The Beginning

[TheLastLine]

Heh, what did she take him for ? An idiot, a fool, a -

----

As the sun disappeared and the darkness seeped into the room Korwin had forgotten all about his masters presence, he was balanced on his head with his arms crossed, sweat dripping off of his forehead. This torment could not go on for so much longer, surely this was the last day, surely there would be no more... Threads, or pins.. Or, or anything, he was frustrated. Infuriated.

What made it worse was Val. How dare she criticize, and then how dare her sit there quietly for hours and hours for the week and a half watching him fail spectacularly. But, he was getting there.. Slowly, he could sense it.

----

A few hours later, when there was only the lights of Coruscant illuminating the room had he managed to put the string through the needle. He collapsed into a heep, content and happy.

 

[Sreeya]

The routine was same each day for ten days. Val handed him the needle and thread, patiently meditating while he struggled. It allowed her much needed time to collect her thoughts and become one with the Force, something she neglected during the times she had spent pursuing saber combat. Val was completely aware of everything he was doing, having caught him at least twice when he attempted to physically put the thread through the needle.

However, as the days passed, the process became simple for him. He had gotten it down to where he could easily put the thread through the needle and even curl it around to hold. Val was impressed, though he only grew more and more frustrated with her. The Jedi knew she couldn't ease off now. On the 11th day, she strode into the training room, tossing him a ball of yarn.

"Guess what you get to do?"

Val handed him a datapad of particular measurements.

"I'll go easy on you and have you do tiny ones. What you'll be doing is knitting two hats. Entirely with the use of the Force."

She waited patiently while he expressed any anger, frustration, etc. Val pointedly ignored all of it, waving her hand to brush them off.

"Now then, two hats. It will take you a long time, so you better get cozy in here. You'll hate me for this, but thank me later."

 

[TheLastLine]

Was this legal ?

He felt at first anger, and despised this new assignment, but as he meditated while balanced on his head he realized that these emotions were not going to go anywhere, would not lead to results and he was only prolonging this new tortuous task.

He looked over the schematics, once, twice.. A third time. Wait, what.. Pointy little ears, An Ewok face ? What was an Ewok ? He didn't know but he already despised them.

As he rushed trying to knit the hats he failed, and failed again and it took many hours for him to realize his faults. Many weeks to correct it.

He could put the string through the needle, he could hold the other utensils but it was a game of chance. He needed, he desperately needed more control.

So for weeks and weeks he worked on his control, his ability to manipulate the string, the needle to such an extent he could make the individual points on the string curl and not curl, he could make the needles move exactly how he wanted and by the time he had finished he had absolute mastery over the manipulation.

But the end was far from sight and at the end of the first month, the first hat had been completed to exact specifications, or so he thought... Taking the hat in hand he walks to his master and places at her feet, the happiness radiating off of him.

"So what do you think, it wont take me that much longer for the next one... I mean we spent day and night for a whole month here and we are almost there !" He sounded excited, so happy this laborious work was near an end.

 

[Sreeya]

Val smiled when he dropped the hat in front of her. She could already tell he was drastically different than when they had first started. His patience was growing, and he held back his frustrations for the most part. Val inspected the hat, staring at it for a moment before frowning.

"The ears..you forgot the ears.."

She tossed the hat back to him.

"It'll have to be redone. But because you're getting so much better with this, it'll take you no time. Just follow the specifications exactly."

Val's face remained devoid of emotion. She knew he was most likely visualizing a scenario where he bashed her face in repeatedly into a wall, but this rigorous routine was key to have him gain complete mastery in manipulating the Force. Val simply waved her hand again to dismiss him. She would check in on him periodically, mainly to make sure he didn't goof off. Every now and then she had a padawan bring him cakes and other snacks, making up some story about excess food in the bakery. She couldn't let Korwin know she had a soft side.

 

[TheLastLine]

As he ate the cake he looked to the Padawan curiously, he was only young, about 12 years old. He wore the traditional creme Jedi robes. He was a Zabrek, with a variety of horns which spouted out of his forehead, he spoke about one day having a master and Korwin listened closely and realized perhaps he was being abit cruel on his master, she was only teaching him and he was eager to learn.

The days continued, he should of been done by now, but he was busy. Busy with realizing how his powers of the force had evolved significantly in such a short time. He could point his efforts so specifically that he managed to carve his initials in gothic text into one of the cherry's ontop of the cake which had been given to him, exactly how he wanted it.

But as he regained his meditative position, he started to work, slowly, feeling every little part of string with the force and how it was being woven, he could tell his Master was confused, but he didn't care. He would surprise her in the end. In another three weeks he had knitted one more, she had given him an ultimatum to finish one more hat in a week, but he had something greater in store.

He had taken so much care with every stitch and so much detail to the movement and the precision that he could easily speed the process up. She left him on the Monday evening and as she walked in on the Tuesday morning she saw a pile of colorful hats, each to the specification.

He was balanced on his head, and couldn't see his master due to the fact the pile of hats was so high that it blocked part of his vision.

Using his arms to push himself into the air he then flips backwards over the pile till he is in front of his master. "Oh, hello master. I could sense you were getting annoyed, perhaps you were.. I don't.. I don't know, but I got the hang of this ages ago. Simple, but I had to work on precision.. Efficiency, speed..

"I hope you aren't to annoyed, but I had to know I was ready." As he speaks he is using the force to knit one last final hat, he smiles and crosses his arms confidently.

 

[Sreeya]

To say that Val was shocked would be an understatement. She stepped into the room and scanned over the hats. It had been months and every last one was perfect. She wanted to squeal with excitement at how adorable the little pink ones looked, but kept her composure. Val looked up at him when he spoke, her eyes still wide.

"These are...perfect! Truly.."

She picked a few up, noting the tiny ears sewed to specification. Val had to smile. The hats were absolutely perfect. She grinned at Korwin.

"Val, just call me Val."

Val patted him on the back, her body language suggesting that he had truly done a great job.

---​

"Focus."

After all the hats were done, Korwin had gotten a week long break to himself. However, they had returned to work right after that. The two were currently outside, in an open field far away from the temple. There was a stream nearby and the tranquil sounds of birds and animals all around them. Korwin was standing across from Val, a blindfold over his eyes. Val circled around him as she spoke.

"You have to drown out all the noises in the environment. Pull yourself back into the training room."

Val stepped back from him, reaching into her bag and pulling out a number of tiny balls. She glanced up at him.

"You kept asking me why I made you sew. You will have your answer today. What I want you to do is visualize the yarn you wove and let it be an extension of the Force. Let each thread be a tendril of energy. Also recall on how I had you suspend the yarn in the air that entire time. You do not need your eyes to focus and see."

Without warning, Val hurled the balls at him, eight of them. They were thrown in quick succession and from different angles, as she used Force speed to shift her position. With his manipulation of the Force, it would be second nature for him to easily suspend the balls in air directly in front of him before they ever touched him. Before he even knew what was coming at him.

 

[TheLastLine]

Korwin stood where dictated, but that was not Korwin, for Korwin was drowning in the force, for he could now truly see. See like he had never seen before, see things for what they really were. Time was freezing, his masters words fading... His eyes closing to bloke out all exterior peripherals.

As she through the little balls at him, one by one he felt them moving, creeping slowly towards him in the force. He didn't just see the shape, the colour, the texture. He felt everything it is indescribable, he could feel the essence... He knew these objects truly and how they could be manipulated. He had never felt so powerful, but scared aswell.

Even within the deep philospohical thoughts he was having, he felt more at peace, more whole. But this distraction lead him to believe he had ran out of time and he had failed. But wait, they aren't close. They aren't anything.

Taking the balls they freeze immediately infront of Val. He made them move and they formed individual letters, one by one. "W.O.W. I. G.U.E.S.S. Y.O.U . A.R.E .T.H.E M.A.S.T ..... V.A.L"

and after this he shot them effortlessly in the air, for them to fall back into his hand effortlessly, even though it seemed to define gravity.

 

[Sreeya]

Val was truly astonished at his strict command and manipulation of the Force. It rivaled her own, and she couldn't believe that her strange teaching methods actually paid off. Checking to make sure his blindfold was still on, Val decided to do a small victory dance, truly proud of herself. She quickly cleared her throat, realizing that he could probably tell exactly what she was doing.

"Erm..yes! That was amazing! Keep the blindfold on, as this leads right into our next lesson."

Val had to fight to contain her excitement. She reached in and brought out two training sabers. She casually tossed one to him, knowing he would be able to easily snatch it out of the air. Once he caught it, he would know exactly what they would learn next. Val had to grin.

"You excited?!"

This was truly her element. Val was one of the best in the Order when it came to saber combat. She couldn't wait to teach him her own methods, knowing he would possibly surpass even her. With the Force, Val drew the balls back towards herself.

"Similar to what you did before, focus. Channel everything into the training saber and let it become an extension of your arm, a part of you. You have to be completely in touch with the Force before you can effectively use a saber. First of all-"

She did not finish her sentence, hurling a ball directly at him. This was to throw him off guard, to test his reflexes. Within moments, Val dashed to his left flank, bringing her own training saber in for a horizontal attack to his side while the ball came in from his front.

 

[TheLastLine]

He was so attuned to the force, he turned the blue practice saber on, he knew the shape, the feeling the weight. He knew Shii - Cho and he would easily deflect this ball. Or would he ? As it came closer he looked into the force, he wanted despeartly to hurl it into the distance, he wanted that ball to be destroyed.

But he was focusing so hard on the ball, he forgot to swing his saber. The ball hit him directly in the head, knocking him onto his bottom. He lay confused with a slight headache, the practice saber dis-ignited on the floor next to him. He got back up but then in his rush he tripped over the same ball, ending this duel.

He felt embarrassed, but mostly confused, what had he done wrong? He thinks the answer was just in the fact that he had thought so hard about the ball he failed to do anything about it. He relatively good at Shii cho being higher then average then most Padawans but this still was nothing to boast about, he would be a master of all forms of the force. Jumping to his feet, he uses the force to hurl the ball back to Val so he would not once more fall over.

 

[Sreeya]

Val was not disappointed when he dropped. It was a very easy mistake to make. She had attacked him out of the blue, after all.

"It's all right, I-"

She felt the ball bonk her in the face, quickly tossing it aside. Val raised an eyebrow.

"Well you seem to have a handle on things!"

Val chuckled softly, noting his agility. She had gone over various forms, wondering what to teach him. After observing him for this long, she knew Ataru was the form for him. It was her forte, as well, which meant it would be simple to teach him. She was satisfied with the conclusion.

"You already know what you did wrong there. It's not unlike how you stopped those eight balls. Instead of focusing on another ball, draw your attention to the saber. Let's go again."

Val did nothing for a moment, simply walking around him. She would attack out of the blue. In the meantime, she was looking for an opening where he eased off on the Force, where he started paying attention to the birds and trickling water, something that would throw him off. Val would exploit that to attack him. Keeping the constant connection to the Force was taxing, but he would have to get used to it if he were to become adept with it.

Without warning again, Val launched a ball to come at him from behind, and another from his right side. This time Val dashed directly in front of him, bringing the saber up in a diagonal arc aimed to slide from the bottom right of his hip, up to his left shoulder.

 

[TheLastLine]

He closed his eyes, for they were only a distraction. He stopped hearing for that was also unnecessary. He has his intelligence, and that was truly a weapon perhaps greater then that of the greatest sword master, or atleast he would like to think so. He knew what she would do, he knew it simply. She would throw when she thought he wasn't concentrating, but he was almost always concentrating. Perhaps too much, but as he faked being distracted he prepared himself for her throws which he knew were imbound.

He thought it was seamless, but it was simply not so, while the act was smart his surface thoughts betrayed his inner workings and Val quickly caught on without a doubt and as the rest came in more varied, and random he found himself struggling but in the end, he managed to deflect all she gave.

And as he waited for more he stood in a simple defensive stance, his mind set on the floating balls. Ready, for more. He was eager, but not too eager, he was patient but not too docile and he was a fighter, not a strong fighter but a dexterous, one who showed great finesse even in these first moments of real training.

 

[Sreeya]

Val could tell he was tiring. She dropped her saber, using the Force to remove his blindfold.

"That's enough for now. You've definitely got the concept down. We'll practice more blindfolded combat and cover the basics of blocking and defending."

She mentioned nothing about the form she would be teaching him. Val dismissed him for the day.

---​

Val remained silent as Korwin asked him where they were going for the thousandth time, knowing he would turn tail and run the first chance he got if she answered. She lead him into the building, music already filling the air. Val patiently waited till a woman came to greet her.

"Valena?"

"Just Val, thanks."

She shook the woman's hand and smiled politely, gesturing towards Korwin.

"This is who I wanted to enroll in the classes."

The woman looked him over, frowning.

"He seems..older than what we're used to, but I'm sure we can make it work."

"He's a fast learner. Teach him everything you know."

Val patted Korwin on the back, nudging him towards the woman. The woman nodded, leading Korwin away while Val remained behind. It was after the woman had closed the doors behind Korwin and herself that she happily pronounced.

"Welcome to your first ballet lesson!"

 

[TheLastLine]

That was funny, Val had signed herself up for dancing classes. Brilliant, well he would just go grab a coffee, head back to the shuttle.. A- wait, what ? He's a quick learner, that's funny, she wasn't a man and she used the second person... He realized they were looking at him, he frowned slightly, then opened his eyes wider, then his jaw opened and then he went...

"D...D..Dancing? " Val looked at him with, and he looked back, inexplicable hatred in her eyes, he would, he would not do this not even for V-

---

"Good, good... Now, straighten your toes out Korwin !" The pretty little Twilek said, as the man in the Tutu, slowly lowered his back further, almost touching the floor, while one foot lay suspended in the air, perfectly pointed, his tank top was starting to come over his head, the women laughed harder but he did not care, he did not stop he merely moved with the dancing, he turned his head, showing his great flexibility before preforming a bridge maneuver and turned this crazy position into a handstand. He then flipped onto his feet and started to spin in a rhythm in a circle, quickly and silently on the spot, his leg once more raised into the air as he continued to spin, the same speed the same frequency, the teacher was amazed.

He started to dance, dance, and dance some more. He forgot he was a man, wearing a Tutu and a tank top, with pumps on on the middle of a stage as 30 or so people watched on in shock, admiration and some other men, horror.

These last months had gone past fast, Val had been teaching him other moves to put in the routine, he almost had complete control of these, he hated her, but his hatred subsided as he was forced to concentrate on every move. He swore to himself that one day he would make her knit hats for this...

 

[Sreeya]

Val looked down at the pamphlet. She couldn't believe it. Among the names of performers, Korwin's was listed as a lead to perform in Swan Lake. Complete with a picture of him glaring intensely at the camera. It had only been months since she had enrolled him in the classes. She had to bite back a laugh, walking over to the auditorium. There were hundreds of spectators. Val was listed as a 'guardian' and got half price tickets. She stepped in and was promptly greeted by Korwin's teacher.

"Oh hi Val!!"

Val simply blinked.

"I'm so excited for Korwin! He's one of the best we have! He's got something...it's as if he's more in tune with himself and his surroundings than our other students!"

Val did not feel like pointing out that that was perhaps one of the most homosexual interpretations of a Force sensitive she had ever heard. She simply smiled and nodded, walking over to take a seat. Of course, she brought her video camera.

 

[TheLastLine]

It was action time. The Curtains rose, the warriors assumed positions, Korwin was ready. The music blared, the people looked and the people stared. They saw scores of pretty little girls, and one large man, surrounded by several others, smaller and more, sensitive.

But the companions did not matter, for he was willing to lead, to star and to push the team to victory and honor. As the action got underway he started to move, slowly at first then fast. Then a stop, it was breathtaking the action, he looked from left to right, but only with his eyes, he had to be simultaneous in sync with the other performers. He jumped, legs parting and head moving back, a beautiful move.

He then started to back flip then front flip, but all the time alittle part of his attention lay on Krandi, a Twilek who had caught his attention, her beautiful green skin, her smile.. It was too dangerous to think about her but as she sometimes floated in and out of his view he became alittle more distracted. But the show went on, forever onwards. It was long, and tiring but he cared not, the moves, the action, the twirling, the splits and finally the flips. He had won, they had won. This was surely legendary.

 

[Sreeya]

Val followed his movements, noting every twirl, every jump, every last detail. While others saw dance, she saw the movements of a warrior. He was graceful, serene, precision lacing every motion. Combined with his attunement to the Force, he truly stood out among the group. Val knew he had learned all he needed to from ballet. He had balance and he had control, but he had yet to work on agility. That would be the next step.

After the show, the audience raved and roared, all approaching him swiftly after the show to commend him on his skills. After the rush died down, Val finally approached him. Until now, she had given him tasks, but hadn't really faced him one on one. She knew he had a lot of pent up anger. Val simply smiled.

"How was it? That was quite a performance back there!"

He didn't need to know she had it on tape. Before Val spoke, the teacher came up and pulled Korwin into a tight embrace, gushing over him for what seemed like hours. Val checked her watch, sighing, before finally turning to the woman.

"Thank you for all you've done. Korwin, however, is done here."

The woman looked as if cold water had been splashed across her face.

"W-What?"

"I have given you payment. Thank you for everything."

She began to protest, but Val had no time for this. She smiled politely, grasped Korwin by the wrist and led him out towards the exit, leaving a completely confused ballet teacher behind.

 

[TheLastLine]

"Yes yes, my father.. You see, he was a farmer, while my mother she was a teacher. Or something along those lines, I didn't know them well... From a young age my only passion was dancing, but I had to foster this new found love with, with.. Delicacy, for I had a very fragile condition with my legs which prevented me from staring in these plays for many years, but we found the cure and here I am, here I go. You will hear from this artist again, farewell !" He said this to the groups of young women surrounding him, completely entranced by this illusion and down right lie. He knew that he was going off now and that he would probably never do this again.

--

Walking into the streets, sporting a tracksuit and looking like an idiot he says simple, loudly and clearly. "I hate you, I hate you I hate you." He stops for a moment turns around and he tilts his head "I do, I do ! Your tasks seem so, so.. Different, odd.. Unique !" He exclaims simply, I understand where the knitting came from but dancing ? What has that brought me but down right sex appeal ? "

He frowns further, wrinkles permeating his smooth face " You could of at least made the knitting relevant I mean what are you going to do with little hats ? You could of had me knit a Tutu or something !"

 

[Sreeya]

Val had to burst out laughing at his anger. She shook her head, clearing her throat. She mocked the voice of some elder Jedi.

"Find out some day you shall, young padawan."

She patted him on the head, laughing again. There was a spring in her step, as she was truly happy to see him progress like this. Val flung an arm around his neck, pulling him and roughing up his hair with the other hand.

"Come on, let's celebrate! Drinks on me!"

---​

They had arrived on Coruscant only hours prior. They would spend some time here, down in the lower districts. The areas were seedy, but perfect for what she had in mind. After the ballet lessons, Val had allowed Korwin two weeks to himself, and to gather up whatever remained of his dignity. She had given him tasks in the meantime, but it was mainly to go over the Jedi Code and tenets. Val summoned him after his break, telling him he was to accompany her to Coruscant. Despite his brashness, he was shockingly good at following directions, which made her job much simpler.

Before them lay a seedy district not unlike the one where they got high. However, there was no time for shenanigans..not yet anyway. For now, Val was on a mission. She dragged Korwin past the women at street corners, all whistling and beckoning towards him. Val kept her eyes peeled, looking around till she came near a subway station. It was a street corner near an alley, with a group of what looked like gang members. They had cardboard set out on the duracrete, with music blaring. One of them was spinning and dancing on it, with a crowd of admirers cheering and hooting. Val glanced over at Korwin. They were definitely out of place..

She rubbed her temples, attempting to figure out a way to approach them. Val finally snapped her fingers, looking over at Korwin.

"You still have any drugs left?"

What a question to ask a padawan...Val ignored the thought for now.

"I need you to learn to dance like him. You'll have to smoothtalk your way in and maybe pay him with drugs. Why, you ask? Quite frankly, I'm broke as shit and can't afford any formal lessons for you. Oh and um..let's hope you don't have to join some gang."

 

[TheLastLine]

Korwin stood there silently, now clad in his Jedi robes, the heavy map music echoed through the streets, the men surrounding were clearly high, some drunk, some both. Korwin didn't know what to do, he simply walked forward, always forward. Forward to this man, six foot seven inches tall. He was a Kel Dor and clearly had been living rough, he had huge muscles and wore just shorts and a leather jacket, he held a baseball bat.

"Yo, yo yo.. " Korwin said, in his foreign accent, moving towards the Kel dor he offers his hand high in the air, closing his eyes and biting his lip he looks like he is on more drugs then either of them, the Kel Dor does not respond. But goes instead to back hand Korwin, Korwin instinctively knowing what was coming ducked and then punched the Kel Dor with his strength, knocking him onto his back. Instead of running away like any sane person he starts to shout at the gangster.

"Who you think you are? You starting, on me. Boy I'd have you any day of the week, I'm going to show you who's meek, this is my town homie." He crosses his arms after taking the baseball cap off of one of the more high gangster and placing it on his head.

The gangsters all pull out weapons of some kind from pistol to machete. Then the Kel Dor shouts angrily "Man I know guys on crack, that makes more sense den you."

Korwin sticks his hands up into the air and shouts.

"OH REALLY? Well, look at it this way.
My name is Korwin, don't you know,
I been living on the streets south west of the tracks,
No bitches start on me, I got their backs.

You start on me because you think Im soft,
But little did you know im a gangster like Hof.
I ******* bitches up every night, including yo momma, without any strife.
I got the guns, you got the wheels when we work together we got a good deal
If you try to pop me now you got another thing comin'
But I got an idea so baby dont go runnin'
You show me the moves, the moves of the street, I show you what its like, to be as cool as me.

 

[Sreeya]

Val was glad to find excuses to be on Coruscant, as it was where her children were. She spent as much time as possible before going back to training Korwin. Val wished she could have her children around during the training, as it would make it much easier on her. However, she was not ready to reveal that bit of her just yet. It had been a few weeks since his strange rap conquest of initiation into the gang. Val only hoped he hadn't landed himself in any trouble, but her connection to the Force told her he was faring just fine.

Thus, Val had decided to pay the district a visit. She had dressed in normal civilian clothes, keeping the Jedi robes off. She hated exposing her left arm, the majority of which was still scarred from a Force Blast. Val approached that same alley where she had left him, looking around for him. To her surprise, she hadn't spotted him yet.