[ASK] [Naboo] Moonage Daydream

[Nostromos]

The floor was hard and cold, stiffening Mjou’s back as she stared hard at a shiny black rubber ball not but two feet away from her. Her legs were cramped in their crossed position, and her neck ached, but she didn’t look away. Tongue pinched between her front teeth, Mjou concentrated hard on the little ball; determined to make it heed her.


She found, that with a little creative introspection; certain emotions were more prone to encouraging motion from objects than others. Calm and peace usually rendered the sphere immobile, but the inevitable frustration from said immobility provided more appealing results.

So there the little thief was, concocting various scenarios that she knew would invoke anger or frustration out of her. Like the idea of stealing a big ol plate of food, only to have someone throw it away before you got a chance to eat it. Or someone picking on a voorpak or something equally small and helpless--THAT usually did it.

The very idea had her brow twitch, and the sphere gave a half-hearted roll to the left before settling back down.

Mjou had been at this for three hours, alone and exhausted she found herself ramming her head into a brick wall with this repetitive training. It was like swimming through a swamp, slow and tedious.

Now red-faced from the exertion of moving the sphere a fraction, the youth gave a loud groan and flopped back onto the floor; staring up at the cavernous ceiling through heavy, tired eyes.

“This is stupid”

 

[StandbyRanger]

"You're not going to have much success with that kind of attitude," Rane said as he stepped through the entryway to the room Mjou occupied, "And generally, your face has to go a rich violet before you see any results." A smile crossed his face as he drew close, and the knight stood above the prone padawan.

Rane had admittedly been watching the young woman for awhile, intrigued and quite possibly amused by her massive output of concentration to only barely move a small ball a few inches. If Rane could recall correctly, he himself had had that much trouble at one point, but that was back when he was a child. Rane used to show off to his little sister, moving small toys with only his mind (which turned out later to be an application of the Force) as Marr watched in awe and giggled. Simpler times have never been so numerous in this day and age as they were in his childhood.

Rane offered a hand to the exhausted padawan, to help get her back on her feet. His arm had a faint residue of grease and oil, as did the navy blue jumper he wore. Rane had been in the middle of giving the hyperdrive of his personal freighter a tuneup when he decided to take a break and come back into town. Something had drawn him to this very building, having sensed another Force presence somewhere in this general area of Theed. Having found the source, the Jedi wondered whether he could be of assistance to this struggling padawan.

"The name's Rane," he said, his hand still outstretched in an offer of assistance, "And if you'd like, I could help you move that ball even further to the left. I could quite possibly show you how to chuck it out that window, too."

 

[Nostromos]

Her initial surprise at the disembodied voice wanned significantly upon being presented with a helping hand. Mjou stared at the offered appendage before following the arm up to the face of it’s owner, the youth came to the conclusion that she hadn’t seen him before. The desire to scramble away was strong, but she was trying her best to not do that anymore.

Panic ebbing away into tired reluctance, Mjou reached out and took hold of the hand. Not waiting for him to pull her up, Mjou practically climbed up the limb until she was huffing and clinging to Rane’s bicep. She let her feet fall out from under her, dangling there for a moment to see if he could hold her up. It was a playful move at best, at worst a clumsy mishap; but the youth didn’t care all she did was laugh.

“If you can teach me to make the damn thing explode I’ll build a cult in your honor”

 

[StandbyRanger]

The sudden scramble of the padawan up his arm caught Rane off-guard. It wasn't everyday you had someone small that you just met cling to you suddenly like koala to its mother. Fortunately, Rane barely stumbled as the young woman put all her weight onto his arm. This was a strange one, Rane deduced, and he wasn't even sure if she was an actual Jedi learner. Perhaps she was just some crazy person who just so happened to have a connection to the Force. Nonetheless, Rane was in it deep now, and he made a conviction to help this seemingly crazed girl.

Rane's muscles flexed, his joints became tense, as he did his best to keep from toppling over. Rane gave her a slightly stressed look, "Well... Having a cult, uh... does sound nice, but you can show some early appreciation by, you know, getting off my arm." He gave her another smile, similar in approach to his recent look, as he gave the padawan-attached arm a wiggle. It was an ever so subtle way to try and get her off.

"You might as well give me your name too, seeing as how you've already gotten so 'attached' to me."

 

[Nostromos]

Mjou looked down at her own feet, rotating back and forth on her heels as she clung to Rane’s arm, toes pointing straight up as she wiggled her feet back and forth at the ankle. “Mmmmmaybe.” What she was responding to was up for speculation, she tilted her head back until her head lolled back between her elbows; big, grey eyes blinked up at the older jedi with poorly concealed mischief.

She grinned before letting go of his arm suddenly and landing square on her rump.

The girl huffed, but didn’t seem too disturbed by the sudden fall; instead she bounced to her feet and spun on her heel to face the stranger. “Mjou Frisk. You can use either of those, but people call me Frisk” Proud of her confident demeanor and lack of nervousness she had felt upon first arriving to Naboo, Mjou puffed up her chest and thumbed a gesture at her chin.

She was doing better. This wasn’t nearly as bad as before.

 

[StandbyRanger]

The knight's now freed bicep pulsed furiously in an attempt to get the blood flowing back through the arm. Rane braced his shoulder with his free arm, as the other rotated in a counterclockwise motion at the joint. Rane even heard a couple of the other joints pop harmlessly in response, "Well Mjou Frisk, first things first. We gotta figure out how quick your reflexes are." Mjou's black ball soared through the air, unassisted, and landed in Rane's grasp. What Mjou had just been attempting for Force knows how long, Rane pulled off effortlessly. He didn't even have to look at the ball, only taking a glance to make sure he caught it, and it didn't smack him in the face.

Rane tossed the ball a couple of times up in the air, catching it as it fell with his prosthetic left hand. The prosthesis had grafted nicely, and his body adapted as expected. By this time, Rane felt more comfortable wearing synth-skin, and the prosthetic was beginning to feel like a normal limb. Occasionally, however, it did twitch on its own every once in awhile. He wasn't fully in control of some of the small cognition of the appendage, but that was something his body had to fix on its own.

The ball bounced a few more times, with Rane watching it wordlessly. This lesson was going to come at Mjou harder, and slightly more unorthodox than anything either of the two had experienced, "Catch the ball," he advised simply, "Then toss it back at me. Simple, right?" Rane's plan was to have a normal game of toss for one or two rounds, before he charged up his throws with the Force. Hopefully, Mjou's natural instincts would kick in later, and cause her to use the Force to catch a throw she wouldn't be normally able to. Sometimes one's abilities manifested themselves in extreme situations (or in this case, strange ones) and that could be the push Mjou needed.

One last small toss was given before Rane threw it to Mjou with minimal strength behind it. Rane awaited the return as he spoke, "So, Mjou Frisk, tell me about yourself."

 

[Nostromos]

Mjou blinked, scrunching up her nose as her little toy ball heeded the older jedi where it had ignored her for the better part of three hours. “Traitor” The girl gave a frustrated little growl at Rane, though her gaze was more directed at the inanimate object he tossed up and down.

She could catch a ball, no problem! It hadn’t been a game she had indulged in often as a smaller child; no one ever seemed to have time for those kind of things. Mjou put her hands up and easily caught the ball as he tossed it to her, chewing on the inside of her cheek as she considered how to answer his question.

She honestly didn’t want to. There was not much about herself she wished to share, her life had been short and mostly uneventful thus far and she found little joy in sharing the things of relevance or interest that HAD happened to her. But she was trying out this trust thing, it was a harder lesson than anything she’d been presented with as of yet.

“Not much to tell you Master”

She gave the ball a toss back, not even thinking about it as she idly flung it with a limp, unenthusiastic throw. “Came down from Corellia. Orphan. Snuck on a ship. Master Reland found me--working--” Yeah that was a good way of wording her previous lifestyle.Working. “On Tynna. Now I’m here learning from you people” She still wasn’t sure if she included herself in that group, it was easier to distance herself and prevent confusing emotions from clouding her already poorly controlled mind.

 

[StandbyRanger]

His cupped hands allowed the ball to sink back into his grasp as he talked, "Corellia, huh? I was born there. Raised on that planet for eleven years, before I had to leave." Rane was being vague. Normally, he would've been incredibly open about the topic of his forced exodus from his home planet, but recent events caused him to keep his mouth shut. Rane had recently found out his sister was still alive, and was out in the galaxy somewhere waiting for him to find her. For the past couple of months, Rane had been secretly stocking up on supplies for this personal mission, and kept it from everyone he knew, even Master Lutomi and Korra. He was planning on secretly leaving for however long it took to find Marr, and if he began talking about his past, his intentions may slip out. Fortunately, his mission wouldn't begin for awhile now. Rane still had time to teach his fellow Jedi the best he could.

Rane tossed the ball back to Mjou, this time with a little bit more power than before, "What kind of work were you doing? There isn't much a young kid like you could do on their own out in the galaxy." He would know that for sure, seeing as his early life trip around the galaxy provided him the chance to learn that the hard way.

 

[Nostromos]

“It’s not a bad place, I was raised there but from what I was told, not really born there---It’s kinda a mystery” Mjou grinned as she bounced up to catch the ball with one hand, tucking it down towards her body to inspect it before tossing it back to Rane with equal force.

The youth aimed for his chest with the toss, throwing the ball a bit higher than she intended so that it arched down towards where he could catch it; right at his sternum if she guessed right. “I’m gonna be straight with you--I don’t think I could bullshit you if I tried” It was more out of respect than any real worry that she couldn’t fool the man that she offered the truth up so readily.

“I was a professional thief. Well--I stole things from pilots, tourists and sometimes if I was lucky-- criminals” That seemed to please the girl greatly, a warmth spread all over her at the tender recollections she had of angry, dangerous men and women looking around for a thief they’d never find. “I’d pawn the stuff I could and sell the scrap of stuff I couldn’t. I was damn good at it too, but I guess not good enough not to get caught by a Jedi huh?”

She still wasn’t sure if she was disappointed in herself for how easily she’d been caught by Reland and Jade.

 

[StandbyRanger]

Rane smiled as Mjou explained how she came to the Jedi. It was good that Mjou was open about her past, or open about the parts she knew about at least. Even those with spotty histories can begin to repair the damage done with good ole-fashion honesty, "Hey, maybe if the whole fighting the Sith thing doesn't work out, the Jedi can become professional thief hunters."

The next toss from Mjou came at a bit of a difficult angle, so Rane backpedaled a step or two, that way he got the most room possible for the catch. He brought his arms close into his chest, and the little black ball sunk into his open hands. Now that he had Mjou talking, Rane thought it'd be best to truly demonstrate what he was trying to each, Now, Mjou Frisk, for one to truly master the Force and use it to its full potential, one has to understand it. They have to feel the Force around them move and fluctuate, as it is always in perpetual motion. Through the Force, you can see every possible scenario, and use it to your advantage."

The Knight wound up his swing, and chucked the ball to Mjou. With the Force behind it, the ball flew faster than any mere throw before, and it aimed for the padawan's forehead. It would slow before impact, as to not leave too bad of a mark upon Mjou if it made contact. The aim for this exercise was to see what ability she had in precognition. If she were lucky, she'd catch the ball, but if she wasn't, she'd have a nice circular bruise on her face for a while.

 

[Nostromos]

Mjou gave a snort and shook her head vigorously. “No way! If the Jedi thing doesn’t work out I am going RIGHT back to it! If you guys start fightin’ thieves instead of Sith I’m screwed!” It was an amusing notion, but Mjou was quite certain she’d meet a burn-y, stab-y end if Jedi hunted thieves with as much passion as they did the Sith.

When Rane began to speak of the Force all manner of japery bled out of the youth. She had a lot of trouble with her senses and connecting to the Force, overly responsive and sensitive to the world around her when she began to tune into it. Mjou’s jaw tightened a fraction, thinking about how it had been the first time she’d ever invoked the living force to see without seeing and feel without touching.

It hadn’t been pleasant or what she had expected.

The youth looked up to voice her concern to Rane, without having realized that she hadn’t been as focused as she should have been on the actual physical activity they had been doing.

The ball came at her fast, Mjou let out a startled yelp as she pivoted on her left foot; taking a step back with her right to rotate her body out of the path of the descending sphere. Her left hand lifted up to snatch the ball out of the air, inches in front of her face.

Wide-eyed the youth blinked away her embarrassment and tilted her head to look over at Rane with what could probably be described as offended amusement. “You were aiming at my face”

 

[StandbyRanger]

"I most certainly was," Rane stated with a goofy grin, "But notice what you just did. You saw the ball coming, and you caught it. Non-Force sensitives would've been barely been able to dodge out of the way." He walked over to the youth as she stared at him in bewilderment due to the fact he almost sent a ball into her face.

"What you just experienced was something called Precognition. It's an inherent Force power for most Jedi, and Sith," Rane knelt down slightly to meet Mjou's gaze, "I know you were frustrated with something as simple as moving a ball with your mind, but you have to know, so long as you believe it's possible, you can achieve it." He placed a hand upon Mjou's shoulder and offered a warm smile. He could feel the Force within the padawan, and he was confident she could find her ability to tap into as other trained Jedi do.

"Now, tell me Mjou Frisk; Why do you think your previous efforts to use the Force have been met with failure? Do you think you're not strong enough? Maybe you don't believe yourself possible to do the basics. Really search for the answer, and tell me what you think it is."

 

[Nostromos]

Mjou looked down to stare at the ball cupped delicately in her small hands, swallowing hard as the warmth of Rane’s hand soaked into her shoulder. It was a comfort but did little to soften the blow such thoughts inflicted.

“Why am I any different?”

The child tensed, jerking her head to the side to stare petulantly at anything but the man before her. “I ain’t a aristocrate. Or someone who was found super early--raised by the order---you know?”

For one moment Mjou shut herself off again, ready to bite and scratch and fight rather than trust and accept these strangers. But that aggressive self-defense melted away to confusion and desperation.

“Who doesn’t want to think they mean more? Any kid will tell you that they want to be some hero or amazing bounty hunter---whatever! They want to mean something and do incredible things! But it never happens! Not one in a thousand people get to move more than the dirt it takes to bury em!”

Mjou’s hand darted up to grasp the front of Rane’s shirt, her eyes were wide and jittered back and forth as if hoping to find an answer to her plight in the mans eyes. All she found was him, and it only made the tears spill out faster.

“I was the adopted kid of a dock worker, I never meant anything and when he died they cast me out like garbage to die in the streets. Just like my shitty real parents. Because I don’t mean a thing, but this--” Mjou rolled her eyes about the room. “ You--Them--All of this”

“The idea that maybe I can mean something” Mjou choked and had to duck her head down to hide, staring at the floor between them where she had dropped the ball in her outburst. “I can’t trust it, I can’t trust that I actually matter. It’s just---too good to be true”

 

[StandbyRanger]

It was hard for the Knight to hold back from what he did next. His arms slid around Mjou's back and pulled her in to a tight embrace, placing her head onto his upper chest, near his left shoulder. Something in what Mjou had just divulged to him really clicked with Rane. It was as though he could see his younger self within her; the Rane Vastra that scoured the galaxy for eight years alone in search of a fleeting hope that he would become something in life. The feeling of not being someone of worth was all too familiar to Rane.

Rane did his best to comfort and calm Mjou, even resorting to shushing her like a parent did to their upset child, "It's alright Mjou, it's alright. It's perfectly alright to feel like this. Everyone has been through a point in their lives where they feel worthless," Rane decided to not let go of the grieving kid, but would if she pulled away, "But let me tell you that all of this is real, and the Force has a plan for you. You just have to be willing to believe you matter. That's all it takes."

 

[Nostromos]

Mjou’s knee jerk reaction was to pull away, but she chose not to. No one had held her, or really touched her since before G’myk died. If she closed her eyes she could almost pretend it was him holding her instead, and that Rane’s words were gentle, patiently given clicks and groans.

The thought made the youth sob harder, shaking her head to dispel the memories that just weren’t appropriate for her to linger on anymore. “What if--” A tiny fist drummed a weak, half-hearted beat over the mans heart, hiccups and choked whimpers were muffled by the bulk of his torso as Mjou struggled to swallow down her sobs. “What if--I believe you--and then I am no good at this and the order kicks me out?”

Her lack of trust in anyone outside of herself was overwhelming, it was a tangible struggle and exposing any weakness to a man she just met shamed her deeply. Which only succeeded in making it harder to stop crying.

 

[StandbyRanger]

His head shook, denying the possible future Mjou put into question. Rane pulled away from the embrace, but kept his hands firmly on the teenager's shoulders. His eyes steeled as they looked upon the tear ridden face before him, "That's not going to happen," he unrelentingly affirmed, "The Force as my witness, you will be something." Rane's eyes scanned the distraught features that contorted Mjou's face. It wasn't but a year ago that Rane's own features echoed what was before him on this day. He took a moment to feel his own facial muscles relax from their currently stone-hard state to something more sympathetic. His light-bushy brow unclenched, shamrock-green eyes softened as they looked upon her and his frown matching.

"Mjou Firsk," Rane addressed her, "I know that it all seems--hopeless, but trust me, I know what it's like to be where you are. Look at what's on my face." He angled his face as to make the light to land exactly where it needed to be, so it showcased the scar that marked the left side of his face. It had begun to heal by this point in time, but the facial mark that reminded him of his first failure against the Sith was still there, haunting him.

"Now, look at my hand." Taking his grip off of Mjou's shoulders to pull the left sleeve of his jumper down revealed another scar that ran the circumference just below his risk. Normally, the medical team in charge of limb replacements on-board medical frigates would've made sure that no external scarring was to be visible upon completion of the procedure. However, from what Rane could recall from the painkiller-adled haze that was those hours, he had personally requested that they allow the scarring to form and stay.

"I know what it's like to fail, Mjou Frisk, and I know what it's like to feel broken. What happened to me would've destroyed a normal human-being, but as you can see, I'm standing here before you. I promise you it gets better." Still in his kneeling position, Rane reached into his back pocket and presented Mjou with a relatively new plaid rag in one hand, while the other held the ball.

"So, how about you dry those tears," he chuckled as he talked, "Wipe that snot from your nose, and once you're ready, you give me the best try you got to take this evil thing from my hand with only the Force, hmm?"

 

[Nostromos]

Mjou wasn’t sure if she could believe Rane Vastra in that moment, but she desperately wanted to and he seemed to believe what he said. She accepted his word that she would not be cast out, deciding to trust him against what--a few months ago-- she would have considered her better judgement.

That shaky, small hand that had grasped his shirt so tightly, released and balled into a fist and rubbed gingerly over a puffy, tear wetted eye.

She had ducked her gaze down to stare at the their feet again, only to look back up at his request. The scar on his face was long and had once been quite angry, the urge to affirm its existence through tactile means was harder to resist than the little thief had expected.

When he exposed the scarring on his left arm, revealing the presence of a prosthetic it was even harder.

Maybe he was right, though. Perhaps even after all she went through and the curveballs life had thrown she could take her own life in hand and become something more. He was still standing, and seemed well-off for someone who had lost something so important.

When Rane presented her with the rag, Mjou gave a short little laugh and took it; pressing the cloth between her eye and the heel of her palm. The sphere didn’t seem so heavy now, though it mocked her with it’s shiny, black surface.

She’d try again.

“Ok. No snot. Just so you know. My face is pristine” Mjou grinned as she idly stuffed the rag into a back pocket. “Gimme a few seconds...though...Ok?”

 

[StandbyRanger]

"Of course," Rane said, replying to both statements. He was glad he could get through to Mjou, as he did not know whether or not his scars would turn her away, rather than help. Rane wanted to help Mjou in every way possible, to make sure she became the Jedi she was meant to. He had never clicked with someone in such a way, besides his sister and Korra. It was a rare, yet largely welcome occurrence.

Rane smiled as Mjou wiped the last of her tears. He knew she was completely capable of lifting the ball from his hand, confident that she would succeed. Rane twisted and turned the ball with his fingers as he awaited her fated attempt.

 

[Nostromos]

Concentration creased the youths brow as she tucked the rag into the back hem of her pants, keeping it to herself in a subconscious move to pilfer the item from it’s owner. Deep down she was sure Rane didn’t care she aimed to keep it. Instead, Mjou stared hard at the sphere in the older Jedi’s hand; observing it first before she even attempted to lift it from it’s resting spot. Gingerly, the youth outstretched her hand; stepping back a few paces to distance herself from the object of her scrutiny.


She closed her eyes after a few moments; other things present in the room distracting her from focusing fully on the orb. Mjou imagined how it looked in her head, oddly shiny for a toy that had been rolled all over the floor; smooth and bright even with it’s pitch tone. The image became a clear vision, pasted onto the inside of her eyelids as she focused on how it felt; smooth and cool yet firm, though it would offer some give if one pressed into it.

Mjou flexed the fingers of her outstretched hand in reaction to the memory of the balls texture, tensing as for a brief moment she could have sworn she had actually felt the thing in her hand. But nothing incredible had happened, she hadn’t felt a pull or a weight fit into her palm from the amazing skill she had just performed.

Opening her eyes, the youth looked up at Rane with a look of shame; she felt hopeless until she looked at his hand where the ball had sat. Only to find it had disappeared. For a moment, Mjou entertained the idea that he had hidden it in a pocket while she had her eyes closed and felt a twinge of anger at the notion; only to flex her fingers again and find she was met with the same resistance.

Looking down she found, sitting smugly in her palm was the dread little toy. It almost made her want to cry again, but mostly it made her want to chuck it out a window.

 

[StandbyRanger]

"See Mjou, you can do it. All it takes is a little concentration," a pleased smile grew upon his face, "And a little self-confidence." Just like any other student throughout the ages, no one was a master form the get-go, and Mjou was no exception to this rule. However, Rane had felt something within Mjou that would make her great, as a Jedi and as a citizen of the galaxy. The older Jedi patted the top of Mjou's head softly with one hand as the other reached behind her and took back the lifted rag. He had noticed the kid wordlessly pocketing the small item, but decided against saying anything. Rane would've allowed her to keep it, no questions asked, but now he had a better idea.

Rane hung the rag from his index finger, letting it dangle between the two, "Now, Mjou Frisk, I'm going to let you have this. There's one condition though," he began to loosely tie the piece of fabric around her neck like an ascot as he talked, "So long as you keep this thing, and wear it, I will be by your side. I'll teach you everything I know about how to become a Jedi, and you will never experience another day of doubt like this one."

He could feel his knees begin to ache from being in his kneeling position for too long, but luckily he had finished tying the ascot around Mjou's neck. Rane stood up, during which he could her one of his joints popping, and looked over Mjou, the ball still tightly in her grip. The smile from before was still etched upon his face, "Whaddya say kid? You up for the challenge?"