Sneaky Sneaky

[Asaraa Vaashe]

Furtive. That wasn't a word that could normally be associated with Padawan Asaraa Vaashe, but one that worked very well at the moment. The red-skinned Togruta was skulking through the halls of Silver's Rest, keeping to the shadows as she slipped from one window to the other. It was almost as if she didn't want to be found, shutting herself down in the force till the barest echo of her presence whispered out. On her data pad that morning had been a message, a suggestion that she meet up with her master for some long overdue training. As if there was time for that.

Amber eyes flicked up and down the hallway before the young woman scurried around the corner. All she had to do was make it outside, getting up to the ranger's complex would be easy then, and she could hide herself in the dense foliage of Kashyyk easily enough.

[member="Yuroic Xeraic"]

 

[WelshGuy]

Yuroic waited patiently. Asaraa had missed several lessons recently and it started to worry Yuroic, perhaps he was not the Master she wanted or he wasn't able to keep her engage as another Master would. The thoughts made him uncomfortable, while he knew going in that he wasn't a great teacher, he did think he wouldn't fail. Perhaps that was his hubris. He had see if Asaraa wanted to learn from another, only fair that he give her the best education. Even if it wasn't from himself.

However, the fact she hadn't arrived for the lesson/discussion, caused him great concern. Deciding to take action, Yuroic went to where the Padawans normally slept, searching for Asaraa. Time to be more proactive, get in her face and talk to her. Not let her come to him as he had been doing for too long. When he discovered she wasn't there, Yuroic used the Force to sense her out. It was difficult, she had almost all but cut her connection to the Force.

Following her best he could, once he reached outside the temple, he found it easier. Yuroic had spent years tracking people, animals and such, he found marks and footprints that he knew were Asaraa's. She was heading to the Ranger encampment, Yuroic stalked her carefully. Following from a distance to watch what unfolded.

[member="Asaraa Vaashe"]

 

[Asaraa Vaashe]

The feel of the sunlight playing across her skin gave the Padawan a small measure of safety, of security as she padded out of the temple. Back there it felt like everyone was staring at her, their piercing gazes seeing everything that was going on with her. Out here in nature, she was away from the Jedi and their ability to see through the force, the questions they asked that the rangers wouldn't. The Togruta pressed her toes into the loamy ground under the cloud cover, glancing back over her shoulder towards Silver's Rest, her amber eyes taking in the sight before she padded on towards the base.

She'd hoped that things could be a little easier, but she'd underestimated the Silver Jedi, underestimated the community within the complex. It was already getting harder and harder to keep control, to dampen down any suspicions. She'd have to act sooner rather than later, move up the plans. There was almost a skip to her step now, a sense of peace in the environment that she wasn't used to, and for a moment she paused, reaching out one red-skinned hand to run it along the trunk of a tree, plucking up one of the flowers that surrounded her, taking a deep breath of it before letting the pink flower slip out of her hand, lying discarded in her wake as she took another step forward.

[member="Yuroic Xeraic"]

 

[WelshGuy]

Yuroic tracked Asaraa through the dense rainforest of Kashyyyk. It was difficult to keep a steady pace as he was always keeping an eye out for the dangerous wildlife that live on the world. The journey reminded him of the year he spent surviving on his own on a uncivilised planet. He learnt how to track and hunt from his time there, it meant he wasn't dependent on the Force locate someone on a planet like this.

Finding the flower that Asaraa plucked, Yuroic sensed that it hadn't been long since she had touched the plant. His eyes scanned the area, just in case he could find her. Moving swiftly and sure footedly through the terrain, he reached a point where he was able to see her. Jumping over her, he landed in front of her in a dramatic and unnecessary fashion. Looking at her, he gave a cheery smirk. "Tada! And that's how you track a Padawan who has been avoiding you. Next lesson will be informing your Master why you have been avoiding them." He coughed, speaking in a friendly and joking tone. However, his eyes looked at her with a seriousness and concern.

[member="Asaraa Vaashe"]

 

[Asaraa Vaashe]

The rustle of leaves was the only warning the young woman had, mere seconds of time to react before the man came tumbling out of the treetops, landing easily in front of her, kicking up a gale of leaves. The Togruta shied backwards, surprise etched over her amber eyes as she jumped back a step, bare feet settling down onto the leaf-covered ground as her hand flew instinctively to her side.

"Ah...you...I didn't realise that you were that good at tracking," she pulled her hand away from the lightsaber, resting it on her belt as she gave him a puzzled look. "It's not that I've been avoiding you it's just...all this work keeps me so busy. You know how it is, one thing leads to another and then that takes up the entire day and before I know it I've worked right through the meetings." She gave him what she hoped was a sweet smile, a hint of irritation, anger dancing in the backs of her eyes. "I'll do better, but now I did promise I'd meet...umm a few others." That sounded weak even to her but this was exactly why she'd been avoiding the Jedi. There was a part of her, a part she ruthlessly pushed down as hard as she could, that hated this, railed against it, against lying to the man.

[member="Yuroic Xeraic"]

 

[WelshGuy]

Yuroic's eyes fixed on the Padawan as she explained herself. Excuses, not very good excuses either it seemed, Yuroic was disheartened by this. There was something troubling Asaraa and he seemed to have missed the early signs. Now, now it seemed too late, he had been worried about how she thought of him that it never occured to him that something might be wrong with her or someone else in her life. It was decided in his mind that he had to be more proactive, take more care of her, he had to show Asaraa that she could be open and honest about anything.

He took a step back, leaning against a lean, Yuroic looked briefly up at the sky. A deep sigh left his lips as his gaze turned back to Asaraa. "No." He said in a calm, thoughtful tone. "No, today shall be about me and you, we are going to talk and share our troubles. Together. I can tell you are keeping something from me and your lying is very poor, which is good." He smiled slightly. "No. Today, you need to be with your Master. Your friends will understand, your training comes first. Always."

He waited to see her reply to this. It was not an offer, it was an order. Yuroic knew that training came first and would have never avoid training with his Master, and when Asaraa started as his Padawan she was the same. So Yuroic clearly knew something was not right.

[member="Asaraa Vaashe"]

 

[Asaraa Vaashe]

"Tezn zuti salini," the curse slipped off the young woman's lips without a thought, the sith language rolling naturally out of her mouth as amber eyes narrowed, staring at Yuroic. For a brief moment annoyance tugged the Togruta's lips into an ugly grimace before, as quickly as it came, the look vanished from her lips leaving her features as still and placid as a mask. "Well...it doesn't look like you're giving me a whole lot of choice in the matter are you now?" The young woman's shoulder's seemed to tense up as she slipped her hands into her pockets, turning slowly to head over to face the Jedi Knight. "You know, in the real world, one might think that being able to deceive someone would be a bonus, not something to want to avoid."

That amber gaze flicked over towards the path before she sighed, looping her fingers through her belt as she tilted her head to the side. It was a familiar gesture, one that came naturally to the Padawan as she thought through a topic, but now there seemed to be an almost malevolent, mocking air to the motion. "Well then...Master. What's on your mind for the day?"

[member="Yuroic Xeraic"]

 

[WelshGuy]

Yuroic blinked as Asaraa cursed in the foreign language to him. There were few languages that Yuroic could understand and he was certain that the young Padawan wasn't speaking in Togruti, the native language of Togrutas. Yuroic was sure that she was speaking a language that was likely something ancient or forgotten for Yuroic to not understand it or even know something similar to it. His eyes fixated on the young woman, he noted the ugly grimace, though fleeting as it was. His concern grew, something was definitely not right, the mixture of her speaking a language he did not know, unwillingness to learn and sour mood. It was definitely not usual Asaraa that he was speaking to.

"Well since you are losing focus on your training, I have to take control. I should have earlier but I was hoping you would realise your actions were impacting you negatively yourself." Yuroic commented as he moved closer to her, "how about we train your mental ability to block someone entering your mind and reading your thoughts." Though an important skill to learn, Yuroic was in fact hoping he could gleam some information from her during this session. Understand what was happening to his Padawan.

He sat cross legged and waited for Asaraa to follow the same in suit.

[member="Asaraa Vaashe"]

 

[Asaraa Vaashe]

The young Togruta cast one final glance up the path towards the mountain base, amber eyes sweeping up the pathway before she sighed, tramping back to Yuroic almost stroppily. “Well, if you put it like that…” Maybe if she just let him teach the lesson he was so desperate to teach then the man would let her get on, it’s not like there was a timetable or anything. Folding her legs at the knee the young woman sank down to the ground, reaching out with the force to gather the fallen leaves around her, sweeping them all out of the way as she settled down on the side of the road.

“So…mental blocking huh? Does that stop everyone getting into your head? Even the other Jedi around here? Seems like everyone knows exactly what’s going on in everyone elses’ head.” Despite herself she found herself curious, interested in that much at least. If she could just block out the world, how much easier would everything be. Even if she knew how the jedi blocked out the world, it would mean she’d know what they did to see into your head and could at least watch out for that.

[member="Yuroic Xeraic"]

 

[WelshGuy]

Yuroic saw a slight spark of interest, it seemed to be that the blocking gained her interest but he wasn't sure if it was a good reason or not. Undecided he continued to think on the answer, allowing a moment's silence to fall on them. "The Force can make it difficult to not sense another's feelings, especially to people just beginning their training. No one is trying to probe your mind intentionally Asaraa." He commented as he could sense that the once social Padawan was starting to show signs of being more reclusive.

"If you want to block someone from your mind, you need to focus your mind. For now, you won't be able to stop someone truly trying to enter your mind, especially if they are skilled mentalists. However, you will be able to block others as long as you can focus on blocking someone. It takes time and practice to be able to keep your mind from others." He said as he directed his mental skills into her head, speaking into her mind, Now try to push me out. He probed her mind, attempting to see if she was hiding the reason for her behavioural change but being subtle as to not arouse suspicion.

[member="Asaraa Vaashe"]

 

[Asaraa Vaashe]

The Padawan seemed to jump right out of her skin as the voice echoed in her head, amber eyes flashing with surprise and anger at the intrusion as she almost surged to her feet, her breath catching in her throat as she stared at Yuroic. There was an unusual wellspring of anger that seemed to flare up in her mind, an almost alien, human feeling that surged up at Yuroic, battering his grasp on her mind. Out! Out! Out! she almost screamed at him, her entire body tensing as if she was under attack. Panic and fear danced across her face in quick succession, as her hands clenched into fists at her side.

The young woman seemed to lean forward, as if right on the verge of stepping forward, of dropping into violence as she stared at Yuroic, the force around her swirling, a slickness in the force roiling off her body tainting the very air around them. There was a primal, nearly animal wildness to her in that moment as she battered at Yuroic in the force, no finesse, no calm just a whirling maelstrom of anger.

[member="Yuroic Xeraic"]