Private Part of my World

[Áine]

PART OF MY WORLD​

Tag: Taiia Mataan

Heat bubbled aggressively in the slowly darkening atmosphere, as it so often did on the desert planet of Geonosis. It wasn’t the kind of heat that you could seek refuge from in the shade or shelter from indoors. No. It was the kind of heat that followed you where you went, the kind of heat that clung to your skin like a layer of dust, the kind of heat that made even the thinnest of garments feel like winter clothing.

Fortunately for Aine, and for the rest of the knights and squires who called the Citadel their home, the garden was a wondrous place to be. Especially when the heat grew too great to bear. A large waterfall stood at the back of the gardens, it’s cascading waters splashing against the rocks beneath and showering the general area in droplets of ice-cold liquid. That was where Aine stood, close enough to hear the rumbling deluge and to feel the effects of the cooling water as it sprayed over her skin. The perfect place to sit, and to think.

There was so much that required her to think.

The first thing, and the most looming thing by far, had to be the inquisition. Her job was to make the Knight’s Obsidian look good. How could she do that with the CIS wondering around planet to planet accusing and poking and prodding where people often prefer not to be poked. The lithe experiment rested her head on her hand, till her pale cheek bunched up beneath her eye. She hadn’t come here to worry about the inquisition, she had come here to find some respite from it. Even then, that wasn’t the primary reason she was here. The primary reason was…

Aine glanced down at the slender, minimalist watch strapped to her wrist. Not late just yet. In fact, she was rather early. Luckily, the gardens offered plenty of entertainment for her while she waited. Vibrant multicoloured flora, lush greenery, the splashing waterfall. Even a few rare glimpse of the fauna that had managed to sneak in unnoticed to reside in the well-pruned gardens.​

 

[Taiia Mataan]

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Tags: Áine ​

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The heat of the day on Geonosis was something one never truly got used to, along with the constant of sand being blown around everywhere though in some ways even these had become comforting in a way for her adopted home. It was different than Vylmira or Ryloth both of those worlds were temperate and vibrant with life where Geonosis had life but it was harsh and had little in the way of charm but it was home and it was the heart of the Confederacy, where she had begun to feel at rest. When she had followed the force to the stars she wasn't sure what it would lead to but so far everything had been new and exciting and at the same time instructive which is what her thoughts turned to as she made her way through the great hall of the Citadel.​

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She turned toward the gardens with a small bit of trepidation, she had been told there was somebody she needed to meet but not exactly told why, it was curious to her but still, this was the course she had set herself on and was intent to see it through. Though she had met Áine only briefly once before her instant impression was one of elegance, and grace but also great strength they had not had the opportunity to talk then but this time would be different, this time they would have plenty of time to discuss and get to know one another. This was not the first time she would have been assigned to a master, with the Jedi it had gone very much the same way, introductions first and then let the master decide if they will take them on or not well she assumed that was what was happening here. As for Áine she didn't know enough about her to make a determination just yet, but as she entered the garden she would soon know enough and how good a fit this pairing would be.​

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She paused and looked around the garden for a moment looking for the woman, in any crowd, she would be unmistakable that much she remembered about her and true to life she spotted her in a moment near the waterfall and started over with a smile as a warm breeze blew through the garden she came to stop just a short distance from Aine and bowed slightly. "Good Afternoon"​

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[Áine]

PART OF MY WORLD​

Tag: Taiia Mataan

A sharp tick-tack sound echoed through the gardens, in perfect time to the steady beat Aine’s nails drummed against the metal railing. It wasn’t that she was impatient, simply that the silence was far more grating. Fortunately, she didn’t have to linger in the silence much longer.​

She felt the presence entering the gardens before she saw it. The effect it had on the force was great. An untapped, raw power that announced itself like a fanfare. Unmoulded and wild, yes, but there was no doubting the fact that this woman was powerful. Aine spun on her heel just in time to come face to face with Taiia Mataan. They had met briefly once before, during an orientation day for the newer knights, but Aine had just returned from a mission. Her time spent there had been too short to get to know anyone personally, but a few moments was all she needed to measure up the new squires and knights.​

When Taiia bowed, Aine let out a soft titter, lighter than the breeze which carried the sound away almost immediately.​

“You don’t have to bow, I’m far from the masters you’re likely used to introducing yourself too.” She grinned as she stepped forward and stuck her hand out for Taiia to shake. “I’d like to think I’m more approachable than Lord Commander Voph, or Nightmother Vytal.” Those words she spoke with a teasing grin to show she meant no offence to either of her fellow masters. “And you can do away with the master title too. Just Aine.”​

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[Taiia Mataan]

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Tags: Áine ​

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Aine gave a faint corrective tone and the young redheaded woman straightened with a smile towards Aine and gave a gentle nod of her head "Aine it is then. And the bowing is more of a form of respect for me, though I guess it is a bit of a habit from my days as a Jedi." she relaxed her stance at once before she gently took Aine's offered hand when she stood and moved forward "Pleased to officially make your acquaintance then Aine" when the conversation turned to Voph and Vytal she just grinned a bit and shook her head.​

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"I myself never saw them as difficult to approach, but perhaps that was just me." even still she smiled, Taiia though young and still new to the Confederacy had seen much, her various adventures with the Mandragora and learning their ways, to training with the Knights Obsidian and from Voph himself, the fallout from Atrisia and even journeying into the nether to bring Voph back from the dead, she had grown both in her understanding of the force in both its application and its workings as well as a person, but she sensed with Aine she could bring her even greater understanding of the force which is at the end of it what Taiia sought more than anything.​

 

[Áine]

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PART OF MY WORLD​

Tag: Taiia Mataan

“Oh, you were a Jedi?” There was a genuine hint of curiosity in her tone. In truth, Aine had only heard of light force users in passing. Most of those who joined the Confederacy were willingly and openly tied in with the darker side, or neither, or a strange mix of the two. Aine herself was born from darkness. Trying to wrap her mind around how the other half lived often gave her a headache. Fortunately, Taiia moved the conversation on quickly.​

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Aine nodded her head and responded with a kind smile that reached the corners of her eyes. “The pleasure is all mine. I’ve heard some interesting things about you.” The grin widened to a smirk as she directed Taiia toward the railing Aine had just come from. It was a little louder near the falls, where the water crashed against the rocks and splashed into the pool below, but the sound was calming. The gardens themselves were peaceful. It was Aine’s perfect place to have a “get to know you” conversation.​

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“So,” She spoke as she leant herself against the barrier once more, close enough to fell small droplets of icy water splash against her pale skin. “Tell me a little about yourself Taiia.” A bright emerald gaze trailed from the shimmering waterfall to the young woman beside her. There was an odd phenomenon, amongst humans and their similars anyway, where once asked a question they had the innate ability to forget every piece of knowledge they had pertaining to the answer. Aine had never experienced it herself, but after half a millennia she had learned it was far better to follow up with specifics. ​

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“What brought you to the Confederacy from the Jedi? What do you know of the force? What kind of things are you interested in learning?” Her tone was gentle and encouraging. Not so much that it sounded condescending, as though she were talking to a child, but rather soft and sweet. As though she were whispering to a lover across a tousled silk bed.​

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[Taiia Mataan]

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Tags: Áine ​

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Taiia gave her full intention to Aine and admittedly was a bit surprised that she had not known she was a Jedi, but all the same, she would be happy to tell the tale. Giving a quick nod she spoke up again "I was sent there as a child, trained in the Jedi ways perhaps I would have been made a Knight had I remained, but I felt the force calling to me, so I took off after it." she had to share a grin at Aine having heard of her, she could only imagine. "Hopefully only good things."​

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The question about her wasn't a surprise but it took her time to ponder it before she answered, looking up for a moment at the waterfall cascading down by them as she let her mind consider her words. She turned back to Aine as she began to speak. "What brought me to the confederacy was what I mentioned before, when I left the Jedi I started wandering the outer rim, after doing that for a while I found my way to Geonosis, some may call it chance, I think it was the force guiding me here. As for the force, well my view on that is changing quite frequently now, not long ago I would have told you there was dark and light, through Vytal primarily I am starting to find my own understanding of the force. The force simply is, it isn't darkness or light nor is it good or evil it simply is." for a moment she watched Aine for a reaction before continuing "As for what I like to learn, the Force is my chief area of study these days. Even on Ryloth a good portion of my time was spent learning with the witches or reading in the library of the castle on the topic"​

 

[Áine]

O B J E C T I V E​

Tag: Taiia Mataan

Aine listened attentively when Taiia replied.

"It sounds like you've lived a very interesting life for one so young." She bent her body at the midriff until the top half of it rested against the railing surrounding the waterfall. Cold dew drops littered the even colder metal, but Aine didn't seem to mind that they were slowly seeping through her sleeves. At the response to her question of learning, Aine couldn't help but smile. "Well, if that truly is the case, Nightmother Vytal sent you to the right person."

"I'm also exceedingly impressed with your views on the force. It took me a century and a half to come to the same conclusion. Those who box themselves in the confines of labels such as light and dark never truly reach their full potential. I was born of the dark side of the force. If you really wanted to get technical about it I suppose you could say it was my sire, but I was only half as powerful in its shadow." Aine turned to face Taiia for a brief moment to offer her a ginger smile.

Aine's wrist twitched. To the untrained eye, it looked like nothing more than an involuntary muscle jerk, but to those who paid more attention, it was clearly purposeful.

"Allegiance to one side of the force or the other is a fragile state of mind." Suddenly, a pillar of water shot up from the depths of the crystal clear pool below. When it finally met the apex and where many would assume it's decent to earth to begin again, instead, it froze in place. It stayed there, almost entirely motionless for a few moments until the bottom of the pillar began to crumble. Shards of ice tumbled into the cool waters below, melting almost instantly on contact.

"The code of those who lean one way or the other is designed to keep them contained, to make them believe the only right path is the one already laid out for them. They believe deviating and straying from the path makes them lost. They either slip into darkness or step away from it." As the pinnacle of the pillar began to shatter and fall away it left behind a sphere of ice. Aine lifted her hand off the barrier to allow her fingers to perform a graceful dance, inciting the sphere down from its great height.

"Without realizing..." Aine spoke as the object nestled into the palm of her hand. "...They shield themselves with pieces of knowledge that they believe fit their allegiances, and they cast aside the ones that bring them closer to the force. It changes, as do we. It is so much more than what we can perceive, and we all interpret it in our own ways, but none of us can truly understand unless we accept that we cannot control it to fit the constructs of another's mind. We cannot control it at all." Aine turned slowly to face Taiia, now cradling the sphere in the center of her palm. Closer now than it had been before, it was easy to tell that it wasn't a solid sphere, but rather a bubble. The ice that formed it couldn't have been more than a millimeter thick.

"Instead, it controls us, and the only power we can ever gain from it is the power it gives us permission to gain. We can only ever grow stronger by submitting completely, and allowing it to take us where it may." The sphere began to quiver gently against her palm until the edges Taiia could see began to blur. A sharp splintering sound filled the gardens as shards of the sphere collapsed into Aine's hand. When it finally stilled again, the solid sheet of ice forming the sphere had been punctured with holes that made an intricate, swirling pattern.

"This was the first test my master gave me. Granted, I was only a few days old at the time, but it was the one I found most difficult." For a brief moment, Aine displayed a glimmer of amusement. "When I did this it was to train, I had to do it for a whole year and I failed several times which, of course, reset the year." Aine rolled her eyes quickly as if rolling her eyes at the memory itself, but her face quickly resumed its passive pleasantness. "But you already have a powerful connection. For you, it's primary function will be testing that connection, so that we can gain a better understanding of where to begin." Aine stretched the hand with the ice globe out, enough for Taiia to be able to take it from her grasp.

"Find it a permanent home, anywhere you like as long as it's not an ice moon or a minibar, and keep it frozen. For as long as you can. Carry on with your normal day. Train, eat, sleep, visit friends, but don't let it melt. It might sound like a walk in the park, but I'll be your opposition." Aine grinned. "I'll be doing everything I can to turn it into a puddle. You've done well so far to listen to what the force has to say, but the true key is discovering how well you can do it even whilst your environment is trying to keep you from doing everything but listening."​

 

[Taiia Mataan]

Introductions​

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Equipment: Lightsaber​

Tag: Áine ​

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Taiia would simply watch Aine as she spoke about Vytal before the conversation returned to what she had spoken of her desire to learn and to grow in the force, as well as her own views on the force. She was somewhat surprised yet relieved by the genuine acceptance of her views, no not only accept it but to subscribe to the same it was not something as of yet that she was used Watching wordlessly and intently the minute movements of Aine her eyes were ones of examination and study, the subtle movements of Aine were not lost on her, though she did not at first understand what she was doing but in a few moments that would become clear.​

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While watching the water dance to Aine’s subtle manipulations her emerald eyes shown with great interest as she not only took in what was said and being done, but she was analyzing, not just what was taking place before her but also what wasn't taking place, what she could feel through the force, while there was a physical occurrence just importantly there was a change in the force as she worked and with her next words a smile appeared on the young woman’s lips eliciting a gentle nod in agreement with Aine as she described her on views on the force which did mirror her own.​

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When Aine offered the small ball of somewhat frozen water, it what would best be described as a challenge, Taiia did not hesitate before simply reaching up and gently lifting the ball to her eyes to scrutinize it and study it closely, even in the short span of time since she took possession of it she could feel the ball start to sweat in her grasp when Aine grinned at her saying she would be her opposition she could only return that grin in earnest. “I do like a challenge.” she remembered at that point her last challenge in the form of a saber duel with Voph and immediately the ball returned to a state of coolness as she focused on it and tried to hold it in that state.​

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[Áine]

PART OF MY WORLD​

Tag: Taiia Mataan

“And a challenge you will get.” She smirked. Not a hint of concentration on her soft features, nor a drop of sweat, pointed to her doing anything at all… but regardless, the ball of intricate ice resting in Taiia’s palm was growing steadily warmer. Her action was almost unnoticeable at first, Taiia was doing a good job of keeping it whole, and the growing temperature in the gardens had formed beads of crystal clear water on the sphere already. But somehow, it was accentuated. It would even feel a little warm in the palm of Taiia’s hand.

“I’m afraid I fall short in some areas.” Aine spoke, in a voice as smooth and sweet as it had been when they’d first met. “Lord Commander Voph tells me your saber training is coming along wonderfully. I won’t be able to progress that much. I was never one for throwing my non-existent weight around behind a saber, I fight with the force, but if you wish to continue practicing I’m sure there are a number of Masters who would be willing to teach you.”

She turned at the waist, just enough to be able to look at Taiia properly. “But I can tell your focus lies mainly in the force, so I can imagine that won’t be too much of a pressing matter?” Though Aine continued in a stream of questions for Taiia to consider and to answer, she didn’t stop her attack on the sphere of ice.​

 

[Taiia Mataan]

Introductions​

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Equipment: Lightsaber​

Tag: Áine ​

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She watched closely for a few moments as she went silent, she watched only a few moments before she felt the first few sweat drops from the ball in her hand and a small grin played at her lips. Her eyes flicked to the ball in her hand and she focused on it, there was no strain that could be seen but her gaze was intense and focused upon it as she felt it begin to cool despite the attempt to wither it by @Aine. She turnedher eyes back toward her as she spoke again.​

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"We all have our strengths, mine has always been the skill with a blade if I am honest. I always found a challenge in dueling the other padawans and even some of the masters who would indulge me." she gave a genuine and perhaps even sad smile at the memory before shaking her head clear of it and looked back at Aine. "Honestly in a single duel with the Lord Commander, whom by the way is indeed merciless when it comes to the dueling arena I learned much from simply crossing blades with him." she chuckled a bit.​

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Her own eyes met Aine's as she held up the little cold ball in her hand "But in truth, I have always felt, lacking when it came to the force like there was much I was missing out on. That there was so much more that the force was capable of that I was not aware of and that I believe is why the force lead me to Geonosis because there are some things that the Jedi cannot or won't teach."​

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She brought her hand down and laid her other hand on top of it, feeling the cold from it on her warm skin and she looked down at her hands before looking back at Aine "This is the kind of thing I have been missing, and frankly from what you have shown me in only in the past few moments, I believe I am right where I should be and with who I should be."​

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