Private Friends in low places [Aiden Porte].

[Lukan Rath]

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Location: Coruscant, The Jedi Temple.
Tagging: Aiden Porte .

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Lukan Rath, the boy from Nar Shaddaa. He had been born into a poor family, grown up within a crime-infested Capital City and learned to fend for himself from a young age. He was given away by his birth mother, and his adoptive parents spent their lives working just to keep a roof over their heads. When the realization of Lukan's Force Sensitivity came, they sent him to the Jedi for a better life, yet Lukan saw it as rejection and so yet again life had thrown him a curve ball. This was how he came to be on Coruscant, and still, in such early days, he neither had a clue as to why he ought to be a Jedi nor had he made any friends.

Perhaps that would soon change.

The afternoon class had just been wrapped up. A Lesson in the Saber Arts by one of the many Jedi Masters of the Temple. Luke couldn't recall the man's name, nor many others for that matter as he was still adjusting to living Temple life. The Jedi Robes he wore, were in themselves, entirely different from what he was accustomed to. Most astonishingly they were new and not hand-me-downs.

From what he had gathered, all new students to the Temple were gifted these clothes, a sort of Jedi uniform. Alongside the new digs, he had been given a training lightsaber and a datapad. The latter of which was awesome, and Lukan spent most nights up late playing on the gadget, figuring out how to work it and reading or watching whatever content the Jedi database would allow. If there was ever hope for his future as a Jedi, it was probably those late nights on the device.

In any case, the class was dismissed and like all the other students, Lukan started to make his way out into the corridor.

 

[Aiden Porte]

It was a busier day than usual, Aiden found himself from classroom to the archives and such. While he had not Padawan classes today, he was going out and about to assist the Jedi instructing those classes. Better to learn to be a teacher and how to guide them. Obviously he was still a padawan and he would one day like to help train new Jedi to rise in the ranks. That was a long time from now though.

Aiden bid his farewell as he glanced towards the instructor with a friendly wave and he turned out into the corridor. He had intentions of going back to the archives for a few minutes. His pace caught him walking next to Lukan Rath

The Padawan glanced over to him, as he had not seen him before. Aiden had made the intention to get to know everyone that he could.

"Hello my friend." Aiden said with a small smile. "I haven't seen you before, how long have you been here? I'm Aiden Porte." He said with a small smile as he held his hand out towards Lukan.

 

[Lukan Rath]

Making his way down the corridor, Lukan hadn't noticed Aiden Porte walking alongside him, looking his way. With the sheer amount of students within the Temple, it wasn't unusual to find yourself walking beside others on your way to your next scheduled class or whatever activity you had planned, but the unexpected turnout of this particular occasion was that this other student was looking to get his attention.

"Huh?" Luke's eyes rose from staring at the floor, turning his head to see Aiden looking back at him. The other guy had said something, yet it took a moment for his brain to register. Aiden Porte, he had called himself. "Oh uh, hey" Lukan replied apprehensively. It wasn't in his nature to approach strangers, let alone trust others so easily but he had been encouraged to try and open himself up by Amanda braska, someone they called a Master by way of her ties to his future there. He was a Padawan, and she was watching over him. Or something like that.

"No, I'm pretty new here. Name's Lukan" he replied, not knowing what more to say. Luke was still uncertain as to what he had done to gain the other guys attention. Aiden was just being nice and friendly, he told himself silently, yet people weren't often nice without there being some kind of a catch, or them wanting something from him.

 

[Aiden Porte]

"Lukan, its a pleasure to meet you." Aiden said with a small smile as he held his hand out to shake the hand of his fellow Jedi. Aiden couldn't help but feel that he was slightly nervous perhaps, or more so just quite. But then he remembered how he was when he first got here.

"I hope you are enjoying yourself. It can be a bit intimidating at first but it wears down after a while." Aiden said with a small laugh, as his first few weeks here were indeed rather crazy and busy. Luckily that didn't last too long as he got into his groove rather quickly and before he knew it he was flying around here rather quickly.

"Well, Lukan, its good to meet you. I'm always around and available to talk or just train if you need it. I'm actually going to grab some food if you want to go. The cafeteria isn't always the best, but it can be okay on some days."

Lukan Rath

 

[Lukan Rath]

Everyone in the Jedi Temple looked to the Cafeteria when first getting to know someone else. Amanda Braska had brought him there just the day before and now it looked like he'd be heading there again with Aiden Porte . Luke had told the Woman that he would give things a go, and give other people a chance, so it seemed Aiden was to be the first trial of that apprehensive deal.

"Sure" he shrugged in agreement, moving to walk beside the other guy as they started towards the Cafeteria and dining hall. "How long have you been here?" He soon posed Aiden the question, curious to know just how comfortable and knowledgeable the new guy was when it came to understanding their surroundings and more specifically getting the 'know' of his fellow students. It would be good to get a heads-up on who the troublemakers were, and who was worth knowing.

So far, with the exception of Amanda braska, all his tutors were nameless faces. Sure, they'd probably introduced themselves at some point, but everything was so new and happening so quickly that Lukan hadn't really taken the time or the interest in remembering who exactly they were. Most of his lessons had been quite boring up until this point too, save for his lessons involving the lightsaber. Learning to use the Force had piqued his interest, but there was so much theory and endless talking beforehand that nearly drove him to sleep. Nothing so far had been exceptionally life-changing.

"Where are you from? Before this place I mean".

 

[Aiden Porte]

"Perfect!" Aiden said as they made their way towards the mess hall. Cafeteria whichever one would want to call it. Since his time here he had heard it called several other words. Some might not have been as savory as the others, perhaps they had a bad line of food that day.

"Ive been here several months already. It's been definitely quite the ride thus far. I usually tend to stick to my studies as often as I can. I'm a big learner so I soak up as much as I can and just continued. A Jedi never stops learning from what I understand and was told." Aiden said with a smile. "Oh, and please stop me if I start to ramble on. It looks intimidating, but don't let it do that to you. I'm sure you will do just fine. And you get a friend out of it too." The padawan said with a laugh indicating himself, which was slightly presumptuous because for all intents and purposes Lukan could've been completely annoyed with him.

"Where are you from? Before this place I mean".

"I was on Naboo for a while with my twin sister and Father and Mother. They did a lot of traveling so I've been to a great deal of places. By far my favorite so far has been Naboo, Kashyyyk and here. Have you done any traveling?"

Lukan Rath

 

[Lukan Rath]

"You like to learn?" Lukan asked, not understanding how or why.

A big learner? He had to be joking right...

"My classes have been pretty boring so far. Talk. Talk. Talk. That's all they do" the younger of the two complained with a roll of his eyes as they walked the corridor on their way to the Cafetaria; "This place is just one big expensive school, and I didn't like my last one. Now I'm taking classes in these pajama looking things" he tugged at the Jedi Tunic that he had been given when he first arrived. One of several pairs of clothes that were already in the quarters he'd been designated.

Have you done any traveling?"

The answer to that question was simple. "Nar Shaddaa is the only world I've been to before coming here. It was my home and my parents were too poor to go anywhere else..." his eyes looked to those they passed by, and then to the temple itself; "We didn't have anything nice like all of this" he said, sounding resentful of his surroundings. He imagined that the price of the datapads students were given alone would have helped him and his family get ahead, yet it was all here. Or somewhere else. Never in his hands or home, back then.

"Nar Shaddaa is a hole" he admitted, yet had a point to put across, "But it was a hole I belonged in. This place....I wouldn't know where to begin" he concluded pessimistically.

Aiden Porte

 

[Aiden Porte]

"You like to learn?"

"Oh yes, its essential for the growth of the mind and to improve your Jedi abilities. It does sound boring I can agree with that. But I've always been one to want to learn and know more. It makes things easier to understand and something that seemed difficult or hard that bump in the road won't seem so bad."

"This place is just one big expensive school, and I didn't like my last one. Now I'm taking classes in these pajama looking things"

Aiden couldn't help but laugh. "This place grows on you. And as far as wardrobe I tend to stick to the jumpsuits. They are more the style nowadays. The last time I wore robes was when I was younger." He couldn't really deal with the style of the Jedi robes anymore, it seemed they were restricting somewhat and the jumpsuit was better suited for him. But everyone had their own preference.

"Nar Shaddaa is the only world I've been to before coming here. It was my home and my parents were too poor to go anywhere else..."

"We didn't have anything nice like all of this"

"But it was a hole I belonged in. This place....I wouldn't know where to begin"

The Jedi Padawan listened attentively when he spoke of Nar Shaddaa and his growing up. He had rough upbringing, that's how things seemed to go on Nar Shaddaa. He had been there with Corazona and he wasn't planning on going back unless he had too. However that was was home for him, just like Naboo was home for the Aiden.

"Rest assured you will find your place here. It might take some time, but it does come to you."

The duo entered the cafeteria as he glanced around, it didn't seem to packed today. "Let's see what they got." Aiden said with a smile on his face.

Lukan Rath

 

[Lukan Rath]

Aiden Porte wasn't exactly the pillar of confidence as far as inspiring Lukan's interest in the Jedi Temple went, however, they soon came upon the cafeteria and the young boy soon turned his attention to the smell of good food. It was undoubtedly the best thing about being in this place, the sheer amount you could eat without paying a single credit. He both loved and resented the Jedi for it, given how difficult it was to come by for normal people.

Stepping on ahead with a bit more energy in his pace, Lukan joined the queue of other students moving along the line where trays of food were being laid out in a smorgasbord-type manner. There were all sorts of meats, pasta, vegetables and bread. So much to choose from, and it made Luke's eyes light up every time he was there.

Taking a place from the side, Lukan moved along with the queue and focused on the selections of meats. Beef, steaks, sausages and meatballs accompanied by a couple of large serving spoons of pasta, and finally, a piece of delicious bread that looked like some kind of cheese had been grilled over top.

"You can keep the books Aiden, I'll live in here" he remarked with a bit of humour for the first time since they had met. He soon left the queue and stood in wait for the other guy, wondering where they should seat themselves. He wasn't overly keen on being seated at one of the more crowded tables given he still didn't know anyone well.

 

[Aiden Porte]

"Hey, the books aren't that bad." Aiden said with a small chuckle. As he watched Lukan move towards the line and Aiden followed. Today seemed different as he glanced around at all the foods that were offered today. Things looked incredibly good today. "Perhaps the steak, with pasta?" Aiden inquired to himself. Which was a random combination but still sounded incredible. However perhaps today was just something completely different and they decided to up the ante in the kitchen.

Aiden grabbed a different arrangement of food and followed Lukan Rath towards the end and the Padawan picked a table towards the end of the cafeteria.

"Well, the food is definitely a big change today." Aiden said with a laugh. "It's usually not this extravagant."