Group Lesson, Series I

[Kaalia Pavanos]

The other students in attendence, including the latecomer of the group, would one by one lay out their own interpretation of the Sith Code. The Corellian who had introduced himself as Adrian Vandiir followed after Ithnan, an air of confidence hanging all around him as he provided an answer that had been studied and pondered upon very carefully. Experience was most definitely on his side compared to the others who had decided to attend this group lesson; expectations for him would be set higher than the rest.

Next was the woman who revealed her name to be Nixia. She was the one who had come in late, but in a way compensated for this by picking up the subject quite quickly and almost immediately took the floor once Adrian had finished talking. Her interpretation was definitely an interesting one, but also left room to be filled in as time would go on. Even so, she raised a very valid point. Being Sith meant not being afraid to step up and gain the power one needed to achieve their goals, but it was all too easy to get caught up in a neverending cycle of setting increasingly zealous goals and going further and further to achieve them. Avacyn found it to be a good thing that Nixia was aware of this already, so that she could find her own way of slaying that demon. It would cross the path of every Sith at one point or another, but the way one defeated it didn't necessarily be right for another. The woman herself had her family to remain grounded and focussed on the things that truly mattered to her, but Nixia had yet to find her own way.

The cathar followed, beginning with his name. Micah was most definitely nervous, something that had likely to do with his young age. His view was very much in line with the teachings of the academy and nothing suprising considering his age, but as rudimentary as it was, there was definitely truth to it. To Avacyn, the answer was sufficient.

Lastly, Hirou spoke. Although she had to pinpoint where exactly the voice came from, their deeds were of such caliber that they had not gone by the woman unnoticed. Like many, Avacyn held a great deal for respect for the nezumi and although they were no Force-sensitive being, that didn't mean they were any less welcome. They were also humble about their knowledge of the Sith Code, although personally Avacyn still would have liked to hear their view on it. Still, it was understandable and she would not press for an answer.

The final student remained silent, however. It was odd to see and definitely did not make for a good first impression, but there wasn't much to be done about it. Having heard all of the others, however, Taeli closed off the topic. "And please do feel free. I personally quite enjoy discussing philosophy and exchanging views."

Her fellow Sith Lady then moved on to a more practical excercise. Although as time had gone on and Avacyn grew alongside the Empire itself she had picked up small bit of knowledge concerning alchemy, it was far from her expertise. She was a warrior first and foremost, through and through, but she still carried an interest in the art of alchemy. It was going to be interesting to see how the various students would attempt to solve the puzzle that had been laid down in front of them. It was unfortunate that Hirou would be unable to create a familiar, but there wasn't much to be done. Taeli at the very least had something else for the nezumi to do, but it was clear that they were disappointed.

Still, there was no point in lingering on that. Avacyn's attention moved towards the two who had retrieved the materials already, watching as they attempted to solve the puzzle. "I am curious to see who can figure it out," she said to Taeli, her voice just loud enough to reach her but not disturb those who had already begun.

[member="Nixia Amabilia"] | [member="Adrian Vandiir"] | [member="Micah"] | [member="Ithnan Cryo"] | [member="Elline Adasca"] | [member="Taeli Raaf"] | [member="Darth Interitus"] | [member="Tabigarashu Madara"]​

 

[Sor-Jan Xantha]

Construct the bones in the rough anatomical structure of the bird.

He was ten and what is this?

The kitten kept moving the bones around as he tackled the first part of the puzzle. That being, where did all of these bones go? That was a puzzle in itself. Were these rib bones or wing bones? Or verte-whatever-spine-bones?

The Cathar's ears drooped, flickering with signs of irritation as the youngling was dissatisfied with how little he knew of avian biology. Science classes at his age consisted of studying refraction and making volcanoes out of rudimentary chemical reactions.

Then there was a knock at his chair.

"Mreow?" the kitten chirped in surprise, looking to either side and not seeing anything. Then he glanced down and saw the mouse with the datapad.

The Cathar's tail shot up, his ears perking up with curiosity as his amber eyes just blinked in disbelief. It was a talking mouse. Like that one on Cadomai.

Shifting around, so that he was kneeling atop the chair, the young Cathar hunched over so that his tail was in the air and his head was down toward the floor. Was this the source of the seemingly disembodied voice from earlier?

That seemed likely. Now that he thought about it, the voices were the same. "Oh, hi, Hirou," the cub said, speaking in whispers so not to disturb the Darths. Lowering a hand down to the floor, the kitten waited for the mouse to step up on his palm and then could lift him up to the desk.

Wait, did this mouse know about avian anatomy?

The answer was likely at least as much as Micah did. Probably more. Very likely more. So this could be very beneficial for him. "You want to sit up here with me? Maybe you can help me with this puzzle," the kitten ventured.

It was worth a shot.

[member="Tabigarashu Madara"]​

 

[Elline Adasca]

Elline felt a small bit of disappointment while looking at the workings of her familiar, she saw a bird as a poor design for a lab assistant (something she had realzied over time she desperately needed). Now maybe some sort of monkey lizard variant? Now that would've been perfect...and with that her mind wandered off as it sometimes did and she bemused creating a lab assistant mutant out of the base genes of the monkey lizard.

In time, maybe.

And as such the Arkanian went to work, huddled into her own little world of isolation and poor social skills. Re-creating a skeleton felt almost like child's play, though looking briefly over to the Cathar (hard enough to tell, what with the udder lack of pupils. The joys of being Arkanian) she realized the fault that expression might have had when dealing with the biological components of some once living creature. Bones went to bones, but the lack of perfection began to gnaw at the back of her mind. Such an ill-fated quest, what a humorous trait to anyone with the eyes to see it.

But as time progressed, she was able to create the basic outline. Removing herself from her metaphorical planetary shield of isolation to look around at her fellow students, or rivals, or meat stock...

@Micah @Kaalia Pavanos [member="Tabigarashu Madara"] [member="Ithnan Cryo"] [member="Taeli Raaf"] [member="Nixia Amabilia"] [member="Adrian Vandiir"]

 

[AMCO]

Perhaps he was a bit too eager when sharing his views. Even so, he was not so unaware of his surroundings that he was unable to feel a tinge of annoyance at the lateness of the newest attendee. Fortunately, she made up for it by presenting a well-thought-out view of her own, and one he at least partially agreed with at that. Self-control had, after all, always been important to him. Even if it was more about controlling himself to better achieve his goals, as opposed to the suppression of desires the Jedi practised.

Glancing over at the little feline seated in front of the even smaller Nezumi, he was briefly conflicted on whether to be impressed or disappointed. On one hand, the views were almost exactly what was taught by the instructors, without any personal observations of note. Furthermore, the way he struggled with one of the words made the young Knight suspect that he might be directly quoting some instructor or another. Even so, the Cathar was young. Much younger than any of the others in attendance - a quick glance at the Nezumi - at least in terms of maturity. Not bad, then. Not bad at all.

Speaking of small, he couldn't help but be a bit disappointed by Hirou's humble reluctance to share their views. There was, after all, something to be said about an outside perspective. Especially one from a non-force sensitive with such a long and lauded list of deeds behind them.

No matter. Turning back towards their teachers, he watched with especial eagerness - senses primed - as the Lady of Shadows summoned her familiar. It was not that the feat itself was foreign to him, but observing the (in)famous woman's technique had been one of his primary motivations for signing on to this class.

Waiting his turn, he walked casually towards the desk, the decision on what to take already made. While he had not created one as of yet, mostly due to being occupied with more ambitious projects (only some of which had gone horribly wrong), he was familiar with the process. Returning to his desk, however, he was struck by an unexpected problem. A rather embarrassing one at that. Gazing down upon the bones, it suddenly struck him that they were far more foreign to him. While the ability to create the most blasphemous of Sithspawn and wield esoteric sorceries was well within his grasp, basic anatomy was not. He had always had assistants for that sort of things.

Stroking his chin thoughtfully, he closed his eyes as if to better recall some of the stranger techniques he had studied in his time as a Sith, then smiled slightly. Muttering a brief incantation almost inaudibly under his breath, he twisted his fingers in a complex pattern, watching with satisfaction as the bones arranged themselves in the correct pattern. So that's how a bird's skeleton is supposed to look. Now to deal with the easy part.

[member="Taeli Raaf"] | [member="Ithnan Cryo"] | [member="Kaalia Pavanos"] | [member="Micah"] | [member="Tabigarashu Madara"] | [member="Elline Adasca"] | [member="Nixia Amabilia"]​

 

[Tabigarashu Madara]

Hirou's tail came up without the Nezumi realizing it, wrapping around their waist. If their hands had been free, they might have been clutching it. It seemed that, no matter what they did in their life, no matter how far they climbed....

Cats were always going to be a little distressing.

"Hi Micah," came the reflexive reply.

Despite that, when he put his paw down, Hirou shook themselves out a little, and stepped on. Swaying slightly with the upward momentum, they stepped onto the desk a moment later. Putting down the too-big data pad with a small ooph.

"Oh!"

Hirou blinked in surprise, ears swiveling ahead. Fur rippled slightly. Oh, they wanted to. Yes. This was far more interesting and not something they could really do themselves for obvious reasons buuuuuut.....

"I'm supposed to read about Naga Shadow," they said, scuffing a back paw absently against the desk. Black eyes blinked curiously, and they dropped down to all four paws and scampered a bit closer. Nose twitched.

"Maybe.... just a little..... I think this is a thigh bone, not a wing bone. Maybe try it there?"

The data pad sat.

[member="Micah"]