To See Eden

[Ryiah Tenriem]

Location: Sullust​

​

​

Standing within the edge of the bio-dome that house the Temple of the New Jedi Order, was a scantily dressed, young, purple Togruta who had white stripes crossing over her back, visible only where her third and forth, and two longest - reaching to her hips, lekku didn't fall. Scrunching and relaxing her bared toes onto the ground beneath her feet, the Togruta let out a sigh of slight distress at not being able to make contact with the true ground of the planet she stood on, instead being cut off from the natural flows by the bio-dome, even if it preserved her life.

Reaching up to rub her fingers over the blue gem that rested against her collar bone, tracing them over the engraved Togruti letters that her sense of touch told her were there, Ryiah Tenriem. It was common for when she was alone for her to drift of into thought, thinking back onto what she had heard about her species' home plant, Shili, and to imagine what type of life she could have had with her parents if she had not suffered the unfortunate fate of being taken into the slave trade at a young age.

Snapping out of her daze, Ryiah looked around sharply, searching to see if anyone had approached her while her true self was showing and her emotional masks were lowered. Thankfully, she saw none in sight and so relaxed her tensed muscles.

Looking around again, this time for the woman she was waiting for, Ryiah thought back to what had led her to wait here. She had, after wondering around the galaxy for a while, testing herself in her skills in the Force, stumbled across the Galactic Alliance and had, eventually, been welcomed into the New Jedi Order as a Jedi Padawan. It was only now that she had received a Master and so now she stood, waiting for her Master to arrive. Waiting for Avalore Eden to arrive.


[member="Avalore Eden"]

 

[Avalore Eden]

"Ryiah Tenriem?" the words read from a datapad she held aloft, Avalore took some measure of the purple togruta where she stood. Purple, a rare color for her kind if Avalore had done her reading right, must be her.

"I am Master Eden," these words, however, were said in a slow, stilted tone, as though she somehow lamented saying them. Her years spent in seclusion at the Commenor Chasin City Hospital where she'd finally convinced the Doctors and Nurses to simply refer to her as Avalore and not Master Eden seemed so far away. Now she was here, acting in some official capacity within the Galactic Alliance, such casual titles could no longer stand.

Master Eden.

She smiled despite herself, faintly and fleetingly, "Come with me please, there's much to be done."

[member="Ryiah Tenriem"]

 

[Ryiah Tenriem]

The approach of her new Master, Avalore Eden, was only just detected by Ryiah. The ability to use echolocation that all Togruta had, caused by their hollow montrals, alerted the purple female to Avalore's approach, not her skill in Force Sense like Ryiah had assumed would alert her first. 'But then,' she thought to herself, 'I'm better at feeling the flow of nature over the presences of beings'. Chuffing almost silently, Ryiah turned to face the voice that had just addressed her.

Brown eyes flickering, Ryiah scanned over the body of the Jedi Master before her, drawing a quick, initial conclusion, drawing on her training as a child. 'Body is toned, lithe, more likely focussed on speed or agility over pure strength. No lightsaber. Maybe she focusses more on the Force than melee combat?' Altering her examination slightly, Ryiah continued to look. 'She would be considered a beauty by the general population of the galaxy. Seems that I'll be using that aspect again.'

From a young age, Ryiah had been trained in how to read someone, to learn how they would most likely fight, to learn how they would react to numerous stimuli and to learn what would be the best way to learn information from them. This had been her life for years and the habit to evaluate people had not left her yet due to how ingrained it had become due to the torture she had suffered. Physical, mental, emotional, she had been subjected to it all with the sole purpose of making her absorb what she was taught by breaking her then remaking her. Sometimes, Ryiah harboured the thought that she hadn't emerged as whole as she sometimes thought. Yes, she used a false personality to hide herself from pain, but was that a mask, or a split personality. And how would she know either way, didn't only the sane recognise insanity.

Refocusing, Ryaih leant forwards slightly to the woman, opening her body language and shifting to display herself in a more provocative manner. She was shy and reserved, but her outer personality, her mask, was bold and flirty.

"Hello there." Her voice had purposefully developed a slightly husky undertone and her exotic accent had been exaggerated. "It's a shame that business and pleasure can't mix. I'm sure we could have had fun." Chuckling slightly, Ryiah made to follow Avalore. "Lead the way, Master." The last word was exaggerate, with a flirty tone dripping from it.


[member="Avalore Eden"]


OOC Note:

Spoiler

As I mention in the post, Ryiah uses an emotional mask to protect herself from further harm. One aspect of that 'mask' is for her to be flirty. This is the first time I've ever written a flirty character, I was wondering if you had any advice on how I could do so.

 

[Avalore Eden]

The Master's footfall halted abruptly, mid-stride, as she rounded a pair of narrowed brown eyes upon the togruta.

Was she...mocking her? Flirting with her? What in the Force...

Avalore's expression grew cold and stoney as she shifted to face Ryiah again, "Let there be no inkling of pretense that you are under my tutelage for anything more than advancing your knowledge of Healing, the Force, and the way of the Jedi. The life of a Jedi is not an endeavor of pleasure, Miss Tenriem, make no mistake about that. It is a venture of selflessness and sacrifice. Anyone who tells you otherwise is either selling something or a fool."

The edge of her tone was only surmounted by the hard look of distaste she gave to the Padawan, "If you are capable of taking your duties and studies seriously then you may follow me. If not then I suggest you find someone else's time to waste, because it won't be mine." Avalore's level gaze broke finally as she slowly turned and began heading off in the same direction again.

[member="Ryiah Tenriem"]

 

[Ryiah Tenriem]

Chuckling quietly from deep in her throat, Ryiah continued to follow behind Avalore Eden. 'She's certainly got a fire in her.' The thought was accompanied by a small grin which was soon smothered under the emotional mask Ryaih wore. The reason for the smile that had tugged at her lips momentarily was simple, people who had that spark and zest within them were, in Ryiah's opinion at least, the most interesting of people. That fire made them unpredictable, prone to flying off in an unpredicted direction, all because something poked at that fire and set it blazing and sent sparks flying.

Even as the faint feeling of amusement was being felt, Ryiah was debating within the security of the depths of her consciousness on how she should proceed. Her ultimate goal with deciding to seek a mentor and guide was to learn, to learn about the utilities and truth about the gift she had been given, the gift of being able to wield the mysticism that was the Force. Her projected personality, the one that the galaxy would always be greeted by, was made to protect herself from even more emotional and mental harm than she had already suffered. Now, though, now her goal and defensive mechanism were at odds with one another and a decision would have to be made.

Avalore Eden was obviously a strict person and one who respected the life and code of being a Jedi along with the Force and for Ryiah to act as she would when using her mask... it would not mesh well with her Master. As such the Togruta was being faced with two choices. The first was to preserve the mask around Eden, maintain it and drive away the woman who was willing to teach her. The second was an opposite of the first, to cast away the mask, embracing the offered knowledge, but in the end risk the suffering of a pain unable to be seen once again.

In the end, the choice was Ryiah was a hard one but it would never had changed. In a single instance between stride, the body language of Ryiah Tenriem, bold seductress, changed. Her shoulders were now slumped slightly from where they had been pulled back and raised. Her hands shifted from where they hung at her sides, slightly backwards and brushing the end of two of her lekku, to be clasped in front of her, fingers fidgeting with one another. Her stride shortened slightly also. long and bold strides became simple steps that portrayed nothing, no strength nor confidence. Ryiah Tenriem, seductive where she was bold, had become Ryiah Tenriem, a shy girl that valued knowledge.

In the end, the only choice she could had made while keeping with her true self, was to pick knowledge and potential risk on emotional wounding with secured security but a lack of knowledge.

"As you say, Master." The once brash and seductive tone Ryaih possessed had changed along with her posture, becoming more gentle and her accent becoming less obvious. "What shall we be doing now?"


[member="Avalore Eden"]

 

[Avalore Eden]

Better.

"We will first visit the underground Healing facilities where you will receive your training implements and room," the sharpness of her own voice had dropped substantially in response to Ryiah's change in demeanor, though Avalore Eden would yet to be mistaken for the young woman she had been many years ago.

That person had crumbled just the same as the Jedi Temple on Coruscant.

"On our way I want you to tell me briefly your experience with the Force and why you have chosen to become a Jedi." She lead the padawan into a lift and reached to press a button that signified the entrance to the lower levels. It would take a short while to get there, and so as the lift doors hissed shut before them she once more turned her attention onto her student expectantly.

 

[Ryiah Tenriem]

Following obediently behind Avalore, Ryiah nodded silently at the words her Master was saying. Her mind was racing, cursing herself before being so quick to drop the mask that served as her first wall of protection she had create to prevent herself from being hurt again.

When her superior's attention turned to her and the surface beneath her feet shift, Ryaih jerked out of her thoughts with a sharp trill and a twitch on her lekku, a curse within her native language of Togruti. So deep within her mind, Ryiah had not paid attention to the happenings around her.

Taking a deep breathe to calm herself, Ryiah spoke, her voice quiet but easily audible within the lift. "My first experience with the Force was back on Nar Shaddaa with, what my recent research into files tells me is called, Flamusfracta. I was about to be killed, and I just ... reacted." Her voice developed a hazy undertone as she lost herself in memory. "I reached out with something, the Force, I now know, and just wanted to escape. Next thing I know, the man standing above me, is on his knees, his hand was gone. Simply, gone. I took that time to run and run and run away from there." Ryiah fell silent for a few moments before giving her head a quick shake, as if to physically force the memories from her mind. "Since then I've been able to... feel. I can't describe it, but, it's like I can understand the flows of the planet beneath my feet. I've also been able to move things slightly, enough to make them shake, after hearing tales of Force users using telekinesis.

"As for why I want to be a Jedi... the main reason is private so forgive me for not telling you. But one reason is simple." The whole time she had been speaking, Ryiah hadn't looked at Avalore once, but now turned her head to do so. "I was a Slave. I suffered under the subjugation of others. I came close to snapping. Or I did, I don't know, after all, it takes sanity to see insanity. Basically, I don't want others to feel like that. As a Jedi, I can help to the best of my ability."


[member="Avalore Eden"]

 

[Avalore Eden]

Avalore listened in silence - not nodding or saying anything in response, simply absorbing the story. It was much like what she had heard before. A tragedy leading to the discovering of unusual powers, strange awareness and connection. Emotional trauma had a way of unveiling the best and, often, worst in people, including their latent abilities within the Force.

As Ryiah came to a close the Healer took a moment to consider all that was said. Secrets. Secrets were never a good thing within the Jedi. Secrets were an indicator of shame, pain, hurt - all things that could and did so regularly lead to falling from the Light. She had a mind to press the subject, but Avalore Eden was a woman of privacy and could respect one's desire for it.

But secrets were not something she abided by. Honesty was a virtue all Jedi should elect to live by.

Brown eyes glanced their descent into the lower levels. Two floors to go, not much time.

"Miss Tenriem I would like to impress upon you the strength in trust of your fellow Jedi. It is one of the basic foundations within the Order. Without a strong foundation ... you have nothing."

Deeeee.

The doors slid open and without another word the Master Healer quietly exited the lift, making way down along the main causeway that served as the entrance to the undercity. Here the lights shone like stars amidst the darkness of cavern ceilings and walls. Massive stalactites hung between the buildings, great cables strung from them like vines in a forest.

"This is the main level to the undercity. You can access all important points from this walkway. We'll head to the Healing Hall first."

[member="Ryiah Tenriem"]