Ask Ajan Kloss Through The Motions

[Kalen Novak]

Ajan Kloss​

The remote buzzed around the Padawan, his yellow lightsaber humming as it swung to follow it. At the last second, it dipped and fired two shots. Kalen was a painful instant to slow and the first bolt struck him in the arm, the second in the side. He dropped the lightsaber as numbness crept along the limb.

He couldn't actually see his Master's other Padawan, Laranna, but he had no doubt she was fairing better than him. He had never been great with a lightsaber. His talents were more passive in nature. He may not have been the best, but he tried, harder than most Padawans. It was likely the only reason he was still allowed to train as a Jedi,

He groaned as he bent down and picked up the silver hilt and turned back to the remote droid that still buzzed around. He was just about to turn his lightsaber back on when the droid shot through the air as his Master caught it. "You are still thinking too much, Kalen," she said, the slightest of frowns touch the corners of her mouth.

"For now, I want you and Laranna to practice your sparring. I have some business to attend to," she said not explaining herself further. Kalen nodded his head, spotting the other Padawan walking up.

He got along Larana better than most. He didn't feel quite as awkward around her. He gave a sort of half-smile as she approached, trying to shake the numbness from his sides. "I would be a great Jedi if no one in the Galaxy had blasters," he commented. "What did she have you working on?" he asked, turned towards the clearing.

 

[Larana Basai]

Her attention wandered back and forth between the small droid that buzzed around her and the trees that surrounded them, their branches rocked back and forth in the breeze. It was too hard to remain focused when an entire planet beckoned her to explore, but Larana tried her best. More than anything she wanted to appease her Master, but she seemed to always fall short of it. There was a small part of her that missed the freedom Andara had offered, but her heart wanted to badly to follow the Jedi who had come before her; if only she could escape for a moment, she promised to return. However, that wasn't an option and each time she found her mind would wander, Master Ris would push her harder.

Larana huffed, returning her attention to the small droid as it shot at her, raising her lightsaber to defend her left side. Of course, her attention had lingered on the trees for a moment too long and her brief moment of hesitation cost her a bolt to her hip. Her body tensed as a sharp pain and sensation of pins and needles made its way down her thigh before she could even pivot to take another defensive stance. Her movements were clumsy, hindered by the numbness that now encompassed her entire left side, but she didn't let it slow her down. Kalen wouldn't have let it stop him and she couldn't let him best her, no matter the circumstances. The Padawan liked to compare herself to her peer, even though the both of them were at roughly the same place in their training; the one-sided competition made it easier to push herself.

It wasn't until the trainer droid dropped to the forest floor that she let her eyes wander to him and their Master. It seemed there were other duties that called her away, but she made sure to keep the two of them busy in her absence. Larana pushed a curled strand of hair from her eyes, a smile spread across her lips as she stumbled towards the both of them. They were quite the pair, but admittedly he was one of the few people who had ever understood her and her free spirit - Larana liked that about him.

"The trainer droid, as usual. Master Ris doesn't seem to believe I'm better than you." Larana answered in response to his question, her tone full with sarcasm. She nursed her numb side as she moved forward, wiping the sweat from her brow with her forearm. Her hair stuck to the sides of her face, the humid air almost to thick to breathe despite her minimal efforts with the droid.

"Do you think that she'd know if we disappeared for the remainder of the afternoon? I can't stand another minute in this humidity." Another deep sigh left her lips as she clipped her hilt to her belt. "There has to be something more exciting around."

 

[Kalen Novak]

"You know she would." he commented. Larana's "Free Spirit" often got them into trouble. To be honest, he kind of envied her at times. If left to himself, Kalen likely wouldn't ever break the rules or push the boundaries of anything. He didn't like making waves. "She would know and she'd have us climbing up some mountain on our hands and knees as punishment," he said, his tone light.

"Come on," he said turning back to face her. He picked up a training staff and tossed it towards her before picking one up for himself. "Want to make it interesting?" he asked, heft the staff to get a feel for the weight. "The first one to get knocked down as to do the other's chores for the day?" he said. It was a pretty dumb bet on his part, dueling and almost anything combat related wasn't his thing but it was worth a shot.

 

[Larana Basai]

It was hot, too hot to be beating each other with sticks in the middle of the woods, and yet here they were. Larana knew better than to push Kalen towards breaking the rules, but she felt like a captive animal, desperate to escape; he was the rock that kept in her place. The both of them kept each other in balance; he reminded her to work harder and she helped him to experience the world around them. Of course, more often than not, it seemed he only followed her on her adventures to keep her out of trouble and in their Masters good graces. Still, Larana believed there was much more to life than simple training and lectures and her heart yearned to discover them.

Larana held her breath for a moment. There was silence and then she broke it with an exhausted sigh, her attention drawn to Kalen instead of in the distance. She reached for her wooden staff, splintered from months of training, and adjusted her awkward grasp. "New bet. You lose and you have to follow me on an adventure. I lose and I'll do your chores for today. Deal?" Her lips pressed into a smile, Larana spread her feet into an imperfected defensive stance, ready to ward off even his most aggressive advances.

"It's not like we haven't climbed mountains before. Master Ris is an absolute glutton for punishment. We can handle it." Another smile and a nod of her head, indicating that she was ready to begin; it was up to Kalen now to decide if he was willing to accept the terms of her deal or make a counter offer.

 

[Kalen Novak]

He stared at her for several seconds, deciding if this was the hill he wanted to die on. She was always pushing the envelope. A second later, he deflated slightly. "Fine," he said, with just a hint of frustration in his voice. "You know, you're going to get us kicked out one day," he said

"If I recall correctly, we had to climb those mountains becuase you couldn't stand to sit still," he said. It was true she hadn't forced him to do anything, she never did but that didn't he was going to accept responsibility, especially to her face.

He steeled himself, the bet didn't matter. He was going to win and he could spend the rest of the afternoon reading a book. He just had to win.

Kalen rushed at her, hoping to catch her off guard. As he drew close, he slid along the ground and spun, swinging his staff at the side of her legs.

 

[Larana Basai]

Her side was still numb from her mishap with the trainer droid, but Larana managed to clumsily avoid Kalens advance by jumping back. This created enough distance between them for her to counter-strike, and she aimed the tip of her staff at his left side. Without much hesitation or forethought, she swung at him in hopes of driving him back towards the tree line, one attack after the other. The aim wasn't necessarily to hit him (that would only be a bonus), but rather to limit his movement by trapping him at the edge of the forest.

Over and over she struck out at him, without leaving much room for him to defend himself. "Life isn't about standing still, Kalen. Stillness leaves you vulnerable; it's those who keep moving who are often harder to hit." Larana spoke between each movement, her breaths rapid as she tried her best to fight off the humidity in the air. It made her feel heavy, perhaps even dehydrated or weakened, but she was determined not to fail.

"Take me for instance. I'm moving and you have yet to hit me." Her lips curled into a playful smile, taunting him with her words.

 

[Kalen Novak]

She dodged his first attack and begin a series of attacks against him. The staff spun in his hands as he deflected the blows but was still being pushed backward. The stone turned to gravel which turned into underbrush as he was pushed to the edge of the clearing.

She spoke as she fought through Kalen didn't respond, he never did. He would let her talk, hoping it may distract her. His back foot landed on a solid piece of ground. Now was his chance. He called on the Force, willing it to his legs as he jumped up and over Larana, spinning around as he flipped. Master Ris had been teaching him an attack that accompanied that move, but it wasn't something he could pull off with the staff.

As soon as he landed, he feinted, acting as if he was going to thrust his staff at her midsection, but instead out reaching a hand and calling on the Force to push her back into the impossibly thick jungle just beyond the clearing.

 

[Larana Basai]

Determination was written on his face, but a few more steps backward and she would have him blocked in and vulnerable. Larana was unprepared for him to escape her, perhaps even overly confident that she had bested him already. One more quick thrust of her staff found that Kalen had disappeared, and she spun to face him, defending her mid-section; their staffs wouldn't meet. It was a graceless error on her part, the earth moved from beneath her feet as he forced her back into the thick forest behind them. The trees stood close together, vines weaved to create almost impenetrable barriers; it offered her little room to for movement which made defending herself all the more difficult.

Larana raised her staff and resumed a defensive stance, her eyes focused on Kalen as she contemplated her next move. The palm of her free hand directed towards him, she moved to pull him closer with the Force, her staff positioned to strike his side hard and fast as soon as the distance was closed between them. It was imperative that she hit him, to distract him just long enough for her to find a more open space. It was not often that Master Ris left them alone which meant that they were destined for an adventure today and she would do just about anything to make it happen.

 

[Kalen Novak]

How she managed to keep her feet as she was pushed out of the clearing was beyond him. He waited for her to come back into the clearing and made no move forward. It was stupid to press is attack into the brush, especially when only armed with wooden sticks.

"I am not coming in..." his words were cut off as he was yanked forward. He stumbled and almost had recovered until his foot caught on a vine and he went down hard onto the stone below. A bright light flashed in his vision as his face slammed into stone as his mind went black for a moment from the pain.

He groaned and he pushed himself up on his hands and knees. Blood already dripping from his face at a steady pace. His nose, while not broken, surged with a dull pain. "Force forsaken..." the mumbling string of curses continued to clear the fog that had been caused by the fall.

 

[Larana Basai]

It had not been her intention to hurt him, but perhaps she had been a little too ambitious in her attempts to win that she'd made an error in judgement. Larana felt her heart sink into her stomach as he pulled himself onto his hands and knees, blood stained on the rock that had caught his fall and more dripping from his face. It hadn't been the first time one of their mock battles had ended up in one of them being hurt, but that didn't make her feel any better about it this time. In fact, it never felt okay to hurt someone, however unintentional it might have been.

"Kalen!" Larana dropped to her knees and laid her staff at her side to help him. "I didn't mean for that to happen, I promise. You okay?"

She reached for her canteen to help him wash the blood from his hands, a hint of panic written on her face. She had wanted to win so that she could force him on an adventure, but this didn't feel much like a victory. Master Ris was sure to question how it had happened too and Larana wasn't quite sure she would be all too happy to hear it was another one of their useless competitions; she could hear her already. "Life isn't about competitions or being better than anyone else, Larana." How she disliked that particular lecture.

"Here, let me help you." Larana reached up to wipe the blood that he had smeared across his cheek, wiping it on her robes.

 

[Kalen Novak]

"I'm fine," he said, his tone nasally from the clogged nose. He plopped back, sitting on the rock. "I said I am fine," he said waving her off again.

"Does it look broken?" he said, tilting his head back. It didn't feel broken, but he was still a bit stunned from the blow and it hurt like hell. "We can't let Master Ris find out we bet on the duel. If she asks, we tell her the truth. I tripped on a vine." he said, meeting Larana's eyes. Kalen was a terrible liar; they were doomed.

"Really," he said, trying to reassure her. "I'm fine." he said with a bit of a smile. "Though you could have let me win though. I have been practicing that flip for weeks behind your back, that was the first time I landed it." he admitted. "ya big jerk," he said playfully.

He sighed. "I am probably going to regret this, but where to?" he asked as he slowly pushed himself up. He was a bit dizzy but things were clearing.

 

[Larana Basai]

Larana stepped back as he requested and instead sat beside him, canteen placed awkwardly in her lap. She rested her head on the trunk of the tree behind her and released a heavy breath. There was no way the two of them would be able to convince their Master that Kalen's injuries were only an accident and not a product of another one of their competitions. Still, she appreciated his efforts in trying to keep them out of trouble.

"I don't think it's broken." She looked over at him, a hopeful smile spread across her lips. "In fact, I doubt Master Ris will even notice." It was a lie, Kalen knew it was a lie but there was no need to admit what they both already knew; even if he did decide to forego their adventure, they would be climbing steps until the sun set tomorrow for this one. It wasn't entirely worth it, but she had survived it before and she would survive it again - this wouldn't be the last time the two of them found themselves in trouble with Master Ris.

"To be fair, the flip was rather impressive." She pulled herself back to her feet, brushing off the dead leaves that clung to her robes. "I bet you can't land it a second time." Larana chuckled and offered him a hand up from the ground, sure he wouldn't accept it but unable to resist the urge to poke fun at their situation. "We're headed to the river."

 

[Kalen Novak]

"Gods, you're an even worse liar than me." he said, continuing to tilt his head back. They were doomed but Kalen would keep his word. She had been with him throughout everything in their training. Besides, in the deepest, most secret parts of his mind, he enjoyed the adventures she had drug him through, though he would never admit that to her.

He snorted at her compliment, which caused no small amount of pain. "Oh please, if I hadn't tripped you would have lost for sure," he said as he grabbed her hand and pulled himself up. "You lucked out big time," he said with a bit of a chuckle.

"The river?" he asked in a confused tone. That wasn't terribly far away from the temple, and they had been there a thousand times. He was about to ask further but stopped himself. The less he knew, the less chance of him stopping her from whatever foolish and likely dangerous adventure she had in mind.

 

[Larana Basai]

Kalen seemed surprised by her response. It wasn't far from the temple and they had traveled to the river more times than she could count as it was one of her favorite places. The way the waters never stopped moving across the river bed, spoke to her ever wandering spirit and it was easy to find peace there. In fact, it was often where she could be found after a long day. Indeed, she had an adventure planned for them, one she had been working on for quite some time now. Larana doubted that Kalen would agree if she told him her entire plan before they arrived, so she decided not to tell him.

"Who said I was lying?" She looked back at him, walking back into the trees and towards the familiar rivers edge. "I'm sure those thin little legs of yours make you a very nimble gymnast. I'm jealous, really." With a slight chuckle, she focused her attention ahead of them and began clearing them a path. The foliage was thick and required a bit more effort than she had to offer to move through, but she was determined to make it to the water.

"So, that's what Master Ris has you working on? I wondered where you'd been the past few days. I was starting to think you didn't like me anymore." It had been quite as of recent. Their master had asked her to focus on learning to connect with the force on a deeper level through meditation, but it wasn't something she was good at. Perhaps the force spoke to her in different ways. Larana wasn't quite sure of the reason, but had done as instructed. However, she'd taken some breaks in between to work on what she had planned for them today.

 

[Kalen Novak]

He didn't respond to the playful jeering of the other Padawan. He had long learned not to feed into it, it only encouraged her. With a bit of a grunt, he took several quick steps to catch up as they left the clearing and pushed into the jungle.

"You know how she is," he said as he pushed through some of the brush. "She says she might know a fighting style that would fit me better than the traditional style, so she had been making be go through extra drills that focus on agility," he said as they continued deeper in the jungle. "Honestly, I think she is grasping at straws at this point," he said pausing for a second. "I may just not be cut out for this life," he admitted. That thought scared him, but it was something to consider. So far he had to fight tooth and nail for progression that came naturally to others, not all Padawans made it through training.

"I think she has just been distancing us in case that happens," he said. Larana would make it through training for sure. She was a bit rebellious but she also contained the skill, and more importantly, the heart of a Jedi. Kalen grew quiet, trying not to think about the future.

After some time the made it to the river. It was a fairly sizeable river that zig-zagged through the area. "So we are here..." he said expectantly. "Want to tell me your grand plan now?"

 

[Larana Basai]

Larana frowned, crossing her arms over her chest. It wasn't like him to be so down in the dumps and, to be honest, she didn't like it at all. She found it difficult to admit how deeply she really cared for her fellow Padawan and refused to see him fail or be sent away; it couldn't happen. "Listen, don't talk like that, Kalen. You are just as fit to become a Jedi as any other Padawan here." It was the truth, no matter how much he refused to see it and, even if he decided to leave, she couldn't promise that she wouldn't follow him. It was perhaps dangerous to think that Larana would remain at his side, no matter where the stars pointed them; she had the heart of a Jedi, but he was the closest she had felt to anyone since she had left her brother back on Andara and that honestly meant a great deal to her.

The two of them pushed their way through the thick foliage to the river edge where a small raft rocked back and forth against the steady waves. It was held together by thick vines and had taken her weeks to construct so that it would not fall apart on the heavier rapids. It was just wide enough to traverse the narrowest points of the river and long enough that it could fit her and Kalen both; it would take them to the caves down stream. They were one of the only places she had yet to visit and she could hardly wait another minute to leave.

"We are taking a trip down river, to the caves. It is said that the water flows through them and I can only imagine how beautiful they are on the inside." She motioned for him to take a seat on the raft, so that she could push them out into the current.

 

[Kalen Novak]

He didn't respond to her. It was rare he let his self-doubt show. Their Master could see right through him, knew that he was unsure about himself. That was the real reason she had been training them separately. She had told him how dangerous doubting one's self could be. He believed her, but he couldn't help it, it was always there in the dark corners of his mind.

The small raft came int view, allowing the conversation to naturally shift away from him. "You have got to be kidding me," he said looking at her out the corner of his eyes. "You want us to go down the river in this thing?" he asked. At least he wouldn't have to worry about getting kicked out when he was dead. "You know there are creatures that would love to eat us in this river, right?" he asked. There were dangerous creatures in the jungle, but he was probably overstating it a little bit.

She motioned for him to join her. He stood for a moment, sure he was going to break his word to her. This was crazy. He let out a sigh. "Why do I let you talk me into these things?!" he asked before sitting down in the front of the raft as they were pushed into the middle of the river. From there, the river took them.

"Do we even have re-breathers? What if there are no caverns of air down there," he said. If there was one thing Kalen excelled at, it was worrying about things.

The river rapids grew more intense, drowning out his complaints and causing him to focus more on falling out of the raft. They battled the rapids, Larana's boat held together pretty well, all things considered, and they finally saw where the mountain loomed in front of them. The river ran into the cave and who knows where beyond that. He turned back around, worried expression still plastered on his face. Maybe she was just teasing him and would allow them to turn around.

 

[Larana Basai]

The worried look written on his face no longer phased her for she had seen it too many times before. The two of them would survive this adventure just as they had survived every one before, and he would be thankful for the experience, she hoped. It wasn't often that either of them were allowed to wander beyond the confines of the Jedi Temple and, after all of the work they had put in, they deserved a break. Ajan Kloss was too beautiful to admire from a distance; it was meant to be explored. Larana flashed him a reassuring smile, holding tight to the side of the raft as they traversed the heavy rapids approaching the cavern in the mountain ahead.

"Of course I remembered the re-breathers." Larana reached behind her for her equipment and suddenly, her heart sank into her stomach. It wasn't there - she must have lost it on the rapids, which meant all of her things were at the bottom of the river except for her hilt and the minimal equipment that she kept on her person. "I mean, I did remember the re-breathers, but I must have lost them." She chuckled nervously, sure they would never find them.

"It'll be okay, Kalen. I doubt we will need them anyway." Larana flashed another charming smile, motioning for him to duck as the raft carried them beneath the low hanging entrance of the caves and into utter darkness. The water calmed tremendously and carried them at a quiet pace deeper into the caves.

 

[Kalen Novak]

His worried looked turned into a bit of a glare. "You're gonna be the death of me," he muttered as he ducked and they entered into the cave. His heartbeat increased as they had to stay ducked, the cave ceiling growing closer and closer, his claustrophobia screaming in his mind.

The light continued to fade, just as the ceiling was about the rub against the top of the raft, the ceiling opened up. His heart felt like it was going to beat out of his chest. They shouldn't have come, but it would be too difficult to swim back out now with the current. The water did come out on the other side of a mountain, albeit in a waterfall. They just had to hope it didn't go through a mile of totally submerged tunnels with no air.

He was still breathing heavily but focused on calming himself, at least that was something he got to practice often being paired with Larana.

 

[Larana Basai]

It was hard to admit, but there was a hint of fear that settled in the pit of her stomach as the walls of the cavern closed in on them. For a moment, Larana wasn't sure that the river actually would come out on the other side of the mountain and there wasn't much hope for either of them to make it upstream in such a heavy current. It would have been hard anyway, but the both of them were already worn down from an entire afternoon of combat exercises. This adventure could have easily been the end without re-breathers, but just as she was about to force them to abandon ship, the cavern opened.

It was absolutely beautiful. Overhead were brilliant formations of stalactites and colorful mineral deposits formed from the condensation and humid air that traveled in from outside. The sound of water echoed off the walls, carving an uneven path through the base of the mountains. Larana had never seen anything like it in her life and, for a moment, was absolutely lost for words. How could nature be so beautiful and yet so terrifying?

She took a deep breath as their raft floated towards the shore and stole a look at Kalen, wondering if he was just as in awe as she was. "Well, we didn't die. Isn't this place beautiful?"

Larana departed the raft, waist deep in water so that she could pull them to dock on the shore. It would be a long walk through the mountains back to the temple, but she wanted to stay here for a while and memorize the magnificent rock formations that decorated the walls, undisturbed by time.