Ask An Ordeal in Orientation

[Alienor Pom Blodau]

"... the time has come to welcome you to our Order and begin your first steps into a larger world..."

Alienor Pom Blodau blinked and tried to focus again. What was he saying? She'd completely lost track of what that Master at the front was telling them about five minutes before. She kept trying to tune in and pay attention but then he just said some weird, cryptic stuff and she was off again. It was okay at first, when he was talking about the trees and the gardens and everything. That was good stuff. Then he'd started droning on about other things and there was no hope.

Linny stole a look around at the others. Some were just like her: young, twitchy, clearly bored. Others were a little older. Some were concentrating really fiercely. Those ones made Linny's ears twitch in irritation. It was almost as if they were showing off in front of-

"Miss Pom Blodau?"

Linny jumped and turned her attention back to the front, only to find the Master staring at her. Along with most of the others there. Her eyes widened. Her cheeks reddened. Her ears twitched.

"Y...yes?" she squeaked, her voice seeming so quiet in the the temple hall.

"Could you repeat what I just said?"

"Um...." Linny looked around at the others, vainly hoping for help. As if one of them would beam the answers to her just through their eyes.

"I see. Well, if you're paying attention now, I'll say it again. These padawans have agreed to show you around the temple and help you orient yourself."

Linny nodded in reply. She sure wasn't going to drift off again, not when the Master was staring right at her. Her eyes followed the Master's hand as he waved over to an open archway, where some older teenagers lingered. They seemed a lot more at ease with the temple, dressed in their collections of robes and with their braids. A few even had training sabers on their belts... or even an elusive lightsaber hilt.

"And you, young Miss Pom Blodau, I think I have the perfect padawan in mind for you," the Master told her, with the merest hint of a smirk on his face. Eeeep.

@Casmer

 

[Mazlen Tanark]

Mazlen Tanark scuttled through the temple hallways, swiping tousled red hair out of his eyes to see where he was going. He was late. Again. Seemed to have a knack for it, really, which – according to Master Ruikada – was part of the reason why he had made sure Mazlen had something to be late for this morning, too.

‘A Jedi who runs exclusively on their own time will find it exceedingly difficult to acquire and maintain a suitable position within the Order, Padawan Tanark,’ the old Twi'lek Master had said.

Mazlen’s tardiness had been rewarded with the questionable honour of playing the tour guide for the latest arrivals of prospective young Jedi. He was missing a morning of saber practice because of it.

The voice of the old Twi’lek Master and the memory of his piercing green eyes looking up at Mazlen from under heavy spectacles was still fresh in the young Padawan’s mind this morning. It made his ears rumble and his mouth tighten at the edges. The scene had played out less than twenty-four hours prior, but it was unlike him to hold on to such things. This “reward”, though?... Perhaps, he would hold on to it for a while longer. At least until he could come up with a suitable prank with which to repay Ruikada’s “kindness”.

Something slippery made him lose his footing on the floor tiles, bringing a quick end to his ruminations. He felt his legs go out from under him, but instinct made his arms shoot out in front and below to soften the blow as his right hip became intimately acquainted with the cold polished stone. This is going well. His face scrunched up as he got back on his feet. He rubbed a hand against the area that had taken the worst of the impact. Yeah… hope no one saw that.

‘Mazlen!’

Mazlen spun towards the voice. The halls that he had just rounded a corner into had arched portals leading into other sections of the temple. From one of the archways, seemingly blockaded by a group of Mazlen’s fellow Padawans, his friend Rezel waved him over.

‘Please tell me they haven’t called out names yet,’ Mazlen said when he made it over to his friend. He leaned on the arch to take some weight off his hip. Looking into the hall on the other side of the arch, he got a glimpse of the newcomers. Some full of excitement, some trembling like a maglev train. All very young by the looks of it.

‘You’re lucky,’ said Rezel. ‘Master Hydarin went straight to business. Guess he assumed the straight-A-mentality here would ensure everyone’s on-time arrival.’ She made a quick gesture with her head towards the Padawans standing next her and Mazlen. Most – if not all – of them looked content with their lot and presented themselves immaculately.

Mazlen removed some sweat from his forehead with the backside of his hand and wiped it off on his trousers. ‘Thank the Force for high achievers, amirite?’ he said, grinning.

Rezel snorted. ‘I got here barely a minute before you, pal. So, yeah, may the Force be with them.’

Mazlen chuckled a bit. He let a slow whistle escape from between his teeth. ‘Were we that young when we arrived at Brighthome?’ he said, nodding towards the newcomers.

‘In our own way, probably,’ said Rezel. ‘You more so than me, though.’

‘Hey, I knew how to high-jack a swoop bike by fourteen.’

‘And you still couldn’t make your own bed by fifteen.’

Mazlen shrugged. ‘I knew how to pretend to know.’

Rezel side-eyed him. ‘Poorly, Maz. Very poorly.’

Mazlen was about to deliver a comeback when Rezal waved him off. Something was happening. The Padawans next to them started moving towards the newcomers. Mazlen and Rezal followed suit. The Padawans dispersed only when they came close enough to encircle the arrivals properly. Meanwhile, Master Hydarin beckoned Mazlen to come closer to him and one of the young prospective Jedi, a young girl who seemed fidgety and slightly out of it.

Mazlen felt a tug on his shoulder. It was Rezal. ‘Be nice,’ she said as she walked by, towards the other side of the assembled newcomers. ‘Only way I know how,’ he said.

Once Master Hydarin looked away, Mazlen went on a frantic last-minute quest to fix his hair and smooth down his brown-and-tan tunic and trouser set. Then, he walked over and offered Master Hydarin a quick bow of his head.

‘Padawan Tanark,’ said Master Hydarin. ‘Meet Miss Pom Blodau. She will be your charge for the day. I assume you’ve been given instructions on your duties?’

‘Certainly, Master Hydarin.’ Mazlen shot a glance at the young girl. She had a lofty air about her that he couldn’t quite place. He motioned for her to follow him and started towards the other Padawans.

‘Padawan Tanark.’ Mazlen halted and turned around. Master Hydarin had a thoughtful expression on his face. ‘Perhaps it’s better if the two of you do the tour of the temple away from the group. You can meet up with them again later for lunch. Perhaps, you can start by showing her the meditation garden. It’s good to know where to go to collect one’s thoughts… if’ – the Master shot the young Miss Pom Blodau a knowing glance whose meaning Mazlen could not guess – ‘one’s thoughts were indeed in need of collecting.’

Mazlen glanced from Master Hydarin to the young Miss Pom Blodau and back. Then, he shrugged. ‘Yes, Master Hydarin.’ He looked back at the young girl, offering her a smile. ‘It’s good all the same. The garden is close by. Come along, now.’

@Charndley

 

[Alienor Pom Blodau]

Master Hydarin lead her up to a human-looking boy with messy red hair and a slightly rumpled tunic. He didn't look all that bad. Linny couldn't place his expression, but she was interrupted by Hydrian as he gave further instructions, telling the boy to take her separately. She looked over her shoulder at the other new arrivals, who were already being ushered away.

"Uh..." she managed to say, before Master Hydarin shuffled away with a smile on his face. She had a strange feeling that she was being punished in some way, but she couldn't think how. All she could do was look up at the older boy with a slight look of awe, open-mouthed, at him.

"Hi..." she managed to say, before the boy offered her a smile and told her to follow. Linny moved up to follow him, her mind swimming with questions. What could she ask? What could she say? How could she avoid embarrassing herself... again? "There are gardens here?" she asked in her light lilt, looking up at him.

"I'm Alienor," she told him, "but I get called Linny." In her desperation to fill the conversation, she kept going. "It's actually supposed to be Lady Pom Blodau technically but I thought that Master Hydarin wouldn't appreciate that..."

Her words drifted off as she realised how ridiculous she sounded. "Uh... so you're a padawan too? How old are you?"

@Casmer

 

[Mazlen Tanark]

The din that surrounded the padawans - old and new - assembled in the entrance hall faded as Mazlen led his temporary ward through an arch and down a long, austere hallway. As it did, the silence seemed to grow around the two of them instead. Although Mazlen had over time become well-acquainted with the layout of the temple here on Takodana, he still did not feel at home. The temple wasn't his. But he was easy-going and considered himself easy to speak to, too, so playing the role of a tour guide for a while shouldn't be a problem.

Now that it was underway, though, he found that he didn't have much luck easing into character. They continued past a pair of Knights, deep in conversation and moving in the opposite direction. Mazlen snuck a quick glance at the young girl. She seemed nervous. He couldn't blame her. He would've been nervous too, following an older member of the Order whose unwillingness to speak seemed matched only by the exaggerated noise made by his boots. Had his footfalls always snapped that loudly on the tiles? Surely the rough-spun fabric of his tunic hadn't always rustled that much when he walked? I mean, all of it is pretty standard issue, so I-

"There are gardens here?"

Her question drew him back into the hallway with her. "Of course," said, laughing. "An abundance of gardens, really. I mean, when you think about it, practically the whole planet is a garden." He fell silent again. He looked straight ahead whilst he grappled with what he deemed just about the stupidest answer to any question ever posed in the history of the Galaxy. Practically the whole planet is a garden. Practically. the. whole. garden? Mazlen hoped the sweat hadn't soaked through his trousers down by the inside of his knees.

Luckily, the girl wasn't fazed. She continued speaking, and Mazlen found his answers had a will of their own, which was good the same, since he was still thinking about his sweaty knees. "Alienor," he said, "that's nice. Linny's easier, though, so Linny it is."

They turned a corner into another wider hall, whose skylights and large windows suggested they were nearing the gardens. "Yup, also a padawan. And I'm sixteen. I recently got to Takodana, but I've been with the Jedi for a few years now. Oh, and I'm Mazlen. Sometimes Maz for short, but mostly just Mazlen."

Finally, they made it to a large transparisteel sliding door. Mazlen hit the controls. The doors slid open, and the pair were greeted by the humidity of the Takodanan jungle. "Here we are," said Mazlen, gesturing for Alienor to walk ahead of him. Once outside, he said: "welcome to the meditation gardens. Quiet, except for the birds and the running water. Pleasantly aromatic, except for the slimy water plants and the frog-like thingies that hide underneath them. Generally a good place to gather your thoughts, according to Master Hydarin. My thoughts mostly scatter when I'm out here, but to each their own." Then, he added: "Wait, did you say you were a lady? A lady of what?"

@Charndley

 

[Alienor Pom Blodau]

Mazlen lead the way, guiding Linny past a couple of conversing Knights. Little snippets of their chatter flitted into her ears, lost in an instant beneath the squeak of boots and the murmur of life around them.

"Oh. I hadn't seen much of the planet before," Linny admitted with a shrug. She didn't feel like it was a silly question to ask. "The shuttle didn't really tour the planet, and there's quite a difference between 'gardens' and 'wildlife.'" She presented it matter-of-factly, though with a smidge of petulance. She had an older brother, she knew the type she was dealing with.

"Thank you," Linny replied to his name compliment, giving him a small smile. "What about you? Or would you prefer I call you Padawan Tanark? Or is that actually your first name?" she asked curiously, cocking her head slightly to the side to await her answer. The intrigues of the garden could wait no longer though. Exposed to the sights, scents and secrets of the meditation garden, Linny came a little more alive.

Skipping forwards towards the source of running water, she brushed aside some fronds and found a few floating, bubbling plants in the stream. Regarding them carefully, she poked one of them with her index finger. "Hmm. Interesting..." she muttered to herself, lost in her thoughts. By the time the other padawan's question had filtered through to her brain, there'd been a good few seconds of silence.

"Oh. Well," she began, looking over her shoulder, "Pom Blodau is one of the noble houses of Annwfyn. My grandfather sits in the Queen's Parliament, so technically all my family are Lords and Ladies." She gave him another smile, like it was just the most natural thing in the world to be referred to by noble titles. "Please don't worry, I don't insist on it. It's quite old fashioned to do so, these days."

Turning back to the water plant, she prodded it a little more. She watched as an errant leaf curled around the stem to escape her prodding. "Oh wow. A-ma-zing." She stood up, brushing off the small amount of dirt on her skirt. "Master Hydarin was right. This is great!" she said, turning back to grin at her guide.

@Casmer

 

[Mazlen Tanark]

"Ah," said Mazlen, smiling awkwardly. "Gotcha. Lords and ladies and what not. Oh, and Mazlen is fine. I hear the last name enough from Master Hydarin and the other masters."

So, she's royalty. Mazlen had never been around royalty before. He was half a mind to bow, but aborted it when Alienor said that calling her a lady was old-fashioned. If that was old-fashioned, surely bowing would be ancient? Besides, it wasn't like she was his royalty. He was Coruscanti. Coruscant had no royalty, only senators and tycoons, and that wasn't even his part of Coruscant. If you bowed before someone on the lower levels, you merely exposed the back of your head to the butt of a blaster. In his part of Coruscant, one bowed only if forced. "I'll just stick with Linny, if it's all the same to you. Easier to remember."

Mazlen stood on his toes and leaned in to watch over Alienor's shoulder as she interacted with the water plant. She appeared immediately at ease with the surroundings of the garden. His nose twitched as the plant reacted to Alienor's touch. "Oh, it does that," he said, mostly to himself. His heels dropped back down. He ran a forefinger along his eyebrow. Alienor's homeworld had to be decked out with greenery. The opposite to Mazlen's Coruscant, probably. She would have a better background to appreciate such a place as this. He was more comfortable around the chaos and unpredictability of sentient life that eked out an existence below a hundred levels of durasteel.

Heat-absorbing permacrete roads; blaster shrieks; drunken guffaws; the buzzing of swoops zipping past; dull roars of massive ion engines dragging spacecraft out of the atmosphere. That stuff he could understand. This? His gaze panned across the garden. This supposed 'serenity' had yet to make him feel serene. If anything, it unsettled him.

Alienor's unbridled joy was hard to resist, though. "I'm happy you like it," he said, grinning when she turned back to him. "Master Hydarin suggests we come here as often as needed. Says being hands-on with nature will do us good, especially when our lessons stress us out. I'm often more in need of a board game or a thrilling book, really, but you know?"

"You, on the other hand," he said and gestured towards the water plants in the pond, "seem like a good fit for this place. No wonder Hydarin wanted you to come here first. Is your home like this?"

@Charndley

 

[Alienor Pom Blodau]

"Linny is perfectly acceptable, thank you," Linny replied with a smile. She usually reserved it for family and friends, but what were the Jedi if not either of those?

Her attention returned back to the pond, trying errantly to unfurl one of the leaves that were there without agitating the plant very much. Already, her mind tingled with ideas about how it might work. Did it curl up to protect itself against predators, or was it the beginnings of a defence mechanism? Takodana was a completely different ecosystem to Annwfyn, but had many similarities.

"I do enjoy reading, particularly adventures," Linny shared, thinking back to her bedroom at home, Piled high with holobooks and different pads, filled with information about anything natural or unknown. It was one thing to be reading about it, and quite another to be given a chance to experience it.

"Mag Mell is filled with gardens and cultivated forests. We have tresses of sidhe-coil and running streams by our home. To be Annfyn is to be one with life," she recited with a smile. "My Grandpap taught me that." In the fragrant gardens, brimming with life, Linny felt much more assured. Much more at peace.

"Oh. I'm sorry, I'm being very rude." Turning back towards Mazlen, she dusted her hands off before the plant decided to hit her with some stink sap or something. "I haven't asked about you. Are you from a world like this?" She had her doubts, considering he seemed bored with the place but maybe that meant he was just sick of nature. "What is your favourite place in the temple then, if you have one?"

@Casmer

 

[Mazlen Tanark]

"You're not being rude," Mazlen said matter-of-factly. He meant it. She was being polite and doing the polite thing, but to him, she had just been distracted. Rudeness, in the form that Mazlen knew, carried a much nastier weight behind it.

"Coruscant is nothing like this place," he said, scratching the back of his head. "And I bet it's nothing like your Mag Mell either. It's full of metal and duracrete and grime and dirt and trash. I'd only seen starlight a handful of times before I joined the Order."

He grinned awkwardly. "Is it weird that I kinda miss it? Feels weird, now that I think about it. Home has got nothing on this place - what, with its frogs and running water and birds flying by overhead. Actual birds swooping, not just swoop bikes and airspeeders." He shrugged. "I don't know if I have a favourite place here. Maybe the yard, where we practice with the lightsaber. We can go there next, if you want?"

He realized that he had been rambling. He fell silent. Didn't know how to continue the conversation, until he remembered. "Hey, those adventures you say you read? Can I borrow one? I can trade you for a volume of Historia Galactica? I just finished the volume on the High Republic."
@Charndley

 

[Alienor Pom Blodau]

"Oh, you're from Coruscant?" Linny asked curiously. Who hadn't heard of the great city planet near the centre of the Galaxy? She'd always wondered how so many people could live so close together, beneath endless tons of metal and stone. How could you breathe in all that tightness? Linny couldn't imagine missing a place like that, but Mazlen would probably thought the same about her home.

"Home is different for everyone," she said, taking a few seconds to stare up at the bright sky through the tangled branches of the trees. "The noise and the busy-ness of a planet like that... I bet you notice it isn't there."

The mention of lightsabers put an apprehensive look on Linny's face. The famous weapon of the Jedi... and the Sith, too. All the things she'd read said that lightsabers were a symbol of peace and justice, but they were still very dangerous weapons. Scary. "That sounds good," she eventually replied, nodding. You can't hide in the gardens forever, Linny.

"Do you have a lightsaber?" she asked as they started to walk. "My books? Um... yes, you can borrow some of them!" These were much easier grounds to be on. Much safer than discussing scary plasma swords. "I can show you a few and let you choose. I'd be very happy to learn more about the High Republic."

@Casmer

 

[Mazlen Tanark]

"It's weird that it's so quiet," Mazlen admitted. He flashed an awkward grin at Alienor, scratching his forearm. "Never thought silence could be noisy, too. It for sure had me surprised when I left Coruscant."

He motioned for Alienor to follow him. They started walking, back into the endless adjacency of Jedi temple hallways. "I don't have one yet," said Mazlen. "Not a real one, I mean. I've got a favourite of the training sabers that I always look for during saber practice, though."

He straightened his shoulders. Soon, though. Soon he would construct a lightsaber of his own. The road leading there had felt endless, even though it had only been a handful of years since he joined the Order. A personal lightsaber felt like a 'you did it'-sticker that he could slap on wrist. It would make him feel like more like a Jedi.

"That's a deal, then," he said, in reference to the books. "Maybe once you've gotten all sorted, we can meet up in the mess hall and each bring a few books along. My mum sent me a book on Rylothian fauna. I haven't looked in it, but maybe you'll like it."

Down hallway after hallway they went. Eventually, they reached the entrance hall. Mazlen smiled at Alienor. "If we ever have saber practice together, I can show you which of the training sabers are good. Well, at least for me they are."

He led her out through the entrance to the temple. There, the humid jungle environment met them again, but instead of a cultivated garden they found a relatively open plain separating the temple from the encroachment of the Takodanan jungle. It sloped downward gently from the temple's perch on the top of the cliff.

Over to one side, a group of younglings and padawans were attending saber practice, engaging in various aspects and techniques. One of the padawans looked up and waved at Mazlen with a sly grin on their face. Mazlen waved back.

"Here we are. As you can see, some are already practicing this morning. That'll be you, too, before long!"

@Charndley

 

[Alienor Pom Blodau]

Linny followed him back into the Temple hallways. She felt a dull longing, deep inside her core, when they left the familiarity and peaceful earthiness of the gardens... but she kept walking. She nodded when he talked about the lightsaber. It would've been nice to see one up close, but truthfully, they still scared her. They were symbols of justice and peace, but also scary weapons that'd slice anything into a jillion pieces.

Needless to say, the idea of saber practice was not something that Linny was looking forwards to. She hoped that Mazlen would go easy on her. "Uh-huh..." she muttered in response, clearly not enthused by the prospect. Come to the Jedi, meet nice new people and let them hit you with scary laser sticks.

Her mood improved though, once they were outside in the humid air. It was going to play havoc with her hair, but it didn't matter. The rich smell of dirt and soil filled her again and she smiled... until they caught the saber training. Linny stood motionless, watching the click and snap of training sabers striking together, or clattering against targets. Each time two sabers made contact, she winced.

"I... see," she said, without much enthusiasm. "Do... do they hurt? The sabers? They look like they hurt." As she spoke, the speed of her words increased. She felt her nervousness growing again, as she pictured herself accidentally dropping her saber as another padawan lunged for her. "They aren't slippery are they? I'm not gonna drop one, right? If I get hurt it's not gonna be toobadrightrightright?" Her big eyes stared up at him, desperate for reassurance as her ears twitched, almost vibrating at the tips.

@Casmer

 

[Mazlen Tanark]

Mazlen's attention was drawn to the neophytes engaged in saber practice. His eyes followed the blades as they thrummed through the air in that way that only a lightsaber can. He shrugged his shoulders at Alienor's question. "Not really. Getting hit by one might sting a bit, but these ones are non-lethal on purpose. The real deal is a different story, of course. But you won't be handling those until you're waaaay more comfortable with the training ones."

Alienor's next question almost sent him into a fit of laughter. He recognized the ignorance when it came to lightsabers, because he had himself known next to nothing about the legendary weapons of the Jedi when he joined the Order. It was sweet and absurd all at the same time. The world that people like Alienor and him entered when they were inducted into the Order truly was a weird place.

He managed to stifle the laughter, though. He sensed an opportunity. It might have been early, but if they were to become friends, she might as well become acquainted with Mazlen's craftier sides.

He turned his gaze to meet hers. With a deadpan voice, he said: "oh, very slippery. Like holding an eel or a handful of bacta. And the only way to maintain your grip is to use the Force to pull it towards you while you fight. So you have to know your way around the Force, too. You don't have trouble using the Force, right?"

He instantly regretted messing with her, but he couldn't help it. With his other friends, he might have drawn out the joke, but Alienor already seemed uncertain about it all. So, he cracked a smile and gestured reassuringly with his hands. "Sorry, I'm just messing with you. They're not slippery at all. Most come with designs that increase friction when you grip it. You can even make an effort to make your own lightsaber as grippy as possible when you eventually construct it - no judgment against sweaty hands, you know?"

He had an apologetic, boyish grin on his face when he continued. "Do you wanna go over and say hello to the others? Might be less scary once you've met the lightsaber instructor?"

@Charndley

 

[Alienor Pom Blodau]

A little sigh of relief escaped from Linny's lips without her even realising it. She'd always kinda known that the training sabers were not going to be actively hurtful, but when the nerves get to you, your brain starts believing all kinds of things.

Her fears were not allayed by Mazlen's next comment though. The more he spoke, the paler Linny became. Her mouth hung open slightly as he told her about the slippery saber hilts. Already her mind was full of images of her, desperately trying to hold onto a hilt of metal that was squeaking and slipping straight out of her hand. When he apologised, she just stood looking at him for a few seconds, before her face crunched up in frustration.

"Hey! That wasn't nice, you know." She had been actually worried about slippery saber hilts. The absolute absurdity of the idea didn't occur to her at all in the moment. It'd be later on, when she was trying to sleep in the dorms and her brain treated her to the very worst of what had happened that day.

After her slight admonishment, Linny felt a little happier. At least it wasn't going to be as bad as she thought. Hey, when she had a lightsaber, she could make sure it stuck to her hands. She doubted the Jedi went in for wrist straps, however. Mazlen's suggestion was a good one though.

".... yes. Maybe. Yes," she finally decided, nodding. Still looking a little nervous and fidgety, she started to approach the people training. Trying not to wince too much as the training sabers clacked, swished and smacked together. So much to learn. So much to do. So much to get used to.

"Uhm... how long do padawans train for?" she asked Mazlen as they approached, seeing the varied ages of everyone training.

@Casmer

 

[Mazlen Tanark]

As he walked in front of Alienor, the nape of Mazlen's neck took on a reddish hue. He looked back, grinning sheepishly. "About that joke," he said, scratching his left forearm absentmindedly. "Sorry... I, uh, I don't always know how to read the room." That wasn't entirely true. In reality, it had more to do with the people he had grown up around. Japes, jests, and quick remarks were part and parcel of hanging out in the Lower Levels.

Without knowing much about her, Mazlen could tell that Alienor had grown up under very different circumstances. Truthfully, he didn't know quite how to act around her. But he couldn't tell her that.

Luckily, she was full of questions that she directed towards him. "I think it's different from Padawan to Padawan," he said, happy to direct his attention towards something that could take his mind off of the awkwardness he felt. "But for most it's, I don't know, a handful of years, maybe?"

He sought out Alienor's gaze and shrugged apologetically. "That's not really an answer, I know. Wish I could be more specific. There's probably a number-cruncher in the archives who's got an average for you, if you really want to know, though."

Together they approached the practicing students. Mazlen recognized Sarle among them and caught their attention. Sarle - a lanky Human with dark complexion and a mop of curly hair spilling out over their ears - paused the lightsaber sequence they were practicing and waved them over.

"Hey, Maz," they said. "Didn't fancy saber practice today?"

"Master Ruikada had, uh, other plans for me," he answered, indicating towards Alienor with a slight tilt of his head. "Sarle, meet Alienor - Linny, for short. She's just arrived with a bunch of other newbies this morning." Mazlen turned his head towards Alienor. "Linny, meet Sarle. They're a good friend, a fellow Padawan, and a real bore with a lightsaber."

Sarle extinguished their training saber with one hand and shoved Mazlen in the shoulder with the other. "Conventional is not boring," they said, shaking their head. "It's disciplined, diligent, and down-right dangerous when done correctly, you oaf." Then, they faced Alienor and offered the Annfyn a broad smile. "What's crackin', Linny? How's Mazlen treatin' ya? Tired of 'im yet?"

@Charndley