Private Like Master, Like Padawan

[Amani Serys]

Stains of crimson washed away down the sink basin, as Amani tossed in the latest batch of used medical instruments. Force healing was a bit less messy, but some injuries required a more mundane touch. Especially as treatments and check-ups from Tython continued to roll in; If she used those powers on every single patient, her energy would be sapped within the first few hours. And at this rate, she’d be singlehandedly patching up the entire New Jedi Order before all was said and done. Including herself, if lingering injuries were any indicator.

Amani’s musings were interrupted by a pinging on her datapad: The next patient was heading over. No rest for the weary. At least this time she didn’t have to migrate to yet another exam room. She arched her back against the counter, satisfyingly popping a chain of vertebrae when the knock came, “I’m in.” Her eyes fell back to the record on the datapad. What was their name again?

Corin Trenor​

 

[Corin Trenor]

He ran out of fuel, all onto the fumes now.

From the saber clashes of the Mawite made battlefield on the homeworld of the Jedi to the fists and kicks thrown in the neon bathed streets of Denon, Corin was there to intefere with someone, somehow. Even whatever mission the Jedi Order called on him for, Corin was bound to be there even in the absence of the enthusiasm that once carried him there. Since Tython, no one was the same; distractions abound, the weariness beat him in the end.

"Doctor Amani?" He said with his entrance, treated cuts lined his face and a bandaid settled under his left eye. "I'm Corin."

"Is it Doctor? I also heard Jedi, erh... of sorts." The Padawan continued curiously.

Amani Serys

 

[Amani Serys]

"Technically, I'd have to get a lot more schooling to be an actual 'Doctor'. But that doesn't stop most people around here from calling me one anyway." She smiled, stepping forward from the counter to greet him.

"'Jedi' I've also given up on correcting," If it needed correction at all, "Doctor, Jedi, just Amani, it really doesn't matter to me. To be honest I'm not even sure what all I am and am not right now," Her face crinkled as she tried to mentally translate her own lengthy explanation. Ultimately the mirialan brushed it aside with a wave of her hand, "But that's all a long, boring mess, and not the one we're here for."

"So, Corin. Padawan Corin, right? Tell me what mess you are here for this time." Amani offered him a seat with a gesture, her gaze flicking back and forth between him and the datapad. His file already had the basics, but it was always more interesting to get the first-hand perspective.

Corin Trenor​

 

[Corin Trenor]

Too curious, Corin raised his brow as the Doctor-not-Doctor answered him. It sounded hard, as if she was unsure, uncertain, and even as a soft smile teased at the corner of his mouth he could not stave off that small amount of sadness felt from all that burdened her. Or so it seemed to burden her, Corin mused. No one was free from their own demons, that much was true.

"Yeah," the Padawan answered with some strain, as if the mere reminder of it forced the ache to return. "It's this neck, and back. It's... well, all of that area." He hissed in reaction as he settled into the seat, "Just... stiff, like I can't move it right. Or shouldn't move it."

But even amidst the dull ache Corin felt, he distracted himself with other thoughts. "You said it isn't what we're here for, but we can talk about it. On the same side after all." Truly his master's apprentice, or maybe he was a little too nosy for his own good.

Amani Serys

 

[Amani Serys]

"Alright, I'm just gonna start by applying pressure if that's fine," Amani flexed her fingers and moved around behind him, prodding for a reaction across different points, "Noticed any swelling, bruising, bleeding? Or anything like that?"

Right off the bat, this one was giving her a sense of deja vu. A discussion about her fluctuating status as a member of the Order? A jedi with an apparent emotional openness that bordered on prying? And even a general physical similarity, which only made the connection easier to assume. Amani chuckled, and smiled knowingly, "Who's your master, Corin? You have one?" She avoided expounding on his suggestion for now, replacing it with her own curiosity.

Corin Trenor​

 

[Corin Trenor]

Corin tensed with each touch across the centre and hissed hot air from between his teeth. "Yeah," he answered amidst the discomfort, "Loads of bruises." In truth, he was covered in them; red, black and blue, even that awful yellow. Neither afforded the chance to heal before he went off and earned another. Such was the life of a Jedi that spent his downtime days with a mask on in the dead of night - no rest for the weary.

"Huh, oh. Yeah." He said as he strained his neck some more in an effort to turn and face Amani. "Dagon Kaze, of the Circle." The Padawan sounded a little too prideful of the fact. "Why do you ask?"

Amani Serys

 

[Amani Serys]

Amani said nothing until he mentioned the name, "I'm sensing a pattern," She smirked again, "Dagon and I had a similar conversation just recently. Clearly he's something of an influence."

Hardly a surprise for a student to take after their mentor. But the degree of initial similarities were nonetheless amusing to her, "Not that I'm criticizing either of you, or anything. Just an observation." She released her pressure and stepped back. The talk with Dag had mostly danced around the 'how' behind his injuries, or at least the finer details were never said aloud. But concerning the young padawan, Amani was a little more compelled to get the answer.

"What are you getting into that's causing all of... this?"

Corin Trenor​

 

[Corin Trenor]

"Oh, uhm. You know." His mind could have raced to the war, to the Maw, to the Sith. It would have been an easier answer to stomach, if that was the immediate answer Corin found, but the real answer that rushed to him was found elsewhere; on Denon, in the shadows, in the darkest corners, with metal sticks and swift kicks, hardened fists and clenched teeth. It was easier on the front, cleaner. Saber meant a burn, that or death. It left less of a mark, in the least.

"Just from the front." He dismissed with ease after an uneasy moment, more ease than he was used to- comfortable with. It was an odd realisation, Corin mused to no one other than himself. "Had my share of licks from the Mawites."

But the Padawan had risen his brow with an exhale, as an earlier comment flooded into his attention; "I think so, though. About Dagon, that is. I haven't had a Master before him, so there's a lot of... I don't know, firsts. You know? It's a new life sort of thing."

Amani Serys

 

[Amani Serys]

“Hm.” Corin didn’t seem keen on telling the whole truth, either. It was far from an impossible explanation, but her talk with Dagon had primed Amani to look for another answer. Regardless, whatever he might be hiding wasn’t something she could deduce here and now, “Well for what it’s worth, patient confidentiality still applies here, with or without a doctorate,” Was all she offered, letting the topic otherwise drop.

“Sure. He’s the one you’re learning from, after all. I never actually had a single, dedicated master in my padawan years, but Dag seems like a good one.” Amani hovered her hand over Corin’s back, and gradually began the process of healing his bruises. One muscle at a time, the swelling lessened, and the soreness allayed. “Have you been training long?”

Corin Trenor​

 

[Corin Trenor]

The New Jedi Order obtained a much more... free, set of ideals than the Orders that came before it. Even then, certain emotions could become troublesome and lead someone down a route that a Jedi could not abide. Corin had not teetered on that line as of now, but worries arose from time to time. "I was stuck like that for a while, too. Sucks." He commented with a hint of sour bitterness to his tone, never too withdrawn whenever his own emotions were concerned. "Just feels like some of them are afraid of the responsibilities that come with it."

He sighed, even as the aches seemed to fade.

"Guess I was luckier than others. Been training for a while but," his head turned, "Maybe not long enough."

Amani Serys

 

[Amani Serys]

“It... wasn’t exactly the Jedi dream I had in mind,” She admitted. Though regardless of how Amani may have felt about it in the past, her views now were clearly much more lenient and sober, “But I get some of the apprehension. I’d be pretty nervous about taking on a padawan now, myself. Couldn’t just be anyone, y’know? I’d have to be able to… I dunno, connect with them in some meaningful way.”

In her defense, it would be an entirely new experience to her. An experienced master, on the other hand, would ideally be held to a higher standard, “Guess I’ll know when the time is right.” It clicked that she had more or less confirmed to both him, and herself, that Jedihood was in fact back on the table.

The padawan’s musings earned a raised brow, “Well, everyone learns at their own rate. How do you mean?”

Corin Trenor​

 

[Corin Trenor]

"You could make for a fine teacher," Corin remarked in earnest, before a small smile fell across his face. "Even if there's a mistake somewhere, a master that has the skills to stitch a wound and more never hurts." If only his Master had more expertise in that area, then a visit to a medical centre was no doubt to be removed from the table.

"But I mean, you know... Look at me. If I trained a little longer, I'd be a little better, and I'd not have all... that." He said with the same smile, even if his voice made him sound defeated.

Amani Serys

 

[Amani Serys]

“I’ll quote that on my application,” She grinned. Padawan or not, Amani would never have to worry about finding work again with this group. An idea that was, admittedly, a little more distressing than it was promising.

Corin’s self-analysis earned a disagreeing shake of her head, “Maybe so. But progress isn’t just a skip from beginning to end. There’s gonna be some mistakes in the middle of the road. Believe me, I made some… pretty big ones.” Her features seemed to deflate for just a moment, before she shook it off and returned to her more pleasant status quo. “Just matters that you get up, learn from it, and do better the next time.”

Amani migrated over to a large medical cabinet and began an intensive search, “I’m sure you’ve heard stuff like that before, but we say it for a reason. We were all padawans once, too.” She hummed, “How’s your back feeling, now?”

Corin Trenor​

 

[Corin Trenor]

"It's..." His brow narrowed with focus set on the ache, the soft lines of his forehead creased with the tilt of his head and the formation of an uncertain look. Soon came the faint one-sided smile, "It's better." Corin said as looked towards Amani, "Thank you."

"I think you're right though. Just need to do better, move on. And I'm sure whatever mess you made was not as bad as you think it was, after all you ended up as a, well, as a not-Doctor. But why be a Doctor when you can be a Jedi Healer anyways?" The Padawan smirked.

Amani Serys

 

[Amani Serys]

"You're welcome," Amani looked back and smiled warmly. After a few seconds more of searching the cabinet she returned, carrying a small medicine bottle in hand. Her grin widened, "I'm glad you think so. I was mostly parroting what my teachers told me. But it's all come true, so I figured it's worth passing on. As for mistakes..." She paused, conflicted about what to share, before simply shaking her head, "Well, like I said, as long as we learn from them." She didn't quite agree with his analysis of her actions' severity, but appreciated his positive outlook regardless.

"Becoming a doctor is too expensive. So is going to one." Amani concurred, then raised the bottle she had been carrying; Inside was a thick, bacta-like salve, which flowed seemingly in slow-motion with the movement of its container, "Here, this should help with any more bruisings and the like for the foreseeable future. Just apply, and it should bring down swelling, pain, whatever. I get the feeling this'll be more convenient than coming to see me every week." The healer teased, making an assumption that this padawan wasn't going to stop getting into trouble any time soon. "You want my professional medical opinion? Try dodging more."

Corin Trenor​

 

[Corin Trenor]

The Jedi huffed softly with the slight tinge of a smile, "If I can help it, you bet." Corin said with his eyes locked onto her own, and reached out to the bottle he then examined with idle curiosity. He looked back to Amani between his observational glances, "No promises though. I'm sure I'll wind up back here, for a restock of a treatment." He remarked in good humour, even if there was an unspoken truth to the matter; the delicacies of finer forms were lost on Corin, more prone to his own style - strength above all else, and of that he had in spades.

He rose from his seated position and wandered no more than two steps towards the door before Corin turned back around. "It's a lot less expensive than going to a doctor, but how about I help around here some to pay you back? Call it an internship, or something like that."

Amani Serys

 

[Amani Serys]

“Oh, I’m sure you will be,” If every single problem could be solved with a quick pill or salve, there would be much need for her profession. Amani hummed a tune as she stepped back toward the counter, reorganizing whatever tools and supplies she had fished out over the course of their little appointment.

Though Corin’s suggestion made her turn around, a single brow raised curiously, “Oh, I couldn’t ask that of you. I’m just doing my job.” She insisted at first, then paused in a moment of pensive silence. As if having just won an internal argument with herself, the healer then shrugged, “But… if you really want to, and you have the time, I guess I wouldn’t say no to the help.”

From what she had seen, The ratio of plucky, accident-prone Jedi to trained healers skewed a little too far toward the former, when it came to the NJO. It could be a good opportunity to lighten the load, or even pass on some knowledge, “Maybe you’ll learn a thing or two. Force knows, if it keeps you or your master off my operating table as much as possible, then it’ll be a blessing to us all.” Amani laughed. She was officially on board with the idea, it seemed.

Corin Trenor​

 

[Corin Trenor]

"I have all the time in the world," Corin answered with a sincerity often unseen, "Or, worlds, rather." His time on campaigns continued and often could, would, take him from wherever he elected to post himself in the meantime. He was doubtful whatever aid he could lend to Amani would be long-term, and instead knew it was to be considered short. But a short amount of aid offered was far superior than none at all.

He chuckled, "I'm sure you'll be able to teach me plenty. And who knows, maybe that's the push that has you take on a real student after all." The Padawan remarked as he continued towards the door, automatically opening only as he neared, and with one final look over his shoulder said, "See you around, Doc."

Amani Serys