First Reply Urban Jungle (Coruscant, Jedi Temple)

[Gotto Sorendu]

Urban Jungle
Coruscant, Jedi Temple​

It had been a good five years since Gotto had been to the Jedi temple. The temple had currently been remodeled after a Sith attack on Coruscant some time ago, but the general layout seemed to be relatively unchanged. It was unusual to be back in it's halls, especially after spending so much time locked away under the Devaronian soil. The Temple's polished floors lacked the soily texture he was used to, and the smell of the city beyond the building's walls were, frankly, overwhelming. The Kage was shocked to find that, after all this time, his room had been practically untouched. In spite of this, however, Gotto couldn't make himself feel comfortable. It was lacking that earthy element he had been so used to.

The first few days had gone by now, and Gotto hadn't gotten much sleep. To be away from a natural setting was distracting, with far too much stimulation for him to properly adjust. In a tired daze, the solution came to him. It was rather ingenuous, the young Jedi Knight thought; If he couldn't go to nature, maybe he could bring nature to him. Gotto wasted no tikme completely clearing the floor of his room, building and elevate step into his room out of a loose piece of wood. From there, he discretely smuggled in bags of soil and completely covered his floor. Gotto had learned something while stuck underground. It was a strange ability that allowed him to influence plant growth. Since then, he had gotten into the habit of carrying samples of plant seeds with him, if there was ever the need to call upon nature in a battle. Rather than a battle, Gotto would instead be using such an ability for interior decoration.

He started with the floor, raising up a thick layer of grass that rose past his ankles. Then, he moved to the walls. Gotto casually raised vines up to engulf the polished surface, as if they were an extension of his own body. They quickly coiled up into corners and around support beams, almost completely claiming the room. The Kage came to a hault when he finally got to the window, however, as he couldn't quite decide how he wanted the vines to wrap around it. Should he completely cover the window? Go around it? Perhaps he should only cover part of it?

In a state of indecisiveness, the vines continued to grow, even without his guidance. As Gotto pondered how exactly he should go about finishing his work, his decoration project slowly began to creep out into the halls of the Jedi Temple...

 

[Aeris Lashiec]

Gotto Sorendu

The nerves were settling down by now, her fear and frustration had turned into a sense of cautious acceptance. The days kept counting down, and the problems kept piling up. All in all it was a reality not too unlike the one that she had left behind. Perhaps she lacked something concrete to do, but given the state of things she couldn't exactly hold it against the Order that she wasn't reinstated as head of the archives as if nothing had happened.

In reality, it was kind of nice to catch up on the reading she had missed out on. Her backlog had started to shrink remarkably in recent days. An unusually bright smile had set on Aeris' lips in the time from her reappearance and now. She walked along the halls nose-deep in a book or two until she eventually noticed the commotion up ahead.

Vines and roots sprouted from a wide open door that had been held open by a root that seemed to have slipped into just the wrong hole in the metallic panel that separated Gotto's room from the rest of the temple. Aeris gave the name tag by the door a quick look before she audibly cleared her throat and knocked on the doorframe.

"Knight Sorendu." She spoke with a brisk, almost curt air of authority. It was second nature from her time in the library. Aeris caught herself and cleared her throat yet again before she softened up a little. "You might want to…"

She motioned at the plants that spread out of the room.

"Trim it a little."

 

[Chiassa]

Jedi Temple, Coruscant
Gotto Sorendu | Aeris Lashiec

​

After awakening from her first night back at the new Coruscant Jedi temple, Chiassa did some stretches as she had a kink in her neck from the uncomfortable pillow that was supplied on the bed. That would have to be rectified if she was going to get any decent sleep. The Tholothian chastised herself for not taking the bird feather one from the Svivren Jedi Enclave that was like a heavenly cloud to rest one's weary head on.

"Do or do not, there is no try as Master Cambria Zadira would say. And I did not, oh well. I reap the consequences of my inaction. When will I ever learn, hmm?" Chia expressed out loud to no one in particular, shrugging her shoulders with a roll of her blue eyes.

With some easing of the knot that had formed, Chiassa rose from the bed, made it, then quickly washed up, putting on a set of tan Jedi robes. Her roommate had already left, or had she been there at all last night? A mystery for another time.

Next came the traditional Tholoth headdress with her beaded padawan braid already attached to the right side of it, then the young woman donned the decorative skull cap worn by females of her species; fixing it just right to fit squarely on her scaled cranium and arranging the fleshy tenacles so they hung down aesthetically. Sometimes it was just enviable they would flop everywhere, but not today. This look made Chiassa, well proud to be who she was and what the adornment represented in her culture.

"And no, it does not make me look like a chia pet... well, not like when I was a youngling at least," Chia told herself in the mirror, then stuck her pink tongue out at the dark-skinned female's reflection.

Last but not least, the padawan pulled on her knee-high leather boots and attached her lightsaber to the left side of the utility belt worn. Ready.

Chiassa had evolved and was quite grown now from the time of the Sith's attack that struck at the heart of the Jedi's home all those years ago. It was the final step of the Dark Lady of Secrets Endgame plot to wipe out the New Jedi Order from within and for the Sith Empire to destroy the Galactic Alliance in the process. She had been one of the only surviving initiates at the time... The traumatic event had been a hard experience to recover from but Chiassa hadn't lost hope.

When the Tholothian went out into the common area of the padawan dorm, the box where used library datapads were dropped off to be returned to the archives was overflowing. Chiassa hadn't been to that part of the rebuilt temple yet, maybe because that was where the Light vs Dark started that fateful day, but she was turning a new leaf... It was time.

Gathering up the stacked high box of datapads with both hands, the padawan set off towards the Jedi library; being dutiful in the self-appointed task. Chiassa could barely see over the top. She should have sensed the obstruction up ahead in the hallway but, too late...

Ka-boom.

The Tholothian ran smack dab into whatever was growing, and fast. The box was dropped sending the datapads scattering across the floor. It wasn't until she tried to move that Chiassa found her headdress had somehow gotten entangled in a sea of vines of all things.

Stupid you. This is not the impression you want to give off on your first day with new people. Do or do not, there is no try, she reminded herself for the second time in a matter of an hour.

"Erm... Help? I seem to be stuck here," the padawan called out sheepishly as she could see two other Jedi nearby.

 

[Gotto Sorendu]

Coruscant, Jedi Temple
Tags: Aeris Lashiec , Chiassa ​

"Knight Sorendu."

There was a knock at his door, followed by a rather commanding address, though the tone seemed to dial back. As Gotto finally settled on a design, he turned back to see Aeris Lashiec standing in his doorway. More importantly, there were vines growing out into the halls. It seemed that, in his fixation on the window, they had begun to creep out into the halls.

"Oh, sorry about that," Gotto casually apologized. "Guess I got a little bit carried away. I'll get that taken care of before-"

This was followed almost immediately by a loud thud, then the scattering of objects across the floor.

"Erm... Help? I seem to be stuck here,"

Gotto pocked his head out to see a young Tholothian padawan, who had become tangled up in the vines that had grow out into the hallway. She seemed to be quite embarrassed by it, despite the fact that she would have had no way of knowing the vines would be there. The whole ordeal was, admittedly, rather amusing. The Kage stepped out into the hallway, taking hold of the vines and bringing the padawan to her feet before untangling her headdress.

"I've made quite the mess it seems," Gotto began, a warm smile still spread across his face. "Sorry for the trouble, padawan. Just some... interior decorating troubles."

The knight didn't seem particularly frustrated at all. In fact, he simply seemed to be jovial, with a hint of tiredness still lingering under his eyes. With a wave of his hands, the vines crept back into his room, wrapping neatly around the inside of the doorframe.

 

[Aeris Lashiec]

"Oh, it's probably-" Aeris was going to say 'not a big deal' but omitted it after a loud thud interrupted her. "... A really good idea."

A chuckle rumbled in Aeris' throat as she knelt down to help Chiassa pick up her dropped holopads, each of them of some familiarity to her. Maybe not from having read about them as much as having sorted them. Some of these had been borrowed even back when Aeris had been around it would seem. Part of her was alarmed by the fact that they had all been stored in a box. These weren't just some fun toys to forget all willy-nilly, even if they were…

Aeris knelt down, grabbed the pad and flipped it over and turned its screen on.

"How not to get lost: a beginner's guide to survival." She read the title aloud with a small laugh and carefully placed it in the box again. "As fitting as ever."

"Catching up on your reading?" Aeris beamed a smile and stood up again. "As for you, Knight Sorendu, I can only hope that you are taking the demand for water and sunlight into account here."

"Would be a shame to see such a beautiful oasis perish should you disappear for longer than expected." But then a devious grin spread on her lips as she slowly looked over at Chiassa. "But then, maybe that is why we have Padawans, hm?"

Gotto Sorendu // Chiassa

 

[Chiassa]

Jedi Temple, Coruscant
Hallway

​

The Kage stepped out into the hallway, taking hold of the vines and bringing the padawan to her feet before untangling her headdress.

"I've made quite the mess it seems," Gotto began, a warm smile still spread across his face. "Sorry for the trouble, padawan. Just some... interior decorating troubles."

"Thank you!" Chia nodded appreciatively to Gotto Sorendu as she was brought upright by him and the headdress worn separated from the apparently 'living' vines before they rescinded back into his room with a simple wave of his hand.

Wow, that was cool...

"Oh no," she countered the rather jovial and laid-back Jedi Knight as hands made quick work to rearrange her decorative skull cap so it didn't look like a tilted angel's halo atop her head. "It was totally my fault for not paying better attention and being more entune with the environment in which I am in presently."

"How not to get lost: a beginner's guide to survival." She read the title aloud with a small laugh and carefully placed it in the box again. "As fitting as ever. Catching up on your reading?" Aeris beamed a smile and stood up again.

Chiassa's blue gaze flicked to the other Jedi present. The older woman had already started to pick up the holopads that had skidded across the polished temple floor that she, unfortunately, had unceremoniously dumped there.

Clumsy is as clumsy does...

The young Tholothian felt her cheeks warm as she reached for a couple more of the holopads nearby and placed them into the box sitting between Aeris Lashiec and herself.

"The other padawan's I'm afraid. I only wish I had, especially that particular one you read the title of. It could have saved me getting myself into trouble more than once since my recent arrival here to the new temple," she chuckled softly at her expense, then added with a little more grace. "I am sorry though. I hope none were damaged. I had good intentions, to begin with."

"Would be a shame to see such a beautiful oasis perish should you disappear for longer than expected." But then a devious grin spread on her lips as she slowly looked over at Chiassa. "But then, maybe that is why we have Padawans, hm?"

Chiassa continued to gather up the rest of the holopads as the two Master Jedi conversed, filling the box as it was before. When the female made a quip about padawans, the Tholothian turned to face them and bowed, hands pressed together with her fleshy tentacles swaying forward.

"We are but your humble servants, Masters, though... " she raised back up and flashed a bright smile at them. "I am sure for a small fee an equitable solution may present itself should the need arise in the future. I am Chiassa, by the way," the dark-skinned padawan learner offered with a smaller more respectable cant of her head than the jesting of before.

 

[Gotto Sorendu]

Coruscant, Jedi Temple
Tags: Aeris Lashiec , Chiassa ​

"It was totally my fault for not paying better attention and being more entune with the environment in which I am in presently."

Gotto couldn't help but chuckle at the young Padawan's apology. So set on perfection. It wasn't her fault. Youth, inexperience, and the perceived pressure of living up to those above her certainly influenced how she acted. The Kage had felt similarly in his training, so it didn't come as much of a surprise.

"Don't sweat it, kid," the knight responded casually. "Making mistakes is part of the whole learning thing. Don't get too hung up on it. Besides, perfection is unrealistic anyways."

Gotto's head cocked ever so slightly when he heard the name of the book. "How to not get lost: a beginner's guide to survival." A grin spread across the Kage's face. How ironic, especially when considering his own navigation capabilities.

"How to not get lost?" Gotto echoed. "I might need to give that one a read. I've never been particularly good with directions."

"As for you, Knight Sorendu, I can only hope that you are taking the demand for water and sunlight into account here."

"Oh, don't worry about my friends," he responded. "I have something in mind."

Gotto kept it vague, partly because it involved modifying the room's plumbing. As for the light, there wasn't much that Gotto would need to account for. The plants he had procured were all floor dwelling flora, which generally required less sunlight to survive. The window was more than enough for them to sustain themselves. Her mention of padawans rose a laugh out of him. Gotto very much remembered his time as a padawan. It always seemed that there were a few masters who couldn't help but volunteer the first learner they ran across. It was the present padawan's response to this that amused him even more so, however.

"I am sure for a small fee an equitable solution may present itself should the need arise in the future. I am Chiassa, by the way,"

"You got a sense of humor in ya," Gotto remarked with a laugh. "I like you. Oh, where are my manners. The name's Gotto Sorendu. Pleasure to make your acquaintance. Just Gotto's fine. I'm not big on formalities."

 

[Aeris Lashiec]

“Relax, I have managed to restore pads from multi-story drops.” Aeris said and nodded in understanding of the anxiety. “It is going to be okay.”

The conversation went on and Aeris caught herself recoiling in shared surprise with her fellow knight. Where was Gotto’s manners? No, where was Aeris’? Part of her still automatically assumed that people knew who she was by now, but given the nature of things and how much could change in just a few months, that wasn’t necessarily the case.

“And I am Aeris Lashiec,” Aeris said with a courteous bow. “I used to be in charge of the archives, a while back.”

She looked at the Chiassa’s box again.

“Would you like some help with that? I could take it off your hands if you want.”

Chiassa // Gotto Sorendu

 

[Chiassa]

Jedi Temple, Coruscant
Hallway
Gotto Sorendu | Aeris Lashiec

​

"You got a sense of humor in ya," Gotto remarked with a laugh. "I like you. Oh, where are my manners. The name's Gotto Sorendu. Pleasure to make your acquaintance. Just Gotto's fine. I'm not big on formalities."

"Sometimes it just presents itself, yes... " Chia acknowledged with a shrug of her shoulders and the smallest of grins. "It is nice to meet you too, erm Gotto. I like your plants, by the way" the padawan added.

“Relax, I have managed to restore pads from multi-story drops.” Aeris said and nodded in understanding of the anxiety. “It is going to be okay.”

"Really? Wow... I am so glad to hear that," the Tholothian sighed in relief.

“And I am Aeris Lashiec,” Aeris said with a courteous bow. “I used to be in charge of the archives, a while back.”

She looked at the Chiassa’s box again.

“Would you like some help with that? I could take it off your hands if you want.”

"If you wish, Master Lashiec, though I don't mind. I think I got my clumsies out of the way for today."

 

[Gotto Sorendu]

Coruscant, Jedi Temple
Tags: Aeris Lashiec , Chiassa ​

“And I am Aeris Lashiec,” Aeris said with a courteous bow. “I used to be in charge of the archives, a while back.”

"I wasn't very well known I'm afraid," Gotto explained to the padawan. "If you were expecting a reputation, anyways. I've been stuck in a hole for five years, so I don't exactly have any 'heroic exploits' to recall."

"It is nice to meet you too, erm Gotto. I like your plants, by the way"

"They aren't mine," the knight explained. "Well, in a sense. From their perspective, they just live in the same space as me. "

Gotto's view on possession was very lose. That wasn't very surprising. After all, he owned little more than his clothes and his staff. If anything had changed about him over his time in isolation, it was how he thought of items. They were, generally, superfluous. As long as the Kage had what he needed to get by, he was perfectly content owning very little.

"Say, this might be a strange ask," Gotto began, turning back to Aeris, "But have I missed anything important? Five years is a good chunk of time."

 

[Aeris Lashiec]

"Well, in that case, why don't you hold onto it?" Aeris said, gave a shrug and lopsided smirk. "Nice to know that someone else is taking responsibility for the archives for once. Except Oros and I, of course."

She glanced over at Gotto. "I am not sure that I would call myself 'well-know' to any extent. At least not outside of the New Jedi Order." She chuckled. "Yell at a few members over certain highly desired books' due date and suddenly you become the boogieman of the whole temple."

And Gotto had an admirable view on the whole nature thing. Perhaps a bit naive when so few in the galaxy as a whole followed it, but an enviable sense of codependency nonetheless. It certainly made Aeris miss the campus on Ossus a whole lot more than she had anticipated.

And then, he asked for the news. Aeris chuckled.

"That's… Why I am not currently the head of the archives." She said and gave a gentle rub at the back of her neck. "I was gone for a bit, temporarily displaced — quite literally — and am still playing catch up as well."

"So, Chiassa," Aeris said and diverted the question to the padawan instead. "What is the talk around town? The latest Padawan gossip?"

Chiassa // Gotto Sorendu

 

[Chiassa]

Jedi Temple, Coruscant
Hallway
Gotto Sorendu | Aeris Lashiec

​

"I wasn't very well known I'm afraid," Gotto explained to the padawan. "If you were expecting a reputation, anyways. I've been stuck in a hole for five years, so I don't exactly have any 'heroic exploits' to recall."

"They aren't mine," the knight explained. "Well, in a sense. From their perspective, they just live in the same space as me. "

"Ah, I see... Well, that is an understandable relationship to have then," Chia smiled at the erm hermit-hippie Jedi Knight for a lack of a better term. Gotto did seem pretty cool though, he and his plant friends.

"Well, in that case, why don't you hold onto it?" Aeris said, gave a shrug and lopsided smirk. "Nice to know that someone else is taking responsibility for the archives for once. Except Oros and I, of course."

"I do not mind. I actually... " the young Tholothian paused for a moment as thoughts of that ill-fated day the Sith Empire attacked the Jedi temple all those years ago, this very one well not exactly as the structure had been rebuilt twice since then.

All her youngling clan had been killed that day as they studied in the archives together... all except Chiassa. The Jedi Initiate at the time had stepped out to use the fresher when the blood bath began...

Chiassa's mind refocused and her blue gaze set up Aeris to continue her answer. "I used to be a bookwork so to speak and especially enjoyed learning about all the history of the Jedi. It's very intriguing, to say the least."

A discussion of current events started or rather stopped abruptly as the two Master Jedi had seemingly been out of things too long to be in the know.

"So, Chiassa," Aeris said and diverted the question to the padawan instead. "What is the talk around town? The latest Padawan gossip?"

The Thololthian blinked. She didn't know about any temple gossip, but the Imperials' bold move against the Jedi and the Alliance had made many uneasy and downright angry.

"Well, the only relevant news I know of is that the Empire attacked a group of padawans on a training mission to Ilum recently and that a full-on battle ensued, I heard the Empire has a new superweapon they used... There is talk of a two-front war perhaps starting soon, the ongoing one with the Brotherhood of the Maw, and now possible with our once Imperial allies."

Now that all was very sobering to think about especially for Chiassa who hadn't experienced anything like war before.

​

​

 

[Gotto Sorendu]

Coruscant, Jedi Temple
Tags: Aeris Lashiec , Chiassa ​

"Well, the only relevant news I know of is that the Empire attacked a group of padawans on a training mission to Ilum recently and that a full-on battle ensued, I heard the Empire has a new superweapon they used... There is talk of a two-front war perhaps starting soon, the ongoing one with the Brotherhood of the Maw, and now possible with our once Imperial allies."

"A two front war," Gotto remarked with a frown. "That is... troubling. It seems that times are more tumultuous then they were when I was lost. Ilum is unfortunately a planet with great natural value. Kyber has been used to make terrible weapons before... It's a shame. Their abusers are likely unaware of the true torment they cause the gems they weaponize."

As a lover of life and nature, the news of Ilum was a solemn one indeed. It seemed that the Force had chosen a complicated time to lead him back to his New Jedi Order. Gotto knew that of this was the case, he would be needed out there.

"It seems that I must find time to depart to Ilum then," the Kage decided. "They will no doubt need all the hands they can get to aid in healing the planet."

Gotto had to go. He followed many things, but highest amongst those things were calls to action.

"I've certainly picked an interesting time to emerge from my isolation," he joked. "The Force works in mysterious ways."

 

[Aeris Lashiec]

"I am a big fan of the Jedi tales from the Gulag Plague myself." Aeris offered Chiassa and gave a small nod over at Gotto. "In a sense it was just a matter of time before the imperials got this full of themselves. Imperialists need enemies and big targets. The Alliance just happens to be the biggest one around at the moment."

"Well, either way, I will not keep you from doing what you must. I have books to read, Chiassa have some to return, and you have Ilum."

"All in all, I am very happy to make your acquaintances, Gotto and Chiassa." Aeris offered them both as a means to say goodbye.

Chiassa // Gotto Sorendu

 

[Chiassa]

Jedi Temple, Coruscant
Hallway
Gotto Sorendu | Aeris Lashiec

​

"May the Force be with you on your travels, Gotto," the young Tholothian wished upon the hermit Jedi who had a love for all things in nature, bowing her head respectfully, then she turned to the Jedi archivist.

"As I," Chiassa offered with a nod. "I will indeed return the books... though I think I will perhaps read a few before doing so," she added with a small smile, then picked up the box and walked off down the hallway to find a quiet alcove to do just that.

[Exit]

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