Moving Forward (Talau)

”You’re only a wreck if you allow yourself to be...”

Leaning against the wall was a young woman, only a few years into her knighthood, smiling quietly at him…though her presence in the force would be gone, completely compacted into herself to keep him from sensing her as she’d watched him practice.

”…And if you keep thinking that way. At least, that is what my first master told me. Funny that, now I look back on it, he was right.”

For once, in a very long time, Talau was wearing something similar to standard jedi robes; a standard tunic, her belt (never leave home without it), jedi issue boots, and her typical pants….well, for her ‘typical pants’ equated to leather ones that were thick enough to work as some form of protection. More protection than cloth that was certain, and out in the galaxy, when combined with the rest of her ‘typical clothing,’ she stood out far less than most jedi. It was sort of a job requirement…being able to blend in. Anyway, after she spoke, Talau would stand up away from the wall and move into the room at an easy pace. Smiling as she held out a hand to him, her light brown eyes shifted and streaked with blue and gold as she helped him up.

”Up you get, padawan.”

The woman was in quite a good mood; one of the best she’d been in for quite some time. Stepping back, she’d finally allow her presence to bloom outward, letting that good mood permeate the area around her in a gentle wave…much like a soft breeze on a spring day. For a moment she looked at him, unmoving, her arms folded lightly across her chest. That golden color in her eyes flickered, growing and diminishing like rays of light against the blue and brown backdrop of them as she studied the boy in the force and gauging his reaction to her.

”Interesting… Anyway, I'm Talau Firians, a pleasure to meet you.”

She’d hold out her hand again, this time to shake, as she focused her senses into the outstretched limb. It was a non-invasive sort of way to get a better ‘feel’ for the boy in the force. Ah the nifty tricks one could learn if they just used a little creativity…

The not-so-distant voice came at a surprise to Davin, who nearly jumped out of his own skin.

Why didn't I sense her? He thought for a brief moment before the female Jedi started to close in on his position with a smooth approach.

Quickly, Davin scrambled for his lightsaber and placed it along the belt of his robes. He then took the hand of the female Jedi and got back to his feet.

Still, despite her smile, Davin was a little suspicious as to why she had decided to watch him practice by himself.

There are much more capable padawan than I..

Davin's aqua pupils slid to the bottom right corner of the socket. He replayed his awkward fall in his head, over and over again. His doubts in his own abilities came rushing from the back of his subconscious to the fore front of his brain.

Then suddenly, a clam breeze enveloped Davin's entire being, his doubts erased from his mind and, for a moment, everything seemed right.

His pupils then shifted from the corner of the sockets to the female Jedi, who was now staring at him. Davin blushed slightly, he wasn't used to getting this kind of attention from someone, if only brief.

He then, noticed her outstretched hand and shook it, his eyes stared into hers, now noticing the array of colors that enveloped her eyes for just a moment.

"I-I'm, D-Davin Cortosis," He said, the slight stutter came as a result of the faint blush still etched on his cheeks.

Get it together Davin.

The entire time she could feel his questioning and self-doubt. If she’d chosen, she likely could have heard his thoughts without much trouble, but…his thoughts were meant to be his own. As he looked away toward the floor, however, she sighed just slightly. Despite that, her presence seemed to calm him slightly and he looked back to her, blushing a bit. As he took her hand, she allowed her senses to gather more information about him, even as he stammered his reply. There wasn’t much more to sense that wasn’t already being radiated by him.

”Come now, Davin. That’s no way to introduce yourself.” She stated with a mild chuckle, letting go of his hand after giving it a shake. ”Be confident in letting others know who you are. After all, you’re a jedi, and first impressions are important. Not only that, but no one else can be you, besides you. So…” She would step back slightly, an almost playful feeling emanating from her as she did. ”Let’s try this again. I know my own entrance was not exactly typical…you’ll have to forgive me for that.”

Turning, she’d start to walk back toward the door as she continued to speak. ”I'm going to go back out the door. When I come back in, we’ll reintroduce ourselves properly and you will utterly astound me with your superb charm and confidence and how much of a difference there is between this introduction and the one we’re about to have…I'm certain of it.” And she was, too. Everything she radiated out into the force was light-hearted, reassuring and confident in her own words. Pausing at the door, she’d smile at him from over her shoulder and slip out once again, allowing the doors to shut behind her. She would wait a few moments, allowing him to adjust to the concept…certainly he must be thinking her more than a bit odd by now.

After all, who practices introductions these days? Hah…if you’re watching and listening from the afterlife, Master, don’t you dare tell me ‘I told you so’ when I die.

Once she felt enough time had passed to allow him to get used to the idea without over thinking it, she would step back through the doors, pause as if seeing him for the first time in her whole life, then move forward with a bright smile. ”Ah…hello there. I had planned on training here today, mind if I join you? I'm Knight Talau Firians. A pleasure to meet you Padawan…?” She paused at the end of her introduction, holding her hand out to him once more and waiting for his name in return.

”Come now, Davin. That’s no way to introduce yourself.”

"R-Right.." Davin said, rubbing the back of his head. A faint blush of red dabbed his cheeks, embarrassed by his reaction.

He was actually pretty glad that Talau was willing to restart the whole salutation process. Davin agreed with her in that first impressions are crucial, and the young padawan knew that his wasn't a very pleasant one.

The female Jedi flashed Davin a smile as she exited the training chamber, closing the door behind her.

Quickly, Davin combed back his hair, brushed himself and his robes, and just did basically anything he could do to calm down his nerves, though Talau's presence within itself seems to bring an air of confidence to Davin's psyche.

Though she was a bit eccentric.

But who was he to judge?

Here she comes...

Talau entered the door again, and Davin wasn't the least bit unsettled by it this time. She approached him again, restating her name and intentions.

"Hi. I'm Davin. Davin Cortosis. It's a pleasure to meet you Talau." Davin said, taking her hand.

He had a smile on his face, one of his biggest in a long time. It wasn't a facade to impress Talau, or trick her into believing he had learned his lesson.

No, it was as genuine as genuine get.

((lol I’ll need you to give me a bit more than that next time. A hello and a smile isn’t much to reply to))

Grinning back, she’d nod. ”Much better! See? Astounded. Remember, even if you’re caught off guard, you need to be able to regain your mental footing swiftly. People will try to catch you off guard, try to surprise you and put you off balance…not always physically, but mentally as well. If they can surprise you and you either let them know it, or don’t recover swiftly, you may be in very big trouble.” She would pat him on the shoulder then, her words of wisdom out of the way.

”So…you were practicing Shii-cho? Why weren’t you using a training remote? Just looking for a change of pace?”

((LOL. I'm sorry. I meant to expand on it but I was kind of tired while doing it.))

Davin nodded his head to Talau's wisdom. It has been awhile since he had been taught a lesson by a more experienced Jedi. It was a good feeling, and for a moment, he forgot all about his former master, Pi-Guan.

"I guess you could say that," Davin said smiling. Of course he couldn't tell her that he was just using his training as a way to mend his inferiority complex, though it was pretty much written all over his face.

Though he had made great strides under his apprenticeship with Pi-Guan, he never felt fully comfortable, or confident with his current level. He would always train, but usually he would just fall flat on his face. Or butt.

Coupled with the fact that no other Jedi would take him in as an apprentice as of yet and you got a padawan who was pretty down on his luck. But with Talau, maybe all of that could change. Already she was teaching him, and he was recieving her words as if they had come from Pi-Guan.

A brief moment passed and Davin couldn't help but notice Talau's outfit. Her pants to be mores specific. They didn't seem to be the normal attire of a Jedi, especially one who at a temple.

Maybe she's some sort of special Jedi or something. It wouldn't hurt to ask.

"Master Talau," Davin began, "if you don't mind me asking, are you some sort of special agent Jedi or something?" he asked. Davin hoped he wasn't intruding her personal life by asking the question, and was ready to take any form of chastisement or vague answers.

((is okay. Happens to all of us))

She nodded to his statement. "I see..." There was more to it than he said, but she didn’t let on that she had clued into it. He seemed unconfident, something she found herself desiring to work on, to mend it. That was the healer in her talking, she supposed, but the woman couldn’t help but wonder why she felt so strongly about it with this boy. There was something about him that intrigued her, a task not easily accomplished by most people…at least, not to this degree. In fact, Talau found herself wondering where the boy’s master was…who the master was. It seemed odd that the mentor was not here training with the padawan.

Her intuition tingled slightly as a thought came itching at the back of her mind…perhaps the boy didn’t have one?

But that was silly, he was what? Fifteen? Sixteen? Somewhere around there…he had to have a master to still be in the temple, and why did she care so much anyway? Not once had Tal ever thought herself prepared to take on a student. Not that did didn’t want one eventually but…I wonder why I'm even thinking about this right now…I'm not prepared for a padawan of my own, and have enough personal issues, that I don’t need to be passing my quirks on to someone else. I mean look how I treated Jazen on Haruun Kal…and he isn’t even -my- student! Besides, look at all the trouble he and Locke get into…do I really need that with my brother and the future of Rilia to deal with as well?

“Master Talau…”

Now that was an odd sound to her ears. Even when Jazen did it, she never got used to it from him, and hearing it from someone else was even more odd.

“…If you don’t mind me asking, are you some sort of special agent Jedi or something?”

For a moment the question caught her off guard and she lifted one eyebrow, her eyes shifting to include a curious light brown through the happy blue and gold. ”Sort of…I'm a Shadow, a sentinel who searches out the dark side, it’s practitioners, and artifacts pertaining to it. Why do you ask?”

She's nothing like Pi-Guan. That was the first thought that came to the padawan's mind.

Pi-Guan was a Counsular, an old and wise Selkath Jedi who prided himself with his collection of books and often spent the bulk amount of his time deep in meditation. Looking back, it seemed Pi-Guan was more than eager to take on a student and pass his immense knowledge on to somebody else.

"If that was true then he wouldn't have left me..." Davin said to himself in a very low volume. He hoped that Talau wouldn't hear it, as he had accidentally spoke his thoughts aloud.

"Oh no reason! It must be a very interesting job to say the least," Davin said smiling, responding to Talau's question.

She might be to busy to take an apprentice. A padawan going with her on such dangerous missions would only hinder it at best.

Davin thought. However, she did seem very interested in the young padawan. It wouldn't be to far of a stretch. Why would she go through the trouble of redoing their entire introduction sequence just to prove a point? It was either that or she was just entranced in the usual Jedi teaching routine.

Davin desperately wanted to believe the former.

Then an idea struck him like. What if they could train together? Then surely Talau would notice Davin's potential, and take him in as her padawan.

If she's not eager to take on an apprentice, then I'll just make her reconsider!

"Umm...Talau, may I ask you something if you don't mind?"

Davin sounded unnecessarily nervous, and his eyes couldn't stand to look Talau's directly in her's. Instead they seemed to have been pointing slightly downward, at her nose or mouth.

Come on Davin, don't let Talau's lesson go to waste. You would had failed her already!

It seemed, instantly, Davin had regained his composure. His excessive heart rate had dropped back down to normal, and his eyes refocused back to that of Talau's eyes.

"Would you mind training with me instead? It's been awhile since a master has formally instructed me," he said. Nothing but conviction and determination could be heard as he eagerly awaited the female Jedi's response.

“If that was true then he…”

One eyebrow tipped upward at the words, not catching the rest.

“Oh no reason! It must be a very interesting job to say the least.”

Again she lifted that eyebrow. ”Come now, Davin…all questions have their roots, theirs no reason to be shy about them. But yes…it can be quite interesting, and quite dangerous.” For a moment she turned her face back toward the door, gazing at it steadily as she felt a pair of jedi wandering toward the room. Honestly, she didn’t desire to be disturbed by others right now, so she politely made sure they understood this fact. Startled slightly, but understanding, they made for another room. She’d just looked back to Davin when he spoke again.

“Umm…Talau, may I ask you something if you don’t mind?”

She chuckled and shook her head slightly.

”If I minded, you would know it.”

Internally she sighed as he, once again, radiated an uncertainty and anxiety that she couldn’t quite place a reason to. I wonder what the cause is…hmm, whatever the case it will need to be amended for him to continue his trai— He was looking back up at her now, suddenly feeling more confident to her senses, a change that was mirrored in the curious brown that seeped into her otherwise blue and gold eyes. Well…ask and ye shall receive? If only everything were this simple! She doubted, however, that it would be a permanent change. Things like this took time.

“Would you mind training with me instead? It’s been a while since a master has formally instructed me.”

”Has it now?”

Well that certainly puts a few of the pieces in place, she mused.

”Alright, but one question before we continue, then. How long has it been? And is ‘he’ on a mission…or not?”

Davin's expression turned somber to say the least.

His master.

No.

His former master.

Pi-Guan.

Davin loved him like a father. That was his father, as far as Davin was concerned. He took him in when no one else would. He saw potential. He saw purpose. But most importantly, he saw Davin for what he truly was. A lonely boy.

Then he left. Left without saying goodbye. Left without finishing Davin's training.

"Why did he have to leave so soon?" Davin muttered to himself.

One could hear his voice carry a presence of sadness. Of pain. It was choppy, and it more than hinted that the subject of his master was a touchy one.

Davin looked at Talau, his aqua eyes stared at hers for a moment, trying to answer her question without succumbing to his emotions.

"It's been eleven months, nine days, and four hours," the padawan said.

He had never lost count, and made sure to had dedicated a good thirty minutes of meditation time in his memory. However, this never filled the void in the padawan's heart. Only now, while standing in front of Talau, a Jedi he has grown quite fond of within a short matter of time, he has realized the truth.

Slowly, his pupils started to sparkle like glitter. Soon the flood gates opened, and the tears came streaming down his cheek. He had hid them. For all this time he had hidden the tears. Only the female Jedi before him would witness the full extent of his buried sorrow.

"He...he never came back! He told me he was going on a mission to convert lost Jedi but he....he never came back! I knew, deep down I knew, but I...I..."

The padawan took a moment to wipe his eyes with the sleeve of his robes, as well as the residue of tears etched across his face.

"I knew he wasn't coming back. He never said goodbye. He never completed my training. He never told me he loved me, as much as I loved him. I looked up to him, but he left me!"

It was anger. Righteous anger that plagued Davin's voice now. He felt so strongly for his master, but he disappeared without giving the padawan any kind of closure. He just left. Vanished.

Davin couldn't speak. He couldn't explain how devastated he was. How he pretended that everything was fine. He couldn't say another word.

And now, he couldn't stop crying.

She could all but feel the change in his emotions sweep through him once she had asked that question. The turmoil hit her like a wave of cold water battering against her senses, and a bit of grey seeped into her eyes as she watched him. Sighing quietly as he muttered, first to himself, then to her, she smiled gently as he answered her question. First it was a full span of time, then it was the full explanation. Short as it was, the young knight understood all too well, perhaps not because her master had left the order, but he had left in a manner of speaking. Stepping silently over to him, she simply hugged him, letting him vent his feelings on the matter. When he’d quieted once more, she took a deep breath, letting her calm seep out and wrap around him.

”You know…I remember how I felt when I lost my first master. It was unfortunate, his death, and I remember how heartbroken I was. We quarreled, especially as I grew older, but I knew that he cared about me…just as I'm sure your master still cares for you. They don’t leave us, be it through death or simply by taking a different path, because they no longer care…and we shouldn’t need to be told that they cared either. We should know it already. After all, Masters…I don’t believe they choose Padawans on a simple whim, they choose because they’re drawn…because something feels right…and it is because they care that they take such care of their students. Otherwise, why take one?”

She’d pause a moment, letting go just enough to look down at him and smile, her eyes a mixture of grey and lavender. ”Besides…sometimes…sometimes we just don’t have the option to say goodbye. Sometimes death comes too swiftly, or leaving hurts too much, or there simply isn’t time…or sometimes there’s a risk that, if you say goodbye, the people you care about will simply hurt more or try to follow you down a path you know they shouldn’t follow.” After a moment she’d step back, leaving her hands on his shoulders as she looked down at him.

"Now...it's time for you to start letting go. It isn't going to be easy, Davin, but being burdened by such thoughts isn't going to help you...and I doubt it's what your master would have wanted for you."

He cried. And cried. And cried.

Davin never felt so sad, so miserable.

He looked up at Talau, looking for some sort of response or answer she could give to help him get over his sorrow. That's when she simply hugged him, which served as a stress reliever for the young padawan. He buried his head in her chest until the tears stopped flowing suddenly. It was as if Talau's presence enveloped his entire body, carrying with it a sense of calm.

Then he heard her story. Her pain. It was so similar. Davin himself didn't agree with everything his master said, and sometimes believed that he never truly wanted to be a Jedi, and never wanted Davin to be one neither.

Yet he showed so much compassion and love for the padawan, as well as other life forms that occupied the galaxy. When Talau explained the purpose of masters taking padawans, it opened Davin's eyes. He never considered Pi-Guan taking him because he wanted to, only because he had to in a sense, as he would had felt guilty allowing Davin to be sent away without any training.

The female Jedi loosened her embrace of Davin and looked down upon him, as he looked upon her.

His face was no longer stained with the residue of tears that dripped across his cheek. His aqua eyes were no longer lit like a small pond during a sun rise. He had quit his lamenting and overcame his show of sorrow.

Then Talau explained to the padawan as to why his master might not have said goodbye. Davin thought back to the day his master left him on his never ending quest for the redemption of lost Jedi, and found that he did in fact sense what seemed to have been indecisiveness within his master's heart.

Davin wiped a stray tear from his face as he listen to Talau explain the hardest part of the healing process, which was letting go. He looked down for a moment, trying to summon the strength to finally let go of the thought of his former master. He fully agreed with Talau, and believed that he needed to move on so he could live again.

Finally, his eyes looked up at Talau's, determination etched across his face as if someone had carved the word on his visage. There was a flare in his eyes, and from now on, he decided that he was going to make his former master proud.

"You're right Master Talau. I'm sure he would be lecturing right now if he saw me," Davin said chuckling a bit.

But there was something that caught his attention.

Talau's eyes.

Were they always that color? He could remember them being a bit more on the gray side before she hugged him. Now, being this close, Davin could make out a bit of purple as well.

"Master Talau, if you don't mind me asking....does your eyes change color?" Davin asked.

((sorry it's so short, I'm sick and my brain isn't working right v.v))

Davin had seemed to need the hug as much as she’d thought he had, his arms wrapping around her in return as he buried his face in her chest. Now isn’t this an interesting experience? And to think, I figured today would be boring and routine, she mused to herself, letting him cry until he didn’t need too any longer.

“You’re right Master Talau. I'm sure he would be lecturing right now if he saw me.”

”Oh, I hope not…lectures are never fun to be on the receiving end of. Just remember the Code, Davin…two parts in particular: ‘Emotion, yet peace’…and ‘Chaos, yet harmony’.”

Blinking down at him, she noticed he was focused quite intently on her eyes. Ah yes, the eyes…part of her had wondered when he might noticed, or if he would, though another part of her hoped sincerely that he wouldn’t. Between her name and her race, she had to be careful…as she’d found out when she’d recovered her brother, people had been out to kill her family, and no doubt there were still some out there somewhere.

“Master Talau, if you don’t mind me asking…does your eyes change color?”

”Do they change color,’ not, ‘does they’…and yes, they do, actually.” Patting one of his shoulders lightly, she allowed her hands to fall away. ”Come on, I can help you practice later, but for now, let’s take a walk…it’ll do us both some good, I think.” She’d wait for him to gather whatever he might have needed to before starting casually for the doors.

A walk? Davin questioned in his mind.

Yes, Maybe I do need to clear my head up a bit.

Davin turned around for a quick second, examining the room for any valuables lest he leaves and forget about them. He already had a mental checklist going, which confirmed in his mind that he had everything he needed.

He looked at Talau again and nodded at her, signaling that he was ready and was sure that he hadn't left anything.

Then a question hit him as he made for the doors.

"Master Talau, what is your view of the Force?" Davin asked. He then pondered on his question and felt that it was far to broad, so he decided to expand upon it.

"I mean, do you believe in The Living, or The Unifying Force?"

As he nodded that he was ready, Talau led the way out of the room and into the sunny halls of the temple, strolling easily along the marbled-covered path that she knew all too well. They hadn’t gone far when Davin spoke up, asking his question. It was a rather broad one, but as she debated how to answer, he narrowed it down for her a bit. The answer, then, came in a matter of moments.

”Must I believe in one or the other? Why not both?” She chuckled a little and clasped her hands behind her back lightly as they walked. ”I believe that living for the moment is highly important. You miss little things when you don’t…miss the little pleasures life has to bring you, as well as warnings that will help keep you, and others, safe. However, I'm not convinced that there is a ‘light’ and ‘dark’ to the force either…simply people who use the abilities granted them for good or evil. I believe that we all have a destiny, but we may not know what it is…if we do, however…”

She shook her head slightly, sighing, but smiling just a little. ”Well…if we do know, or have any idea, of what that destiny might be, it shouldn’t keep us from living in the moment, just simply be kept in our awareness. Visions, are not always accurate…don’t always have all the details, or in the correct order, so we must always be cautious of them, or taking steps to either circumvent or see them through.” Looking down at him, she’d smile, a combination of grey, purple, and gold coloring her eyes. ”I think that…as a person who has had more than my fair share of visions, I cannot discount the view of the Unifying force, and I cannot believe that so many simply become ‘tainted’ with darkness. If that were true, then what would we be fighting for? Who could we really redeem? On the other hand, I cannot discount the Living force either…for the very same reason as my visions, and because I am a shadow as well. My instincts serve me well in my tasks as a shadow, and as a healer, while living in the moment is…sometimes the most comforting way to live when I catch glimpses of the future. Do you understand?”

Turning down another hall, she would gaze at the carved bronzium statues of jedi past that lined the walkway, or look out the vast windows on the other side out onto the sprawling city of Coruscant. For a long moment she wondered if it was wise for her to consider taking on a padawan. There was so much she had seen, so many possibilities and probabilities, so many uncertainties…and then there was her obligation to her people. Could she really teach a padawan as well? ”Davin…I have a favor to ask of you. It’s very important, both to yourself, and to me, and any others who know me.” She’d pause a moment, turning to look at the young man seriously, and make sure she had his attention. ”I need you to be very careful when using my last name outside of the temple, as well as when telling others what race I am.” A sigh escaped her, and a bit of a smile as she rested a hand on his shoulder. ”It’s…a long story, but the short version is simply this: there are people who would rather my family line end with myself.”

Davin couldn't help but grin while Talau explained to him her view of the Force. She wasn't narrow minded as some Jedi had become, and thus, didn't just adhere to a single philosophy.

As they strolled down the marble halls, Davin felt a sense of calm wash over him. He almost felt as if he was bathing in the positive emotion of the Jedi around him, and as he looked up at Talau, and into her eyes, looking at the colors her pupils displayed, he felt as if the colors may be the perfect representation of his emotions.

"Yes, Master Talau," Davin responded, as the young Padawan and Shadow turned into a new hallway, lined with. what appeared to have been, bronze statues of Jedi.

Davin became enamored with each statue, and could only think of the great things each Jedi must have done in order to be given such a honor. As he did, he thought about the accomplishments he could do within his lifetime, and how much good he could do.

I can only with a Master, and Talau, I believe, is that master. Davin thought.

He believed strongly that Talau was meant to impact his life at least in some way, but more and more he warmed up to the idea of calling the woman near him master. She was put in his path for a reason, and Davin, as a Jedi, believed that true coincidences were rare.

His pondering broke with Talau's question. Quickly, the padawan turned to look at her. Usually, Talau would have a very friendly, inviting smile. But now it seemed she was serious.

Dead serious.

Davin nodded to Talau's warning, believing that compromising the Shadow's job would be very costly to not only Talau herself, but the entire Order.

The hand on his shoulder combined with the smile on Talau's face eased the tension a bit.

No, I can't let that happen. Davin thought.

He placed both of his hands on Talau's hand that was resting on his shoulder. He leveled it slightly below his chest as he loked her straight in the eyes. A flush of worry washed over his visage as he began to speak.

"I'll do whatever I can to stop that from happening. I don't want to lose anybody, especially not you," He said, eyes maintaining a sharp gaze into hers.

As they walked, the woman could feel the sense of contentment in the boy as he answered in the affirmative. There didn’t seem to be any sort of uneasy confusion that often came with unspoken questions or uncertainty. That was good, at least…but the thoughts that touched her mind after had her lifting a brow slightly. She could tell they had been meant to be personal thoughts; however, she couldn’t help but notice. For a moment she debated on how to reply to them, even as she continued to speak to him.

“I’ll do whatever I can to stop that from happening. I don’t want to lose anybody, especially not you.”

She smiled, chuckling a little despite herself, as grey clouded the happier colors in her eyes. Bringing her other hand up, she’d pat the ones he held her own with. ”None of us want to lose anyone, but it’s an eventuality we can’t escape…this is one reason why we’re taught to be able to let go. Anyway, as I said, all you really need to do is be careful. I’m sure enough that I have plenty of time and opportunity to do what I must in my life, so you needn’t worry too much.”

While it wasn’t a lie, she knew that her life wasn’t meant to be simple or free of her share of pain and trials. She didn’t know yet how they might come about, but she had ideas of what some of them would be. Her fears and worries, however, would be masked from him and his senses, only showing in the continued grey in her eyes, traces of orange threading into them with the more prominent and stubborn gold and silver of her determination and courage. Motioning with her free hand, she ushered him onward through the hall as she clasped her hands behind her lightly, the silver beads threaded here and there in her hair jingling softly every now and again as she walked.

”So, Davin, what makes you believe I am the one that should be your master? I heard your thoughts previously, you see. You need to be careful about letting them slip from you. I’m curious as to if there is a specific reason.”

Her words were both physical and telepathic as she spoke. If he’s going to be my student, that will be something we’ll need to work on. As a shadow she often dealt with the ‘dark side’ and its practitioners. If she could hear his thoughts passively, they would be far more active in ‘listening’ or attempting to glean information from him.

Letting go...

The thought eased through the young padawan's mind. He knew he would have a hard time understanding that concept, especially since he has a tendency to form attachments fairly quickly, sometimes it can be one-sided. It might be because Davin is a very loyal person, and innately expects others to be the same way.

If they aren't, he still believes that they can be, and strives to pull it out of them. He understood the dangers of it however, as holding on to something can be much more harmful than good. His former master would be a prime example.

"Yes, Master Talau," Davin said. He slowly dropped Talau's hand down, though honestly, he didn't want to let her go.

Her hands are pretty soft. I would expect it to be rougher considering her job. It could be the type of lubricant she uses or something.

Davin smiled as Talau motioned for him to follow her further down the halls, he noticed the subtle changes of color within her eyes. The padawan became entranced in them, trying to see how many colors he could spot. He saw mostly gray, and a bit of orange that seemed to have become intertwined with what he could only guess was a bit of silver and gold.

”So, Davin, what makes you believe I am the one that should be your master? "

How did she know that?

I heard your thoughts previously, you see. You need to be careful about letting them slip from you.

Yes Master, I will be much more careful in the future.

Davin blushed faintly, embarrassed that he had let his thoughts go astray. He couldn't believe he was so careless. Had Pi-Guan taught him nothing?

"I’m curious as to if there is a specific reason.”

"Well, uh, you see," Davin again blushed faintly. He had a hard time being put on the spot. This situation when much smoother in his head than it did now, but he was somehow able to pull himself back together.

"Well, you remind me so much of Pi-Guan, my former master. I mean no offense by it, as no two Jedi are the same, but you just seem...special."

There, he said it. He put on quite the straight face, able to rebound from his mindless stuttering previously.