Private Difficult Assignment

[Judah Lesan Jr.]

There had been a time where JJ would have laughed if anyone had told him he would taking on students of his own. The once padawan had not been an ideal student. His master [member="Cambria Zadira"] had always been on his case about what he needed to do, about being more responsible, etc. He was always warned about the parts of him which made him too much like his father. The other side of that coin though was he had a lot of good attributes from his father as well. JJ would likely be a good teacher, but he was not sure. He was even more uncertain when he saw the person who had been assigned to him.

[member="Kyra Perl"].

JJ shook his head. It seemed that no matter what he did in life, he could not escape the connection the Lesan family had with Zeltrons ever since his father decided to sleep with one, date one, and possibly even fall in love with one. The last one had always been a bit incertain with how often the Judah and Magena were on again and off again, but with his mother dead, JJ often wondered if that was reason his father would do anything for his pink hued friend. In the end it turned out JJ had a half brother, the product of the time when Judah and Magena had been whatever they had been.

Life was odd that way. JJ was just trying to make sense of it all, and if he could give some guidance, then it would be worth it all perhaps. JJ remembered the first time he realized he needed it. After the first time he killed a sith in combat, JJ was a mess. He had done what needed to be done, but learned he hated to take a life. There had to be other ways, and perhaps he would still be the innocent country boy from the mountains of Corellia had he not learned in war people die. JJ was not a ruthless killer by any means, but he also understood that one did what was required and needed. Death was part of life, and sometimes it meant he was the one the force used to bring it about. He still did not like it, but JJ had accepted it.

He waited just outside the training hall. The two were not going to remain in Silver Rest. There was too much of the jungle planet to explore. The Guardian was not one to use conventional methods of training, and he knew conventional was never going to work with a Zeltron. Today was about one thing, learning who Kyra was, and how to best approach the time they were going to be required to be together. The first test, could she be on time?

JJ waited, eyes closed, performing the set of katas his master had taught him, the same his father had also taught him as a child. It was the only way JJ could meditate and quiet his thoughts.

 

[Kyra Perl]

The answer to that question was no, she could not be on time. However she was not unreasonably late either. She came in her simple padawan robes, her hair down and her training saber secured to her belt. Really, she looked like all the rest of the padawans, which pleased her to some degree. Even though she missed her shoes. The girl arrived trepidatiously. Like maybe half the reason she was late at all was procrastination of the highest degree. Masters unsettled her.

Still, she wasn't one to show em when she sweat, so she kept her chin high and her shoulders relaxed as she walked over to the front of the training building. Not that that mattered, the bubbling girl arrived to find who she presumed to be her teacher with both eyes closed, clearly meditating. Yuck.

She casted a glance towards a public clock, then hurriedly lowered herself down where she stood and closed her eyes too. As if she had been there all along. Meditating. Like the adept little padawan she was. She peeled one eye open, squinting through her lashes to check if he had noticed.


[member="Judah Lesan Jr."]

 

[Judah Lesan Jr.]

He felt her presence as the girl made her way to where JJ had been going through his katas. He knew them by heart and muscle memory. With his eyes closed, JJ moved about the the area he had confined himself to while allowing the force to stretch out toward the young Perl. He wanted a read on her, something he was not going to get any other way. There was something which told him she was going to be like every other teenage girl padawan his father had ever taken on when he was younger, trouble.

JJ still remembered Sasha. She had been a vibrant personality, a street rat from Denon who had been raised alongside JJ. She had been his first. The redhead could not stay still, always having to leave, and when JJ couldn’t simply just disappear it had caused a rift between them, one which had never been repaired. The dark haired Jedi sighed as he thought about it. He hoped this girl wasn’t the type to run off, but rather, if she would see things through perhaps she would be something great.

Potential.

One word carried a lot of weight, and it was a word which JJ would refrain from speaking until he knew how well the girl would carry that weight. Instead, JJ simply opened his eyes as his hands came together at the center of his chest. Palms pressed flat against each other and fingers pointed to the sky was the final pose of the kata, back to beginning, the cycle of life complete.

“I was never one to sit still and meditate either, and I’m also sure closing your eyes doesn’t help. You seem the active type, perhaps if this sticks I’ll teach you those katas. It’s about the only thing I have to pass down that was unique to my master.”

Judah did not comment on her tardiness, there did not seem to be a need. He simply stretched out his hand and offered to help the girl back onto her feet.

“Tell me [member="Kyra Perl"], have you been to the jungle floor... into the dark parts of the woods?”

 

[Kyra Perl]

Kyra stopped mid squirm, his voice finally breaking the silence and relieving her from her self-enforced prison. She sighed in relief and snapped her eyes open, letting her body relax casually across the ground. He was right. Closing her eyes only made that worse. Boy was it nice to actually hear an adult admit that. She grinned up at him, listening with more engagement than her previously squirming had inferred possible.


His next words were like chocolate velvet drifting over her skin-- that was if velvet could be chocolate and someone stroked her gently with it. His words sounded good. Almost temptational. Her eyes widened up at him, excitement sparking in an instant. "You're- you're kidding me," she laughed, disbelief making her tone drift high. She stood up, too engaged to stay sitting. "I've never- you know we aren't allowed." By we, she meant padawans. And by allow, she meant 'don't get caught'.

But the fruit was dangled before her face, and whether or not he took her the match was struck. One way or another, she'd be going now. Her grin widened in expectation, the girl rocking up on her toes. "Aren't padawans suppose to train in a gym or something~" She practically sang, the implication clear-- please say no~ please say no~

Well he had caught her attention alright.

 

[Judah Lesan Jr.]

“And you haven’t tried to do anything you weren’t supposed to?”

Judah frowned. He knew better than to think she hadn’t tried things that could get her in trouble. First, every padawan pushed the limits. Second, she was a Perl, and that name came with a certain reputation which spelled trouble. It was if they might as well be related to Magena Dray. JJ sighed as he started walking away from the training facility.

“Only when it’s raining,” JJ responded in regards to whether they were training in doors. He didn’t believe in using the gym, not with Padawans. Judah had been trained among nature and anyone in his charge would be as well. Besides this girl needed guidance and direction, not a day in the gym. If she was going to get what JJ could hopefully give, it had to be his way.

He moved quickly, the edge of the tree houses and village was not that far, but if they were going to reach the floor before nightfall, they needed to hurry. JJ didn’t have to tell the Zeltron to keep up, his pace would do that for her. His green robes, marking him as a Corellian by birth and practice, moved and flapped about him as the single hilt of his saber bounced with each step. They were nearing the platform and with it their first lesson.

“Rules are guidelines. Understand the spirit of it, and the letter of it doesn’t need to be your concern.” He motioned to the lift which would lower them. “Ladies first...”

[member="Kyra Perl"]

 

[Kyra Perl]

(it ate my post 3 times until I stopped retyping on this site. Dx)
Wow. Kyra liked this guy.

He was a breath of fresh air in a stuffy establishment. She hadn't realized she was feeling so suffocated, not until JJ offered her a hand out. He didn't have to worry about her keeping up, she scrambled to keep up after him, curious about where this was going next. She paused on the platform with him, eyes alight as she listened to his next words of wisdom. A slight grin touched her lips, the girl slowly shaking her head in amazement.

"You are so cool," she stated.

She tossed herself off the platform, forgoing the lift in favor of a graceful twirl midair. And then she was falling, an exhilarating holler echoing up to him. She landed softly, a few quick buffers of the force sparing her bones and she landed propped up on her hands and knees. A light laughter bubbled up from her, a warm spark of enjoyment filling her. She wiped a wind-torn tear from her eyes and drew her saber, using the purple wash of light to see better around her.

"Whatcha waiting for, slow poke!" She called up.

 

[Judah Lesan Jr.]

She jumped.

JJ stood for a moment and shook his head. Of course she did. Why wouldn't she? Maybe because she was a padawan who was still learning how to control the force and could still run into unpredictable consequences like not being able to slow a fall. Fortunately she did not have one of those unfortunate mishaps. Instead she yelled up toward him.

Slow poke.

"She is going to be the death of me..." JJ said aloud before running off the edge into a full swan dive.

Mach 10 with her hair on fire, that was something his mother had lived by. JJ did not always view life that way, but he did have his moments. This was one of them. A few flips followed the dive before his feet were pointed to the ground. Using the force to absorb the impact of his fall, JJ landed on his feet right in front of the Perl and shrugged. Judah paused a moment and with a thought illuminated the path several feet in front of them. It was a skill his father had taught him, the ability to generate light from the light a Jedi had within them. The story had been told to him many times of how Judah Sr. had defeated and captured a notorious Sith using that technique in a duel. It was one of Judah's favorites.

"The hum may attract unwanted guests. I would put the saber away for now."

The jungle floor was said to be a dangerous place. JJ had never ventured to the surface, but it had always interested him. There had been a Jedi recluse who had once made a home in the jungles, so it could not have been all that bad. Now that they were alone, aside from the beasts which could be heard rustling about in the foliage around them, JJ felt they could talk more freely.

"So I know what the official report says, but you tell me, why exactly do you think the council wanted this little arrangement. I mean, I've never had a student, and certainly was never the best. Chances are, I'm as likely to screw this up as you are."

JJ was candid. He didn't see any other way to be, especially with a Zeltron.

[member="Kyra Perl"]

 

[Kyra Perl]

Her saber hissed to a close, the purple glow dissipated out. She watched the light he created with keen interest, admittedly she had never seen such a thing done before. Without the buzz of her saber, the clearing felt uncomfortably quiet. Kyra seemed to truly recognize how dreary a place she was in now, rubbing at her arm to dispel a chill. And to think they lived on the edge of this.

Her scattered attention snapped back to him when he spoke, the girl taking an unconscious step closer to him and his light. She wasn't afraid of the dark. Newp. ...Not anymore at least... She swallowed hard, heat filing her cheeks as he cut right to the source. Ahhh... here it was. The talk.

"Geeze, not inspiring the best confidence in you." That was a lie. He was clearly very epic. She gave a heavy sigh, for once matching his blunt questions with a blunt answer of her own.

"You mean besides the little field trip I took? Or the wookie incident? Or that time we were just meant to go look for old sith artifacts and I accidentally-" She kicked hard at a rock, a frustrated noise catching in her throat as she didn't finish her sentence. "Listen, you want to go back and tell them I already karked up to just get out of this? You can. They'd probably believe you." There was an edge to her tone, the girl's heart worn on her sleeve. "And I don't care." Lies. "I don't care what they have to say, if I'm such a problem, send me home."

She didn't mean that.

Don't do that.

...Please.

 

[Judah Lesan Jr.]

JJ simply listened. He knew what the file said, but he wanted to hear why Kyra thought they were stuck together. The message she had gotten was plain and simple.

She thought she was a screw up.

"I am not sending you home, and you are not a screw up."

JJ let the words sink in for a moment before he started walking. The path they were on would lead them nowhere in particular. It was simply an opportunity for them to talk about what this arrangement of theirs was going to look like, and for starters JJ could only think of one thing.

"If you will listen to me I can help you navigate everything. I've been where you're at, the county kid who didn't take to the structure. I can help you find a place here, or wherever your place is."

He stopped, listening to the noises around them. JJ knew they were being followed, but they did not have to worry yet. He would keep his ears to the noise as to whether they were going to have to fight or not. JJ was not about to see his first padawan put in danger, if that was even what this arrangement was. That was to be determined he was certain.

"I know what I need to know about you to make the decision to take you on, but if there is anything you want to know about me... now is the time. Fire away!"

[member="Kyra Perl"]

 

[Judah Lesan Jr.]

oops

 

[Kyra Perl]

Kyra was struck silent by his words. No one in her life had ever been particularly dismissive of her, in fact she had had it surprisingly well. But no one had ever stuck around either. And that feeling of a lack of ‘place’ she belonged in? Well it had been haunting her for years, she just hadn’t had the words handed to her to identify the feeling until now.

“I have a place,” was all she said, her voice small and pained. But that wasn’t true. Her place had been lost when her siblings all flew the roost, taking away her identity of little sister and leaving her simply... alone.


And now she was trying to follow in their footsteps, as if moving after them would fill the holes they left behind until one day they could all be back together again.


Kyra was starting to realize they’d never all be back together again. The concept of adulthood was permanent, and their trails constantly lead them all further out into the world. Away from her. And she?

She had no place. No trail to follow but their footsteps left behind. And she even sucked at that.

She wrapped her arms around herself, the girl seeming to grow smaller as all that zeltron energy condensed inwards, into a little black ball of pain in her chest. “Who says I want to take you on. Why should you care at all? You won’t see me again anyways. You’ll be assigned elsewhere. You’ll go away. You all do.” Jedi? Or people in general. She did not say.

 

[Judah Lesan Jr.]

She had a place? JJ shot the young Zeltron a look which was meant to call her out. If she had a place then why were they even having the conversation they were having? JJ chuckled as he turned to look at her. She wrapped herself up and began to spill out her guts. The girl wore her emotions on her sleeve, and she was making it very clear what she was feeling.

Abandoned.

JJ knew that feeling all too well. His life had been spent with his master more than his parents. Judah was always gone on missions, his mother was constantly working on hunting runners that her father put bail up for. It was not the life many people thought the country boy had. His parents loved each other, and they even had loved him, they just were not around as much as they needed to be.

"My dad was always gone, still is. I'm always having to track him down. Turns out I have a half Zeltron, half brother. Found that one out chasing my dad down after one of his students came looking for me to try and find him. Listen, you probably don't want to take me on. I wouldn't want to take me on, but there is one thing I can promise you. For however long the council keeps us together, I am not going anywhere."

Well, Judah would, but she would go with him. Padawans were meant to travel with their masters. JJ had gone everywhere Cambria had gone until his father took on his training personally. JJ the guardian Jedi trained by a guardian and sentinel was rather unorthodox, but there were parts of him which did hold to something traditional.

"I know what it is like to be left. I am the one who is always left behind. If you think I am going to do that to you, you have another thing coming."

JJ waved her on, there was something in the cave ahead, and JJ wanted to know what it was. Maybe there was a crystal or something of value for them to find, on the other hand it could be trouble.

[member="Kyra Perl"]

 

[Kyra Perl]

It wasn’t like Kyra to not have a sharp retort or quip to say, but once more his words had cut her to the core. She said nothing, and thankfully he didn’t make her. She wrapped her arms tighter around herself and obediently followed his direction. His light washed against the cave they approached, its dark depths swallowing it up and obscuring was laid deeper.

She squinted, having the sense to reach out with the force and feel around them for the first time. Goosebumps erupted over her skin. She rubbed them back, her voice a tight whisper as glanced up at him.

“There’s something in there.”

He was gonna have them go in, wasn’t here. His eyes twinkled with intent. She took a step back, cobbled by a sharp jolt of fear. “You don’t actually intend-...”

 

[Judah Lesan Jr.]

JJ nodded. Of course they were going in, and they were turning down the lights too. If what JJ thought was in there was, they were not going to need the lights in the cave. There was nothing to say, though Kyra started backing away. A small grin pulled at JJ's cheek as he kept moving forward. His mind dropped into hers with a single suggestion.

"If you don't follow me in you'll be out here alone..."

The young knight pressed ahead into the cave, the smell of the dank and musty rock walls greeted his nostrils when he crossed the threshold. There was water seeping into the cave from somewhere. His hand touched the rock. It was cool. He waited a couple of seconds for Kyra to make up her mind, though he knew she would likely follow him into the cave. There was certainly something strong inside the cave. His gut pulled him toward it. There was a pull JJ could not explain. It was a compulsion.

"You can walk into dark places without having to let the darkness get to you. I will show you if you let me. You can't run from what happened, but if you embrace it, learn from it, you can be stronger, better."

[member="Kyra Perl"]

 

[Kyra Perl]

She blinked as his words pressed into her mind. Heeeey... she had been trying to learn that. She trailed after him trepidatiously, a nervous glance casted over her shoulder. She felt it now, the thing following them. She had no desire to stay outside alone and learn what it was, her footsteps quick and betraying her panic.

Alright, so she was still afraid of the dark. Shove it.

“I’m not affected by it,” she uttered back. Her warm form bumbled into his side, her fear tangible in the air around her. Her zeltron nature often paired with her empathic abilities, leaving others to feel her emotions as their own to a degree that some might say was stronger than even a well-practiced, full-blooded member of her kind.

Her steps remained small and quick, the padawan not leaving his side. “Do you - do you feel that?” The compulsion reached her as well. “What-whatcoulddothat?” It wasn't a creature she could see she feared so much as one she couldn’t. Her hand rested on the hilt of her saber, griping it tightly.

 

[Judah Lesan Jr.]

JJ could teach her telepathy. There was a lot she could learn if she was willing to stick with the arrangement the council had put together. As far as JJ was concerned he’d already agreed. The fact he met her in the first place was an indicator he had already made up his mind. A smile pulled at his lips as Kyra followed him in. He smiled even more when she began to feel what it was JJ had been feeling.

”That could be anything, a crystal, a creature, dark side energy. The possibility is endless. All we know right now is that something is pulling us deeper into the cave. This where we decide if we can ignore it or if we must know?”

There wasn’t time for an answer as JJ pushed further ahead into the cave. More than not it was a crystal or some kind of artifact. There was no dark feeling, nothing that seemed to indicate this was a thing of the dark side. What would Kyra think? The council had paired her with someone that took risks, pressed forward when he should have been cautious. In many ways he was like her, unlike her, JJ had the experience of when to restrain himself. He’d learned the hard way and the hope was she would not have to.

”Are you coming,” JJ asked over his shoulder before passing into the next chamber of the cave.

[member="Kyra Perl"]

 

[Kyra Perl]

Kyra scattered after him, constantly looking over her shoulders at the darkness they left in their wake, regardless of the fact that she had sensed nothing there. As she said, she didn't fear what she could sense, only what she couldn't. Her hair stood on end as she pressed back into his side again, the girl near quaking. She was very frightened of the dark. She didn't mention this. She didn't protest, she barely even hesitated. As long as she was in his light, she kept her cool. The hand that gripped his robes insured that she wouldn't lose him. She swallowed hard, straining to feel what's ahead of them.

"You're not like the other masters," she whispered, her tone neutral. It wasn't a bad thing, she just didn't know what to make of it. The compulsion grew stronger, so much so that she began to forget her fears and loosen her grip on his robe.


She needed to know.

She began to emerge from his robes and walk besides him, eyes trained dead ahead. If she had any fear for her life, it was snuffed out by her trust for his skills and her overwhelming curiosity. "It can't be bad," she told him, her sing-song voice echoing off the walls like a soft melody. "It feels pure."

 

[Judah Lesan Jr.]

"No I am not," he retorted, "and if I ever get that stuffy you can slap me... hard!"

JJ laughed at the end of comment for a brief moment. It ceased when his arm suddenly felt the weight of the girl pulling on it, almost as if her life depended on keeping hold of it. He finally smirked. There was an insecurity within her that the rest of her personality seemed to try and compensate for. The Zeltron was no different than any other her age, and it made JJ seem pleased. He said nothing, but rather invited her closer. Yes, her pheromones were something to consider, and like any Lesan, JJ had little defense against them. They were not strong however, just enough to feel comfortable.

"It is pure," JJ said as he watched her take a few steps ahead of him. The draw seemed to be pulling harder for her at the moment, perhaps it was a crystal. Nothing needed to be said until they knew, but JJ was certainly curious now. She was young, but she was also the age when many found their first kyber. JJ had been about her age when he constructed the lightsaber he now used, the green blade speaking to his heritage as a Corellian and not his designation among the Jedi. Perhaps the force was telling her she needed to not rely on the training wheels so much.

"Trust the instinct. Ignorance; yet knowledge," the old way of quoting the code distinguishing Judah even further from the rest of the masters or knights she would have met. "We do not fear the unknown, but rather we cling to what we do know, and seek to learn about the things we do not. Ignorance exists and do not let anyone tell you otherwise, but the unknown is not something to fear. Fear leads to the dark side, so be curious, be cautious, but be curious, hmmm?"

It was permission to be herself. JJ wondered if Kyra had expected that when she heard about the pairing. He hoped he was not what she had expected, and hoped that his personality would lead her to the decision to let him be her guide. She needed him, and in truth, JJ needed her as well. His story was not an easy one either, and perhaps she would pry it from him yet.

[member="Kyra Perl"]

 

[Kyra Perl]

"You're being stuffy again," Kyra told him, her voice dry and wry as she slowly found the courage to step ahead of him.

Still, his words did reach her, proving she wasn't all stone ears and insurmountable will. There was a reasonable girl beyond the reports of challenging and questionable behavior. Which mean that somewhere, deep inside, a jedi could carved out of her yet.

Her cautious steps grew more confident, the compulsion echoing through her. There was no questioning whether or not it was wise of them to be here, in the Shadowlands,where training was clearly not suppose to happen. What could go wrong with him here? He brought them into this cave for a reason-- and here was this thing-- this... sensation... She couldn't back down to her fear. She had to understand where it came from, or it what it could have been would drive her crazy for years to come.

And it was drawing her deeper still.

One step melded into another, and then in a heart beat the compulsion turned into a call. "It's over here," she declared, its presence burning clear as day inside her mind's eye. She broke away from him, running into the darkness, trusting the instinct as it lead her through the unlit passage ways. She could be heard dropping to the floor the wild sound of ground being torn at echoing back to him. Dirt embedded into her fingers. Nails broke. She didn't care. It needed her to get it out.

"It's here! Help me!" She grunted, rolling a heavy rock out of the way.

 

[Judah Lesan Jr.]

JJ chuckled and shook his head. There was no way he was being stuffy. His job was to pull whatever Jedi existed inside the pink mess of challenging behavior. It was a sham that others did not seem to give her the chance she deserved, or that it had come to this. Her file had been clear however, and JJ knew the fact the council had not given up on her quite yet was something. No pressure though right? This was her last shot most likely, and JJ was the one that would either help her or fail to see her become the powerful Jedi she could be. There was so much potential, and JJ did not want to see it wasted. Such was his lot.

He watched as she moved deeper into the cave, knowing they were there for her. Perhaps this was the confidence boost she needed to realize there was something buried inside her which was meant to be here. Before anyone else could believe in the young Zeltron she needed to believe in herself, a lesson JJ had learned the hard way. After killing his first sith he had second guessed everything. It had taken someone else to help him make sense of it all, and now JJ was here to return the favor for someone else still discovering who they were.

It was not long before she was calling to JJ for help. Something had been found, and JJ was pretty sure he knew what it was. Only a crystal called with that much of a tug or pull. Finding one in the shadowlands was rare, and JJ knew he was not supposed to have her down there, but they were. The fact she had found a crystal justified ignoring protocol, something Judah did regularly. His father had never been one for what was deemed traditional and that had rubbed off on JJ. The only difference between JJ's approach and that of his father was JJ kept wider boundaries between himself and the other Jedi around him. He had been burned falling in love with a fellow padawan when he was younger, and JJ learned a difficult lesson he was not keen on having to learn again. Just the thought of how he had lost that friend was enough to remind of him of his own pilgrimage of sorts.

JJ followed after the voice calling to him. Bending down, JJ pulled a knife from his boot, and pried the crystal out piece of rock it had been growing out of. A grin played at the corner of his lips as he put it in the satchel which hung from his belt.

"We are not alone... that creature following us... it will be attracted to the crystal, so keep your eyes out. I think I'll hold onto it for safekeeping, or at least until I know you aren't gonna cut your own arms off with a real lightsaber."

JJ stood and motioned toward the exit.

"Stretch out your senses, and feel what is following, where it is. There is no reason to be caught by surprise."

[member="Kyra Perl"]