[ASK] A Walk in the Woods

[Jabonicus]

Asheek happily followed Kai and the group, quickly taking a spot just behind, and to the right of Kai. She listened to him talk , zoning out slightly as he mentioned another Jedi's class. She snapped back to attention as he asked the question on the Jedi Order. She paused, thinking long and hard, even as the others said their opinions. She... Wasn't sure. She never questioned it. She knew there were Jedi, and there were Sith, and the Sith attacked Jedi but... She didn't know why. She didn't know the internal differences. She was a Jedi Padawan, but she didn't know what the Jedi stood for. She frowned, furrowing her brow, rubbing one of her head tails, lost in thought. "I... Don't know." She said quietly.

 

[Hasanna Everglade]

Solara followed the group, she was understandably nervous around the small group of people-emotion often frightened her, more so when she didn't want to feel it. The constant streaming of feeling after feeling.... she could handle it in small doses of course, she hadn't suffered since coming to this place for example namely due to the many secluded areas available.

Still... she did hope the group didn't become much larger, she wasnt exactly sure when she would be overwhelmed, she was to used to ether large or few-nothing else. This seemed more in the middle.

So naturally she decided to focus on Kai's question of her, she listened to what the others said... Solara had heard of the Jedi of course. However she had not had the opportunity she would like to accutertly read and study up on their ways, because of this she was far from an expert on the subject.

What she ended up saying in the end was likely more embarssing than it was accurate.

"Their.... the good guys.... guardians right? In a story they would be the protagonist... I think..."

The words flowed nervously, she was sure she was wrong somehow.

 

[Ral]

The knight listened to what the group had to say, nodding at each response and seeing how one might think how they did. None of their answers were technically wrong of course with a couple of excellent answers given. Even when Asheek said she didn't know, Kai wasn't disappointed, instead he smiled and gave her a friendly wink to make sure she understood that it was fine. They were there to learn after all, if they had all the answers they wouldn't need to take a class. Once everyone was done speaking Kai gave all of the Padawans present a warm grin. "That was very good, everyone! Very good! You've all managed to give me something interesting and unique. As said previously the Jedi are guardians of peace and justice, but what does that mean? How does one protect peace and justice? Can one defend peace with a weapon? How far can one go in the name of peace and justice before we become the Sith? Can you fall by simply wanting to protect those who can't help themselves? And be warned that blindly seeking peace and justice, or trying to protect others no matter the cost will lead you to the Dark Side if you are not wary. So, what separates us from the Sith besides the use of the light and dark sides, or if you believe in the Unifying Force what actions make us different? Aluae and Zian made good points: we use the light; we are the light; we represent hope. Tell me what you all think!"

Kai continued to make his way through the woods as he spoke, turning around every so often to pause and speak. While they walked Kai spoke of the Jedi's history and of the Sith and what they knew from their past several millenia of conflict and war. After several more minutes of walking, Kai stopped at the top of a tall hill, a hill which had a clearing allowing the Padawans to sit and look out over the surrounding viridian woods to the azure ocean some distance away. "Now, what is the light side of the Force? Is it hope? Is it goodness? What do you all think? And while we're at it, why don't you all tell me what you believe the Force is? Do you know and understand the differences between the Living Force and the Unifying Force?"

 

[Jabonicus]

Asheek listened to Kai, thinking about what he said. A lot of what he said made sense, and she felt as if she was getting some understanding of it. As he asked for their opinions, she once again spoke up. "We should... Give support to those who need it, but leave them to find their own path. What our intentions are may not be what they are striving for." She said after a moment. "The Sith... Allow their own opinions and concerns to interfere with their actions."

As they continued on, Asheek was entranced, once again, by the alien world around her. So much green, it was so different from her home on Shili. As Kai questioned the force, Asheek put two forces in her mind, that might not have been connected. "The force is the energy that runs through the ground, and the inhabitants who live upon it. The closer we are to our environments, the closer we are to the force." It was the Togrutan belief that there was a spirit that thrived in the ground of planets, and they wished to live closely with it. Asheek, in this case, was assuming that this 'spirit' was also the force.

 

[Zian]

When they got to the forest, it was green. She had never seen so much green in her life, Zian had stopped to touch the forest from the trees to the grass. She had never seen such a thing in her life. Picking a flower she smelled it, it was beautiful, but when heard Kai say something about the Sith, she froze. The horror stories had been told by her people a million times over, she didn't want to think about those times. Not wanting to frighten everyone about her view of the Sith, she played with the flower as they all walked to the hill. Zian kept her mind on the flower rather than responding. She knew what she was taught, what the Chiss library held. Zian knew the difference between light and dark, but she was worried about the others being frightened about what she knew.

 

[Hasanna Everglade]

Solara's face was one of clear confusion with Kai's next words. Solara didn't really lime conflict in any form.... it was a confusing and nerve racking thing. How did one know the difference-when to draw a blade, how to choose a side.... these were things she didn't like to think about, that aching choice.

So much so that she could not give an answer to that question, and then Kai move on to the force. To her knowledge it was just there wasn't it? She knew the dark side was typically thought of as bad-but she didn't have enough knowledge to asertain as to why exactly that was.

"I... the Light is just there isn't it? Something to comfort others... to help them... right?"

 

[Sierrien]

Aluae listened quietly to Kai and to the other padawans as well, shifting a bit as they continued their walk through the woods. She mostly agreed with what everyone was saying so far, but she had a few differing thoughts. "You don't always need a weapon to fight for peace, but sometimes it is necessary. I believe it should be only used if you absolutely must. Violence is the last resort of the incompetent. Most things have a peaceful solution, you just have to find it. But then - that usually isn't true when the Sith are involved, and you must bring out your weapon quicker, then. Being too slow with it can also get you killed. It is a hard line to walk, I think. The thing that differentiates us from the Sith the most, I think, is in our intentions. We may not always make things better - but we are always trying our best to do so."

She paused to take a breath and see if anyone else wanted to speak, collecting her thoughts before moving on to Kai's second round of questions. "I think the Light is love, in all its many forms. Compassion and Empathy most of all. We spread love to the galaxy, and it makes the galaxy a better place. As for the Force - it is that which we meditate on that shows us how we should act, for the betterment of the galaxy. It is also where we gain our power from, the power to heal the Galaxy, if we can utilize it correctly." She let off then, not wanting to hog the whole question for herself.

 

[Arcangel]

After everyone had spoken Kai appeared to be considering everyone’s answers before giving a warm smile and asking more questions. Calcus listened carefully to the other padawan’s answers while he formulated his own answer to the difficult question. “I think that means that the Jedi need to be warriors when necessary, but strive to avoid conflict whenever possible and seek peaceful alternatives. Sometimes when others would threaten innocents or those who cannot defend themselves a weapon is the only thing that will protect them. And I agree with Aluae, intentions are a part of what separate us from the Sith, although intentions are not enough to prevent one from falling, even the worst actions can be taken with the best intentions.”


As they walked through the peaceful woods Calcus enjoyed the sights and sounds and smells of the forest; verdant green moss hanging from the tree branches overhead, tangled with vines, birds chirping overhead as they flitted through the forest canopy, the scent of earth and sweet flowers with an slight undertone of rotting vegetation. Calcus always tried to take time and appreciate nature when he had the chance, having spent all of his teen years travelling the void, only stopping to load and unload cargo. After several minutes of walking as the group crested a hilltop he was treated to a stunning view of the ocean past the forest canopy, a small group of native mammalian creatures swinging through the treetops in view. Calcus took in the view as he listened to Kai’s next question. He thought long and hard about the question, not having spent a lot of time studying the different philosophies of the force he was a little stumped but gave the best answer he could. “The light side of the force is…well… light, it helps us to see things clearly, we let it guide us in doing what is right. The living force and the unifying force? I’m afraid I don’t know much on those subjects.”

 

[Ral]

Kai found himself smiling as he watched Zian look at a nearby flower, unfortunately she was becoming too distracted with it and not participating in the class. Grabbing her with the Force he pulled her towards the center of the clearing where the rest or the Padawans had gathered to discuss the Jedi and the Force. He would talk to her later about what she was doing, but for now the young knight needed to focus on the class he was teaching. Listening to what the other Padawans said he found their knowledge, or lack thereof, of the Jedi and the Force. Once everyone present had spoken, Kai nodded as he thought over their answers. "Well, that was certainly an... interesting bunch of answers. Now, as for the Jedi... we follow the Eightfold Path, and we let the Force guide are actions. We don't dominate it like the Sith do; we are servants to the Force, and while the Force answers our commands, we are not its master. This is something you must remember. Being a Jedi means suffering... but not the typical suffering one might think of when we say suffering. Being a Jedi doesn't mean pain, but it does mean doing things you may not like, making sacrifices. Can anyone think of an example of suffering that doesn't involve physical pain?"

The Jedi Knight looked to the Padawans before them to see how they were handling what he had been saying before continuing with his lecture about the Jedi. After all, he didn't want to overload them with too much information and leave them confused or misunderstanding what he was trying to tell them. "As for the Eightfold Path, a Jedi must learn it's precepts, through this way a Jedi will know how to act properly in the way a true Knight of the Order should. Does anyone here know the precepts and what each one means?"

"Also, if I say something you don't understand feel free to ask me a question to clarify. This class is more of an open discussion, if one of you hear something that you are interested by or disagree with feel free to speak up!" Kai smiled at the apprentices that had come with him this day. Inhaling he looked up at the sky before going on. "Now... The Force is an energy field. Simply put all life creates the Force and the Force creates all life. Without either one the other couldn't exist. They're interconnected just like how we breathe in oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide which the plants then use and convert back into oxygen. We ultimately need each other to survive. Now some of the know-it-alls in the group might say my example is an oversimplification, and it is, but it illustrates my point. Generally, we see the Force as light and dark, with shades of grey in the middle. The Dark Side is made up of the negative emotions: fear, anger, rage, hate. The Light Side of the positive ones: compassion, love, mercy, kindness. As Jedi, we use the Force for knowledge and defense, never to attack, and we never take away someone's free will with it. The Living Force is the energy created by everything around us, if you take a moment you can feel the energy of the jungles all around us. The Unifying Force is the Force on a cosmic scale, think stars and galaxies. It espouses that there is no light and dark sides to the Force only shades of grey and that it is the way we use the Force that makes us light or dark. What do you all think of that?"

 

[Zian]

Zian hadn't participated for a reason, but Kai seemed like he wanted her to. She just didn't want to give a response to the Sith again she didn't not want to frighten other of the stories she knew. "Emotional pain is not physical pain, a scar left deep within oneself that can cause pain when you think about it. I don't know what precepts is. Good and evil resides in all beings of conscious and form, anything with intelligence can decide if they wish to be good or evil. Things like trees do not have such mind sets so they remain in the middle." She said. She still looked at the flower, showing she wasn't distracted by it not like he might have thought. She finally looked at Kai. 'I do not want to frighten them.' She thought. She wished Kai could ready that thought course she wished she could send it to him like he was able to do. She hoped he would understand why she didn't want to discuss Sith stories.

 

[Hasanna Everglade]

Solara drunk in the information she was given, not being knowledgeable of the Jedi way she was goad to know more of them... and she liked what she heard. It seemed they were more peaceful type of people, at times seeking knowledge. They used the 'Force'' thing to protect others... it sounded nice, serene... how did they decide who to protect though? Decide who was right and who was wrong? Did being with the sith mean you were automaticully wrong? She rolled the thoughts around in her head.

Sol was going to make an answer as to other pains however the blue skinned girl beat her to her thoughts.... all she could really relay was emotional pain, so she should remain silent right? Yeah listen and learn-thats what was important.