Private First Lessons

[Elryn Freestar]

Onderon
Inner Rim​

"Master, what does climbing this have to do with my training...?" Eleven inquired "It is nice though..." the Kiffar added as he stared up at the short mountain ahead of him. A short huff escaped his lips before his head swivelled and his eyes set on the small green Jedi behind him. It had been three weeks since the amnesiac boy was brought to Kashyyyk, three weeks since he chose to walk the path of the Jedi, and ever since then it was non-stop training. At least, it felt that way.

Combat and physical training, accessing his connection to the Force, philosophy, logic, history of the Jedi, all condensed into three short weeks. It honestly felt like more than three weeks. Despite all of that, Yenna was a good Master, the Jedi Knight had a way about her that made Jedi training feel less like a chore and more fun and meaningful. The edge of the intense training was lessened by his Master's optimistic demeanour.

Eleven had no clue as to why they had to leave Kashyyyk but the boy was nonetheless respectful of his Master's wishes. Still, the Padawan couldn't deny the fact that the area they were in was nice, peaceful... and... if his senses were attuned enough, he could sense something unique about it too. Like, it was some sort of concentration of the Force's energy - but he couldn't be too sure.

Yenna

 

[Yenna]

This was certainly a different kind of training. For over three weeks they were training at the temple, Yenna helping him to understand the Force and what it meant to be a Jedi. She was taking it slow and careful with him. He didn't have the typical lessons that younglings usually got before advancing to become someone's padawan, so she had to make sure he grasped the basics and was also physically capable. She was certainly not the best example for the perfect Jedi specimen, but she had a routine that she knew would make anyone sweat.

"Something different, I thought we'd do." She proclaimed happily as she marched toward the foot of the mountain. The climb would be amazing exercise, but she also had another reason for bringing him into the wilderness.

She looked to him with a warm grin for a moment. "A decent climb, this is. Not too hard, not too easy. Good exercise, it will be. But, something else, I planned for us at the plateau." She explained, pointing to the top of their climb. A waterfall flowed down to a secondary point before it reached the ground, a perfect spot to rest before they pushed on. "Your training saber, do you have?" She raised an eyebrow as her tone grew more serious. It was not something Cas drilled into her as hard, but it was a philosophy that she lived by. A Jedi's weapon was their life, their badge of office, a symbol... a Jedi couldn't go anywhere without it. She wanted to pass this belief on to El but she wasn't going to drill it into him. He could decide on his own whether he wanted to follow that philosophy as closely or not.

She had backpacks for the both of them, each containing useful items. Snacks, canteens, hard liquor... luckily that was only in hers... and a med kit. She figured that it would be all they would need. By the foot of the mountain, she studied it for a moment. "Hard for me, this is going to be. The Force, I will not use." She admitted before looking to him with a smirk. "Race to the top?" She teased before she started her climb.

He was going to have a big advantage, but that was fine by her. After securing her grip, she started her ascension to the top. Despite her lack in range, she moved quickly as she crawled along the face.

Elryn Freestar

 

[Elryn Freestar]

Eleven's head returned to the clifftop as Yenna began to answer his question, resting his hands on his hips, the young Padawan hung on his master's every word. She said the climb was 'decent' - clearly they weren't of the same opinion as looking upon the small mountai only filled the boy with intimidation.

"Huh? Oh..." Eleven looked down toward his hip and tapped at the training saber's hilt attatched to his belt, feeling guilty as he recalled almost forgetting to bring it from Kashyyyk "Y-yes, I have it. Sorry." he apologised needlessly. When the minute Jedi mentioned not using the Force for the climb, his eyes widened in surprise as his head snapped in her direction. She... she didn't expect him to do the same did she? "M-Master, isn't that dangerous?..." the boy asked softly, nerves apparent in his voice.

Eleven felt a small breeze blow his locs forward just as he heard Yenna mention 'a race'. Double-taking, he looked beside him to see his master's small frame gone, now scaling the mountain's surface. The Kiffar took a deep breath and inhaled deeply, raising his shoulders before nervously placing his hands on two pieces of potruding earth. He began to climb.

The Jedi Knight was a few feet ahead of him, all the while the Padawan shakily climbed and searched for pieces to grapple - without the use of the Force, this was quite difficult. Then a series of images flashed before his eyes, memories, memories of climbing an arid mountain - his skin was soft, youthful... younger than he is now, but the palms of his hands were rough and dry. The crackling of lightening was distinct too.

A bit out of it, his mind returned to the present as he remained still on the mountain's surface. However, he was no longer shaking, Eleven glanced up to see his master even further ahead than he was. The boy knew winning was out of the question, but strangely, he no longer felt nervous about climbing. As if something had clicked inside him, Eleven began scaling the mountain with a natural flow, inherently knowing what piece of the earth to cling onto and propel himself up. The Padawan moved with an acrobat's grace.

Arriving at the top some time after Yenna, Eleven fell to his knees and proceeded to roll onto his back, exhausted. The boy spoke inbetween every tired breath "Master... something... weird... just happened..." he paused, letting himself regain his breath as he opened his backpack and drank practically a gallon of water "I promise I wasn't using the Force but... when I was climbing, I--" he shook his head, it sounded crazy to say out loud - even by Jedi standards.

Yenna

 

[Yenna]

The climb was exhilarating to say the least, especially for the small Jedi who had a bit more of a challenge due to her size. A grin was affixed along her features as she scaled the cliff she clung to with all her might. She mentioned not using the Force for the climb, though she wasn't so cruel as to exclude it in case either of them fell. Every so often she glanced down to make sure that El was still fine.

She could feel the anxiety coming from him as he took careful steps on the way up. Yenna turned her attention back to the stone as a rock tore from the dirt, nearly causing her to fall. This merely made her giggle as she adjusted her grip and moved further up. This had to become their new thing to do every now and then. The added bonus, of course, was the amazing exercise one got out of climbing a cliff face without any assistance or support. It steadied the mind and enhanced a Jedi's trust in the Force and their own instincts. It quelled one's fears and bolstered their body, brought them that much closer to inner peace and...

Yenna's brows furrowed as she looked down at Eleven, his sudden shift in presence catching her entirely off guard. She didn't expect the climb to work that quickly. Maybe she wasn't that bad at the whole 'master' thing, after all!

With his renewed confidence in the climb, Yenna pushed on and felt fine with trusting him to work well on his own. He was catching up, anyway, and she didn't want to give him this win. He could work for it. She finally reached the top and immediately rewarded herself with a long drink of water from her canteen as she waited for her padawan to catch up with her. A bright smile appeared when he clambered onto the top as well, clearly exhausted with the exercise. Her own breathing was quick as well, though she spared a breath to give him a tight hug for a moment. "Excellent! Very well, you climbed." She congratulated as she sat back and took another sip of her canteen.

Her smile faltered somewhat when he mentioned something odd happening. Perhaps her theory wasn't so good, after all. "Tell me, you can, El. What happened?" She asked gently.

Elryn Freestar

 

[Elryn Freestar]

"Thank you." Eleven responded with a smile, he took a sip of his water and cast a side long glance at his master. The Kiffar then averted his gaze when the green Knight calmly disallowed the Padawan from dropping the topic. Eleven was silent, the only sound made came from his decreased panting, the boy's brown eyes surveyed the badlands ahead of the master and apprentice. Taking in the view, Eleven's chest tightened as he inhaled deeply.

"I--" he sighed through his nose, struggling to formulate his thoughts into coherent words "About a year ago... I think... I lost all memories of my past." Eleven would remind Yenna. Legs dangling at the end of the cliff top, Eleven rested his hands on the bottle settled on his lap "Sometimes I'd have flashes. Flashes of another life... my past, I guess." Eleven confessed with a shrug "It's how I survived for so long, recalling on skills through whatever memories I have left."

Eleven paused again, it was strange, when he really stopped to think about it. The boy had memories of another life... but, something inside felt as if they weren't his. Recalling upon the memories he had of Yenna, the beautiful purple woman, the tall blonde-haired man and others - did he know them in his past? If so, why wouldn't Yenna have recognised him when they first met?

Realising that he'd been silent in thought for a bit too long, Eleven shook his head and returned his attention to Yenna. "When I was climbing, I had no idea how to, I'd never done it before... at least I don't think so. Then..." he stared toward the badlands again "Something, like, clicked and a memory triggered. I was young, younger than I am now, on a planet like this, climbing a mountain - I was really good. Then... out of nowhere, its like instincts took over."

Eleven's cheeks inflated and then he quickly exhaled "It's... yeah..." he stammered nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. With all the training he'd been undergoing these past few weeks, the boy hadn't had time to figure out how he would regain his memories back - if he even could. Clearing his throat, Eleven tried to switch conversational topics "Um... what are we going to do now?"

Yenna