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((okay, I got a little carried away. I find it very hard not to make my first posts be really long. But I've noticed that usually my posts get progressively shorter, so...))

Hor-Ka Fell stepped out of the lift tube and strode silently over to the closed doors of the Council chamber. He had been resting in the softly-cushioned room he always occupied at the Temple, having recently returned from resolving a complicated conflict on Enbarr involving kidnapped heirs and assassinated nobles. Overall, he thought it had gone well. He had been able to pacify enraged relatives and stop what was likely to turn into a heated feud. Then, as he meditated in his room with a feeling of deep peace, he had received the summons from the Council. He was surprised that they would call on him so soon after he had returned from his last mission, but he was more curious than anything else. What could be so urgent that the Council would call him up here, to the very top of the Temple? Usually, Yoda or one of the other Masters would simply call him on his comlink, or seek him out in the Temple halls.
The doors hissed open and Hor-Ka made his way into the round Council room. He had only been there once or twice before, and both of those occasions had been when he was a Padawan. He had never come here completely on his own before. Hor-Ka was slightly taller than the average humanoid, with limbs slightly longer than normal. Each of his fingers had one joint too many, making them extra long and spindly. His skin was brownish and a little wrinkly, like old parchment, and instead of hair his head was crowned by ridges of pale bone running parallel to each other. He walked cautiously with the aid of an anti-gravity cane, a small orb with a simple repulsorlift thruster in the bottom that kept it a constant distance off the floor.
When Hor-Ka had reached the center of the room, he bowed low to the Masters seated in a circle about him. When he straightened up, his eyes met Yoda's. As usual, the small Jedi's gaze was thoughtful. Yet after gazing silently at Hor-Ka for several moments, he turned his gaze to Mace Windu, who sat on his left. Hor-Ka looked at Master Windu as well, and his gaze was locked this time in Master Windu's cutting brown eyes. When Master Windu looked at you, you felt as though he were examining your insides and found them a little disappointing. After several moments of scrutinizing Hor-Ka in this way, Master Windu spoke. "There is a task which we would like you to accomplish."
Hor-Ka waited for more, but Master Windu was silent. "I am the Council's servant," Hor-Ka said at last, breaking a rather heavy silence.
"Do this alone, you can not," Yoda replied. "A Padawan you must have before this task you can accomplish."
"A Padawan?" Hor-Ka asked in surprise, and perhaps a little irritation. For a moment he forgot where he was, and to whom he spoke. "But I work alone! I have done so for years; why must that change now?"
"You are an accomplished Jedi Knight," the soft-spoken Ki-Adi-Mundi put in. "There is much you can teach a younger Jedi."
"And much you can learn yourself," Master Windu added. "We believe you are fit to this task, but it cannot be done alone. When you have chosen a Padawan, we will inform you further."
Hor-Ka saw the finality in Master Windu's eyes, and bowed. He turned, and left a little swifter than he had come. He found himself breathing rather hard as he stepped into the lift tube, and spent the ride down breathing deeply and drawing on the Force to calm himself. When he stepped out at the bottom, he was breathing easily again; he turned and reluctantly headed towards the training rooms where Jedi Knights could watch the older younglings train.

Hor-Ka leaned casually on the railing that surrounded the lightsaber practice area. Two students were duelling there, their practice sabers mere blurs as they leapt and swung and ducked. As far as Hor-Ka could tell, the two girls were nearly thirteen, almost too old to be chosen as Padawans. He had little hope that he would find anything appraising in these two girls. Usually, if a youngling had gone this long without being chosen, they were not worthy of being chosen.
One of the girls was a Twi'lek, with the queer head-tails that marked that species; the other was a humanoid with long dark hair. After Hor-Ka had watched for several minutes, he could see that this humanoid was exceptionally gifted. She wielded her lightsaber with an ease and grace uncommon in such a young Jedi. Shak'Nu, the Master overseeing this duel, called out suggestions and admonishments to the two girls. Hor-Ka listened to these admonishments, tapping his cane thoughtfully.

Hor-Ka watched the fight with growing interest. This humanoid, she was skilled, very skilled. Her lightsaber was only a blur as she swung, parried, thrusted, jabbed. All the same...such skill could easily lead to arrogance, could it not? He shook his head and turned to leave.
He had only gone several steps when something stopped him. He wasn't sure what exactly it was or where it came from, but he felt...something...a slight shiver in the Force. He came to a halt, and turned slowly back to the duelling younglings. What was it about these particular younglings that caught his attention? Surely it could not be merely their skill with the blade? And now that slightest tremor in the Force was gone, and Hor-Ka wondered if he was imagining things. Not a good trait for a Jedi, over-excited imagination. So he decided he would wait. There was something...something about one of those two girls. He would just have to wait and see.
"Enough!" Shak'Nu called out, entering the practice area. "That is enough for one day."

"Very good," Shak'Nu praised. "Ja'Lin, remember to be mindful of your opponent's footwork."
The Twi'lek girl murmured a soft, "Yes, Master," as she hung her practice saber on her belt.
"And Evela," Shak'Nu continued, turning to the humanoid. "Do not depend on your enemy to be defensive. Even as you attack, you may leave yourself vulnerable to attack. Very well, off you both go."
As the two girls left the practice area, Hor-Ka fell into place beside them. "Quite a display," he remarked as he limped along.
"Thank you, Master," Ja'Lin murmured, but she looked a little disappointed as she dwelt on small mistakes she had made.

Hor-Ka grunted. "How old are you two?"
"I turn thirteen in a week, Master," Ja'Lin answered, her head-tails twitching anxiously.
"I suppose you're hoping a Master will choose you to be their Padawan soon?"
Ja'Lin looked up with a hopeful expression. "Yes. Soon it'll be too late, and I'll never be a Jedi."
Hor-Ka could tell from the Twi'lek's large brown eyes that she was hoping he would choose her. Well, there was no doubt she was skilled with a lightsaber, but....
"I have no need of a Padawan," he said shortly, causing Ja'Lin's face to fall. "And you?" Hor-Ka snapped at Evela, his voice a bit sharper than he had intended it to be. "How desperate are you to become a Padawan?"

Hor-Ka snorted and turned down the hallway towards his room. He could not deny to himself that this humanoid girl had impressed him, but he was not about to tell her that. Few Jedi would choose such an old youngling as their Padawan, for at that age Padawans could be hard to teach. Most preferred to select a Padawan closer to the age of twelve, or even younger. As Hor-Ka limped along the hallway, leaving the two girls behind, he thought of that girl's words. And just as he was reaching out to open his door, it happened.
He knew he was finished the moment his lightsaber skittered out of his grip. An unseen force hit him in the chest, and he flew backwards into a wall. A scream ripped from his throat as he felt all the bones in his left side break. Yet through the pain, he saw another figure leaping over him, lightsaber held high. Her lightsaber was a mere blur as she fought back the attackers, and in its harsh glare Hor-Ka could see her face: determined lines set into her dark face, surrounded by long locks of black hair.
Hor-Ka took a deep breath and turned back the way he had come. Now things were different.

Hor-Ka caught up to her, slightly out of breath and leaning on his cane. "Wait," he panted as he came alongside her. "I am...unsure of how to...say this, precisely, however...." He took a deep breath and looked straight into Evela's eyes. "I should be most honored if you would be my Padawan. Do you accept?"