Private See it? I Don't

[Jalen Kai'el]

See it? I Don't
Coruscant, Jedi Temple
Tags: Capris Halcyon

​

In the hypothetical that someone had no eyes, but could feel the life force of living things, how would they go about seeing the non-organic? It should be simple, right? If the force moves through all things, it should move through the non-organic bits as well. Unfortunately, as Jalen very often experienced first hand, that didn't mean that they were distinct. Usually, the non-organic was quieter, less apparent when it came to the louder things around him like people or microbes. That made it real hard to do things relating to the stuff that wasn't alive.

Like rocks, for instance.

In the temple gardens, the padawans had begun a challenge amongst themselves. There were flat stones present in the gardens that were often used in meditation and training exercises, and it had become an unspoken trial to see how many could be stacked before falling over. Every day, a new stone or two would be added to a stack, left until it inevitably fell. Rinse and repeat. Jalen very much wanted to participate, but having no strong grasp over sensing the inorganic made it very difficult to contribute to the pile. So how was he supposed to put a stone on the stack? Wing it? Estimate? It was hard to say, and no level of deliberation in his mind ever generated a substantial solution. He could feel where it was... sort of. It's signature was fuzzy, which made it unclear how tall the stack really was, or how wide each stone was. The important details he needed to add a stone. Jalen couldn't work up the courage to try, mostly in fear of being made fun of should anyone see him knock down a tower of stones. The last kid who did so in the company of others never lived it down, or it seemed like they didn't. Jalen admittedly hadn't seen them since. Still, he didn't want to be made fun of.

But if he didn't place a stone, he was a coward. That was even worse. So, after about a half an hour of debate, Jalen finally craned his arm above the stack and placed his stone. It was a good three inches off center, enough to tip off the top and topple the entire tower as it fell. The clattering of the stones echoed throughout the generally peaceful gardens.

Oh no, Jalen thought to himself internally.

He had worked up the courage and blown it. He should've been a coward.

 

[Capris Halcyon]

She’d seen it.

The whole thing that is. The dilemma told oh so painfully on his face as it scrunched up in perpetual debate.

She also winced at the aftermath. Sharing in his disappointment.

It was rare for Capris to be out in the gardens. At least without having some duty-bound obligation binding her to it. She typically found more solace with a training saber in hand than she ever did in nature. In truth the whole idea of spiritual mediation was a bit lost on her. Not that she showed much interest in rectifying that lapse in understanding.

Which naturally made it the ideal form of punishment.

She wasn't long into her Jedi-sanctioned detention before something vastly more interesting drew her from her “mediation.” Then promptly proceeded to fall apart in a matter of seconds.

“Smart to try your hand at it with no one around-” The girl approached with light-hearted amusement, trying to take the edge off his chagrin. The ease at which she struck up a conversation surprised her initially. She typically wasn't one to engage with- well anyone really, but he was clearly in need of some intervention. Not to mention his scarring almost evoked her own precisely, minus the obvious handicap. She didn't dwell on it though, figuring it earned him a fair share of unwanted attention on the regular. He certainly didn't need her aimless curiosity added to the pile.

A cord had been struck, though she likely would never admit to such.

“No one important at least.” The girl continued with a shrug, tagging on an amused, somewhat self-deprecating snort. She made no offer to rebuild the pile, that would probably come off as patronizing anyway. “Was that your first time?”

Jalen Kai'el

 

[Jalen Kai'el]

Coruscant, Jedi Temple
Tags: Capris Halcyon

​

“Smart to try your hand at it with no one around-”

“No one important at least.”

It had begun again. Jalen sighed, hanging his head ever so slightly. The stranger asked if it was the first time he had attempted to place a stone.

"Y-yeah," he answered with a slight frown. "I... didn't realize how unstable it was."

Jalen tried to get a good read on her aura. It wasn't malicious, at least, so he could at least rest easy knowing that she wasn't here to make fun of him. She was human, or at least humanoid, and way taller than him, perhaps suggesting a decent age gap. Maybe two or three years.

"S-sorry if I bothered you," Jalen sighed.

There was good reason to think that she had been meditating. At least it was just one person. Still, her words lingered with him. 'No one important at least.' What was that supposed to mean? It seemed so... belittling. Relatable. Not that he'd ever state such a thing out loud. Especially to a stranger. The last thing he wanted was for sad stuff like that to reach the ears of his already stressed brother.

 

[Capris Halcyon]

Quite politely, he apologized. Which only earned him another snort.

“Please- if anything you saved my attention-span from some serious damage.” The girl shook her head with a grin. Point made. Mediation was boring.

But Jalen didn’t seem to share her cheerful sentiment. His emotions instead lingering on something a bit more introspective. Even though Jalen wouldn’t be able to see it, she stifled a frown. Sure screwing up would mess with anyone’s disposition, but his despondency seemed to sink a bit deeper.

Decisively the girl took a seat by the wreckage in classic criss cross applesauce style, scoping out a rock from the pile. She then used her forearm to clear the area, using the other hand to offer Jalen the stone.

“Here- we can start over with the base. They’ll have to work around you and not the other way around.”

Jalen Kai'el

 

[Jalen Kai'el]

Coruscant, Jedi Temple
Tags: Capris Halcyon

​

Work around him? Not the other way around? It was an... unexpected sentiment. Jalen didn't know how to respond to it. Was he grateful? Confused? Ashamed? It was hard to say, but he did, at the very least, sit down and take her offer to help reconstruct the base of the stack. Jalen accepted the stone from the older padawan, placing it down to be the first in the tower with a delicate hand.

"I'm Jalen," he introduced. "I probably should've said that earlier..."

He was terrible at giving his name. He had even forgotten his last name, which people seemed to think was also important to give. Jalen's curiosity slipped back again to what the girl had said previously...

“Please- if anything you saved my attention-span from some serious damage.”

A punishment, perhaps? Mandatory reflection? It was really the only reason any padawan came to the gardens. Jalen was, of course, no ordinary padawan, so he was one of the few weirdos that did. He liked to think he knew pretty confidently who frequented the gardens.

"So... how'd you end up here. I-in the gardens, I mean. Y'know, sitting and... stuff..."

And he was as socially adept as ever. Certainly no ordinary padawan.

 

[Capris Halcyon]

TAGS: Jalen Kai'el
​

“Capris. Nice to meet you Jalen.” The girl returned the introduction, dismissing the inflected doubt in his statement. Man his confidence could use some work. He then went on to ask what she’d done to end up here, like one prison inmate to another.

“Killed a man.” The girl delivered the line with total severity, not even sparing a glance at Jalen as she continued to restructure the base. Whether or not he responded with abject horror she dropped the guise a moment later, cracking a small grin,“Nah but you would’ve thought I had, given how riled up the council got.” The girl shrugged, fiddling with the empty space her lightsaber usually occupied. Another privilege temporarily revoked. “I snuck out of the Temple unauthorized. Got caught sleuthing around the Underworld. Which is apparently very frowned upon.”

She looked back at the younger padawan with a faint smirk. “But enough about me. Was this tower thing the only reason you came out here?”

 

[Jalen Kai'el]

Coruscant, Jedi Temple
Tags: Capris Halcyon

​

“I snuck out of the Temple unauthorized. Got caught sleuthing around the Underworld. Which is apparently very frowned upon.”

"That makes sense," Jalen nodded. "My brother said he used to do that... He almost died or something. Guess they're real strict about it cause of that... N-not cause he almost died, but cause it was dangerous, I mean."

That was a good addition to the conversation. He wasn't having a panic attack, or justifying his words with an internal monologue. Everything was fine. He chose to ignore the awkwardness and focus on her next question, that being why he was here.

"N-not really," he admitted. "The tower was just here. I really came cause it was quiet. I... don't like crowded places very much. It's easier to play music here anyways..."

It was a decent enough excuse for wanting to be alone at least.

 

[Capris Halcyon]

TAGS: Jalen Kai'el
​

“Your brother sounds risky- I like that.” Doesn’t look like it’s rubbed off much. She held her tongue. Her intent was to be funny not mean-spirited, but she knew how he’d take it regardless. She may not have been the most delicate person, but at the very least she was self-aware. “Sometimes you gotta take the plunge. I’d rather regret something I’ve done rather than a chance I never took y’know?” Perhaps the thinly veiled advice was too on the nose, but she offered it anyway.

He then answered her question, innocent enough. He liked being alone, so did she once upon a time.

“Yeah no- I get the feeling.” Without really meaning to her tone dampened. Savareen had been quiet. Or it could be anyway, somewhere in the vast stretches of dunes where she’d steal away precious moments of alone time with only her droid as company. Away from her family. Her jaw clenched, burying the flare-up of emotion. Sometimes it felt like she hadn't known true quiet since.

“People can be.. Idontknow a lot sometimes. Exhausting maybe.” Yeah that definitely came from somewhere personal. She didn’t linger however, instead renewing her smile and turning to Jalen, “So you like music? What kind?”

 

[Jalen Kai'el]

Coruscant, Jedi Temple
Tags: Capris Halcyon

​

It didn't surprise him that she mentioned thinking it was cool that his brother had slipped out. She certainly seemed the type, and Jalen noticed that most people ended up liking Jasper for one reason or another. Something else he knew he couldn't live up to. All he seemed to cause was headaches.

“Sometimes you gotta take the plunge. I’d rather regret something I’ve done rather than a chance I never took y’know?”

"I-I feel like that's easier in thought than practice," Jalen frowned, though he tried to make it as polite as possible. "I'm... Th-there's something... I... I-I'd rather not get anyone killed."

Jalen had a very unstable force connection. One with uncontrollable outbursts of energy. The ability to harness powers that had once taken from him... He had felt it, and it scared him. The boy wanted to heal people. Save lives. That's why he joined the NJO. It seemed pretty hard to do that if he took excessive risks. Then again, maybe he was just thinking too logically. Thankfully, the subject shifted. Still, he took note of a sudden flare of emotion when she talked about her frustrations with people. He didn't mention it. It seemed too personal for him to bring it up. Jalen let the subject change.

"I like most kinds of music," he answered. "Whatever's fun to play... depending on my mood I guess."

Riveting. He tried to sound upbeat, but Jalen couldn't help but fall flat. Maybe that was just how he was.

 

[Capris Halcyon]

His stutter and apparent reluctance did not go unnoticed. Forward as ever, Capris didn’t think to tread lightly. “What do you mean by that?”

In their line of “work” casualties were all but expected. A byproduct of the constant churn of war all were subject to. And in that case, she perfectly understood where he was coming from.

Still, it seemed rather inane to load that type of responsibility on himself so prematurely. Was he even talking about war? Maybe she’d projected a bit too eagerly. What made him so afraid of people getting killed?

He’d responded to her question all while she stayed trapped in her own thoughts. Oh music- right.

“And what’s your mood telling you to play now?”

Jalen Kai'el