Private Born to be Wild(er)

[Jonyna Si]

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Location: Veradune, Zorros City
Time of Day: Mid Afternoon
​

To say the Cathar wasn't exactly exuberant to be back on Veradune was an understatement. The last time she was here, she torn up the royal gardens like they it was a battlefield.

But now, she sought something else. Much to her own chagrin, she needed to learn, and she wasn't one to let her pride get in the way of her own ability to grow.

---

Landing shortly after the height of the noon sun, the X-wing that stored the Cathar Knight came to a halt, and out came Jonyna. She hadn't asked permission to see the King, only called ahead with a vague holo-recording. Even if she came to speak with him, she wanted it known she wasn't here to kiss his feet.

Tag: Vulpesen

 

[Vulpesen]

One of the benefits of being the Valde was that Vulpesen could delegate his work onto the three excelsi beneath him. While eventually, he would be needed for some signature or another, he could at least find some free time with which to greet a guest to his planet. His last parting with Jonyna Si had been less than amicable, and he knew that her impression of him was significantly less than favorable. That only made her presence now, something of a mystery.

Leaning against the entrance of the hangar in a simple tunic and black trousers, the Valde looked more like an average citizen than the ruler of the planet, the two lightsabers on his hips and the amulet around his neck being the biggest marks that he was something more. "I figured that I wouldn't see you here again for anything short of a war. Yet here you are, calling at short notice and of your own free will."

 

[Jonyna Si]

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"Yeah, well, Kahlil said I need to get a life, and I got my butt kicked by a sith lord. I'm looking to up my skills, and last time we fought you kept throwing lightning at me like that sith did. I wanna learn how." Jonyna grumbled, her tail flicking in annoyance. "You think you can do that much, your majesty?"

 

[Vulpesen]

Vulpesen rose a brow and lifted off the wall. Just in that brief introduction, he found a lot to unpack. It seemed he wasn't the only one trying to give her some wisdom to chew on. Though the cathar's method of acting on it might not have been what the shield of the jedi had in mind. "Well, I'm happy to teach what I know. Still, I can't help but think that Master Noble was thinking of something less jedi centric with his advice." He turned and started out towards the outer grounds of the estate. "Would you like to learn the jedi way, or the wilder way?" He'd done his best to ignore her jibes regarding his status. After all, he was far from a true noble blood in his upbringing. There weren't many rulers who could say that they'd spent time running with a gang on Nar Shadaa in their youth.

Jonyna Si

 

[Jonyna Si]

​

"Ya know what, just for the sake of it, let's try the wilder way." Jonyna shrugged. "I'm trying to be...not a jedi, for a bit, as per Master Noble's instructions. How do you guys do it?"

In reality, she didn't really see the point of Kahlil's argument. Or at the very least, she wasn't ready to face that. For her, the focus should be on getting stronger....

Tag: Vulpesen

 

[Vulpesen]

"Philosophy. The sith generate lightning as a means to rapidly dispense pain upon their enemies. Jedi unleash the force in a fit of righteous indignation. We wilders care less about the purpose of the lightning, and more of what it means to be lightning. Any time we channel an element, we embody it, whether that's the resoluteness of stone, or the liberation of air." Her issues with the jedi leaders were her own, and perhaps his won familiarity with such problems was the very reason that he was not about to get into them.

"I find that lightning is all about directness. Its an honest element, and one suited to those that are simply trying to get the job done." He turned back briefly to face her. "Something that I feel you will have no issue identifying with." Thankfully, the hanger that she had landed in was on his own grounds, which would spare them any long trips to begin the training, as was evidenced by the familiar garden that they had arrived at. In some places, the ground was still disturbed from her last visit.

Jonyna Si

 

[Jonyna Si]

​

"I can be direct." Jonyna quipped, "Show me. It's gotta be more complicated than that. I just channel the energy and be...direct?"

For Jonyna, the Force was much more complicated than that. It had to be. It was a living entity, and every time you used it, you were asking a favor. Keep me alive a little longer.

Tag: Vulpesen

 

[Vulpesen]

Vulpesen rolled his eyes and found a place in the middle of the garden. Direct indeed. And impatient. With all the similarities to his past that he saw in the cathar, he wondered if he had been so impetuous. "Theres also the little problem of needing a source. Natural lightning can be hard to come by. Thankfully, you already have the skillsets to try and create it." With a deep breath, Vulpesen focused on the wind and water around him, causing the wind to whip around and circle into a cyclone while the nearby vapors rose to create small clouds above them. "A bit of help may make this quicker."

Jonyna Si

 

[Jonyna Si]

​

Jonyna watched, squinting as he explained. "So you just steal it from nature? I thought the jedi could make lightning. Plo Koon used to do it. Mom said so."

Tag: Vulpesen

 

[Vulpesen]

"We steal nothing," he said, his eyes narrowing. "The wilds provide as they will. As for the jedi, you're correct. I've read up on master Koon myself, though I wasn't able to learn to use electric judgement until after I left the jedi. The Republic order was rather.... ignorant." The words came out with an unusual tinge of disgust. He had hated their hypocrisy and even now, decades later, Vulpesen couldn't bear the thought of calling himself a jedi once more. "But learn it, I did."

To illustrate his point. Vulpesen raised his hand to the sky and unleashed a torrent of golden crackling lightning which collided with the clouds above. "It gives me an advantage of my wilder brothers as I needn't ask the wilds to give me a source. All I need is a spark." Jonyna had asked to see how the wilders performed the technique, and now he offered her a full view of it as he brought down a strike of lightning which boomed with ear ringing thunder and a blinding light. "I suppose I'm one of a few who learned to channel electricity in a three philosophies."

Jonyna Si

 

[Jonyna Si]

​

Jonyna stared for a moment. "What you just said. The Wilds..." She let out a snicker, as if it was a joke. "...that's how the Denik see it. The Jungle, the endless Savannah, it's all connected. The Force, in my culture, we don't see it as a part of us. We see it as nature itself. You don't ever control it, you just ask it favors. It's only predators who fool themselves into thinking they can control the jungle itself."

It was now she was starting to understand. Lightning. She just needed to...

She reached out an arm, closing her eyes, and just...asked nature a favor.

And there it was. Static electricity, shooting not from her fingers, but from the clouds above. It was small, but it was a start.

Tag: Vulpesen

 

[Vulpesen]

"I saw quite a few similarities between our people when I visited. Both revere the wilds. Both embrace our more animalistic tendencies, and both had suffered great genocidal loss in our history." He watched as Jonyna managed to bring a crackle out from his clouds, giving a nod of approval. "You're getting there. But it wants to go somewhere. That crackle might work for intimidation, but if you want to strike your enemy, you need to tell it where to go." He pointed at a spot on the ground, bringing down another crashing bolt. "But here's the secret, lightning sometimes rises before it falls. The first bolt is nearly invisible, due to its smaller size and great speed. But it then brings down that great flashing strike that we all know and love to throw at our enemies. When I point at the ground, its not just a gesture, I'm pouring the force into that spot, charging it so that it can send up that first bolt to trigger the second one."

Jonyna Si

 

[Jonyna Si]

​

Jonyna took note of that, staring at a spot.

It was then a massive bolt, one large enough to shake the ground beheath them, erupted from the sky. Jonyna didn't need to think hard on it. She was always one with nature, one with the Force.

"...like that?"

Tag: Vulpesen

 

[Vulpesen]

Vulpesen rose a brow and with a raised hand, summoned a small stone pillar on which he could sit. "Yes, precisely like that. I've found that once you've begun the storm, guiding its bolts is actually a fair bit easier than shooting electricity from your self like most sith and jedi. Of course, it does have a few draw backs." He started to lean back, stopping himself with a slight growl as he found himself needing to flick his tail forward for balance. He slanted his hand and rose it again, causing the pillar to shift its shape, growing a protrusion to support the Valde's back. "You can't do it indoors. And on a clear day, it may take some time to start up the storm. If the air is dry enough, you may not even be able to produce a cloud."

Jonyna Si

 

[Jonyna Si]

​

"So what about the other way of making lightning? Electric Judgement." She pulled Liz out of her shealth, presenting the blade as a sort of demonstrative representation. "I've been using it idly through Liz here, but...I can't summon it myself..."

Tag: Vulpesen

 

[Vulpesen]

Vulpesen lifted a hand, letting the golden sparks crackle across his fingertips. "An affinity for nature can help. But essentially, it comes down to manifesting will and purpose. The sith use hatred and a desire to inflict pain to launch their lightning. Their lightning is simlply a manifestation of that will and purpose, an expedient way to torture or kill their enemies." As he spoke, Vulpesen lifted his other hand, displaying an azzure crackle of energy that most combat focused jedi would be familiar with, the forks of death having often been pointed at them.

"A jedi focuses on their will to protect and defend others. Reading the old holocrons, I found that master Koon first discovered it while resolving a hostage situation. Pain is not the purpose of electric judgement. It is a byproduct of removing a threat to others and yourself. Thus, it must be used wisely. Purpose and intent are paramount."

Jonyna Si

 

[Jonyna Si]

​

Her will to protect...

She stared at Liz, the phrase she had made her mantra ringing in her head once more.

Do Good. Protect the Innocent.

She thought back to the jungle. The feeling of knowing she couldn't protect those birds. The Azuli, a species left to their own devices until a raider group tried to enslave them. That feeling. That feeling of wanting to do something about it...

A static noise could be heard, a low hum. The more Jonyna thought, the louder it got, before finally...a golden bolt shot off the end of Liz's blade.

Tag: Vulpesen

 

[Vulpesen]

Vulpesen smirked as his words took root, watching as that passion built upon itself more and more until finally, that gleaming bolt left Jonyna's fingers, gold much like his own as opposed to the more common emerald green. "Very good. A bit of practice and you'll be a storm caller yourself. Though admittedly, I've found that the best practice comes from the battlefield. Especially, since that's where our protective instincts are strongest." His hands folded over his stomach, resting there as he leaned back in his seat. "Just remember, electric judgement must always come from a desire to protect. Justice and vengeance are two sides of the same coin and using one as a source may lead to a great temptation to tap into the other. While I'm happy to teach you to pursue your passions, I'm rather certain your masters would be rather angry if I taught you to make those bolts come out in blue or red.

Jonyna Si

 

[Jonyna Si]

​

"Vengeance is a foreign concept to me." She said simply, lowering her blade. "I don't feel that urge, ever really. What I feel is...I dunno, a need for the judgement of the wicked. To me, being selfish in that need is...pointless. Because it's not about me. It's about getting those behind me..."

Tag: Vulpesen

 

[Vulpesen]

Vulpesen couldn't help but roll his eyes, the disbelief clear on his face. Still, he knew that Jonyna had suffered enough lectures from him, her last visit ahving come to blows on that very fact. Thus, he kept his point succinct. "Vengeance needn't always be selfish. And as I said, it bears a striking resemblance to justice, or as you say, judgement." One example came easily enough to mind, though he didn't voice it. His own children. If a hair upon Valen or Daella's head were to ever be harmed, the Valde, the father, would unleash a storm like a hurricane on the poor soul who dared to strike at his family. "Simply food for thought. Is there anything else I can teach you while you're here? We aren't the farthest planet from Coruscant, but I'd hate for you to waste the trip."

Jonyna Si