Private Water Power

[Aiden Porte]

Kattada
Ceton

"How many times have you done this before?" Aiden asked as he looked over to Ceton with a smirk. The sea before them, and a surfboard under his arm. Aiden had truly only done this a few times, each time he got better. But he truly needed to master this art of relaxing.

The suns golden light across the horizon, the ocean on glimmering like a sheet of molten crystal. Aiden stood dressed as casual as possible, keeping things for the scenery. There were a few people out on the beach already, relaxing or doing what they were fixing to do. Surf, ride the waves and forgot about the affairs of the galaxy for a little bit.

Beside him, his friend fellow Jedi, whom he fought with and met on Hanna City. The boards they carried were a local design, crafted with particular perfection.

The waves roared like some ancient beast, from the distance as Aiden looked over to Ceton once more. "You ready for this?"

 

[Ceton]

Relaxation… This was something Ceton wasn’t quite familiar with but it would work for him. The Lightsworn Knight was more than happy to see the one known as Aiden inviting him out. While he may not be a crusader, the High Republic was a group worth defending, and some of the Jedi there? They were really good.

He knew that there would be a time where they would defeat the dark side side by each, for Light and Life.

“I am amphibious, my friend.” Ceton stated, with what equated to a half-smirk from a Yinchorri. To a human? It looked like an uncomfortable smirk, not quite getting the moment across.

Feeling the ocean, like Vodet had taught him, Ceton looked out. The waves were coming, constantly a flow.

“Always ready!” He said, turning to make his way to the beach, paddling, and waiting for the wave.

He hadn’t surfed before, not needing to, it should be interesting.

Aiden Porte

 

[Aiden Porte]

The shore breeze carried salt and the faint tang of seaweed, a reminder that Kattada's waters were alive in more ways than most worlds could fathom. Aiden watched Ceton with a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. The Yinchorri's attempt at a smirk was almost comical to human eyes, but Aiden didn't laugh, he knew sincerity when he saw it, even if the shape of it looked different across species.

"Then the ocean is already your ally," Aiden said, his voice calm, amused. "That's half the challenge solved."

The waves rolled steady, a rhythm that matched the quiet hum of the Force. Aiden let the sensation brush through him, like foam against skin. There was peace here, not the heavy silence of meditation chambers, but something more playful, alive, ready to test courage without cruelty. He could sense Ceton's anticipation, the way the Knight leaned into challenge as naturally as breathing.

"Always ready," Aiden echoed, stepping into the surf with him, board tucked under his arm. The cool water lapped at their legs, and he nodded toward the rising swell forming beyond.

For a brief moment, the Jedi Knight's expression softened into something lighter than his usual measured calm. "Besides," he added with a chuckle, "The worst that happens is we tumble. And even Jedi can laugh while falling." Aiden paddle out as they reached a good way's out, ready for their first solid wave to come forth.

Ceton

 

[Ceton]

The fact that he was out here and not in the Temple here training? That was testament to the way Ceton really wanted to make friends, or at least some type of relationship with the other Jedi, the ones of the Jedi Order. They were more traditionally trained and he may be seen as bokkan, but that was … fine.

He had his goals, they had theirs. Sometimes they’d overlap, sometimes they’d not. “Its called the natural order.” Ceton laughed. An odd sound coming from deep within his shell.

“A fair worse case.” Ceton said as he put his much longer board in the water. Getting on it, paddling, awkwardly, a big turtle on another floating board. “So long as the witches don’t see” He said. Not sure why they were so populous around a Jedi temple.

Aiden Porte

 

[Aiden Porte]

"The natural order," Aiden repeated, the phrase rolling through him as if testing its balance. He stood ankle-deep in the surf, watching the next swell rise in the distance. "You know… nature rarely follows an order. It flows, shifts, adapts. Sometimes it crashes. Sometimes it carries you." He gave a wry smile. "That's why I'm out here. To remember that not everything must be fought into place."

When Ceton mentioned witches, Aiden chuckled under his breath. "If the witches are watching, perhaps they'll only laugh with us. Even they understand the sea." His eyes flicked across the horizon, thoughtful. "Besides, better they see Jedi living than only fighting. It reminds the galaxy we aren't just swords."

The tide swelled higher, tugging at their boards. Aiden paddled alongside Ceton, the rhythm of his strokes smooth, deliberate, guiding. "Lean forward when the wave rises under you," he called. "Trust it to take your weight. Even if you fall, the water forgives faster than stone."

He glanced sideways, the salt spray catching in his hair. "And if you fall, Ceton, I'll be right there. That's the other order, isn't it? Not just nature's, but ours."

Ceton

 

[Ceton]

“The Light Side is about order. Life has an order, if you ask me. Yes, nature is wild and vast, storms, predators, but if you look at it long enough, there is order to it. Longer lived species are able to see this.” The Yinchorri had seen a lot of this. He’d been carried by the natural world, by the sea and sand.

The Lightsworn knew that the Witches were here, part of the Kattada Temple and Enclave. But what he didn’t like, was mostly their whole approach. They weren’t Jedi. They were something else. Wild, uncontrolled. Some of them were lightsided, but how could he tell?

“Aiden, the water isn’t too foreign to me.” He laughed, sort of. The paddling though, that was foreign. “We do have our own order.” Ceton nodded as he continued to paddle. Watching the waves.

Aiden Porte

 

[Aiden Porte]

Aiden let the paddle strokes slow, his board rocking gently as he listened. The Yinchorri's voice was heavy with conviction, the kind that came not from doctrine but from long years of lived experience.

"There's wisdom in what you say," Aiden answered after a pause, tone measured but warm. His gaze tracked the line of the horizon, where the next swell was already gathering itself into shape. "But sometimes I think the Order forgets that order is not control. Control tries to cage. The Force doesn't cage."

“Aiden, the water isn’t too foreign to me.”

Aiden chuckled, as he nodded his head. "That is true." Aiden said showing him a smile and a slight apologetic look. There was much of his father in him, encouraging advice and the need to give sagely wisdom even to those who were were probably brighter than him. He wouldn't have changed it for anything though, its who he was.

"I think this one's mine!" Aiden said with a laugh, as a wave was upon them, and instincts just kicked in as he felt this was the perfect wave for him.

Ceton