[RP] Quest To Complete Lesson Two! {finished}

[Naree]

((Would appreciate if someone would just kinda walk up and introduce themselves to Cam. He is a very shy and withdrawn child who would not otherwise approach people.))


Camlan sighed as Edan ran off to another task. He was sure they were close to figuring out the second lesson. Whatever had called Edan away must surely have been important. But lessons were important too! Blinking golden eyes, Cam looked about to see if there were any other students around. He clung tightly to his tail and twisted the fur in his hands. If only he were not so shy!

Taking a deep breath, Camlan closed his eyes and thought about the Force. When he touched it earlier it was all warm and fuzzy. And it had a strange glow. The Amaran wondered if the Force was always like that... Or maybe, it was like clay! You could make things out of it. Either way, Cam had no idea which direction to head into next. Exhaling slowly, the fox boy reached out to try and bond with the Force like earlier.  

[Annaving]

Aiden slowly made her way through the courtyard. She brushed a stray branch of foliage away from her face as she walked down a slightly overgrown stone path. This area remained a stark contrast to the pristine, mechanical layout of the merchant ship she was used to, yet she was slowly becoming more comfortable.

As the nagai female came to the next turn, she saw another student standing with his eyes clothes. After a second glance, Aiden recognized him as the Amaran boy she had met before. Aiden paused for a second, realizing the boy was all alone.

"Are you lost?" Aiden asked bluntly, cocking her head to the side slightly.  

[Naree]

Camlan looked up to see the girl, Aiden walking towards him. He liked her though she had never said much to him. In fact, she rarely spoke at all when he was around. Of course, the Amaran was not much of a chatterer either.

At the thought of being lost, Camlan shook his head a firm no. "Not lost. Trying to complete a lesson. Edan left me when his sponsor called him and now I have no one to finish my lesson with..."

His ears and tail drooped a little bit a this. "I can't go on, the Master said, until I finish this lesson."  

[Annaving]

"Oh." Aiden replied, now acutely aware of the awkward situation she had placed herself in. For all intensive purposes, she had already had to do this twice-- once officially and then an "encouraged" extra session with that Yuuzhan Vong child. Aiden tried not to grimace from the fresh memory. She glanced at the Amaran's drooping ears and tails with conflicting desires. As a Jedi initiate, it was probably her duty to help the other students... even when she didn't personally want to. Aiden chewed the bottom of her lip as she worked to invent a suitable excuse... Finding none, she brought her gaze back to Camlan as she stifled an inward sigh.

"I can complete the second lesson with you." Aiden said with forced professionalism.  

[Naree]

((can't make this too easy! XD))

Camlan could sense the girl's reluctance to do the lesson with him. He was sure she had probably already completed it with another student and was just trying to be polite. He shook his head slightly and kept hold of his tail.

"You don't have to if you don't want to... If you know someone who hasn't completed it yet... Maybe you could tell me?"

He felt bad and stupid. He wondered if there was something wrong with him that made the others not want to be around. Camlan thought about how Miss Naree was wrong to send him here and maybe he should just leave. He had heard that some of the other children were going to leave but then they ended up staying. "Maybe I should just go back to my parents' freight ship. I obviously can't do this right. I am sorry I bothered you with my problems."

But instead of turning to leave, he just sat down and clung to his tail. Jedi apprentice he might be but Camlan was still only a ten year old boy.  

[Color Me Dark]

Jhordaan had been watching the exchange from his perch up in one of the many trees that lined the walkway with a fair amount of distaste--the misery and self-doubt rolling off the furry youngling was thick and cloying, catching uncomfortably in the back of Jhordaan's throat--so he was rather surprised when he found himself slipping out of the tree and approaching the pair.

He really wasn't sure what had compelled him, but the deed was done and he found the words slipping out of his mouth unbidden, "I'll help you with the lesson."

Jhordaan needed to do the lesson besides and while he could think of several more likely candidates to act in the capacity of a partner, it seemed this would be his fate. It helped that the girl was pretty.

Drawing on a self-deprecating smile he added, "If you'll have me, of course. Jhordaan Tri'kule."

As an afterthought, he sent out a wave of calming emotions towards the boy--you'll be fine, now. No worries. Hopefully it worked. Otherwise, this session was going to be unbearable.  

[Annaving]

"I'll help you with the lesson"

"Uwa..." Aiden muttered unintelligibly with surprise. She turned around quickly to face the newcomer

"If you'll have me, of course. Jhordaan Tri'kule."


"Oh... you must be new." Aiden nodded, composing herself. She made a glance towards the Amaran child still sitting on the ground. Her eyes brightened as she realized the opportunity providence had just given her: a graceful exit to an incredibly awkward and uncomfortable situation. She forced a friendly smile as she turned her gaze back to the newcomer. "Sure, go ahead." Aiden said as she motioned for the zeltron boy to come closer. "I've actually already completed this lesson, so there's really no reason for me to stay if you are able to take my place." Aiden backed away slowly as she continued to excuse herself. In the beginning, she was unwilling to leave for fear that it would give the impression that she was eager to abandon the Amaran student, causing his condition to worsen. And yet, the arrival of this newcomer gave her the perfect opportunity. "May the Force be with you" She said with a final wave as she eagerly backed around the corner.

Aiden paused only for a moment as she gave a deep sigh of relief. "Aiiee... what was that?" Aiden later grumbled to herself as she quickly exited the courtyard. "A Jedi without social skills... this is truly a paradox for a future member of the galaxy's finest diplomats."
 

[Color Me Dark]

Not so new, really. Just unmotivated. Jhordaan didn't correct her--didn't have time to--watching her go with a pang of regret; he hadn't even caught her name.

He turned his attention back to the boy with a pleasantly neutral smile, sending out gentle waves of encouragement. With any luck, the boy would get hold of himself in a timely fashion and they would be able to get on with the lesson.

"Shall we, then?" The masters had been utterly vague about the specifics of the exercise, but it seemed reasonable that meditation would be a safe place to start. What exactly they were supposed to be accomplishing was another matter entirely.

Jhordaan moved off the cobbled path and settled down under the tree he'd previously occupied, motioning for his partner to do the same.

 

[Naree]

Golden eyes watched as a new boy approached them both and spoke. He mentioned that he hadn't done the second lesson yet. Cheered by the fact that he was not the only one behind in lessons, Camlan waved as Aiden disappeared. Standing up, he let go of his tail and followed the one called Jhordaan who seemed to know what was going on.

They went towards the tree the red-skinned kid had been sitting in earlier. Camlan dropped down under the tree and looked up at the other initiate. "Thank you for helping me. I thought I was never going to get this lesson down. And then, my sponsor would be unhappy. My name is Camlan. I'm training to be a Jedi."

Embaressment slightly colored his words as he chattered. It wasn't that he couldn't do the lesson; it was more the fact that there were so many new students and Camlan didn't enjoy crowds or noisy people. Trying to get his thoughts back together, the Amaran child breathed slowly. "Did you see the Force yet?"  

[Color Me Dark]

Jhordaan hummed in encouragement, slightly perplexed how such an insecure child could ever hope to master the way of the Jedi. Camlan was young still, but the basic principles of the Jedi, as Jhordaan understood them, were of rigid self-control and emotional detachment. Camlan didn't seem to be off to a very good start, and Jhordaan wondered why he cared.

Empathy could be a real drag, sometimes.

He turned his thoughts rather forcibly to the Force and the question he'd been asked, "I've seen it; I've been working on reading auras in a more practical environment. And you?"

Over the course of the last several weeks Jhordaan had spent almost every free moment he had prowling the halls, practicing with his sight on passerby. He could sense things more clearly because of it, but he still couldn't see. Occasionally he's glimpse a faint, gossamer thread of something that seemed to surround a person, but that was the extent of it.

It was probably the most frustrating thing he'd ever attempted, but he just had to keep practicing.  

[Naree]

"Well... I have these blocks that my sponsor gave me. They are the only real thing I am good at using. I can build things and make them move without touching them. I have meditated and seen the Force a couple of times. It is usually green for me." Camlan thought for a moment. This was the most he had ever spoken or shared with another student. He wondered if that meant they were friends.

Miss Naree had encouraged him to try and make friends and learn as much as possible. Scratching his ear, he looked back over to Jhordaan. They had a few things in common: they were both red, they were both boys and they were both very different from some of the others. Sounded like a good way to start a friendship to him.

"Can you see others auras yet?" Camlan settled against the tree. "I haven't even tried that yet. But maybe I can show you my blocks later."  

[Color Me Dark]

((Sorry for the delay; finals have eaten me alive.))

A sort of levitation, then; Jhordaan had been so focused on mastering his aura reading that he hadn't even begun to really consider other ways of manipulating the Force. One thing at a time; he'd never been keen on multitasking. Still, he nodded his thanks and mumbled an agreement. He was fairly certain at this point he'd never see auras in the 'traditional' sense—discordant emotion colored everything—and keeping that in consideration it was probably time to move on.

“I can see a bit of a shimmer surrounding people with a strong Force presence, but I’m best at seeing the emotions that bleed through. Of course, it won’t be very useful to use against those with a tight lid on their emotions, but it’s something at least.” Which wasn’t the exact truth, per se; he could still ‘see’ people with strong mental barriers—they just appeared as completely nondescript washes of gray. It wasn’t exactly Camlan’s business, though, and Jhordaan didn’t bother clarifying.

“This exercise… shall we start?”  

[Naree]

((It's okay. I have been sick the past week and just finally got back on.))

Camlan nodded. Draping his hands on his knees he took a deep slow breathe, the Amaran looked at his companion. "Okay. So... We just need to try and sense the Force together, right?"

When he had closed his eyes and meditated in his room, it normally took about ten minutes before he started to since anything... He wondered if Jhordaan moved quicker since he could sense auras. "Ready when you are."  

[Color Me Dark]

Jhordaan hesitated. Failure or success, Jhordaan was a private person--what he had shared with Camlan was more than he did with most--and the prospect of opening up his own mind, willingly, to another person was rather repugnant. His species was naturally empathetic, and he'd learned early to shut out the constant bombardment of emotions; he wasn't in the habit of lowering those shields under any circumstances.

He closed his eyes and reached for the place deep inside himself that connected to the Force, struggling with the link as he tried to reshape the barriers in his mind. He thought of it like a one-way sieve, letting his thoughts, the will he would impress on the Force, through and keeping everything else out. Sweat prickled on his skin, itching its way down the line of his spine.

It clicked into place.

Concentrating on his breathing, Jhordaan calmed his racing heart, exploring the new boundaries he had set and finding himself rather pleased with the result. Feeling more confident, Jhordaan reached out into the void between Camlan and himself.  

[Naree]

Camlan slowed his breathing down and reached deep inside himself. He could hear Jhordaan's breathing slow down as well. The Amaran boy tried to calm himself and rid himself of all the emotions that had been swirling around earlier.

His eyes closed Camlan relaxed and began to think about the Force around him. It had to be close by since there were so many users nearby. Once again, a light green light flowed around him. Using a mental hand, Camlan reached out and tried to see Jhordaan without really seeing him.