Private The Hermit

[Kahlil Noble]

"I tried to kill the person who offered their hand, then spent the next several years hiding and traveling as a paranoid spacer hoping that I'd just be able to live a normal life."

He shrugged indifferently. That portion of his life he'd accepted. But the question she asked after, that was the key question to ask in his mind. "No. Not completely. I killed a lot of people, made a lot of monsters that killed even more. My labs are still out there, though most I've dismantled. But it took a long time for me to be able to go back and face what I'd done. Even longer for me to learn how to forgive myself and let myself move on. It's not easy. It won't be easy. And I don't think it should be."

Marigold

 

[Marigold]

"We didn't choose to be born this way, so why should it be hard for us?" She argued. "It wasn't us who made ourselves the monsters, it were the actions out of our control, and these actions have birth to the mindset that made us do that chit on repeat." Marigold exhales.

"Past's always finds it's way to haunt you, eh? What's next on our agenda?... Just don't tell me more meditating, please." The girl takes a deep sigh. "I'd continue asking more, but considering I dont't really know how to deal with what I've been told already, feels like my head is going to explode with all this information, so many puzzle pieces, and yet I got no idea how to connect them."

She seemed saddened, well, frustrated would be the better word. She's been told so many things, and yet. She couldn't just figure it out right away-... Not that it was easy to, but patience wasn't exactly her virtue, not at this point in time, at the very least. "I should probably say sorry to Valery next time I'll see her." She'd voice her thoughts out loud, the girl might be annoying, but it seems that at least a part of the two master's lessons were rubbing off on her, in a good way.

Kahlil Noble

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"Meditation is indeed on the agenda. But it doesn't have to mean right now."

Meditation meant nothing if she didn't still her mind, after all. A break would be better. Probably even perfect, if he had an idea or two. And he did. He smiled, stood up. Offered a hand with a chuckle. "You should, yes. Master Valery is not the type to loose her patience easy. She just wants you to succeed." Possibly even more than Kahlil himself, if that was even possible. "Why don't we look around the temple more. There's a couple places that might be good for you to see, I think."

Marigold

 

[Marigold]

"Well, I sure do have a way of getting under her skin, heh, should have seen her face when I called you two old back then." She breaks into a short, but lively laughter. "This place is huge though, where we'll go to first?" She inquired to Kahlil, standing up and stretching. "Maybe I'll consider doing some meditation after, hah, sightseeing is something that sooths my mind more than actively trying to sooth it myself." Or, perhaps she just wasn't used to the techniques of meditation, both it seemed.

Kahlil Noble

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"You realize you're talking about a council member of the Jedi, right?" He raised a brow, glancing down towards her. "And, my wife. Perhaps you should not be so keen on making fun of Master Valery." Kahlil himself was rather patient, but there was only so much he'd allow before he made it rather obvious he didn't appreciate those sorts of comments.

"The Thousand Fountain's, I think, would be the best. You'll understand why when we get there." Then he turned to lead the way back to the lift.

Marigold

 

[Marigold]

Marigold lowered her head to look down at the ground, and then, let out a sigh. "Fine, fine... I won't make fun of her.... Egh... You guys are no fun either, I used to trade banter and jabs with most bounty hunters or bar patrons, all the time." She waves dismissively. "Make fun of me too, you know? If it's one-sided, then it's just same thing as harrassing someone."

Obviously, Jedi were far different than bounty hunters or bar drunks, but the difference flew right over her head. Quite easygoing when not actively in distress, which is to say, rare occurance. "The Thousand Fountains? Sounds cool! Let's go!" She rushed up to the lift, waiting for Kahlil to hit the buttons, walking back and forth, back and forth, impatient, full of excitement.

Kahlil Noble

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"When I know you better, I might. But we're both still learning who the other person is." The most he could make fun of her for now was her past, and he certainly wasn't going to do that. "Give it time, though. I spent a good portion of my life as a spacer. I know how the game works." Especially the banter side. Professionalism only went so far with the more cut throat crowd he'd occasionally make deals with.

It wasn't too long to get to the Thousand Fountains. Or at least, the entrance to it. Where exactly within they were going was something he planned to leave up to her. Mostly. The first room was likely the simplest, if still beautiful. Local fauna, the remnants that used to exist on Coruscant's surface before the massive city was built atop it.

"There are a good number of rooms here. It's quite the assortment of worlds. All their plants, arranged as they would be in the wild. It helps the Jedi here remember home when they can't leave for there. Or preserve it for when worlds are.. Destroyed."

Marigold

 

[Marigold]

"I've got you all figured out already." Marigold grinned at Kahlil, it was hard to tell whether she was joking or not. As that mischiveous grin quickly switched to one of pure joy.

Of course, the first few rooms were nothing surprising, modest but nothing fancy to an average person, to Marigold however. It was like she was seeing an entirely new world unfold in front of her, her eyes betrayed a starry glint of life as she held a squeek of excitement in her voice. The swirling colors of the plants she was seeing was quite a daze for the young girl, who was probably all too isolated, and always narrow-minded to see the wider picture of life.

"I might not have a place to call home, but those- those are still amazing...! Let's go! I wanna' see more!" Not waiting for an answer, she sped off into the distance, exhaustion from the training abates as she's filled with energy, quite an unusual contrast between her gloom and unmotivated tone. "What's your favorite? I think mine's... This! No wait, this one! Mmh.. So hard to pick, they all look gorgeous!!" Frankly it looked like another person was talking to Kahlil, upbeat and cheerful tone, perhaps not all fragments of childhood are gone.

Kahlil Noble

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"If you think so."

He was very curious if she actually believed as much, but he wasn't going to question it for now. Instead, he was more smiling as she seemed absolutely enthralled by the scenery. This was only the first room. Doors lead off to the other sceneries, the other planets. Different ecosystems needed different levels of humidity and such, so they decided it'd be best to keep the plants in as close of an environment as they could to their home worlds.

"Panatha."

The whole room dedicated to Panatha. His home world. And one of few that had been destroyed.

"There are numerous planets that have participated in this. Go ahead, pick a door. But do so through the Force. Don't hesitate, don't second guess. Just pick the one that speaks to you the most and we'll go see what's behind it."

Marigold

 

[Marigold]

Marigold nods, although, frustration dawns on her. "This is harder than it looks, how am I even supposed to..." A deep sigh is taken, she holds herself back from going on another rant, looking back up, taking a deep sigh. Breating in, and breathing out through her nostrils. She starts going from door to door, eerily quiet.

From door to door, she kept going. Felt like eternity, really. She didn't really do it herself, she simply followed that gut feeling of her's, or at least she kept calling it that until recently. It wasn't really a gut feeling. But Force, what little of it was flowing through her. The girl had potential, great potential. Well, any force user had great potential, it's the burden that limited their potential.

And so she walked, eventually, going through a very far-off door.

Piforo

She doesn't understand why, she picked that door in particular, Force wouldn't tell her, and neither she knows how to understand it properly, she just did. The room was... Not in the best state, of course, those architects and spacefarers generously donated what they could find but. Very little plant life was present, if any at all. Most of it was quite colorful though, and vibrant in it's color.

Marigold felt weak in her legs, and dropped on her knees, with a blank expression watching the plant life. "Did I see this before?" She muttered under her breath, trying her best to remember, but things were a blur, her hands shook, overwhelming sense of sadness and pain washed over her, as she unwittingly relived the memories, no words were muttered, she just watched, quietly, in shock.

Kahlil Noble

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"Like that."

Kahlil smiled softly as she did finally choose a door. Something spoke to her in the room, but as he stepped in with her, he didn't see much that would. There was something else here than the paltry amount of plants that had her attention. Concern flashed in his eyes as she dropped. Spoke her question aloud. So she knew this world, then? A sad memory, for certain. But how or why he wasn't sure on. Instead he found a spot to sit beside her, looked over the plants that were there.

"They're pretty, at least."

Marigold

 

[Marigold]

"Yeah."

Marigold mumbled under her breath, no more words came out. Or sounds for that matter, she simply watched. Enthralled. Disconnected from reality, she didn't know what to feel, how to feel. Those were the puzzle pieces, floating around her, but she couldn't make a single connection about them. It felt frustrating, but at the same time, saddening to her.

No place to call home, nor that many people to track her roots back to, and still, very few people in present that she could connect with. She was a Hermit, except, strangely enough. Even surrounded by people, she still felt loneliness.

"Kahlil?" She looked back up, speaking in a somber tone, it sounded almost like a squeek. "What is it like to have lots of friends? You seem like the guy who would have a ton of em'." The girl pushes past saddened tone, looking back at her Master.

Kahlil Noble

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"It feels safe. Like all the weight on your shoulders isn't something you have to struggle with alone anymore." Kahlil did have a good number of friends, with a couple that he considered far closer than others, but living alone, friendless. He knew that life. It was a sad one, and one he hoped Marigold would be able to leave behind once she did start to make friends. Which, she'd have to make friends first of all.

That'd be it's own problem.

"You'd have to be nice to make friends, y'know."

Marigold

 

[Marigold]

Marigold scoffed in response. "I don't need lot of friends, I was just asking!" The young padawan crossed her hands, pouting. "It's hard to talk to people like Valery, even you. I just- I don't-... I don't know what to talk about." It didn't exactly help that she wasn't the best at making friends. Most of her interactions are quite awkward. "You talk differently, see things differently, I dunno'... It's just-..." She wasn't the best at explaining her woes either, all the more reason to keep it to herself.

"Whatever, just forget I said anything." Marigold huffed, and brought her legs closer to herself, wrapping her hands around them, curling up in a ball practically as she sat and watched the plant. It understood her the most despite it's inability to speak, or understand language. "It'll be fine, I'm sure of it." She mumbled under her nose.

Kahlil Noble

 

[Kahlil Noble]

Kahlil smirked a little. Just a little. "I thought you told me to tease you back."

That was all he said on that, chuckling before it faded as he listened to what she was saying. It was.. Sad. To see her struggle. Especially since he didn't think she had to do that alone. But that was her choice. Her stubbornness was the only thing that would keep her from getting the help she needed. "It'll only be as fine as you want it to be, you know. What you're willing to do try and get better on."

Marigold

 

[Marigold]

"That's true." A nod escaped her. "But y'know, I do need to be on good terms with you and her, you're going to be teachin' me after all." She might of have been stubborn, but at least she realized the importance of relationship between her and the two masters. At least she was learning. "I'll do better, time heals all wounds, right?" She'd look back over to Kahlil, with expectant gaze in her eyes.

Kahlil Noble

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"No. Time alone doesn't heal all wounds."

Kahlil glanced again to Marigold. Smiled softly. There was no reason to cherry coat this. Maybe Valery would be proud of him being honest, regardless of how it might make Marigold feel. "People need time to learn to accept things, but to actually heal you need to make the effort to treat the wounds."

Marigold

 

[Marigold]

"What if you dunno' how to tend to your wounds?" Marigold inquired to Kahlil, she liked talking that way, bringing up metaphors, drawing parallels, it was easier for her than to engage in a direct conversation, mouthful of words would usually come out as awkward stutter as she tripped on her own words. "Don't you just, end up hurtin' yourself more?" She mused with a saddened tone.

"And y'know, i don't think scars heal, at least, not all of em'. I've got plenty, you got even more." She huffed. "And scars make you look scary to other people." She gestures to her face, a main example of it, some of them going down her neck and continuing further. "I hide my scars, it makes it easier to interact with people." Marigold wraps her hood and cloak around herself, sinking into it.

"Yeah, sure, I guess I have issues with um, uh, making friends, but I made allies and contacts before, so what's the difference? It... Can't be that difficult."

Kahlil Noble

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"Your scars are yours. You can hide them, you can flaunt them, you can do whatever you want with them. But they are yours. You can decide if they make you scary or not." He knew he was intimidating with how he looked. The scars, the height, the build. But he still carried himself in a kind way. Smiled warmly. It was his choice if he was going to be intimidating or not at the end of the day.

And he chose to never be that to people who didn't deserve it.

"It is difficult. But worth it, you know. You just have to try."

Marigold

 

[Marigold]

"You portray that as a personal choice, sure, I guess we do speak and act like we want to. But that doesn't mean people will look at you the same as you look at yourself." She argues. "And unlike oneself, it's hard to change opinion of other folk." Marigold huffed, shaking her head, hands crossed as she lifted herself up from the floor.

"I'll admit, social interactions tend to tire me out quickly. But I can try, sure... How do I start, though? I don't think approaching people randomly and asking if they wanna' be friends is a reliable way." A chuckle escapes red-hooded girl, she lifts her arms up and stretches them wide, hands beckoning to herself. "Come on, you have a lot of friends. Surely you can tell me more, think we should be about getting back to that room we've meditated in, or something, unless you had other places in mind." Marigold shakes her head.

"If I stay here for too long, I'll just get all sad and won't wanna' to get out of my bed next time around, not that it stopped you, eh?" She chortles.

Kahlil Noble