Communion

[Aiwaz Khath]

Music


VOSS​

An autumn dawn began to leak into view over the morning horizon. Golden-orange light revealed itself slowly through the gaps in the mountains over yonder side. The thin, silver mist of the cold night made way for the growing glory of a cool morning sun. Ritual welcomes could be heard all around from the light chirps of birds and their hungry young, and the rustling of sleepy rodents and rabbits grew more confident as the first hour of light matured.

There was peace to be found here. It was a welcome pacification of Auron's often troubled mind. But he was healing, and in that knowledge he smiled to invite the morning sun. Having spent all night sitting atop his regular place of solitude - a small cliff along the edge of a lush hillside - the young Jedi had spent many long hours wrestling his demons and pacifying his soul. Now with the morning coming, it posed as a beautiful metaphor for the cyclical nature of the ever-moving transformation of all life. He smiled again, and as his mind revisited this thought again and again his heart warmed and projected across all around him.

The long night had been accompanied with the presence of an old owl, who had sat by Auron for many hours, communicating in simple and primitive ways, but enough for Auron to understand through his use of Animal Friendship. He savoured communing with the beasts around him. Their wild nature, to him, was a perfect representation of the order of all things. Now, as the night dissipated and was replaced by golden light, the morning sparrows came to him to play. He smiled.
"Hello, littles one," he spoke softly with his outward voice, using his internal one to pass along feelings of love and calm to them. "Looking for breakfast? Me too." As he spoke, one of the birds landed on his knee, a small, red berry held in its beak. Looking up at him curiously for a while, he dropped the berry in Auron's lap and rejoined his brothers and sisters in the pale yellow sky above. Auron grinned, humbled by the offering. "Thank you," he gently said in return, his gaze lifted in joy.

 

[Aiwaz Khath]

The gentle breeze stroked his hair. It had gotten considerably long recently, and his once-smooth chin had since sprouted thick hair of its own. "You look better shaven, and with short hair," his mother would tell him during the infrequent times she would see him. But it had become a symbol of his transformation. As he matured, as his life became more serious, so then did his appearance change. His mind had once grown rugged and his soul tired, and his appearance reflected that. But he strived not to become jaded, nor cynical, and now he was beginning to come out the other side whole once more.

Daylight had broken in fully now, and Auron made his way back down the hillside and into the surrounding woodland. The air was damp from departing mist, but it was warm on the skin regardless. The wood was dense. The afar echoes of woodpeckers offered a calming undertone to the weald, as the young man ventured further into the land. He breathed in the crisp morning air, admiring the early day rituals of trees overhead. Flecks of gold light trickled through skyward leaves. This was his home. Not the stone halls of the Jedi Academy, nor the affluent corridors of his family home. But deep within the recesses of nature, where the creatures spoke in their true tongue, and the trees listened with deep sincerity.

 

[Aiwaz Khath]

There was a troubled scent on the air of a beast ahead. Auron could smell a creature, and he could smell blood. He had no weapons on him, but lowered himself closer to the woodland floor and crept ahead into the nearby opening. As his eyes scanned the auburn wood-space, he saw jutted movement in the longgrass, and the soft cawing of an animal.
"A kuri," he said in astonishment, moving quietly closer. He did not want to alarm the animal, as it was clearly suffering, and when he was able to take a closer look he observed the creature had been trapped within between the teeth of metal jaw that had been carefully placed out of sight. Its leg wasn't broken, but she appeared sprained and was bleeding. The kuri looked at him, fear and pain in her eyes, and then he felt something more. An echo in the Force as though the beast was reaching out to him in some capacity. Their eyes locked a moment, and Auron's heart wept.

"You poor thing. It's okay. I'll look after you." As he spoke, he projected his Animal Friendship towards her, and reached to stroke the animal's neck. For a while, she stopped shaking in timidity, relaxing her legs a little, and he reached down and endeavoured to pull the trap apart with all of his might. "Why would someone leave this here?" he wondered aloud to the kuri. She immediately pulled her leg out and hobbled a few meters away before stumbling and falling back into the grass. Auron reached for her and stroked her back, shushing in comfort. "Don't worry. Maybe I can help you." His mother had taught him minor healing methods some time ago, in case he ever got into any trouble in the woods. Now seemed like a perfect time to use it, but he was not skilled nor confident in his abilities. Placing his hands carefully onto the wounded, twitching leg, Auron focused all of his will and energy towards them, sharing the love that resided in his heart and projecting it towards the kuri. It seemed to be working, but unfortunately extremely slowly. The bleeding clotted, and the swelling gradually began to lower. But it still twitched and was clearly causing the animal a great deal of discomfort. He tried again, concentrating harder, pushing himself deeper through the Force, every ounce of his being committed to the task of healing. His muscles cramped and his bones ached, but as he grew more tired, he noticed a discernible difference in the animal's behaviour.

He released his concentration and fell back, exhausted. He watched the animal. She watched him. Then, after several long moments of connected eyes, the kuri caught the courage to stand. Her leg did not twitch. It did not bleed. It was scarred, but she looked strong and confident. She lowered her feline head for a while, and feelings of respect washed over Auron through the Force. He projected the same in return.
"My name's Auron. I'm glad to meet you. I've never met one of your kind before. Some don't think you exist," he told her, patting her gently. He had read about such creatures in an old history text relating to his family, wherein his ancestor Remus of the Citadel had supposedly ridden an armoured kuri into battle against the Sith family of Salian. "What should we call you, I wonder?" He thought a while. "How about 'Yuyo'?" It was an old word, to mean 'grace'. The kuri's feelings of approval were obvious as Auron felt another wash of warmth. "Yuyo it is. Take care, Yuyo. Be safe. You never know when you might see another one of those traps." But when he pulled away, Yuyo mewled and headbutted him softly against his side. He laughed. "I can't stay here. I'm sorry!" It mewled again, looking into the distant woodland towards where Auron walked. "What? You want to come with me?" A wash of warm again, coupled with the sense of longing. A kuri companion; a curious idea. Such a thing would make Auron even more woodland in disposition. He stroked the ruff of Yuyo's neck as he contemplated, but he already knew his choice. He nodded gently. "Okay. You can stay with me." Yuyo did not smile, but he could sense its energy. He could feel calm, respect and love. He had no idea kuri latched so easily to others. Perhaps they did not usually, naturally shy creatures, but this encounter was special. "Let's go," he said, guiding the kuri back through the woodland back towards his home.