Private Turning on the Lights

[Jasper Kai'el]

Turning on the Lights
Coruscant, Jedi Temple
Tags: Lilise

​

Jasper sat alone in the Temple Gardens in a meditative position. It wasn't his preferred setting for training, but the knight needed the change of scenery. He couldn't do everything in his freighter. Sometimes he needed a new atmosphere to change things up a little. Jasper breathed in, letting himself connect with the life around him. He didn't have a spectacular force connection by any means, but he needed to work on improving it. Connecting to other things around him was something he found helped.

"Alright," he muttered to himself. "Here we go."

A faint aura began to spill forth from his body. Then it grew, a radiant light spreading out over the garden. Force Light, an ability that had come to him naturally under the influence of battle meditation, and now an ability that he had been honing since his padawan days. With each use his light grew, shining brighter and stronger then the last. He needed to push it to its limits, especially if it meant the difference between life and death for the people he cared about. The energy from his light wafted through the air, giving the gardens a warm sensation. One of reassurance and comfort. It was a cleansing aura, one which which Jasper had done things he never thought he could. Purifying blead kyber, dampening the alchemy of darksiders... It was that sort of action that Jasper was desperately needed for, a reason to continue to hone and refine his ability. Thankfully, on this particular day, there was nobody around to bother with his training. The gardens, as far as he could tell, were completely empty this morning.

Probably, anyways. Jasper was never very good at double checking when it came to smaller details of the sort.

 

[Lilise]

The gardens were by no means empty, in fact one of the flowerbeds began to move. Wait. Not a flowerbed. A person?

Lilise sat up straight amongst the flowers, kneeling in the soil, dirt dusted across her knees and hands as she had spent a good part of the day just tending to the beds, weeding. She'd noticed the Jedi Knight, well after he began to shine that is; it's what caused her to sit up in the first place. The Sylphe padawan squinted, covering her eyes with one arm, and even though it was too much for her, the flowers atop her head seemed to feel differently; blooming and turning to face the light.

Was... was that something Jedi could do? Just... emit light? Well... she could emit pheromones, but that was because of her heritage, not her connection to the force. It was something she'd never seen before, it left her in awe, even if she did so while hiding behind her arm so as not to go blind. She went to move, quietly getting to her feet; this man was trying to meditate! Interrupting him was the last thing she wanted to do.

Somehow, amidst the bright light and her covering her eyes, Lilise forgot how to walk. More precisely, she forgot where to walk, catching her foot on one of the decorative stones that were scattered throughout the flowerbeds. With a surprised squeak the Sylphe tripped, falling forward and face first into the grass. She lay there for a moment before slowly pushing herself back up onto her knees, gently rubbing the bridge of her nose with her fingers; forgetting for that moment that there was indeed someone else there to see her folly.

"Ow..."

Jasper Kai'el

 

[Jasper Kai'el]

Coruscant, Jedi Temple
Tags: Lilise

​

A faint, startled squeak brought Jasper out of his meditative state. His eyes opened, and before long his light had completely faded. Jasper had done so just in time to see a young girl faceplant into the grass, which caused him to wince a little. It was no doubt his light that had disoriented the poor kid, and Jasper himself was no stranger to being clumsy. Strangely, the girl appeared to be botanical rather than flesh and bone like himself. Species of the like were rare. A Sylphe seemed most likely in this instance.

Regardless, he decided it was for the best to check on the girl. The knight stood, calmly making his way over to her and extending his mechanical arm.

"Hey," Jasper greeted with a warm smile. "Sorry 'bout that. I didn't realize there was anyone else here. Let me help you up."

Strange. Was she here alone? There didn't seem to be anyone else around. Jasper couldn't think of any padawan that willingly spent time in the gardens, except for maybe his brother Jalen. There was dirt on her hands and knees. Perhaps she had been tending to the plants. That didn't matter for now. He should probably give his name to start with.

"I'm Jasper Kai'el," he introduced. "Nice to meet ya."

 

[Lilise]

His words brought her back to reality, turning her emerald gaze to look up at the taller man. The flowers that helped make up her hair quickly began to close, a tinge of pink to her cheeks as she found herself more than embarrassed. Lilise stared at his mechanical hand for a moment, hesitating, before finally reaching out to take it and quietly accept his help.

"T...thank you.." Her words tumbled free, and Lilise found she couldn't meet his gaze, too embarrassed by it all. She hadn't meant to interrupt his meditation. She was going to quietly sneak off, not disturb him; clearly that hadn't gone as planned. "A..and please. I..it's not your fault... I didn't mean t..to interrupt your meditation.." The female Sylphe finally forced herself to look up at him; he was almost a whole foot taller than her, she really had to crane her neck a bit.

"Nice to meet you... Jasper.." She withdrew her hand from his when she got up, crossing one arm over her torso as she gently bowed in greeting; one must properly greet others, even when caked in dirt! ".. I'm... Lilise... But p...please, don't let me interrupt your meditation.. I can go t..tend to the flowers in the greenhouse until y..you're done.." The Sylphe flashed a faint, apologetic smile, her nervousness quite obvious, even if she didn't realize it.

Jasper Kai'el

 

[Jasper Kai'el]

Coruscant, Jedi Temple
Tags: Lilise

​

Jasper smiled as she continued to apologize for doing what was pretty much nothing. That very much reminded him of himself, even now a little. He always had a bad habit of overcorrecting where it wasn't necessary, though he was working on getting better at that.

"You don't need to apologize," Jasper assured her. "You didn't do anything. I'm perfectly fine. I've probably been spending too much time training anyways..."

He had, indeed, been spending far more time honing his Force Light. It was for a good reason, of course. The end of the Maw war seemed close now. He wanted to be ready. Until then, however, he had time to focus on other things.

"I get it though," he added, "I used to not be able to finish a single sentence without finishing it with sorry. I still have trouble sometimes..." Jasper wasn't gonna shy around it. He was a terrible liar, after all, and sometimes people needed to hear that it was okay to be nervous. "Hey, I have an idea. Why don't you come with me? There's something I've been needin' to do today, and I think it might help you relax a little." The knight followed with a casual shrug. "If you want to anyways."

 

[Lilise]

"W... what?" Lilise blinked in surprise, flowers in her hair slowly opening again as she became less uncomfortable, curiosity beginning to take its place. "I.. A...are you sure? I.." She trailed off, looking down at her dirt coated hands, rubbing them together to try and clean them off a bit; she didn't really look quite presentable enough to go anywhere.

"If... You're certain I won't intrude.. It probably would be smart for me to maybe have... a change of scenery.." She sounded uncertain. She was. But her curiosity was getting the better of her. "T..then sure.. I'll tag along.. Thank you for inviting me.." She bowed her head to him respectfully.

Jasper Kai'el

 

[Jasper Kai'el]

Coruscant, Jedi Temple
Tags: Lilise

​

"T..then sure.. I'll tag along.. Thank you for inviting me.."

Jasper smiled warmly. She was certainly curious from the look on her face. That was good. That meant there was a potential for growth. Maybe even a willingness. Something underneath the nervousness that could come out.

"Come on then," he nodded. "It isn't far. Just the hangar."

The hangar was no more than a five minute walk from the gardens, but the change of scenery was a drastic one. Of course, they wouldn't be in the hustle and bustle of the hangar for very long. Their destination was pretty close to the entrance: Jasper's ship, the Lonestar 1. The Corellian freighter he called home, amongst other things, was certainly not the flashiest ship ever. But it was reliable. That's what mattered.

"Well, here's my ship," Jasper shrugged. "Ain't much, but it's a trusty piece of junk. Uh, sorry about the mess in advance."

As they entered, the main living space would be a staging ground, littered with sawdust and the frames of various stringed instruments, many in very early stages of production. Jasper picked up one of the more complete ones, a Hapan Lute.

"I've been makin' these for a while now," the knight explained. "Some are... obviously more complete than others. Been learning how to make a few so I can do a workshop class of some kind. Too many classes I think focus on force training or lightsaber combat. There isn't really anything to help students relax. It's pretty early stages though, so I guess consider this a preview."

Jasper quickly tuned the lute and strummed a five note melody before turning back to Lilise.

"Play at all?"

 

[Lilise]

"P..Play?" The Sylphe female blinked in surprise, well, further in surprise that was. Lilise had not expected there to be an workshop on Jaspers ship, let alone for his craft to be handmade instruments. She was in awe. "N...no. I've never p..played an instrument before. I..is the class supposed to be for... learning to play..? Or for making the instruments? O..or both?"

The flowers amongst her hair seemed to be opening up more and more as curiosity began to get the better of her. Lilise walked towards some of the in progress instruments, her hand hovering a few inches above them, over them as she inspected each one from a distance. "Wow... I've never seen craftsmanship like this, it's usually all architecture or paintings... These are amazing.." Lilise almost started to babble a little, her emerald eyes just wide in awe as she looked them all over.

That awe and excitement didn't last long as she realized just how forward she'd been. "H..how long did it take you to make that one?" She looked to the one in his hands, wringing her own behind her awkwardly.

Jasper Kai'el

 

[Jasper Kai'el]

Coruscant, Jedi Temple Hangar
Tags: Lilise

​

"N...no. I've never p..played an instrument before. I..is the class supposed to be for... learning to play..? Or for making the instruments? O..or both?"

"Uh, both I think," Jasper shrugged. "I haven't exactly decided if I should do both separately or combine them. Maybe it might be more convenient..."

He smiled as she grew excited, even if she quickly reserved herself. It meant that such a thing was worth teaching, which boded well for the success of such a class. It wasn't long before Lilise enquired about the time it took to make one.

"A month, I'd say," the knight estimated. "Maybe longer given everything else I've been doing as of late. I'm afraid it's been a bit more difficult to learn since my expertise is in machining and all..."

Jasper set it down, going through his other instruments. It wasn't long before he settled on another, a hallikset. A smile spread across his face as he picked up the instrument and turned to the young Sylphe. She didn't play, but maybe it was something she was interested in learning. Lilise had seemed pretty excited by them after all.

"Well," Jasper continued. "You said you don't play... would you like to?"

 

[Lilise]

"M...me?" Lilise blinked up at Jasper, at the instrument in his hands, AZ x looking startled. Flowers withdrew, closing up as her nerves set in. "Play? B..but.. y..you..." She was speechless, awestruck and confused all at the same time.

"Y.. you would teach me how to play?" She didn't want to assume, but she saw no other path to what he was suggesting. "T..that.. that is very kind of you.. Thank you.." The Sylphe wrung her hands together, trying not to look so flustered or excited.

"I... I would like to learn.. yes please.." She shuffled awkwardly, gaze now locked with the hallikset in his hands.

Jasper Kai'el

 

[Jasper Kai'el]

Coruscant, Jedi Temple Hangar
Tags: Lilise

​

"Y.. you would teach me how to play?"

"Of course," he nodded, his voice filled with certainty.

Jasper procured a second hallikset, one that was clearly complete. It was his own personal one, sleek black surface covered in a large amount of stickers. Random ones, no clear theme either. Universities, fruit bar codes, band logos, and more. It was his own personal instrument, one that had clearly seen lots of use. Jasper sat down, crossing his legs.

"Sit down," Jasper continued, offering his personal instrument to her. "We'll go through it together."

 

[Lilise]

Lilise couldn't accept his offer at first, well, mostly because he was offering her his own personal hallikset. Eventually she caved and took the sleek instrument into her hands, looking it over briefly, before finally settling in across from him. It would be a challenge for sure, the Sylphe was flustered as the Jedi Knight taught her how to play, but she was attentive.

If she made a mistake she made it only once, keeping a close eye to any of the techniques that Jasper taught her. Time would cease to exist for Lilise as she put her whole into learning; had it been an hour? Two hours? Only ten minutes? She had no clue, but she felt content with the progress she'd made up to that point, even if it was barely more than working on the basics.

She'd politely hand the instrument back to Jasper when they were done, still sitting there cross legged on the floor of his workshop. A small smile was across her soft green features, the flowers atop her head in a bloom. His lesson had indeed helped her to relax.

"Thank you, Jasper." Lilise bowed her head to him respectfully, her smile widening a bit as she had a hard time hiding the joy the musical lesson had brought her. "For teaching me... how to play.. You we're right... I do feel a little more... relaxed." Her speech still had that hesitation, that uncertainty, but she was much more comfortable than she'd been when they first met.

Jasper Kai'el

 

[Jasper Kai'el]

Coruscant, Jedi Temple Hangar
Tags: Lilise

​

"For teaching me... how to play.. You we're right... I do feel a little more... relaxed."

"I thought so," Jasper nodded. "It used to help me relax when I was a boy. I... don't get to play as much as I'd like these days. Usually I'll play with my brother, but even that's been a bit more few and far between. I'm glad it was able to help you though."

Jasper accepted the instrument as she handed it back, slipping it gently back under his workbench.

"It's good to learn other things as well," the knight added. "We're moving into a new era. I don't know if people recognize it yet... Peace and hope can't just be lightsabers and warriors. I feel like we could all use a little bit of branching out."

It had taken Jasper a while to reach this conclusion. He was good at fighting. Really good. Better than others, even. Of course, a part of that was just that it was the task he was made for. Engineered by a petty, Sith-hating old fool. So much focus on prowess in the battlefield, even from his time as a boy, that he hadn't stopped to take in everything else. Seeing so many terrible things really made the totality of it all sink in. They could play war hero all they wanted, but they were lost without everything else.

"What do you want to do?" Jasper asked in earnest. "As a Jedi, I mean. It's okay if you don't know yet. You're still young, after all. I'm... just curious."

A pure, untouched soul was one that was most important to listen to. It was very rare that such optimism was ever to be spoken again.

 

[Lilise]

"What do you want to do?" Jasper asked in earnest. "As a Jedi, I mean. It's okay if you don't know yet. You're still young, after all. I'm... just curious."

"What do... I want to do?" Her brow furrowed as she thought on it, staring down at her hands which sat in her lap, uncertainty across her gaze. "I want to help others. To help the world regrow? I love gardening. I don't especially like fighting.. Blood... s..scares me.. But I have the possibility to stop a fight before it even starts if I can learn how to control it..."

She bit down hard on her lip, closing her hands into fists, glancing up to Jasper once more. "I'm not truly sure of how I can help or what specifically I could do as a Jedi with my set of skills...?"

Jasper Kai'el

 

[Jasper Kai'el]

Coruscant, Jedi Temple
Tags: Lilise

​

"I'm not truly sure of how I can help or what specifically I could do as a Jedi with my set of skills...?"

"That's okay," he assured her. "That's natural. I could tell you all about how I nearly killed myself trying to fit in, but..." Jasper paused for a moment, flexing his mechanical fingers, "I don't need words to do that anymore. It isn't wrong that you dislike fighting. I used to think it was all I could do. Things have changed since then..."

A lot. Things had changed a lot. Maybe personality wise he was the same person, but he couldn't say that he was the boy who had returned from his exile years ago now. Jasper's gaze drifted off for a moment. A brief second of contemplation. Before long a smile had spread across his face.

"It's funny that you mentioned wanting to help worlds regrow," Jasper noted. "I do to. I'll still fight when I'm needed. I'm pretty good at it, actually... but I don't wanna leave the aftermath of everything to sit and fester."

Maybe there was more to be said here. Jasper pondered on it for a moment. There seemed to be only one natural course of action now.

"I can't guarantee that you won't see anything terrible or heart wrenching," the knight continued, "But if that's what you truly want, maybe we can help the galaxy regrow together."

This wasn't simple counseling anymore. Now it was an offer. Maybe it was foolish to take on another padawan, but Jasper was more than willing to try.

 

[Lilise]

"T...Together?" She was less embarrassed, more surprised, blinking as she gazed in confusion at the man sitting across from her. "I.. W..what do you mean... I mean.." Her words tumbled from her lips, the confusion truly taking over. Jasper was asking if she wanted to help regrow and heal the galaxy together? He'd already taught her the basics of playing an instrument. He'd spoken about offering additional classes at the temple... He meant as a mentor. A Master?

Lilise hadn't been selected a new Master yet since Master Sinclare's passing. There hadn't been any word from the temple, about what would be done with her, so she had just decided to live quietly tending to the plants until they finally decided what to do. She hadn't expected a path to her future would just open up in front of her.

"You would do that?" Her flowers bloomed fully, the pink accents among them growing more vibrant in color, appreciation and excitement growing in her gaze. "You... I..." Lilise was stammering again, now at a loss for words. She adjusted her seating position, now onto her knees, bending forward into quite a bow, her hands clapped together in front of her..

"Yes. Please. I would be more than honored." She felt too many emotions at once; perplexed, overjoyed, anxious, and so very thankful. "Thank you.. f..for this opportunity."

 

[Jasper Kai'el]

Coruscant, Jedi Temple Hangar
Tags: Lilise

​

Bowing? That was new. Jasper couldn't help but chuckle a little. It was certainly not necessary, but flattering nonetheless. The knight placed a hand on the Sylphe's shoulder.

"You don't need to bow," he assured her. "I'm not that formal."

There would be a lot of work to do. It wouldn't be long before the Shield Core would be in full effect. The relief effort following war with the Maw was fast approaching. There would be much for Lilise to learn when the time came.

"I'll let the council know that I'll be taking you under my tutelage," Jasper explained. "From there we can start your training. Things will be changing soon. The galaxy is on an axis. A shifting point. There's gonna be a lot for us to work on soon." The knight sighed, leaning back a little. "I've been... preparing for a while now. Maybe this sounds crazy, but I've been seeing the writing on the wall for a few years now. I think the war is ending. With the Maw, I mean."

Jasper lifted his head, gazing blankly out towards space. The Dawnbreaker was out there now, preparing for it's first voyage. Ready to set off with supplies for the blasted worlds this war was going to leave behind when it finally ended. Out there was were Jedi would become more important to the galaxy than ever before. The foundations for reconstruction needed to be layed.

"It sounds kinda weird when I say it out loud," Jasper laughed. "I can barely remember any time before the war... I hope that means your generation will get a clean slate. Naïve, maybe, but it's good to have hopes."

They couldn't sit there forever. Jasper got to his feet, extending a hand to his new student.

"Let's grab something to eat," he decided. "We can work out the details of what you want to start with while we do."

 

[Lilise]

"Y..yes sir!" Lilise beamed excitedly, a warm smile on her face as she took his hand and hopped to her feet. Every word he said she absorbed. She had somewhere to belong again, a place where she could make a difference. She was so very thankful.

"Thank you, again." She'd follow him, her new Master, out the door and into the start of their new journey.

Jasper Kai'el