The Speed of...Running [Meeristali Peradun]

[Lorieth Faeryn]

Although Lorieth was sad to be away from her mother again, she knew that the path of a Jedi would require a lot of effort and not everything could be done by Matsu. Her mother had said that a someone good for training her would be stationed and waiting on the moon of Yavin IV. It was an exciting new place for Lorieth to visit and she couldn't wait. The jungles of this moon were famous for holding the center of the Jedi Academy. But strangely enough, Lorieth was not to go to the academy, but to the surrounding jungle. She had some rough coordinates that weren't all that exact, but she trusted that she would be able to sense him through the Force when she was close enough.

The shuttle set down close to the academy. A quick check through the processing station, and Lorieth went to a small store to grab a few essentials for her trek. After tossing them into her pack, she left the academy, heading straight into the woods. Using her datapad, she was able to guide herself through the thick trees. The trees were immensely old and there signature on the Force was remarkable. It felt like walking through a tree museum.

Finally arriving at the spot she was to meet her temporary trainer, Lorieth sat down with a sigh, glad to stop walking for the moment. Now it was her turn to wait for the unknown trainer to come. This was going to definitely be fun. For whatever reason though, Matsu had told her to bring some of this stuff that makes feline creature get..high. She got out the small package that had the shredded green plant, and a snack for her to eat while she waited.

[member="Meeristali Peradun"]

 

[Meeristali Peradun]

It wasn't often that he received a query through J.A.N. channels, as much of his work had him stationed on or near the front lines of one conflict or another in direct opposition to this Sith or that Sith. Training wasn't something that much time was spared for, so what time could be found was typically dedicated to the improvement of self. When the request came and the attached name of the requester was one Matsu Ike, he paid it heed in spite of the past, oft-times notorious history of the woman. It was a challenge to the path he walked as a Jedi, a Guardian, and the knee-jerk reaction would easily be to refuse the request... and that was precisely why he didn't. The student couldn't be blamed for the forgiven transgressions of the woman in question, and to boot, Yavin IV was by and far one of his most beloved places to be, next to the jungles of Ossus that had been his home and his duty to patrol as a padawan, with his cousin. Such times seemed so distant and by many definitions, they were.

It was standard procedure for the master to be present for the arrival of a student, but it had been too long since he had let his full form out for a jaunt across the jungle, detritus flying and fluttering in his wake. It was a fact that he would get cranky if all of that time before now was spent in a shipboard environment, but fortunately it had either been at conflict or in the limitations of the domes on Sullust, where he had begun to realize his hope of bringing Avalore back into the fold, into the greater work of the Jedi and those that were considered 'good'. It was this humongous feline - tail streaming behind, back with spikes jutting out down the spinal column - that came whizzing past at such a rate that the blur nearly obscured him entirely, and he turned to possibly make another pass after an additional fifty feet.

But when he came back around, his pace began to slow and he leapt high. Next thing, he was landing on two feet, and the frightful beast was gone: in his place stood a large, orange-eyed man, with pockmarks of old scars of acid from a hydrastaff in an upper corner of his face and hair of one side of his head, and that tail weaving back and forth. Where the minimal-form robes that he wore came from was hard to say, and after a deep breath in and out, he glanced sidelong at the waiting girl, and his head followed suit.

"[member="Lorieth Faeryn"]?"

The words came, firm and to the point, absent of the rolling 'r's that were his natural accent Nowadays, only those closest to him were afforded such intimacy of speech from him. He watched the girl a moment, who stood almost in the exact same spot where he had met with Kara, his current and as-yet only padawan.

"I haven't kept you waiting too long, have I?"

 

[Lorieth Faeryn]

Lorieth looked up and her smile grew wide. "How very nice to meet you! Indeed I am Lorieth. My mother sent you for me. I am so fortunate to be learning under the tutelage of you." A simple little bow after Lorieth had stood and she was extending her hand with the package after opening it. "My mother said to present this to you. I've no idea why. But she was laughing when she told me to, so I assume it's something funny? Is there a joke I'm missing?" Lorieth was a fairly smart person, but in some cases, she was slightly naive. This was one of them. She had no idea what she was doing. But she figured if Matsu had told her to do it, there was a point to it. She smiled gratefully at him, in that cute girly way only she managed to pull off so perfectly.

[member="Meeristali Peradun"]

 

[Meeristali Peradun]

He accepted the little package, with a wrinkle of his nose - there was absolutely no need to open it, none at all. To say, he could smell it on the first pass, when he had gone racing by and when faced with the genuinely clueless manner of the girl in front of him, it was that which he found amusing and not the childish humour of her mother.

"Some Jedi," he gruffed, shaking his head in some disbelief, "it's catnip, Lorieth."

He grimaced. The scent of the dried leaf made his mind roll on back to his days in the armed forces of his homeworld. The 'nip was a regulated, legal substence. Soldiers were permitted to use it while off-duty, but most commanders frowned upon it even then, given the seeming propensity of green recruits to not be aware of the timelines of effect for the stuff, thus often ending up on duty still under the influence.

"And I'm a Felacatian, one of only several species of sapient felinoids in this galaxy, and no, the herb doesn't have blanket coverage as a drug. For some of us, like me..."

He grinned slightly at this, that [member="Matsu Ike"]'s little jape wouldn't get the chance to spread its wings and fly, instead being swatted down and crushed by only the metaphorical large paw of the man. He handed the package back, and crossed his arms, doing his best to otherwise not seem as menacing as he tended to look. It simply couldn't be helped.

"...it has no effect. Tell your mother 'nice try', and that I heard it makes for a nice, soothing tea."

A certain flame-haired healer and tea connoisseur had expended several minute extolling the benefits of the herb, some years ago, and the then-Padawan Peradun had wanted nothing more than to plug his ears, or do something to silence the old master, but respect and proper composure steeled him.

"So, I'm told you want to be fast. Is that right?"

[member="Lorieth Faeryn"]

 

[Lorieth Faeryn]

Even though the man in front of her didn't find the joke amusing, Lorieth did. In fact, she had to work to hide any sign of amusement while he talked. Thankfully she did that successfully. She put the catnip back into her pack noting to herself that she would have to try the tea he mentioned. Just for fun. Then she got down to business. "Yes. My mother has given me a list of simple abilities that I need to master. Being able to jump with the Force is one of them. And she also said that this would be a good time to learn how to control my reflexes," even though she was somewhat naive, Lorieth knew what she needed to learn. "I've already learned how to channel the Force through me at will. So. Shall we begin?"

[member="Meeristali Peradun"]

 

[Meeristali Peradun]

A list? Well, that would have made things easier for him when he was a padawan, but he'd been left to his own devices for the most part and had turned out just as well, for the most part due to his background. He was trained to be self-sufficient long before he had ever become a Jedi. If not for that, he would have sunk rather than swum.

"Good," he said to her mention of what she had already learned, crossing his arms, watching her stow the 'nip away, "it's good that you're eager, just don't let it get out of hand."

At that, he chuckled, unfolded his arms, and turned, beckoning her to follow as he stepped off, starting to walk towards a nearby clearing - the best place to start to learn - his tail streaming in a weaving pattern behind him. The trees would come into play after the basic concepts were practised and nailed down. One corner of his mouth twitched upwards and went down again when he thought of the potential mishaps that could occur... he'd keep that thought entirely to himself. It wasn't malicious, but if you couldn't laugh at this stuff, then where were you, really?

"Do you know anything about what you're here for, today?"

He knew from past experience and his own habits that some students were bound to read up on what they were going to learn in advance. If they didn't, well... it was his job to speak about the theory whether they did or not. He wove around this tree and that, not glancing back at the girl once. That was what the Force and his ears were for.

[member="Lorieth Faeryn"]