Something, something... something.

[Xyrael]

((OOC: This is a flashback for Saia. This event occurs shortly after her Knighting ceremony at age 16, whereafter she is assigned to train extremely basic skills to younglings and initiates))

Hello, I am Saia, Jedi Knight.... no that sounds weird. I am Jedi Knight Saia, you may call me.... supreme master! No, that's ridiculous. Madame Typhelon to you, whelp!! Hm... nah, Saia sighed as she thought to herself, her nerves getting the best of her. She wasn't sure how to introduce herself to whoever this girl 'Orphen' was, one of several young aspiring Jedi. She wasn't quite sure she was up to the task, if she were to be honest about it. She was used to being the pupil, not the tutor.

She paced outside of the room she was supposed to instruct the girl in, thinking of a thousand different subjects to teach, none of them quite appropriate. Determined not to let frustration get the better of her, though, she persisted to bore down a miniature circuit in the concrete as she thought, as if with every lap she was timing her pacing.

Nothing was quite right, though. She rubbed the temples of her head with her right hand, held aloft in the palm of her left, pausing in her tracks for a moment, distracted. She should have known better than to be distracted, to be mindful of the present, or to even meditate on the subject. But she couldn't help but play over her mind the way she felt when she had been admitted to a rank she had not thought to achieve for years. She was talented, or so Master Remy told her.

Many things had changed. Her friends were now cast across the stars, separated from her by what seemed like an eternity. The only constant in her life was the herself and, within that, the Code. That was something that comforted her mildly. She chewed on her lip, pushing the thought away before continuing her pacing.

 

[Orphen]

Orphen walked through the halls of Empress Teta, another tutor had been arranged for her, one who was going to teach her a variety of skills she hoped to learn and master as her age progressed, it was a simple act, though it also meant she got to meet more people, and hopefully, make more friends. With Terresa, and Mira, already considered family, she was increadibly looking forward to what was about to happen.

Walking into the room what the knight would see was a small togrutan child, no older than seven or eight. With an air of maturity and knowledge imposed upon her by the Jedi order, though through sensing her, her ability seemed, odd. Her power and stature, everything about her was ungodly, and almost uncannily average to the point of fraction.

She was wearing her blast helmet with the visor down, she couldn't see a thing. Instead she'd taken to using the force sight Mira tought her and the hallways themselves as practise. Dodging incoming people as she walked down the long corridoors, and reaching out with her mind.

Looking up at the Knight she smiled and bowed politely before introducing herself.

Hello mistress knight, I'm Orphen, i seem to be rather communal around here these days, i hope i'm not interrupting anything with this training request. She said in a soft sweet voice. Her eyes of cerulean blue sparkling with repressed exitement and awe. The Jedi to her, were amazing. A far off dream, technically, she wasn't even a Padawan yet.​

​

 

[Xyrael]

At first Saia was surprised by the sudden snap-hiss of the door, but she recovered quickly and regained her composure, eager to make a good first impression. What she saw, however, was not something she had been expecting. A tiny girl with red skin was walking around with a helmet, visor down and sightless. Peculiar.

She could immediately sense the girl was viewing her through the Force, and held the young child in abstract wonder for a few moments before becoming quite skeptical of it all. There was a difference between practicing with power and flaunting it, and she couldn't be quite sure which the youngling was doing yet.

Still, the girl was curious and inquisitive, no doubt eager to learn. A trait that caused Saia to smile slightly to herself, reminded of her own fascination with the Jedi when she first arrived.

"Um, just call me Saia," she relented, unable to think of anything better. She wasn't quite sure she was ready to be called something formal yet. Standing now in the center of the room, clad in her typical beige robes and bootwraps, her arms crossed in front of her chest, she cast her own azure eyes from underneath her raven hair, peering at the small child intensely. "Why the helmet, Orphen? Afraid the ceiling's going to fall?" Saia inquired with a mild tone of sarcasm and a wry grin, hoping to break the ice with a joke and uncover some more details about the young girl, perhaps to reveal a purpose behind her strange behavior.

 

[Orphen]

Orphen was actually taken back by the quick quip at her helmet... She had been the first person EVER to ask about it, though she had a fondness for the helmet. She began to explain, her features moving away from the stunned look which had come across her face and smiled. Taking off he helmet as her focus had been shattered...

Actually it's the first thing i was ever given when i came to the temple here after i was found by a Jedi, i was tought my first few blocks with a lightsaber in the back of his ship as we left, just like the great grandmaster skywalker was tought in those stories... it's a fond memory... and my most precious item, i don't think i could ever leave it behind. She looked at the helmet effectionatly before putting it back on and smiling kinda cheesily. Flipping the visor up.

So, i like to wear it!

She finished quite chirpily. She was rather eager to begin this training, she had no idea what she was about to learn. Wether it would be one of her quota, or someting else, she truly hoped it would be something amazing and inspiring. Mind you, not that anything to do with the force wasn't amazing and/ or inspiring.

I'm ready when you are Saia!​

​

 

[Xyrael]

"So, I take it you see people well enough with the helmet on," she started, sitting down on a soft, cushioned bench, gesturing for Orphen to do the same on a bench across from her. "But can you tell what they're thinking? How they feel?"

Saia waited for a moment, still watching the girl wearing an oversized helmet on her head. She looked ridiculous and yet adorable at the same time, and Saia couldn't help but find herself at ease with her. "I have no doubt that you have a basic concept of it, being able to feel... intentions, emotions, danger. But can you sense when someone, a particular person, is angry? When they're happy? Can you tell who they feel for? Being able to read someones emotions, the way they feel, is probably one of the single most powerful skills a Jedi can have."

Saia paused, making sure that Orphen understood everything that she had said before continuing. "Now concentrate on me, and tell me what I am feeling," she said, preparing herself for what was to come next. She smiled, a smile which seemed quite genuine, and she let it stay for several moments disguising her physical emotions so that Orphen would have difficulty reading her with her eyes. In her mind she looked back to the not-so-distant past, thinking of... desire and hopeless love. She'd wanted him, but never would be able to have it, and in her mind she felt alone now, and sad. Still smiling, she let the thoughts and emotions simmer in the back of her mind, controlled but present. She raised an eyebrow at Orphen. "Sense anything?"

 

[Orphen]

Orphen Looked up at her, she couldn't sense, anything from her. She closed her eyes and pulled her mind into herself. She pulled her mind into focus, into meditate almost. Her force potential was not yet strong enough to really do anything out of meditation in one form or another.

She could see her through the force, through a little practise nothing looked quite like the smokey phantoms they looked like before, their outlines were a little more decernable, as well as their features more focused. There was no colour in her force sight. Depth was also a guess at the best of times unless they were quite close.

Her mind focused hard on the one person in the world. She tried to... somehow feel or discern what she was feeling, though little was coming to her through it. The tension on her face showed that what she was doing alone was not working...

Hmmmmmmmmm,

She grumbled, she was becoming slowly frustrated with her fruitless efforts, and it was beginning to show.​

 

[Xyrael]

"The more frustrated you get, Orphen, the less clearly you'll understand the Force. You have to let your mind become one with it. The Force comes to us in many ways, we can see it, taste it, feel it. Don't limit yourself to seeing my presence in the Force. Calm yourself and listen to it as well, does it speak to you? Can you hear my emotions in the Force? Listen hard and focus and you'll understand," she said aloud, softly enough for Orphen to listen to without becoming overly distracted.

She let the thoughts return to the forefront of her mind, thinking of not only the boy she had liked and their parting, but of the time she had spent together with him training. Nostalgia, longing, and a strange happiness permeated her mind unguarded, free for Orphen to grasp when she could.

 

[Orphen]

Orphen heard her advice and reconstituted her efforts, She focused on the force, the wind that was flowing through her, around her, through everything, the currents of the force so to speak. She could see them flowing through herself. And slowly but surely, she felt those winds begin to course through her. She'd never thought that the force was different to everyone... then... maybe she was different.

This thought in itself opened her mind. The opening of her mind strengthened the wind coursing through her, and her teacher, The wind began to dance around her taking on the images of colour, deep, and sorrowful blues wavering around her, slowly but surely these blue winds bean to dance closer, dust devils whirling, and she began to hear... whispers... Sounds. She wasn't happy, she was sad. She focused hard to listen to the whispers, though this, this practise hurt. It hurt her mind and threatened to plunge her into the force.

She broke free of her meditation like breaking away from a nightmare. Panting, she didn't realise she'd used so much effort. She swallowed and regained her breath.

You're... you're sad... lonely..?

She questioned, looking up allmost sorrowfully herself, she had thought the Jedi were infallable. That things like lonliness and saddness, were things that the Jedi didn't have to or were trained so well to deal with, they were above them. So, she was a little confused.

Are you sad alot...? She asked a little worried for her now. She didn't know why, but she liked caring about people.​

​

 

[Xyrael]

"Perfect," Saia's smile faded some as the young Orphen read her, if only because it collapsed into something more genuine. Her blue eyes looked to the young girl and she shook her head with a light chuckle, "Of course not. Well, not often at least, but I am still a person, afterall. As a Padawan I made many friends, but as a Knight I find that we're worlds apart. It would be strange to not feel something about that, no?" She could tell the question was raised with concern however, as though to be sad was wrong, and not so much as it was to be fixed. Saia had understood that many Jedi still tried to deny their emotions, and she aimed to quell that notion in the young girls mind before it repressed her. "We all feel things. The trick is not allowing them to dictate what you do."

She nodded slightly to Orphen and countered her question, "Don't you feel happiness? Excitement?"

 

[Orphen]

Orphen smiled she nodded.

But why is happiness bead, excess, i mean yeah... I get exited sometimes, but i try not to let it overpower my judgement... What's wrong with being happy if your in a place where you can be happy? She asked rather insightfully.

But being sad, feeling lonely, things like that, all they build up is resentment... If you're lonely, you seek a date or a mate, or something that goes against the order... She sniffled a little, wether it be from the snow outside in the winter cycle of empress teta, or another reason alltoger.

The dark side is scary...

She finished as a closed statement... She didn;t like it, she had seen art and holoimages of sith brutality, no matter what, she didn't wanna know what the universe would be like if they ever ruled it...

Yeah... just scary

(have to use that quote in your fight XD)

 

[Xyrael]

"They only build resentment if you allow them to control you. Love, hate, happiness, sadness, these are just two different faces of the same coin. If we are to deny one, we should deny both, and yet such a thing would be impossible without turning ourselves into droids," she replied, thinking more of her own initiative than any specific lesson she had learned in a class or through her training. "The Sith rely on their emotions to draw power, Jedi do not. A Jedi should always be wary that every emotion can lead to the Dark Side, regardless of whether it is good or bad. Love can lead to jealousy, happiness can lead to apathy, becoming attached to anything can drive the Dark Side into you."

She paused still, considering the words of the young Togruta for a moment. "To love someone else, to be with them. That's not forbidden by the Order. But you're right, I don't think I was ready for it, either." She smiled and looked at Orphen, shaking her head at the cute young girl. Today wasn't as bad as she had thought, though she wasn't quite sure she was teaching the Togruta much regardless. She looked at Orphen, still smiling and shaking her head, raven hair waving back and forth with each motion of her head. "Yes, they are scary. But you shouldn't be afraid, Orphen, you will be a Jedi."

 

[Orphen]

Orphen listened to her wisdom of age and nodded. She had thought the rules of the Jedi order were increadibly black and white, though it seemed there were large grey areas inbetween them all. She hadn't really thouht of this possibility, and therefore. Felt a little silly, but she was happy that she learned this.

She absorbed her wisdom like a sponge and was ready to attempt to move onto something else, wether or not it would help her is another thing alltogether. Precognition, was one of the skills she needed to become accustomed with for her Padawanship, in fact she had a test coming up including it in a couple of weeks. These tests were pass or fail, and although you could still fail a couple and still become a padawan, failing in multiple areas was still a bad thing.

Thank you mistress Saia, i'll remember that! She said with a closed eyes smile which could brighten up a room of angry hutts. She felt like she was connecting with this Jedi, though not in the same manner of close friendship her and Mira connected on, it was more of a deep seeded respect and aspirationy, role model feeling.

So, Miss Saia, what are we going to learn next? The downtime was enough rest for the young togruta, and she felt like she was ready to continue. Though if they leanred too much more today, she would probably forget it. So one more skill wouldn't hurt, anymore, would probably be pushing her limits.

 

[Xyrael]

"There are two more things I want to teach you," she said as she lifted a finger to prevent Orphen from protesting, "but you already know how to do both, you just don't realize it yet. First, 'telepathy'. This is difficult to do, you must concentrate on the exact frequency of thoughts the other person projects, and takes time and focus. But essentially, it's not different than interpreting my emotions through the Force. The only difference is that, because it's so challenging to listen to, I need to focus to project my thoughts as well. That's the trick. You can't simply read another's thoughts... at least, not without being intimately connected with that person."

She paused for a moment and closed her eyes, slowly focusing on finding her center, knowing Orphen would follow suit. "Now, listen to the Force speak to you. Find my voice, and tell me what I am speaking to you," she said, still aware of her surroundings just long enough to utter the words before engulfing herself in her meditation, casting out each and every emotion until nothing but serenity was left. It took a few minutes, but when she was satisfied that she was a beacon of calm, she searched out for Orphen in the Force. Finding the girl, she began to speak, through the Force and not her mouth, a simple phrase. "Can you hear me now?" she said jokingly referencing a terrible commercial she watched a thousand times on the holonet.

 

[Orphen]

Orphen focused on her through sight. She could hear the wind blowing through her again, though she was nervous, she could feel something pulling her deep into her meditation last time when the wind spoke to her. She could feel her presence int he force. But she didn't visualise her through it, it was more of a sensory sight, merely an aknwoledgement of position than anything else.

Uh-huh

She managed to let out from her Meditation without breaking it, as she could hear wind gahering in the distance, accumulating like a storm. Though when the sounds reached her ear. The wind felt as soft and warm as a caress, a jokeful wind that carried not only the words, but thier intention.

She smiled, and her force signiture temporarily spiked with potential before falling again. As if her force sensitivity was temporarily a beakon to something far away.

She opened her eyes.

Mmmhmmm, i could hear you.

Though her eyes were open they closed quickly, retaining meditation, though her grip slipped a little, it reconstituted quickly. Orphen could hear her through the force just fine if she focused. Though she began to focus on her mind... on Saias' as well as her own. Trying to formulate words into a string through the force... It was hard, and taxing, but what ended up transferring was loose disembodies whispers, of little more than effort.

Opening her eyes, sadly...

It's... really hard...

 

[Xyrael]

"It's okay. I can sense you're tired," she said, smiling. "Perhaps we should continue another time?" She hadn't realized that more than an hour had passed since Orphen had walked in. In fact, she had completely lost track of time. Se'd probably become lost in meditation somewhere during the course of their practice with telepathy, something she found to be a very difficult task regardless. She'd never been any good with it, and rarely caught telepathic thoughts when they were sent her way unless she was meditating. A fact which she didn't bother to fix, she didn't want to spend time distracted by other peoples thoughts and words when they didn't feel the need to use their mouths.

No one ever listened to their Master's anymore. Too many Jedi did what they could simply because they could, instead of doing things with more conventional means when available. They flaunted their abilities. Saia sighed, but pushed the thoughts aside, playing the sigh off as more an expression of exasperation than of disappointment with the state of the Order. "You did a good job, Orphen. I'm proud of you, you'll grow up to be a fine Jedi I think. Just make sure you remember what you learn, don't flaunt it," she said those three words sternly, "and think outside of the box on how to use the skills you learn."

 

[Orphen]

Orphen nodded, she was drained, having smaller force reserves than even a base Padawan. Sweat beaded on her brow from the difficulty of the attempt at telepathy, she hoped she had the chance to try something else for a while. She listenened to her advice closely as she began to stand up from the floor with a slight stumble as she got to her knees. Her legs were weaker than she expected they would be. Her Lekku and helmet off balancing her a little.

Finally being able to stand she nodded.

Thank you miss Saia... I'll remember that, i'm sorry for taking up so much of your time. She said apologetically bowing, she felt a little down because she couldn't do what Saia had asked her to do. She was disappointed. Lie a child she was inpatient, though patient at the same time. She knew she wouldn't be able to do everything in one go. But at the same time, failure was never fun.

I feel dizzy... She said beginning to feel a little light headed, undoubtably exhaustion in one form or another.

 

[Xyrael]

Saia stood up and moved forward, placing a shoulder firmly on the young girls shoulder, her piercing blue eyes sternly burning holes into Orphen's. She steadied the young girl, determined to instill a sense of confidence in her. She could tell the Force was with the girl, and though she did not mean to she could sense something positive about her future. She didn't know how to explain it. "Don't doubt yourself, Orphen. You have a future ahead of you, one destined for greatness. I can sense it. Remember the Jedi Code, stick with it, believe in yourself, and always serve the Force. You will never fail," she said, her words filled with a confidence she didn't quite know she had. "Now, go rest, and don't worry. May the Force be with you."

 

[Orphen]