Culturing Young Minds (Younglings)

Lamilia's method of sitting for meditation proved a little different from her Master's, she sat on her knees with one hand resting in the other, both palms up as they rested in her lap. Her eyes peacefully closed, she smiled at her Master's mentioning of his habits of his younger days.

"It is a very soothing place, truth be told this is my first time in here since coming to the Temple...", Lamilia idly commented, "In one of the fields of Dantooine, there was a peaceful place not far from the Enclave where I liked to meditate. It was not as soothing as here, but the sunlight that fell upon the field was... comforting."

Lamilia did not say any more after that simply returned to her meditations beside her master, keeping herself silent as she focused her concentration on reaching out into the warmth of the light of Force within her. Touching upon the light of the Force has always been a solace to her, and perhaps why it lingers in her presence so often as she enjoys meditating upon it.

Her eyes opened as the younglings entered the place, when her Master requested for her to help guide in the rest, Lamilia smiled and nodded, "Yes, Master.", she complied rising to a stand and walked to the entrance. With a soft almost matronly smile and gentle hand she showed the other younglings who lingered behind where the rest were located with her Master - walking with them back to the fountains before returning to her place beside her Master, and resuming her prier posture she sat in for meditation though her eyes remained open as she did not revert to a meditative state, but instead listened to her Master's lesson to the young ones.

Tem walked calmly to his next class, he begin falling behind the other Younglings, he had a lot on his mind lately, the classes would help him break up his heavy thoughts on his dark dreams. The class he was on his way to was in the Room of a Thousand Fountains, which he had frequented this room quite regularly, it helped greatly in his meditation, which he had needed when the dreams came back.

Tem began to feel the calming effects almost instantly as he entered the room, he saw two people in the room aside from the other younglings, he recognized Master Ackbar and his padawan, he didn't know her too well, but he knew she was Hapan, and as such, she was exceedingly beautiful. Tem was slightly embarrassed that he had noticed such a fact, but he mentally calmed himself, letting the embarrassment slip away like a cloud in the wind.

Tem stood in the back, waiting for the class to begin, he was very interested in what this class would be about, seeing as it was a change in scenery. Master Ackbar was prone to fits of unpredictability and Tem was eager to see what he had in store for the younglings, maybe a meditation exercise, Tem thought to himself.

Illan, to his surprise, had been invited to sit in on one of the younglings lessons taught by Master Ackbar. Since his previous masters demise he had been without aim or purpose for a long while and, while he personally felt it demeaning to be taught among those of lesser ability, he was glad to be offered some further support in his training.

Ill strode into the room with his useual stiff and upright pose, that showed a form of dignity, but with an air of flaseness. He was hit by a wall of clam as he actually immersed himself n the nature of the room. It was a natural place and it soothed him mentally, and caused him to drop his shoulders and loosen up. Ever since the incident he had been more stoic then ever, almost emotionless to a criminal level on the outside. Ill did not try to let it ruin him, as the jedi code said, she was one with the force now.

He brushed aside his hair from his eyes as he looked over at the Master and his apprentice and nodded curtly. The woman was indeed beautiful, but that was a fact and not somthing he convinced himself came from his emotions.
Taking a place behind the younglings he stood, awaiting what was in store for him.

Delvynn walked into the Room of A Thousand Fountains and gaped in awe at the sheer wonder and beauty of the room. She'd been in it before, but every time was a new experience for her and it always left her awestruck. Her classmates were all walking at a reasonable pace and it was easy to keep up with them. The relaxing aura that the room gave off worked it's magic on Devlynn just like any other Jedi and a soft smile crept across her lips.

Jedi Master Ackbar was seated in the middle of the room, smiling. Delvynn didn't know if he was smiling at the students or just smiling, but she wasn't about to question the master's methods of teaching. He was going to teach the members of her class, which happened to be of all ages, many different things about the Jedi Order. She was clearly excited about it, but did not let her emotions overtake her.

Delvynn also noticed that the Master had taken on an apprentice now. She was a young girl not much older than herself, but that didn't take away from the fact that she was the apprentice to a Jedi Master. That meant she had at least a good deal of skill and knowledge of the force. The young Jedi had no idea what the class would have in store for her and the rest of the class, but she was ready to begin as soon as possible.

After most of the class was inside, Master Ackbar instructed that the students should seat themselves as he was himself, which Delvynn did. She felt even more relaxed when seated; perhaps it was because sitting relaxes one more, or maybe the master was preparing them for a linked meditative state. She did not even comprehend the second, nor did she know if it was even possible. The young Miraluka girl decided to wait for the Jedi Master to begin his teachings before making any associations about it.

A big smile touched the face of Ozzril as the younglings filed in, their youthful, excited presence pleasing to the older Jedi. It always amazed him, the sheer pureness of the young, almost like a fresh snow yet to be touched by the locals. As they filed in, Ozzril reached out with the Force, making his presence strong, but comforting them as well. He wanted them to know that his words were the ones to listen to- and not their fellow younglings, at least not yet. Finally it seemed all the younglings made it in, and Lamilia took her seat at his side. It was time to start the class. With a groan Ozzril slowly got to his bare feet, chuckling at some of the younglings expressions at his age.

"Thank you Lamilia dear, and good morning to you all. Welcome to the Room of a Thousand Fountains. This place is one of the most important locations in our beloved Temple. Healers use it to treat wounded, young Jedi come here to train, and old men like myself come here to meditate. The waters run strong and deep, and the trees here are ancient, a few dating to when the Temple was first founded. The Force is very strong here, and thus why I have brought you here.

The Jedi began to walk among the sitting younglings, his hands moving and pointing to the various things in the room as he spoke.

It is here where we will once a week come to for class. Here, we will work on your connections to the very Force itself, how to manage your feelings, and most importantly, reflecting on yourselves. All great Jedi have one thing in common- and that is they know themselves. Their strengths, their weaknesses, their limits- all very important to know. As a Jedi, we do not perfect ourselves for our good, but to be harmonious with the Force and to use our talents and skills to help those who cannot help themselves. The Jedi are the defenders of the weak, guardians of the Republic, and conduits for the Force."

The Jedi stopped as he reached the front of the class once more, smiling down at Lamilia before gesturing to her. This was in fact the first class that she had joined him in, Ozzril feeling it was now time for her to aid him in his teachings, as well as learn from them as well- as the basics were always something to refresh on.

"But before I go on, I would like you all to welcome my apprentice Lamilia. She will be joining us from now on in your classes, as well as helping to teach you all. She is a very gifted and intelligent young woman, feel free to ask her any questions if you need help. Now I am curious to know, how do you all feel in this room? What stands out to you? Lamilia, why don't you go first dear."

The Master Jedi widened his stance and placed his hands behind his back, his fingers interlocking accept where his missing finger was. He awaited their responses eagerly, wondering what they would all say.

Zephyrus was one of the last to enter the Room of a Thousand Fountains. He was slightly nervous about being late. It did not good for his bearing as being an older youngling without having been taken as an apprentice yet. Once entering the room, he calmed himself. Being tardy happened and there was no sue to fret over it any longer.

Looking around and seeing Master Ackbar and his fellow younglings, Zephyrus headed quietly over to them to not disturb his talking. In an age varied group, Zephyrus sought out to not stand out next to younglings that differed greatly in age to him. Giving the group one final scan, he veered off to the side and stepped in place next to a young man of his age with bright red hair. The difference in the two was contrasted by their height, but Zephyrus knew that they were of the same age as he had seen him around the temple equally as long as he had been there himself.

Without much thought to his actions, he cleansed his mind of wandering thoughts and tuned into the Master’s voice and listened to the rest of his lecture of the room’s features. When Master Ackbar brought the classes attention to his young apprentice, Zephyrus smirked and wondered what the apprentice would be like teaching compared to the level of the Master’s teaching.

The young Hapan girl blinked a second in response to Ozzril, she was caught a little off-guard. She took a moment to think as she felt about her surroundings through the Force, and a small smile formed on her lips, "How I feel is soothed in this place. But what stands out to me is the most obvious. Water."

Gently she closed her eyes as she went on to say, "Really, there is no right or wrong answer. How you feel is just how you feel, is all. And what stands out to another is up to the observer."

"Water, however, flows as it is channeled. The Force flows through us, but we can also direct the method in which we channel it. Whether we choose to let it flow like a babbling brook, or a powerful river - it falls to the Jedi to decide. The Room of a Thousand Fountains is a symbolism as how a Jedi should allow the Force to flow through them as I see it. Not as a torrent, but with a serenity of countless fountains.", she then side glanced to her Master and smiled softly.

The Jedi Younglings sat in silence as Master Ackbar's apprentice, Lamilia, gave her account on what she felt while in the room and what stood out, just like he'd asked the rest of them to do. Delvynn was particularly interested in what the apprentice would have to say, considering the girl was not too much older than herself, but was already an apprentice, which immediately granted her respect.

As the apprentice gave her speech on the thoughts of the matter, Delvynn couldn't help but smile. Something in the words seemed calming and gentle; something she associated Lamilia with subconsciously now. The words flowed from her smoothly. Delvynn felt she could relate pretty well to this girl at least, so she was much more in tune with the class now. She was even anxious to speak when her turn came up. When it finally did, she stood up and placed her hand behind her back.

"Master Ackbar, I feel good when I'm in this room. I can't help but smile when I hear other young Jedi talking about their feelings because I feel the same way many of them do. Everything is calm here. I don't feel like I have any worries when I'm in this room. I feel safe and protected, and warm too.

With that, the young Miralukan girl seated herself back down, hoping she had given the Master what he was looking for.

{OoC: Due to Apillis' hiatus, Ozzril will be excusing her from the class, after this post Lamilia will no longer be in the room}

Ozzril smiled as each youngling and his apprentice spoke, their words pure and unbiased. He nodded his head and took in a deep, wet breath before beginning to stroke at his whiskers with his four fingered hand and spoke.

"Ah... Good answers young ones, good answers. The Force runs very strong in this room, that warmth, that comfort you feel, is the very essence of the Force itself, and just as Lamilia described, it moves through us as this water flows. Always steady, always controlled, but as the fountains and waterfalls show, can be ferocious and possibly deadly. It is our job as Jedi to mediate the Force as it flows through us, careful to avoid waterfalls unless needed."

Just as the Master stopped speaking his comlink buzzed, the beeping almost muffled by the sounds of the water. With a wave of his hand the comlink slid from his belt and floated to his awaiting hand.

"Master Ackbar, Padawan Lamilia is late for her class with the healers."

Golden eyes slid closed and the old Mon Cal laughed.

"I'm terribly sorry Master Sezao, excuse the blanking of an old man, I'll send her right away."

Ozzril opened his eyes and he turned one to his apprentice.

"Go on Lamilia, I think I can handle this little heard of gizka."

He smiled as his apprentice left, turning back to the younglings. It was true how they felt, as it shown on every face. Once more his hands moved behind his back and the Master began to pace before speaking.

"Now, young ones, tell me, how should a Jedi control their flow of the Force?"