Private Strange Garden-Bedfellows

[Adean Castor]

TAG: Madrona A’Mia

With pursed lips, Adean watched as the instructor once again poured over the booklet Adean had been using as a potential guide. What Adean had meant was for the Neti to judge and correct the specific plants she had pulled from the allocated spot of the garden, based on the images provided for that particular section of the book. What she had gotten was, well, not that.

But it also wasn't a waste, hence why Adean, or rather Tavis, said nothing to object once she caught on to what was being done. In fact, perhaps this was more of a boon than what she had initially asked for. Now, assuming this was the right page and that she could identify the right plants, she knew what to actually do with them, too. Crushing was easy, it didn't take lessons in botany to do that. What had initially stumped Adean, however, was powdering. These were living plants, after all. To take a mortar and pestle to them would create a paste well before it made powder. Unless, of course, there was no moisture involved. For that, the dehydrator would come in handy.

Briefly, Adean considered asking her question again, to ensure the plants she had chosen from were absolutely correct. But then she also had to wander if perhaps she would get bonus points for not needing to use all the advantages granted to her. After all, there was no limit given for how many attempts she could have. No time limit, either. And so she set herself to following the instructions and corrected notes, eager to see what would come from them before making any adjustments.

When the first batch was done, she performed a second one, just to see if there was consistency in her method. At last, she turned back to the instructor, figuring it was better to use all the advantages given to her and succeed rather than to fail anticipating a catch. "For my final question, what would you change, for the purposes of making a poultice." The final specification was important, in case the book was actually teaching her to make something else she didn't know the specifications of.

 

[Madrona A’Mia]

The strange botanical stilled once more as the student went to work. Her eyes seemed to take in everything, even things which eyes weren't generally relied upon for. Aside from her uncanny stillness, Adean Castor might also start to feel her slow and creeping presence in the Force. There was something dark and lurking to her energy, something unseen but unmistakably felt in the way A'Mia seemed to unobtrusively worm her energy into every small corner of the space she occupied. Hers was not the presence of a mighty and terrible god-head Force practitioner. No, she was more akin to the quiet power of mycorrhizal networks which touch the very fabric of any ecosystem they occupy.

So she did nothing to disrupt the girl's process but she made note of everything. Eventually, as Tavis turned to ask her question, the teacher considered briefly. Unblinking eyes appearing as two pools of algae blooming oceans.

"I would add more purified H2O to this one," she gestured with one long spindly finger, "and would have sifted the powered botanical in more slowly with this one," as she indicated the other.

Feedback seemed entirely based around the overall consistency of the final products, so the unsuspecting testee might be able to conclude that both concoctions were relatively acceptable in their current states.

​

 

[Adean Castor]

TAG: Madrona A’Mia

If there was something to be said about the Neti's presence, it was lost among the pressure to perform on top of Adean's already muted senses. When it came to force sensitivity, the Epicanthix found herself just sensitive (or just smart) enough to fake it. Any control she had was fleeting at best.

She was pleased with the feedback of her current attempts. The notes seemed minor enough that they may be passable as is. Still, she didn't know how stringent the grading would be for the final product. And why not make it the best she could?

A third attempt was made, doing her best to take those notes and her own observations under the watchful eyes of her instructor. This third one she was happy with, or at least decided she was happy with. There was only so much fussing she could do.

"I believe I'd like to turn this one in," she started slowly as if she wasn't quite sure of decision still. "But for my last boon, I'd like to see you make one now."

 

[Madrona A’Mia]

Again A'Mia held still in her uncanny fashion, much like her non-sentient tree cousins, and watched the student work. She did not move even as Adean Castor started to speak. The request for that last boon was met with a long impassive silence. Not a move or breath or sign she had heard. Then a smile transformed that wooden face, a true smile which crept across her alien features and touched her eyes this time. A'Mia's hair also animated with the gesture and the entire form of the arboreal woman seemed to ripple with emotion. Rather than respond, the neti began to work on a poultice in answer.

The dehydration of one plant was calculated down to the millisecond and its temperature carefully monitored throughout. The plant destined for the mortar and pestle was actually neatly chopped into precise cubes prior to the grinding process. Altogether A'Mia's method was not significantly different from her unwitting pupil's but it did have all the marks of an expert. Finishing her task under the curious eye of Tavis, the woman eventually turned to scrutinize her, still filled with a strange electric glee.

​

 

[Adean Castor]

TAG: Madrona A’Mia

The silence as the Neti considered her request was deafening. The smile that followed was unsettling enough Adean took a step back, uncertain if she'd fallen into some sort of trap.

Yet it seemed her worry was in fortunate vain. A'Mia used the tools before them in practiced proficiency, a master of her craft. Had Adean a true interest in botany, she could've watched the other work for hours on and. The entire form of the Neti was alight with movement, one that Adean soon became to recognize as enthusiasm for the craft rather than preparing to strike.

With the expert's poultice complete, Adean placed her final product alongside the masterwork, comparing the two. There were similarities, sure, enough that she was confident she had completed the task assigned. "Was there anything else I needed to do for this task?" She asked, looking up into the instructor's gleeful eyes with a more composed glance.

 

[Madrona A’Mia]

Appearing to suddenly remember herself, A'Mia animated all at once and began nodding with newfound energy. Contrary to her body language, she denied any further requirements for Adean Castor to complete but was soon swept into a new train of thought.

"No, no, you've done quite well. Let's make sure that quick mind isn't going to waste, yes? You needn't spend time with topics that don't draw your interest when clearly you already have a knack for thinking on your feet and perhaps even alchemy at some point. No, lets make sure that talent won't be wasted on months of lower level course work."

The neti ushered "Tavis" out of the greenhouse, but not before she applied the poultice she made and bottled the best of the two her hapless new student created. A'Mia made fast work of applying the medicine to the girl's wound. Bandaging it, rather alarmingly, with a section of her vine like hair that encircled the damaged area and constricted before A'Mia severed the tendril from her own body as if it were the most straightforward and normal thing to do. Pressing the bottled poultice into the girl's hands, the Sith Shadow guided her to the registration office. With an offhanded wave to the sour looking, bespectacled hutt woman behind the counter, A'Mia helped herself to one of the data terminals. Blocking Adean's view purposely for a moment, the arboreal woman entered a multi-digit key-code to access the student database.

"Tavis... Ordel, you said?" She asked rhetorically, already bringing up the file and moving aside slightly so the girl could take a look.

"Sucrose Reliance, hmm? I assume the head chef has seen to you. Contact me if that needs closer monitoring though."

A'Mia continued on, seemingly none-the-wiser that all of this was new information to her new charge as well.

"Yes, alright let me just switch a few of these courses. We'll get your new schedule uploaded to your datapad momentarily. How are you liking things in dormitory 2?"

​

 

[Adean Castor]

TAG: Madrona A’Mia

Had 'Tavis' been here truly to study, she would've been ecstatic to receive such high praise and, dare she say, a promotion in her coursework. Adean, however, could only muster a tight-lipped and wide-eyed smile. "Oh, I don't mind the lower-level coursework, anyone could use a refresher on the basics." Basics she'd never actually received, but also basics she hadn't actually planned on attending. She'd planned on rejoining her fellow Jutrand visitors the moment she left the greenhouse and simply never set foot on Korriban again. Clearly, those plans were no longer viable.

Any protests were promptly cut off as the poultice was applied to her wound, heartrate spiking as vines wrapped around Adean's leg. The relief from the medicine was largely overshadowed by the horror of the Neti's severed tendril serving as a bandage. Was that a normal happenstance in this academy? She didn't want to stay long enough to find out.

Ushered beyond the greenhouse in almost a terror-induced daze, it wasn't until they were passing the Hutt's counter that Adean found herself returning to her senses. The extra poultice in hand would give her an edge somewhere down the road. More importantly, there was information galore to be gleamed in the registration office. Her face was already seen here with a faculty member once, it wouldn't be too implausible for her to claim she was sent here by faculty in the future.

While unable to see the keycode, hearing its implementation gave her something to go off of, so long as she remembered A'Mia was not bound by the same finger configuration as most humanoids. The sound of two keys in rapid succession indicated they were close to each other. Three in a row with only the slightest pause between the first and the second told her it was a practiced phrase. If she heard the combination enough times she could even start to identify when a hand might move up or down the keypad, at least theoretically.

Adean had to police herself so as not to look too eager when she was given the opportunity to look at supposedly her own file. Sucrose Reliance...very good to know...Her uncle had that, if memory served, though that felt like a lifetime ago. "Oh, yes, will do," the absent agreement came easily as she continued scanning the screen for more information to take in. "Can I actually look at this further when you're finished? I'm always so curious what information the academy keeps on us." For Jutrand, it seemed like everything, down to blood samples and retinal scans (at least Adean wouldn't be surprised if that were the case). The sooner she could get a grasp on that here, the better.

As A'Mia continued speaking, a new challenge presented itself. The datapad. It was locked, surely, but how so? And would the Neti make her unlock it here? That could very much be her undoing. Forcing herself to shift focus to the instructor's actual question, Adean's expression turned sheepish. "The dorm is fine, I just get a bit lost in general sometimes, you know? It's hard to keep track of everything, especially when I'm low - not that I'm complaining, it's just a challenge."

 

[Madrona A’Mia]

The woman's strange eyes rose to consider the sour faced hutt woman stationed nearby, moving to angle her back to block the accountant's view this time. A'Mia shook her head in contradiction to the quiet words that came out. There was clearly more context and perhaps a somewhat strained relationship between the student registry lady and the Sith Shadow.

"Not officially, no. But I will linger as if we have more of your classes to figure out. Some patron information will be encrypted even in this report, so I don't see the harm but Motatta back there will rake us over the lava flows if she catches you, so make it quick."

What A'Mia didn't add was the reason for Motatta's particularly acerbic attitude toward the neti. When A'Mia had first enrolled Kor'ethyr, not only did she lack the funding for tuition, room, and board, but she'd soon risen the ranks from "first year" to an exceedingly non-traditional Sith Shadow who also happened to hold a position on the Council of Lords in Vardin under the King himself. The hutt woman was a stickler for rules, organization, etc and she ran a very tight ship as treasurer of Kor'ethyr. The fact that A'Mia slipped between the cracks of structure and seemed to be an exception to so many rules did not sit well with her.

"And yes, getting your barrings here takes time- what with the living qualities of Kor'ethyr. It's earned the nickname of 'the shifting citadels' quite well."

Adean Castor
​

 

[Adean Castor]

TAG: Madrona A’Mia

Adean's eyes drifted between A'Mia and the aforementioned Motatta. If the Hutt would be so upset, why risk her ire at all? Either 'Tavis' had truly become a special project of sorts for the Neti or there was some ongoing tension between the two faculty members. Now that would be useful, if it were the case. A thread she could poke at, something to unravel for leverage.

"Of course, I completely understand." The dejection in her voice was well practiced, just as the slight grin that tugged at her lips in a direct contradiction to the words. Be A'Mia's deception a genuine kindness or a calculated move, she wasn't about to take the opportunity for information for granted.

Emerald eyes fixated on the terminal, soaking in every inkling of information she could gather in the amount of time she was given. Dorm assignment and birthdate were easy enough to commit to memory. Name and dosages of medications was going to be more difficult. Course schedule, there was little point to trying if they were about to change it. Other information such as homeworld and former address she did her best, for the more info she could use to guess any passwords, the better.

"What classes were you wanting to change?"

 

[Madrona A’Mia]

"You needn't attend Seminar if you intend to pursue House Derriphan. I'll consider the test you just passed your trial to enter the house, which will make room for both Xenobotany and Alchemical Basics."

The botanical woman answered in a matter of fact tone. She watched Adean Castor intensely as the girl read intently, mentally taking her own notes regarding which details might hold such fascination for a student supposedly looking at their own file. As if on cue, the Hutt began undulating closer- beady eyes glaring vibrodaggers into the back of A'Mia's head.

"Unless you have anything you specifically wish to pursue?"

​

 

[Adean Castor]

TAG: Madrona A’Mia

Tavis' attention was temporarily drawn away from the data as A'Mia spoke. One vague, catch-all sounding course traded for two very specific courses sounded rough, especially on top of Jutrand courses. No, she shouldn't be thinking of this course schedule as something she intended to keep to, merely something to get the Neti off her back until she could return to the Jutrand academy.

She drifted back to the information on the screen. Tavis was human. Good, something Adean passed for easily. The natural advantages of her Epicanthix heritage could just be explained away as talent and skill. As the Neti began speaking once more, her brow furrowed in conversation, returning to the facade they played together.

"I see I'm scheduled for Sith History. Would there be any way to test out of that? Perhaps replace it with an independent study? I've done some pretty extensive research on my own and feel that class time would be better used elsewhere." Like playing catch up or finding the next vessel off world. Or, who knew? Perhaps she'd find something that really did pique her interest. "Would you have any other recommendations? What path is this set to take me beyond the academy?"