Private Atop The Waterfall

[Jonyna Si]

TAGS: Starlin Dinn
CATHAR​

Jonyna sat at the edge of the large river that preceded the massive waterfall. The steady roar kept her attention focused, as she pushed her senses far beyond the bounds of a normal jedi. To her, the jungle was home. The planet was home. And yet, the jungle was overwhelming to most jedi. Rather than a lack of life like many planets, it was an overabundance. Life was everywhere in the jungle. The light shined so bright here, it was blinding at times.

When a padawan had reached out to her, she almost thought he was joking. Not many padawans sought her out these days. But the cathar temple had gone on without her while she was tending to the rebellion.

The jedi needed guidance though, and she was happy to oblige.

And thus, she waited. Waited for a new face to meet her.

She didn't get to meet many of those these days.

 

[Starlin Dinn]

Was it the smartest idea to leave Leviathan behind to go off wandering some unknown-to-him planet? Probably not, and yet Starlin had done precisely that. He found the starship to be claustrophobic, and its only other inhabitant vexing, so off he popped into the dense jungles, making sure to stick by the river and follow it precisely.​

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If there was one thing Starlin did know, it was riverways. They were, to him, as living and breathing as any other sentient being, he could tell where one ended and another began, and he felt certain that through it he could find his way back to the ship. Confident enough to venture a decent enough distance in order to reach the rumbling cascade of a waterfall at least.​

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The sound was comforting, and he felt certain that for at least a short time he could find peace there at the water's edge.​

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So he hopped from riverbed to smooth stone barely peeking above the rapid flow, then to another one. Settled down on his bottom, cross-legged and uncaring that the hems of his robes were left partially submerged, Starlin closed his eyes to breathe long and deep.​

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What would Uncle Theryn do? he pondered, as hands rested upon his knees and ears focused on the rushing water all around him. He had been so transfixed that he had failed to notice the figure close by.​

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Certainly, he did not acknowledge her.​

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He just sat, and breathed, and focused.​

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Jonyna Si ​

 

[Jonyna Si]

TAGS: Starlin Dinn​

Jonyna was quick to pick up on the new face. She assumed it was her new padawan. Someone who she had only spoken to through holo-chat.

"Long way from home, isn't it?"

She spoke somewhat flippantly, looking up at the sky. "My home's only about a hundred miles from here. Big tree. I'll show you it if you ever want to."

 

[Starlin Dinn]

Starlin leapt from his skin in fright as a voice called out to him from across the water. Scrambling to rise, feet slipping on the algae-slick rock he had chosen to settle on, he ended up half in the water by the time he had turned to face the woman.​

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His eyes were wide, not just in surprise of her presence there but her, well... everything? Sure, he had grown up on a world with races of people who looked absolutely nothing like him, but they had become his norm. This? She was more feline than anything he had seen before, and her long tail was mesmerizing.​

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Realizing that he was staring, and weighed down by his now drenched robes, Starlin looked away and pulled himself back to the river's edge, grateful that he had not succumbed to the river's rushing current. The last thing he needed was to swan-dive over the edge of the waterfall.​

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"How'd you know?" he asked, as he lay back on the bank and caught his breath. Adrenaline had spiked, but it was quickly tanking. "Wait, you live in a tree?"​

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A pause, followed by a slow blink and a roll onto his right arm to look her way. "I'm sorry, but who are you?"​

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He had expected to find solitude in the jungle, not... cat-people.​

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Jonyna Si ​

 

[Jonyna Si]

TAGS: Starlin Dinn​

Jonyna couldn't help but snort at the sudden comedic display in front of her. She had to admit, she did miss the days of watching Ko Vuto and Braze stumble around. Back when the paddie pack would wander the temple in an attempt to keep themselves entertained.

But those days were gone.

"Jedi master Jonyna Si. And yes, I live in a tree. I grew up in a tree. Never seen a Cathar, have you?"

 

[Starlin Dinn]

For once, the phrase Jedi did not take him entirely by surprise. A little bit, sure, but Starlin Rand had explained the very basics of it. Good guys fighting the good fight against bad guys like his parents. Somewhere in there that weird phrase, The Force, always seemed to swirl too, though Jonyna had yet to utter it and Starlin certainly wasn't about to start.​

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"Like, a tree-tree?" He glanced overhead, at the ones towering above them, then blinked. "Like a bird?" As for Cathar, the boy shook his head. "Never. Is that what you are? Cath-har?" He shifted from his side to be properly seated within the silty soil of the riverbank. "Do all of your people live in trees?"​

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Starlin had not had much interaction with the many, many species' out there in the Galaxy, so far he'd been limited to humanoids. Perhaps it was wrong to stare, and perhaps his questions were insensitive, but he knew nothing else and he was genuinely intrigued. Awed.​

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So much so, he did not even think to give his own name.​

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Jonyna Si ​

 

[Jonyna Si]

TAGS: Starlin Dinn​

Jonyna raised an eyebrow, as she began to suspect that this wasn't the padawan she was looking for. Mostly because she had briefed that one on the planet. This one couldn't even pronounce it.

"Yes, we do. Some more than others. My tribe was built to live in them full time. And it's pronounced Ca-thar. You ever seen someone tree-surf?"

 

[Starlin Dinn]

"That's cool" he declared, "My Uncle Theryn told me about the tree forts he used to build when he was little, made me so jealous," he grinned, "But, desert ain't got much for trees... Palm trees sometimes, along the river, but they don't really have limbs for supporting structures."​

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A soft nod followed. "Yeah, really cool."​

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He echoed her pronunciation of the word Cathar under his breath, but any attempt at saying it more earnestly was lost to his confusion.​

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"Tree... surf..?" He tilted his head a little to the left. "What's that mean, miss?"​

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Jonyna Si ​

 

[Jonyna Si]

TAGS: Starlin Dinn​

Jonyna let out a chuckle, looking up at the sky.

"It's a tradition in my tribe. In the jungle, branches, trees, they all intertwine like a web. You learn to navigate that web, you can ride the trees like a wave. The branches are slick, and with practice, you can glide across them."

A pause, as Jonyna thinks for a moment.

"So you're from a desert planet, eh? Which one? I might've been there before. Been all over the galaxy."

 

[Starlin Dinn]

"Like dune surfing?" he asked, "I had a friend once who was always trying to convince Uncle Theryn to let me go dune surfing with him, but da-- erm, Thery didn't much like that idea." He smiled fondly at the memory, despite the restrictions he had mentioned. It was nice to feel wanted, cherished, loved... Uncle Theryn wore his heart on his sleeve, he was fiercely protective and doting. At the time his reluctance had bred brief frustration and upset but in the long run?​

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"Anyway, Zev ended up breaking his arm and two ribs flipping his board so..." He shrugged, "Who really missed out on what?"​

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As for the where, Starlin shook his head. "Not sure," he admitted, "I mean, I was raised in Mercuitie, it's the biggest City in the Ámathosi Desert, safest too, but... I don't remember ever hearing the world named as a whole. Never knew that was a thing people did until I found myself lost in space."​

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A pause, before he tilted his head. "All over the Galaxy? Is here your favourite then? I mean, I get it, I want nothing more than to be back home too."​

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Jonyna Si ​

 

[Jonyna Si]

TAGS: Starlin Dinn​

Jonyna pondered for a moment. The thought of not even knowing where 'home' is.

She didn't like the feeling.

"Favorite is a big word, but Cathar is definitely...home. I dunno, Ryloth is pretty nice. Ukatis is lovely, Kashyyyk is a different kind of jungle, but I love it. And..." she snorted a little. "Coruscant has it's perks. I prefer wilderness over cities, but I enjoy a good club."

 

[Starlin Dinn]

"You don't seem the club kind of person to me" he remarked, "Aren't they a little bulky? Heavy? You strike me as more of a foil-wielder, especially if that tail of yours helps with balancing." He smiled sheepishly. "Uncle Darien wanted me to learn to fence, but... Thery wasn't so keen. They did compromise, though, I just never upgraded to a real rapier."​

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He wiggled his toes into the silty soil of the riverbank, then sighed in growing contentment.​

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"It is very nice out here. I've missed sitting by a river. It's so... peaceful." Closing his eyes, Starlin reached out a hand and hovered it above the surface of the water. Slowly but surely a small waterspout formed, swirling up from the river to encircle his hand. He splayed his fingers, then curled them into the perpetually moving band of water that ran like a figure-eight just above his skin.​

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"I get the feeling you were expecting someone" he finally said, "I'm sorry, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't me."​

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Jonyna Si ​

 

[Jonyna Si]

TAGS: Starlin Dinn​

Jonyna was going to answer, pointing out that she wasn't talking about that kind of club, then he surprised her. The twisting of the water. She watched with a curious eye.

"No, I think...I think you're exactly who I was looking for. Where'd you learn to do that? Or is that just something you're good at?"

 

[Starlin Dinn]

He kept his eyes closed, though a slight furrow formed at his brow.​

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"I wasn't even supposed to be here" he confessed, "I just needed... water. PL decided this was the best place for it." Drawing a long, deep breath, Starlin half shook his head. That furrow fast faded, and instead he smiled. "Not as much water as that other place he brought us to, but... I'm definitely more partial to a river than an ocean anyway. And... this one sounds like a fountain."​

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He was not familiar with waterfalls, he had a very vague memory of being around one when he was much younger, but that could just as easily have been a dream. Fountains though, they could be found all over Mercuitie. Oftentimes people would drink from them, children would splash and play, in an otherwise arid desert they were the life blood. It was one of the perks of building within an oasis/​

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"I just... did" he said, of learning, "For as long as I remember the rivers spoke to me."​

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Jonyna Si ​

 

[Jonyna Si]

TAGS: Starlin Dinn​

"They speak to me too. Then again, the whole jungle does."

As if on cue, a light drizzle came down, feeding the river.

"I'm a bit of a wizard when it comes to the elements. Have you ever had a teacher in this sort of thing?"

 

[Starlin Dinn]

"A wizard?" he whispered, as he tilted his head up toward the sky and basked in that sudden rush of light rain. "Uncle Theryn told me stories about wizards when I was little, he made them up on the fly and they were my favourites."​

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Starlin peeked open an eye.​

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"A teacher for... for the water stuff?" He shook his head. "No, not really. My Uncles gave advice, and they urged me to keep pushing myself, but they had different talents."

Jonyna Si ​

 

[Jonyna Si]

TAGS: Starlin Dinn​

Jonyna reached out a hand, the water of the river snaking up to meet her.

"I can teach you, if you want. Like I said, I'm good at this sort of thing. You can be a wizard too, if you study hard."

 

[Starlin Dinn]

He watched that water snaking up, and his eyes lit up. He had never actually seen someone else take command of it before, and to see it through another lens was beautiful.​

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"Teach me to control the water better?" he asked, nodding his head slowly. "Please" he agreed, excitement bubbling to the surface before briefly sputtering.​

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"I can't stay long, though," he admitted, "I'm on a quest, like the wizard in Uncle Thery's stories." He looked back the way he had come, toward Leviathan, then smiled. "I can take a few days out, though?"

Jonyna Si ​

 

[Jonyna Si]

TAGS: Starlin Dinn​

Jonyna gave the boy a soft smile.

"The water isn't something you can force. The magic of the world is something you have to talk to. Ask things nicely. The magic will listen when you treat it like a friend. It's everywhere, all at once. The rain, the river, the ocean. The water is simply an extension of it. You wanna make the water move?"

The snake of water that she had pulled from the river before, now coiled it's way up her arm.

"Treat it with respect. With kindness. And when you need it most..."

Suddenly, it shot forward like a whip, snapping mid-air with a crack.

"It'll be there for you."

 

[Starlin Dinn]

There was plenty the boy could do already when it came to his control of water, but evidently he hadn't been creative enough in his attempts because when the water whip-cracked just shy of him his eyes widened and he audibly gasped.​

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"You treat it like it isn't even liquid" he remarked, in awe. "I know how to manipulate it, but... I've never seen it used like that before."​

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The swirling mass of water about his hand drew upward into the air, suspended in that same loop. He narrowed his eyes just the tiniest bit in focus, staring at the water as he directed it out toward the river and away from Jonyna. The last thing he needed to do was project it her way.​

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He tried to copy her, to have it snap, but it just sputtered away from him.​

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"Wait, how do whips work?"​

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He hadn't the foggiest.​