Private Conversations and Discussions

[Wuxia Wukong]

Wu hummed to himself happily while chewing a bit of bamboo.

It is a fine day.

Here he was not on a mission of danger or violence or war, or even the consequences of war such as refugee camps or orphanages or hospitals. This was a peaceful mission. One in which Wu was looking forward to engaging in.

The Jedi Order had initiated him into reaching out to other Jedi around the galaxy. Even, especially the reclusive ones. As a former somewhat reclusive Jedi himself he had been considered an ideal candidate for the role. Wu had initially demurred, not wishing to intrude upon a Jedi chosen solitary nature for the sake of recruitment and politics. So instead he had been (upon his Padawans fierce negotiations on his behalf) offered the chance to offer the Jedi resources, for whatever missions they may deem fit or necessary.

Wu or rather Feng had been clear that this was not a recruitment strategy. Rather a networking so that isolated Jedi may contact the Jedi Order and by extension the High Republic for aid should they need it.

It was a mission Wu was glad to accept.

Wu had even been given an intelligence brief such as it were on known reclusive Jedi. What little they knew of them. Privately he felt that this was an invasion of privacy so instead had merely asked for locations. Preferring to get to know the Jedi in person if they should be willing to have company. If not well then Wu would respect their privacy, perhaps merely make the offer and walk away.

Wu felt this balanced nicely between his duty and his conscience. No harm could come from making the offer after all. While at the same time he would not be imposing himself on those who chose a quieter path in serving the first.

It was a familiar home for a Jedi. Wu had spent his own formative years as a Jedi in temples such as this one. Largely abandoned except for those few jedi who sought at the ancient temples, to study, be at peace with the Force. The forest was doing it's best to reclaim it of course and that was only natural.

It would be interesting to ask his host, should she choose to be his host, why she chose this particular temple as her home.

Wu waited outside the entrance patiently, reaching out with the Force to lightly touch on the presence of the one inside before withdrawing his own presence gently. A Jedi's version of polite knock, he felt. Though he also did something of a counter Art of the Small, broadcasting his presence in the Force.

He would not wish for her to feel he had anything to hide.

Nitya Xeraic

 

[Nitya Xeraic]

The wind through the trees carried with it a faint whisper — not words, but awareness.

Nitya paused in mid-breath, her senses shifting toward that subtle ripple in the Force. It was warm, centered, steady in a way that reminded her of old Masters she'd once trained beside. A presence that approached with intention, yet without the weight of demand. Someone who knew how to let the forest speak first.

Her eyes opened, both glowing with their soft golden hue as the quiet of the temple returned to focus around her. She rose smoothly from her meditation mat and moved toward the entrance, steps unhurried, the long fall of her dark cloak brushing over the aged stone floor.

Before she reached the threshold, she felt it again — a polite brushing of awareness, offered and withdrawn. A knock of the Force, without pressure. She let it wash through her, then answered in kind, the briefest flow of acknowledgment before she stepped into the doorway.

The visitor stood just beyond the entrance, bamboo still in hand, framed by sunlight and shifting green. His presence was gentle, shaped by discipline and a lifetime of stillness rather than urgency.

"Polite," she said quietly, her voice warm but even. "Most Jedi forget the Force can knock as easily as the hand."

A slight curve touched her lips — not quite a smile, but the closest she often came. She studied him for a moment, taking in his peaceful demeanor, the way the forest itself seemed content to make space for him.

"You're welcome here," she continued, inclining her head. "Few find their way to this temple unless they're meant to. Fewer still approach with such courtesy."

She stepped aside, allowing the filtered light of the interior to spill toward him. The temple was lived-in but straightforward — incense lingering in the air, a kettle warming on a small hearth, and scrollwork laid out on a low table.

"I'm Nitya Xeraic," she offered. "This place has been my home for many years now." Her gaze softened with quiet curiosity. "You carry no urgency, but purpose walks with you. Please — come in. There is tea, and time enough for conversation if you wish it."

A faint breeze drifted through, stirring the edge of her cloak as she added, with a note of quiet honesty:

"It's been some time since I've had a visitor who knocked so kindly."

Wuxia Wukong

 

[Wuxia Wukong]

Wuxia bowed. He was pleased to be greeted with such curtesy. He knew how isolation sometimes made a person… terse or perhaps awkwardly unused to company at best. Some might even react with outright hostility. He hoped not of course particularly from fellow Jedi but one never knew. After all they often sought distance from Jedi Orders so may have felt resentment at ones very presence.

"I prefer politeness over impertinence. It does wonders for soothing the soul upon greeting someone." Wu's nose crinkled a little "So long as it does not cross boundaries into courtly etiquette. I find that is often an excuse for impoliteness, imbalance and quite often cruelty."

Wu smiled. Smoothing out his crinkled nose and emphasised his wrinkled smile lines. Wu was an expressive individual by nature, even as he often calmly balanced it with the smooth movements of a martial artist. Though he preferred to think of himself as a dancer.

"Thank you. I am pleased to be welcomed in turn with politeness and generosity." Wu acknowledged with a satisfied node.

So far this expedition was going very well he thought. He had reached out knocking politely with the Force and had been received with equal politeness. Even were he refused his offer he would consider this an auspicious beginning and well worth the effort. Though he imagined that some bureaucrat paying for the ship for the mission might disagree. Wu believed money was a dangerous tool, useful but not one to be coveted. If he could use the tool to have a polite conversation he would do so.

"Thank you I would love some tea!" Wu grinned and all but exclaimed.

"It is a pleasure to meet you Nitya. I am Wuxia Wukong. Though if you prefer Wu. Most people have trouble pronouncing my full name." Wu said amiably walking in with his simian gate, hefting his staff with him as he went.

Wuxia said down with a relieved "Aaah"

Then proceeded to rub his feet, all the while chewing his bamboo.

"I imagine so. I lived in such isolated temples for many years. I often found it lonely. Though I did not know it at the time."

Wu's eye's closed as he found the spot the pebble had caught underneath his sandal.

"Aaah that's the spot."

Wu glanced around.

"You keep a very lovely and ordered home." Wu frowned, thinking of what it was missing. Realised what it was. It was lonely. One person, living in a disciplined ordered state. A few hobbies and studies of interest but no vibrancy.

Wu nodded to himself. He believed he could be of benefit, if she should want it. Even were she to turn his offer down. Perhaps at the very least set up an exchange of letters for her studies? Maybe she would like some of his poetry?

It wasn't an ideal solution to socialisation but it might be a start.

Nitya Xeraic

 

[Nitya Xeraic]

Nitya poured the tea with practiced gentleness, letting the steam rise between them in thin silver ribbons. Wu's expressive warmth filled the room easily, a contrast to the measured stillness that usually lived here — but not an unwelcome one. The temple itself seemed to brighten around him, as though even the old stone enjoyed the change in rhythm.

"I agree," she said as she set a cup before him, her voice calm but carrying a small note of humor. "Politeness without performance is refreshing. Courtly etiquette…" She allowed a faint breath of amusement to escape. "…often forgets its own purpose."

She took her seat across from him, hands folding lightly around her cup. Her glowing eyes watched him with the quiet curiosity of someone unused to such open expressiveness — but not put off by it. If anything, she seemed faintly intrigued.

"Wuxia Wukong," she repeated, tasting the cadence of the name thoughtfully before offering a slight nod. "It suits you. But Wu is fine, if that's what you prefer."

His simian gait, his bamboo chewing, the ease with which he moved from bowing to rubbing his foot — it should have been discordant in a place so still. Instead, Nitya found herself strangely… at ease. The energy he carried was bright, but grounded.

When he remarked on isolation, something in her expression shifted — not quite pain, but the recognition of something she rarely spoke aloud.

"It can be lonely," she admitted quietly. "Even when the Force is loud. Even when you choose it."

Her gaze drifted around the room as though seeing it through his eyes — the ordered shelves, the tidy scrolls, the simplicity of a life distilled to ritual and silence.

"Though I didn't realize it at first either."

She took a slow sip of tea, savoring the juniper's clarity before speaking again.

"This place is… peaceful. It's meant to be. But places like this grow stagnant without new voices. New footsteps." A faint smile tugged at her mouth. "And I imagine they rarely see someone with a staff and bamboo in hand."

Her tone was teasing, but so soft it barely disturbed the stillness between them.

"You're welcome to rest here as long as you wish, Wu. And if conversation is what brought you, I don't mind the company."
A pause — gentle, contemplative.
"Quiet doesn't have to mean empty."

Her golden eyes softened slightly.

"And you may offer whatever you came to offer. I will listen — whatever the answer needs to be."

Wuxia Wukong

 

[Wuxia Wukong]

Wuxia beamed.

"Exactly so, but let us not waste our precious good will of energy discussing those whose negativity is hidden behind barbed and veiled insults. To constantly worry about others behaviour can create as much bitterness as being subjected to it directly."

Wuxia shrugged and took a polite sip of his tea. It was good.

"Hmm this is good. Do you grow the tea leaves yourself?" Wuxia asked taking a deep breath of the steam and fragrance.

"Thank you." Wuxia beamed "My master gave it to me, I believe it suits me as well."

Wuxia frowned as he searched for a compliment to give in return. Hmm he'd already complimented her tea.

"Ah it is good to be sitting drinking tea in such a calming environment. This must be a wonderful temple to meditate in. You've built a harmonious home here. I often ponder how nice it must be to be able to choose ones path guided by the force to such a contemplative existence."

Wu frowned and chewed his bamboo in thought. Was he doing the right thing? Disturbing her peace however well intentioned, or was he merely playing politics gathering resources and assets in an attempt to use people to further ones own fight and cause.

Wu sighed in a huff lost in his own thoughts. Things were much simpler as a travelling monk. He never had to worry about whether or not his actions were on behalf of others. Mostly he had worried about whom to help where to help and when to help.

It had been simpler.

Wu was brought out of his thoughts by a comment directed at him.

"Hmm? Oh, places like this need a good reminder every once in awhile that goodness doesn't only mean discipline. Temples were places of contemplation yes, but also of learning, of community, home, life. Jedi like me remind them of a time in the past where there halls were full of life, children playing, being scolded by wizened old masters, lessons on the mysteries of the galaxy. Life."

Wu smiled a twinkle in his eyes, before sighing and putting down his cup of tea.

"I suppose what I offer is that life again. I do not consider it a pitch, as I am a poor diplomat an even poorer salesman. It need not be commitment to the Jedi Order and certainly not to the High Republic. Just an offer of aid should you need it. The threats and troubles of the galaxy are many, having a direct line to call for help could be of use. Though even if you are reluctant to be exposed even that much, I would certainly be glad of developing a correspondence. You have my word I would do my best not to impose on the connection."

Nitya Xeraic

 

[Nitya Xeraic]

Nitya listened to him with the same steady attentiveness she offered to the forest, to the Force, to anyone who spoke without pretense. She did not interrupt his wandering thoughts or the places where his certainty softened into reflection. When he finished, she lifted her cup, letting the steam warm her face for a moment before answering.

"I don't grow the leaves myself," she said gently, a faint smile touching her mouth. "But I do choose where they come from. I've learned that intention matters as much as cultivation. Some plants thrive because they are tended. Others because they are left alone."

She regarded him over the rim of her cup, golden eyes thoughtful rather than guarded.

"You're right about temples," she continued. "They were never meant to be mausoleums of discipline. They were places where life happened alongside contemplation. Laughter, mistakes, growth. Too much order without warmth turns wisdom brittle."

At his sigh, she tilted her head slightly, not unkindly.

"You're not disturbing my peace, Wu," she said plainly. "Peace that shatters at the presence of another was never peace to begin with. It was only isolation wearing a gentler name."

She set her cup aside and folded her hands loosely in her lap.

"I understand what you're offering. And I believe you when you say it's not a pitch. Aid without obligation is rare in this galaxy, rarer still when it's offered with respect."

There was a pause, measured and honest.

"I'm not ready to tie myself to any banner or structure," she said. "Not now. Oralis Prime is where I listen, where I remember who I am without the noise of causes and crusades."

Then, softer, but no less sincere: "But correspondence…that I would welcome. Words carry less weight than presence, and more honesty than silence. If a time comes when I need help, I will know where to reach you."

Her lips curved into a small, warm smile.

"And if nothing else, you'll always be welcome for tea."

The offer wasn't grand. It didn't need to be. It was enough.

Wuxia Wukong

 

[Wuxia Wukong]

Wu smiled took a breath, he nodded in satisfaction.

"I am satisfied even more so to learn that the leaves are not cultivated. There is something deeply connecting to forage for food in the wilds, as if nature through the Force is providing for us in a most direct manner."

Wu beamed

"Exactly so. You should see the Kattadan Temple if you are willing. It has a wonderful energy full of life, learning, growth, mistakes and achievements. I am glad to say my padawan and I found a place there."

Wu smile faded softly, as he was forced to admit the other side of that coin.

Wu sighed.

"It is not without it's dangers. It is, unfortunately, a target. We have been struck by Sith quite recently. I almost lost my padawan in more ways than one."

Wu smiled sadly.

"We often forget how alluring the passions of the young can lead to a darker path. She is… still finding her way."

Wu flickered a frown in thought.

"But adversity to beauty is no reason to abandon that beauty. If anything, it is cause enough to defend it, as you would no doubt defend your home."

Wu grunted a chuckled softly.

"You are very easy to talk to. As most great listeners are. I had not intended to burden you with my own fears so readily. I would apologise, but then I do not feel heartfelt truth to be cause for apology and rarely one of regret."

Wu smiled took a breath of relief at her polite refusal.

"Good. In truth I would feel regretful to take you away from a life of peaceful contemplation. I often miss it myself. As one does of the best times of one's life. A life of peace and tranquillity often seems a much wiser path than one of constant conflict."

Wu smiled regretfully and shrugged in his simian way.

"Now my 'not pitch' is completed we can exchange 'digits' as my padawan would exclaim. Then we can move on to more important subjects. Like where you found this excellent tea?"

Nitya Xeraic

 

[Nitya Xeraic]

Nitya's smile lingered as Wu finished speaking, and she nodded slowly, thoughtfully, taking in not just his words but the care behind them. She let a small breath out, something between agreement and understanding, before she answered, beginning not with the tea, but with what he had shared before it.

"You're right," she said softly. "About temples. About beauty. About defending what gives life meaning rather than retreating from it when the galaxy turns its gaze toward destruction." Her golden eyes met his, calm but earnest. "Places of contemplation were never meant to be empty or brittle. They were meant to breathe. To echo with voices, with questions, with laughter, mistakes, and growth. Without that…discipline becomes hollow."

She inclined her head slightly, acknowledging the weight of what he had confessed.

"I am sorry about your padawan," she added, gently, without judgment. "The young feel the Force loudly. Passion is not a flaw—it is simply untempered fire. Sometimes it warms. Sometimes it burns. Loving them means standing close enough to be hurt by that truth." A pause, then quietly, "You did not burden me by saying that. You trusted me with it."

Only then did she lift her cup again, letting the steam curl upward between them.

"This tea," she said, returning to his question at last, "comes from Commenor. The Juniper province, to be exact. It isn't cultivated in rows or claimed by estates. The shrubs grow wild along the hills and forest edges, and the people there gather by hand, season to season, taking only what the land is willing to give."

Her gaze softened, drifting somewhere far beyond the walls of her home.

"That was where I grew up before my father died. Before my family broke apart and reformed into something quieter, lonelier. Commenor was where my life felt…whole. Where peace wasn't something you had to defend, it simply existed."

She closed her eyes for a moment, breathing in the scent.

"This tea tastes like mornings without urgency. Like voices in the next room. Like believing tomorrow would be kind." A faint smile returned, touched with melancholy but not pain. "I keep it not because I long to go back, but because it reminds me what I am trying to protect, here, and anywhere else I choose to stand."

Her eyes returned to Wu, warm and steady.

"So if you find it grounding, if it feels alive rather than preserved…that's Juniper. And perhaps a small proof that a life of peace is not naïve. It's something worth defending, even if only by choosing it, again and again."

She raised her cup slightly in quiet acknowledgment.

"And I would be glad to exchange 'digits,'" she added, a hint of gentle humor surfacing at last. "It seems only fair, after sharing something like this."

Wuxia Wukong

 

[Wuxia Wukong]

Wu smiled and nodded with careful restraint. He knew his energetic responses could throw people off. It was in his nature to be a little boisterous, followed by periods of stillness. Wu wasn't sure if it was personality or evolution that was the cause. Certainly simians in the wild seemed to have the same periods of boundless energy followed by periods of just relaxing, eating mostly.

Wu's stomach rumbled at the thought.

It wasn't the scientific categorizing of a persons behaviour that interested Wu, rather a greater understanding of himself. Wu had beginning to feel lost without purpose in the halls of the Jedi Order, but perhaps he had found a new balance between a life of quiet contemplation and social interaction.

Seeking out those who also desired quiet contemplation. Wu had to admit he had feared being received with suspicion perhaps even outright hostility. Nitya had been a refreshing example of just how wrong he had been.

"Indeed." Wu smiled. "Discipline without life is a statue. Art to be admired? Perhaps, but without vitality. Stagnant without growth. Without life."

Wu listened with interest as Nitya described her homeworld, what the tea meant. Not just where it grew, but what it meant to the people who gathered it. It sounded peaceful. Familiar. Home. Wu closed his eyes to picture it. Having never been there he let his imagination take route. He wondered if the trees were tall enough to swing through, a valley he could overlook from a mountain, with a river running through it. He realised he wasn't experiencing the scene Nitya described, he was experiencing the feeling it inspired. He was remembering what it meant to him. Home.

Wu hummed to himself gently. He held the thought for as long as he might, just a few heartbeats or a long breath, then let it go with a sigh.

"Home." He said simply with a small smile, tears in his eyes.

"I admit I had been hoping to cultivate the tea in my own garden, but now I see how sacred it is. It should be allowed to grow in the forests where it belongs, with guardians who appreciate it for what it's worth. The cherished memory of home."

Wu got out his comm device and briskly tapped at it until it came up with the right screen, passing it over to Nitya eagerly.

"This has been a most fortuitous meeting wouldn't you say? I have met a wise and gracious new friend. We have agreed on many subjects, and the tea has not even become cold."

Nitya Xeraic

 

[Nitya Xeraic]

Nitya accepted the comm with both hands, neither hurried nor reluctant, simply present in the moment as Wu offered it. She entered her contact details with the same quiet care she gave most things, then returned the device to him with a slight nod that carried more meaning than formality.

"It has," she agreed softly. "Fortuitous, and grounding."

She regarded him for a moment longer, noticing how his energy naturally settled after motion, how emotion surfaced without apology. It did not unsettle her. If anything, it felt familiar. Some carried their truth inward. Others let it breathe openly. Both were honest ways of being.

"Home is a powerful word," she continued, her voice thoughtful. "Not because it never changes, but because it stays with us even when everything else falls away. Sometimes especially then." Her gaze drifted briefly to the steam rising from her cup before returning to him. "You understood that without needing it explained. That tells me a great deal."

When he spoke of cultivating the tea, a gentle smile touched her expression. Warm, approving, but firm in a way shaped by long reflection.

"You could grow the plant," she said, "but it would never truly be this tea. Juniper thrives because it is left where it belongs. It grows through storms, through seasons that are allowed to take their time. It teaches patience by refusing to be hurried." After a brief pause, she added more quietly, "Some things lose their meaning when they are taken from their roots."

Her gaze met his again, calm and unguarded.

"But you are welcome to drink it here, whenever your path brings you this way. That is how it was meant to be shared."

She inclined her head slightly, not as agreement alone, but as mutual respect.

"Meetings like this are reminders," Nitya said. "That the galaxy is not only conflict and fear. That even those who walk very different paths can still recognize the same truths, if they take the time to listen."

A soft, genuine smile followed.

"And I am glad our conversation lingered long enough for that to happen."

The moment settled naturally, without expectation or weight. Not a promise, not a farewell, but a connection formed quietly and honestly, ready to endure at its own pace.

Wuxia Wukong

 

[Wuxia Wukong]

Wuxia nodded amiably as Nitya entered her contact details into the comm device.

"Indeed. I often find a good conversation opens up many possibilities, while grounding one in life. Too many people forget with technology the value of face to face conversation." Wu smiled then grunted thoughtfully. "There are some who believe that personal interaction is all but unnecessary in todays galaxy. I find that a sad existence. We are thinking beings true, but we are also feeling beings. It is important to have personal connections beyond just through a screen or a holovid."

Nitya was an interesting being to connect with, in many ways they seemed contrasted. Wu was naturally an energetic person, except perhaps when meditating or sleeping. Though Feng insisted he snored and fidgeted in his sleep, he had never to his knowledge so when sleeping required stealth. In any case Wu preferred the perspective that he was living through the Living Force which was naturally about creativity, energy, nature, life.

Nitya however was far more… composed. Wu had met Jedi like that. The ones who maintained their balance with the world not through boundless energy, but through calm reflection. It would be easy to assume such Jedi were inherently cold and lifeless, but their conversation had already proved otherwise. Nitya was agreeable to most of Wuxia's thoughts on the nature of temples being centre's of life not solitude, and she had already extended her comfort zone to a correspondence.

One did not open oneself to connections with strangers if one was disinterested in life.

"Indeed. The expression goes 'home is where the heart is'. It is true, though many seem to forget it. It is possible to have more than one home throughout your life or at one time. The home where one grows up is often different to the one, people settled down in, other find home in travel for a time, like myself. Temples many of them became my home for most of my life. My way of keeping some small part of them alive with my presence, however absence of a community they may have been. Now I have found a home in Kattada, my Padawan has found a home there as well as a greater home within the Jedi Order and an extended one with the High Republic."

Wu smiled somewhat regretfuly and gestured with his head in a gesture reminiscent of a shrug.

"Myself I am grateful for the community."

Wu smiled and listened as if he was a student learning a crucial lesson as Nitya talked of the tea. He shook his head closing his eyes briefly as he did so.

"I am a gardener, my botany is a hobby not a scientific endeavour. I have no interest in uprooting life from it's home merely to satisfy my curiosity or need to possess, categorise, plant, study or cultivate nature outside of where it belongs."

Wu smiled and inclined his upper body in a bow.

"Indeed. I am grateful to have had this opportunity, for peaceful conversation in between the trials and rigours of a chaotic galaxy. It is a good reminder that there is more to life then constant conflict."

Wu fished out another bamboo twig from his robes and chewed on it thoughtfully.

"I will endeavour to do my best to maintain contact beyond just the device, if you'll permit a visitor every now and then. I truly do believe personal face to face meeting is crucial for maintaining a friendship and enhances correspondence."

Nitya Xeraic

 

[Nitya Xeraic]

Nitya listened with the same quiet attentiveness she had offered him from the beginning, her expression thoughtful rather than reserved, open without being unguarded. When Wu finished, she did not rush to respond. She let the space settle, the way one lets tea steep just a moment longer to deepen its flavor.

"I agree with you," she said at last, her voice calm and warm. "Too many people mistake efficiency for connection. Holovids and messages are useful, but they cannot replace presence. There is something essential in sharing a space, in reading posture and breath, and silence as much as words. It reminds us that we are not only minds exchanging information, but lives intersecting, however briefly."

She regarded him with a small, knowing smile.

"You are energetic, but not careless," she added. "And you are reflective, even when you move quickly. That balance is rarer than people think. Most assume vitality and contemplation cannot coexist, but you prove otherwise."

At his words about home, Nitya nodded slowly, her gaze distant for a moment as she considered them.

"I think home is less a place and more a state of being," she said. "It is where we are allowed to exist without explanation. Sometimes we find it in people. Sometimes in purpose. Sometimes in stillness. And sometimes, as you said, we find different homes at different points in our lives."

Her eyes softened when he spoke of Kattada and his Padawan.

"I am glad you have found that," she said sincerely. "Community does not weaken contemplation. It gives it roots. Even those of us who walk quieter paths need to know we are not alone in the galaxy."

When he spoke of gardening, of refusing to uproot what did not belong to him, her smile deepened slightly.

"That understanding matters to me," Nitya replied. "There is a difference between learning from the living world and trying to possess it. Some things offer their wisdom only when they are left where they belong. I am glad you see that."

She inclined her head in return, mirroring his bow not in formality but in respect.

"I am grateful for this conversation as well," she said. "It has been a welcome reminder that peace does not have to be isolated to survive."

At his final words, Nitya met his eyes steadily.

"You are welcome here," she said simply. "Not as an obligation, and not as a courtesy. If your path brings you back, you may visit. Face-to-face conversations have their own rhythm, and I value them. Correspondence will do in the meantime, but presence, when it is freely given, is always better."

She lifted her cup slightly, not quite a toast, but a shared moment.

"To remaining connected," she added softly, "without losing ourselves in the noise of the galaxy."

Wuxia Wukong

 

[Wuxia Wukong]

Wu breamed glad to have found someone with whom he shared so much in common.

Wu considered carefully what he had to say next. He was enjoying the conversation and wanted it to continue as long as it may.

"Sometimes I feel more isolated in the Jedi Order than I had been when I was solitary. Feng my padawan has found a home there, but I'm still trying to find my place. I have been on a mission or two in an attempt to show solidarity with my chosen order, and yet. The tactics, the militancy it suits me ill."

Wu sighed, scratched at his ear, ignoring several other itches it would be incredibly rude and discomforting to his new friend to scratch at.

"Yet at the same time. Watching from the sidelines while the Galaxy burned was worse. I had to do something to contribute, not just for my padawans sake but for myself. Please understand I do not say this in a futile attempt to convince you your path is in anyway wrong. I believe in Jedi of old I would be a Wayseeker. Of the ancient ways it seemed to me the most conducive to my nature. I am merely sharing my concerns for myself to a sympathetic ear. It has occurred to me more than once that perhaps after my Padawans trials I should return to the path of independence as best I can. Perhaps revive the Wayseekers once more."

"It would seem to me an appropriate balance between connection to the Jedi Order and the calling to follow your own path."

Wu sighed once more.

"I do worry for my padawan however. She struggles with her nature, and I do not know how to help her. I worry were I to distance myself she would feel alone or abandoned, Some Jedi believe we are not to form attachments. I fear I have failed in that regard. She is as a daughter to me. Perhaps in doing so have encouraged my padawan in holding me in the same regard."

"If the old legends are true. The strained relationship between Anakin Skywalker and Jedi Master Obi Wan Kenobi was a chief reason for Anakins fall to the dark side the rise of Darth Vader and with him the first Galactic Empire."

"I may be catastrophising. I doubt Feng could be the cause of such grief. Nonetheless the lesson is a haunting one. In power and skill she is ready for the trials, I worry perhaps not in balance. Though perhaps this anxiety of mine is holding her back as much as her own struggles."

Wu frowned, chewed on his bamboo in thought. He glanced up in mild embarrassment at putting such concerns on a recent acquaintance.

"If I have discomforted you by sharing as much please don't hesitate to say so. This place and your presence is quite soothing, it is not difficult to let down ones guard."

Nitya Xeraic

 

[Nitya Xeraic]

Nitya did not answer right away.

She lifted her cup instead, taking a slow sip of the tea, letting the warmth settle before it traveled down. When she lowered it again, she held it in both hands for a moment longer than necessary, thumbs resting against the ceramic as if grounding herself in the simple, familiar weight of it.

After a quiet beat, she glanced up at him.

"Would you like more?" she asked softly, nodding toward the kettle. There was no interruption in the question, no attempt to redirect him away from what he had shared. Just care, offered plainly.

When she spoke again, it was unhurried.

"You have not discomforted me," Nitya said gently. "If anything, I think you have done something very human. You allowed yourself to speak honestly about uncertainty."

She shifted slightly, settling more comfortably where she sat, her tone thoughtful rather than instructional.

"I am only a Padawan as well," she admitted without shame. "I never completed my formal training. Not because I rejected it, but because my path… narrowed, and then bent away from the structures that were meant to hold it." Her fingers tightened briefly around the cup before easing again. "So I will not pretend to offer answers from a place of authority."

Her golden eyes met his, steady and kind.

"But I do understand the tension you describe. Wanting to act when the galaxy is hurting, yet feeling ill-suited to the ways action is demanded. Wanting connection without becoming lost inside it."

She breathed out slowly.

"You speak of Wayseekers as though they are something that must be revived. I wonder if they are simply remembered differently by those who choose solitude without severing compassion." A faint smile touched her lips. "If that is the measure, then perhaps I am one as well, even if I never named it."

At the mention of Feng, her expression softened further.

"It sounds to me like you have not failed her by caring," Nitya said. "Nor by being afraid. Attachment born of love is not the same as possession, and concern is not the same as control." She paused. "Balance is not taught only through distance. Sometimes it is learned by being seen, and by knowing someone will remain present even when the path grows difficult."

She glanced down at her tea again, then back up.

"I would be glad to meet your Padawan, if she wished it. Not as a teacher. Not as a guide. Simply as someone who chose a quieter road and survived it." Her voice warmed slightly. "If she feels unsteady, perhaps it would help her to see that there are Jedi who do not fit cleanly into the shape expected of them, and yet still walk in the light."

Nitya inclined her head just a fraction.

"And for what it is worth," she added, "your worry does not sound like something holding her back. It sounds like something that proves you care deeply about doing right by her."

She lifted her cup again, the steam curling between them.

"Sometimes that is enough to begin."

Wuxia Wukong

 

[Wuxia Wukong]

"Yes, thank you" Wu smiled gratefully accepting another cup with calm acceptance. He had forgotten how crucial an interaction, just sharing a cup of tea or a meal with someone, even a stranger could be to the sentient experience.

This trip had proved fortuitous indeed. He was learning a lot of not just another being, but of himself. Wu had yet to have such a positive conversation and discussion, regarding his concerns to… well possibly anyone. It wasn't that Wu was a closed off person, one who denied his feelings, it was rather that Wu was despite his efforts not particularly close with any of the other Jedi in the Order. Or perhaps he had not been making the right kind of effort. He had attempted to show his willingness to the order by going on a few missions, yet he did not remember the last time he had sat down, shared a cup of tea or a meal with a fellow Jedi.

Perhaps that had been his mistake. Wu resolved in that moment to attempt to remedy that when he returned once more to the Order, to learn as much as he may through plain social interaction as he could about his comrades. They said that bonds forged in battle were the strongest, but where was that bond truly forged if not in the moments between battles. Among jokes, stories, reminiscing about far away families. Of simply sharing a well earned meal in between trying times.

Wu looked pleasantly surprised at learning Nitya was a padawan. He laughed.

"I should not be surprised, wisdom does not only belong to Knights and Masters. Sometimes it takes an alternate perspective and experience to truly be wise." Wu bowed casually in humility.

"Bah labels, titles, positions, they are in my opinion much overrated. I am called Master yet consider myself more a student. Just look at all the lessons I'm learning here and now. From a padawan no less. As Master I should be haughtily telling you everything you are doing incorrectly. As a student I am eagerly awaiting your next insight."

"I suppose Wayseeker holds little value as a category, when it's essence is to be guided through the Force. Trying to categorise the Force always leads to failure at best. Regardless having a vocation is something else entirely. My concept of a Wayseeker would be one who explores the Galaxy on their own or rather the Force's terms, yet is able to visit home occasionally. Speak to the family he does not see as often as he might like. I believe I could be content with such an existence."

Wu bowed his head in gratitude.

"I thank you for your reassurance. It is pleasing to hear I have not failed Feng from another perspective other than my own."

Wu considered her offer.

"I shall make her the offer and recommendation that she meet you. I believe it would be beneficial to her, to be exposed to a different perspective on what it means to be a Jedi. I will leave the decision with her however. She may consider herself too busy with Order business to reach out."

Wu grimaced and shrugged sadly.

"Part of letting her go I find, is the fear I am losing her. I am proud of her of course, choosing her own path is as it should be, but I fear it is a path that would lead to a divergence from my own."

Wu sighed.

"Perhaps that is life. People go on different journeys, different paths sometimes they converge for a time, sometimes they split. I hope Feng and I are able to maintain a presence in each others lives."

Wu took a breath.

"Such is life."

Nitya Xeraic

 

[Nitya Xeraic]

Nitya accepted the fresh cup back into her hands and held it there for a moment, letting the warmth seep into her palms before lifting it to her lips. She took a slow sip, thoughtful, her golden eyes resting on Wu as he spoke, listening with the same quiet attentiveness he had shown her.

When he finished, she did not answer right away. Instead, she cradled the cup for another breath, as if giving his words the space they deserved.

"I think you are right," she said gently at last. "About bonds being forged in the quiet moments. About meals, stories, shared stillness. Those are the things that remind us why we fight at all." A faint smile touched her lips. "Battles may test loyalty, but peace is what teaches us how to live with it."

At his reaction to her being a Padawan, she gave a small, almost self-conscious chuckle.

"I have been one for a very long time," she admitted. "And I am… comfortable there."

Her gaze lowered briefly to the tea before lifting again, steady and honest.

"My mother, father, and my stepfather all walked the path to Mastery. They carried enormous responsibility, not just for themselves but for thousands of others. I grew up watching what that cost them." Her voice softened. "I admired it. I still do. But I have never felt called to follow them there."

She shifted slightly, relaxed but resolute.

"I am in no hurry to wear their titles or stand in their places. The Order does not need another Jairdain. It needs people who know where they belong. And I belong here, for now. Listening. Learning. Walking quietly."

There was no bitterness in her tone. Only clarity.

"As you said, labels are overrated. Padawan, Knight, Master, Wayseeker. They are useful signposts, not destinations." She smiled faintly. "I would rather arrive somewhere true than somewhere impressive."

When he spoke of Feng, her expression softened.

"You have not failed her," Nitya said firmly, without hesitation. "You have given her something many never receive. The freedom to choose without losing love. That is not abandonment. That is trust."

She leaned forward just a little, earnest.

"And paths diverging does not mean hearts do. My family and I have walked very different roads for years. Yet here I am, still shaped by them, still anchored to them." Her eyes were warm. "Connection does not vanish just because distance appears."

She lifted her cup slightly, a small, symbolic gesture.

"If Feng wishes to meet me, I will welcome her. If she does not, I will still wish her well. Either way, she carries you with her. That never leaves."

A quiet pause followed.

"And for what it is worth," Nitya added softly, "you strike me as exactly the kind of Master who never stops being a student. The Order needs more of that. Not less."

She smiled into her tea.

"Such is life," she echoed gently, "but it is a good one. Especially when shared, even for a little while."

Wuxia Wukong

 

[Wuxia Wukong]

Wu nodded and smiled. Taking another sip of his cup he enjoyed the flavour of it, attempting with mental exercise to commit it to memory. This moment was a good one, well worth remembering. A moment of peace, of quiet, gentle conversation in a galaxy too full of conflict and suffering.

"Indeed much is said of bonds of battle, too little of bonds of life. Battle may not be easy, but once in it, it is simple, the defence and survival of others. Life is nuanced, complex, a tender moment can forge the paths of friendship, a brittle one can shatter it." Wu took a satisfied breath at this philosophy.

"Good." Wu nodded firmly. "It is good that you have found a path that is your own. One that is both comforting and fulfilling. Many people spend their whole lives searching for fulfillment, many fail to realise that it is in living life in the present moment, that the fulfillment comes. I believe you are wise, the fact that you have chosen a path that suits you despite pressures to continually seek and change is testament to that."

Wu considered his own path for a moment.

"Indeed my own journey to being a so called master was more a reflection of how much I still have yet to learn. My time as a padawan was instructive, but I felt not so much that I had learned all there was to learn as a padawan, but rather I could learn more of myself as a Knight and then Master in turn. My progression did not continue on traditional lines of the trials in carefully controlled environment, rather I believe I came across each of them in my own time. I did not consider myself ready to be called Master until I was ready to impart some of what I had learned in life to others, as much to learn from them as well. In teaching, guiding, questioning a student, one is teaching, guiding and questioning oneself."

Wu grinned and chuckled.

"Perhaps my claimant of the title Master was premature, yet as a reminder of how much I still have to learn it is a useful one. So long as I regard it with a sense of wry irony of my ignorance in many matters, as well as my duty to teach others, I believe it serves a useful purpose."

Wu breathed a sigh through his nose.

"In any case, my anxieties around Feng and her path are a conflict within myself I should reconcile. You are right I should trust her. I do trust her. The path she chooses will be her own, so long as I trust her, I should trust her to make her own decisions. I will try to accept that, even if excessive worry is a 'master's' prerogative."

Wu said the last sentence with wryness, a small smile and an emphasis on master. Letting the quotation marks hang in the air between them.

Nitya Xeraic

 

[Nitya Xeraic]

Nitya listened in quiet appreciation as Wu spoke, her hands wrapped loosely around her cup, the steam drifting lazily between them as the light beyond her windows softened and slowly began to fade. Somewhere along the way, without either of them quite noticing, the afternoon had slipped into evening, and the gentle gold of sunset had given way to deeper blues and scattered stars.

She smiled at his reflection on mastery and learning, at the humility threaded through every word.

"You wear the title well," she said softly. "Not because you claim it, but because you question it. Because you never stop examining yourself." Her eyes were warm, sincere. "That is what true teachers do."

She took another sip of her tea, then set the cup aside, folding her hands in her lap.

"And I think… your worries about Feng come from love, not control. That matters. More than you know." A small, knowing smile followed. "If every Master worried half as much as you do, perhaps fewer Padawans would feel alone."

Her gaze drifted briefly toward the window, where the first stars were now visible through the branches.

"We have been talking for hours," Nitya observed gently, a hint of quiet amusement in her voice. "I did not even notice the time passing."

She rose smoothly to her feet and moved to light a small lamp near the doorway, its soft glow filling the room with warmth.

"The night has settled in," she continued. "And the paths here are not always kind after dark, even to those who know them well."

Turning back to him, she inclined her head in a simple, gracious gesture.

"If you would like, you are welcome to stay here tonight. I have a guest room. It is modest, but warm, and the forest is quieter when you are not trying to navigate it in the dark."

There was no pressure in her tone, only genuine hospitality.

"You have shared much with me today," Nitya added. "Your doubts. Your hopes. Your heart. I am grateful for that."

She offered him a gentle smile.

"And I think conversations like this deserve to end in rest, not rushing."

Outside, the wind whispered softly through the leaves, and the stars continued their slow, patient rise.

"For now," she said quietly, "let this be enough."

Wuxia Wukong