Trial by Combat: A Padawan's Tale

[Felicity Sage]

OOC: Please refer to this http://starwarsrp.net/topic/3060-public-trial-by-combat-a-padawans-tale-ooc/]thread[/url] first.

IC: "Eleven, twelve, thirteen," Jedi Master Erisi Airhart counted as she stood off to the side of the path while each padawan passed her by. "Fourteen and...," she stopped suddenly when she realized her count was off. "Everyone stop," she called out and the fourteen assembled padawans turned to look at her, "Where's Felicity?"

The each looked at each other then around at the others but Felicity Sage was nowhere to be found. Erisi let out an exasperated sigh then held up both hands. "Everyone just wait right here I'll be right back."

Then she spun on her heel and hurried back down the path looking for her missing padawan. She found the girl by a clear pool just off the beaten path. Her backpack was on the ground behind her and she was down on her hands and knees atop a shallow outcropping hanging over the pool as she reached for something Erisi couldn't see.

"Felicity," the Jedi Instructor said firmly, startling the young girl and causing her to slip and fall into the pool. "Felicity," Erisi cried again though this time with more urgency in her voice as she rushed to the side of the pool.

An embarrassed Felicity swam to the edge of the pond and pulled herself out of the water, standing on the edge of the pool completely soaked from head to toe. "You shouldn't wander off on your own, Felicity, it's not safe out here."

"I didn't wander that far," the girl said with a shrug, "I just saw that flower there and I wanted to pick it."

Erisi looked at her critically then shook her head before reaching down to grab the girl's backpack and hand it to her. "This is supposed to be survival training, Felicity, we don't have time to pick flowers. Now hurry back to the rest of the group. We'll be stopping soon and we'll have to build a fire to dry off your clothes."

Felicity reluctantly took the bag from her, casting one last look at the flower perched just underneath the rock outcropping she was crouched on just a moment before. Then with a sigh she shouldered her pack and hurried after the others, her shoes making sloshing noises the entire way.

As she and Erisi returned to the group Felicity fell into step behind the others. Occasionally she caught the other padawans glancing back at her and quietly giggling amongst themselves. They were on a nature hike of sorts, their goal was to survive a week in the wilderness of Tython far from the safety of the Jedi Temple. At first Felicity was excited for the opportunity but that excitement quickly turned to disappointment as Erisi kept a tight reign on her group. None of them were allowed to wander off on their own and Erisis insisted on sticking to the prearranged path she recorded onto her map.

The group she had with her today numbered fifteen, padawans all between the ages of ten and fourteen with Felicity being the eldest, roughly a year older than the others. Despite being the oldest, though, she ended up getting into trouble with Erisi more than anyone else in the group, which more often than not made her the butt of everyone's jokes. No one truly believed she had the discipline to make it as a Jedi. She was impatient, prone to day dreaming and easily distracted, a dangerous combination for any Jedi. She would often shirk her responsibilities, wandering off on her own little adventures or spending a great deal of time sparring with training droids instead of studying. Yet despite all that she possessed an incredible innate skill. No one could argue that her combat prowess weren't impressive.

As the day carried on the sun began to set over the western horizon and it was time to stop for the night. Erisi had found a shallow cave for them to take shelter in and the padawans busily set about setting up camp. A fire was started and as the others began to prepare food Erisi approached Felicity with a blanket in her arms.

"Take off your clothes," the elder Jedi instructed and Felicity stared at her incredulously before turning to the others. "Now, Felicity, before you freeze."

It had been cold climbing out of that pool, Felicity had to admit and now that the sun was setting it was getting even colder. Grumbling to herself the young girl began stripping off her clothes as Erisi stood over her holding up the blanket to block the others' view. When she was done Erisi wrapped the blanket around Felicity's shoulders before gathering up the girl's discarded robes.

"Now go sit by the fire," the older woman said in a gentle tone.

Felicity did was she was told as Erisi began hanging her damp clothes by the fire. The young girl was thankful for the warmth of the flames and the blanket around her shoulders but she still couldn't shake the embarrassment she felt at sitting mostly naked in front of the others covered only by a blanket.

 

[Allyson Locke]

Lingering in the distance was a figure, she watched the padwans learn and be counted. How obedient they were. Though one seemed to do her own thing and got a little scolding from the older Jedi in the group. A pair of eyes narrowed as her raven black hair hung around her face, this was going to be interesting something drew her to the one that decided to walk to the beat of her own drum. Samanthe pushed off the nearby tree and walked through the brush. Her target was another lingering padawan that was about her height and size. The girl looked lost and an easy weakling for her to pick off.

“Psst”

“Wh-Who’s over there?”

The padawan walked over and in an instant a small virodagger moved to her throat. The Sith stood behind the girl as she covered her mouth and dragged her twisting into the bush. The struggle ended quickly as Sam ran the blade so delicately through the tender flesh. Taking life wasn’t something she did without a purpose, she had a purpose here and that was to assume the place of the student. Pulling off the padawan’s robes she quickly changed and tied up her raven hair into the same style the padawan had it. The bun was tight, but she needed to look boring. Most Jedi looked boring and were boring.

Walking slowly towards the group she found her place next to the girl who had decided to go for a swim. The fire licked their faces and she sat next to the girl. Offering her hand, she opened it revealing the flower the girl had wanted to pick. The Sith’s face was kind as she nudged her hand showing that she wanted to give the flower to the padawan.

“I saw how brave you were and I wanted to make sure you got your flower.”

 

[Felicity Sage]

Felicity had been so lost in thought that when the girl sat next to her she didn't even notice. It wasn't until she spoke up that her presence finally registered in Felicity's mind. "Um, thank you," she said, accepting the flower from the girl's hand. She didn't recognize her, of course, but that was to be expected. Felicity didn't interact much with the other padawans. In fact, she was surprised that one of them would even want to interact with her.

She held the flower out in front of her, the blanket cupped together in her other hand still covering her body. "It's pretty, isn't it," she asked absently, "I thought I might give it to my cousin when we come back, but it will probably wilt before then, won't it?"

She sounded disappointed by that. "Anyway," she said, setting the flower aside, "It was just a silly thought."

 

[Allyson Locke]

Samanthe smiled, her little mission of joining the ranks of the padawans was complete. No one recognized her and no one thought of it. The girl she interacted with obviously didn’t know either. Tilting her head, she listened to the sad story of a wilted flower. It would be a pity to watch the thing die over time, but it didn’t really bother her. Death in her mind was something that was going to happen sooner or later there was only wasted time on worry about it. Still, Sam needed to play the game and be quite upset about this flower’s inevitable passing.

“It would be, but there are ways to help it survive or in a worst case scenario make another one without going through the trouble of getting wet in your case.”

Digging through her pocket, Sam produced a few seeds. She seemed to find them everywhere since she started her training with Sirella. The seeds rolled in her palm as she showed them to the other padawan with her. Closing her eyes, she focused on the life source of the plants and infused them with the force causing the hull of the seeds to crack and sprout. She only wanted to show her a little, hoping to catch her curiosity.

“See, you can give things life through the force”

The smile grew into a toothy grin.

 

[Felicity Sage]

The girl was trying to make a point, or something. Whatever it was Felicity failed to take notice. Much to the Sith's dismay the young Jedi Padawan was too enraptured by the fire to watch or even register her little demonstration. "Where do you think we'll go tomorrow," she asked, never taking her eyes off the flames, "Up into the mountains or down into the valley?"

She twirled a stick idly in one hand as she poked at the burning logs before her. "Did you know," she said, finally turning to look at the girl sitting beside her, "there are places on this planet that still haven't been explored? Think about it, we could be the first ones to tread where not one person has set foot in centuries!"