Private Common Ground

[Kallous]

Kallous had anticipated the question. It only made sense, he wasn't some idiot that wouldn't think that she'd ask the force-adept quite literally sitting two feet away from her if he could teach her. It was a natural question to ask, and one that he was ready to answer, despite her assurances that he didn't need to answer right away.

"I can." He answered simply. "While I've never instructed an apprentice directly as of yet, the tower on Bastion provided me with several opportunities to teach people who were only just coming into their power. So yes, Miss Krinn, the option does indeed exist."

His tone also would imply that he was willing to do so, after all he didn't have much else he was doing. And while Mandalore wasn't his first choice of allegiance, he wouldn't really be attaching himself to the Mandalorian Empire directly. Rather he would be instructing and guiding a valiant and honorable woman into that world, in the ultimate hopes that she would learn to use it for good. Of which he had no doubt she would.

Whatever she chose, he was sure that the decision she made would be the best one for her.

Veyla Krinn

 

[Veyla Krinn]

Veyla considered his answer for a moment before nodding to herself. It was not an immediate commitment, nor was it blind trust. It was simply the conclusion she had arrived at after weighing the options he had presented. The Jedi were strangers. Any other Force Order would be strangers. Kallous was not. They had spent the better part of a day fighting side by side, and that counted for something in her eyes.

"Then I think that answers that." She lifted her glass and took another sip before setting it back down. "If I decide to pursue this, I'd rather learn from someone I know than from a stranger who starts throwing rules, regulations, and philosophy at me before I've even learned what I'm doing." A faint smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. "I've had enough authority figures in my life already."

For a moment her gaze drifted around the cantina before returning to him. The noise of the room continued around them, but their corner remained comfortably removed from the celebration. "That said, learning from you would mean time. Travel. Commitments." Her tone remained practical. As always, she preferred understanding the shape of a situation before stepping into it.

"So before either of us gets ahead of ourselves, is there anybody expecting you back home?" she asked. "A wife. A girlfriend. A partner. Even a job you're supposed to be doing." The faint amusement returned to her eyes. "Because if I'm considering asking someone to teach me, I'd like to know whether I'd be disrupting their life first."

Kallous

 

[Kallous]

Kallous took another sip of his drink, his glass now half empty. He had been nursing that same glass since he first started. Not much of a drinker, and more interested in being sober for these talks anyway. A discussion like this was not meant for the inebrate. Though he was pleased that the level of seriousness wasn't dour, it was simply realistic. Veyla was taking it seriously, which was a good sign. And she seemed to be aware of what she wanted to do with her life too, which was something he could respect. And had no intention to disrupt.

Kallous chuckled when she mentioned having her fill of authority figures. "I'm afraid that will never go away. No matter how high you climb you will always have someone over you. That is simply the way of things. Though I must confess that I share your distaste."

This was not the kind of question Kallous had expected to immediately come up. When she asked him about a wife, girlfriend or partner he shook his head. He kept it well hidden, but there was a hint of sadness when he gave her his answer. "No. There is noone waiting for me. And no job that needs doing either. So there would be nothing that you would disrupt by asking for my instruction."

It was a sad thought, one that Kallous had had once or twice. He didn't let it bother him however, especially not now. He needed to help Veyla figure out her next steps, so he pushed those thoughts aside for another time as he always had.

Veyla Krinn

 

[Veyla Krinn]

Veyla noticed it. Not the words themselves, but the brief shadow that crossed his expression before he pushed it away. It was subtle, the sort of thing most people would miss entirely. She didn't press the issue. Whatever history sat behind that answer belonged to him, and he had earned the right to share it or keep it as he saw fit.

Instead, she took another sip from her glass and considered the practical realities of what they were discussing. If Kallous truly had nowhere pressing to be and no obligations pulling him elsewhere, then the problem became considerably simpler than she had expected. "Well, if you decide the answer is yes," she said, setting the drink down once more, "then you'll have room and board taken care of here."

A faint smile tugged at the corner of her mouth as she gestured vaguely toward the rest of the cantina, where armored warriors were already several drinks deeper into the evening than either of them. "And I can guarantee that none of these bucketheads will try to pick a fight with you." Her gaze swept briefly across the room. "At least not the ones under my command or in my clan. The others are their own problem."

The smile lingered for a moment before softening into something more sincere. "You've already proven yourself today, Kallous. Whatever happens next, you're not exactly a stranger anymore." She leaned back slightly in her chair and folded her arms comfortably across her chest. "So if teaching me means spending time on Concordia, you'll have a place here. No obligations. No contracts. Just a standing invitation."

Kallous

 

[Kallous]

Kallous allowed himself to chuckle with genuine amusement when she promised that none of the "bucketheads", as she called them, would be hostile. He shook his head with an amused sigh, "And i can guarantee that if other clans do pick a fight, my response will be measured and proportional."

What that actually meant was vague enough to leave some room for interpretation. Though it was largely said in jest, he had little interest in fighting people here. He had other pursuits to see to. And apparently, teaching would now be one of them. "Well. Since I'm currently between jobs at the moment, and no other prospects on the horizon aside from vigilantism and exile. I think I might take you up on your offer. And I can promise you that the instruction I give you will be unlike any other you'll receive from anyone else."

"And in addition to all that. Thank you." He told her. "I'll see if I can't find myself a small home here. I'm not sure what the housing market's like, but I think I should be able to afford a shack somewhere in the backwoods. I need to start working on my "wise old man of the mountain" aesthetic after all. Someone really can't be taken seriously as a Master unless they have a few grey hairs."

Veyla Krinn

 

[Veyla Krinn]

Veyla laughed softly into her glass at that answer, shaking her head. "Measured and proportional." The words were repeated with obvious skepticism. "That's exactly what people say before somebody ends up getting thrown through a wall." Still, there was genuine amusement behind the observation. Somehow she suspected Kallous was considerably less reckless than he had once been.

The mention of becoming a wise old hermit living in the woods earned another faint smile. She could almost picture it. A small cabin tucked somewhere in the mountains, visitors making long pilgrimages only to discover the old master was busy repairing a roof or chopping firewood. Somehow it seemed entirely plausible. "The grey hairs might help." she said. "The dramatic mountain scenery certainly wouldn't hurt."

Her expression softened as the humor faded. "You will be compensated for your time here, Kallous." The statement was matter-of-fact, spoken with the same certainty she used when discussing military logistics. "Room and board are already covered. Beyond that, if you're taking time to teach me, then your time has value. I'm not interested in asking you to put your life on hold for free."

She lifted her glass slightly toward him in a small toast. "Until you've saved enough credits for that shack in the woods, you'll have a place here." The smile returned, quieter this time but entirely sincere. "And... thank you, Kallous."

Kallous

 

[Kallous]

He shrugged, "That seems proportional enough to me." He said before taking another drink. Allowing the psudo-serious tone to carry the humor of the joke forward.

"Hmmmm, yes." He said with mock thoughtfulness. "I'll need to find a nice, secluded peak somewhere. That way I can look meaningfully down at my singular apprentice as she trains. The usual starting point of course, punching rocks should help. Maybe meditation under a freezing waterfall. Hmmm, yes very enlightening stuff. I swear, you're in very good hands."

With the seriousness of the situation now out of the way, and definitely in no way affected by the singular glass of alcohol he'd consumed, Kallous had decided a little humor was called for.

Her assurances that he would be compensated made him smile at her, "You make it sound as if I'm becoming a retainer to some noble lineage. Jokes aside however, you're very welcome Miss Krinn. I look forward to teaching you. And I especially look forward to seeing what you do with the knowledge I give you."

Veyla Krinn

 

[Veyla Krinn]

Veyla couldn't help but laugh, the sound warmer and less restrained than it had been at any point during the day. She raised an eyebrow over the rim of her glass as she regarded him with open skepticism. "Punching rocks?" she repeated. "I'm beginning to think you've been making this up as you go." Another small shake of her head followed. "And if you tell me carrying buckets up a mountain builds character, I'm leaving."

She leaned back in her chair, folding her arms with exaggerated seriousness. "Meditating beneath a freezing waterfall sounds particularly inefficient. If I wanted to be cold, I'd just stand outside on Concordia for an hour." A grin tugged at the corner of her mouth. "Same lesson. Less climbing."

His remark about becoming a retainer to a noble lineage earned a soft chuckle. "I wasn't planning on putting you in livery, if that's what you're worried about." She took another drink before continuing. "I'm offering fair compensation because that's how Mandalorians ought to treat people who earn their respect. You gave your time, your experience, and risked your life for people you didn't owe anything to. I'm not interested in pretending that it doesn't have value."

Her expression settled into something quieter, more genuine, as she set her glass down once more. "For what it's worth, Kallous..." she said, meeting his eyes across the table, "I don't think I'm just looking forward to learning about the Force." A faint smile returned. "I think I'm looking forward to learning from you."

Kallous

 

[Kallous]

Her comments regarding his, slightly exaggerated, training methods earned an amused chuckle from him. Now that their lives were no longer in danger, and the serious topics had been covered, he had begun to relax. Of course, perhaps that ale was hitting a little harder than he'd expected it to and his inhibitions had begun to vanish. He wasn't rambling, and he wouldn't be falling over, but there was the slightest flush to his cheeks to imply that he, remarkably for his size, could not handle too much. But this resulted in the happy accident of encouraging his sense of humor to come to the surface, something he didn't ordinarily show.

"It builds muscle, more than it builds character. But it's equally important, and there's other methods." He said ominously, the wicked grin on his face implying that he was only partially joking about this. Her instruction was liable to be as physical as it was mental. "Though I suspect the pushups won't be what you find challenging. As for the meditating under a freezing waterfall, some practitioners actually do that. You'd be surprised what kind of things you might be doing to master your mind. Though that's not for beginners, so we'll save that for once you've become more adept."

Her reassurances that he wouldn't be staying in a barracks made him chuckle, he hadn't meant it as a complaint. He could stay in a place like that if that's what was available. Though he still nodded and expressed his gratitude.

Kallous hesitated for a brief second, having lifted his glass to finish it, upon hearing her final statement. He wasn't sure why, but that final sentence seemed a little... different than the others. He wasn't sure how, but for some reason that particular sentence tickled his senses in a way the rest of the conversation hadn't. A portent of doom? Maybe. He shook it off a second later and finished his glass before setting it down to respond.

"I'm glad I've given you a good impression of me." He said earnestly. "I can promise you that I will do my utmost to meet and exceed your expectations. I'm not an experienced Master, but I have much to teach. And I get the distinct feeling that you will be an exceptional apprentice."

Veyla Krinn