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Vaen
Flicking a Rancor's love spuds with a wet towel since 1990
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last online Mar 21, 2011 17:02:11 GMT -5
Force Sensitive
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Jun 23, 2009 17:57:10 GMT -5
Post by Vaen on Jun 23, 2009 17:57:10 GMT -5
The will of the Force. It was an often overused and misunderstood phrase, Vaen certainly knew it was beyond his comprehension, but he wondered about it sometimes. Death, he had been told, was the will of the Force, he did not understand. How could something so terrible be part of the benevolent life giving aura which he had felt surrounded by for years? Now however, he had begun to see the reasoning behind what his Master had taught him on her deathbed, there was a plan, a grand scheme which every being was effected by and had an effect on. It was comforting to think of in such terms, it was almost a reassurance that one day, perhaps long after his bones had turned to dust, perhaps sooner, things would turn out for the better. Ever since that terrible night he had been pondering the nature of life and death, seemingly two opposites and yet inescapably connected. His ears were greeted only by the sound of his boots on the floor, this sort of walk helped him think, yet he was used to having a second set of steps act as his mind's metronome.
That, in a nutshell, was the nature of his problem. When he had heard the impossible, that his Master had passed into the Force he had attempted to reach out to her and felt only the void of her absence. It had chilled him, the Galaxy seemed almost empty without that steady and dependable presence which had defined his life as a Jedi. But later on, when his mind was quiet he felt something, something brushing against the edge of his senses and he wondered, was he truly as alone as he thought? Was he simply going mad with grief? Or was this something more? But he had other things which ought to occupy his mind. He was to be reassigned soon, to who he didn't know, he wondered if the Council knew at this point either. Not that he doubted them on their promise it was just that he felt rather unimportant compared to that which they usually dealt with.
He did hope that they'd be quick though, as much as his Master had instilled in him the value of patience he knew it had its place and he knew that he needed something, anything to take his mind off his grief. He had of course grieved, Azura would have not wanted him to but he had and yet his grief was like an inexhaustible reservoir, it would ebb away but never vanish. He had not simply lost a teacher, but what felt like a part of himself, was that selfish of him? Maybe his bond with his Master was like a severed nerve, damaged but not destroyed, communicating signals of something which was not there.
All through his Apprenticeship to Master Felle he had been taught to contemplate and examine, but he feared he now stared down a problem with no solution.
He was jarred from his thoughts by a sudden realization. He was no longer alone. Footsteps surrounded him as Jedi, Masters, Knights, Padawans and Younglings alike moved through the corridor of his former isolation. He hadn't at first heard them because he had been listening only to his own footsteps, but now he heard, saw and sensed them all. Perhaps that was his problem to begin with? He stopped in the now crowded hallway, bowed his head and smiled, laughing a little under his breath. Perhaps they were all part of a larger entity after all, perhaps they were all interconnected and perhaps his Master was simply the first strand in a web of intrigue which stretched beyond the Republic and back to him. Perhaps.
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last online May 22, 2012 22:54:40 GMT -5
Youngling
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Jul 15, 2009 14:07:43 GMT -5
Post by Giles Kappa on Jul 15, 2009 14:07:43 GMT -5
The past few days had been trying times for Jedi Master Giles Kappa, a somewhat built Guardian wearing a large silver hilt on his belt and his waving brown cloak flapping as he walked down one of the many busy corridors of the Jedi Temple. First off, his former apprentice has been given the opportunity to take on her own Padawan, which she was keen to do. Giles agreed with her decision for the better of the Jedi, but he was saddened by the loss of the person he called his partner for so long. Now he was summoned to the Jedi Council Chamber, apparently to do with giving him a new apprentice. Giles knew the only way to help himself was to garner a new Padawan, yet deep down he yearned for time for himself. For years Jaina had been there, by his side, taking orders and after a while giving them out as well. He missed staring blankly into the night sky and thinking, just thinking.
"A new Padawan would be nothing but a burden," said Giles to himself in a slight whisper. As he rounded a turn in the corridor, he collided with someone and Giles nearly fell flat on his back if he hadn't managed to turn and land on all fours. He sighed, thinking another droid or untrained Youngling had collided with him. Giles finally got to his feet and turned to find something very different.
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Vaen
Flicking a Rancor's love spuds with a wet towel since 1990
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last online Mar 21, 2011 17:02:11 GMT -5
Force Sensitive
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Jul 15, 2009 15:16:41 GMT -5
Post by Vaen on Jul 15, 2009 15:16:41 GMT -5
Vaen was not so lucky as the Jedi Master. Having had his head down he'd looked up just in time to see just over six feet worth of Jedi heading right for him, he stepped back right onto his cloak, got bumped anyway and fell flat on his backside before crumbling to the ground on his back. Though only a moment ago he'd been engaged in a deeply meaningful metaphysical monologue he couldn't bring any such words to the surface and instead settled with the single syllable which seem most appropriate for the occurrence. “Ow.” If it were at all possible he was now even more aware of the Jedi that surrounded him, specifically of their eyes which all seemed to have been crossed by looks of either amusement or... actually amusement was about it. If there was any way in which to impress a prospective Master then what Vaen had quite literally stumbled into was not it. Sitting up awkwardly as he attempted to compose his limbs he noticed that the man he'd crossed paths with was older, much older than him and therefore naturally he was of much higher standing..... whoops.
How could he be expected to compose his mind if he couldn't even compose his feet? Such an oafish faux-pas wasn't really going to do him any good. His lips parted for a moment, his face shifting quickly from one expression to another, he wasn't really sure whether he ought to speak, he wondered if he did would the contents of those great green basins which looked back at him spill over and consume him? For a moment he sat transfixed, like an animal staring into the moonlight, or rather he felt like one in the headlights of a land speeder. At last he plucked up the backbone to speak. “Sorry Master, I wasn't watching where I was going.” Though in what was a somewhat painfully metaphorical reality he hadn't in fact been going anywhere, he wasn't about to imply even if accidentally that this was in some way his senior's fault.
Regaining his feet even less gracefully than he'd lost them he offered the older Jedi a hand to help him up, in all probability he didn't need any help, he was a Jedi after all but it was always polite to make such an offer. “You are okay aren't you, Master?”
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last online May 22, 2012 22:54:40 GMT -5
Youngling
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Jul 15, 2009 21:09:28 GMT -5
Post by Giles Kappa on Jul 15, 2009 21:09:28 GMT -5
Giles put his head toward the floor and made a slight grin, reminiscing of his days as a young man, which were not too long ago he thought. He accepted the young man's proposal and latched onto his hand and was easily lifted to his feet, hoping that he would give a air of age, therefore an air of wisdom: which he doubted worked at all. For too long Giles had been in the field and had earned the scars that were commonplace on his limbs, especially the loss of his left hand as a young Jedi Knight. He wished he could have taken a different route, but not because he did not like battle or blood or war: he liked that all too well thought many of his counterparts. Yet, Giles wanted to know how different things could have been had he taken another road and became "holocron-smart" instead of "saber-smart".
Giles finally released the young man's hand, who he realized looked a bit too old to be pacing around the Jedi Temple instead of out saving someone's hide or hiding aboard an enemy ship. He looked in the boy's eyes and saw much of the loss that he himself felt, something that was all too commonplace among the Jedi of today, thought Giles quickly.
"No worries young man, I am not yet feeble enough to lay prone on the floors of the Jedi Temple," muttered Giles, wishing he had rephrased his words so that he sounded more like an experienced master, which is what he actually was. Giles usually didn't sound like the true man he was, always joking around on Temple yet taking on a serious demeanor in every conflict. Giles looked at the boy again and studied his face, attempting to remember if he knew him out of the many Younglings and Padawans in the Jedi Temple. In the end, he could not make out his face: "Say boy, forgive me but what is your name?"
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Vaen
Flicking a Rancor's love spuds with a wet towel since 1990
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last online Mar 21, 2011 17:02:11 GMT -5
Force Sensitive
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Jul 16, 2009 16:51:32 GMT -5
Post by Vaen on Jul 16, 2009 16:51:32 GMT -5
Giles' remark might not have reflected poise or any other such Masterly quality but still they were enough to coax a little smile out of Vaen, something which had been seen less and less over the past few months. “Of course not, I didn't mean to imply....” Vaen trailed off, still sounding just as nervous this elder Jedi probably meant nothing by it, perhaps Vaen was simply too used to looking for subtexts because of his prior Apprenticeship. Was he in fact so busy looking for the truth behind things that he couldn't relax even in a simple spontaneous conversation? But then he'd not been himself lately, his anxieties would most likely fade, he only hoped this would not be the way his memories went as well though. It wasn't unusual that this man didn't recognize him, he'd never exactly been a rising star amongst his peers, there was perhaps only one act of real note he'd ever performed but then again he was of a very modest stock.
“Vaen, I'm a Padawan if you were wondering,” he regretted adding that last little bit, surely a keen and penetrating mind equipped only with a brain stem could have muddled through that particular deduction, perhaps by the end of this conversation he might engage his mouth and mind at the same time and salvage something from the wreckage. Still quite sure that this man would still not know of him he decided to add a little something else before he quite caught up with himself. “As a matter of fact I'm-- I... I mean I was Master Felle's Apprentice.”
The words still didn't sound right coming out of his mouth. Not by a long shot, had he then embraced the reality of the situation as his former Master had asked of him, as he knew he would have to if ever he were to move forward? If his recent inner monologues were anything to go upon then the answer was quite apparent.
“Still life goes on...” he didn't even convince himself with that one.
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last online May 22, 2012 22:54:40 GMT -5
Youngling
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Jul 17, 2009 14:50:22 GMT -5
Post by Giles Kappa on Jul 17, 2009 14:50:22 GMT -5
Giles stopped dusting off the inner workings of his attire when he heard the boy's former master's name, someone he knew from his time as a Padawan. Giles looked into the boy's eyes and sensed a keen feeling of loss and lonliness, something he hid deep inside his own heart.
"Ah, Master Felle, I knew her as a boy of your own age just about. A very keen teacher and master of Form III, was she not?" Questioned Giles, hardly expecting an answer from the boy but quickly realizing he'd get one.
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Vaen
Flicking a Rancor's love spuds with a wet towel since 1990
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last online Mar 21, 2011 17:02:11 GMT -5
Force Sensitive
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Jul 18, 2009 13:11:59 GMT -5
Post by Vaen on Jul 18, 2009 13:11:59 GMT -5
“The best of teachers.” Vaen's reply came quickly this time, one of the very few things he remained fixedly sure of was that Azura Felle had imparted to him wisdom and courage far beyond his age and for this he was most thankful. Though in life she would never have admitted to it she was indeed both a great tutor and master of Soresu, she would probably say that there was always something more to learn but in his eyes at least she could do no wrong. They had both been perhaps over modest but without his Master now here to berate his embellishment of her memory there was no reason not to make this particular thought known. “Everything which I learned and was worth the time to learn I was given by her.” Again Vaen's eye caught the other Jedi's and he saw there a twinkle of what he himself felt, perhaps a genuine emotion, maybe something reflected from himself, regardless he didn't bring it up. No sense in making a fool of himself further.
There was so much he'd not known about her that it was no small surprise this Jedi knew of her. Modesty aside the reality was that she had been a Jedi Master of wide renown and he was the only real reason she hadn't served on the Council, to better attend to him, to his training. “But of course if you'd known her then you know already?” Of course he did, anyone who'd known her would, if the anecdotes which had been buzzing around his head for weeks after being spoken to him by the side of her funeral pyre then Master Felle had touched many more than he had either known or suspected.
“If I may, what's your name, Master?” Vaen wasn't that interested at that moment, he simply wanted to change the subject to something less painful and confusing, lest he make an idiot of himself all over.
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last online May 22, 2012 22:54:40 GMT -5
Youngling
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Jul 18, 2009 14:11:30 GMT -5
Post by Giles Kappa on Jul 18, 2009 14:11:30 GMT -5
Giles remembered the boy's fallen master, at least, what he could remember of her. He quickly drifted into thought, something he learned to do after spending weeks stowed aboard ship's holding compartments or locked in a Hutt dungeon. Soon he was so caught up in the moment that he almost missed the boy's question.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I'm Master Kappa. I doubt you've heard much of me, for I prefer to keep a low profile as to not expose my weaknesses, whatever those may be," replied Giles, looking to his shoulder and dusting the bit of dirt he had gotten on his cloak from the fall.
Giles looked over the boy's appearance for a moment between questions and answers. He saw the boy's thin frame, the long braid traditional of Padawans, and then a small, sickle-shaped scar beneath his right eye. Giles eyed this for a moment and then returned to the conversation.
"So, tell me, what is your business in the corridors today? Ah, excuse my manners, what is your name?"
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Vaen
Flicking a Rancor's love spuds with a wet towel since 1990
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last online Mar 21, 2011 17:02:11 GMT -5
Force Sensitive
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Jul 23, 2009 7:55:58 GMT -5
Post by Vaen on Jul 23, 2009 7:55:58 GMT -5
[[Both late and rubbish, sorry.]]
His name again? Hadn't he just--? He didn't look that old. Best not to point it out, first impressions and all that, he didn't want to come over as rude. He did recognize this man now, he'd of course never met him before but as much as Giles maintained his modesty Vaen had heard of him. He was not surprised to hear such modesty from this particular Jedi Master, as Vaen had heard it he had turned down a Council position not once, but twice. A Guardian of great strength and a Master of Vaen's own preferred Form. Vaen remembered that once he'd had sneered at the prospect of becoming a Guardian, he thought that the emphasis on combat was out of sync with the pursuit of peace central to the Jedi lifestyle. While it was true that wisdom was without a doubt a Jedi's greatest strength Azura had reminded him that there was a great wisdom in staying strong.
“I'm Vaen, just Vaen, you're not likely to have heard of me, there's really nothing to my record aside from serving under Master Felle.” He caught Giles' eye again, but was he looking him in the eye, no, of course. “Oh, this?” Vaen indicated the scar beneath his eye, “Memento from one of my predecessors, the healers said they could've corrected it but it just didn't seem right at the time. I didn't want to forget that fight.”
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last online May 22, 2012 22:54:40 GMT -5
Youngling
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Jul 24, 2009 13:33:56 GMT -5
Post by Giles Kappa on Jul 24, 2009 13:33:56 GMT -5
Giles looked at the boy and realized how much his own story was similar to Vaen's. He felt the mechanical replacement hand on his left arm and twiddled the fingers a bit to remember that fateful day. Giles lifted his hand and pulled back his cloak sleeve to show the boy.
"It seems both of us have some war wounds to speak of, maybe a bit more for me that is," said Giles, laughing a bit at his age and feeling the knots in his back tighten as he breathed in deep. Giles lowered his hand and watched the boy closely to see what he could get out of sensing his Force potential. The boy was definitely a potential Master one day, but he wanted to know more about the boy with the scar.
"So tell me Vaen, what brings you to this busy corridor today?"
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Vaen
Flicking a Rancor's love spuds with a wet towel since 1990
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last online Mar 21, 2011 17:02:11 GMT -5
Force Sensitive
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Jul 25, 2009 16:55:19 GMT -5
Post by Vaen on Jul 25, 2009 16:55:19 GMT -5
“That must have been painful. I see when it comes to tales of bravery I'll have to keep my lips tight.”
A mechanical hand, well that was hardly comparable to the little nick which Vaen still bore. Then again when he'd first received that little nick it could've easily been the precursor to something much more serious. Still, the statement stood. Memories continued to swim through his mind and he almost did catch Giles sizing him up via the Force, curious, Vaen didn't usually put anyone under the microscope when he bumped them in a corridor. There were very few reasons why Master Kappa would do such a thing, one of which appealed to Vaen greatly and instantly grabbed his attention. Was it possible? Had he been so lucky? Was Master Kappa sizing him up as an Apprentice? Whoa, slow down there, he's a Master and you're some random guy that he met in a corridor. No way he'd do something so impulsive...
“Oh I was just wandering, thinking. I was planning on heading down to the training dome later on. Can't let myself slip if I'm ever going to get another Master. I don't mean to impose but if you're not otherwise engaged it would be an honour if you'd consider accompanying me, Master.” Regardless of whether or not Master Kappa was looking for a new charge it would be a shame to squander an opportunity to learn from one so proficient in saber combat. He didn't want to impose but neither did he wish to squander such a chance. "I understand if you're busy."
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last online May 22, 2012 22:54:40 GMT -5
Youngling
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Jul 25, 2009 22:15:15 GMT -5
Post by Giles Kappa on Jul 25, 2009 22:15:15 GMT -5
Giles was indeed sizing the boy up as an apprentice and whether or not the young boy knew this it did not matter, for Giles knew the Jedi Council would never give him a boy of this age for the plain and simple fact of lack of bonding between the two. However, the boy did look in need of something to do so he decided to ask the boy to accompany him to the Jedi Council room, where he had been summoned earlier that same day. Hoever, when the boy asked him to the training dome, he figured the Jedi Council could wait a bit longer, after all, he wasn't planning on getting a mission anytime soon.
"Well Vaen, it seems I'd love to do the honor and maybe I could show you a few tricks of the trade that I've learned after a few years under my belt. After all, it wouldn't hurt to learn a few more anyhow, eh? Well, let's be on our way and not interrupt these nice people," finished Giles, catching his breath not in an old way, but in a rushed way, as if he was excited in a sense.
Giles touched the boy's shoulder as a father did a son and turned his face to Vaen's, awaiting the boy's answer.
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Vaen
Flicking a Rancor's love spuds with a wet towel since 1990
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last online Mar 21, 2011 17:02:11 GMT -5
Force Sensitive
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Jul 28, 2009 8:20:46 GMT -5
Post by Vaen on Jul 28, 2009 8:20:46 GMT -5
Well it was certainly much better than remaining idle, it was all well and good to study a form but until one employed it in the field they could never truly know the measure of their strength, so it was all well and good for Vaen to run through training protocols but in the end it was much preferable to test himself against the seasoning which only the world outside the Temple could provide. He hadn't left for a while now, how long had it been? Was he even keeping count any more? It didn't matter, as long as he hadn't lost his edge. Feeling Giles' hand on his shoulder quickly jarred Vaen's out of his thoughts again. He really had been in a world of his own as of late, perhaps a good spar would occupy his mind for a while and give him something to think about other than grieving.
“Yes, of course.” Moving off he felt Giles' hand slip from him and again his ears were filled with the sound of his own steps. He simply assumed that Master Kappa would fall into step with him, his pace was a little quicker than normal and he was perhaps a little impatient. He needed something, anything to distract him. He knew very well that he was walking toward a crossroads, like all Jedi the choice was his to make. Grief was a powerful emotion, neither good nor evil but often it lead to despair, anger. Vaen understood now the Jedi's hesitation towards emotional attachment, but he was not so weak as to give in to his own grief. His mind was ever basking in the light of his former Master's teachings and on that magnificently lit path he could take no false step.
No, his affection for the one he'd lost would not twist into something of shadow, to allow such would be to dishonour her memory, something he would never allow himself. As for the path he would walk in the future... “If I may... you are a Jedi Master and that would imply that you had completed a Padawan's tuition, if I might be so bold as to ask, are you at this moment paired with an Apprentice?” It couldn't hurt to ask, he would never dream of actively asking to be chosen should Master Kappa be in a position to accept him, it was a Jedi's prerogative to choose his own Padawan. To directly ask would be incredibly rude on Vaen's part but it was worth knowing.
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last online May 22, 2012 22:54:40 GMT -5
Youngling
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Jul 28, 2009 11:45:51 GMT -5
Post by Giles Kappa on Jul 28, 2009 11:45:51 GMT -5
For the longest time since Jaina Ardross, Giles' former apprentice, had left to begin her own "legend", Giles had thought himself a fool to dwell on losing her. After all, he saw her nearly every week and it was not as if he cared for her more than an apprentice, for the Jedi looked down on such attachments. Yet, within his heart, he couldn't help but to think of her as a daughter of sorts. He had been there since she was less then ten years old and then Giles' remembered his own troubled past and how far he had come with nothing more than the Force to will him on. The boy standing in front of him now was much more, or could be, should he be given the proper training.
Following the boy and having to put an extra kick in his stride to keep up with Vaen's erratic steps, Giles smirked and remembered the days when he could roam the halls of the Jedi Temple and not worry about such things as he was feeling now. Yet, he felt the same feeling on the boy's voice and his vibe was nearly identical to one Giles thought he gave off, which was even more maddening to Kappa.
When Vaen questioned Giles about his Padawan, Giles thought long and hard about what he should say, or at least it felt like eternity to Giles. Finally, he decided the truth was the right path to take. "I'm afraid that I am currently flying solo, Vaen, for my former apprentice has since passed her own promotion to that of a Jedi Knight. she was a most peculiar student and you show much potential as an apprentice yourself, Vaen," finished Giles, adding in the last part of his "speech" in order to leave the prospect open.
Giles figured the boy was not going to directly ask Giles for his tutorship, but Giles did not expect this as it was also frowned upon and hardly ever happened. Then again, he longed for the boy to ask him such as he would quickly respond with a word he was dying to say for the longest time. Vaen was not just another boy to ease the pain lost in an aging Jedi, but he was a chance to give back to the Order in which had gave him a life of justice and valor. He could show the boy so much and knew that Vaen had more potential than he did himself at his age. Giles did wish him to be his apprentice, but such things could never happen, so he thought.
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Vaen
Flicking a Rancor's love spuds with a wet towel since 1990
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last online Mar 21, 2011 17:02:11 GMT -5
Force Sensitive
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Aug 4, 2009 18:56:10 GMT -5
Post by Vaen on Aug 4, 2009 18:56:10 GMT -5
((Yeah, I've been working long hours these last few days with a birthday party smack bang in the middle of it, I'll be on regular again now.))
Vaen's heart jumped, almost skipping a beat as it seemed to thump up through his being to either leap up his throat or out his chest, it seemed almost as if he'd been sent this opportunity, or perhaps it was the case that he was reading too far into the encounter. After all he was no prodigy, at least he didn't think so and he saw no real reason for anyone, particularly the man he'd just fumbled into in a corridor to believe any differently. It had been only minutes earlier he had pondered the degree to which their lives were influenced by the Force, or by something more if such a thing existed, but surely he could not be the focus of any grand movement or machination. He was only a Padawan and without a Master whose shadow he could spring from in an hour of requirement he was even less significant. Could it be that he and this Master were meant to collide at the exact moment in which they needed one another? Surely not, surely not he.
I'll ask him afterwards, perhaps he'll be more inclined to consider me if he's seen some of my skills.... or less...
Vaen almost blushed when Giles acknowledged that he showed promise, it was perhaps the best thing Vaen could have heard at that time, if anything the boy while not realising it was over modest, more than once he'd belittled his achievements after all it was beyond most to be chosen as Apprentices but he'd always simply justified that that particular turn in his life was out of necessity rather than owing to any inherent skill or quality which he possessed. If only he could ask his former Master, he realised only not that there was so much left unsaid, so much hemmed in by personal restraint.
After a long silence he replied at last. “Thank you.” Nothing else needed to be said, even if he so desperately wanted to. It wasn't long until they were nearing the training dome and all the while Vaen's heart had continued to jack hammer against his chest. What happened next could very well make or break his chances and he hoped that he would live up to expectation. 'Potential' was such a broad word but it implied that he now had a criteria to meet if he was going to truly impress Master Kappa. “After you, Master.”
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