Private Illicit Treats

[Lief]

As he directed the hoverchair out of the canteen, Eliphas did his best not to let the tower of pudding cups teeter and fall from its precarious perch upon his lap. It was a difficult endeavor, one which required every ounce of his attention to succeed in. That he was in a hurry didn't help matters; once they noticed how many he'd taken they'd be hot on his heel.​

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And then they'd tell Starlin...​

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Nope. He couldn't risk that. So speed was of the essence, as was dexterity. A fine balancing act.​

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He turned one corner, then another, watching as the tower wobbled. Much to his surprise it didn't fall, and once he felt he was far enough from the scene of his pudding-scapade he slowed down and took a breath. Adrenaline coursed through him in a way it hadn't in what felt like an eternity. He felt alive again. Actually alive!​

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Of course, his luck was quick to run out. One more corner was turned, and then the tower came clattering down. His hoverchair had plowed straight into some unsuspecting individual...​

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Sion Lorray ​

 

[Sion Lorray]

Lief

He stumbled straight into a person on his way to the library.

Luckily Sion was used to bumping into people. This was, what? The fourth time it had happened within a month? Yeah, he quickly managed to catch himself against the wall and even snatched a pudding cup out of the air, before it followed the rest of the tower to the floor. That was all he could do and Sion had to watch as the rest scattered all over the floor.

"Oh, snap, sorry." Only then Sion looked up and gave Dune a little wave. "Hi, haven't seen you around here before!"

Head cocked there a little.

These days Sion tried his best to put a clamp on his empathy.

Difficult.

Even from a distance Sion could sense something wrong with Dune. Sadness? Possibly. Pain. It was a difficult echo to parse. Sion had an easier time with it when it came to regular folks.

Fellow Jedi? Their own connection to the Force complicated it at times.

"Here, let me..."

And immediately going to his knees to start gathering up the pudding for the fellow.

 

[Lief]

Eliphas watched with wide eyes filled with awe as the Jedi snatched one of the pudding cups from the air, even as he was made to steady himself on the wall. With numerous little pattering thuds the rest of them hit the ground, though thankfully their seals managed to withstand the force of impact. Point to the flimsiplast films he supposed.​

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"No, no, I'm sorry," Eliphas was quick to correct, after all he was the one with the machine. Of the two of them it was the other boy who was most likely to have been hurt by the impact, at most Eli was merely jolted.​

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The wave helped to settle any tension which could potentially have arisen, not that Eliphas was prone to tense situations, and he smiled warmly in response. "Hello yourself," he retorted, his noble Tetan accent making the words sound smoother than they otherwise might have. "I'm good at hiding" was his excuse for not having been seen before.​

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It was much easier than explaining the truth. Empress was he tired of explaining the truth. Nobody really wanted to hear his sob story, Eliphas didn't even want to hear it and it was his damn story to tell. The stranger regarded him in a curious fashion, and Eliphas found his own head tilting a little to one side like a confused puppy. Whatever the Jedi was thinking about or looking for, it soon passed.​

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Then he was on his knees, and Eliphas felt his cheeks reddening in response. "Oh, no, please, you needn't... you mustn't..." Of course by this point the pudding cups were already being righted. That blush seeped up into the tips of his ears, which felt as though they were burning. "Thank you" he settled on instead, "Please, you must allow me to repay you somehow..."​

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Sion Lorray ​

 

[Sion Lorray]

Lief

"I see." He said with bemusement. "That's a valuable skill to have."

Being apologized to after apologizing himself was an unique situation for Sion. Usually people either graciously accepted ( Corazona von Ascania ) or they punched him in the shoulder metaphorically for being such a softie ( Osarla Ridor ). This was to say that Sion didn't really know how to respond to it and instead immediately went for a disarming joke.

While gathering up all the puddings and looking up to Dune.

"Oh, I do it with pleasure, friend. It's the least I can do."

The mountain of pudding was lifted up in the air between his arms and Sion laughed. "No repayment is necessary. We are Jedi. That means we are on the same team and ought to help each other where possible."

He glanced around, unsure where Eliphas had been rolling off to.

"Well, lead the way, I will help you salvage your prize without further incident." Oh, yeah, Sion knew by the quantity of the puddings that Dune had pulled some major chit.

 

[Lief]

"I can show you how, if you'd like" he offered, doubling down on his ludicrous claim of why exactly it was they'd never met before. It took him a moment longer to realize he'd been quite rude by not actually introducing himself, Father would have been somewhat disappointed to know that. Maybe he was, wherever he'd ended up in the great beyond.​

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Can't think like that. He's still around, somewhere... Couldn't be gone-gone. Eliphas would never survive that. So he squashed the thoughts down further, and instead allowed a smile to settle over his expression. It felt strained for the first second or so, but soon it became more genuine. Sometimes simply smiling helped.​

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"I'm Eliphas, by the way, Eliphas Dune... Padawan to Starlin Rand."​

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Not only did the stranger collect all of his pudding cups, he also seemed intent on delivering them to... Where had Eliphas even been headed? He glanced left, then right, before finally shrugging. "I didn't much think about it" he confessed, "Somewhere quiet..." He hummed, then frowned, and glanced back at the pudding cups. ​

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"Did I go too far?" He was asking himself as much as he was the other Padawan. Maybe he should return them... Even if it meant getting into trouble, with the cafeteria staff and with Master Rand. "I can't really eat much else, but they're insisting I try..." Eliphas' frown deepened.​

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Then he shook his head, banishing his glumness.​

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Sion Lorray ​

 

[Sion Lorray]

Lief

"Hm, I suspect that would make it difficult to get these puddings where they ought to go." Sion teased the younger man gently. "But you can show me some other time, I am always interested to learn from others."

"A pleasure meeting you, Eliphas."

He inclined his head there and tried to match a face to this Starlin Rand but failed. It was a reminder to himself he ought to get out more. The least he could do was prove to Osarla Ridor he was doing his best to assimilate into the New Jedi Order by knowing the people active in it. A little mental note went up as a reminder to ask after this Rand person later.

"My name is Sion Lorray, I am Padawan to General Osarla Ridor. She is still a Jedi Master with the Order, but primarily leads the Nova Corps these days."

Which was often seen as a strange thing.

But Sion was happy to be taught by her. She had saved his life after all.

His hip rested against the wall as Sion watched the Padawan struggle with this ethical dilemma. "Well, while you took quite a few puddings, I suspect they have a whole storage room full of them. I'd suggest next time you offer your assistance to the cooks however. To make up for taking too much without... asking, perhaps?"

Otherwise he wouldn't have been speeding away from the crime scene so much.

 

[Lief]

"Deal."​

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Getting to pass along a spell or two to another Padawan was an exciting thought, though in the heat of the moment he failed to consider whether it was wise, whether his Master would like that. Still, Ignorance, yet Knowledge was one of their key precepts was it not? If he could help better the chances of another's survival in the future then it would be worth it, even if he did get into trouble with Starlin... Again.​

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Sion gave his name, and that of his Master; she wasn't someone Eliphas had heard of, but then again he hadn't been with the Jedi that long, not while conscious at least, so that meant little. "The Nova Corps?" he asked all the same, unable to keep the curiosity from his tone. It sounded interesting enough.​

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When his quandary was responded to, Eliphas found himself nodding his head. "That's an excellent idea" he said. A little community work would do him good, not only could he give back for what he had taken but he could also do some general good around the place. Maybe that was the solution to his boredom in general. Volunteering...​

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Yeah. Why not?​

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Still, Sion was carrying the pudding cups and Eliphas still hadn't settled on a destination. He didn't have a dormitory here in the Temple, not that he knew of at least, and he didn't much want to bring potential trouble back to Bright Knight, so instead he set off in the direction of his most favourite place on Coruscant... The Room of a Thousand Fountains.​

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"I could probably manage to carry those now" he said as an aside, though he did appreciate the help. Sion seemed like a genuinely good guy, and Eli could sense no ulterior motives from him. Not that he could trust his senses these days, but even so. "Do you like pudding..?" Maybe they could share some of it.​

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Sion Lorray ​

 

[Sion Lorray]

Lief

"Mhm! It's a military unit in the GADF." And... Sion was a bit embarrassed to realize he didn't know much more about his Master's combat unit than that. The handful of times Sion had accompanied Osarla Ridor on a mission she had done her best to separate him from her soldiers. He wasn't entirely sure why that was. Her emotions had been difficult to read around it. Perhaps because she felt responsible for them like her... children. And here Sion was, one big goofy useless child.

For a brief moment Sion wondered who she'd pick if given the choice between himself and her soldiers.

This thought was quickly banished however. It was not fair and... perhaps part of him was afraid of the answer. "Oh, I am sure you can," And without hesitation Sion split the pile in half and carefully deposited one half in Dune's lap.

"But I am here, so why shouldn't I help a fellow Padawan?" The question was asked in a friendly rhetorical fashion. The Jedi were here to help. It didn't matter if that meant carrying something for someone who could use assistance or wading into a battlefield. Both were equally important Sion thought, because without the former... the latter loses its meaning.

Who did they fight their wars for if not to preserve these human connections?

"Hm?" He eyed the pudding in his hands and then smiled at Eliphas with a light shrug. "I have no idea! I have never had any." Rations in the Outer Rim were sparse and mostly consisted of nutritional bricks.

He hadn't been in the New Jedi Order to have tried them.

"Are they tasty?"

 

[Lief]

GADF... Galactic Alliance Defensive Force? He wasn't sure if that was what it stood for, but it must have been something along a similar vein being that it was a military unit. Militant Jedi were not so uncommon these days, with the Galaxy in a constant state of chaos it seemed a necessary factor, a return to the days of yore when Jedi Knights were known to take on the role of Generals in the Republic Army.​

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Eliphas longed to one day become a Guardian in his own right, a protective sword and shield against the worst that the Galaxy had to offer, but he was not so sure if such a leadership route would ever suit him. Large scale wars were fretful and harmed as many as they helped... He felt more suited to the simpler tasks a Guardian could offer, on a planetary scale.​

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All of this was speculative though, because right now Eliphas could hardly walk much less fight.​

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He grinned as half of the pudding cups were set within his lap, grateful that the other Padawan wasn't forced to carry his full burden. "Thank you" he said, it was always a good feeling when someone didn't view him as entirely helpless just because of his chairbound state. "You're a good Jedi, Sion, the Order is lucky to have you."​

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As talks turned to pudding Eliphas tilted his head a little to one side. "I think it's tasty" he said, "And my tummy accepts it, it rejects so much lately..." It was nice to have a safety food to fall back on, the only problem was it wasn't exactly nutritious. "You should try one, if you'd like? These are chocolate flavoured."​

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The chocolate ones were his favourite, but there were other options out there too.​

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Soon they were nearing the Room of a Thousand Fountains and Eliphas began to slow slightly. "I'm not keeping you from training, am I?" he asked, "Have you seen the Fountains yet?"​

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Sion Lorray ​

 

[Sion Lorray]

Lief

"Kind of you to say, Eli." He murmured with a smile. Usually Sion didn't particularly feel like a good Jedi. It was hard... it was a constant struggle and more often than not Sion felt completely useless. Like he was doing more damage than good. But that wasn't something that he wanted to put on his new friend on the very first meeting... or at all, really.

It was better to just shoulder it.

Eventually Sion would get better at it, he believed.

"Oh, yeah, I will try one. Thank you!" He picked one out and unfurled it, easier now that Sion wasn't holding all of them. Absently he gave it a lick as they navigated towards the Fountains.

"Nah, not at all. My Master is off-world right now, so I am just... moving along, you know?"

A little shrug once more.

"It's nice to chat to a fellow Padawan, I am already learning things! Like that puddings are really good, thanks for sharing." Raising it a bit as if it was a glass for a toast. "Nope, not at all. What are 'The Fountains'?"

He hadn't ever heard of the Fountains.

It sounded cool though.