Ask Cooking Time

[Zessel]

Zessel carefully put the dough inside the pan, being careful to not spill anything out of it. His instructor, a Ikkrukian Jedi Master and head cook called Losh Tempre, was watching his efforts. When the boy appeared in the kitchens seeking cooking classes because his healer instructed him to have a hobby, the old man never thought that he was going to stay around for a long time.

He was completely wrong.

The white-haired boy proved to have talent for that and interest too, if the two piles of pancakes could be considered as enough proof. Other Jedi had warned Losh that Zessel had problems with focus, but so far it didn’t happen during their weekly classes. The half-Arkanian was always too eager to learn how to cook new stuff.

“Good job!” Zessel barely heard Tempre’s praise, being more concerned in turn with the last pancake so both sides would be perfectly backed. Usually, he would lack the focus on nearby stuff, but since he discovered how fun making food could be and how the result of taking time was satisfying, the half-Arkanian ended up paying attention to what the Ikkrukian taught him.

He should thank his healer in the next session for having suggested that he find a hobby.

With the last pancake on the pile, Zessel carefully started to decorate it with fruits and jam until they seemed satisfactory to him. The Padawan had learned about plating techniques from a video on the Holonet and it basically became an obsession to him. Even after he finished the decoration, he still stared at the food for some time, thinking that it could be better.

“I need to finish breakfast. Why don’t you take these plates and offer one of them for another Padawan?” Losh said, while giving the two plates to Zessel.

The Padawan accepted them. “Good idea. Thanks for the class, Master Tempre. See you next week.” he said, before walking out of the kitchen. He wondered if there would be anyone already up at that time in the morning for him to share the pancakes.

@Zay

 

[Caul]

The training saber hummed with life as it rose and fell. Each measured swing coming to a stop at center. Again. Again. Again. Agai—

Caul was pressed in, surrounded by Jedi as they fled Yavin. The smoke billowing out from the temple as it shrank below their ship was burned into his mind. The temple had been his home. It was where he and Pit had snuck old holovids about the Jedi out of the archives, where he and Ren had first lifted stones with the force… It had been the last time he’d seen any of his friends or the kids he’d grown up with.

The Padawan blinked and shook his head. He wasn’t sure if he was trying to focus or shake off the pain of memory. Either way he signed and decided to call it a day. He’d been at it for hours and his arms were killing him. He slipped his robes over his tunic and clipped his training saber to his hip as he stepped out of the room.

As soon as he stepped out of the training room his stomach growled.

The Padawan stepped into the dining hall and glanced around to see if there was anything left from the morning meal. There were a couple groups of Padawan’s clustered together talking and laughing. Caul watched with more than a little envy. His expression hardened marginally as jealousy veiled his thoughts, but like always, rather than facing his feelings he stuffed them down and made for the main counter.

@LouJoVi

 

[Zessel]

When he entered the dining hall, Zessel saw that there were already other Padawans waiting for breakfast. Some of them turned to look at him and stared at the plates that he was carrying. The half-Arkanian always thought that it was difficult to choose someone to eat the food that he makes. Not because he felt bad about not having enough for everyone, but because he knew that some of them thought that he was crazy.

He would have the pleasure of ignoring their hungry looks because of it.

Then he saw Caul arrive at the hall. They have some classes together and the other Padawan always was nice to him. It made Zessel decide to give the pancakes to him. It was that or he would need to eat all that alone, which improbably. The white-haired boy liked to cook, but he couldn’t eat two piles of pancakes without getting sick.

“Hey, Caul!” he called, while approaching the other boy. “I made some pancakes. Do you want a plate?” Zessel offered him the food. Meanwhile, some of the other Padawans were still staring, hoping for the opportunity of having some of it.

@Zay

 

[Caul]

Caul was just about to leave and hit up the gardens for something to eat when he saw Zessel emerge from the kitchen. Even from his location near the door he could tell the pancakes the other guy was carrying were amazing. The smell alone was enough to make his stomach rumble with hunger. Caul’s other eyebrow elevated as Zessel offered him one of the plates.

“Uh, yeah sure!” he said with a smile. He took a seat and promptly tucked a napkin into his tunic, because he was about to destroy these cakes. “Did you make all these?” he asked as he sized up the plate. Around them the cliques of Padawansstarted peaking in their direction. The envy was so thick in the room you could cut it and spread it on a pancake.

Caul finally decided how to make his first approach and dug in. The first bite was bliss. The cake was fluffy, crispy, buttery, sweet, and just a little salty. They were perfect. Tears formed in his eyes as his very soul embraced the deliciousness of these bliss disks.

“By the stars, Zessel, these are amazing.”

Those were the last words spoken by Caul until he’d consumed every morsel from his plate. Once finished he struggled to stop himself from licking his plate. To Zessel he said, “How did you learn to cook like this?”

@LouJoVi

 

[Zessel]

”Yeah.” Zessel said, while taking a seat at a nearby table. With his mission of giving the pancakes to someone else accomplished, he could ignore the envy stares coming from the other Padawans. Eating right now was the only thing on his mind, with all his focus going to it.

The white-haired boy had a sort of ritual before properly starting to eat. He sat on the chair perfectly aligned with the table and moved the plate so it wasn’t far away from the edge, thus avoiding pieces falling on the surface. Zessel hated dirty and disorganization. He would first eat the fruits, starting with strawberries and proceeding to the blackberries. After finishing it, he would start to cut the pancakes into perfect sized pieces. Or at least perfect in his mind.

He frowned slightly when Caul started to eat near him, having thought that the other would pick the plate and go eat in another place. Zessel preferred to eat alone, before disliking the terrible manners from other Padawans. The corner of the table where the other boy was seated was full of crumbs, making the half-Arkanian struggle to not grab a napkin and start to clean it.

“Master Tempre, the cook, taught me. To be honest, he is still teaching me.” he brought a piece of pancake to his mouth, munching it slowly. Once he finished, the Padawan would swallow and start talking again. “He is teaching me a ton of stuff. I learned how to make cakes and other stuff too.”

Since they were going to have a socialization moment during breakfast, Zessel decided to continue the conversation. “Why did you get late today?” the only problem was that he would always go direct to the point.

@Zay

 

[Caul]

Caul wasn’t sure why, but he got the feeling Zessel hadn’t actually wanted him to sit with him, which was weird considering the other guy had just given him a stack of flapjacks. They ate in relative silence which was pretty uncomfortable considering the gawking scavengers pretending not to watch surrounding them.

Zessel responded to his question in between curated bites, of course, Caul had been able to put together who’d taught the guy to cook, it was pretty simple given their location, but it was still polite to ask.

In return Zessel asked Caul why he’d been late to meal.

“Oh, I lost track of time training,” the following silence between them yawned open in a drawn out pause. Deciding it might be better to leave before overstaying his welcome, Caul said, “Alright, well, thanks for the pancakes, that was nice of you. I guess I’ll get back to training,” then he added, “Sith aren’t gonna defeat themselves, am I right?” with a little chuckle before standing and starting to make his way toward the dish bin.

@LouJoVi

 

[Zessel]

When he finished eating, Zessel placed the fork and knife vertically in the middle of the plate. Then, he retrieved a napkin made of paper from his pocket, having grabbed it in the kitchen early that day. The Padawan cleaned his mouth and folded it in a perfect square, before placing it at the center of the plate. It could seem strange, but it was the post-meal ritual that the white-haired boy had. Only after concluding it he would feel satisfied and “clean”.

His healer didn’t tell him, but Zessel noticed that she was working with him about these “rituals”. He still wondered why.

Once there was no more food and he made his organization, Zessel went back to his normal mood. “Nice! Training early in the morning you have the entire yard only for you.” he smiled, remembering how many times he did the same. Even if the Knights used to say that training with a partner was better.

He got up from the table and followed the other boy, carrying his plate toward the nearest trash can. “But, do you want company? Defeating Sith with a partner is easier, right?” he offered, remembering that his healer had instructed him to make more friends. This was a good opportunity.

@Zay

 

[Caul]

Caul didn’t notice Zessel’s compulsive behavior, he was too busy patting his stomach and fighting a food coma.

He still got the vibe Zessel didn’t really wanna out, so when the other padawan followed him and asked to join, Caul was a little thrown off.

“Really?” he asked, but it was plain as day Zessel wanted to come along so Caul shrugged, “I mean sure! Sorry, I’m uh… awkward,” he said with an apologetic smirk.

“Hope you’re warmed up, I was planning on hitting The Course.”

The Course was pretty much what it sounded like. It was an obstacle course just outside the main training field. It was notorious for it’s difficulty and any Padawan that managed to master it’s labyrinthine pathways earned a reputation among their peers. Braving ‘The Course’ wasn’t for the meek. It was a staggering hike pitted with traps and obstacles that tested a Padawan’s ability to it’s very limits. To be totally honest, Caul couldn’t wait to throw himself at it.

@LouJoVi

 

[Zessel]

”No way! Are you really going to do the Course?” Zessel basically screamed, making some of the other Padawans turn curious looks at them. He was so surprised by the other boy’s declaration that he didn’t even notice that he had asked his question too loud.

His surprise came from the fact that the Course was probably the most difficult training experience that a Padawan could try. If the rumors that he heard were correct, even some Jedi Knights struggled with it. Some of the Younglings even said that it was impossible because there was some curse cast over it by a Padawan that became so frustrated with his failures on it that he fell to the Dark Side.

Zessel always laughed with this story. Children could be so gullible.

“I’m down!” he said, excited to give it a try. Zessel was aware of the difficulty, but he couldn’t care anymore. The possibility of being one of the few that concluded the Course had his entire focus.

@Zay

 

[Caul]

”Awesome!” Caul shouted, meeting Zessel’s enthusiasm. He put his hand up for a highfive, but the other guy was already on to the next subject and Caul just kinda … well he high fived himself.

Once they got to the pitch that led to The Course reality started to set in. The finly manicured lawn abruptly ended at a tangle of roots and gnarled trees. The path ahead was clear, but the obstcels that lay in wait were not. The Course was created to push a Padawan to their limits. To replicated the anxiety and stress of battle while in a reletively safe and controlled space. So, as Caul stepped up the starting line he unclipped his training saber and held it tight.

Caul looked over to Zessel, “Last chance to bail,” he teased, trying to hide the fact that, now, that he was here he’d rather be anywhere else. As if to add to the drama of the moment, a fog had rolled in draping the path in an opaque blanket. Caul took a breath, ignghted his training saber and took off into the mist.

@LouJoVi

 

[Zessel]

Due to his excitement, Zessel would have taken the lead toward the place where the Course happened. However, the boy remembered that he had no idea where it was. This conclusion made him stop halfway in the door and wait for Caul to walk in front of him.

He followed the other boy outside, through a path that he never walked before. The half-Arkanian noticed how the path became more covered by plants. This could only mean that no one visited this part of the Temple in a long time. He wasn’t surprised, the number of failures in the Course must have scared everyone away.

As if nature itself wanted to turn the Course more ominous, the area where it happened was covered by fog when they finally arrived. “No way! I’m going to do it.” Zessel said to Caul, while picking his lightsaber. He ran together with the other boy, disappearing among the mist.

Now the Course begins.

@Zay

 

[Caul]

As they stood at the mouth of the course, Caul couldn’t help but feel a tingle of excitement. He could do this. He could do this. He could do this. He could— He was running. Over his shoulder he called out, “Keep up if you can then!”

As he entered the course the fog enveloped him. He was aware of Zessel for now, but as things got harder it would be more difficult for them to keep tabs on one another, that was part of the training of course, but the isolation of the endeavor felt daunting. Caul was starting to realize saying you were going to do something and actually doing it were two very different things.

The Padawan pressed through a tight bramble and came out on the other side disheveled. He adjusted his robe and his vambraces just as a flicker of movement caught his eye. At first he’d assumed it was Zessel finally catching up, but the ignition of a yellow blade told him otherwise.

Instinctively Caul’s saber sprang to life and he was moving. The first strike in a fight normally determines how the rest of the conflict will go, so Caul wanted to hit first and ask questions later and that’s exactly what he did. The training droid rushed forward brandishing it’s blade, raising it up and coming down in a brutal chop. Caul waited until the last possible moment then slipped to the left and caught the droid in the torso with his blade as he stepped in.

The droid was flung backward, it’s photoreceptors flickered then dimmed, Caul moved on disappearing into the dense brush just a s quickly as he arrived.

@LouJoVi

 

[Zessel]

Caul ended up taking the lead, running faster than Zessel and entering the Course first. However, the half-Arkanian didn’t stay behind for long. He smirked and sped up. The mist around him was getting ticker, making it difficult for the half-Arkanian to distinguish the other Padawan. He could only see a figure moving among the white fog.

Then he heard the very familiar sound of a lightsaber being activated. His hand moved immediately to the hilt of his own, removing it from his belt and activating when the sound blades colliding echoed in the distance. Zessel smirked, he was prepared to face whatever was in front of him.

And he found a completely destroyed droid. ‘Okay, Caul is fast.’ he thought, stopping briefly to poke at the fallen machine with his shoe. He didn’t stay longer, his fellow Padawan had already moved away. Not wanting to stay behind, Zessel ran after the other boy.

While he ran, Zessel’s attention was completely focused in the mist and the shadowy form that was moving in front of him. He wanted to catch up with Caul, this way they could deal together with dangers that could appear. Unfortunately, the white-haired boy didn’t notice that several objects appeared on the floor. They were small, less than 30 cm and remained hidden among the soil. It was a simple exercise to avoid obstacles by using a Force jump, after all a Jedi should have focus.

And it was Zessel’s weakness.

He didn’t notice the objects, hitting one with his feet. This triggered a ripple effect, where he stumbled through all them, before nearly falling face to face on the floor. ‘Okay, this was shit.’ he thought, while feeling his toes hurt a bit due to kicking all that stuff. With a deep breath, he ran more. Eventually catching up with Caul.

@Zay

 

[Caul]

Caul felt rather than heard Zessel approach, a quick glance behind him and he spotted the other Padawan. He thought he noticed some grass or maybe a twig stuck in the other guys hair, but he didn’t have time to figure it out, The Course was already on them. The mist that had accumulated began to swirl and billow like a coming storm. Instinctively, Caul dove to the side, he had no idea where or what Zessel was doing a massive log suspended by fibercord ‘Whoosh’d’ by just as he rolled to safety.

In a single fluid motion, Caul rolled head over heels and came back up to his feet without missing a beat. The Padawan stretched outward with the force doing his best to scan his surroundings for any sort of obstacle— Caul’s feet came to a skidding stop just in time to watch a group of pebbles skitter out into the open maw of a ravine.

“The gap…” muttered Caul as space drew out before him. He knew he had to get across. He knew this was the fastest way, but he wasn’t sure if there was an easier way. His brow drew in as Master Perun’s words steeled his nerve. He backed up far enough to get a running start, channeled the force into his legs and ran. The ground was covered in the blink of an eye, the ravine yawning out, as he hit the edge. Then he was weightless.

Panic tried to rear it’s ugly head, but it was too late, he was committed and the force was with him. His feet landed on the other side of The Gap and he tripped, tumbling head over hills and coming up to a rest on his butt. Stars danced before his vision until he shook them from his view. Excitement bubbled up in him like a geyser and he exploded up from the ground crowing in victory with up raised fists!

“WOOOOO! Eat that Sala–” his celebration died as quickly as it arrived. Salazar was dead. He was never coming back and that truth cheapened his victory. Caul’s chest was still rising and falling with the adrenaline of his last stunt, but the wild smile had soured into pursed lips. He breathed through his nose. Looked back over his achievement and scanned the area for Zessel.

@LouJoVi

 

[Zessel]

While he followed Caul, Zessel noticed that the mist had become thicker. The Padawan couldn’t even see the form of the other Padawan among the fog, giving the impression that the other boy had completely vanished. To proceed, he could only count with his hearing.

The problem was that he wasn’t exactly the best person to differentiate sounds. Given his struggle to focus, any small sound was enough to distract Zessel. He tried to pay attention to his surroundings, but the sound of something moving fast through the mist ahead of him was distracting.

‘Wait, what?’ he thought, right on time that a dark form was approaching in front of him. Zessel didn’t have much time to react, dropping to the ground immediately when the shadow became a log. Unfortunately, it had grazed his back, leaving the half-Arkanian with some pain here.

He continued walking, now with ache on his back. Zessel soon reached the ravine right on time to see Caul jumping. The half-Arkanian waited for the other boy to land at the other side before he gathered the Force around himself and jumped. Unfortunately, the white-haired boy miscalculated the position to land, falling too close to the other Padawan and headbutting his chest in the process.

“Who should eat what?” Zessel said, holding his head that was spinning.

@Zay

 

[Caul]

The shock of Zessel slamming into his chest head first made Caul squawk as he clattered to the ground. Annoyed and embarrassed he shoved Zessel off him muttering, “Nothing, get off me!”

Shame colored Caul’s expression as he scrambled to get up and be on his way. He turned and started jogging off toward the next part of the course. A few minutes later he stopped and stared at the next obstacle…

A churning river too wide to jump and a current too strong to swim. Caul frowned, how in the hell was he supposed to get to the other side? Then he saw it. Something in the water… a wooden pillar. The post was practically submerged, but he could see it. He reoriented himself and looked past the post before him. He could just make out another.

“No way,” he said, then to Zessel, “You think we’re supposed to jump from one post to another?”

@LouJoVi

 

[Zessel]

”Sorry.” Zessel said, his head still spinning from having headbutted Caul. He got some steps away from the other Padawan, being careful to avoid the ravine that was behind him. The half–Arkanian could still be a bit dizzy, but he remembered of the deadly fall that waited for him some steps away.

When he recovered, the half-Arkanian followed Caul. The other Padawan had left him behind some moments ago, but Zessel didn’t want to stay too far away from the other boy. He believed that if they were close, his fellow Jedi would be able to warn him about dangers. The white-haired boy was tired of falling constantly.

Zessel catched Caul when the other Padawan had stopped in the next challenge. It was a river with a strong current, with the only way of crossing it being a trail made of wooden pillars. “I think that it’s the case, but they seem to be nearly covered with water.” the half-Arkanian got close to the border, watching how the nearest post was nearly totally covered by the water.

“Maybe we could use the Force? To make our feet hold in the wood despite the water.” he said, turning back to the other boy. “I heard about this Force technique some time ago.”

@Zay

 

[Caul]

Caul’s brow knitted together in concentration as he tried to comprehend Zessel’s idea. Apprehension started to gnaw at his confidence. His lips were pressed into a thin line as he began to gather the force. This was the last big obstacle once they were on the other side, they’d be home free. He just had to get there. He just had to get to the other side, no big deal right? What, was he some kind of chicken?

The Padawan took several steps back, bounced on the balls of his feet, then shot off toward the river. Caul jumped, every muscle in his body was tensed as he flew toward the first pillar.

“OOF!” The wind was smashed out of him as his body collided with the pole. Immediately he wrapped his arms and legs around it and held on for dear life. The wood was slick. It’s lacquered surface gave little purchase as Caul tried to maneuver into a better position. Now that he was here, going back wasn’t an option. He had to move forward, he had to make it to the next pillar.

Finally, Caul found his footing. He held onto the pole with one hand, keeping the other available to grab the next pole. He took a breath and then jumped! His outstretched hand grabbed greedily for the polished wood. He grabbed it and immediately moved to replicate the motion. A few minutes later he was jumping from the final pole to the soft ground.

He turned around looking for Zessel, “C’mon bro, you got this!” he called into the mist. He couldn't see the other boy, but he was pretty sure he could feel him.

@LouJoVi