Private Simple Beginnings

[Aiden Porte]

Ensy
​

Aiden Porte stood before the Council dais, hands folded calmly behind his back as the assembled Masters regarded him. The hum of distant fountains and the faint rustle of banners outside gave the moment a stillness that felt almost sacred.

"Knight Porte." the presiding Master said, her tone formal yet warm, "You have requested to take Ensy as your Padawan learner. We have reviewed your petition and finds your readiness and his, sound. From this day forward, Ensy shall train under your guidance."

Aiden bowed his head with quiet reverence. "Thank you, Masters. I will guide him with patience and integrity, as I was once guided."

They had spoken their assent with grace. Their eyes had lingered on him longer than most, as if to remind, that the bond he was about to accept was both a gift and burden. Still, when the decision was made, Aiden felt something deep in the Force settle into place. Ensy would no longer walk as a student among many he would walk alongside him, as his Padawan learner.

Outside the chamber, Aiden found him waiting in the courtyard.

“It’s official, my friend." Aiden said. "The Council has approved it. You’re my Padawan, Ensy.”

“Be sure to pack lightly, in a few hours we begin our first journey together, your first journey.” He explained. “Ukatis is where we will be going for a few days, there’s some important things I want to teach you there.”

“You said once you wanted to see more of the galaxy.” Aiden said with a big smile. “We’ll start there. I’ll teach you what it means to travel with the Force as your compass, to guide you and as you grow, I will be there every step of the way. That is my promise, my young friend.”

 

[Ensy]

☽ Ensy ☾

He sat just outside the Council chamber, legs pulled close and head lowered, the edge of his satchel strap turning over and over in his hands. He could hear faint voices through the doors. A part of him wanted to try and listen in but he did not want ease dropping to be the reason anything went wrong. He trusted Aiden, even if he wouldn't be his master - he was his real friend.

Then, the doors opened.

The first thing he felt was Aiden's presence in the force. Steady, warm; the Knight's energy meant good things. Still, when Aiden spoke, his heart leapt.

"It's official, my friend. The Council has approved it. You're my Padawan."

For a moment, Ensy just froze, mouth open in silent disbelief. Then all at once, the tension broke like glass. "I, I am!?" he nearly shouted, his voice echoing off the courtyard stones. He shot up to his feet, spinning in a small, giddy circle before catching himself with a grin so wide it almost hurt. "I'm really your Padawan!"

He took a half-step forward, eyes bright and hands clasped together as if trying to keep the excitement from bursting out of him. "Thank you, Master Porte! I promise I'll do my best."

The satchel bounced against his side as he shifted on his feet, already overflowing with energy. "I'll pack right away!" he blurted out, nodding rapidly. "I want to take the pencil set and some paper, I could take notes! Oh! And snacks. We'll need snacks for our first adventure!"

Turning to head towards his room and to prepare for the trip; he paused mid-flow, the momentum catching up to him, and laughed softly. "Ukatis," he repeated. "I've never even heard of it before, but I am excited! Is... it scary?"

Aiden Porte

 

[Aiden Porte]

Ensy
​

Aiden couldn't help but laugh softly at first, then fully. The kind of laugh that came from pride rather than amusement. Ensy's joy filled the courtyard like sunlight, unrestrained and pure. The boy's energy had a way of brightening even the most solemn halls of the Temple.


"Snacks." Aiden repeated, with a fond grin. "You'll fit in just fine."

He stepped closer, resting a steady hand on Ensy's shoulder. "You earned this, truly. You've shown patience, courage, and heart the kind of heart the Order needs more of." His voice gentled as he spoke, the familiar calm of a Jedi Knight wrapping around his words. "As for Ukatis… it isn't scary. But it is mysterious. There are storms there—natural and otherwise—and people who don't easily trust outsiders. Which is why I'll need your instincts and that open heart of yours."

The breeze caught his cloak as he gestured toward the Temple's long corridor. "Go on then, Padawan. Pack your notes and your snacks. We'll brief before we depart."

He waited a moment, watching the boy dart away with the same excitement that had once lived in his own heart. Aiden lingered a moment longer outside the Council chamber. He reached out through the Force, sensing the echo of the Ensy's elation, and smiled. For all the wars, for all the politics and unrest that weighed upon the galaxy, there were still these moments. Quiet, bright beginnings....

And that, he thought, was worth everything.

 

[Ensy]

☽ Ensy ☾

The stars had stretched into streaks of blue and then settled again. Hyperspace was quiet now, just the hum of the engines and the soft creak of the ship's frame. Ensy sat in the cockpit, knees pulled close, a small block of pale wood turning between his fingers.

He'd started carving it not long after they'd left Naboo. The rhythm helped steady him, the gentle scrape of the knife, the grain catching under his thumb. It wasn't perfect; the faces were too round, and one of the robes came out a bit crooked, but anyone could tell who it was meant to be. Aiden stood taller, smiling, with a smaller figure beside him holding a little satchel.

When the navcomputer pinged their approach, Ensy blinked and lifted his head. A small gulp left his throat as he became a little anxious but he looked over at his new master and a lot of that emotion went away. Replaced by genuine happiness. He knew it would all be okay.

Then looking down he noted the planet looked beautiful. Large grasslands that spread out with forests between them. Ensy tucked the carving safely back into his satchel before looking toward Aiden. "Do the people there like visitors?" he asked, voice quiet but full of curiosity. "You said they don't trust outsiders much. Maybe if I show them kindness, they'll see we're not here to hurt anyone."

He hesitated, fidgeting slightly before adding with a sheepish grin, "I can always draw them something!"

The ship gave a gentle lurch as it began to descend, the light outside flickering from white to gold. Ensy steadied himself with one hand against the console, excitement rising again. "This is my first time seeing a new world just as a visitor. No running... or being brought to Naboo by others. We are really here together! It is all so exciting. Thank you Master Porte."

Aiden Porte

 

[Aiden Porte]

Ensy
​

Aiden had been watching the streaks of hyperspace fade into stars again, his hands folded loosely behind his back as the blue glow washed over the cockpit walls. The hum of the hyperdrive dwindled to a softer rhythm, and in that quiet, he could feel Ensy's bright, flickering presence beside him an ember of life and wonder that filled the ship more completely than any sound could. There were a few members of Shiraya's Hope with them, customary every time he left Naboo.

He turned slightly when he sensed the boy's thoughts shift focus narrowing, hands moving with a careful rhythm. The scent of fresh wood lingered faintly in the air, the small shavings gathering in a tidy little pile on the edge of the seat. Aiden didn't interrupt. He simply smiled, letting the boy work, the Force curling gently between them like the steady pull of a tide.

"That's wonderful Ensy." Aiden spoke with a true and sincere smile.

When the ping of the navcomputer signaled their approach, Aiden glanced up at the viewport, then down at the soft scrape of the knife ceasing. Ensy's gaze had lifted to the world ahead, and for a heartbeat, Aiden saw the reflection of Ukatis' light in his student's wide eyes the quiet awe of someone seeing the unknown for the first time not as a threat, but as a promise.


He leaned forward slightly, resting a gloved hand on the back of Ensy's seat as the boy spoke. The earnestness in his tone drew something like pride out of Aiden's chest. "That's a wise thought." he said quietly, his voice carrying that same steady calm that always grounded the younger one. "Most people don't expect kindness. Especially when fear has had generations to take root. But sometimes, one gesture, one small, sincere act, can soften what words cannot."

Aiden looked out the viewport again as Ukatis filled their field of view. The planet rolled beneath them in shades of emerald and gold broad grasslands swaying like waves, sunlight catching the edges of distant rivers. In the distance, sharp ridgelines broke the horizon, their misty crowns hiding whatever secrets had drawn the Council's attention.

"Ukatis is old." he continued. "Its people are proud, and they've lived within the Galactic Alliance's reach for sometime, and now after Civil War has started and ended, they now are within High Republic sectors now.. They rely on themselves, not outsiders. But they value honesty. If we approach with respect, they'll see it in time. And your art—" he smiled, glancing down at the corner of Ensy's satchel where the wooden carving now rested. "Would be just be the perfect way to speak to them. Drawing can tell truths the tongue struggles to find."

The ship shuddered lightly as it broke through the upper atmosphere, a soft golden hue spreading across the cockpit. Sunlight spilled over the console, painting Ensy's eager face in warm light. The Knight's heart swelled at the sight so rare, so unguarded. He reached out, resting a hand briefly on the boy's shoulder.

"You're right." Aiden said, quietly, almost to himself. "We're really here together. And I'm glad it's you beside me on this one."

He straightened as the comm system chirped, signaling the approach to their landing zone a small clearing near the river basin marked by ancient stone pillars. Aiden's tone shifted, soft but instructive. "When we touch down, let's take in the land first. Feel it. The Force here is different older, quieter, but not unfriendly. Let it speak before we do."

The ship angled lower, light cascading across the cockpit windows in streaks of amber and white. Below them, the plains of Ukatis stretched endlessly, threaded with forests and shimmering waters that caught the light like glass.

Aiden gave a final look toward his Padawan, his expression warm with a quiet pride. "Keep that wonder close, Ensy." he murmured. "It will carry you further than fear ever could."

And as the ship descended through the last layer of clouds, the world waiting below was vast and alive teeming with sound, scent, and possibility. Aiden could feel it already: a new chapter, not just for the mission ahead, but for the bond that had just begun between them.

 

[Ensy]

☽ Ensy ☾

The ramp hissed open with a rush of air and sunlight. Ensy squinted against it, one hand coming up to shield his face as the scent of rain-washed grass and stone hit him all at once. Ensy hesitated at the top, clutching the strap of his satchel. The air outside felt cooler than Naboo's, sharp. A similar agriculture but certainly not the same.

He took one small step, then another. The wind pushed against him, tugging at his hair and clothes. For a second, he almost turned back. Then he felt Aiden behind him and that steady calm in the Force helped him move forward. When his boots touched the ground, Ensy crouched, pressing his hand to the soil. It was damp. His trepidation was slowly turning into amazement. Like a rising brass tone carried behind the action.

Standing, his eyes began sweeping across the tall grass and the broken stone pillars in the distance. "It's so pretty."

He let his hand hover towards the nearest stone. This was not the way Ensy had usually felt the force. Normally he would touch something and feel its energy flow through him. Now he was trying to reach out and touch the force from the rock and bring it to him. The sensation made his chest tighten. Not from the dark side but because he was anxious. With a quick pull his hand came back into his chest. He looked at it a little inquisitively.

He didn't say what crossed his mind next. The thought of touching something and seeing its memories, the way he sometimes could. It always frightened him a little, how the Force showed him things that had been. What if the force around that stone carried bad memories.

Instead, he looked up at his master and said "I don't really know how to just feel the force in the air. I have to touch things and... I am scared to sometimes. Maybe walking around a little will help me."

Aiden Porte

 

[Aiden Porte]

Ensy

​

Aiden descended the ramp behind him, robes shifting in the morning wind as the sun reached across the clearing. The air was rich with life the kind that hummed deep in the ground, pulsing like a slow, ancient heartbeat. He let his eyes close for a brief moment, tasting it in the Force, before his gaze returned to the boy standing ahead of him.

Ensy looked so small against the expanse of green and gold a single figure against the vastness of Ukatis. His curiosity and hesitation folded together like two halves of the same breath, and Aiden could feel both clearly in the Force. The boy's energy was bright and tentative all at once, flickering like sunlight through leaves.

He stepped forward slowly, his boots sinking slightly into the soft, rain-fed earth beside his Padawan. "It's beautiful." Aiden agreed quietly. "The world's alive here. Not just the plants, not just the wind — the land itself remembers." His tone softened, steady as the low hum of a temple bell. "Sometimes, when a place has existed this long, it listens before it speaks. That's why we breathe first. Let it know we're listening, too."

When he noticed Ensy draw back from the stone, Aiden's gaze followed the motion. He could sense the sharp thread of anxiety in the Force, that nervous question about what might be buried in the rock's memory. Aiden crouched beside him, resting a hand lightly against the same patch of ground Ensy had touched.

"You feel through touch because that's how the Force chose to reach you." Aiden said. "That isn't something to be afraid of. It's a gift one that asks for courage." His fingers brushed a blade of grass, watching it bow and straighten again with the breeze. "Every sense we have sight, hearing, touch, is the Force expressing itself differently through us. You see through your hands the way I might through my intuition. Neither is wrong. But it takes time to understand how to trust it."


He stood again, letting the light wash over both of them. "Come." he said, gesturing toward the rise where the broken pillars stood like teeth half-buried in the soil. "Walk with me. Don't try to grasp the Force. Just let it move past you, like the wind. Let the smell, the sounds, the feel of the ground beneath your boots all blend together. The Force isn't always in the touch sometimes it's in the space between your heartbeats."

As they walked, Aiden kept his presence open and steady, a soft beacon in the Force for Ensy to anchor to. The tall grasses whispered as they passed, and the light flickered against the ancient stone, carrying faint traces of old memory lives lived, words spoken, prayers whispered to skies long forgotten.

"Fear will tell you that touching the past might hurt." Aiden said after a moment. "But you'll learn that the Force shows you only what you're ready to see. Trust that it knows you as deeply as you wish to know it."

He glanced down at Ensy, his tone gentle and a smile on his face. "So yes. Let's walk a little. Let the world speak to you in its own time. And when you're ready, when your heart feels quiet try again. I'll be right here, always."

The two figures continued forward through the wind-swept grass, their shadows stretching long behind them, the morning sun rising higher over the horizon of Ukatis a world waiting to be rediscovered, one heartbeat, one breath, one lesson at a time.

 

[Ensy]

☽ Ensy ☾

Ensy followed, his boots brushing softly through the tall grass. Each step left a faint bend in the green before the blades sprang back again. He glanced at Aiden's back as they walked. The Knight's robes shifted with the wind, steady as the rhythm of his voice had been. Ensy didn't say anything for a long moment. He was too busy trying to do what Aiden said.

He took a slow breath. The smell of damp earth filled his lungs, mixed with the faint scent of moss and metal from the old pillars ahead. Ensy's brow furrowed. "It's strange," he said at last, voice quiet, half to himself. "The force can be scary. What if something that I let flow openly through me is not nice."

He slowed, turning a little to the side, his eyes tracing one of the fallen stones half-buried in the soil. His hand twitched, wanting to reach for it again but this time he didn't. He stood still instead, trying to let the feeling come on its own. The air stirred, lifting his tendrils.

There just for a heartbeat he felt it, before losing contact with the flow of the force that way. "I think I almost felt it." He looked up at Aiden, a small but bright smile forming. "I finally have a teacher. Wow." The smile lingered as they kept walking through the field, the wind brushing past them in slow waves.

Aiden Porte

 

[Aiden Porte]

Ensy
​

Aiden glanced back when he heard the boy's quiet voice, the corners of his mouth softening into something between pride and patience. The sunlight caught across Ensy's hair and the movement of the grass, painting the field in ripples of gold and green. It reminded him, distantly, of his own first mission as a Padawan when everything had felt impossibly vast, every sound alive with meaning.

He slowed his stride so they walked side by side. "The Force can feel frightening." Aiden said gently, matching Ensy's pace. "It's not because it's cruel it's because it's honest. It shows us things we might not be ready to face, both in the world and in ourselves. But that's where courage lives, too. Not in ignoring fear, but in standing with it long enough to understand what it's trying to tell you."

He stopped near one of the half-buried stones and crouched again, tracing the outline of the moss growing over its edge. "What you felt just now that flicker, that almost-connection that's the Force acknowledging you. Like a door opening a little, waiting to see if you'll step closer. You don't need to force it open. You just need to show it that you're listening."

He straightened, letting the wind roll through his cloak as he turned toward the boy. "If something unkind flows through you, don't push it away. Breathe through it. Ask what it is, where it came from. Often, it isn't darkness, it's pain, memory, or loss. Things that just need to be seen before they can fade."

The Padawan's small smile drew one of Aiden's own. There was something deeply grounding in that expression, that unguarded joy of simply being chosen, of belonging. "You do have a teacher now." Aiden said with a faint chuckle, his tone both light and proud. "And I have a student and a true friend who already listens better than most Knights I know."

And as they moved forward again through the golden fields, the boy's quiet wonder seemed to ripple outward, brushing against Aiden's own calm like a note in harmony new teacher, new student, two lives crossing beneath the endless, whispering sky. As they moved the fires that claimed much of this part of the forest began to show, as things could be seen blackened further out. The forest was healing, but it still had so much to heal, it just needed time.

Aiden beckoned towards the blackened forest, some shreds of green starting to show through the blackened ground. "What do you see when you look at that, Ensy?" Aiden, inquired, as he placed a hand on his shoulder gently. Grounding him in the moment, being that steady compass for him.

 

[Ensy]

☽ Ensy ☾

Ensy couldn't help but laugh a small, bright sound that cut through the hum of the wind when Aiden said he listened better than most Knights. The words planted a little piece of confidence that hadn't been there before.

As they kept walking, the tall grass started to thin out. The ground changed color, patches of dark soil showing through. Up ahead, the forest looked burned. Trees were black all the way down to their roots, and the ground still carried the marks of fire. But even through all that, Ensy noticed a few spots of green pushing up through the ash.

He slowed his steps, looking out over the burned trees. His smile faded a little, replaced with quiet thought. When Aiden's hand rested on his shoulder, he looked up at him, then back toward the forest. He crouched near one of the plants starting to grow back. For a second, he thought about reaching out... and this time, he did.

There wasn't a vision. No voices. No faces. Just a feeling. "I feel that it was hurt," he said quietly. "That it is trying to heal."

Ensy blinked, a faint crease forming between his brows. He wasn't afraid exactly, just unsure. "It's different this time," he murmured. "I didn't see anything. I just… I am not sure. Usually I only feel things that already happened. But this… it felt alive. Now." He hesitated, looking up at Aiden, his voice small but curious. "What was that, Mr. Porte? How do people feel things in the force without touching them?"

Aiden Porte

 

[Aiden Porte]

Ensy
​

Aiden stayed beside him, silent for a long moment, letting the weight of the scene settle between them. The air smelled faintly of smoke even now, though the fire must have burned seasons ago. Beneath that scent, though, was something subtler wet earth, the sweetness of green life returning. The sound of the wind changed here, lower and slower, like the breath of a wounded creature trying to rest.

When Ensy crouched, Aiden followed his movement with his eyes rather than his words. The boy's hand brushed the fragile shoot rising from the ash, and the Force rippled outward like a pulse through still water. It was small, tender, but undeniably alive.

When Ensy spoke, Aiden knelt beside him. The light hit his features in soft angles, his expression calm, thoughtful. "That's the living Force. The current that moves through everything alive in this very moment through you, through me, through this sprout trying to live again."

He reached out, not to touch the plant, but to hover his hand just above it. "Most Jedi spend years learning to hear this kind of voice. It's quieter than memory. The Unifying Force, the one that shows us the past and future, speaks in visions, in echoes. But the living Force speaks differently. It doesn't show—it shares. It lets you feel what another being feels, what the land feels, what the air carries in its breath."

Aiden turned his gaze toward the burned forest stretching before them. "The pain you sensed isn't gone. The fire left its mark. But the Force is already pushing back with life. Healing isn't the same as forgetting. It's remembering how to grow again."

His eyes softened, the corners of his mouth curving faintly. "You reached for it without thinking, and it answered. That's good. Ensy, you're listening to it. Even if you don't understand every word, you're beginning to hear the language it speaks in."

Aiden's hand rested lightly on the boy's shoulder again. "To feel the Force without touching, you don't reach outward—you let it reach you. Close your eyes. Don't grab for it, don't chase it. Just breathe. Let every sound, every movement, every heartbeat around you be part of one rhythm. You'll find it's already there, waiting."

He let the instruction hang in the air for a few breaths, the quiet hum of the forest mingling with the steady wind. A bird called somewhere in the distance, and the grass bent in another slow wave.

"When you listen like that." Aiden continued softly, "You'll start to sense how all things are connected. The pain of this forest, the resilience of that little plant, even the joy you felt earlier—they're all threads of the same pattern. The Force weaves through them endlessly. You just have to remember that you're part of that pattern too."

He gave a small nod toward the plant, still trembling in the wind but standing firm. "That feeling you just had, that's the beginning of understanding what it means to heal, not just see. The Force is showing you what it means to live again."

 

[Ensy]

☽ Ensy ☾

Ensy nodded slowly, closing his eyes like Aiden said, he rested his hands lightly against his knees. He took a breath in slow, careful. At first, there was nothing. Just wind. Just silence. A brief flicker crossed his mind of giving up. But then… something faint slipped in. Not a memory. Not a scream from the past. Not a vision forcing itself onto him.

Just a quiet feeling. Like the world was breathing shallowly next to him instead of through him. Like he wasn't taking from anything this time… just sharing space with it.

His shoulders relaxed without him even noticing

Here he stayed for a moment. Feeling something new and exciting. Feeling like his toes were on the edge of a vast ocean he was not sure if he could swim in. Yet, for now being on the edge was an achievement on its own and he would leave it at that. Proud of himself and curious beyond belief.

Ensy opened his eyes, looking up at Aiden with a small blink of surprise. "…It just… let me be there with it. Is that what you meant, Master Porte? That sometimes the Force doesn't show you the past or the future… it just lets you share the moment with it?""

Standing up he shifted. Subconsciously standing closer to Aiden. He was not as scared as before but it was... different. With Master Porte he felt comfortable. Like he could really be okay with everything he experienced with this lesson.

Aiden Porte

 

[Aiden Porte]

Ensy​

Aiden watched him quietly through the silence, the kind that held weight, not emptiness. The boy's breathing slowed, the rhythm evening out as the wind brushed over them both. There was no rush, no correction offered, no sound but the rustle of grass and the distant, hollow song of the burned woods. Aiden knew better than to interrupt something sacred in its first moment of awakening.

When Ensy opened his eyes, Aiden met his gaze. The light had shifted since they'd landed, growing softer, warmer, as if the planet itself had drawn a deeper breath. What lingered in the boy's eyes wasn't just curiosity anymore it was understanding. Fragile, but real.

Aiden's answering smile was calm, but there was something proud beneath it too. "Yes." he said softly. "Exactly that."

He stepped forward a half pace, his voice low and even, the tone he used when the Force itself seemed to be listening. "The Force doesn't always speak in visions or warnings. Sometimes it only asks us to be. To share a heartbeat with the world. That's what you touched just now, the Living Force in its purest form. You didn't take from it, or demand meaning. You just existed alongside it, as one.


He looked out toward the horizon where green met gray, life pressing into the edges of ruin. "There's power in that kind of stillness. Jedi forget it sometimes. They look for revelation and miss the quiet truth sitting beside them. You found it without forcing it, Ensy. That's rare."

Aiden took a deep breath, he looked down to Ensy for a moment before kneeling in front of him, to eye level. "There is another lesson in this. I was here when this fire happened, it was done by agents of darkness, and I probably wouldn't have made it, if there wasn't other Jedi fighting beside me. That's to remind you that you are not alone, there are others that can bear the burden and the pain should it become to great, don't ever forget that. I will always be here to guide you and see you through, as long as I can be, my friend." The Jedi Knight gave him a reassuring squeeze on his shoulder before standing up.

"Let's keep going." Aiden said after a time, his voice soft but sure. "Let's see what else the world wants to show us before sundown. Ukatis has many stories, some old, some still being written."

 

[Ensy]

☽ Ensy ☾

Ensy's head tilted a little at Aiden's words. Revelation. To most Jedi it sounded like something important, something powerful. But to him, revelation had only ever meant pain he wasn't ready for. Memories he didn't want to see. Feelings that weren't his but forced their way into him anyway. He didn't want that. Not anymore.

But when Aiden knelt and said he didn't have to carry things alone…
When he said he would be there to guide him…
When he said friend…

A different kind of warmth settled in Ensy's chest. Enough to near bring a tear to his eyes.

He looked down at his own hands for a second, thinking of what Aiden said earlier. sharing a heartbeat with the world. With Master Porte and others like him, he did not need to be afraid. They would be there for each other.

When he looked back up, his voice was quiet but sure. "Thank you, Master Porte. I… I think I get what you mean." With a big smile he put out his fist for his master to bump in comradery.

He stood when Aiden did, instinctively stepping just a bit closer to him. Not hiding. Just… choosing to stand near.

At Aiden's words about seeing what else the world wanted to show them, Ensy nodded quickly, the corner of his mouth lifting into a small smile. "Yeah. I want to see more. I feel… okay. Seeing a new world has been so exciting but it was not overwhelming like I was worried it would be."

He glanced once more at the tiny green sprout pushing through the ash, then back toward the deeper forest ahead. The wind brushed gently past his tendrils.

"I'm ready, Let's go! Adventure!" With his proclamation he threw one arm in the arm in a little bit of a "Hizzah!" motion.

Aiden Porte

 

[Aiden Porte]

Ensy​

Aiden couldn't help the quiet laugh that slipped past his lips at Ensy's sudden burst of enthusiasm, that bright, unfiltered joy that cut through the lingering stillness of the burned grove. The boy's spirit was infectious; even the air seemed lighter for it. Aiden's smile deepened as he reached out, gently bumping his fist against Ensy's offered one, the gesture sealing something unspoken between them, not just a bond of teacher and student, but of trust, of friendship.

He could feel it in the Force as clearly as the wind at his back: this was the kind of Padawan who would remind others what the Order was meant to stand for. Hope. Curiosity. Compassion without fear. Ensy's heart shone bright and steady in that endless current, and Aiden felt a quiet certainty settle over him. The boy would become a great Jedi one day, not because he sought greatness, but because he already embodied the best parts of it.

"Adventure it is," Aiden said with a smile that reached his eyes. He gestured toward the distant edge of the blackened forest, where sunlight caught between the charred trunks and gleamed against the first hints of regrowth. "Remember, there are always lessons here, Ensy, every fall, step, every time you fail. There is a lesson in it: don't ever give up."

"Promise me that."

 

[Ensy]

☽ Ensy ☾

He took a step forward… and that step turned into a little hop. Then another. A soft, happy bounce that made the ends of his tendrils bounce with each step. Ensy's smile didn't fade, a near childlike innocence over him despite being a young teen. Presumably a stunting of his maturity because he never got to experience such things.

"I… I promise," he said, voice small but sure. Then, without breaking his stride or smile, he added with a quiet honesty that felt too big for someone his size,
"I won't ever give up. Now I know I have family who won't give up on me."

The words weren't heavy when he said them. He was giggling and bouncing around walking forward with his master. As if the boy did not realize how important the words were. He was just happy and enjoying himself.

He drifted just ahead of Aiden, then circled back to walk beside him, always close, always within reach, his feet lifting in a tiny skip every few paces.

"I'm ready for whatever the world wants to show us!"

Another hop.
Another bright grin.

And beside him, the burned forest, the scars on the world. They did not feel so dark and scary anymore.

Aiden Porte

 

[Aiden Porte]

Ensy​

Aiden watched him, that boundless energy dancing through the Force like ripples across still water. Each hop, each laugh, each sparkle of movement carried something luminous, a light that no shadow could quite swallow. The Knight couldn't help but smile, the expression deep and genuine, his eyes softening at the sight of Ensy's unguarded joy. It wasn't just happiness he was seeing. It was healing, the kind that didn't announce itself, but quietly rewrote what had once been broken. Every laugh was a step away from fear, every bounce a heartbeat closer to peace.

The boy's words lingered in Aiden's chest long after they'd been spoken.

Family who won't give up on me.

He had heard oaths before, solemn ones made in temples, on battlefields, between Jedi bound by duty. But this one, spoken through laughter and light, carried more truth than any of them. It was pure, untouched by pretense. A child's promise, yes, but also a Jedi's.

Aiden's hand rested briefly over his heart as he walked, as though to steady something stirring within it. "You already understand more than most ever do," he murmured, half to himself, half to the wind.

When Ensy circled back beside him, Aiden matched his pace. The Padawan's steps were springy, his tendrils catching the light like silver threads. Beside them, the burned forest stretched endlessly, but the air no longer felt haunted. Where once there was only ash, now there was motion, laughter — life again.

Aiden's smile turned into something quietly proud. "Then let's see it together," he said. "All that the world wants to show us, the beauty, the hardship, the in-between. Every part of it has something to teach."

The scorched bark of the trees glowed faintly amber, and the tiny green shoots that had survived the flames seemed to gleam brighter for it. Aiden glanced down at his Padawan, the warmth in his tone carrying the weight of certainty. "You'll make a great Jedi, Ensy. Not because of power or skill, but because you still see the light where others see ruin. That's what keeps the galaxy alive."

He skipped again, laughter echoing faintly through the open air, and Aiden followed not with a hop, but with a calm, steady step that carried the quiet grace of someone who believed. Together they moved along the edge of the forest, one steady, one bright, both shining and for the first time since they'd set foot on Ukatis, it felt less like a mission and more like the beginning of something truly good.

By the time the sun had reached its peak in the sky, the burned forest was far behind them. The air changed as they neared the outskirts of the city, warmer, denser, threaded with the scents of cooking fires, oil, and the faint metallic tang of starship parts being worked somewhere deeper within the streets.

Aiden walked beside him, posture relaxed, his presence in the Force like a steady hand between the shoulder blades. "Cities have their own kind of rhythm," he said quietly. "Feel it the same way you felt the wind earlier. Let it move around you not through you, unless you choose to let it in."

Inside the walls, Ukatis city life unfolded like a tapestry. Market tents snapped in the breeze, lanterns hung from ropes stretching between buildings, and people of varying species moved through the walkways with an easy familiarity born of a close-knit community. Many glanced curiously at Aiden's armor, and at Ensy, but none approached with hostility. Just caution, and interest.

There were some that gave small nods, some that just ignored them. And there were others, many others that smiled and waved. For many even here who knew who Aiden was.