Wistful Nostalgia (Open)

[Lemur, The Kool-Aid Guy]

After Jia settled into compliance, which Teer found pleasant, their journey to the hangars began. It was in complete silence that they moved, as Teer judged the Mirialan girl would need a while to gain control over her emotions and find time to acquiesce to her situation.

Teer didn't speak at all until they reached an airspeeder and secured a driver, and then she explained which general area of Galactic City they were headed to, after which she settled into her own stretch of silence right up until the speeder stopped at a rather decrepit commercial stretch in the very bottom limits of the upper city, a shopping mall of sorts.

The new Watchman of Shili exited the speeder first and held open the door for Jia, closing it behind her when the duo exited.

"This is the first time I've been here with company," Teer said. "Be on your best behavior, because I plan on visiting the proprietor again the next time I visit Coruscant."

The Togruta woman started to walk in through the dingy glass doors, trusting Jia to follow her. In Teer's pocket she could feel her credit chits, flush with the funds she'd been allotted for use as a Watchman.

This was a noble purpose to use them for.

[Dee]

Jia followed Master Ka in silence, trying to avoid grumbling the entire time. After they climbed into the airspeeder the teenager pressed herself as close to the side as she could manage, propped her head up in her hand and just stared out. She kept up the silence for the whole ride, and kept her mind busy by watching the other speeders zooming past them on all sides. The ride gave her the time she needed to calm herself down.

By the time they arrived at their destination she wasn't angry anymore, but instead back to the subdued, despondent demeanor she had when the two had first interacted. She was a little ashamed at having gotten as worked up as she did before. It was starting to worry her... but maybe now wasn't the time to think about it. The Padawan climbed out of the vehicle, quietly thanking Master Ka for holding the door for her. As she looked around she wondered to herself what exactly they were doing here.

"This is the first time I've been here with company. Be on your best behavior, because I plan on visiting the proprietor again the proprietor next time I visit Coruscant."[/i] Jia was done being angry and resisting. She was already a bit too far into this for that now. She just nodded in response.

At this point the teenager was even more uncertain what they could possibly be doing at this place. It was as far as she could tell, a shopping center of some sort. Why would Master Ka bring her here? They were Jedi, they didn't own possessions and most of their needs were supplied for them, so they wouldn't often frequent areas like this for personal reasons. They were extremely out of place here.

She was very curious though. Apparently that was one thing about her, regardless of her emotional state, that would never change. As the Togruta walked through the glass doors Jia followed after her, ready to see where this was going. At the very least, this was another good distraction...

[Lemur, The Kool-Aid Guy]

Teer found her way back to the shop swiftly and surely, with absolute confidence. One of the perks with age, good memory, and excellent spatial awareness was this ability to find her way back to a location.

This location was very worthy of remembrance, and the true destination became visually apparent after only a few steps. Down one side corridor was a neon sign with "Ashaak's Pet Emporium" written in Aurebesh, and smaller characters in another script that Teer was familiar with as well.

The Jedi Master parted the doors and entered with that same confidence, coming to a stop before a counter, behind which an older Togruta teenager was standing. The two made eye contact, and seconds later a rapid conversation in Togruti took place.

Though Jia had no way of knowing, the conversation was simply ordinary and trivial subjects. How is your family? Excellent. And your move?

It was over in a brief amount of time and Teer looked back to Jia with a smile, hoping this would truly cheer up the Mirialan girl.

"This is the shop where I purchase thimiars and supplies for Ashla. I brought you here because I think there is a lesson you can learn. Even when you find yourself lacking a master, there can still be a companion to teach you responsibility. Any animal in this store can become your new companion, someone reliant on you for training and friendship, someone whose very life rests in your hands. Even when you feel at your most alone, you can have someone close by to ease your pain. Consider this practice for the day you take a Padawan of your own."

[Dee]

Jia stood a short distance away as Master Ka and the other teenager behind the counter had a conversation in a language she didn't understand. She just stood there silently and awkwardly, blue eyes shifting constantly as she tried to find something to focus her attention on. This place was clearly a pet store... But why were they here, exactly?

The Togruta Master finished her conversation and returned to Jia, and finally explained why exactly she had brought the girl here. Jia blinked, and it took her a moment before the reaction of surprise was read on her features. Followed quickly by uncertainty and nervousness.

She had no idea how to take care of an animal. She'd never had a pet, and never spent a long period of time caring for, or training one. There was a huge difference between occasionally interacting with creatures, as she had done, and actually being a full time owner of one. She couldn't do it, no way... She'd probably end up killing the poor thing by accident. She was having flashbacks now to everytime she'd fried a computer or broken a droid by accident... and those were things she actually knew how to use.

"I... I don't know, Master Ka. I have no idea how to take care of an animal. I mean, I can barely manage to use anything electronic without somehow breaking it, and that's what I'm good at. What's gonna happen when I try to care for another living creature? I don't really think it's a good idea..."

[Lemur, The Kool-Aid Guy]

A response of doubt.

Naturally. It seemed Jia was rather set against being helped, or was too shortsighted to see the advantages to this. It was going to take time for her to realize the role a pet would have in her life.

Teer realized what she was doing today would be a thankless job, and that in all likelihood she'd never receive a word of thanks for her efforts. Somehow she decided that the better reward was helping rather than receiving recognition, though she would greatly have liked to have her thimiar and eat it too.

The Togruta Jedi looked Jia in the eye and issued a response.

"You will learn responsibility. There is no easy or gradual way to learn at your age. Now is the time for rapid learning, and you must trust yourself to rise to the challenge. You will succeed, you just need to have faith in your abilities."

Master Ka finished her words of wisdom, such as they were, and then directed the subject back to the matter of pets.

"This is both a gift and an assignment from a Master. You will take care of this animal, and bond with it. The Force will tie you both together with practice."

Dark eyes looked back to the Togruta teenager behind the counter, and soon another rapid conversation in Togruti took place, after which Teer looked to Jia and delivered the results of her conversation, though they could have been delivered initially in Basic just as well.

They have a large selection of birds in the back of the shop. Seeing how much you liked Ashla, I think that would be a good place to start."

[Dee]

Master Ka shot down the Padawan's concerns pretty quickly. There was very little room for discussion there. She was esentially being told she had no choice. Still, none of that really laid Jia's fears to rest. She was definitely not a girl who took her own failures well. She imagined she'd take it even less well if it resulted in the death of an innocent creature.

She opened her mouth as if to protest further, yet thought better of it and said nothing. The older woman would hear none of it. It was pointless now. It looked like she was going to be spending some time learning how to take care of a pet... Her mouth slowly closed again as her gaze turned somewhat downcast, and she nodded to show the Master her reluctant acceptance.

After another short conversation with the boy behind the counter Jia was addressed again, "They have a large selection of birds in the back of the shop. Seeing how much you liked Ashla, I think that would be a good place to start."[/i]

Jia rubbed at the back of her neck before responding in that quiet voice, which was also a bit timid now, "Yes, Master Ka. That sounds like a good idea."

The teenager started to make her way to the back of the store, idly glancing at the products and caged small critters she passed. Maybe the Togruta was right... Maybe this would be good for her. Ashla had helped calm her and distract her when nothing else would. After days of being absolutely miserable, that was a feeling that Jia would've loved to get to experience again. Or maybe she was just struggling to be optimistic.

The back of the shop led into a room that was full of birds of all different kinds. As soon as the Padawan stepped inside her ears were filled with the sounds of flapping wings, chirping, and squawking. Some species Jia could recognize, others she had never seen before and were probably from faraway planets the girl had never been to. Some sat grouped on open multi-layered perches, others were kept in large, spacious cages. Jia looked unsure where to begin at first, but eventually just decided on slowly walking around the entirety of the room to have a look at every single one of them.

As she moved through the room her eyes scanned the multitude of feathered creatures surrounding her. She noticed one of them was staring at her with its eyes following her wherever she went. The look it was giving her seemed to say 'come near me and I'll peck out your eyeballs'. A large group of small birds started to chirp and squeak in unison as she walked by them... Possibly plotting her demise. A lot of these birds really didn't seem like they wanted anything to do with her or were even annoyed by her existence... And she swore one of them was giving her the crazy eye.

This wasn't really going so well so far. Then she caught sight of a brightly colored bird out of the corner of her eye, which got her attention. It was fairly large in size, sitting nearby on a perch by itself, its feathers beautiful shades of blue and red. It seemed calm as it sat atop its perch, head held up high as it stared off into the distance. It almost looked regal.

She stepped up closer to it, head tilted slighly as she watched it a little more closely and admired its colorful feathers.

"Hi there litt--"

Before she finished the sentence the bird suddenly cawed loudly and spread it wings, flapping them around madly as if it were having a panic attack, feathers flying everywhere. Jia leapt back in surprise and blinked a few times. Alright, so... Not that one either...

Jia slowly backed further away and went back to looking. Her eyes moved from bird to bird as she tried to find one that stood out to her, or that seemed like a good choice... But she found even that to be difficult. The girl sighed and turned to Master Ka almost looking lost. "Master Ka? Should I be... Looking for something specific to figure out which one is best for me? Do you have any suggestions?"

(( Edit: I spell gud. ))

[Lemur, The Kool-Aid Guy]

Teer walked with Jia to the back corner, and stood silently as the girl examined birds, her own eyes moving around the cages searching for interesting creatures.

To her highly attuned senses, every one of the birds felt slightly different in the Force, like people. She could distinctly feel each one she focused in on it, trying to find one with a presence in the Force she found most enticing.

There was something the Togruta Jedi loved about living creatures of all kinds, the living spark she could feel in all beings. Perhaps that lingered on from her earliest upbringing on Shili, being taught about the life of all things in the scrubland of her home.

Soon she was going back there, to be immersed fully in her own culture. Her people would truly be her people, like never before. All that she'd previously learned about her culture would be put to the test. It was a new life for her, and she was excited.

Teer smiled. It had been a long time since she'd last felt so excited. Her stoic nature had left much to be desired. Of course now she had the time and luxury to do things like this, to find a Padawan and take care of them.

One of the birds reacted poorly to Jia, drawing Teer's attention. She widened both eyes slightly in an expression of surprise, before chuckling.

Then Jia asked Teer for advice, which brought Teer's mind back to the day on Corellia when she'd seen Ashla in the aviary, and she'd simply known.

"You might see the one you need first, or overlook it completely. Sometimes bright plumage isn't as important as a bright mind. Look for the bird who looks back at you."

That was about as 'wise' as Teer was willing to get at the moment.

[Dee]

Jia looked uncertain, but thoughtful about what Master Ka had told her. After a moment she bowed her head slightly to the woman. A silent thank you for the guidance, and confirmation that she would take the Master's words to heart.

The girl glanced away, and back to the many birds surrounding her. Maybe she was doing this the wrong way... She was just physically looking at the birds, expecting one to stand out to her from sight alone. Maybe she needed to look a little further than that.

She had always been naturally talented at sensing things through the Force. People, emotions, natures, intentions... All it took was a little focus, and sometimes not even that, and she could read people exceptionally well. People. She had rarely tried to sense, or connect with an animal the same way. She'd never had a reason to. Maybe now was the time to try, and see if she was even capable of it.

She took a deep breath and shut her eyes. She tried to focus and reach out, to feel the Force moving through every living creature in the room. It only took a short moment of truly concentrating for her to feel a connection to everything around her. She even managed to drown out all that chirping and cawing.

When she reopened her eyes she was ready to try again. She went back to slowly walking the room as she had done before, but now with a much different approach. She looked closely at each bird. Not just with her eyes, but with the Force as a guide. It didn't feel quite the same as it did with people, but there was definitely a much deeper understanding now. Yet even now with this new approach and this new focus, she still felt no real draw or connection to any of these animals. She was starting to think that maybe there just wasn't one here for her.

Almost as if to immediately prove herself wrong, Jia suddenly stopped as her eyes rested on a smaller sized cage that sat at one of the corners of the room. She approached it slowly and paused in front of it to peer inside curiously, her head slightly tilted. There sat a bird with sheening white feathers that almost seemed to glisten when it moved into the light. It wasn't an incredibly large bird but was no where near tiny either, probably around a foot and a half long, with likely an even larger wingspan. It had a slightly curved and pointed white beak, and white taloned feet. Jia didn't recognize the species. She was certain she'd never seen one before.

The bird didn't even seem to notice the Mirialan watching it right away as it pecked at a toy sitting at the bottom of its cage. It suddenly became aware of the teenager watching it and tilted its head as it stared back up at her, almost as if to mimic her. The bird even hopped up on one of the perches in the cage to get a closer look at this strange green creature looking at it.

Blue eyes met blue eyes as the girl and the bird stared at each other for quite some time. The bird somewhat cautiously leaned its head forward, its beak nearly poking through the bars of the cage that contained it. Jia followed suit, carefully raising her hand and poking a couple of her fingers through the bars. Much to her relief the bird didn't freak out or bite her. Instead it lightly tapped and nudged her fingers a few times with its beak... and then took a peck at the girl's skin. It was nothing that hurt, more just a curious action. Maybe to see how she would react to it. The Padawan didn't pull her hand back or show any sign of being startled. Both seemed very calm, and trusting of the other.

After what was a longer moment than she had realized, Jia looked up and over at Master Ka. "I think..." She started, but then trailed off as she turned and looked back at the bird, again locking eyes with it. Despite having no idea what type of bird she was even looking at, and that she had only spent a short time with the creature she felt intrigued, comfortable... and even connected with it. After a moment the bird made a quiet cawing sound at the Padawan before it started to tap at the cage with its beak. The teenager looked back to the Togruta yet again, "I like this one."

[Lemur, The Kool-Aid Guy]

Teer stood in silence as she watched Jia carry on her search. The rusty-skinned woman looked for all the world like some kind of predatory bird herself, resting a perch and surveying what passed before its eyes. Unlike an avian predator, the Jedi Master was not looking for food, but merely observing.

Much to her delight, she could literally feel Jia using her senses through the Force, the distinctive tingle of another being touching the same energy field that she wielded, and was in turn wielded by. The Mirialan Padawan was doing exactly what Teer had wanted, and quite well in fact.

The Togruta could sense all the birds as well, and she found that the one with the most imprint upon the Force was the exact one Jia gravitated to, a pure white bird with blue eyes. There was something especially interesting about the bird as well, which Jia probably hadn't noticed.

Among her own people, omens were still believed in, little signs laid out by the Force, or God, or fate that were the portents of good or ill, often taking the form of abnormalities. It was a common belief all across the galaxy, especially among tribal societies.

What Jia had settled on was-

"A good omen," Teer said solemnly.

The bird was a white raven, one of those abnormalities. While Teer didn't know the exact statistic, it could have been one in ten thousand. The rarest of the rare.

"The bird is a raven, from Dathomir, and a few other places in the galaxy. Normally they are black, sometimes considered a sign of bad luck or death. This one is an albino, lucky to be here in this shop. In the wild, he would surely have died. But one could say he is a sign of good luck."

The Togruta Jedi picked up the cage and handed it to Jia, signifying the decision had been made. Jia had spoken, and so it would be.

"I will go pay for your bird, meet me again by the speeder, and tell me if there is anything else you wish to do outside the Temple before I return you."

With that, Teer pivoted and headed up to the counter, after a quick stop gathering more essential items, and produced a credit chit and spoke with the clerk again in her native tongue in still another rapid conversation, as native speakers were so wont to do to the chagrin and consternation of others. The subject was entirely mundane of course, a transaction punctuated with information about the bird purchased, and even a small discount applied for being such a loyal customer.

Master Ka excused herself and headed back out into the upper city street, arriving at the speeder promptly and armed with a brown bag of the kibble this raven preferred, along with a few other trivial items of paraphernalia.

[Dee]

When Master Ka explained the bird's species and its origins, Jia looked over at her with curiosity as she listened. She'd never heard any of it before. The girl glanced back at the bird and quietly uttered, "She.", correcting the Togruta's assumed gender. "...I think. Maybe I'm wrong, but it's a feeling."

As the Jedi Master reached over, picked up the cage and handed it to Jia, the girl wasn't expecting the sudden weight and struggled with it for a moment. Please don't drop this bird and somehow kill her before even getting out of the pet store...[/i] She internally chastised herself as she shifted so she could bear the weight of the cage in her arms better. She nodded as Master Ka said she would meet her outside.

The Padawan just stood there for a moment as she peered into the cage she was now holding. This bird was about to be her's to take care of. It would rely on her. The more she thought about it, the more worried she was again. No turning back now, though... Even if she tried, Master Ka wouldn't let her.

Jia sighed as she made eye contact with the raven. Her raven. "I'll do the best I can. Don't hate me if I'm not so great, ok?" She spoke to the bird as if she understood a word she said. The raven just cocked her head to the side as the teenager spoke, and let out a loud caw. The girl sighed again as she began to walk back to the front of the store.

She saw Master Ka still there, paying and talking to the boy behind the counter in that language she didn't understand. She didn't interrupt but gave the other teenager a slight bow of her head as a silent thank you and goodbye.

She went outside and stood by the speeder, waiting for Master Ka before getting inside. She watched her bird carefully, and could tell that she couldn't decide which of these sudden sights and sounds to pay the most attention to. "You need a name, huh..." She spoke quietly and thoughtfully. As the Togruta exited the building and returned to the speeder Jia's attention was immediately on her. "I don't think there's anywhere else I want to go, Master Ka. I'd like to go back to the Temple now, if it's ok with you."

[Lemur, The Kool-Aid Guy]

"It is your choice Padawan," Teer said as a response before entering the speeder and signaling the driver to head back to the Temple.

The drive was in relative silence, spent by Teer mainly looking out the window in silent reflection on what she would soon be leaving behind. While there were some amenities she would miss, on the whole she found it for the best. Luckily Coruscant had never become home for her. She'd never thought of the city world as native soil the way she had Dantooine, and the way she'd grown to feel about Shili.

Yes, the Jedi Temple was a place of strength and solidarity, but she never felt fully at home among stone pillars and velvet rugs, preferring grassy fields and rolling hills instead. If Dantooine had still belonged to the Jedi she never would have left. Unfortunately it was gone, fallen to the enemy.

Shili, she was sure, would not fall.

Aside from the natural question of why the Sith Empire would even bother to attack the Togruta homeworld, it was easily on the other side of the galaxy. No attack was feasible. That suited Master Ka perfectly.

No more fighting. Finally a bit of peace.

They arrived at the Temple once more and Teer climbed out of the speeder, holding the door open for the Mirialan Padawan to climb out.

Dark eyes stared at the girl in silence, the mind behind them trying to scrutinize her features to see how she felt about the new pet, the new responsibility. As anyone who spent long under the discerning gaze of Teer Ka could attest to, it wasn't a pleasant ordeal.

[Dee]

The entire ride back was nothing but awkward silence. Just like it had been before. At least this time Jia didn't have to rein in any unruly emotions.

Sort of. As the two Jedi sat there quietly the Padawan's thoughts kept returning to all the things she wished they wouldn't. To distract herself she focused her attention on her bird, watching her shift around in her cage that had been set down on the seat next to her, and play with the single toy she had in there. Occasionally the bird would look up at the Mirialan, or playfully stick her beak out and peck at the girl's hand that held the cage in place.

The trip back felt almost twice as long, but finally they arrived at the Temple. Master Ka climbed out first, and waited for Jia to get out as well. The whole time she stared at her with this intense expression, as if trying to read or judge the girl's thoughts. It made the teenager uncomfortable, and that was probably obvious by the difficultly she had looking back at the Master.

She had felt some pretty mixed things about this woman since meeting her a short time ago. She was pushy, she was unrelenting, and she had dragged the Padawan around to do things she had no interest in doing, and gave her no say in any of it. It had annoyed the emotionally unstable girl a lot at first. Now that she was calmer she was thinking more rationally.

True that Jia hadn't asked for any of this. True that Master Ka pushed her into most of it. That didn't make the things she had done not generous. She had a strange way of showing it, but the woman was trying to help her. It may not have been the easiest thing for the girl to accept, but it was the truth of the matter.

She didn't really know how to show that she understood that right now. Her expression did not give much away either, other than what Master Ka already knew. But maybe she didn't have to be so guarded. She had spent the last few days avoiding as much interaction as possible, staying to herself, and internalizing everything. Master Ka herself had said that being alone wasn't always the best idea.

But she had wanted to be alone. In a way, that was still true. But how long could she really keep that up?

Jia Suutrar was not a solitary girl at heart.

The young Mirialan shifted her weight once she was out of the speeder, bird cage still held in her arms. She hesitated a moment before finally looking back at the Togruta, her words quiet and subdued, but genuine, "Thank you, Master Ka. I'm sure there's plenty of other much more important things a Master could be doing with their time, and you didn't have to do any of this, but you did."

[Lemur, The Kool-Aid Guy]

The expression on Teer's face transitioned into a smile, albeit a thin one. The Togruta Master never allowed herself a broad grin, as such an expression revealed a pair of wickedly sharp fangs used for tearing meat, which were not generally conducive to the happiness of other species.

She was very distinctly pleased however, and satisfied with the show of gratitude. The fact that her montrals dipped in a deep nod showed her acknowledgment of that fact.

Yes, there were others things that the Jedi Order would deem more important, such as running classes to instruct young Knights, training older Padawans whose masters were busy, and all kinds of logistical matters. But those things would be done anyway, regardless of what Teer did. Helping Jia would not likely have taken place in her absence.

The Togruta Jedi was reminded of the old adage about a man who walked along the beach returning sea creatures to the waves, and was told he would never make a difference. The response was that he made a difference to that one he aided.

For Teer, it was a bit more morally ambiguous. She would do everything in her power to keep Jia comfortable and productive as a Jedi, but if the girl fell behind despite the help, it was the way of her people to leave her there to fend for herself.

The cultural differences between Shili and the Jedi Order were vast, and reconciling them was going to be her new task on her home planet. Jia was just a case in point.

"You were just as important Padawan. And now I hope you will have a way to take your mind off your troubles in the future. I will trouble you no longer Jia Suutrar. You are released to do whatever you see fit."

[Dee]

A bow of her head showed Jia's recognition and thanks for Master Ka 'releasing' her. That had been what she wanted, and she had expected herself to bolt the second she had the chance. To go back to avoiding the poking and prodding of people trying to figure out what was going on in her head and how to fix it.

Yet she kept standing there, looking unsure. Was she ready to go back to being alone just yet? She had her bird now, and she should probably start learning how to care for her. That was something she could do alone, that would keep people from bothering her. It would distract her and keep her mind off of everything else, and she wanted that more than anything, right?

But that suddenly didn't feel like enough. For now. Maybe she had been missing this kind of interaction more than she realized. She found herself looking back up at Master Ka, and after another moment that quiet voice of her's broke the silence.

"Are you going somewhere, Master Ka? I ask just because... Well, you were keeping Ashla in a storage area, which seems like a weird place to keep your pet unless you were preparing to leave the Temple. If it's an important assignment or something, you don't have to tell me. I'm just curious, is all."

[Lemur, The Kool-Aid Guy]

"Yes," Teer confirmed, accompanying the words with a nod.

"I am taking up the position of Jedi Watchman for Shili. As soon as my Padawan's Knighting ceremony is finished I will be departing Coruscant, which should be in the next day or two. His Trial of Spirit is already complete, and he needs only to have his braid cut."

The pride leaked into the Togruta's voice quite clearly, and it showed that she was immensely pleased with her Padawan's triumph. She was also quite pleased over her planned career change, looking forward to returning to her native soil.

She'd left Shili behind at perhaps five years of age, and she'd never been there for as long subsequently, but somehow it felt more and more like home. A little stillness, a little tranquility.

Granted, it wasn't idyllic like Naboo, there were many dangerous predators that roamed the scrub. In fact, Teer wore the teeth of one of them on her head daily, held together by a piece of leather. She knew better than most in the galaxy of those dangers. Her first Padawan had fallen to an akul.

Sirius had helped to defeat one though. Now he had teeth as jewelry, though she hadn't seen him wearing them.

Oh how Teer was looking forward to the change. Sleeping on the floor by a fire, with the stars overhead. Trekking from village to village, serving her people. It would be good to truly be a Togruta, and to still retain her rank as a Jedi.

She could have her thimiar and eat it too.

[Dee]

Jia glanced away, staring off into the distance at nothing as her mind began to wander. Watchman? Weird coincidence...

She tried not to let her mind take that thought further. For a while it worked. She thought about Master Ka's Padawan, soon to be a knight. That must be an amazing feeling. To have your braid cut, to finally be seen as a full Jedi after all those years of learning and training. Something the girl herself had always looked forward to.

She had no idea if she was still going to get the chance to experience that. She'd gone through two masters now. When the Council had been reported to, told what happened on that Sith battleship... There was no way they didn't sense all those emotions swirling around in her. All that pain, that unstable anger and resentment at not only what had happened then, but about the truth of what had happened to Qi.

Were they going to look past that? Believe that she could overcome it? Well... she didn't really know what was going to happen.

...That whole distraction thing hadn't really worked so well.

Jia shifted her weight slightly, then very carefully placed her bird's cage down on the ground next to her. She focused her attention back on the Togruta standing in front of her. "Congratulations to your Padawan. You must be proud, Master Ka." That was more of an observation than anything. The girl could tell by the Master's tone that she was.

There was another pause, another moment of hesitation. "Watchman is a really important position. In my opinion anyway... It takes a lot of compassion. My master..." She caught herself and trailed off. As she started to speak again her voice sounded shaky and uneven, "My former master... Was the Watchman of Alpheridies."

She had, to her surprise, managed to resist tears. Although it was taking a great deal of effort on her part. She missed Rin. A lot. More than she could even tell anyone, out of fear. This would be the first she had spoken about her to anyone since she left. She was trying to be strong about it. It was anyone's guess how long she could be.

[Lemur, The Kool-Aid Guy]

Teer widened an eye as she detected a massive wave of emotion in Jia. Indeed, the green girl seemed as though she might have cried quite easily as she discussed her master. Thinking back, Teer couldn't recall ever feeling that bad when her own master had died, though admittedly that was many years after their time together.

Still, this was an unusual degree of attachment. Such strong emotion...

"Would you prefer discussing your master or not Padawan?" Teer asked in as soft a tone as she could manage. "I know your relationship must have been close to justify such strong emotions. Perhaps you would feel better simply... talking?"

The Togruta laid an orange-red hand onto the Mirialan Padawan's shoulder, one of the higher forms she used to express empathy. Teer's compassion was normally subdued, and she was far from the touchy-feely and emotional being that would fuss and fawn. Her gestures were nuanced, and never exceedingly dramatic. In fact, she could count the number of times she'd touched her Padawan on one hand, with the total number of hugs a whopping 'one.'

Master Ka was considerably better at listening and imparting serious advice than she was at soothing ruffled emotions. Nevertheless, she was going to try now.

If compassion was essential to being a Watchman, no one could say Teer Ka wasn't trying.