Ask Encounters Between Strangers

[Vandirak Hastakor]

It was another normal day at the Jedi Temple of Ithor. The Knights were walking through the halls, while the Padawans tried to reach the gardens as fast as they could. With the classes of the day having ended, they were going to have the rest of the evening free.

While his colleagues walked outside, Vand was going in the opposite direction. The fact that he had free time meant that the pale boy would have more time to spend reading at the archives. The half-Nagai didn’t have much interest in staying outside, running like an idiot or gossiping about who had a crush on who.

No, the young Padawan would prefer to stay with his head buried in the holobooks. He couldn’t wait to read the two first volumes of the Chronicles of Colonization, regarding the colonization of the Colonies Region by the Core Worlds. If he was fast enough, Vand was certain that he could start the third one before dinner.

After all, two books with 500 pages each were nothing for him.

With a lollipop in his mouth to keep the effects of his hyperinsulinism in check, the Padawan turned in a corridor. He ended up needing to take the longest route to the Archives, since the Archivists wouldn't allow him inside while eating candy. Even with his condition. But it wouldn’t be a problem. The half-Nagai would finish it before reaching the place and he would have time to read.

@Valen Pelora

 

[Caris Orlan]

He paced. Stalking back and forth like a caged animal. No matter what he tried, Caris could not escape Ithor…and the ceaseless whining of the Padawans that lined its halls. Vida was one thing. She was forced into his care. The rest of this mewling children were another matter entirely. He’d never liked the youth of the Order even before Yavin. They were a nuisance. Unformed Jedi not yet ready for the realities of the galaxy. They were other people’s problems. Now…they were insufferable. Brighthome had been perfect. The quiet of space, fewer Jedi…plenty of time alone. All he had wanted was to be left alone.

Caris could not forget what he’d done. He was a danger to himself and others. The Council in their grand wisdom saw fit to ship him here. In the midst of a youthful revival. It was nauseating. He had tried to leave but found his access restricted. Until Vida was safe to travel, he was going nowhere. He knew he was being watched. He knew he was on the Justiciars list. How many times could he tell them? He wanted to die. He’d have done it if not for Taz. Caris spit on the ground. Bad manners but that’s how he felt.

He wasn’t paying much attention. Nearly smacking into one of the very Padawans he was desperately trying to avoid. He grunted. “Careful.” The former Shadow’s eyes falling to the lollipop. Oh…he had had enough. “What do you think you’re doing? This is a Jedi Temple not a playpen.” The Force flicked from his good hand, popping the lollipop from the kid’s mouth to hang in the air. “What is wrong with all of you.” Kriff he was frustrated.

@LouJoVi

 

[Vandirak Hastakor]

Vand was calmly walking toward the Archives, his lollipop half-finished in his mouth, when he nearly collided against someone. Turning to look at them, the Padawan saw that they were a Knight, one that seemed to be very stressed. He wondered what was the problem with the adult Jedi these days. They always seemed to have emotional breakdowns.

They were worst than teenagers!

Before the half-Nagai could say anything, the Knight scolded him and used the Force to remove the lollipop from the boy’s mouth. He rolled his eyes, already thinking that the older Jedi was being dramatic because of a simple sweet. The Padawan didn’t even have time to explain himself.

“Can you give it back?” he asked, while stretching his hand for the Knight. “I have hyperinsulinism and it makes my glucose go down, so I need sugar constantly.” his voice was in his usual nonchalantly way.

“Do you want to be responsible for sending a sixteen year old sick Padawan to the medical bay?” Vand asked, as if he was saying something normal like his name. “Perhaps I’ll not even reach the healers and will end up dying halfway toward it with a convulsion crisis, since that lollipop was my first sugar since…” he paused to look at his chrono. “Four hours ago.”

Now he was certain that he needed the sweet. While the Force could help him hold the effects longer than a normal person, its limit was that of five hours. “Can you really give it back? Last time that I had a crisis wasn’t nice and I don’t want to repeat it.” being perfured by several injections of glucoses was something that he wanted to avoid.

@Valen Pelora

 

[Caris Orlan]

Were none of them normal. Vida cried the first time they met. Now this one had hyperinsulinism. “Fuck.” He pushed the lollipop back at the kid. “Here.” He just wanted a normal day…or whatever passed for normal for him these days. “Don’t get all worked up.” Caris did not want another crying Padawan on his hands. He had learned his lesson last time. The former Shadow sighed mightily. He should do the right thing. “You’re fine though? You’re not gonna like keel over or something?” The kid looked fine. Could something really be that wrong with him?

“Where are you headed anyways?” Caris’ eyes flicked around. The frown appearing back on his face. “You know food isn’t allowed in the Archives…especially the sticky variety.” The Master were extremely protective of their books. He knew that from unfortunate experience.

@LouJoVi

 

[Vandirak Hastakor]

”Thanks.” Vand said, while accepting his lollipop back. “In my point of view, I’m not the one being all worked up.” the Knight in front of him basically removed a candy from the mouth of a teenager for no reason. If it wasn’t a case of being worked up, the half-Nagai had no idea of what it could be.

“I’m fine. I only need the sugar.” the Padawan calmly continued to eat his sweet. He wondered if he had scared the Knight with his blunt answer about his sickness. In the half-Nagai’s mind, there was no reason for him to hide his hyperinsulinism.

However, the pale boy could have exaggerated about the part of him dying, but it made the older Jedi give the lollipop back to him faster. For him it was a victory.

The Padawan was already prepared to walk away when he heard the Knight talking again. “I’m going to the Archives.” he rolled his eyes with his comment about food not being allowed here. “I know, this is why I’m trying to finish it before arriving here.” he would have already finished it if the man hadn't disturbed him.

“By my calculations, what remains of this lollipop will be finished in four minutes.” he looked at the sweet, shortly before putting it back in his mouth. Since he would need to wait some more, Vand decided to continue talking with the Knight. “By the way, what is your name?”

 

[Caris Orlan]

He mood blackened. These children had no respect…not that he deserved any…but still. He put his life on the line too many times to be sassed by some snot nosed Padawan. “Caris Orlan.” His name did carry some weight in the Order. He’d gone three rounds with the Demon Prince and fought Draugr off Ithor. He was not some cubicle Knight. “Do you speak to all Knights with such attitude?” Caris raised a single arching eyebrow. “I hardly think the Council would approve.” The Council barely approved of him but what did that kid know.

“What are you looking for in the Archives?” Frankly, he usually wouldn’t care but he was bored. You could only walk the grounds so many times and Vida was changing his thinking. Making Caris see perhaps there was more of a future than desolation. There was still a long road. He was not good with people. He was not good with the youths but he was trying to be better. Someone had to see that.

@LouJoVi

 

[Vandirak Hastakor]

”Oh, you are Caris Orlan.” Vand had heard about the Knight and how he had fought the Sith several times. He was really a hero, having saved Ithor from the Dark Siders. “I heard several things about you. One of them is how the Council grounded you there for some reason.”

The half-Nagai didn’t feel bad for saying that he was worked up. In his opinion, he was only telling the truth. Due to that, the pale boy only shrugged when he said that the Council wasn't going to approve his way of talking. “I also don’t think that they would like to know that you took the sugar of a teenager with a serious genetic condition.” it wasn’t a threat, but a simple comment.

He didn’t expect the Knight to continue that conversation, but apparently it was going to be the case. “The two volumes of the Chronicles of Colonization.” since he didn’t expect the other to understand what it was, Vand decided to give a deeper explanation. “It’s about the colonization of the Colonies Region by the Republic. I hope that I'll be able to read the two before dinner.”

Then, the Padawan remembered that he never had said his name to the Knight. "I'm Vand Hastakor."

@Valen Pelora