Beginnings

[Eric X'ree]

"Focus."

The voice reverberated through his mind as he struggled to maintain his mental composure. He could feel every inch of his skin, every strand of hair on his body. He could feel his lungs expand as he inhaled and deflate as he slowly exhaled while his heart pumped rhythmically, slowly - sending blood coursing through his veins. He was aware of every little thing that was happening.

And he wasn't entirely fond of it.

"Don't," the voice scolded. He refocused. What was it that was taught to him? "In times of need, the Force will be your guide"? Or something like that. It seemed a little trivial to be asking the Force for help in focusing though.

He closed his eyes even tighter as he tried to quiet his mind and settle in the uneasy silence and heightened sensitivity. His muscles ached, if it was even possible for muscles to ache from lack of movement. He felt like he was confined in chains. His heartbeat started to increase and he could feel the urge to make the slightest movement, even just to twitch, increase.

"Hold it," the voice said firmly. "Stay. Breathe."

Another long, steady exhale. His muscles loosened and his mind cleared, and for a brief moment, he felt something he rarely felt in all this quiet: peace.

"Good. Open your eyes."

His eyes welcomed the light as he felt his body begin to slowly de-levitate. The rocks around him followed suit, dropping gently on the ground. The nine-year-old youngling, however, did not waste anytime as he landed on his feet and with bright eyes looked up at the Jedi training him. "Did I do it, master?" he asked expectantly.

"Barely," the Twi'lek trainer replied. "You cannot keep yourself still, at peace, and yet with a lightsaber in your hand you have no trouble focusing." The youngling deflated but his eyes remained on the older Jedi. "A Jedi is much more than a warrior, X'ree. You may thrive in battle, but you must learn to do the same in stillness."

The raven-haired boy looked up at the Master with a dejected face. "Yes, master."

The Twi'lek's face softened as he looked down at the youngling. He sighed. "Go to the training room for combat training."

The boy lit up. "Really?"

"But -" the older Jedi added quickly, "- go eat first."

The youngling nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, master!" he exclaimed before scurrying away.

The Praexum had been his home ever since he could remember, yet another baby raised in the Temple for the purposes of training. Unlike other younglings, however, his parents were still a regular presence in his life. But though they were wealthy, influential and left the boy wanting for nothing, he only wanted to be one thing: a Jedi. And not just any other Jedi, but a renown Jedi that would be feared on the battlefield. He wanted to lead troops into war, mow down soldiers, and take down Sith.

Such were the aspirations of the young and naive Eric X'ree.

The light brown-skinned youngling's bright eyes returned at the mention of combat training and he was almost skipping away from the meditation room. He would eat a quick lunch and spend an extra thirty minutes in training. His Form V needed some work. As he made his way down the hallway and into the main atrium of the Praexum, the temple echoed with activity. Light streamed in from the gigantic doors that were left open and made the marble architecture glisten, but it was all a regular sight to the youngling. Eric was far too caught up in getting to the canteen quickly to finish his lunch so he can wield a training lightsaber again.

In his hurry, Eric found himself colliding with someone, his little frame crashing into what seemed to be a young woman. He looked up apologetically. "I'm so sorry!" the child exclaimed. "I just... I was going to the canteen." He reminded himself that this was why his trainers were always telling him to focus. "I'm really sorry!" he said again before taking off again - only to stop when he realized something.

He turned back to the young woman and walked towards her slowly. Tugging at her robes to catch her attention again, he smiled when she looked at him once more."Hi. Are you lost?"

[Kaytren Li]

They’d left a training wing, and come to a T intersection of the corridor. Kaytren strode lithely to the left. Where did that turbolift go?

“Wrong way, Kayte.”
“What? No it isn’t.”
“Technically yes, but there’s no lift access from this level.”
“Whose architecture idea was this?!?”
“Not mine. You get used to it after a while though.”
“I’m skeptical.”

Tomais Daern chuckled and tipped his head toward the opposite direction from the one she’d chosen. The fourteen year old rolled her eyes in daughterly fashion, and settled cheerfully back into step with the man...

—Until a younger student barreled straight into her where she’d paused, distracted in the hallway intersection.

“Oof—Oh, I mean, thank you. It’s fine.” Kaytren snapped out of her reverie and glanced at the boy with a smile meant to be sensibly reassuring.

The boy was already bounding on his way again. But then, he wasn’t. When he tugged on her shirt, she turned around and really looked at him. Kaytren Alia was newly nineteen; not that her birthday had been a milestone she’d cared about in the last few weeks. She was human; Corellian mostly. The girl was rather average in height at just over 5’6”, with a rather fair complexion. Her chestnut brown hair was pulled back in a braid, she had brown eyes, and a slim athletic frame. She wore plain traveling clothes that weren’t anything interesting or especially ‘Jedi’, but she did wear her lightsaber of course, and some other compact weapon on her other hip, judging from the fall of her shirt layers. On closer look, the long braid of a senior Padawan was tucked neatly back among the rest of her hair.

Her first instinct was to shake her head and reassure the boy that she wasn’t lost. But… well.. He was so genuine looking. And maybe she was.. a little lost. Not that she wouldn’t have figured it out. She was fine! But, he did ask.

Kaytren smoothed a bit of her hair and offered the boy a faint smile.

“Maybe a little. Hello… I’m Kaytren. Do you mind showing me where that cafeteria is? I remember something about one of the turbolifts skipping this floor, but it’s been a few years. I know where the guest quarters and the council floor are from there.”

[Eric X'ree]

The precocious nine-year-old continued looking up at the pale-skinned young woman as she spoke with bright eyes and a warm smile. It was evident that he was someone who had not been exposed to the cruelty of the world - or at least not yet. The youngling exuded childish innocence, with all his hopes and dreams ahead of him and not care in the world as to what could go wrong.

It wasn't evident to the boy that he had shaken the slightly older woman out of her reverie. He lit up at her request, his smile growing wider. "Oh, sure! I was on my way there." He motioned her to follow him and he resumed bounding down the hallway with his usual exuberance.

"I don't blame you for getting lost. This whole place is confusing," he began to rattle off. "I live here and even I get lost!" He turned a corner and stopped at the bottom of some stairs before turning back to the young woman. He made a face as he realized that he made another mistake. "I'm sorry, I get too excited and forget common courtesy sometimes." he smiled. "My name is Eric. It's nice to meet you, Kaytren!"

His inquisitive eyes scanned Kaytren with a scrunched up nose and a furrowed brow. "Hmm... You can't be a Jedi Guardian. You're too pretty. Are you a Sentinel? A healer?" The boy spoke without the knowledge that what he's saying could be considered offensive. Then again, he didn't really mean to offend. Unknowingly, the Force was also guiding him in his observation. "Are you a Jedi Knight? You're far too young to be a Master," he added, at which point someone else more stern could have scolded him.

Eric made his way up the marble staircase. Even with his small legs, he was able to bound up the stairs with ease and soon they were walking down a hallway again. "So what brings you to the Praexum?"

[Kaytren Li]

Kaytren would have nodded, but she didn’t find any particularly ‘Jedi’ greeting necessary as they were already moving again. The girl smiled to herself and adjusted her pace to keep up with the young Eric. Empathy was among her stronger gifts in the Force, but it hardly took a mind reader to feel the pride and excitement shining off of the young Jedi student.

“Nice to meet you, too. Uh, yes more Sentinel trained than anything. A healer? No. I’m—Hey! Wait a second and turn around!”

The Corellian girl came to an abrupt stop two steps from the top of a stairway, which put her just about eye to eye with the boy when he turned back. Kaytren flicked a stray lock of hair behind her ear and pulled her padawan braid loose from the rest of her hair, leaving her rank (and her mood) clearly visible. Something in her eyes glinting, she raised an eyebrow at Eric and crossed her arms.

“What was that comment supposed to mean?? No, I’m not Guardian.” (Thank goodness!) “But… too pretty for one?! What?”

[Eric X'ree]

There was visible confusion in the youngling's eyes when he turned to face Kaytren. It didn't register just why the slightly older woman seemed to take offense at his remark. He blinked his bright eyes as Kaytren spoke and wasted no time to respond to her.

"Well," Eric began, "I don't really see a lot of girl Jedi Guardians, and the ones that are here aren't as pretty as you." The child leaned forward and covered his mouth from the side to whisper to Kaytren, completely ignoring the fact that the Jedi around him could probably use the Force to hear what he was whispering. "There's a lady Jedi Guardian here and she is scary." His eyes widened in fear. "I don't think she showers often."

His little shoulders gave a shrug. "I just wish more of the girl Jedi here looked like you. Maybe we should have more Sentinels." His eyes caught a glimpse of her Padawan braid and his face lit up - more so than it already was - as he pointed at it. "Oh, you're a Padawan! That makes sense! I'm going to be a Padawan soon too!"

Eric turned around with his face still deep in thought as he continued to make his way up the steps. "It's just down the hall!" he said as he skipped all the way to the cafeteria. "Are you hungry? I think they're doing some sort of Bantha thing that's supposed to be good." He turned to the young woman once more. "You still haven't said why you're here."

[Kaytren Li]

Kaytren’s expression softened a little and she resumed walking with the boy, her eyes still gleaming a bit.

“Judging people by their covers like that can get you into trouble. We’re Jedi; we can look practically however we want - especially with 2 minutes and a couple resources.” Well, she could anyway; but she’d spent almost a third of her life routinely slipping in and out of various roles. This was the Council, though. She was fully aware of Jedi expectations and preferred to present herself decently well when it came to important meetings. She didn’t actually have particularly Jedi clothing right now, but that was hardly necessary. Kaytren knew perfectly well that braided hair, poised movements, and a calm demeanor worked wonders for being perceived as appropriately ’Jedi.’

“Your scary lady probably can, too. I bet she just works out a lot. You do.. have.. A lot of warriors here; it seems like. I keep a little less muscle than some of them do, I suppose. It's not so needed, and you’re much more versatile in the field if you’re not so memorable.” She smiled. “Bantha whatever sounds great; I’m not picky.”

She let the boy guide them around the cafeteria, but overall Kaytren felt much more confident about where she was again, and felt sure she could find her way back to the guest quarters. Then she’d go on to the council room this afternoon from there. When the youngling asked why she was here, her warm smile calmed a little, but didn’t fade away. She was alright.

“My—the Rim enclave on Wayland is very small. Things change and it is time to come back and see if I can do more… in the middle of the galaxy. So I have a meeting with the masters this afternoon.”

[Eric X'ree]

"It's more about how she smells than how she looks, really," the young Jedi whispered, still blissfully unaware that any of the people in the temple right now could probably be able to use the Force to know what he was saying.

At Kaytren's words, Eric's mouth pursed as he crinkled his nose in thought. "I dunno. Do you stink after you work out?" he asked once again unaware of any offense his question may have done. He nodded as another bright smile spread across his lips. "We do! And I'm gonna be one someday!" His stomach grumbled. "... But maybe after we eat."

The nine-year-old got a tray and could barely see above the glass where the food was. The Sullustan behind it, however, seemed to be familiar with the young Jedi and greeted him in a foreign langauge.

"Can I have two? I have a friend with me," Eric requested to which the Sullustan obliged. "Milkshake?" the young Jedi pleaded. The Sullustan spoke and shook his head leaving the young Jedi to make a face. He turned back to Kaytren. "I don't understand how they can't make milkshakes."

The young Jedi walked over to a table as he listened to Kaytren. "I kinda think they'll probably just send you out again," Eric said as he bit into his Bantha. "Everything seems to be fine here. And everyone that comes through here that looks like they've been through stuff are coming from the Outer Rim and stuff like that." He chewed on the meat for a few moments and swallowed. "I dunno, being here seems a little boring."

[Kaytren Li]

“Most people do if they’re moving hard enough.” Unlike her new acquaintance, the older young Jedi felt aware of whoever was potentially overhearing their conversation. She wasn’t very concerned about it, though.

“Thank you, sir.” Kaytren acknowledged the Sullustan with a polite nod and then followed young Eric with her tray. She’d investigated the coffee situation with pursed lips while the boy was bargaining with the kitchen attendant, but ultimately she found the available caf lacking — it was prepared heavy-handedly and borderline burnt as if from some counter at a fuel station, with two utilitarian canisters of sugar and a sort of powdered cream available. It was someone’s idea of simplicity, she supposed… or they just had very different priorities. She smiled sadly at it and just took a glass of water for the moment. The meal itself was was perfectly fine, though.

Kaytren ate for a few minutes, her expression thoughtful while she listened to the boy. “It looks like a protected place for you to learn anyway… That can be priceless. Were you at lightsaber practice just now?”

[Eric X'ree]

The young Jedi seemed eager to finish his Bantha in as few bites as possible. He devoured the meat without any shame in front of the young woman, and soon his mouth and chin were covered in bits of meat while his cheek was filled with it. He also didn't wait to swallow before speaking. "Showersh," he said simply at the slightly older Jedi's statement.

When he did swallow, there was a slightly sullen look on the boy's face as he spoke again. "Protected just means boring," he whined before suddenly lighting up again as if a jolt of electricity had just coursed through the youngling's veins. "I want to be out there where the battles are!" He stood up and began mimicking lightsaber motions, trying to remember everything he had learned so far in training. "I want to be on the frontlines, taking down bad guys and fighting Sith!" His aspirations were very much like any young Jedi in training who thought that a Jedi was all about being a warrior and getting glory in war. The young Jedi hadn't faced the reality of war yet. "Don't you want to be out there, too?" he asked innocently and curiously.

He shook his head in reply to Kaytren's question. "I'm just about to go there now! But my teacher said I have to eat up first." He looked at Kaytren with another curious glint in his eye. "Do you know any moves that can help me out? Maybe I can impress my teacher in training later."

[Kaytren Li]

“Well… it doesn’t really matter whether I want to or not. There’s tons of need. I’m sure there’s somewhere they can use me. It isn’t all bad though. And it’s not all Dark battles. Especially in the Rim, you can go whole years of dealing with slavers and spice rings.” And plenty of other problems, but Kaytren felt that keeping things simple was probably better. “Some of them have selfish Dark users manipulating things, but not even most of them.”

The younger boy hopped back to thinking about training classes and she smiled at him. “You have to build the basics first…. But you could practice Trakata if you haven’t started? Practice your hands and steps first or you’ll just get tripped up and full of training burns. But think about having your lightsaber blocked and you need to move through something. So you flip your blade off and back on. Be careful because theres will be right in front of you. But do it right, and it’s so fun! Get a partner and practice.”

[Eric X'ree]

It was clear that the boy's idea of being a Jedi was all about battles and action, and true to his naiveté and innocence, he wore his heart on his sleeve. "I'm sure you kick the butts of all those slavers and spice things," Eric said, not hearing the last word correctly. He sat up straight, trying to look dignified, but the Bantha on the nine-year-old's face negated that. "We're Jedi. That's what we do!"

The difference in his demeanor was staggering when Kaytren started giving him tips. His eyes focused. His jaw clenched. For a moment, the Bantha before him was forgotten. The Padawan listened and soaked in what she was saying, nodding as his eyes remained intently on her. "Basics... Trakata... off and on. I'll give it a try!"

Without another moment to lose, he launched back into his meal, finishing it within a few seconds. He wiped his mouth and gave the older Jedi a wide grin. "It was really nice to meet you, Kaytren. I hope we see each other again sometime." He jumped off the cafeteria bench, revealing that his eyes barely peeked above the table when he was standing on the ground. "If you ever come back to the Praexum, I hope you remember me and you can tell me of your adventures in the Rim and the spice things."

The nine-year-old Padawan gave Kaytren a hearty wave, and much like he bumped into her at the beginning, bounded off to his training.