To become "taronyu" hunter, you must choose your own Ikran and he must choose you.

[Qae Shena]

It all felt like a flash, really. Their meeting on Coruscant as a business associate of Qae's had been chased down by a girl that he had stolen from. Said associate had led both Qae and the girl into a trap of bounty hunters, upon which the Nautolan Master-at-Arms and the Kiffar hunter--no, warrior-- had set upon their foes like predatory beasts, cutting them down within moments. There, Qae had learned of her Force talent, and what she could do with it: she had the very rare gift of psychometry, allowing her to read the past of objects and people by skin to skin contact.

Her name was Quinn, and she became his apprentice.

She learned quickly, Quinn did. His first lesson had been to teach her how to meditate, to connect to the Force, to help her control the impulses and powers that came along with her psychometry. He had let her read his own mind, seeing flashes of events and people and places as much as she wanted. And, after frustration and fury, Quinn had found her control after all.

"The question is, what do you want to learn next," Qae murmured as he looked at her, in the meditation room on the Aether Dreamer - a garden, with a waterfall and flower beds, a place that one could feel the Force in honest glory. "The Force is infinite. You can do nearly anything - let your mind wander, and you should find an answer."

@[member="Quinn Vos"]

 

[Quinn Vos]

@[member="Qae Shena"]

Drawing her hand away, she hastily put back-on the worn, skin-tight gloves that were a staple in her attire. She might have more control of her gift, thanks to Qae and meditation, but that didn't mean she liked using it. Stony-face was thoughtful before emerald-fire eyes refocused on her mentor.

"Anything that will help me fight," she said decisively. "Maybe the fireswords," a term she used for lightsabers, "or something...in my tribe there were water mages. Can water be used as a weapon?"

 

[Qae Shena]

@[member="Quinn Vos"]

There was a certain grin on Qae's face that couldn't be hidden, that his amusement with this situation was just so great. Quinn had just stumbled, purely by accident, on a skill that he had only recently come into hold of, one that with some training from the living world Sekot (and Quinn would be exposed to the Yuuzhan Vong, one day, as part of her own training). Qae wasn't a master of the Force, no, but he knew how to shape water to his will. As an aquatic species, it made perfect sense for him. For Quinn to stumble on it immediately... well, she'd read his mind. Literally.

"Water is certainly capable of being used as a weapon, and yes, I do know how," he said, grinning. There was, fortunately, water in the meditation room on the Aether Dreamer, and Qae wasn't going to pass this chance up. His hands both surged forward and, as Quinn watched on, the water slowly rose into a column, self-sustaining, then wrapped around his body and became a whirling circle, Qae's fingertips moving gently like waves. Not a drop was spilled as he worked the ring, holding it in place as it spun, cleanly.

"You realise that this art is more frustrating than meditation ever would be, Quinn," Qae explained. "It's long and arduous and requires a lot of patience. Do you think you're up for it?"

 

[Quinn Vos]

@[member="Qae Shena"]

What she was lacking in patience she more than made up for in determination. A rare, wistful wonder etched across her sharp features. He was powerful, part of the reason she agreed to become his pupil and the respect he had won from the young Kiffar.

Bold eyes met Qaes' in the affirmative. Standing and stretching out her stiff muscles, she attempted to push her senses forward, to glean some feel for what Qae was doing so she could manipulate it. "Show me."

 

[Qae Shena]

@[member="Quinn Vos"]

Her tenacity had always been admirable, really. For all their training, Qae had noticed that she was fierce, furious and powerful when she wanted to be - now was one of those times that her fierce determination shone brightly. She knew how hard sitting still and meditating had been, but now it was time to teach her. The current of water made its way back into the meditation pool, trailing like a snake, quietly, returning with little more than a quiet splash.

"It's a lot of book learning. Philosophy. To understand how to manipulate water, you need to understand the essence of water. Nature itself. That was how I learned, from my Master - the planet Zonama Sekot itself," Qae explained to her. Yes, he'd learned to manipulate water from a sentient planet. Welcome to the Force, ladies and gentlemen, things be crazy. How? Because it can. Sekot could do anything from speak telepathically to jump through hyperspace; it had a Force-presence. It was a very, very powerful world. It made sense.

"So tell me about water, Quinn. What do you know?"

 

[Quinn Vos]

@[member="Qae Shena"]

If she felt any surprise at his words, it was only shown by a slight widening of her pupils. Plain lips pursed in thought for a moment, reflecting on his question...and the right words in basic. "Water is made of many smaller mole...molecules. Motion beneath the surface of a body of water can cause immense damage," she frowned, thinking of the tsunami that hit one of the Kiffu coastal villages.

"Something seemingly quiet can be deadly and cut through immense obstacles over time. A single drop can give life or take it away. This is what I know."

It was simple. It was Quinn.

 

[Qae Shena]

@[member="Quinn Vos"]

Qae nodded. Basic, simple, true - so very Quinn. Qae did like his apprentice for that very reason; she was so to-the-point that their methods tended to mesh perfectly. And, she was right. How could she not be? Water was so many things, and yet she'd captured its essence perfectly. The one thing he wanted to hear, she'd told him. He was so proud of her.

"Water is balance," Qae explained. "It can give or take life and change between the two in an instant. It flows around things - a rock in a stream does not stop the water. Instead, the water flows around the rock. To be like water is to adapt, to be fluid, to be both strong and powerful, but kind and caring. Positive and negative, in constant balance. It seems strange, doesn't it? We don't think much of water. We drink it. And yet, it can kill us without a second thought."

He motioned to the pond. "Feel the Force, Quinn. Feel a deeper connection than ever. To connect to the water, you must feel it. Be as one with it."

That was something he couldn't teach her - but she'd know it when she got it.

 

[Quinn Vos]

@[member="Qae Shena"]

"Feel it," she spoke uncertainly even as her determined jaw set. Pacing back and forth, she eyed the pond, as if it were the enemy. Reaching for her tug and connection to the force, she pushed her senses forward.

Frustration built on her brow, even as she began to sense the tiny organisms in the pool. She was just too restless. Tattooed-face turned abruptly to Qae. "I need to run." As was true Quinn style, she shot forward without waiting for permission.

About an hour later, she found herself in another quiet room, similar to the meditation one, except this one had a small waterfall. With burning lungs, she stripped off her outer, sweat soaked layer. Wading into the pool, she let the thrum of the falls beat on her mocha-skin.

Hopefully she wasn't breaking a rule by being here. She imagined Derp would come and scold her soon if she was. Letting herself get lost in the feel and rush of the water, her mind naturally relaxed back into her force senses. With eyes closed, she imagined the force weaving through the water, creating many rising bubbles, the size of her head.

Even if someone was watching, she wouldn't notice just yet.

 

[Qae Shena]

@[member="Quinn Vos"]

Surprisingly, Qae didn't find her at all. He didn't feel the need to hunt her down, or to help her through his personaly. No, this was a very deep and personal journey, one that she had to take herself this time, and find the path all on her own with a bit of guidance here and there. She would be fine, Qae reasoned. She was strong-willed and intelligent. It didn't take much to see that.

And, actually, it wasn't Qae who found Quinn - no, she was right, it was Derp, the little adorable droid who trundled into the training room, having spotted the wild hunter and decided to follow along to find out what she was doing. He sat down on the grass next to her, watching the water move the same way Qae's did. His curiosity got the better of him and he was just watching along.

"Dwee?" was his only question.

Yup. Have fun.

 

[Quinn Vos]

@[member="Qae Shena"]

It took her awhile to realize Derp had found its charge. Even through the cascading waters, alert ears picked up on the high-pitched Dweeee. The water balloons remained hovering in the air as eyes cracked open.

"Are you a spy," she gurgled from the water, a rare, amused look of her tan-face. Moving her arms in a fluidity that matched water, the water balloons fell into each other until they became a long, fluid stream that resembled a forked tongue of a dragon.

Very, very carefully, she began wrapping it around the droid without touching its metallic surface. "Don't move, Derp," she commanded with quiet sternness while water from the falls continued to cascade gently over her skin.

 

[Qae Shena]

@[member="Quinn Vos"]

The little adoraderp droid canted his head at Quinn's question. The interesting thing was that he understood every word of Basic that Quinn spoke, of course - it's just that Derp was physically incapable of making the sounds of Basic, making communication for those who could not inherently understand a droid through the Force particularly difficult. Qae seemed to be the only one who could, either way - like they were bound partners, or something. Oh, wait. They were.

"Dwoo."

No, he wasn't a spy.

Derp was, however, observing carefully. Qae could do things like this too, but this was much smaller scale. She appeared to be trying so hard, and it was working. Needless to say, Quinn had a very natural affinity for water just like her Master. His commanded stillness came, only slightly turning his head to check out what she was doing with his photoreceptors.

"Dwee!" he said, by way of congratulation.

 

[Quinn Vos]

Sweat mixed with water on her brow as she brought the stream away from Derp and let it fall back into the pool with a lulling splash. With a giant whoop of joy that sounded more like a fierce warrior scream, Quinn shot her arms up into the air and let herself fall back into the water.

Resurfacing, she tilted her head up at the top of the falls after sending a light and playful splash in Derp's general direction. She knew the droid could dodge it. "Think I could make the climb up there?"

Her muscles were tired and the climb was treacherous but the Kiffu warrior only saw it as another challenge. It was how she was raised.

@[member="Qae Shena"]

 

[Qae Shena]

@[member="Quinn Vos"]

There was a definite squeak as the droid jumped away from the water with his super-powered jump. Sure, he had a means and a method of getting away from water, but that didn't stop his shrill electronic warble at him not wanting to get wet. Nope. Didn't want that to happen any time soon. Water was bad for poor little droids who needed to mess around with starship systems and be a mechanic. Water tended to short out systems.

"Dweeeeeeee," was his long and drawn-out retort - if you can splash water, you can climb a little rock, right?

Derp cold totally jump that. There was, in fact, a safe spot on the rocks where the water didn't hit - as if to prove his point, Derp did precisely that, using hiis repulsor jump to make the leap in a single bound.

He looked down to Quinn, and waited.

 

[Quinn Vos]

@[member="Qae Shena"]


"You would make a good warrior in my tribe," she nodded approvingly at the droid, eyeing its flight path. "But I was thinking of climbing like this." Gathering the force around her, she shot up like a geyser out of the water.

Only, it wasn't controlled.

Panic never set in but she quickly realized the urgency in her short falls. As her concentration wavered, the water stopped and she felt gravity take over. Sharp rocks dug into her back on her descent as she tried frantically to control her position. Head cracked on something else.

Bounce, bounce, splash.

Blackness mixed with red swirled over her vision as her body began sinking beneath the surface.

 

[Qae Shena]

@[member="Quinn Vos"]

...

The universe freaked out while it watched on. The universe may have squeaked just a little bit in sadness. This was a very unexpected development indeed. Quinn's power was still not yet tempered to be fine, and that had just caused a problem. She was now floating, bleeding, in the water. Derp knew only one thing that he could possibly do.

"DWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

The little droid ran screaming through the halls of the Aether Dreamer, at the top of his little droid proverbial lungs. Anything to attract Qae's attention, to find him - it was a big ship, one that stretched on for hundreds of metres. Fortunately, repulsorjumping meant that Derp could travel fast. It was just lucky Qae had been at a sort of nearby food stall, eating a muja fruit, when he found out what was going on.

"Derp?"

"Dwoooo!"

"Oh, feth. Come on!"

So, five minutes later, Derp had led Qae to Quinn - but she'd been in the water, bleeding out, that entire time. It was fortunate that Qae could bring her to the medbay, to the bacta tank, where he could put her in and let her recover. Thoughts of his apprentice worried him, bleeding out, left on her own. It was his fault - he had let her go, instead of stopping her, trying to give her the freedom she craved. Had he been neglectful? He'd scooped her up himself and carried her in his arms, trying with every ounce of his body not to scream at the cruel Galaxy for this torment. He put her in that bacta tank, committed her to healing - something he wasn't trained in.

As she floated in the thick, viscous healing liquid, Qae's sombre mood could be felt in the Force.

This is my fault.

 

[Quinn Vos]

@[member="Qae Shena"]

Bleary eyes opened in the thick liquid. More than anything-yes, even beyond the concussion and blood loss, her pride was hurt. After being begrudgingly helped out by the clinical droids she immediately knelt in front of Qae, ironically thinking the same thing.

I failed him.

Braid, still wet with bacta dripped down her shoulder, soaking the fabric of the robe. Bringing up her bonded palm, with the light scar from their blood pact, she held it out, head hung low. "I have brought shame to our bond. I am sorry. I just ask...that the punishment be swift."

Eyes remained glued to the floor.

 

[Qae Shena]

@[member="Quinn Vos"]

Dark eyes searched the form of his prostrate student, seeking, debating, contemplating her words. She was clearly distraught by this. She felt that she had committed a cardinal sin, and there was little Qae could say to change her mind. But he had to tell her how he felt about this.

"You have not shamed anyone. Not even yourself. Sometimes... the lessons are hard, Quinn. But you have not shamed me."

Qae reached his hand out, the one they had formed their blood-bond with, and linked his fingers with Quinn's. A sign of solidarity, that she would forever have his support. There was no shame. She was his apprentice, and if eeded, he would move the stars themselves for her. His Master had done no less for him - now, it was time for him to do the same for his student. He cupped her chin and made her stre him in the eyes - but the only look on his face was a smile.

"Take the loss, Quinn, and let's learn from it. Together. We are a team, after all."

 

[Quinn Vos]

@[member="Qae Shena"]

[SIZE=10pt]She flinched when he reached for her, expecting a blow. But it didn’t come. Steady-gaze slowly lifted to meet his dark-orbs.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]Head still hurt like a mother.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]She didn’t know if she could do it, accept the loss. She wasn’t good at it. Losing meant shame. Her people, particularly her father, taught it was better to die an honorable death than to live a shameful life full of battles lost. A flicker of distress went across her tattooed-face.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]The nod came slowly.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]“Okay. But, you still have to let me go running on the ship.” It was hard to tell whether this was a rare joke for Quinn or she truly thought she was about to lose some of her freedom.[/SIZE]

 

[Qae Shena]

@[member="Quinn Vos"]

She had accepted it, at least, which was a start. Sure, she had her own very strong sense of pride and honour that Qae didn't have-- different cultures and all-- but to have stopped her from doing something silly was certainly a plus. He didn't want bad things to happen to his prime apprentice, the one student he'd taken ever that was a long-term deal for something other than passing on a single skill. If he had been Spencer's First Apprentice, as Spencer had been Ashin's, then Quinn was his. Of that, there was no doubt in his mind. Their partnership, their warrior's bond, gave them something special. Qae and Spencer had their empathy, Spencer and Ashin their love. Quinn and Qae were warriors, first and foremost.

Didn't stop her asking silly questions, though. "Now why would I stop you doing that?" he asked, curiously. "Why, did you think you were going to be punished? Your injury is punishment enough."

He paused, helped her to her feet, and gave her a smile. "You're my apprentice, Quinn. That means I would do anything to make sure you were okay and that I could pass on to you all the skills you need. I help you, and that's all there is to it. Got it?"

 

[Quinn Vos]

@[member="Qae Shena"]

[SIZE=10pt]“Because I was weak. The weak get punished,” she winced slightly, head still throbbing as she was helped to her feet. She waved him off from helping her further, stubborn nature kicking in.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]He did have a point. These injuries were horrible and were going to slow her down. She would just have to train extra hard to get back to her normal self.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]“But I must give you something in return. We are bonded,” toned-arms crossed over her chest as she eyed her bond-mate with great scrutiny. It was clear she would not readily accept the terms he had just laid out. [/SIZE]