Ask Yavin IV Chick in the Nest

[Laeonas Tannaras]

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When he'd finally had the courage to actually ask for help, he'd done it knowing that he was likely to face criticism. Yet nothing could've prepared him for Ephiny's reaction. As his teacher laughed, Laeonas' eyes widened, mouth opening in stunned silence. The quiet, reserved knight he'd known for the past five months melted away, replaced by a giddy child. His cheeks would flush red in embarrassment, but he didn't feel any serious shame. Her laughter was friendly, and it was obvious she was just amused at the spectacle, rather than his failure specifically.

As she calmed down, the both of them would momentarily stand there, with Laeonas turning to get back to work, face a bright shade of red. In their entire time training together, the man had never looked so mortified. Not when he fucked up saying the word "sandwich" like "sang-igge", not when he'd knocked over a shelf during saber practice and been buried, not even when she'd caught him in his underwear in his dorm a few days ago. He couldn't even look at his teacher through it all.

Only after she praised him did he open up a little, whispering out a "Thanks." in an uncharacteristically quiet tone. Beyond that, the man seemed to have gone back to work, stirring and mixing and mixing and stirring casually. He followed her instruction, taking a spoonful out of the mixture of spices, remembering the exact quantities his teacher had mentioned earlier. He next poured the needed milk, before finally adding the well beat eggs. "...Ai'm supposed ta wait fer it ta get all fluffy now, raight?" He'd ask, still not looking at Ephiny as he did so.

The man didn't wait for an answer, as he'd stand motionless over the eggs, watching them cook in silence. It was like he'd shut down, looking more like an automaton than the eccentric, vulgar padawan Ephiny had spent months training.

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@LouJoVi

 

[Ephiny Daivand]

Ephiny noticed how Laeonas became ashamed after she laughed. His answers to her were only whispers and she could see how the Padawan was blushing. The Archivist felt bad about it. She didn’t want to offend him, but the scene of a grown man angrily beating an egg was funny.

“Yes, now you wait for the omelet to cook.” she said, having barely understood his whisper. “Laeonas, I’m sorry if I laughed. But you don’t need to feel ashamed because of it.” Ephiny placed her right hand over his shoulder. This action made her look older and wiser. “ You aren’t obliged to make everything right in the first try. The important thing is that you try and never give up.”

She let go of his shoulder and turned to the omelet on the pan. “See? It’s nearly done. You never cooked before, but you did it right on your first try. When you didn’t understand something, you continued trying until discovering how to do it properly.” Ephiny smiled at him, Laeonas really learned fast. “I’m proud of you, my Padawan. During this entire cooking lesson, you did everything without my help.”

Once the omelet finished cooking, Ephiny would allow Laeonas to take it out of the oven while she prepared the table for them to eat. She placed two plates and glasses on opposite sides of it. Then, the Archivist walked to the fridge and retrieved a bottle with fresh Jogan fruit juice that she made and brought to the trip.

“We can cut the omelet in the middle and each one has a half.” she said, while waited for the Brentaalan to bring the pan to the table. “I hope that you like fresh fruit juice. I made some for us to drink during the trip. When we arrive at Uyter, I’m going to buy more fruits and teach you how you can cook with them. What do you think?”

@Tom

 

[Laeonas Tannaras]

​

Her words were... familiar to him, but not in the way she might've hoped. These weren't new lessons he was hearing; no, they were lessons he'd taught himself. Her words reflected those little rationalizations and concilliations he'd told himself to stave off frustration and despair after failure, the basic truths that anyone who wasn't a perfectionist could recognize. It was care after self care became impossible. Help when he couldn't help himself.

Under normal circumstances, he'd shrug it off and snap. "Ai already know Ai ain't perfect, don't need yer sorry arse remindin' me!" He might've said, but not such bitter remarks escaped his lips. He... appreciated what she was saying to him, doing for him. Even the praise he lived for didn't compare to the reassurances she provided-- but it was pretty nice. He had figured out how to do it first try. That was just extra credit at this point.

He felt calm, but he didn't immediately respond to her words. Instead, the man would make the last preparations for the meal, taking it out of the oven and, automatically, cutting it in half for the both of them. He grabbed a pair of Tolo cups while he was at it, placing them down on the table for both of them as he put each half of the omelet on the plates that Ephiny had set up for the both of them. He allowed her to pour their drinks, and than, the two would finally sit down.

"...Ai... think... th'aaaaaat..." he spoke, sounding like he was struggling for a moment. "...that... would be... nice." He finished, exhaling as he let the sentence hang there. "...quite... nice." He'd emphasize, enunciating almost as if to confirm to her and himself that he'd spoken a sentence properly. Taking the tolo cup full of Jogan juice, he'd take a long sip, eyes widening and lips automatically curling up in a warm smile. "...nice." he'd repeat, gesturing to his drink.

"Did... did yy-a... did you... mean what yyaaYOU... you sAId?" He'd ask, placing his drink down as he began to cut his eggs. Trying to overwrite his speech patterns with something else was making him even more incoherent, but the man didn't want to let up. "AiiiiIII.... I know-- know that you want to say nice thinnnngh... thinnngh.... things to-- ah, fuck talkin' normal." He finally conceded, groaning in exasperation. "Such fuckin' weird sounds tha lot of ya make. Ever consider th'at it might be yer kind th'at's talkin' weird and we're tha ones th'at got it right?" He spat, finding an absolutely bizarre topic to be indignant about.

It took about half a second for him to realize that he was working himself up over nothing, which was followed up by a blush and brief silence. "Th'at was a bit much." he muttered, before taking another deep breathe. "What Ai was tryna say was... Ai... shite, Ai guess Ai don't know what Ai was tryna say. Ya prolly don't either with 'ow fuckin' bizarre Ai just sounded." He joked, snickering a little before he finally forked a bit of omelet. "'Ere's t'tha first of many meals we'll be cookin' t'gether." he declared, before taking a bite.

"...by deus..."

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@LouJoVi

 

[Ephiny Daivand]

While she prepared the table, Ephiny watched Laeonas. Since she had finished talking, the man had remained in silence. Perhaps what she said had made him mad. During these last months, the Archivist had noticed that her Padawan had problems with criticism or comments when he did something wrong. Maybe he didn’t take what she said well.

She was already going to say something in an attempt to correct the situation, when Laeonas finally spoke. Or at least tried to do it, because the first things that came from his mouth seemed to be more a groaning than words. Then, her Padawan talked with a less thick accent. A smile appeared at Ephiny’s lips because of it. The Brentaalan was learning!

However, after speaking some words without his accent, the Brentaalan stopped trying and returned to talk normally. Or at least in what was normal to Laeonas. Ephiny couldn’t avoid laughing when her Padawan made an indignant comment about the difference in their way of talking. He looked so much like a child! If he pouted, the man would look perfectly like one.

When his small tantrum ended, Laeonas talked about the diner that they made together. “Yes! There will be other classes like this one.” she would teach him until the Brentaalan was able to cook perfectly. Or at least in the same way like her, which was enough to survive and eat well. “Soon you will be making the diner alone.”

A smile reappeared on her lip when Ephiny saw Laeonas’ reaction after tasting the omelet. “I told you!” she said, before starting to eat. “After tasting fresh food, you will never want the industrialized ones ever again.”

@Tom

 

[Laeonas Tannaras]

​

The woman's giggling at his struggle caused a twinge of surprise, but after hearing what she'd said earlier, the man was able to look past the embarrassment he felt over the failed pronunciations. In fact, he couldn't help but smirk a little, than grin-- before he was soon chuckling with her. "Cut me some slack, will ya?" He teased, reaching across the table to lightly punch her shoulder. Taking a few more bites from his omelet, the man would smile along when Ephiny told him he'd soon be able to cook on the regular. He could only wonder what else she could teach him to prepare; as good as the omelet was, he knew it'd get boring if that was all he ate.

"...Ai don't think Ai'll ever be able ta eat normal food again." He replied, smiling through the look of awe coloring his face. "Ai never laiked mae ma's grool, but Ai'm never touchin' th'at shite again after this." He declared, chuckling a little. "She's gonna start goin' off 'bout 'ow Ai'm to good fer 'er cookin' or some shite, just ya wait." He'd go on, before taking a few more bites out of his meal. "'Shite, 'ow does a couple spices and eggs taste so karkin' good?" The man would say, taking a sip of his juice right after.

Their dinner would go by rather quickly, the two both chatting, cracking jokes, talking about their plans while wolfing down a delicious meal. It was easily the most pleasant evening Laeonas had had in... well, he couldn't quite remember anything like this before really. He'd gone drinking with friends in the past, but he'd never spent the evening cooking and eating with one like this before. This was a new experience, and it was one he found quite a lot of enjoyment in.

By the time they were finished, Laeonas would grab his plate and toss it in the sink, putting it in the dishwasher. "We were lucky if we 'ad one of these in an apartment we rented." He'd say to Ephiny, turning around and summoning her own empty dish into his hand with the force, beginning to rinse it as well. "Mighty pain in tha arse it was ta scrub everythin' down by 'and..." he muttered, putting the final dishes away.

"...so uh, goodnight Ai guess." He'd finish, walking out of the kitchen and heading to his bedroom. "If ya need ta use tha restroom, uh, just knock and Ai'll let ya in." he declared, before shutting the door for the night.

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@LouJoVi

 

[Ephiny Daivand]

Ephiny smiled while Laeonas talked about the food. “Do you know, for me what we are eating now is normal food.” her Padawan probably spent so much time eating processed food that it became normal for him. “As I said early, when we arrive at Uyter my mother will want to stuff us with the food that she makes. You will love it. It’ll taste even better because the ingredients are fresh from the farm.”

The dinner that they shared was pleasant. During the entire time, the two talked and joked. Ephiny would tell more about his time on Uyter and how her life was with her family. At this moment the two weren’t only Master and Padawan, but also friends. The Archivist felt that this moment was helping Laeonas open more to her.

After they finished eating, Laeonas picked his plate and placed it on the dishwasher. Before Ephiny could do the same, the Brentaalan had used the Force and summoned hers to his hand. She heard him tell how he would sometimes need to scrub the dish in some of the apartments that he rented.

“In my home, we didn’t have a dishwasher. Me and my brothers would do it together. Sometimes one would wash, the other would dry and then the other would put it in the cupboard.” Ephiny said to him. It wasn’t something that she loved doing, but working together with her siblings was fun. They used to talk about fun things while working. “While we did it, our parents would be putting the trash outside of the house or cleaning the dining room.”

After the dish was washed, Laeonas would leave the kitchen to go to his bedroom. “I’ll do it. Good night, Laeonas!” she smiled at him, before he walked away. Once she was alone, Ephiny walked to the couch and prepared to sleep. She wondered what waited for them tomorrow.

@Tom

 

[Laeonas Tannaras]

​

Sleep used to be a welcome reprieve for the man, a pause from the responsibilities of the profane world. But he'd always been a light sleeper, easily woken up, and once so, it was difficult to fall back into slumber. Ofcourse, what woke him up the most kept him from wanting to go back to sleep for the entire night. As he fell into slumber again, he was greeted with the same hell he'd been greeted every night for the last five months. Once again, he was welcomed back to Firrerre.

It was the same as it always was. Burning buildings, people trapped under rubble, pained screams. Sleep was as close to the mythical concept of "hell" as it could be for the man. That was why he woke up just two hours later in a cold sweat, and woke up an hour and a half later when he rolled off his bed. He'd spent two hours awake after that, only to fall asleep, see an image of a father shaking his obviously dead son to wake up, and be jolted out just half an hour later.

He didn't even bother looking at the clock as he slipped out of his room, ready to start his morning routine. He'd pull out a mat and meditate for a full hour, recentering himself after having woken up with tears in his eyes. Once fully calm, he crossed the hallway to enter the gym. With his teacher asleep, the man would remain only in the pair of shorts he'd gone to bed in. With the equipment as banged up as it was, he spent quite a bit more time on calisthenics than on weights. It'd have to do until he bought some new equipment.

Between the loud thud that had come from his room when he'd fallen from bed, or the yelps, moans and groans that came as he dreamt up horror after horror, the sounds of his grunting, groaning and moaning as he exerted himself was just another part of the very noisy night that was living in the same place as Laeonas Tannaras. Thankfully Laeonas hadn't gone to any clubs yet so there was nobody else to join in the world's longest cacophony. For now, the only sounds the man was making came from the only functioning barbell he had left, repeatedly hitting the floor after every set of deadlifts he completed.

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@LouJoVi

 

[Ephiny Daivand]

Ephiny never was someone that had a deep sleep, waking with any small noise. When she lived at the farm with her family, the Archivist would occasionally wake after hearing someone moving through the corridors or opening a door. Since the Knight shared the bedroom with her sister, she would also wake up with her movements on the bed.

However, it never was a problem. After sometime Ephiny learned how to ignore it and return to sleep. But this time on Laeonas’ ship was different. She had heard every single sound that came from the man’s bedroom all night. The Archivist even recognized the sound of him falling on the floor.

She felt tempted to see what was happening with him in the bedroom, but changed her mind after thinking that it could wake him up. However, she was still concerned about him. This way, Ephiny stayed the rest of the night using the Force to see if he was fine. It made her barely sleep.

When she felt Laeonas leaving his room and going to the gym to train, Ephiny stopped doing it and decided to rest a bit. Now her Padawan had woken up, so he would be fine. The Archivist used to leave the bed very early in the morning, but she was so tired of staying awake most of the time that she had no desire to do it right now. Laeonas would not mind if she slept some more, right?

Her some more ended up being more four hours. When Ephiny woke up again and saw the time, she jumped off the couch with a yelp. She was late for her daily practice of meditation.! Grabbing a small bag with her toiletry, the Archivist ran toward the ship’s bathroom. “I’m going to take a shower and brush my teeth. I’ll be back soon.” she would scream to Laeonas, didn’t even looking at him. She hated being late for something.

@Tom

 

[Laeonas Tannaras]

​

Without most of his workout equipment, he had to be a bit... creative with his exercises. But he still managed to work up a proper sweat, and by the end of his two hour session, the man was satisfied with his work. Working out while sleep deprived did reduce his gains, so naturally, he supplemented his losses with greater exercise and greater protein intake. Wandering into the kitchen, he rifled through his cabinets, finding an old tub of protein powder that had been left to sit for several months. Along with that was a shaker cup which was (thankfully) cleaned, so he got to work on his first bit of breakfast for the day.

It was only after he got his hands on some stale cereal that they hadn't thrown out, as well as some Ananas that Ephiny had packed that the man started to dig in. Really, the only thing that tasted good were the Ananas, with the shake being a little to chunky, and the stale cereal being... stale. It was in the middle of trying to swallow one of those shake chunks that Ephiny's screams could be heard throughout the ship. Startled, Laeonas inhaled the chunk, beginning to cough as he choked on it. The next minute was a long, laborious attempt to cough it out-- one that'd eventually be successful, although he had vomited all over the kitchen floor.

...he'd than immediately return to his breakfast, not bothering with the rest of his shake after nearly choking to death on it. Once finished, the man would clean up the spill. By this point, Ephiny was still in the shower, and Laeonas was... not sure what to do. He was still wearing nothing but his shorts-- something he wouldn't be caught dead in around any strangers, and that went especially so for his teacher. That she'd seen him once when he was still half mad was mortifying enough.

He still needed to shower and get dressed, but with Ephiny in his bathroom-- the only bathroom-- he'd be left waiting to do the former. With that being said, he decided to head into his room and make a beeline for his closet. Fishing out some older clothes, he'd slip a poorly fitting shirt and pair of sweatpants on. He wasn't about to dirty something he'd ever be seen in public with. The man wouldn't go back out into his room, and instead just wait in the closet until he knew Ephiny was, well... out of his room.

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@LouJoVi

 

[Ephiny Daivand]

After she finished brushing her teeth and taking a shower, Ephiny left the bathroom. She still needed to eat something before doing her practice of meditation of the day. Then, the Archivist would make another class with Laeonas. Perhaps they could study a bit about the history of the planets that they were going to visit during the trip.

She walked out from Laeonas’ bedroom, noticing that he still hadn’t organized his bed after the night. The Archivist wasn’t surprised with it. He had slept so badly and left the room in a rush so early that making the bead was probably the last thing that he thought. She was going to remind him about it later.

Once she put her toiletry bag on her luggage, Ephiny went to the kitchen. Laeonas wasn’t there anymore and she couldn’t hear any sound coming from the gym. She wondered where he could have gone. The ship wasn’t that big for them to avoid each other. The Archivist shrugged, believing her Padawan could have gone to the cockpit or to the cargo holder.

The Knight started to prepare her breakfast. She filled a kettle with water and put it on the stove, then picked slices of bread and cheese to prepare a grilled sandwich. Ephiny picked a pan where she placed the sandwich after having spread butter on the slices. Once the cheese melted, she took it from the fire and placed it on a plate.

By this point, the water had already boiled and she used it to make some tea. While she prepared to eat, Ephiny wondered where Laeonas was and if he had already eaten something. If he appeared, she could teach him how to make grilled cheese.

 

[Laeonas Tannaras]

​

When he heard the doors opening and closing, Laeonas would finally slip out of the closet, and casually walked across to the bathroom. Before long, he was taking a much needed shower. He'd made it a tradition to simply allow the warm water to run down his body for several minutes on end; something that was positively decadent considering his upbringing of 2 minute ice cold showers. The Jedi didn't say much about material excesses now, right?

By the time he was out, the already steamy bathroom may as well have been a sauna. He had to wipe down the mirror in order to get a good look at himself. He flexed, stretched ran his hands over the knots of muscle that ran over his upper body. The near emaciated man that Alex had flown back to the Jedi temple had rebuilt his physique freakishly quick. Laeonas always found excuses to be proud of himself; this was just one of the times where it was absolutely justified.

When he finished his impression of Narcissus, Laeonas would finally finish his routine, drying himself, brushing his hair, picking out an outfit, before finally slipping on his earrings and suitable eye shadow. Finally stepping out of his room and walking to the kitchen, he'd find Ephiny, in the middle of preparing a... sandwich. "...ya make an omelet fer dinner, and ya make a grilled cheese fer breakfast." He loudly commented, walking in with a smirk. "What's next, roast beef fer lunch?" He joked, "Maybe a Baklava while yer at it, or some black puddin' fer breaky again?" He continued, referencing a number of dishes native to Brentaal.

When he was finished amusing himself at his teacher's expense, the man would take a moment to breathe in the air, whistling. "Th'at does smell laike a damn fine breakfist grilled cheese though." He'd admit, smirking a little at the title he'd given the dish. "What've Ai gotta do ta make this one? Slap some bread and cheese t'gether and toss it on a pan?" He'd ask, already summoning all the ingredients from where they'd been left to the nearest counter with the force.

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@LouJoVi

 

[Ephiny Daivand]

Ephiny would still be making her grilled cheese when Laeonas arrived at the kitchen. She noticed that her Padawan had changed his clothes and put on makeup. By the way, his hair seemed to be a bit wet, the Archivist concluded that he had left the shower at this moment. It was strange, where he was that she didn’t see him going to the bathroom? After all, she was there some time ago.

While her Padawan made jokes about the sandwich that she was making, Ephiny continued focusing on moving it on the pan. “Well, it’s far better than these cereals.” she gestured with her head toward the boxes. The Archivist needed to admit that there were some that were good, but not this particular brand. “I brought a piece of meat and was thinking of making part of it for our lunch. However, since you are complaining, maybe we can eat some dehydrated food.” she was joking, but if Laeonas preferred the processed food, she would eat the meat alone.

Once the cheese had melted enough, Ephiny used a spoon to move the sandwich from the pan to a plate. She smiled when he showed interest in learning how to make one. “It’s easier than making an omelet.” she placed her plate on the table. “You will need to have two slices of bread, cheese and butter.”

Then, she would explain to him how he should assemble the sandwich and spread the butter in each slice of bread. Like how when he made the omelet, Ephiny would allow him to make the entire process alone. “Now you take it out of the stove after the cheese has melted enough.”

While she watched Laeonas doing the sandwich, Ephiny would continue talking with him. “I was thinking that today we could practice a bit of lightsaber fighting. What do you think?” she wasn’t a master duelist, but she could teach him some forms.

@Tom

 

[Laeonas Tannaras]

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At the mention of his cereals, Laeonas would belt out a laugh. "Ayy, maybe they'd be a lil better if they weren't as stale as yer grandma." He joked back. "...shite, th'at one wasn't even funny. Gas' out on th'at one." The man muttered, before picking up on Ephiny's next joke and laughing again. "Maybe while Ai'm at it Ai'll fish some of th'at garbage we tossed in tha compactor out, eh?"

As he made his way over to her, the man carefully observed every little movement she made in regards to the sandwich. She'd already had her sandwich put together, and would present him with what he needed to make his. She was right about the process being simple; it made some of the assemblyline work he used to do look complicated by comparison. "...th'at was easy." He commented as he took the sandwich off the stove. "Shite, 'ow did Ai never learn 'ow ta do th'at? Fuckin' embarassin'." The man commented, grinning like an idiot as he placed his sandwich on the table and started eating.

As he dug in, his teacher would mention lightsaber training, and the man's interest was immediately piqued. "Kark yea do Ai wanna train!" He declared through a mouthful, even more unintelligible than he usually was. Gulping down his food, the man would slowly reply, "Sounds... great." The way his facial muscles moved to enunciate and shift his pronunciation would either be viewed as utterly disturbing, or completely hilarious.

"...but Ai don't 'ave a saber." He noted, a bit confused. "And... ain't th'at kinda dangerous? One thing ta practice boxin' or whatever, but Ai might take a karkin' ear off if Ai mess up." He noted; uncharacteristically cautious about the whole situation. "Sides, Ai 'aven't 'eld one in months. It'll take weeks 'for Ai can do anythin'."

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@LouJoVi

 

[Ephiny Daivand]

Laeonas joke about her grandmother made Ephiny raise an eyebrow. “When we arrive at Uyter, I’m going to tell her that you said it.” knowing her grandmother, she would probably laugh about it, after having punched the Brentaalan on the face. She could be an old woman, but the Archivist's grandmother was someone very active.

“This is probably one of the easiest ways of making a delicious sandwich.” she said, after Laeonas mentioned how easy it seemed to make grilled cheese. She still wondered why the Bretaalan didn’t know how to make it. Even a citizen of a heavily industrialized planet should at least have some notion of how to cook something so simple.

Even if it was a particular problem of the Brentaalan, with her help he was starting to learn. Ephiny watched with a smile on her lips, while her Padawan successfully made his grilled cheese. “Well, it’s never late to learn new things. With time I’ll teach you how to cook other things too.”

“Manners.” she said when Laeonas started to talk with his mouth full. Ephiny wasn’t going to tolerate this type of thing. “Oh, you will not get hurt. I brought one of the training lightsabers that the Younglings use before being able to make their own. You are going to use one of these.”

“I believe that we will have much time until we arrive at Tython. It’ll be enough for you to remember how to hold the lightsaber.” she still planned to have some training sessions with him in Uyter, too. “Now, finish this grilled cheese. We are going to have a full day.”

@Tom

 

[Laeonas Tannaras]

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"Oh, Ai'm tremblin' in mae boots." Laeonas teased back, grinning as he tried to picture what could happen-- that being a smaller, significantly older and more frail version of his teacher scolding him or pinching his cheeks. He didn't really have much of an idea as to what grandparents looked like or were supposed to act like; he'd only met his grandfather a few times, and he didn't even have a concept of what his other grandparents were like. The most he'd seen of the infamous Pterygas Tannaras had been a single statue of him in his youth, looking more like a god than any mortal man he shared blood with.

"Only family Ai've got ta intraduce ya to's mae ma, butcha know th'at already." he'd add. "Might be tricky findin' 'er, but she's stickin' in tha same apartment last taime Ai checked." He went on, before taking another bite out of his sandwich. As Eph brought up the ease by which they prepared the meal, Laeonas would simply nod. "Ma never actually learned 'ow ta cook, so she couldn't teach me. Add 12 hour shifts every day and tha best she can put t'gether is some frozen balaklava."

As they went on and the man finally finished his sandwich, he'd roll his eyes as the woman scolded him about talking with his mouth full. He'd abide, but such small acts seemed so trivial to him. As she shifted to explaining the nature of their exercise though, he grew less apprehensive. "Trainin' sabers?" He repeated. “Never used one. Only ever practiced with mine own.” He commented.

“…guess it’s prolly safer anyways.” He added once the woman finished, sitting up from the table and bringing his dishes to the sink. “It ‘as been awhile since Ai used a saber, practice can’t ‘urt.” The man went on. “Ai’ll meetcha in tha cargo ‘old in a few!”

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@LouJoVi

 

[Ephiny Daivand]

Ephiny stared at Laeonas while the older man teased his Master about her grandmother. She said nothing, but her eyes showed that she knew something that he didn’t know. The Archivist couldn’t wait for them to arrive at Uyter, her Padawan was going to have a great surprise.

She heard him talk about his mother and how it could be difficult for them to find her. Ephiny had started to appreciate these moments where he would talk about his life before they met. It allowed her to better understand why Laeonas acted this way. “Maybe I can teach her how to cook too.” then her eyes’ shone with realization. “No, you can do it! Before we arrive in Brentaal, you would have learned enough to even be able to teach it to her.”

“A training lightsaber isn’t different from a common one. The only thing is that it’s toned down to not hurt someone if the blade hits them.” she explained to him. Such weapons were useful to train younglings and Padawans that still didn’t have their own lightsaber. “But it still needs to be used carefully, the blade could still be painful. It can cause bruises and minor burns.”

After Laeonas finished eating, Ephiny rose from her seat. “I’ll pick the lightsabers and will meet you there.” she said, before walking out of the room. The Archivist walked to where she had left the bags that she had brought with her. Once she found them, the Knight picked her lightsaber, her Datapad and a box.

With these items at her hand, the Archivist walked to the cargo hold. While Ephiny wasn't exactly a expert in lightsaber combat, but she was good enough to teach him some of the basic parts of the combat forms. Later she would sign Laeonas to have a proper class with a Master.

@Tom

 

[Laeonas Tannaras]

​

Laeonas' teasing about his teacher's grandma went off without a verbal response from his teacher. He did look over at her for a reaction, and there was a look in her eyes that he couldn't quite determine the meaning of. If she were angry, she didn't show it-- and it didn't seem in character for her to be angry over some simple teasing. Though, maybe it was over his manners? He couldn't tell, but he added a quick, "A'right, th'at was a lil rude." As a half sincere addendum.

The follow up suggestion regarding cooking caught Laeonas offguard, but he promptly burst out laughing. "ME?! Teach mae MA?! HA!" He laughed, wiping a tear from his eye. "Th'at woman don't-- doesn't laike bein' talked down ta," He'd continue, fixing his grammar mid sentence, before continuing, "Ya could try and convince 'er ta learn yerself, but she'll prolly shoe ya off." The man finished. Laeonas was a prideful man, and that pride was a trait he'd inherited from his mother. She wouldn't accept help from her son in learning something important, Jedi or not-- unless she was convinced she wanted him to do it.

As they shifted to the topic of the training sabers, Laeonas would listen carefully, a frown slowly forming on his face. "...well. Thanks." He said, glancing down. It was obvious that Eph was trying to keep him cautious, but he didn't need to be reminded that he shouldn't let the 3000 degree blade of plasma touch him. He'd seen what a saber did to flesh, and he never, ever wanted to be on the receiving end of that. Deus forbid he lose a limb, and need to graft machine into his flesh.

He'd watch as Eph went off to go and get the sabers, joining her in the cargo hold a few minutes later. He didn't bother waiting for her to hand him one, but casually reached out with the force, ripping one of the hilts from her hand-- if she allowed him to-- and summoning it to his own. He casually flicked the weapon on, and a blue blade hummed to life. It's hum was different from the angry buzz of his own saber. This one was calmer, and he thought back to the boring drawl Ephiny had thrown at him about crystals when they first met.

"...so, where do we begin?"

​

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@LouJoVi

 

[Ephiny Daivand]

After Ephiny arrived at the cargo hold, she saw that Laeonas was already here waiting for her. With the box in her arms, she walked toward him. It was time for the class to start. “You probably already are familiar with a lightsaber, but there is things that you need to know about it.”

“Many that aren’t part of the Order consider the lightsaber as a simple weapon, but it goes beyond that. After the Force, the saber is the Jedi’s only true ally.” she opened the box, revealing to him a simple training lightsaber. “Until you can purify the crystal to make your own saber, you are going to use this one.”

Ephiny watched Laeonas impatiently summon the lightsaber to him. Before it could reach his hand, the Archivist used the Force to pull it back to her. She looked at him with a disapproving face. “You need to have patience and listen to my explanation. I was going to give it to you already, no need to rush things.” she sent it back to him with the Force. “Perhaps you should practice some more meditation to learn how to be patient.”

Although she mentioned meditation, Ephiny decided that they should continue with the lightsaber practice. “We are going to start learning about the first form of lightsaber combat. It’s called Form I, Shii-Cho, The Way of the Sarlacc or The Determination Form. From all the seven forms, this one was the oldest and most rudimentary of them.”

Then, Ephiny activated only one of the blades of her lightsaber and took a position that would allow Laeonas to see her movements without getting hurt. After doing it, the Archivist started to move according to Form I. For her Padawan, it would remind him of traditional sword-fighting, similar to how he used to fight with a vibroblade.

Once she finished, Ephiny would deactivate her lightsaber and turn back to Laeonas. “Now, you will try to replicate it.” she said, while moving to give him space. “You will need to stay calm and not make movements with violence. Come, I want to see you trying.”

@Tom

 

[Laeonas Tannaras]

​

Ephiny's initial description of a lightsaber and it's higher functions caughth is attention. The passion she seemed to have for the importance of a saber was... well, it surprised him. To him, weapons were weapons; tools used for hurting people trying to hurt you. It made sense that the Jedi viewed theirs as above in some way; they were supposed to be guardians of peace and justice after all. "No... not they, you. Yer one of them-- supposed ta be one, anyhow." He thought, correcting the framing in his own head.

Regardless, he still reached for the saber, but he felt resistance midway through the air. Rather than battle Ephiny for control, he quickly released it, confusion marking his face as it flew back to her hand. She started speaking to him on patience, and Laeonas frowned. "Ai ain't 12; Ai can be patient, Ai just wanted ta move things along. Ai listened ta all ya said about allies and th'at it's more than a weapon." He'd respond, displeased by the accusations of a lack of patience. As the saber was sent back to him, he'd ignite it, before adding, "And ya've seen me meditatin' fer 'ours on end before."

With the weapon in hand, he'd listened to the woman's explanation of how they were starting off. Nodding along, he'd follow her movements. He was used to this; the first lessons he'd had on combat were in books and holovideos demonstrating techniques. This had been how he'd learned his whole life; observation, repetition, practice, and finally, experience. He still marveled out how Ephiny could be such an effective teacher; was this just how she liked to teach, or did she realize just what kind of pupil she had?

As for the movements themselves, they were... relatively basic. They didn't differ much from many of the techniques he'd used in basic swordfighting. The main differences seemed to be in the angles at which Ephiny chopped, swung and cleaved. All of it produced a tighter range of attack than what his swings with a saber looked like. She had said that this was an old, rudimentary form; probably developed from already existing swordfighting techniques, and simply modified for the new weight distribution of a saber.

In short, it was a perfect beginning form for him.

As she finished up, Laeonas would listen to the woman's final instructions-- before immediately pausing. "Move... without violence?" He repeated, blinking a few times. "But... but th'at's what fightin' is." He muttered, before shrugging. "...Ai'm just gonna try and do what ya did, and fill in tha gaps with 'ow Ai usually move." He declared, before taking a stance.

His first movements were quick, unsharpened. It was as if he was swinging a bat over and over to get used to the feel of it, to get a better idea of what it was he was doing. Than, he slowed down, taking a precise set of swings. There was some aggression in every bit of his movement; in the grunts that escaped his lips with every chop, the huffing as he threw himself forward in a rush. It came out when he was quickest. After every bit of slow deliberation, he sped up again, just that slightly more precise, more focused.

This... was different from everything she would've seen in him up until this point. The aggression, passion he displayed, wove in perfectly with the discipline and focus that made his technique effective.

It was dangerous.

​

​

@LouJoVi

 

[Ephiny Daivand]

Ephiny heard Laeonas’ complaints and waited patiently for him to finish. When he stopped, the Archivist opened his mouth. “It’s exactly because of your reaction that I know that you aren’t patient.” she said, if she wasn’t holding her lightsaber, the Knight would have crossed her arms. “You need to learn that sometimes things can't be accelerated.”

After she finished her explanation about lightsaber combat, Ephiny saw doubt and confusion appear on Laeonas’ face. She wasn’t surprised that the man couldn’t understand why someone would fight without aggression. From what he told her, his past was full of moments that he fought wanting to hurt someone.

“A Jedi don’t fight because they want to hurt others, we fight because we want to protect the life of the Galaxy.” she said after he finished talking. “We are defenders of life and peace, when we kill someone, we don’t have pleasure in it, only sorrow. Even when a Sith is killed, we should think what they could have been if they didn’t let themselves be consumed by the Darkness. We kill them because they are putting others in danger, but all life is important and part of the Force, never forget that.”

The Archivist watched Laeonas replicate the movements that she had shown him. While it started well, Ephiny soon felt the aggression that was starting to come from her Padawan with each movement. It was dangerous for him to think this way, this could make him use the Dark side during a fight.

When Laeonas finished, the Archivist spoke his opinion. “You started well, but then you put too much aggression on your movements. You are going to try again, but this time you can’t let these feelings become the source of your strength. You need to focus that by learning it, you are going to be able to protect others.”

@Tom