Private Padawan Pack

[Feng Huang]

Feng was humming to herself as she walked the halls of the Naboo Temple. Things had been going well for her lately, she'd been on a couple of successful missions under the supervisions of Masters, she'd been assigned to a Senators protection detail which had unexpected benefits. Mainly in that she was now in a relationship! Wasn't that just awesome. Feng still couldn't believe that she of all people was in a relationship with anyone let alone a woman like Ayumi Pallopides .

What Feng really wanted to round out her experiences was some friends. The whole point of Master Wu joining the High Republic and the Jedi Order had been to expose Feng to more socialisation than Master Wu had experienced in his solitary Jedi training. In this regard Feng couldn't help but feel like she had failed both herself and her Master. Instead of getting down on herself about this failure she had decided to turn it into a lesson. Feng had decided that she was going to make some friends with fellow padawans.

As such she had booked a small garden and sent up a bulletin board on the Jedi Order's messenger service, welcoming any and all padawans to attend. Feng hoped she would get a few responses. It would be devastating to show up to the garden, and wait for hours in the vein hope that people would show up. Still even if it failed as a venture as it were, Feng decided to be positive and be proud of herself for making the attempt.

Feng made it to the garden and started setting up her picnic that she had prepared, there was beverages, she preferred tea herself but she knew that some padawans might prefer sodas of various kinds, Feng also set up dumplings a homemade recipe she had made herself from her native Aakaashian system, as well as various kinds of biscuits and a few health foods.

Then Feng settled with a bright sunny outlook, into a meditation pose while she waited for her fellow padawans to arrive. She hoped they wouldn't be too long, she didn't want the tea and dumplings to get cold.

Aileni Ifor Xeraic Voli Cholrass Ivy Maro Oryn Selvar

 

[Oryn Selvar]

​

It had come to Oryn's attention that he had been getting in his own way lately. He gave it his all in training, did all his readings dutifully, yet he had still come up short. When it came down to it, knowing of a thing seemed to be one aspect, but putting it into practice in a high stakes situation another entirely. The young Nautolan took pride in his technical abilities, but it was the mental side that was holding him back. And what better way of sorting himself out than actually making a few friends? He didn't have too many of those to list to start with.

A secondary point, it got him out of his quarters. Even after he'd made the appropriate customizations to make it livable, such as increased air humidity to beyond human standard, he had spent far too many hours there lately. His trip to Dantooine had been enlightening, and he'd returned with purpose. Purpose, and a crystal. Not just any crystal, and it was important for him that it was not just housed in any hilt either.... And so he had been crafting away on it, day and night, to get the patterns and carvings just right. One day... It was too soon to think about, but one day it could be his.

Oryn didn't know casual, and so he came around the corner wearing his usual muted white robes with their gilded trims. He was a High Republic Jedi through and through. It wasn't so much a traditionalist statement as it was an admission that he knew nothing of fashion, neither what to wear nor where to find it.

As he crossed into the gardens, he spotted Feng Huang . Oryn seemed to be one of the first to arrive, which was becoming a pattern. He had simply thought he was arriving to places on time, but was a Nautolan 'on time' the equivalent of a Human 'early'?

"Hi! I'm Oryn. Are you here for the Padawan meet up?" he asked casually as he approached the meditating girl. Roughly five to ten seconds after he had said it, mild panic began to set in. What if she wasn't, and he'd just approached a random person who had no idea what he was talking about. Maybe she thought he was hitting on her. She was pretty, but it wasn't that at all! Unless she was interested... No, it wasn't that at all!

She seemed to have brought food and drink, which helped settle his nerves. Surely he was in the right place... Unless he was crashing another party, feth!

"Oh. Was I supposed to bring something?" he was thankful his voice sounded steadier than his mind.

Feng Huang | Aileni Ifor Xeraic | Voli Cholrass | Ivy Maro​

 

[Ivy Maro]

Ivy had not intended to arrive quietly.

But to be fair, the garden practically invited theft. Or sampling. Sampling sounded more Jedi-appropriate.

The smell of steamed dumplings had hit her halfway down the corridor leading into the little Temple courtyard, and any noble intentions Ivy may have possessed immediately evaporated on contact. By the time she actually spotted the small gathering, she had already committed herself spiritually to the snack table.

Which was how she ended up slipping in directly behind Oryn Selvar , loading a plate with dumplings while he nervously introduced himself to the meditating girl hosting the meetup. Ivy was halfway through chewing one when the Nautolan asked if he was supposed to bring something.

“Not that I’m aware of,” Ivy answered around a mouthful of food, inserting herself into the conversation with absolutely no warning whatsoever. She raised the plate slightly in greeting. “Hi, I’m Ivy. Saw the bulletin about a paddy-wan meet-and-greet goin’ on around here somewhere.” She swallowed. “I’m here for the snacks."

The terrible joke came paired with an unapologetically amused grin. "Dumplings are incredible, by the way. Who made them?"

Only then did Ivy properly look at Feng Huang . And paused. Her eyes narrowed thoughtfully at the Human girl.

“Wait a minute…” Something about Feng's face tugged at the back of Ivy’s memory. Familiar, but distant. Temple but not Naboo Temple. Different... Warmer atmosphere... Ocean air and sunlight... “Do I know you?” Ivy squinted harder, pointing vaguely with the dumpling in her hand like that would somehow help the Force reconstruct her memories faster. “Wait—wait a minute…” Beach. Waves crashing. Sand between her toes. A tropical skyline. A Jedi Temple near the water. “It’s all comin’ together…” Ivy muttered dramatically.

Then realization struck her with the subtlety of a thermal detonator. “Mmh—! Kattada!” She blurted suddenly, nearly spewing fragments of dumpling across the garden in excitement. “Were you ever at Kattada?” She asked Feng.

Only after the outburst did Ivy seem to remember there had been an actual conversation happening between Oryn and Feng before she barged into it like a hurricane disguised as a Padawan. “Oh—sorry, didn’t mean to interrupt.” Which was only partially true. The air between the two teenagers had felt awkward in that painfully polite Jedi way where nobody wanted to say the wrong thing, and Ivy considered it a public service to kick the door down on that kind of tension before it suffocated everyone involved. Besides, awkwardness was easier to survive when someone louder entered the room first.

Having thoroughly derailed the interaction, Ivy finally shifted her attention toward the Nautolan. She studied him openly for a moment, taking in the muted white robes, the gilded trim, and the unmistakably aquatic features. He looked like the kind of person who organized his thoughts alphabetically. “You look cool,” she stated in neutral observation, nodding coolly at Oryn. Then immediately after: “What are you?” She blurted with a curious stare. “Sorry, I know I’ve seen your species around before, but I’m drawing a blank.”

She popped another dumpling into her mouth. “Anyway—hi," she said to the two of them, sidling a step back. And with that, Ivy stood there happily eating Feng’s food like she had been invited personally by the Force itself while waiting for either of them to recover from her arrival.
​

 

[Aileni Ifor Xeraic]

Location: Naboo Temple
Attire: Large brown Jedi cloak, grey shirt
Equipment: Dathomiri Energy Bow, practice saber
Tag: Feng Huang | Oryn Selvar | Ivy Maro

Aileni woke up suddenly in the archives, having spent another rough night sleeping in the archives as he poured over his studies. The Padawan was still without a Master but he was determined to make the most of his training that he could. Learning currently the various fighting forms that the Jedi had. There was something in his mind that seemed to recognise them all and made sense of how one performed even the more difficult techniques but it was still his first time researching them in depth. Looking around to see what time it was, Aileni blinked and rubbed his eyes, stifling a yawn as he could still feel the tiredness in his bones.

"Hmmm... probably best to take a break. There's that hang out thing starting soon.. Right?" Aileni mumbled to himself half awake, his hands pulled the datapad with the invitation on it and then looked at the time for the hang out. Frick. He was late for it.

Giving himself a quick sniff, he didn't smell too bad but he knew that his appearance was going to be far from respectable. He probably looked like a homeless kid or something. However, Aileni was not considered at all with that. He rushed around the temple to find where the meeting point was. While he had been at the temple for a while now, Aileni had not really figured out the layout of everything and rarely took the most efficient route around the temple. Meaning he was even later than he had thought he would be when he arrived.

Three Jedi Padawans were already there and talking amongst each other. He wondered if he should just walk over and introduce himself, interrupt the conversation felt a little rude but this was also meant to be a meet up so he couldn't do that if he was just hiding away. Before he made a decision on what to do, his nose sniffed out the table of food and his stomach grumbled hard since he had not eaten in a while. A risky move for his race. Stepping over to the table, the tall Padawan loomed over the food inspecting each item. His mouth salivated at the options.

 

[Feng Huang]

Aileni Ifor Xeraic Ivy Maro Oryn Selvar

Feng smiled and opened her eyes as the first of those to arrive did so. First once a Nautolan boy. Feng was fascinated, she didn't think she had ever met a Nautolan before, she was envious of their aquatic abilities. It would be wonderful to explore an ocean's depths on a world like Kamino or Mon Calamari, with as much comfort as taking a stroll more even.

Don't stare!

Feng recovered and blushed realising how incredibly rude she was being. She didn't want the boy, he said his name was Oryn? To think she was prejudice.

"Welcome!" Feng said with a wide smile "No no not at all just yourself. I just brought a few things, cause I thought it'd make everyone else a bit more comfortable."

Feng smiled and held up a dumpling.

"Please try some! I made them myself!" Feng beamed proudly.

Feng wondered if the boy was as nervous as she was.

Probably not. How could he be?

Fortunately she didn't have time to worry for long as a force of nature whirlwinded her way through the burgeoning gathering of padawans.

She didn't have any hesitation in just diving in Feng was pleased to see it. She was glad someone was good with an ice breaker, she had been hoping the food and tea would be hers. Some social skills were evidently needed as well Feng was well aware she was lacking in that department, though not for lack of trying.

"Welcome Ivy! The snacks are there for everyone so dig in." Feng agreed with a grin.

"I made them." Feng beamed.

Feng hesitated when Ivy asked her to wait a minute, she wondered if Ivy and her had met. Feng was sure she'd have remembered such a force of personality as Ivy, but she did seem somewhat familiar…

"Kattada's my home!" Feng laughed and grinned easily, glad Ivy had put it together. "Are you from there? Do you spend much time there?"

Feng was so caught up in Ivy's whirlwind she almost failed to notice the newest addition to their party. Another boy, he looked like he hadn't slept well, and like Ivy he seemed to be there for the food.

"Hi welcome! Help yourself!" Feng encouraged.

Not wanting to loose the momentum of the social occasion, Feng decided a group exercise was in order.

"Let's play a game! We all introduce ourselves and tell us a little about ourselves, our favourite hobbies or interests."

"I'll start. I'm Feng. Feng Huang. I like racing, and engines, working on spaceships and starfighters. My favourite lightsaber forms are Makashi and Shien. I think I want to be a Jedi Sentinel, maybe a Temple Guard or Jedi Shadow. Uhm.." Feng struggled to think of what else to say about herself. "I have a girlfriend? She's amazing, but I could use more friends, which is why I called this little meeting."

Feng blushed wondering if she said too much.

 

[Loutaro Juan Raul Conzalla]

Loutaro Juan Raul Conzalla, that was his name. Son of Diego Edmundo George Conzalla and Bianca Araceli Conzalla. That's what Lou had kept telling himself at least. He was doing this for his father, for Diego. For those last moments as he held him in his arms and felt his body go cold and the light begin to leave his eyes. In those final moments his father wasn't scared, he wasn't begging some all powerful being for life, it was spent telling with him telling Loutaro how proud he was of him and how much he wanted him to use his powers for good. Lou had always dreamed that he would take over his father's farm and ranch with his brother Hector, and now he was here.

On some paradise world called Naboo with a laser sword on his hip and wearing some stuffy robe. The Jedi were good though, weren't they? He had grown up his whole life hearing of the tales of Jedi heroism. Of the magical peacekeeper knights of the Galaxy who fought against the evils of Fascist Empires and Sith Death Cults. At least what watered down or greatly exaggerated ones that had made it out to his little nothing backwater of a home within the High Republic. A small agri-world that produced crops and livestock for surrounding systems. This was the best path forward to honor his father. The Jedi had the knowledge, the resources, and the authority to give Loutaro the tools he needed to use his powers to help. To have this great responsibility that he did not ask for nor want but use it to better himself and those around him. It had to be.

For was new here, almost brand new. For the last year Loutaro had spent his time doing the bare bone basics of physically training, pouring over texts, and practicing his saber forms with a training blade. All of it felt so alien to him. Just last year he had been harvesting Jogan fruit from the orchard with his family and the next he was here at a Temple becoming what functionally is a Warrior Monk. Sure Lou had made friends, he had talked shop and gotten very friendly with the Farming Corps dropouts. They were all very cool and kind people where they could chat about animal husbandry, nitrate levels, what types of fertilizer was best used when, the benefits of drip irrigation, all of that.

Yet Lou had been vastly alone when it came to his actual peers. His fellow Padawans. He had not made any friends. What would they even talk about? What would he say 'Hello im Loutaro im here because my dad died?' No that was crazy. Yet, he had to try. Heading to the event, Lou approached the group of various padawans having missed the dialogue and the talk between them. Straightening his robe and making sure his hair wasn't a mess. He gave a bright and cheery smile and spoke.

" Holá. My name is Padawan Loutaro Juan Raul Conzalla, but my friends just call me Lou. It's a pleasure to meet all of you." Lou had cast his dice and all he could hope was that they landed favorably and that these people were normal. Just normal people.

tags
Feng Huang Oryn Selvar Ivy Maro Aileni Ifor Xeraic

 

[Ivy Maro]

Ivy liked Feng Huang immediately. Not because of the food—though the dumplings certainly helped—but because Feng seemed like the sort of person who genuinely wanted everyone to feel welcome. That took courage. Organizing something like this, inviting a bunch of strangers together and hoping they all got along? Ivy couldn't imagine herself doing it. Talking to strangers was easy. Ivy could walk into almost any room and start a conversation if she felt like it. But making actual friends?—a term Ivy probably took too seriously and literally—That was different.

"Aw, nice!" Ivy looked genuinely delighted when Feng confirmed she'd made the dumplings herself. "Thank you!" Ivy held up her plate slightly, trying to somehow communicate her gratitude through expression alone. Words always felt inadequate for that sort of thing. She hoped the smile did the job.

When Feng asked about Kattada, however, Ivy felt herself stumble. "Yeah! Well—" Her confidence vanished. "It's been a while, but—no, I wasn't born there." Wait, that wasn't where she was supposed to start. Her thoughts immediately tangled themselves together.

"I was born on Tepasi, but Kattada was where I found out about the Jedi, but—okay long story but, uh..."

Nope. Still wrong. Why was this suddenly difficult? Ivy found herself staring at the ground as if the paving stones might help organize her thoughts. A goofy grin spread across her face while she mentally wrestled her own biography into submission.

"Short story is that I wanted to know more about the Jedi, so I found a chat forum on the Holonet about the Jedi enclave on Kattada, so that was about two-ish years ago when I first visited Kattada and got to meet some Jedi folks around there and joined their ExplorCorps thing. I was a lab tech with them for a time."

She paused. "Still kinda am, I guess? I mean, it's more of a part-time thing now whenever I find myself over there, but yes!" Her hands made an unnecessary gesture as she reeled herself back toward Feng's original question. "Not as much as I used to," she admitted with a chuckle. "I'm in the Navy now, but whenever I'm in the sector I'll say hi to a few of the Jedi over there." She smiled at Feng and Oryn Selvar .

The arrival of another Padawan pulled her attention away before she could ramble further. Ivy watched a very hungry and sleep-deprived Aileni Ifor Xeraic make a beeline for the food table with the focus of a missile locking onto its target.

Honestly? Relatable.

Since Feng had already welcomed him, Ivy simply gave Aileni a friendly wave and a smile. Nothing overwhelming, just enough to say "you're welcome here". She gave Aileni room to breathe, first. Some people needed a minute to settle in before being bombarded by conversation.

Then Feng launched the ice-breaker. Good call. The group needed structure before everyone collectively dissolved into awkward silence. Ivy listened attentively as Feng introduced herself. Racing. Engines. Starfighters. Sentinel aspirations. Temple Guard possibilities... And a girlfriend.

Ivy couldn't help smiling, but before she could say anything, another arrival approached. His greeting drew Ivy's attention immediately.

"Holá. My name is Padawan Loutaro Juan Raul Conzalla ..."

For a moment, Ivy stared at Loutaro. His height. His face. His accent...

Something struck her unexpectedly. Like seeing someone from a dream. Or a memory. A ghost from years ago.

A flash of surprise crossed Ivy's face before she could stop it. Then it was gone.

Of course it wasn't him. Just someone who reminded her of him. Nothing more. . .

Ivy quietly pushed the thought away before it could linger. Seeing Feng doing her best to keep things moving, Ivy decided to help shoulder some of the burden.

"Pleasure to meet you too, Lou." She smiled warmly at him. "I'm Ivy. We're just starting the ice-breaker of getting to know each other."

She glanced toward Feng. "Um, did you want to repeat yourself or...?"

After a brief pause and a quick glance around the circle, Ivy realized nobody seemed eager to jump first. "Alright..." A grin spread across her face. "Ladies first, I suppose." The gentle teasing earned a glance toward the boys before she stepped forward slightly.

"Hello everyone. My name is Ivy Maro." Her tone became slightly formal, as if she were giving a presentation about herself. "I am a starfighter pilot with the RDF. I'm also a medical technologist. Been a med tech for about four years, and a starfighter for..." She tilted her head thoughtfully. "Two months, I think?..." Maybe. Somewhere around there. The timeline got fuzzy. "And I'm a Jedi hopeful visitor."

The traditional Jedi robes she was currently wearing, and the foreign lightsaber hilt at her belt, might raise more questions than answers, from the others. Even as Ivy said it, she wasn't entirely sure if that was accurate. "I'm not exactly an official Padawan, I don't think, since I've never been officially paired with a Master..." She paused. Now that she thought about it... Was she? Wasn't she? The Jedi seemed surprisingly vague about these things sometimes. Maybe there was supposed to be a ceremony. Maybe there wasn't. Maybe she'd accidentally become a Padawan months ago and nobody had informed her. Who knew?

"But I'm told I have the makings of a natural Sentinel and Trakata-ist." She punctuated the statement with finger guns and a smug click of her tongue at the other padawans. Because if she was going to say something that sounded mildly ridiculous, she might as well own it. Trakata wasn’t the kind of thing most Jedi joked about, but Ivy had always thought the whole concept made perfect sense. Why pretend fights were fair? Nobody serious about life-or-death ever fought fair.

“Oh, and my favorite color’s blue,” she continued, warming back up (or down?) to her normal self. “I like aminals—” she deliberately mangled the word “animals” with a grin, because she was incapable of leaving herself any dignity for very long, “—starfighters are cool, and I’m hoping to learn more about the Jedi while I’m here.”

There. Done. Ivy shifted her weight and popped another dumpling into her mouth, happily settled now that the social machine had been kicked into motion.

Maybe this was going to be fine.
​

 

[Oryn Selvar]

​

She stared at him. Yes. I've definitely crashed the wrong party. I'm making a fool of-

'Welcome!'

Oh thank the Force. Oryn smiled, and practically breathed out the tension in his shoulders.

"Oh, that's very nice of you" he laughed, and went over to grab a dumpling.

Oryn could taste the emotions in the air. The fact that his own nervousness was matched by hers helped him relax. Minus minus equals plus, apparently.

He was in the right place, there was no malicious intent, and she seemed to want this to go well just about as much as he did.

He had been too caught up in reading their interaction to notice Ivy creeping up on him, and he nearly jumped when she spoke right next to him. Oryn managed to hold onto the dumpling, although it did look a little squished...

More people were starting to trickle in. He really had been early. "Oryn" he quickly reintroduced himself, half-chomping down on the dumpling. "Oh wow, these are good!" he regretted the tone of surprise, but they really were!

Oryn stood next to the two as they talked about Kattada, some place he'd never been. It gave him time to eat another dumpling. That was a lie, he ate two.

You look cool

Did he?

"Sorry, I know I've seen your species around before, but I'm drawing a blank."

"Oh" he said, quickly chomping down on the dumpling, swallowed hard, and said "I'm a Sith." with a straight face.

He let the pause hang before he cut through it with a laugh. "I'm a Nautolan. Aquatic, Glee Anselm" though he had no memory of the place himself.

"Let's play a game! We all introduce ourselves and tell us a little about ourselves, our favourite hobbies or interests."

"Oh, um. I'm Oryn." he nodded, meeting the eyes of each of the new arrivals in turn. "Guess I've been with the Order all my life. Don't remember much else"

"I like swimming" duh "Sparring. And..." he was drawing a blank. Feth, I really need to find some hobbies. "Yeah. Well. I don't know. What do you do for fun?" his life was a bit of an endless cycle of eat, train, sleep.

What did he want to do? Become a Jedi Knight. Who did look up to? Jedi Knights. It all seemed a little... Simple... At least compared with Ivy, who had so much going for her!

Feng Huang | Ivy Maro | Aileni Ifor Xeraic | Loutaro Juan Raul Conzalla​

 

[Feng Huang]

Feng welcomed Loutaro with a beaming smile.

"Hi we're just getting started! We were just doing ice breakers. Would you like some dumplings?" Feng asked eager to show off her culinary skills.

Feng considered Loutaro, he seemed shy, hesitant, uncertain and… there was pain in his eyes, the eyes of someone who'd seen too much. She'd seen the look before, the ones who were struggling to maintain a social presence even when they had inner pain, inner grief.

Well maybe some friends and friendly faces will do him some good.

Feng thought to herself with a resolution of someone who refused to let the social occasion they had called together be a failure. Fortunately Ivy stepped in to save the day with some fascinating, satisfying and welcoming information about herself.

"I don't know Tepasi? I'm from the Aakaashian system myself. It's kinda adjacent to the Atrisian system, but don't let natives from either hear you compare the two. It has a lot of colonies, a lot of congestion in cities, slums like where I'm from and some farms outside of the cities. What's Tepasi like?" Feng asked curiosly.

"It's very brave of you to seek the Jedi out and join the ExplorCorps. A lab technician? As in medical labs? That's really cool! I act as a nurse after battlefields and in refugee hospitals when I can. My master made it an ingrained habit so we'd be helping people even at their worst, and I wouldn't forget the price of war."

Feng hesitated then took a deep breath. Feng wondered if she should share what was on her mind, whether or not it would be too much for the first time meeting of new friends, if they'd be put off by her opening up, but she promised herself she'd be brave when getting to know people and that meant leaving herself vulnerable.

"He worries I might like fighting a little too much… but I never do it lightly! Only enjoying it helps me focus on it, if you're focused on winning, you survive."

Feng slumped her shoulders. It was hard to admit something so un Jedi like to a group of padawans, people who like her idolised Jedi way of life. Jedi were their heros including their respect for life, and only acting in defense of others. Feng was trying not to anxiously berate herself for bringing down the mood, or oversharing with a bunch of strangers, but she wanted to be herself which was an open and honest person, even the hard parts.

"But I know it's not a very Jedi way of conducting oneself. I guess I just think that struggling against my nature is throwing me out of balance, it's better to acknowledge that a part of me enjoys the fight, be aware of it and not let it control me."

Feng brightened at the mention of starfighters.

"We should take our starfighters out for a spin sometime, mines an ETA 2200 modified for speed." Feng pulled up an image of the starfighter on her holopad.

Feng turned to Oryn with another smile.

"It's admirable you dedicate yourself so completely to the Jedi way. I wish I had that dedication and discipline at times. Still I think it's important to have hobbies and interests, maybe we can help you find something you like to do? How do you feel about piloting, maybe you could take a starfighter out for a spin with Ivy and myself? There are ships that go underwater as well?"

Feng suggested with a bright smile. Training was all very good, but what was the point in defending life, if you forgot to live it yourself?

Oryn Selvar Ivy Maro Loutaro Juan Raul Conzalla Aileni Ifor Xeraic

 

[Ivy Maro]

It took Ivy a second or two to realize what Oryn Selvar meant by “Sith.”

Her first thought was the Sith species, before her brain caught up and reminded her that no, he did not look like one of those ominous red-skinned people with the weird fleshy chin tendrils. So he must mean Sith as in the bad guy Sith Lords, right? But here she was, overthinking a joke again...

Ivy laughed politely anyway, because apparently that was the correct response when someone announced they were a Sith and then turned out to be joking, right?

“Ah,” she said when Oryn clarified that he was Nautolan. “Nautolan, right.” The name jogged her memory. She’d never been to Glee Anselm, but the name rang a faint bell all the same, from the lessons she had learned somewhere in school about galactic geography.

If it had just been the two of them, she might have asked Oryn more about Glee Anselm. What the planet was like. Whether he missed it. But Feng Huang , Aileni Ifor Xeraic , and Loutaro Juan Raul Conzalla were also here, sharing the conversation, so Ivy let those questions go for now and turned her attention back to Feng instead.

Feng’s words about Aakaashian and Atrisian sent Ivy rifling through her mental map of the galaxy again. “Oh, Atrisia… Yeah, I think I’ve heard it. Never been there, though.” She tilted her head a little, thinking. “Tepasi is on the other side of the Core, though.” At least, that was how she remembered it: Atrisia lying somewhere in the same broad hemisphere of the galaxy as Naboo, while Tepasi sat somewhere across the Core from Atrisia.

When Feng described the slums she’d grown up in, Ivy’s expression softened. It was hard not to compare and feel a little guilty about how easy her own childhood seemed by comparison.

“Let’s see…” Ivy said, thinking of home. “Planet-wise, Tepasi is about half ocean, half forest, mostly. Bospalm is where I’m from. It’s a large town slash small city, in the main agricultural region of Tepasi. Lots of green grass and fields, and a big lake nearby. It's in the middle of a flat valley, with mountains in the distance on either side.”

She smiled faintly, remembering it. “It was a pretty nice place. Good weather. Would've loved to've been a farm girl though, but hey, wouldn't be here if that had happened. I grew up in the middle of the city, so no room for animals.” She chuckled.

Feng’s praise about the ExplorCorps made Ivy duck her head a little, pleased. “Yeah, medical labs,” she confirmed. Nothing glamorous about it, really. She respected her work well enough. It helped people, it helped pay her bills. That was enough meaning, for her.

Then Feng spoke about helping on battlefields and refugee hospitals, and Ivy’s face softened further. There was a weight in the way Feng said it, one Ivy recognized even if their lives had been very different. She nodded slowly, not wanting to interrupt the moment. It sounded like Feng’s master had taught her something hard and important: that if you wanted to defend life, you had to be willing to look at what war actually did to it. When Feng admitted that her master worried she liked fighting a little too much, Ivy didn’t feel the need to top it with more lecture. Feng had already done the self-awareness part of it. Ivy couldn't recommend anything better than that. Some confessions just needed to be heard and understood in silence.

“You’re doing great, Feng,” Ivy said gently. Her tone was calm, reassuring, and she held Feng’s gaze with a slow blink that she hoped made her words feel real and meaningful.

She perked up at the mention of starfighters. “Ooo, pretty.” The holopad image caught her eye right away, especially the purple accents. “Is purple your favorite color?” Ivy asked, amusement dancing in her expression.

She lifted her left arm and tapped the mini data screen on her comlink vambrace, scrolling through a few icons with her right hand before bringing up a small rotating hologram of her own ship. “I don’t have my own personal starfighter, but this is the one I fly with the RDF,” Ivy said, lightly boasting. “It’s a HRNV Liberator-class Interceptor. Super fast. So fast it’s called an anti-starfighter.”

Her mouth curved into a proud grin. “Unfortunately, it’s for military purposes only, so I can’t just really, you know...run off and ‘spin it’ whenever I want.” Ivy widened her eyes briefly in comical effect, at the thought. “But if there’s a ship around the Temple I could borrow, I’d be happy to come along," she told Feng, before switching off her wrist-comm.

Then Oryn said he’d been with the Order all his life, and Ivy couldn’t help the little furrow that creased her brow. “All your life?” she echoed, glancing at him. “As in, ever since you were born?”

She didn’t mean it harshly. Mostly she was trying to understand. There was a part of her that found that sort of upbringing a little intimidating. Some Jedi were raised entirely within the Order, and they seemed to carry that with a kind of certainty Ivy half admired and half feared. Admirable because of the discipline. Unsettling because she couldn’t help wondering what it meant to know nothing else. She liked having options, as an outsider, to be able to say and mean it, that she chose the Jedi Order all on her own.

When Oryn asked what they did for fun, Ivy blinked, then smiled in a way that suggested she found the question more interesting than odd.

“Hmm,” she said thoughtfully. “Fun. What is 'fun'?”

“For me, fun is a mindset. This is fun.” She gestured lightly at the group, this whole awkward, friendly little gathering. “Meeting new people is fun. Work is fun. For me anyways. Most of the time.”

A cheeky little laugh slipped out of her. “But if you mean what I do on my 'free time', well... Not much, really. Eat, sleep, shower, journal a little. To me, the whole point of life is having enough work to stay busy and calling it fun while helping people.” She tipped her head, looking between them. “So yeah, if you ever want more fun in your life: Get a job.” She meant it humorously.

“I don’t know about you guys, but I’d rather have a bunch of part-time jobs than be stuck doing one full-time job for the rest of my life. I need variety. Something new. Otherwise I get bored,” she admitted.

Ivy nodded along eagerly at Feng's invitation. “Yeah, come along,” she said to Oryn. Then she looked back at Feng with a laugh brightening her eyes. “Hey, maybe you could take Oryn and me on a ride on your starfighter. We’ll each take a wing. Just fly real slowly," she joked. The thought was tempting: Her and Oryn clinging to the wings of Feng’s ship in open flight, communicating over comlinks. Seemed like a very cool idea of fun!
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