.

“Uh, also, how much stuff do I need? I packed everything but...you never said where we were going so I did not want to bring everything out at once.” Theodosia now stood in the middle, between the exit and the corridor to her room, in case she needed anything else.


“You were being too somber for me to ask questions,” Theodosia mocked an eye roll, it took some resistance to not add grouchy. She took one long step towards the door. “This is new territory for you? Try being the trainee...the...what’s is a word for it? What am I now?” It was a strange question to ask “what am I?”, but Theodosia was beginning to accept that strange questions were going to be popular with her.

 

[Aurora Blackwood]

Aurora rolled her eyes. Oh, this one was going to be trouble. “I’ve lived alone for forty years, it’s nice to have someone to talk to.” She winked. “Get used to it.” Master Orady had found a teaching moment in every aspect of life. He had been patient, kind, and gentle. There had been times she was truly a pain to guide through teaching. Aurora had tried to emulate Master Orady those few times she had sought students in the past. None had ever panned out and she quickly discovered she was not her former Master. Her stay was different, and she had to be true to herself. That was the only way any of this would work.

“It’s going to be cold….very cold.” She watched the strange goat like creature wander out of their pen. Good luck. “There are somethings you have to experience first hand. That I simply cannot explain.” Aurora had made this trip much later in life, when she passed her trials of Knighthood. Master Orady had needed to create the physical and spiritual challenge. She needed to know the strength of Theo’s soul sooner. She suspected the girl was every bit as powerful as their first meeting suggested. “Such an attitude. See what kind of mood you are in when you reach my age.”

Finally, the real question. What exactly was Theo? A word formed in her mouth, a word she had never uttered. A word she was not sure she was ready to speak. Was it true? Aurora searched the Force for answers. Was Theo to be the first in this new generation? The Force was oddly silent, she had to make the choice for herself. “You are my Padawan learner, and you are a pain in my rear.” A broad smiled flashed across her face. Two truths. Theo was her Padawan and this was the start of a tremendous journey. “Time to go kid.” She motioned Theo to follow and walked from the small homestead. Hoth awaited the Jedi. @Iridescence

OOC: End Thread