A Brief Respite at the Praxeum (COU - Ask for permission to post)

Hello everyone. This will be a very simple Run On for anyone who wishes to join. I will be insistent that if you chose to post that it must somehow relate to the post before yours or the general story that’s happening in the Run On. Please don’t just “parachute” in and leave a random post.

Consider this a sort of test or practice, as well. If you need proof reading before you post, feel free to e-mail me at any time at: vyrvorsa@gmail.com

Any posts that do not follow the Run On guidelines, or the rule specified above, will be deleted and the user will be notified. Thanks for understanding.

Have fun!.

Important links and points of interest (will be updated as we progress):

• New Tython
• Arca Praxeum
• Glade of Meditation
• Turel Sorenn
• Fort Pernicar - House Hoth home base
• Camp Dall’ra

New Tython
Arca Praxeum - Glade of Meditation
One week after the O’reenian conflict

A light wind caressed the mighty walls of the Arca Praxeum, bringing some much needed cool to the overheated Academy. It was summer and a time of joy and happiness, in spite of the conflicts that came and went recently. Yhi burned high up in the blue sky and showered it’s nurturing warmth down on Vorsa’s branches, refreshing her aching body and feeding her a-plenty. She was happy to be in the Glade of Meditation again, at peace and ease. Finally, a respite.

Footsteps roused her from her half-sleepy state. A very familiar and warm presence filled her mind and she smiled. Turel stood several meters from her, bowing his aging head, “Master Vorsa.”

Vorsa opened her golden eyes and looked at the man with affection, still smiling, “my dearest friend. Sit and meditate with me,” she called.

Turel approached and sat behind her, facing back-to-back. He exhaled a deep breath and straightened himself. Turel was never one for deep meditations like Vorsa, but he liked to just sit with her and muse about the Force and it’s ebbs and flows. It was relaxing for both of them, especially after almost a year apart. Their minds touched again, emphatically connected through the current that binds all things together, and they found calm and serenity.

Vorsa felt her aches and worries leave her mind, and only joy remained. She truly missed her apprentice’s presence and felt, on more than one occasion, as if she had lost part of herself the day he fled to Arcona. The subsequent terror of thinking he had turned churned her insides for months on end. Worry had creeped into every cell of her body and she had begun losing herself to the fear.

But she was free now. Liberated from any sense of anxiety as soon as she knew Turel’s heart was truly pure. An inkling of his true intentions was apparent to her on Korriban when her unit captured him during an Arconan infiltration. They exchanged brief words but it was a time of war and worry and not at all a time for self-exploration and self-doubt. They were enemies then - a fact she could never swallow willingly for she loved the man more than any other being in the galaxy. Like a mother loved her child. She both enjoyed and feared these feelings.

They both sighed and released the pent up tension, relaxing and leaning on one another. Turel’s hand grasped Vorsa’s own as he spoke finally, “Thank you, Master. For believing in me again when no one else would.”

Vorsa smiled and closed her eyes, “I never stopped, my dear boy. I never truly stopped believing.”

“And,” he continued, “I’m sorry I ever worried you.”

Vorsa snickered a sound she didn’t make all too often, “now for that you will have to pay,” she replied standing up suddenly, “you will help me with new arrivals.”

New Tython
Arca Praxeum - Landing pad
Half an hour later

Revak paced across the entrance to the large hangar that housed the Praxeum’s only shuttle for orbit-to-ground transport. Incidentally it wasn’t there at the moment, but ferrying the next group of initiates traveling from many parts of the galaxy into the loving arms of the instructors and teachers at the Praxeum Academy.

The Aedile of House Hoth was here on official business from Fort Pernicar, welcoming new recruits to the House, wihile Seraphol had his hands full at home. It seemed as if he had been digging an oval trench as he paced around in one spot. He seemed nervous for some reason. Vorsa and Turel walked in just as he stopped and looked over towards them. He flashed both a smile.

“Good day, Vorsa, Turel. You’re here about the new arrivals?” he asked politely.

“Yes,” Vorsa replied, “I was certain they would already be here. We rushed worrying we were late.”

“No, you’re not. In fact I’m having trouble contacting the shuttle,” he paced several more steps, “it seemed they had to land not far from the Praxeum due to engine malfunction. I’m just now waiting for confirmation and for a pilot from Camp Dall’ra to arrive with a transport.”

“I wouldn’t worry about it, though,” Turel said smirking, “after all it’s just a jungle. No real threats there. Just the odd animal or two.”

“Well, I would not be so sure,” Vorsa interjected, “there are the Iwu Haraki tribe out there, and they like their territory very much. We have had several run-ins before - all hostile. We have pulled out every time so as not to disturb them, and they seem intent on leaving the Praxeum alone, however I fear they may perceive the shuttle as a threat. That’s why travel on foot outside is ill advised, though the trade route is far off from their country,” she stroked her tattooed chin.

“You see my problem, then,” Revak surmised.

"Yeah, sure do, "Turel seemed worried for a second but changed his expression immediately, “well, we might as well help Revak with this. Not like we have anything better to do.”

Vorsa smiled and nodded, knowing Turel would find any excuse to leave the classroom and training grounds to see some excitement. She couldn’t blame him, really. She was the same, after all, though she would hardly admit it, “that seems to be a prudent course of action. We shall go with you and help in any way we can, Revak.”

“Yes, Councillor,” Revak nodded a thank you and opened the commlink to the LAAT pilot still some miles away from the Praxeum.

New Tython
Iwu Haraki territory
Concurrent

The shuttle had landed more or less safely on a small patch of open grass in the jungle, west-northwest of the Praxeum. The pilot, an aging veteran of the KUDF and retired navy pilot opened the emergency rations locker and picked up two containers, “here you go, lads and lasses. Emergency food and water if anyone gets peckish. I’ll be checking out the engines to see what went wrong.”

“Sir?” one of the academy initiates, no older than fourteen, asked in a panicky voice, “when are we going to leave? Are we going to be okay?”

“Oh don’t you worry your young head, boy-o. I’ve sent a message to the Praxeum. The Masters will be 'ere soon enough, picking you up while the techs and I repair this hunk of junk,” the pilot smiled and rustled the young man’s hair, “you just sit here and stay put, alright?. I’ll be right in this here compartment, checking the engine. If you need anything, just ask,” he finished, entering the engine compartment to check the damage.

The shuttle door was opened so students could exit, but the pilot forbade anyone from venturing into the jungle or too far from the shuttle, but who ever listened to old people anyway. There be beasts, he said, and many of the younger initiates were genuinely frightened by the threat. Not so for some of the older ones, like Jedi Knight Jo Sunni, a fully trained Knight from Naga Sadow who found her way to the light through darkness.

She sat crosslegged on her seat right next to the gaping door-ramp, half-amusedly observing the students coming in and going out. So far this journey started off badly, but she hoped it would end on a good note.

“Might as well sit back and relax until this is done,” a young male voice came from behind her. A Zeltron lad her age, approximately, with black hair and a welcoming face looked at her, smiling. He looked her over and saw the saber she had at her hip.

“Well at least you can defend us if any bad ‘monsters’ come by.” he chuckled, “my name is Hurral, a new initiate at the Praxeum. And you are?”

New Tython
Iwu Haraki Territory
Concurrent

The young Epicanthix female – Jo Sunni sat cross-legged meditating for some time and seeking for deeper serenity inside herself. She felt relaxed but the ship’s turbulence made her suddenly open her hazel eyes.

“What’s happening?” she asked herself but continued to meditate.

When she awoke from a nightmare she had for ten years, Sunni discovered that she woke up on board the ship which was on it’s way to Arca Praxeum Academy, a home to many Jedi of Odan-Urr, and the place for them to train and live peacefully. She had been informed little by her twin, Jo Sunna, but the Praxeum was indeed regarded as a gorgeous place on New Tython, and what she recalled from Sunna’s whisper was that she was about to meet Master V’yr Vorsa, whom would assist her in settling down.

Though, there weren’t many passenger aboard, at least she could find her peaceful silence. This made longer meditation possible and easier to do. Awaiting for the ship to be fixed, Sunni expressed her concern of the young boy initiate’s safety. She deeply understood how she felt when she was in her early teen life. Playful, excited, adventurous to name but a few normal teenagers’ characteristic. She looked over for the last time as boy went out through the ramp door and disappeared returning back to the ship after a couple of minutes. However, her concern was slightly disturbed by the presence of another friendly initiate, a young male Zeltron.

A new initiate offered his hand to shake in friendly introduction, “My name is Hurral, a new Initiate at the Praxeum. And you are?” Her enchanting and glowing hazel eyes slightly pointed to the Initiate hand. Looking sharply at the Initate she shook his hand firmly, “Sunni, my name is Sunni.”

“That’s a beautiful name, Sunni,” Hurral complimented the Jedi Knight.

“Thanks,” she replied inexpressive and her thoughts were suddenly rather blurred and concerned, feeling imminent danger ahead. “There must be something wrong,” she mumbled while looking over outside and turning her attention to the young boy initiate from before.

“Err… I don’t see anything outside there, though, and the boy looks happy running there,” Hurral confused and did not notice any significant change nor feel any anxiety.

“Well, I am going to go outside for a while to keep him company,” she stood up and made her way straight to the boarding ramp.

“May I join, too?” Hurral asked politely, running after Sunni, however, the Jedi Knight turned around and shook her head at him, “You should be on the ship for safety reasons."

“But I don’t really see any danger here, besides, the Praxeum Academy is near,” he shrugged and did not care for her advice.

“Have you known about this place before?” she raised a question in response. The Epicanthix female recognized the similarity between Sepros and New Tython – both had a lot of jungle.

“WATCH OUT!!” she yelled at the boy, surprised by the sudden presence of a humanoid creature with cerulean skin.

"What the…?!"Hurral was shocked by the appearance of the creature since he did not really believe Sunni’s instinct.

New Tython
Iwu Haraki Territory
A Few Minutes Earlier

The jungle was still. Well, as still as a jungle could be. A thick, slow-moving wind brushed through the canopy, and the plethora of insects were chirping away in the underbrush. There was a stilted beauty to the jungle, in that spectrum of vibrant colours and in the unusual designs of its plants and animals. But this day, he did not have time to reflect or relax. There was yet another crisis.

The last few days had been taxing. Seridan had been ‘working’ onboard Sanctuary when the first O’reenian onslaught came, and he’d made it through the next 36 hours with minimal rest. After the victory buzz, he retired to his chambers in the Praxeum, and collapsed onto his cot. It wasn’t long before he was called on again, to get the new initiates. He’d signed up to it a week before, and just hadn’t got ‘round to cancelling it. He didn’t like to go back on his word, so he’d pulled himself up and got on the next shuttle.

Whilst a grounded shuttle wasn’t as disastrous as two fleets of militaristic maniacs, it was still another stress. The Miraluka sat near the engines, where the captains and his techies were busy. The chinking and clunking of their tools had an almost rhythmic quality, and Seridan longed to join in and help despite his tiredness. That said, the Miraluka was fairly crap at any sort of mechanics; he would have hindered them more than he’d’ve helped.

He cast his mind back over the recruits. They seemed to have calmed down a bit. Most had broken away into smaller groups, chatting to each other.

Suddenly, he felt a darkness creep into the emotions of one of the recruits. He spun, locating the pair not far from the shuttle. The younger one seemed a bit oblivious, but the older one with a saber – a transfer – seemed anxious. Her eyes searched the treeline for danger, suspicious.

Seridan, curious, decided to start wandering among the initiates. After all, he thought, it might give them a sense of reassurance.

He began to mingle with the young learners, feeling their emotions and making sure they were all unworried. They were all fairly young, at an age where this was an adventure, not a delay. It was the kind of mindset that Seridan had had to grow out of quickly.

Only the transferee seemed nervous. A transfer with her own lightsaber. Most Jedi Knight’s instincts meant something. Seridan frowned. He hadn’t felt anything out of pla–

I’ve been focussing on the recruits, not on the area around us, he cursed himself. The Harakoans in this area can be particularly hostile. I need to be careful not to anger th–

His train of thought was interrupted by a shout from the transfer – Sunni, that’s her name – as a native stepped out of the tree line, right in front of the Epicanthix. She leapt to her feet, ignited her lightsaber and put it in front of her in a practised Makashi taunting stance. The snap-hiss of the icy blade was countered by the Harakoan’s guttural growl.

She’s done everything you’re not meant to do if you don’t want to anger a Harakoan.

In response, the crest-bearing blue-skinned native produced a spear from thin air, twirling it around expertly, before matching Sunni with an opening stance. The stone point glinted dangerously. Seridan glanced around and confirmed what he suspected: the clearing was surrounded.

Seridan forgot his fatigue momentarily. If something wasn’t done, then this could turn into a bloodbath. The initiates wouldn’t stand a chance. Seridan could not, no, would not fight so many adversaries now. That left him one choice. He rushed forward, placing himself directly between the two foes. He intentionally left his saber at his belt.

As a show of confidence, he turned his back to the native. Sunni had a ferocious, almost feral, expression on her face. He reached out to her mind, feeling the focus and determination. The signs of battle-hardened warrior preparing for a fight.

He reached out to her, and spoke telepathically - something he did only in the direst of circumstances.

“Do not do this, Sunni. We do not need a fight right now. We are surrounded, and if you continue to be a threat to them, they will attack. We don’t have the manpower to protect everybody.”

He felt, more than saw, Sunni relax slightly, glancing side to side. She realised that she was fighting a losing battle. She gave the Miraluka a searching look, testing his trust. It was a look made only by those who had lost things they cared about, and those who’d been betrayed. Seridan felt a pang of sympathy, for he knew those feelings also. The Epicanthrix’s eyes seemed to find what they were looking for, as she placed her trust in Seridan and stowed her saber at her belt. She wasn’t totally satisfied, though – her eyes were still squinty with suspicion.

Seridan was then roughly spun around by a cerulean blue hand. The Harakoan had lowered his spear, though that didn’t mean they were safe.

He spoke in a heavily accented voice, “You will explain. Why are you here, and why shouldn’t we kill you? This is our territory. Is this an act of war?”

Before answering, Seridan knelt on the ground. He unattached his saber – which prompted the native to tense – and rolled it to the Harakoan’s feet. He looked up, meeting the gaze of the aboriginal.

“I am not here to fight you. We do not want conflict. Our ship suffered technical problems and we were forced to land. We just ended up landing in your territory - and for that, I apologise. Is this acceptable? If we are inconveniencing you, we are happy to negotiate a price. All we want is to leave peacefully.”

The Harakoan nodded, before stepping back into the jungle – likely to convene with the rest of the party. His deep blue skin merged quickly among the other colours. Seridan stood, awaiting their response. Behind him, the entire group of initiates and techies had stilled, and were watching to see what came of it. Jo Sunni, the former Sadowan dark-sider, sat a short distance away, back with the young boy she’d been with earlier. This time, however, she seemed more plaintive. She eyed Seridan. The Miraluka could tell that she was trying to decipher his motives, or whether her trust was misplaced.

All we can do now is wait, he thought solemnly.

New Tython
Iwu Haraki Territory
Concurrent

Jalen sat in the jungle watching, sensing and feeling his way towards the Harakoan village. Something had them riled up, he hated being assigned by Seridan to keep an eye on the hostile Harakoans instead of fighting the O’reenians. Jalen knew that Harakoans might try to take advantage of the situation. Still though, Jalen also knew that he was sent on this mission to keep him far away from the Sith who had arrived just in time to assist the Jedi. Seridan knew too well, that given the chance Jalen would strike at any or all of the Sith, which could end a lasting alliance before it could ever get started. Dark Jedi Brotherhood or Sith Brotherhood the thought of it made him sick to his stomach. Before coming to New Tython Jalen was a Dark Jedi Knight himself, but could not stand to be in the presence of the Brotherhood any longer. The Sith clung to each other like weak fools, when they should all be vying for power and only the strongest should rule. There should only be one with power and another to follow and crave it. One master and one apprentice. Jalen was a member of the Jedi now, even though much to everyone’s dislike he was very much a student and follower of the dark side. Movement in the village again, Jalen was now curious to know what had these primitives in a mild frenzy. With any luck or just the right amount of “manipulation” he may end up in a bloody confrontation, with the natives being on the bloody side.

As he followed from a short distance he saw what would be considered a rather large hunting party of Harakoan warriors head north of the village. He worked is way up and around the hunters to try and get a count, but by the time he got close enough to make out their numbers, they seemed to have lost some members. The trees had started to thin out in the distance, so Jalen reached out with his senses and felt that the warriors had already fanned out to encircle what appeared to be a clearing. So Jalen strained and pushed out towards the clearing and to the limits of his abilities, for a brief moment he felt a familiar presence, as he realized who it was, the force faltered on him and it all went quiet.

Seridan is out here, he thought to himself.

Jalen quietly snuck his way closer to the Harakoans, who were too focused on the clearing to notice him as he crept up behind one of them. He looked into the clearing and saw Seridan move towards a Jedi who is was confronted by the leader of this group. He was wrong, this was not a hunting party, this was a raiding party. He saw a shuttle and as he scanned the clearing, there were techs and a pilot along with some younger members as well. Jalen saw Seridan kneel down and reach for his lightsaber and Jalen reached for his own.

“So there is to be a fight after all”, he whispered to himself.

But, instead of igniting his saber, Seridan laid it on the ground and rolled it towards the Harakoan. The Harakoan leader paused for a moment, seemingly unsure how to proceed and then slowly backed away. Jalen, disgusted, but aware that they were outnumbered, moved towards a large tree and ducked behind it and worked to get the large fern growing at its base to conceal his large Falleen frame before the warriors would pass by.

New Tython
Arca Praxeum - Glade of Meditation

Xirini relaxed near the far end of the Glade beside the waterfall, her large brimmed hat obscuring her face entirely. The sound of water falling soothed her thoughts and made her smile inwardly. She missed home surprisingly, but she had no real recollections of the place. Vague senses of belonging followed by the horrors her childhood subjected her to and the nightmares that came with it. She shook her head and smiled visibly. The young Bounty Hunter had a secret she kept guarded even more closely than her client list.

She sat up slowly and pushed her hat back over her head, revealing her features and fanged smile. Aaleeshah walked up to the Peacekeeper with a slight nod. “Hello, Xirini. I am glad we had the chance to work together.”

Rin tilted her head and squinted at the Knight and nodded. “Well, you looked like you needed something to do, I was not intending anything else by it.”

The Cathar patted the ground beside her. “Since you are here, have a seat and join me. Might as well enjoy the sounds of nature. It is very relaxing to just be.”

The Togruta nodded and sat down beside the Bounty Hunter, listening to the sounds of the waterfall and letting it wash over her. Xirini let herself fall back onto the grass and pulled her hat over her face again. “Also, this is a good place to sit. You never know who will show up. Earlier I saw Proconsul Vorsa. It is a good place to watch the comings and goings.”

She yawned slightly into the brim of her hat and closed her eyes again, allowing herself to drift a little with the sounds of the waterfall to remind her of things long gone.

Jason Hunter strolled down the hallway, absent mindedly fiddling with his prosthetic arm with a tiny screwdriver. The jungle environment of New Tython seemed to not play well with the intricate mechanisms and electrical systems inside the device, and he was spending much more time maintaining it than he ever did while on Yridia.

Doesn’t help it was designed for a watery world, not this tropical one, he thought to himself, making another adjustment. Not only was New Tython’s atmosphere wreaking havoc on his arm, but the recent battle against the O’Reenians didn’t do it any justice. Dirt, soot and carbon had worked its way into many of the tiny crevices and had taken a lot of time and delicate work to remove.

Finally satisfied with his tinkering for the moment, Jason returned his tool to a pocket and looked up to see where he was. His inattentive walking had gotten him just outside one of the hangers of the Arca Praxeum. He could just make out the sound of voices coming from within the large chamber, and poked his head around the door to see who was inside. V’yr Vorsa, Proconsul of the Clan was conversing with Revak and Turel, the latter of which Jason hadn’t known was “in town” from Arcona. It appeared they were talking about something important, having to deal with a shuttle that was lost in the jungle or something. Figuring it was a matter above his pay grade, he was about to turn to leave until he heard Revak call his name.

“Jason? What are you doing lurking in the corridor?”

“Well, not really lurking, per se,” the former Krath replied, walking into the hanger. “I just happened by, heard you talking, and was about to leave.”

Vorsa exchanged looks with the two males she stood with, and all three nodded. To which Jason felt he should have kept on walking past the hanger.

“Actually, Guardian Hunter,” she said, “we have a small situation that we believe your skills could be of use in resolving.”

New Tython
Arca Praxeum - Landing pad
Present

The quartet awaited patiently for the pilot to arrive and sure enough, several minutes later, an LAAT transport cruised into view and descended to meet them. A small team of techs joined the Jedi in the hangar, sifting through their equipment and checking everything one last time. They seemed eager to get the job done as efficiently and quickly as possible. No one liked being in the jungle too long.

A gust of wind followed the ship’s rapid descent, making the Jedi’s robes flail about. With a hollow thud the ship landed on the landing pad in front of the hangar, awaiting it’s passengers. All four Jedi, and the techs, jumped in. Revak approached the pilot and gave him a memory chip with the required coordinates. Seconds later the ship was in the air, with only the hum of it’s engines blotting out the sounds of conversation.

“So where are we going, exactly?” Jason asked, slightly annoyed that he had no way out of this chore.

“Deep into the jungle. A shuttle made an emergency landing not far from here and we’re going to check it out.” Revak spoke over the ambient noise.

“Well, might as well sit back until we get there.” Turel spoke up and sat down near the side-door. The other three Jedi followed suit and took to their own musings. Vorsa sat next to Turel and leaned on the cold metal.

“You know,” she spoke so only he could hear her, “this is quite nostalgic.”

Turel gave her his trademark smirk, “Master, you really should keep your emotions in check.”

She leaned her chin on her open palm, “It is…hard…sometimes, holding the woes of a whole world on one’s shoulders. A’lora knows this pain best and I share it with her. But it really is much easier when you have friends at your side.” she smiled and looked at Revak and Jason chatting about something. “And stop calling me Master. I am your sister by cause and friend by choice.”

“Fine, fine. Who can argue with a three hundred year old general.” he joked.

“Yes, I am still quite young, aren’t I, unlike others I know.” she chuckled as Turel’s joke backfired on him. He raised an eyebrow and made a pouty face.

“Since when do you joke around?”

“Since I found I am more flawed than most believe me to be.” she gave a quizzical smile that begged further questions, but Turel stayed silent. There would come a time when she would tell him everything she wanted. No sense pushing the issue. Such was the person known as Vorsa.

Their conversation was ended abruptly by the pilot’s voice. “T minus two minutes.” The LAAT finally started descending into the jungle and very soon approached the downed shuttle.

New Tython
Iwu Haraki Territory

The LAAT touched down on the same clearing, several dozen feet from the shuttle. The techs nodded to the Jedi and rushed to help with repairs, while the quartet proceeded towards Seridan and the recruits. Most of them seemed distressed and frightened, others simply nervous and edgy. Seridan stood straight, a calm aura around him gave much needed relief to the younglings, though any well trained Jedi could discern a tinge of doubt in him. A miniscule speck.

“Seridan,” Revak started, “what’s going on? Is everyone alright?”

“Yes, everyone’s fine, but we had a close encounter with the Iwu Haraki just moments ago.” Seridan said calmly, then lowered his voice. “I managed to buy some time but they will undoubtedly return if we don’t fix the shuttle soon.”

“Agreed.” Vorsa said, scratching her chin. “Here’s what we will do. Turel and Revak, go help with the repairs and the younglings as much as you can. Jason and Seridan, stay with me and we’ll talk to the Iwu Haraki. Hopefully we can stall long enough to avoid a fight, but if it does come to it,” she turned to Revak and Turel again, “you two shall take as many younglings as you can and board the LAAT. We shall hold them off as long as possible.”

“Yes, Councillor.” Revak replied. With a look and a nod Turel and Vorsa understood their duty and went their own ways.

“Councillor,” Seridan interrupted just as Vorsa turned to face him again, “may I introduce a new addition to our ranks. Jedi Knight Jo Sunni. Recently arrived from Sepros.”

“From Naga Sadow?” Vorsa looked at the girl for a moment, scanning her body language and sensing her presence. Finally she bowed her head. “Welcome to our home. You will find peace and solace here. May the Force be with you.”

Sunni replied with an equal bow and a simple, faint smile. She reminded Vorsa so much of Ryan, her first apprentice from New Tython. He had that similar expression and that similar aura about him. Soon, New Tython would change Sunni for the better, Vorsa knew, just as it has so many before her.

OOC: You may continue the story further, just don’t fight the Harakoans. The point of this RO isn’t another battle but character interaction. Have fun and ask if you need help

Arca Praxeum
Glade of Meditation

The Bounty Hunter lounged about in the grass beside the waterfall, a soft smile on her face beneath her wide brimmed hat. Aaleeshah had lain down beside her, drifting on the sounds of peaceful nature. The Glade was truly a place where one could just let go of the outside world and simply be. The Cathar’s large black coat laid open around her, the light gave a soft glint off of the armor plating stitched into the inner paneling. The sounds of footfalls brought both women from their pseudo-slumber and Xirini sat up and pulled her hat back over her head.

“Ah, Miss Kurai. Just who I was looking for. I am Seraphol Ceartas, the Quaestor of House Hoth.” the scar-faced old man said. Just behind the man stood a younger male, looking at the two women curiously.

Rin eyed the two males with a look of amusement painted on her feline features. “Well, you have found me, Seraphol. What do you need? Something found? A’lora knows my price list and she’s my primary contact.”

Seraphol tilted his head slightly and the young Kiffar looked rather confused. The older man shook his head and smiled. “No, I was simply wondering if you would look after this youngling as he finishes his training. He is in need of guidance and I was told you are quite handy with just about everything.”

The Cathar rose to her feet, her long black coat settling around mid-calf. She rose to her full height, exactly eye level with the young man. Liquid gold orbs met with emerald ones for a moment before the woman shook her head. “You must have realized by now that I’m not like the rest of you. You all do such wondrous things with this all-powerful Force. I never had the inclination to bother with that.”

Aaleeshah glanced at Rin curiously. She remembered when the Cathar saved the Arconan only a week ago by sensing someone before anyone else but kept her mouth shut. The entire team had simply written it off as well honed skills of a Bounty Hunter. The Peacekeeper looked up at Seraphol and eyed him cautiously.

The larger, older man smiled almost gently. “That is no trouble. Most of his instructors here will see to his training in the Force. You are simply to make sure he gets to his lessons on time and to help him study. If you accept this job, you will take over weapons training for the youngling.”

Rin looked at Aaleeshah and sighed. “What’s his name? I can’t just call him boy.”

The young man stepped forward and bowed slightly. “I am called Gui Sol.”

The Bounty Hunter adroitly stepped forward and jerked the kid back to an upright position. “For starters, never do that. Do not bow and scrape. No one ever gave me anything for being respectful or subservient.”

Aaleeshah stifled a giggle and turned away from the gathering. Rin looked at Seraphol and nodded. “Fine, I’ll take him. Do not expect him to be another one of your little Knights that simply does what is told though. He will be effective and well-trained.”

Seraphol backed away from the molten aureate gaze of the Cathar, slightly less sure of himself, but Vyr and A’lora had assured him it would be an effective pairing. He had to trust their judgment just as they trusted his own.

Arca Praxeum
Glade of Meditation

“What do we do now, Master?” Gui’s quizzical tone broke the Cathar’s train of thought and her shoulders jerked as the boy finished his sentence.

“Don’t do that.”

“Do what, Master?”

“You don’t have to call me…” Xirini sighed and shook her head. This would be a long journey indeed. After All, there was nothing Gui appreciated more than having a little bit of fun at someone else’s expense.

“Sorry, Master.”

The Cathar’s gaze instantly became fierce as she shot the youngling a look which told him to, in a sense, stand down. The Kiffar child could only flash a quick smirk before she sat down and commanded him to follow.

“We sit.”

“Alright” Uttered the young Sol as he crossed his legs next to her. He closed his eyes and listened to the roar of the waterfall. Its rumble soothed him and the sound of the fauna slowly became easier to hear as the Force stirred within him, his senses exploding. But, still very young, boredom began to rear it’s ugly head.

After a few moments had passed, Gui opened one of his eyes and saw Xirini sitting knees up with her elbows resting on them. Her wide-brimmed hat was down over her face and she appeared to be contemplating something.

“So, are you going to teach me anything?”